Belshekistan diplomacy board (embassy nations)

[Belshekistan]

This is an official thread for diplomacy between Belshekistan and nations we have embassies with. With the exclusion of this post this is an in-character thread.

The embassy program can be found here

[The Scarlet Eagle]

In the recently founded Scarlet Eaglean Embassy of Lemongrad, Vassili Borodin, the ambassador, is getting ready for his first meeting with the Belshek Government.
"Goodbye, Honey, I'll see you tonight, he says as he kisses his wife Lumya.
-I'll be waiting for you, she replies with a smile.
-And you, Artyom, says Vassili as he turns towards his son, be nice with your mom and the staff!
-Yes Dad, have a nice day at work!"
And with that, the Ambassador gets out of his quarters. After a quick detour by his office to grab his briefcase, he meets with Alexandr Svetov, his scientific advisor,as well with Josef Paragorn, his cultural advisor, who are both going with him to the meeting.
After the 3 men have reviewed their presentation for the Belshek government the last time, they head downstairs and get out of the building. In the U-shaped driveway in front of the building, where both the flags of The Scarlet Eagle and Belshekistan fly proudly, waits a convoy of 3 Black Renault SHERPAS, with 8 members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Security Forces in full combat gear, ready to escort them to their destination.
Vassili and his companions step out of the building and meet Chief Sergeant Piotr Gorovin, head of the Embassy Security.
"Good morning Sergeant, ready to depart? asks the Ambassador.
-As soon as you'll be inside the vehicle, we'll be ready to go, answers Piotr.
-Well then, let's not wait any more time, replies Vassili before getting into the Black vehicle.
-All teams, the Ambassador is inside his vehicle, we're Oscar Mike, radios Piotr to all his men. Let's go! Next stop: the Belshek Government Center, in Downtown!
And so, the convoy steps out of the Embassy, and starts driving towards their destination. On their way, the MFASF Agents and the Diplomatic Team take the time to take in the sights of Lemongrad. They pass by multiple cultural and historical sites, and all of them make the silent promise to visit at least one of them at some point. They also marvel at the large river running in the city.
Finally, they arrive at their destination. When he steps out of hiscar, Vassili is taken aback by the beauty of the Pyramid that houses the Government. And judging by the many "Whoahs" emanating from his men, he is not alone in this case.
As he comes back to his senses, Vassili makes a sign to Alexandr and Josef, to tell them to follow him. As the Security team stays near the Sherpas, Vassili steps inside the building, and adresses the Belshek Security team guarding the front door:
"Good Morning Gentlemen, I am Ambassador Vassili Borodin of the Federal Military Empire of The Scarlet Eagle. This is Alexandr Svetov, my Scientific adivser, as well as Josef Paragorn, my cultural advisor. We have an appintment to meet with your leaders."
With that said, he and his friends empty their pockets to pass the security check and in Vassili's case, his P99 resting in a back holster, as well as the document allowing him to carry it on Belshek soil (OOC: cf the embassy program)

OOC: Image of Vassili:

Renault Sherpa:

MFASF Gear:

(Imagine that Atlas is repalced with MFASF markings. Alson the color is a really dark green rather than black.)

[Belshekistan]

General Yeltsini returns to his desk after getting a cup of tea and finds his desk flooded with relatively minor issues (OOC: sorry for the slow response, I had a busy night last night.). Ah, well. he thinks, and settles down to deal with the witch issue for the 5th time. A rousing military march plays over the speakers in the office. Several minutes later, with the last issue dealt with, a young sergeant sticks his head into the room. "sir? The delegation from the Federal Military Empire has arrived."
"Ah, good. send them in forthwith"
"Yes, sir"
The sergeant retreats, and his place is taken by Vasili, Alexander and Josef, who enter the room.
"Good morning, gentleman. I trust you had a safe journey?"

[The Scarlet Eagle]

General Yeltsini returns to his desk after getting a cup of tea and finds his desk flooded with relatively minor issues (OOC: sorry for the slow response, I had a busy night last night.). Ah, well. he thinks, and settles down to deal with the witch issue for the 5th time. A rousing military march plays over the speakers in the office. Several minutes later, with the last issue dealt with, a young sergeant sticks his head into the room. "sir? The delegation from the Federal Military Empire has arrived."
"Ah, good. send them in forthwith"
"Yes, sir"
The sergeant retreats, and his place is taken by Vasili, Alexander and Josef, who enter the room.
"Good morning, gentleman. I trust you had a safe journey?"

Vassili, upon entering the office, stands at attention with Alexander and Josef, and snaps a quick salute to General Yeltsini:
"My respects General, yes we had a safe journey. May I say that it's a pleasure to finally meet you? Also, me and my colleagues would like to tell that we really like the sights of Lemongrad."
With that, the 3 Scarlet Eaglean takes their seats in front of the desk. Vassili then opens his briefcase, and hands over a bunch of papers to Yeltsini:
"If you would take a look at these papers General, these are the outlines for futures plans of Scientific and cultural exchanges between our 2 nations. For example, here you have a proposal for town twinning between Lemongrad and Scarlet Eagle City. take your time to review these papers, if you have any questions, we'll be happy to answer them."

[Belshekistan]

After looking through the papers, General Yeltsini reorders them and places them back into their folder.
"We would be delighted to accept your offer of town twinning between Lemongrad and Scarlet Eagle city. 2 questions about other matters. We would like to know what type of scientific exchanges your government would like to conduct. We've also been planning a celebration for our new scarlet eaglean allies, but we thought we'd leave the nature of the celebration up to you.

[The Scarlet Eagle]

Vassili turns his head towards Alexander, who clears his throat before speaking:
"Well General, we were thinking about strenghtening the program of space cooperation we agreed to develop a few months back. Right now, we have developed a set of new engines for one of our satellites launchers, and we would like you to have the honor to test the first prototypes. After all, since we have developed most of our tech alone or with The Armed Republic of Vorkuto in the past (OOC: one of my puppets nations), we think that maybe a new set of eyes may help us to see what may be wrong with it."
He puts his right hand into his vest's interior pocket, and hands over a flash drive to Yeltsini:
"Here are the schematics for the engines. Also, as he ruffles through his bag and takes out a tablet, we would like to know if you are interested in developing an exoskeleton program for your army if you don't have one already. Here is a generic example, as he hands over the tablet to Vladimir:

The exosuits that we have developed posess a wide range of options, that can be modified for different purposes of troops categories. You can have Sonics systems, which create a variety of infrasounds and ultrasounds mixed together that is very painful and dangerous to hear, very good for crowd control. You can also have a booster system, allowing your soldiers to project themselves in the air, or jump down for high ground and land safely; magnetic gloves, etc. I hope you will find this to your liking.
-As for the celebration we thank you General, continues Josef, although we will have to contact the Emperor and Empress to know what theyr would like. But one thing that we can assure you, as they are both soldiers, this will include at one point a military parade.
-I'm going to send them a message now, says Vassili as he takes his tablet and writes an encrypted message to Anaximander and Anna to ask them about the celebration.
-And now we wait, finishes Vassili with a smile as he shuts off his tablet.

[Belshekistan]

Vassili turns his head towards Alexander, who clears his throat before speaking:
"Well General, we were thinking about strenghtening the program of space cooperation we agreed to develop a few months back. Right now, we have developed a set of new engines for one of our satellites launchers, and we would like you to have the honor to test the first prototypes. After all, since we have developed most of our tech alone or with The Armed Republic of Vorkuto in the past (OOC: one of my puppets nations), we think that maybe a new set of eyes may help us to see what may be wrong with it."
He puts his right hand into his vest's interior pocket, and hands over a flash drive to Yeltsini:
"Here are the schematics for the engines. Also, as he ruffles through his bag and takes out a tablet, we would like to know if you are interested in developing an exoskeleton program for your army if you don't have one already. Here is a generic example, as he hands over the tablet to Vladimir:

(Image)

The exosuits that we have developed posess a wide range of options, that can be modified for different purposes of troops categories. You can have Sonics systems, which create a variety of infrasounds and ultrasounds mixed together that is very painful and dangerous to hear, very good for crowd control. You can also have a booster system, allowing your soldiers to project themselves in the air, or jump down for high ground and land safely; magnetic gloves, etc. I hope you will find this to your liking.
-As for the celebration we thank you General, continues Josef, although we will have to contact the Emperor and Empress to know what theyr would like. But one thing that we can assure you, as they are both soldiers, this will include at one point a military parade.
-I'm going to send them a message now, says Vassili as he takes his tablet and writes an encrypted message to Anaximander and Anna to ask them about the celebration.
-And now we wait, finishes Vassili with a smile as he shuts off his tablet.

"Excellent. We can most certainly provide a fresh perspective on your space program. We just tested a new communications satellite ourselves. As for the exoskeleton programs, we have had a exoskeleton program for quite some time, but have never been able to get it to do much more than augment strength. We'd love to have some new ideas on the subject, and I'm very interested in your jump-booster program. We figured your royals would enjoy a military parade, and we've been preparing our men. We have some very complex drill movements we've been trying out. We think you'll find them interesting. One more thing. Perhaps when our meeting is concluded, you gentlemen would enjoy a tour of Lemongrad?"

[The Scarlet Eagle]

Vassili, Josef and Alexander look at one another, before Vassili speaks:
"Of course General, we would be delighted to have a tour of Lemongrad with you."

Meanwhile
Scarlet Eagle City, Imperial Compound, Imperial Palace, 3:00AM
Anaximander and Anna, the Emperor and Empress of the Scarlet Eagle, are fast asleep in their bed. The two 28 years old Royals are suddenly woken up by an alert on their Data Glove Paired resting on their nightstand (OOC: a small mounted wrist display

)
"Uh, what can it be at this hour? asks Anaximander as he takes the wrist display before checking it, while his wife rubs her eyes.
-What is it Anax? asks Anna as she yawns a bit.
-It's a message from Vassili Borodin, our ambassador to Belshekistan. He is in a meeting with General Vladimir Yeltsini, and apparently the dear General wants to organize a celebration to celebrate our alliance, and would like to leave the nature of it to us.
-Well, we could go there with a few of our Imperial Guards units, and then have a joint parade, replies Anna as she kisses her husband.
-Good Idea sweetheart, but I have a better idea. Why not take our Eagle f35s and go there first? To show them what the Scarlet Squadron can do?
-Now that's a good idea. Should I wake Pavel and Alicia.
-You bet! finishes Anax with a smile. Although it's onlu 3:05 AM, the earlier we get on this project, the best it is!
And with that, the young couple gets out of bed, and prepare for the great task they just devised.

1 Hour later, in a briefing room of the Palace
After having taken a shower, eaten a small breakfast and gotten dressed, Anaximander and Anna have gathered all the people who are going to be involved in the trip to Belshekistan.

• Pavel and Alicia Morozov, the leaders od the Alpha Squadrons of the Personal Guard of Anaximander and Anna (see info at the end of post)
• Colonel Alexis Sabline of the 1st Rapid Action Tactical Battalion (RATB of the Scarlet Eaglean Imperial Guard
• Colonel Danila Stepov, of the 21st RATB
• Colonel Vanessa Stroganof, of the 22nd RATB
• Air Brigade General Dimitri Krasov, of the SEAF 55th Transport Wing
• Air Brigade General Thomas Geraz, of the 1st Scarlet Raptor Squadron (one of the SEAF aerobatic demonstrattion units)

After the silence settles, Anaximander starts talking:
"Alright ladies and Gentlemen, we are here to plan a trip to Belshekistan, to celebrate our new alliance. The festivities are goign to involve a parade, so that's why we're taking 3 RATBs, and one Scarlet Raptor Squadron with us. Now, here is the plan: Anna, Pavel, Alicia and me are going to fly in our Eagle F35 first, escorting a cargo plane transporting the rest of our Alpha Squadrons, and some techs with spare parts for our planes. Thomas, you and your Squadron will be escorting the 55th transporting the RATBs. Now, the main difference betwenn you and us, is that we're going to try and test their defenses. In short, we're in for some dogfight. You, on the contrary, will fly straight to Lemongrad, is that clear?
-Yes Sir, replies Thomas.
-Good, continues Anna. I have already sent a message to Mr. Borodin, our ambassador there, to inform General Yeltsini about our intentions. Now, if you don't have any questions, we shall be off. General Krasov, be sure that all the RATBs are loaded in the Galaxys and ready to go at oh-eight hundred. Is that clear?
-YES MA'AM! replies the General.
-All right then, let's go! Pavel, Alicia, you're with us!
And so, the 2 Royals, followed by their 2 Alpha Squadrons of their Personal Guard, get out of the room and walk towards the undergroung secret metro station underneath the Palace, connecting various key areas of the Government. There, they board a maglev train, which gets them in 5 minutes to the Imperial Airbase, 25 Kms north of the Scarlet Eagle City.
After a quick stop by the changing room, where Anaximander, Anna, and their 2 friends Pavel and Alicia get into their flight suits with their exosqueletons, they walk on the Tarma, where 4 Eagle F35 painted black with a Scarlet Eagle drawing on the front are waiting, along 2 VTOL Cargo Planes, ready to transport the mechanics and the Alpha Squadrons.
"All right guys, ready for the times of our lives? asks Pavel as he puts his hand in front of him, where it is soon joined by the ones of his friends and teammates.
-You bet, replies his wife Alicia.
-Strike Fast, Strike Deep, finishes Anaximander.
-HURRAH! all of them shout while throwing their hand in the air and then walking towards their respective planes.
10 minutes later, the 4 VTOL Fighter take off, soon followed by their Cargo Planes, and start flying east in the early dawn.

Back at Lemongrad
Vassili receives the message on his tablet, reads it, and tells Vladimir Yeltsini:
"General, I have been informed that the Emperor and Empress are going to depart very soon. But I must tell you, since they are confirmed fighter pilots among other things, they want to play a little game with your Air Force. Basically, they will approach stealthily, and try to avoid your Air Defenses and Fighters, and maybe engage them in a freindly air Combat. Theie flight will be composed of 4 Eagle F35, along with 2 Eagle C37 Atlas.

OOC: Here is some info that I will give you, refer to this until I find some time to write factbooks
Anaximander and Anna fought 10 years ago in a Civil war that happened in the Empire. It was trigerred by big Business Companies that wanted to take control of the vast ressources of the Empire, but were denied by Anaximander's father, Kristiano Blachkov. So, the Companies trigerred mutinies in some of the Amed Forces units, sparkilng a bloody civil war that coested the lives of 2 millions lives. not much in an Empire of 2 Billions inhabitants, but still pretty much
So, from age 15 to age 18, Anx and Anna fought side by side as young Imperial Guard soldiers, and then as Scarlet Rangers, the Elite branch of the Imperial Guard, where Anna revealed her talent with a sniper rifle. After the war, they married, and when Kristiano was assassinated when they were 20, they took the throne and rule not as one, but 2 rulers, a thing that hasn't happened in a long time.
Physical description: Anaximander is 2,05m tall, thanks to some genetic modifications he received to become a supersoldier, has blue eyes, short black hair, and a scar over his right eye. Anna is 1,92m tall thanks to genetic modifications too, has shoulder length black hair, green eyes, and some sacrs on her cheeks.
About the Alpha Squadrons of their Personal Guard: Anaximander and Anna have 5 Squadrons in their personal Guards each. The Squadrons are named Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo, and rotate on a monthly basis. Each one of them is composed of 21 Guards, one leader and 20 ohters dispatched in 4 Squads of 5 each. Note that Anna"s Squadrons are only compsed of females, and Anax's only of males.
The Alpha Squadrons are special, because their are composed of childhood friends of the Royals, and also because all the members are in a relationship with one another.
This is true for Pavel and Alicia, who are married. Pavel is 2,03m tall, has grey eyes and short blonde hair, while Alicia is 1,87m tall, has brown eyes and blonde hair.

Now, about the Imperial Guard and Rapid Action Tactical Battalions OR RATBs
The RATBs are quick response units of the Imperial Guard. They are composed of 4 companies of Special Forces motorized infantry, one companu of Main Battle Tanks, 2 Cannons mounted on truck, a Squadron of Attack choppers, and a logistical company. Each of them is around 900 men strong.

Images of the aircraft

Eagle C37 Atlas
Eagle F35

I will give more info in the next posts, this one is long enough Hope you enjoy reading it

[Belshekistan]

"So they want to play war games, do they? HANS!" Yeltsini called to the sergeant that stood guard outside his door.
Hans pokes his head into the room. "Jawohl?" (OOC: Pronounced "yavol", means yes in german. Belshekistan is composed of mainly ethnic Russians and Germans.)
"Bring Dahlstrom and Ivanoff in here." (OOC: Dahlstrom is the marshal of the air force. Ivanoff is in charge of artillery troops.)
"Yes, sir."
*5 minutes pass, Dahlstrom and Ivanoff enter the room.*
The two of them snap to attention and salute.
"Good morning, sir."
Yeltsini returns the salute. "Good morning, gentlemen. Sit down"
"Our new allies want to play a little war game."
"What kind of a war game?" Dahlstrom asks.
"They're going to try to sneak some aircraft past our air defenses."
"And we're not going to let them?"
"Correct. Here's the plan. Our opposing force is 4 Eagle F35 fighters and 2 Eagle C37 cargo aircraft. Ivanoff, have your SAMs loaded with training rounds. The area will have no civilian traffic passing through, so fire on all unrecognized contacts. Dahlstrom, have 3 fighter squadrons in the air. Regular sweep patterns, I want nothing to escape. Have 2 more squadrons on standby. All guns loaded with indicator rounds. I've tangled with F35s before, I can't say the same for the C37. I assume their combat abilities are limited, but don't take unnecessary chances. The F35s should be well outmatched by our BV-41s, but this is their first deployment. Fly low and slow, and engage everything you don't recognize. I will be leading the first squadron myself. As the Scarlet Eagleans say, 'strike fast, strike deep'."
"Yes, sir!"

(OOC: Again, sorry for the long response time. My social life has an irritating habit of getting in the way of my NationStates. Here is a picture of the BV-41 fighter.

)

[The Scarlet Eagle]

OOC: Just before we start, I forgot to mention that the F35 that our country have created have 2 engines instead of one =)

Liege Imperial Air Force Base, Belgium
1900h, local time
After a lenghty trip from the Empire to one of their Foreign Military Base, Anaximander, Anna, Pavel and Alicia, as well as their comrades, have made a stop to refuel and assess th new information that Ambassador Vassili Borodin has transmitted them on the Belshek preparations for the war game.
"So, says Anaximander, as the 4 pilots are in one of the base's briefing rooms, let's recap: we will take off in 1 hour. Our planes have been loaded with simunition, both for the cannons and missiles. Once we're 15 miles from the border, we hut all light from the plane, nightvision only, and radars on passive mode. The Belsheks are deploying a new stealth fighter for the first time, so we shall see how it works. Our brand new radars may have a bit of difficulty to pick them up, but I think we will have no problem, the last tests showed that they are capable to pick up even the slightest exhaust signature at 10 miles. Also, don't forget to program the general radio frequency in your computers. The Belsheks will have the same in theirs (OOC: Anax sent Yeltsini this frequency, who will be used by any fighter if he is taken out, to tell the others he is getting out of the fight. It will be programmed in our onboard computers, and will automatically activate if someone speaks on it). As for our C37s, they will just have to activate their built in scamblers, and they should be free from the danger of most radar guided missiles.
-Additionally, continues Anna, since General Yeltsini will join the fight, if you can have a visual on him, do not hesitate to engage! But don't put yourselves in danger unnecessarily.
-And finally, watch out for the SAMs! That would be all. We take off in one hour, lets get some rest before the big event." finishes Anaximander

20h30, 15 miles from the Belshek frontier, 5000ft
In the early night, the 6 aircraft fly towards the Belshek territory. In their cockpits, Anaximander, Anna, Pavel and Alicia, as well as the pilots of the C37s, make their final checks before the fight to come.
"Scarlet 1 to Scarlet Flight, final radio check, announces Anaximander over the radio.
-Scarlet 2, I copy, answers Anna.
-Scarlet 3, copy 5, replies Pavel,
-Scarlet 4, all good, says Alicia.
-Loader 1, everything is ok, replies the pilot of the first C37, jammers are ready.
-Loader 2, same.
-All right everyone, switch to nightvision, lights off and radars on passive mode, we're entering the wolf's den, finishes the Emperor with a smile in his voice. Radio only if necessary.
And so, the F35s and C37s continue their flight towards the Belshek frontier, which they finally pass a few minutes later.
Suddenly, the F35s radars alert the pilots on the presence of some "ghost" signals, 30 miles in front of them, 2000 ft higher.
"Seems like these radars can catch pretty much everything after all, smiles Anaximander. I will have to congratulate our engineer when we get ba...
-Scarlet 3, SAM!SAM! yells suddenly Pavel over the frequency. 4 o'clock, 6 launches!
-Scarlet 1 to all, BREAK,BREAK! Loader, activate your jammers NOW! Scarlet 2, with me!
-Roger that!"
And with that, the 4 fighters break off in 2 groups of 2,while the C37s activate their jammers and dive towards the ground.
As the F35s prepare to engage their enemies, their cockpits suddenly resound with multiple sounds of Pursuit radars locking on them.
-Shit, we're locked, says Pavel. We need to..
-Scarlet 3, watch out! yells Alicia over the radio to her husband. SAM on your tail, 5 o'clock!
As Pave turns his head towards the direction mentoned by Scarlet 4, he sees indeed a missile cruising towards him at high speed. Immediately, he pushes his joystick to the left, pushing his plane in a sharp turn, while sparkling some flares to divert the missile. But what he doesn't see, is that this maneuver has put him right onto the trajectory of another SAM, who impacts a second later on the top of the plane, leaving a mark.
"FUCK! yells Pavel, as he finishes his turn and assesses the damage. The Training round hasn't caused any important damage, but Pavel knows that if it had been a real one, he would be dead. And so, he switches to the General frequency used by everyone this night and announces:
"To everyone, this is Scarlet 3, I'm out. I 'll be waiting on rally point Alpha, doing 360 while waiting. Good luck everyone"
-Scarlet 4, copy! I'll miss you Honey, answers Alicia on their private frequency.
As he finishes his sentence, Pavel performs a half barrel roll, before diving towards the ground and heading towards Rally poin Alpha, 10 miles north of the Combat zone.
Meanwhile
As Anaximander and Anna finish their break maneuver, they suddenly spot multiple exhausts flying towards them, at 3 o'clock.
"Scarlet 1 to 2, multiple bogeys at 3 o'clock! Get ready to engage! Cover my six!
-Scarlet 2 Wilco! Go get 'em!
Anaximander then makes a sharp turn to the right, and arms a MICA simunition missile resting in one of his F35 bomb bays.
"There you go, he says as his radar is locking on a signature, there you go... Good! Scarlet 1, Fox 1! he shouts as he presses the fire button on his joystick
-Scarlet 2, Fox 1!
As they presses their fire buttons, the bomb bays of their F35s open, and 2 MICA missiles are launched.
10 seconds later, they implact with their target, creating a white flurescent light in the night.
-Scarlet 1, good kill! 1 bogey down!
-Scarlet 2, bogey down!
-All right, time to put on some music! shouts Anaximander happily! Sabaton, here we go!"
As he says that, he types a few commands on his computer, and "Metal Machine" from Sabaton starts resounding in his helmet, loudly but not loud enough to cut him from the comms. In her cockpit, Anna does the same.
And with that, the Emperor and Empress prepare to engage the Belsheks BV 41 in a dogfight, as they close the distance towards their enemies...

(Now it's up to you Belshekistan! Have fun! Just please, allow Alicia to score at least one kill before taking her down And if you don't like something about this, just TG me and I will do my best to modify it)

[Belshekistan]

Rommel air force base, German SSR, 1900 hours
"Right, then. This is it, boys. The big event. You're all current on the BV-41, but this is the first combat deployment for it. So do it justice. We practiced this maneuver, so there is no excuse for screwing it up. Last thing: Try not to die, alright?"
"YES, SIR!"

20h30, frontier radar station
"Sir! Sir!" A young sergeant calls to her commander.
"Yes, what is it?"
"I have multiple unidentified radar contacts."
"Good work, sergeant. I'll alert the general and the SAMs"
frontier SAM battery
"We have the contacts in range, general Ivanoff."
"Good. Fire when ready"
"Firing, sir"
At the press of a button, 6 missiles streak away into the night.
High above ground
"There's the SAMs. Wait for effect, then engage." General Yeltsini calls over the radio.
"Yes, sir."
"Copy that."
The SAMs go off, taking pavel with them.
"Damn! Only 1. I was hoping for 2 at least. Break formation and engage!"
The fighters were flying in a formation of 3 chevrons, with one squadron forming each chevron. On Yeltsini's command, the front chevron breaks into two halves, which attempt to strafe the Eagle formation. The second rank continues forward, firing 30mm autocannons. The third rank dives down rapidly, then pulls into a climb to assault the Eagle formation from below.
The third squadron's commander calls over the radio.
"/K/ommando, Warhammer. We have visual contact on 2 C37 cargo aircraft fleeing downward. Clear to engage?"
"Negative, Warhammer. Disregard cargo aircraft and proceed to primary target."
(OOC: Warhammer is the collective callsign for the 3rd squadron. /K/ommando is Yeltsini's callsign, a reference to the /k/ board on 4chan.)
"Copy that. Damn. I wanted to take them out."
"Cut the chatter, warhammer."
"Pacifier 3, I've got one on me. I can't shake- Dammit. I'm hit. Pacifier 3 is RTB. Out."
"Copy that, pacifier 3. Better luck next time."
(OOC: Pacifier is the callsign for the second squadron. The first squadron is Kilo. This was Alicia's first kill. I decided to give her 3.)
"Pacifier 6, I'm on the craft that took out 3. Tracking target- damn. I lost- wait. There! On Kilo 4! Hang in there, I'm coming!"
"Well get here quick!"
"I'm on target!"
"Missile! Kilo 4, flares away!
"Pacifier 6, I've lost target."
"Kilo 4, I'm hit. RTB"
"/k/ommando, Kilo 1 and 2 on me. We need to take that pilot down."
"Kilo 2, I have visual on target. Trailing Warhammer 5."
Yeltsini and 2 other aircraft drop in behind Alicia.
"/k/ommando, on target."
"Kilo actual, on target."
"Kilo 2, on target."
A withering burst of fire emits from Alicia's aircraft.
"Warhammer 5, I'm hit. RTB."
"/K/omando, missiles away."
"Kilo actual, hit confirmed. Enemy downed. Good shooting, sir."
"Kilo's getting torn up! 3, 6 and 8 are all down! Who ARE these people?"
"Cut the chatter, Warhammer 8. I want what's left of Kilo on me. Warhammer, break off engagement. Pacifier actual, form up your squadron and prepare to engage."
"Copy."
"Copy."
"Pacifier 1, 2, 3, 4, engaging."
"Dammit! Missiles, missiles! Break off, scatter!"
"2, I'm hit!"
"3, I'm hit!"
"Pacifier, break off. We have visual on one of the targets, bearing down."
(I decided to leave the end up to you, because I didn't know how Anaximander would respond to his wife being threatened, or if you intended for Anna to be taken out. You have 2 kills to work with before the number we set is reached, but if you have to go over that's fine. Side note: Nice choice of music. I'm a Sabaton fan myself, although I would have chosen Counterstrike or Night witches. I think they suit air combat better.)

[The Scarlet Eagle]

OOC: I'll rewrite the fight from the Scarlet Eaglean POV, so that I may have a better understanding of the action =) Also, sorry for the long response time, but since I'm on vacation right now, and that I am not at home, I have some problems to write daily. Also, I got the idea for Metal Machine from this AMV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHCTFXclNU4

"Scarlet 4, copy! I'll miss you Honey, replies Alicia to her husband as he goes away to Rally Point Alpha. She then switches on "Metal Machine" into her helmet.
As she looks outside in the night sky, she spots, through her nightvision, 3 Belsheks squadrons arranged in chevrons, with the first breaking off into 2 halves, the second beginning to fire with their cannons, "although at this distance this seems stupid" she thinks, and the third diving down before pulling up in an attempt to catch her and her friends off guard from below.
"Well, that won't happen as long as my callsign is Scarlet 4! " she shouts in her cockpit, before setting her sights on a BV-41 from the second squadron.
So, she pulls her joystick towards her, and as her planes climbs, she arms her cannon, then performs a half aileron-roll and dives towards her target.
"Well hello there handsome, she whispers to herself, how about you and I spend a moment of Deadly passion? she adds with a twisted smile behind her oxygen mask.
As she finally positions herself behind her target, the BV-41 tries to escape, but the young pilot is no match for Alicia, and he is soon taken down and announces he's RTB.
"OK, who wants to be next?" she asks as she spots a fighter from the firtst squadron flying a bit apart from his comrades, on her 4 o'clock position. She pulls her F35 in a sharp right turn, before arming a pair of MICA infrared missiles (OOC: the MICA exists in 2 models, one infrared and one radar guided).
"Time to make you pay for what you did to my husband! Scarlet 4, Fox 2, Fox 2!
As the bomb bays of her F35 open, and the 2 missiles get out and streak towards their target, the BV-41 throws some flares. One of the MICAs is diverted by it, but the second is not and impacts on the right tuyere, leaving a mark of white fluorescent paint.
"Woohoo! The Kings of Metal ride the sky! she sings as the song plays and the solo is about to start.
But as she repositions her fighter to attack a Belshek pilot from the 3rd squadron, she doesn't see that a group of 3 fighters starts descending on her.
As she drops behind her target, she arms her cannons, but as she presses the trigger, she spots the 3 BV-41 in her back mirrors
"Oh shit, is all she have the time to say before her plane is struck by 2 missiles.
"Scarlet 4, to all, I've been taken out, heading to rally point Alpha. It's all up to you now, Anax and Anna! Good luck!

Meanwhile
"Riding on this crazy train I'm goign paranoid..."
Anax and Anna, after having performed their break, prepare to engage the formation that Alicia spotted, and choose to attack the first Squadron, since it is the one, according to the intel Vassili Borodin gave them, that General Vladimir Yeltsini is leading.
"All right, Scarlet 2, we're going to perform a simple pince maneuver and see how these rookies handle them. Since Alicia is clearing their rank, that may give us some time. I'll be coming from the left and up, you take the right and down. Understood? asks Anaximander
-Scarlet 2 to Scarlet 1, Wilco! Let's rock! replies Anna with enthusiasm.
And so, the 2 fighters separate, with Anaximander pulling his joystick towards him and making his F35 climb, while on the contrary Anna pushes it and makes her plane dive towards the ground.
As Anax reaches a suitable altitude, he spots one of the 2 halves of the first squadron:
"Scarlet 2 from 1, I have visual on 4 fighters from the first chevron, moving to engage!
"Scarlet 2 copy 5, I'm about to engage a lone fighter from the second halve. Don't do anything stupid, Anax!
"Why would I do that Anna? replies the Emperor with a small smile before arming his cannon and diving towards his opponents, while Anna also arms her cannon and pulls into a climb.
"All right fellas, time to make you pay for what you did to Pavel and Alicia! Scarlet 1, engaging target! shouts Anax as he presses the trigger on his joystick and lets loose a volley of simunition bullets on 2 of the Belsheks fighters, obviously surprised by his attack
-Scarlet 2, engaging! shouts Anna as she does the same and scores a hit on her target.
-Scarlet 1, 2 hostiles down, announces Anax as he flies over his opponents. Regroup on me.
-Scarlet 2, 1 hostile down, regrouping on you."
As they regroup, they hear that Alicia has been shot down, and that they're the only ones left.
"Thanks Alicia, replies Anax to his teammate, we will show them!
-Scarlet 2 to one, says Anna to her husband, I have visual on a group of fighters from the second squadron heading towards us, I'm going for them!
-Scarlet 1 wilco, this time you lead, I'll follow. Missile?
-Missile!
And so, as the solo of the song is playing in the background the 2 F35 perform a left turn, before arming each a MICA simunition missile resting in their bomb bays.
"Come on, come on, sas Anna as she is about to lock one of the fighters on her radar, there! Scarlet 2, Fox 3!
-Scarlet 1, Fox 3!"
And so, 2 MICA missiles are launched, and make impact with their designated targets, leaving a white fluorescent mark.
As Anaximander and Anna have to break off to avoid the rest of the planes flying towards them, the Emperor, while pulling his plane into a climb, spots the remnants of the first Belshek Squadron flying towards his wife in formation, from an angle where she will not be able to spot them. Suddenly, an idea germinates in his head.
"Scarlet 2, you have the first Squadron coming towards you at full speed, 6 o'clock. Try to evade them for as long as you can, I'm going to perform a tricky maneuver for them!
-Scarlet 2 to 1, copy 5, don't take too long, I don't want to die!
-You know that as long as I live, that won't happen Anna!
And so, Anax performs an Immelman with his F35, then dives at full speed towards Yeltsini and his teammates pursuing Anna, while the last chorus of Sabaton is playing.
"All right suckers, you want to take down my wife? Well, THAT WON'T HAPPEN! TALLY HO!"
Anax then launches another infrared MICA on a BV 41 flying right to Vladimir, then switches to his cannon and shoots down another fighter, before performing a half aileron roll and stabilizing his plane just above Yeltsini's, so that the Emperor is looking upside down at the General, while their planes are nearly touching.
Anax then switches to the general radio frequency, so that Vladimir can hear him, and points him with his index from his cockpit:
"Not bad for an old man, you have some potential. That was a good fight Vlad, do you mind if Anna and I call you that? Also, you're still dangerous, but you can be my wingman anytime"

[Belshekistan]

"No, I don't mind, so long as you don't mind if I call you Anax. Let's head back to the rally point."
JAFRC (Joint Armed Forces Readiness Center) Lemongrad
Yeltsini arrives from his fighter, accompanied by two marines.
"You're dismissed, gentlemen. Go make sure those fighter pukes don't scratch my plane."
"Yes, sir." The two marines turn and leave.
" Good to see you face to face, emperor. Welcome to Belshekistan. I have men showing your troops to their barracks, and the parade will commence whenever you are ready. In the meantime, if you wish, we have a tour of the base set up for you. My troops are eager to show off their new toys. After that, we promised your ambassador and his staff a tour of Lemongrad. Perhaps you'd care to join us?"

[The Scarlet Eagle]

"Don't worry, I don't mind at all if you call me Anax, replies the Emperor.
-You can call me Anna too, adds the Empress as she positions her F35 on the right of Vladimir's BV-41, as Anaximander positions himself to his left. But you're right, let's get back to Lemongrad (OOC: can you tell me where it would be located IRL?). Lead the way, General.
-Scarlet 1 to Scarlet 3,4 as well as Loader 1 and 2, regroup on me and Scarlet 2, we're flying to Lemongrad with General Yeltsini, announces Anaximander on the General frequency. Aand to all the brave Belsheks pilots who fought against us tonight, congratulations! I'll buy you a beer when we arrive."
And so, all the fighters and cargo planes regroup and start heading back to Lemongrad. The flight is relatively uneventful, only at one point Anaximander and Anna making fun of the big spot of fluorescent paint on the top of Pavel's F35, and him replying by giving them the finger through his canopy.

A few hours later
As the planes start arriving at the JAFRC in Lemongrad, unde a full moon that allow to see as if it was the day, the pilots can see the first C6 VSTOL Galaxys of the Scarlet Eaglean Air Force 55th Transport Wing unloading the tanks and armored vehicles of the 1st Rapid Action Tactical Battalion, who will be in charge of ensuring the safety of the Emperor and the Empress during their visit.
And so, the planes land, and the 4 Scarlet F35s park in a row, then, helped by their mechanics that disembarked from Loader 2, they get off their planes and approach Vladimir, who just sent back 2 marines to their task. Anna, Anaximander, as well as Pavel and Alicia, listen to Yeltsini's words, then surround him and start throwing him in the air:
"For the Great Belshek Ace Vladimir Yeltsini! shouts Anax and Anna.
-HIP!HIP!HURRAH!
-Thank you for your kind words Vlad, continues Anaximander as he and his crew set back he General on the ground. About the parade, since we have the 21st and 22nd RATB still in transit at our Base in Liege, I think we will have to wait for them. About the tour of Lemongrad you promised Vassili, we would gladly join you, but I think that it would be better if we wait till th sun rises before starting the visit. Tell you what, why don't you wait just a little moment for me and my crew to change back into our normal armor, and then we can go take a drink somewhere if you want.
-Vlad, I know that you might find strange that we keep our armor and exoskeletons for the time being, but we have decided that we wanted to give you a quick peek at what they are capable of doing. Oh, and also, I believe some of your men have been looking at one of our guns strangely when we arrived (OOC: each Imperial guard, as well as the Emperor and Empress, is issued 2 handguns; a Manhurin MR93 Revolver and a Eagle USP 45). She then takes out her Eagle m1911 modernized from her holster, as well as Anaximander, and they show them to Vlad:
"These guns are unique models that were given to us when we married as a gift from our country's Arms Manufacturers. They were carved and manufactured out of a rare meteorite that was found in the Eagle Rocky Mountains.

Anyway, we'll be back in a few minutes"
With that, the 4 Scarlet Rangers walk back to Loader 1, where they enter the aircraft

A Few minutes later
As General Yeltsini is waiting, a group of transparent forms get out of Loader 1 and start approaching him. At first the General can't see them, but as they come closer, he can make out their footprints on the concrete ground of the base, covered in some dust.
And so, the 44 Scarlet Eagleans of the Alpha Squadron, led by Anax and Anna, materialize before him, in full combat armor and exosqueleton. Eac one of them is armed with a SCAR-H with various attachments (In Anax's case, a M320 40mm GRENADE launcher, and adaptative sight,and in Anna's case, it's the sniper variant with a long scope, foregrip and folding bipod), a Manhurin MR93 revolver, a Eagle USP 45 pistol, a M 27 Automatic rifle for some of them (1 per squad, Pavel has one for example), as well as grenades and gear of various kinds.
As his helmet opens, Anax asks with a cocky smile:
"So, what do you think of this Vlad? Impressive, ain't it? And you haven't seen the best yet."
As he says that, a small rumbling sound can be heard. Then, a group of 9 tanks apears behind them as it turns around the corner of the Hangar in front of which they were waiting. But what is special about these tanks, if that they don't move with threads, but with heavy-lift turboengines that keep them afloat.
"Let us introduce you the E 740 Hovertank! exclaims Anna as she and her husband jump on he leading tank, and that the turret opens and the drivers get out and go back to their task. It is a new prototype of tank that we have developed very recently in secret. Only around 100 units have been made so far.
-It has room for a driver, a gunner, a tank commander, as well as 2 mcehanics reponsible for keeping all the complex systems running continues Anaximander with enthusiasm. It is equipped with dual rocket pods mounted of either side of the turret, responsible for targetting infantry. It also have a smooth-bore main gun, as well as an EMP cannon here, he explains as he points to each of the elements. Here you have a 12,7mm machine gun next to the main cannon, as well as one on the turret. And finally, it's trophy system is capable of dealing and eliminating nearly all kind of projectiles.
So, what do you want to do now Vlad? asks the Emperor from the top of the E 740, while his Personal Guards, as well as Anna's, take possession of the rest of the tanks.

(OOC: here are some images about our gear and stuff
Armor and exo used by Anax and his Alpha Squadron

Armor used by Anna and her Alpha Squadron

Standard armor of an Imperial Guard (except it's entirely in a MARPAT black camo instead of green)

E 740 Hovertank

Some of the vehicles the RATB use

E-540 Main Battle Tank

E 600 Titan

EagleOkosh L-ATV and M-ATV

EagleIndustries Cougar MRAP (4*4 and 6*6)

EagleIndustries Stryker Armored vehicles (different models)

Eagle Air Helicopters EH 665 Apache

[Belshekistan]

"Impressive. We experimented with hovertanks a few years back, but the tankers didn't like them. Preferred treads, because of the way the tank rocked side-to-side when they fired. You don't get that with treads, and it was enough to steer them away from hovertanks. If you've figured out a way to stop that from happening, I'd be delighted to hear it. As for our exos, you'll see them in the parade. In the meantime, let's get over to the army section of the base."
Army sector
"this is our standard assault rifle, the AK-24." Yelsini says, hefting one of the hundreds of rifles that line the armory walls.

"It fires the 5.45 mm Soviet rifle cartridge out to effective ranges of 900 meters. It has semi-auto, three-round-burst and full-auto fire modes. We have 30 round box magazines, 45 round box magazines, 75 round drum magazines and the sustained-fire version can take any of those plus 200 round belts. Our troops love this baby. You can put it through hell and back and it'll still work fine. We even clogged the bolt with mud. It still fired."

Yeltsini opens a small metal case, revealing a gleaming silver pistol.
"You seem to have an affinity for handguns, so you ought to appreciate this. This is our standard issue sidearm, the 45. ACP Kriss Kard."

"We adopted the Kriss Kard because of concerns our troops raised over the limited knock-down power of the 9mm. We wanted a pistol in .45 ACP without sacrificing too much of the magazine capacity of the 9mm guns. We considered the glock 41, the kriss kard, and a rechambered version of the makarov. Our troops liked the kriss kard best, so we adopted it. Let's head over to the armor garage, and we'll see what the tankers have been playing with recently."

"This is our main battle tank, the XM-50 heavy."

(Please note that the tank is the size of a normal tank, not the hulking beast it looks like in the picture.)
"It's an omni-environment tank, meaning it can operate almost anywhere. The gun is an 8.8 cm railgun, firing kinetic projectiles over an effective range of 3 miles, assuming you can see that far. The muzzle velocity is well in excess of half a mile per second, due to the incredibly powerful magnets we use. It took us the better part of a year to figure out how to get it to not tear itself apart on firing. At standard combat ranges, this thing essentially vaporizes other tanks."

"When our troops need to get from point A to point B safely through hostile territory, we use the BTR-200 infantry fighting vehicle."

"This one is armed more conventionally, with a 76mm high-velocity gun. It can carry 8 men, and it can withstand fire from most conventional tanks."

"For timely and effective fire support, we rely on the R-50 Angel multiple rocket launcher."

"It carries 18 easily reloadable, high-yield warheads. They can be laser, heat, and radar guided. The whole system is actually a hybrid, and can be fired at both ground and air targets. The missile tubes can be swapped out for larger rockets, giving increased range and yield. The large missile could actually be fitted with nuclear warheads, although we've never done that in a real engagement. This isn't all we have, just some basic stuff. You'll get to see more of it in the parade"

(OOC: Lemongrad is essentially a metropolitan integration of the cities of St. Petersburg and Murmansk. It's a huge city for this reason.)

[The Scarlet Eagle]

Anaximander, Anna, Pavel, Alicia and their comrades listen to Vladimir describing the AK-24 and Kriss Kard pistol. Then, Anaximander, takes another AK from the rack, and starts disassembling it, and then reassembles it with precise gestures. As he tests the bolt, he adresses Yeltsini:
"Very good, thie rifle seems as reliable as our SCAR-H, it's light and comfortable to use. Say, if we were to pay you 50 000 Imperial Credits, could we have some for us?"
As he does that, Anna has finished reassembling a Kriss Kard pistol:
"I'll say the same for the Kard, good, reliable, a fine addition to our personal weapons collections.
-So, Guys, what do you say? Want to ring some of these toy back home? asks Anaximander as he turns to adress their Alpha Squadrons
-AYE! they all reply as they start taking rifles from the racks and checking them.
-Good, type the modifications you want on your Data Glove Paired and then send them to the armorer here, continues Anna as she types a few commands on her own Data Glove Paired on her left wrist. There, the transfer has been made, Vlad! We have transfered the 50 000 Imperial Credits to your account! If you want more, just say it!
-Oi, Tovarich! shouts Anaximander in perfect Russian to the armorer waiting behind his stand, our boys and us have sent you some modifications we would like to add to the Ak-24 we just purchased! Can you have it done by the time we depart?
-All right, now let's go to the Armor garage", finishes Anna as she answers to Vlad who mentioned they were going there next.

A few minutes later, Armor Garage
The group of Scarlet Eagleans follows General Yeltsini to one of the XM 50 tank resting in the area, and listen to his explanation of the performances of the vehicle
"Nnot bad, comments Pavel while running his hand under one of the cannons. This shows some promise. We are currently developping a few models of Railguns for our naval ships, especially cruisers, but as for a Tank version , we still prefer to rely on shells, because if a power failure is to occur in a tank, it's less preocupying if you use shells instead of magnetic coils, you're less vulnerable, if you see what I mean.
-Now that I think of it, continues the Emperor, I would like to see what would happen if we were to create a tank that combines your railgun tech and our heavylifht turbo engines. But I think that the amunt of power to suply a beast like that would at least be equal to a small nuclear powerplant. Too bad."
As they continue to the BTR-200, the Alphas take turns to enter the armored transport and test its comfortability.
"Not bad for a vehicle like this, says Anna as she gets out of the vehicle, followed by Alicia. I would gladly test one during an exercise while we're here.
-Me too, adds her friend and Leader of her Squadron.
They finish by the R-50 Angel
"Nice launcher, remark Anaximander as he uses his booster system frm his exo to jump high on one of the tubes. I bet no one can survive the barrage of fire this baby can send! Personnally, I prefer to use cannons munted on truck, or self propelled guns. We use them with special shells whose trajectory can be adjusted thanks to a GPS microchip embedded into them", he adds as he jumps back down.
"Well, that was a nice visit Vlad, declares the Emperor. So, did you have anything else in mind, or can we go have a quick nap until the sun rises instead?"

[Belshekistan]

"Nothing else until the tour tomorrow. I understand you've had a long day. I'll have my men show you to your room. Get some rest, and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

[The Scarlet Eagle]

OOC: Before I forget, here's an info I wanted to say ealier but forgot to add: All the Scarlet Eagleans bear the Scarlet Rangers symbol on their left shoulder armor plate and clothes. It consists of a Scarlet Eagle, with his head turnet to the right, with a Silver skull embedded on the center of the eagle.

"Ok then, replies Anaximander with a smile. See you tomorrow Vlad, and good night!
-Good night Vlad, says Anna.
-Good night General! shout the Alphas as they walk back to their hovertanks.
-All right guys, let's go get some sleep, says Pavel as Alicia, Anax, Anna and him board the lead E740 and take their seats, with Pavel as the driver Alicia as ine of the mechanics, Anna as the gunner and Anax as the tank commander (OOC: on this tank, everyone of the crew members boards through a hatch on the turret and descends a small ladder inside). They then proceed to follow the Belshek jeep that will lead them to their quarters.

A few minutes later
As the tanks park near one of the empty barracks, the Alphas and their leaders proceed to unload their bags, and as every male Alpha is in a relationship witb a female Alpha, they assign the rooms not by squad, but by couples.
"All right Guys, says Anaximander as he addesses the group. You know your rooms, so try to ha ve some rest . We wake up at 8. Any questions? All right then, good night!
-Good night! replies the group before dispersing and going in their rooms. As Anna and Anax unpack their belongings, the Emperor feels the breath of his wife on his ear. In response, he turns and takes his wife in his arms.
"So, Anna, how did you find this day? asks the Emperor sweetly.
-It was pretty good so far, but I think it can end in a better way, she replies with a seductive smile.
-Well, I would hate to disappoint you, finishes Anax as he carries her bride-style to their bed.

The next day, 9:10AM
As the sun has risen since around 3 hours on the JAFRC of Lemongrad, the Alpha Squadrons members are preparing their E740 Hovertanks for the day. Leaning on the side of the lead tank, clad in full armor and exosuit but wearing the black beret of the Scarlet Eaglean Imperial Guard, with the small Scarlet Ranger patch on it, Pavel is smoking a cigarette while observing the work of his men.
"Goddamit, he mutters, he said wake up at 8, and he's still late.
-Don't worry Pavel, replies his wife Alicia as she is cleaning the coaxial machine gun with a stick and a rag, you know that they sometime have to enjoy themselves.
-Besides, says Lieutenant Colonel Philip Smetov, the Leader of Alpha 1 Squad of the Emperor Alpha's Squadron as he approaches his superior and friend, this has went on like this for the past 10 years and you're still complaining?
-No I'm not! replies Pavel while taking the last drag from his cigarette and then flicking the bud away. it's just that if they want to spend some quality time together, they could have chosen a better moment! What will we say to Vladimir if he asks why the Emperor and Empress are late?
-That they are doing what 2 young adults who love each other dearly would probaly do when they are alone, finishes Anax as he and his wife finally emerge from the barracks, in full combat gear with their beret on the head and their helmet in hand. But enough of that!
-Did you have a good night? asks the Empress to their comrades
-It was cool, answers Captain Catherina Smetov, the Sniper of Alpha 2 Squad of the Empress Alpha's Squadron, and wife of Philip. Just to say, it's a good thing that these barracks have sound proof walls.
-Good to know Catherina,finishes the Empress with a small smile towards her friend. Now we just have to wait for Vlad or any of his envoys to lead us to the capital. By the way, are the speakers ready on the tanks?
-You bet Anna! replies Alicia with enthusiasm as she jumps back from the turret of their E740. You or Anax just say the word, and we'll be blasting "Ghost Division" to no end!

[Belshekistan]

Three BTR-200 IFVs and one XM-50 heavy MBT roll up to the gate.
"Goood morning, VIETNAM!" Yeltsini shouts, popping his head out of the turret of the XM-50.
"We brought along an extra BTR for you guys to ride in, but it appears you brought your own transportation. HIENRICH!"
"Ja?" A young, pale, german face pokes out of the command port on the second BTR.
"It looks like we don't need you. You can go back to sleep, komrad"
"Danke, herr general."
"How many times have I told you? None of this 'herr general' business."
"Traurig (sorry), komrad Yeltsini."
"Go get some rest." He turns to Anax and his crew.
"I keep telling my men I deserve no more respect than they do, but the don't seem to get it. The germans especially. Well, we have a tour to take. We'll go through the old town first, then through the government centers, and end at the central government building. Ivan, drive on." This last was directed at the young russian man occupying the driver's post in the tank.
Later
"This is Smolny cathedral. It was once a popular site for religious worship, but that was before Lenin took power. Since then, it's been alternately banned as a place of worship and unused. Because so much of Belshekistan's population is atheist, it was voted several months ago to turn the place into a museum for the second revolution, the one that brought about Belshekistan. Any questions? Or would you like to go inside?"

(OOC: picture of the cathedral

Remember, your ambassador and his staff are here as well.)

[The Scarlet Eagle]

As the Belshek convoy approach the Alpha Group, all eyes turn towards it.
"GOOD MORNING BELSHEKISTAN! yells Anax as he and Anna activate their grapple hook located on their left wrist, next to their Data Glove Paired. Immediately, 2 cables made of Carbon nanotubes reinforced with titanium deploy and lodge themselves in the turret of the XM-50. The Emperor and Empress then retract their cables, and end on the turret on each side of Vladimir's command hatch.
-Good to see you Vlad, says Anna as she and her husband shakes hand with Yeltsini. About your men,we have sometimes the same issues back home. Just because we are built and trained lie supersoldiers doesn't make us Demigods. But fortunately, we don't have this problem with our Personal Guards Squadrons. Especially the Alphas.
-So Vlad, I suppose you'll take the lead, continues Anaximander. Just to tell you, since we are a group of 9 tanks, we will move with our E740 at the middle front, and the others following behind us in pairs.
But before that, I still need to check with Vassili and his staff that they will join us. One moment, please"
The Emperor then types Vasili's number into his Data Glove. After a few moments, the Ambassador's voice is heard.
"Good Morning Your Highness, it's good to hear you. Did you have a safe trip?
-Good morning Vassili, yes we had a safe jouney. The fight was good, I'll tell you about that later. I just called to confirm that everything was ok on your end and that you will join us for the Lemongrad tour.
-Don't worry, everything is set here. All the diplomatic staff and security are ready.
-Very good. We'll see you in town. Pass our best regards from Anna and I to your wife and son. Anax, out.
-I'll do Sir. Borodin, out.
-All right then, it's settled, finishes Anax as he turns his gaze back towads Yeltsini and his wife. Let's go then, we will follow you Vlad."
The Imperial Couple then jumps of the XM-50's turret, then walk back to their Hovertank, as their friends and fellow Guards finish checking and boarding them. The 9 E740 arrange themselves inti the formation Anax described earlier, and position themselves behind Yeltsini's escort vehicles.
Later
They are the Panzer Elite, born to compete, never retreat. Ghost Division! ...
As the convoy navigates through Lemongrad, the passerbys are treated tho the strange scene of Black Hovertanks rollign down the streets blaring loud Metal Music from speakers dissimulated in the turrets, while the crew members of these tanks are sitting outside in full combat gear, enjoying the sights, along with the driver driving with his hatch open. On the lead tank, Anax is sitting with his SCAR-H in his lap near the turret hatch, with Anna sitting on the stairs leading inside, while Alicia is inside with Pavel.
As the convoy arrives to the first stop of their visit program, Smolny cathedral, they see that the Scarlet Eaglean Embassy staff is waiting for them near a large group of vehicles. As they appear, Chief Sergeant Piotr Gorovin orders his men to stand at attention and present arms.
The convoy finally stops, and Anaximander and Anna exchange a few words with General Yeltsini:
"This cathedral is very different from the ones we have in the Empire, declares the Empress. You can truly see the majesty in it.
-Indeed, approves her husband. We would gladly like to go inside Vlad, but before that, allow us to have some words with our Ambassador and his staff.
With that, Anna and Anax walk towards their delegation, followed closely by their Alphas. They review the MFASF soldiers, greet the Diplomatic Staff, exchange some pleasantries with Vassili, his wife Lumya and his son Artyom, and invite them to see the inside of the cathedral
They then come back towards Vladimir:
"We're all set, declares the Emperor. But before that, put this on, he says as Pavel hands a pair of sunglasses to Yeltsini.
-These sunglasses, Vladimir, declares Pavel, are in reality HUDs that we usually wear when we're in Uniform or casual clothing. We have synced them with our armor signature. You'll see why in a second."
As the General takes the sunglasses, the Alphas take off their berets, put them in one of their pant's pocket, then put their helmets on and close them. As soon as they have done that, they start to become invisible, until they are nothing more but transparent forms, very difficult to distinguish, even for a trained eye.
"So, what do you think of our last generation Optical Camouflage? asks a voice that belongs to the Emperor. Now put these glasses on, and you'll be able to pick up our signature. We'll follow you into the cathedral, and we'll simulate a small facility securing exercise. It's been some time since we last did one. Lead the way, Vladimir."

(OOC: I was wondering, do you have a special secret unit like the Bodark Spetznaz from Ghost Recon Future Soldier?
http://ghostrecon.wikia.com/wiki/Bodark
If so, I was wondering if at one point they could be introduced to the Alpha Squadrons?

[Belshekistan]

Yeltsini takes the sunglasses from Pavel and puts them on.
"Whoa. Impressive." He says, as he watches the alpha squad disappear.
"Alright, let me make a call." He says taking out his cell phone.
"Hello? Yes, this is Yeltsini. Just so you know, several heavily armed and invisible commandos are about to storm the museum. I'd stay in your office if I were you." click.
"That was the curator of the museum." Yeltsini explains to Anax and his crew. "I thought he might like advance warning that we're about to storm his place of work. The museum is closed today, so visitors won't be a problem."
Yeltsini turns on his heel and barks an order to the convoy. A moment later, the ramps on the BTRs drop and 8 men dressed in coalgray fatigues, armor vests and helmets bearing the insignia of the Joint Special Forces Command stream out of each. (OOC: this is not the secret force you were referring to in your last post. We have one, but you will meet them later.)
"Alright, boys. Were gonna storm the museum. You all know the drill well enough. Team one through the back door, team two through the side. I'll go in the front with the Scarlets. Ivan, toss me my rifle."
The young russian who had been observing events from the driver's hatch of the XM-50 now ducks back into the tank and returns with an AK-24 fitted with a folding stock similar to the one on a sig 552. The whole rifle is immaculately clean, and the ivory grips shine bright in the sunlight. He tosses the rifle to Vladimir, who catches it daftly.
"This rifle was custom-made for me when I became leader. I always prefered folding stocks to telescoping. Alright then, we have a building to storm. Let's GO, people!"
The teams rush to their positions, and on Vladimir's go-ahead, rush through their entrance points. A quick flurry of excitement is followed by the soldier's echoing calls of "Clear! Clear! Clear!". As expected, the building holds no threat.
Yeltsini gathers his forces, then slings his rifle over his shoulder and turns to the alpha squad.
"As you can see, there's a T-90 in the middle of what would be the worship hall. Her name is Mariya, and she's my old tank. This is what I rode into Moscow on in the old days of the revolution. After the war, she was moved here and is now the centerpiece of the revolution museum. We have a lot of old revolutionary uniforms and equipment here. Take your time, have a look around. After we're done here, we'll go to the old army headquarters.

Belshekistan Revolutionary Army uniform

Belshekistan Revolutionary Air Force uniform

Belshekistan Revolutionary Marine Corps uniform

Belshekistan Revolutionary Navy uniform

Artillery piece used in the siege of moscow

Vladimir's T-90 (In-universe this would occupy the center of the chapel hall)

One of the APCs that revolutionary soldiers rode into moscow on

Various weapons used by revolutionary troops

(OOC: we do have a secret special force. They are the Amphibious Special Purpose Troops, composed of marines and navy frogmen. I had planned to have them meet your Alpha squads during a demonstration of belshek military technology after the parade.)

[The Scarlet Eagle]

Anna, Anax, Pavel, Alicia and their companions, take a quick look at Yeltsini's rifle behind their visors, then proceed to follow him to the front doors of the cathedral.
"Nice rifle, comments the Emperor on the way. A folding stock was also one of the modifications that I asked your armorers to put on the AK I purchased back at the base. It will be a good weapon for Close Quarters Combat."
As they reach the front entrance, Anaximander's Alphas line themselves on the left side of the door, while Anna and her Squadron do the same on the right.
"All right Vlad, announces the Empress, open up!
Vladimir then proceeds to push the front doors with Anax's help, and the Scarlet Rangers quickly invest the building, with the Emperor's Squadron taking the right side of the chapel hall, while the Empress's take the left side. Some of their Guards even use their Magnetic Gloves to climb on the pillars and secure the center by pointing down with their MR 93 Revolvers.
As Anax, followed by Pavel and his Alpha 1 Squad investigates a side corridor, he hears some noise in an office that reads: "Curator"
He makes a small nod towards Pavel, and as one, the 7 Scarlet Eagleans put their rifles away and switch to their MR 93 Revolvers, then Pavel opens the door and enters the office, weapon in hand, followed by Anax. Inside, they see a man sitting at an old desk, with old wooden furniture surrounding him. As they deactivate their optical camouflage and appear before him, the man in his early fifties (OOC: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm only guessing his age), stands back from his office, a little nervous from seeing 2 heavily armed and very tall men, armed to the teeth and with face-covering helmets.
"Don't worry Tovarich, says Pavel in a calming voice in Russian, we are only checking the museum. Nice job you do to keep this place running.
-We'll leave you to your work, adds Anaximander. All right Alphas, let's regroup at the main hall.
And with that, the 2 friends leave the curator office, and return to the chapel hall, where they meet the rest of their group.
"This is a nice place Vlad, says Anax as he approaches him and Anna while his visor rises, revealing his face. We stumbled on the curator in his office. You were right to tell him to stay in his office. What happened on your side, Hon? he asks as he turns to his wife.
-Everything is clear, we checked the upper parts of the hall, nothing to say, answers the Empress as her visor rises too. The Joint Special Forces Command soldiers did their jobs. I have to say that these guys know their job. You did a fine job training them, Vladimir."
As General Yeltsini introduces his old T 90, Ppavel approaches it and starts talking while imitating Gollum from the Lord of the Rings:
"Yes, this is the precious T90,the precious, the glorious Mariya who conquered this country!
-Pavel, stop joking around! calls Alicia, while the Alphas and the Imperial couple laugh at their friends antics.
- All right guys and girls, let's enjoy our tile here while there aren't any visitors, announces the Empress.
And so, the Alphas scatter in the museum, examining the different uniforms, weapons, APCs.
Manwhile, Anax and Anna take a walk with Vladimir, follwed by Pavel, Alicia, and some of the JSFC soldiers.
"Well, this has been a great introduction to your country so far Vladimir, says the Emperor, and we thank you for that. But I was wondering if maybe later, we could sit and talk a bit about some facts about us and our countries, if you don't mind. (OOC: this would allow me to better understand the situation with the revolution, how the country came to be, what happened since WWII, etc). Bbecause there are some details that we confound, and we would like to clarify them.
-About Moscow, continues the Empress, once everything here will be over, wil you allow us to go there and explore it's metro system? As you probably know, me and Anax have known the rest of the Alphas sinc we were kids, and when we were younger, we all read and enjoyed the Metro 2033 Series by Dmitry Glukhovski. The irony is, when the video games were later developed, the studio came and asked us our permission to use us as models for the Last Light episode, because they knew we were fans of the series. That's why in this game, Artyom's partner is named Anna, and she's a sniper, just like me.
-And that's also why the Red Line commander is named after me, says Pavel. i would have liked to provide the voice for the character, but they already had a voice actor.
-Whatwe're trying to say here, Vlad, is that we would like to explore the Metro just like in the books and games we read and played some years ago. We even brought special outfits ressembling the Sparta Rangers to play the part. So, what do you say? finishes the Emperor with a smile.

[Belshekistan]

Vladimir sits and listens to Anax, Anna, and Pavel. After considering for several seconds, he speaks.
"I'd be glad to talk over the history of Belshekistan with you. I thought after touring the old army headquarters, we would go get something to eat. There's a small restaurant I frequent just down the road from the old HQ that has the best pelmeni in the whole of existence. We can talk there.
As for exploring the moscow metro, the entire rail system was abandoned some years ago and a new one built underneath it. I'll have to make sure it's still stable and won't collapse on us, but if it is, that's fine by me. The moscow police have a special unit called the rail police, devoted to busting the various crime gangs that pop up in the old metro from time to time. Their officers are damned good at spotting structural faults, so we'll have a few of them accompany us. For now, let's move over to the old HQ."
The convoy approaches a large stone fortress on an island.
"This is Peter and Paul fortress, more commonly known these days as the old HQ."

"It was the original citadel of this city, from 1740 to 1917. After the First Revolution, it was used as a prison and execution grounds by the bolshevik government (OOC: the First Revolution refers to Vladimir Lenin's October revolution). After the fall of the Soviet Union, it was turned into a museum by the new democratic government. It was seized by revolutionary soldiers in the early days of the Second Revolution and used as army headquarters. The military retains control of the structure, and it now serves as a secondary administrative center and a readiness center for belshekistan's citizen-soldiers, the red guard. So, let's go inside and meet some of the people who work here.

Various pictures of the fortress.

As the party walks out onto the parade ground, an announcement comes over the loudspeaker:
"All commanders, have your men on the parade ground in 15 minutes. Surprise inspection. Artillery units should be in historical uniforms with guns prepared for inspection as well. 15 minutes."
Vladimir turns to the Scarlets.
"In Belshekistan, when we say surprise inspection, we mean it. They usually only get ten minutes. We have 2 units on base here, the 5th battalion of the 1st red guard and the 109th artillery battalion. They're a historical battalion, meaning the wear the uniforms and carry the equipment that artillerymen based here in the 1700s would have."

Uniform of the 109th artillery on a maniquinn

Uniform of the red guards

After inspecting the troops, Vladimir gives rapid instructions to the commander of the 109th artillery battalion, who sends 3 of his men running back to the barracks.
"They're going to perform a 21 gun salute with their historical cannons."
The three soldier run back carrying bags of black powder, which they distribute to the loaders and gunners of each gun.
"Ready the cannons!"
At this command, the loaders place a black powder cartridge in each cannon, ram it down, and insert a short fuse into the breach.
"Light!"
The gunners each light an artillery match, a long match designed to work even if exposed to rain.
"Fire!"
The gunners light their fuses and turn away. A second later, the parade ground explodes into a thunderous roar as the black powder in the cannons explodes. The commanders of the two units walk out to meet Vladimir and the Scarlets.
"Good show, comrade Vasiliev. You as well, comrade Mikhailov."
'Thank you, comrade Yeltsini."
"These are the foreign dignitaries from the Scarlet Eagle. Emperor Anaximander, Empress Anna, and their alpha squads, plus Vasili and his staff from the embassy."
"A pleasure to meet you."
Vladimir turns to the Scarlets.
"Feel free to wander around for a bit. Once you are ready, we'll go get some lunch."

[The Scarlet Eagle]

Anna, Anaximader and their friends listen to Vassili, then the Empress speaks:
" It's been a long time since we've last eaten pelmenis. I'm looking forward to get to that restaurant.
- About the Metro, I wonder if you rebuilt all the stations from scratch, or if you used former stations as starting points. But I think we shall see that in due time."
As the three country leaders chat among themselves, Pavel turns towards the group scattered inside the cathedral, and shouts:
"Guys! We'll be going to Moscow once we're done here! We will go on a bandit hunt in the Metro!
-SPARTA, TO BATTLE! shouts Anax while throwing his fist in the air
- SPARTA!!! replies the whole Alpha Squadron.
After that, the Scarlet Eagleans, including Vassili and his family, spend some more time in the museum, taking pictures, then get out of the building and get back to their vehicles and tanks At this point, Anaximander, Anna and their friends have taken off their helmets and have put their berets back on their heads.
"Ok Vlad, lead the way! says Anax to Yeltsini as the separate before going to their respective tanks. We'll be on the radio if you want to comment the rest of the tour. All right guys, next stop: the old army headquarters! he announces in his throat microphone to his troops, who reply with "Roger" or "Wilco"
"What music should we put on? asks Pavel from the driver's seat
-Hhow about Katyusha? It's een a long time since we heard this song! proposes Anax while sitting in the commander's seat.
-Good idea, finishes Anna as she takes the gunner's place.
And so, the group of 9 E740, followed by the motorcade of the Scarlet Eaglean Embassy, follows Yeltsini's Tank and starts heading towards Peter and Paul fortress. Meanwhile, the built-in loudspeakers on the E740's turrets start playing the famous traditional Russian song:
"Rastsvetali iabloni i grushi, Poplyli tumany nad rekoj. Vykhodila na bereg Katyusha, Na vysokij bereg na krutoj..."

Later
As the group of vehicles approaches the old army headquarters and Yeltsini's gives info on the building by radio, the convoy enters the fortress, although it's a tight fi for the E740s to pass underneath the main gate.
"This fortress is impressive, says the Emperor as he opens his tank hatch. But before we proceed with the visit Vlad, let us change into more comfortable clothes."

A few minutes later
The tank hatches open, and the Scarlet Eagleans step out in their "Casual Unifoms" as they call them. The uniform is composed of: a pair of knee-high steel-toed combat boots (OOC: similar to the ones in Fallout New Vegas), a pair of black jeans tucked in the boots, a black shirt with a scarlet tie, a bulletproof vest with the Scarlet Ranger patch oer the left breast, and a Leather jacket with a Scarlet Ranger symbol on the back. With that, Anax, Anna and their group carry their usual weapons (cf higher in the thread), with their
MR 93 Revolver in a thigh holster, and their USP 45 or M1911 in a shoulder holster. They also have their exosuits, and they carry a bagpack each. And don't forget the black beret and the hud shades
"All right Vlad, , lead the way for the inspection, says Anna.
-In our Empire, when we do a surprise inspection, we also mean it, adds Anaximander with a smile. However, the 10 mintes time is only for the Imperial Guard, we allow 15 minutes for the regular Armed forces.
As the Belsheks soldiers get out of the different buildings inside the fortress and start to gather on the parade grounds, Artyom Borodin is in awe.

As the Scarlet Eaglean party follows Vladimir as he reviews his soldiers, Lt Clnl Yuri Pavlov, leader of Anax's Alpha 2 Squad, stops in front of a red Guard and says: "Cheeki Breeki". When the Guard does not answer, "you're good, continue like this, says Yuri with a smile and a slap on the shoulder before continuing.
-Yuri, whispers Philip Smetov to his friend, I know that you like those old russian memes that went viral a few years ago, but do you think General Yeltsini is going to like it if you interact with his soldiers only with those old clichés?
-Well the only way to know his opinion on the matter is to ask him. I'll talk to him after the inspection.
-All right Gys and Girls, announces with Pavel with a loud voice. The inspection is complete. The 109th is going to perform a 21 gun salute with their black powder cannons, so get in company formation on the double!
-Sir Yes Sir! shouts the Alpha Squadron in response.
-Good, now move! adds Alicia for emphasis.

After the gun salute is complete, Yelsini introduces the Scarlet Eaglean party to the two battalion commanders.
"Dobridin Tovarichi Mikhailov and Vassiliev, says Anax as he salutes ans shaekes hand with them, along with Anna, Pavel, Alicia, and Vassili. let me tell you that it was a very impressive demonstration. You know how to lead your men to the top of their abilities.
-It was super cool! exclaims Artyom Borodin with enthusiasm. Do you think we could come visit one day and see what they do, Dad?
-I'm sure we can arrange something, son, answers Vassili with a smile.
-He's a cute kid, adds Anna as she lightly pinches Artyom's left cheek.
-Anyway, let's spend some time here, and then we'll go have lunch, announces Pavel. Vassiliev, Mikhailov, would you care to join us?
And so, the party scatters on the parade grounds. Anaximander and Anna talk some more with the Belsheks commanders, Artyom Borodin leads his mom and dad to talk to some soldiers from the 109th and see their cannons, and Yuri approaches Yeltsini.
"General, I would like to ask yu a question about something I've been thinking about lately. It may seem stupid to you, so you don't have to answer it if you don't want to. As you may know, several years ago, when me and the other Alphas were just kids, a lot of russian memes went viral on the Internet. I was wondering what do you think of these?

(OOC: sorry for the long response time, I had some College exams this week )

[Belshekistan]

Yeltsini lets out a long, bearish laugh, then says "Yes, I am aware of the memes about this land that made it to the west several years back. Most of them, I believe, were a product of the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and are also not entirely untrue. After the revolution, stalker became suddenly and inexplicably popular across Belshekistan, and many thought 'Hey, why not try this in real life?' And so many of them did, and were rather disappointed that the vast amounts of bolts they'd taken with them were useless, there are no anomalies. The main danger is other stalkers, the closest thing to a mutant is a mutated animal, and they aren't usually hostile. Still, there's a stalker faction devoted entirely to wiping out the mutated animals, which they see as unnatural. They call themselves the Naturalists faction. We have a military garrison there to keep the bandit faction under control, and they call themselves the Duty faction, after the quasi military stalker faction from call of pripyat."

Later, at the Russian Bear restaurant

Yeltsini opens the door to the restaurant, which is relatively empty with only a few patron enjoying chebureks or bowls of solyanka with garlic bread.
"Dimitri?"
A tall, barrel-chested man with a beard to rival Marx pokes his head out of the kitchen door.
"Vladimir Vasilievich! How are you?"
"I am well, Dimitri Arkadyevich."
"What will it be this time, Vovochka? (vovochka is a diminutive form of vladimir in the russian language) The usual?"
"Yes, and a few of your Belshek sample platters for these foreign delegates here."
"A literal few or a Russian few?"
"A Russian few."
"Alright. Anyone else?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Ivan Vasilevich and a squad of spec ops people. I will go ask what they want."
Vladimir steps out to the armor convoy, noticing that the APCs the spec ops was riding in are missing.
"Ivan!"
"Da"
"Where are the spec ops people?"
"They went for a bit of a joyride."
"What do you want for lunch?"
"Cheburek!"
"How many?"
"Just a few. I'm not too hungry today."
"Call the spec ops people and find out what they want. Also tell them not to take joyrides or they'll miss lunch."
"Da"
A few seconds pass
"They want plov."
Vladimir steps back in.
"Five chebureks for ivan and a large batch of plov for the spec ops people."
"Davai. Take the big table upstairs."
Vladimir, Ivan and the Scarlets go up the stairs to a huge, polished conference table.
"This table used to be in the government center. I had it moved here for occasions like this."
They sit down.
"So, you wanted a recount of the history of Belshekistan. Our story starts, as these things often do, with a peasant and an idea. In 2010 in the Russian federation, (I'm assuming the IC year is somewhere around 2025.) a man named Comrade Popovich organizes a communist rally in Moscow. He only ever identified himself by his family patronymic, to avoid being arrested I assume. His rally sparked rallies all over Russia, and eventually, armed uprising. The various revolutionary groups were eventually unified, and I found myself the commandant of the newly formed Belshekistan Revolutionary Marine Corps. It was a small corps, only about 10,000 men compared to the BPLA's 2 million, but I was proud to command it nonetheless. The marines won the first major engagement of the war, coming ashore in the western half of modern-day Lemongrad, which was then St. Petersburg. We stormed the city and established the new government there, which is why Lemongrad is the capitol today instead of Moscow.
After several years of war, Moscow came under siege. By this time we had a significant artillery element, and we began shelling the city day and night. After a week or so of shelling, we rode into Moscow on armored vehicles. The federal troops there mostly surrendered, and Russia was now completely in our hands. That happened in 2015, so from 2010 to 2015 Belshekistan was in a state of revolution. The new government was established with Comrade Popovich at its head, who was revealed to be Vadim Popovich Volokov, a revelation that surprised no one and everyone at the same time. Nobody had ever heard of him before, he was just a rural peasant. I think we all expected a disgraced government official or something. In 2016, Ukraine had a revolution, and joined our People's Federation. this happened in all the other countries that are a part of Belshekistan now from 2016 to 2020, so during that period, Belshekistan was in a state of expansion. After that, in 2021, Comrade Popovich died of cancer, and I somehow became the new leader. I guess my exploits in the battle for St. Petersburg sufficiently impressed him, and I was named his successor. I have been running the country ever since."
Several seconds of silence.
"Dimitri Arkadyevich, when will you learn? You can't sneak up on a marine."
Dimitri, who had been attempting to enter the room unnoticed, stands up and enters with a large tray of food.
"That won't stop me from trying, Vovochka. Here are the sample platters and pelmens. I will have Natasha bring up Ivan's chebureks. Your special forces people have elected to eat downstairs."
"Very well, just as long as they don't cause too much trouble. Cut sergeant Mikhailov off after 6 vodkas. After that he starts to loose control of his voice."
"Davai."
Dimitri sets down the platter, which is almost the size of a regular table. Arrayed on it are several types of food commonly eaten in Russia, including:
Pelmens, a boiled meat dumpling.
Chebureks, a large, deep-fried pelmen.
Solyanka, a soup made from tomatoes (Or tomato paste if you are western spy), potatoes, beef, ham, sausage, pickles, olives, onions, garlic, BAY LEAF, and pickle juice.
Plov, a dish made of mainly rice, with some beef and onions, boiled and steamed with garlic.
Borsch, the stereotypical Russian soup made mainly of beets.
Russian potato salad, made of potatoes, carrots, pickles, doctor's sausage, green onion and lots of mayonez.
Kompot, a drink made by boiling fruit and sugar in a pot.
And of course 2 bottles of Stolichnaya vodka and enough shot glasses for everyone at the table.
A young woman with dark hair, blue eyes, and a slim figure enters the room bearing a much smaller platter and approaches Ivan.
"Here are your chebureks."
"Oooh ho ho!" says Ivan. "Thank you, Natasha"
The girl turns away, blushing. As she leaves, Vladimir turns to Ivan.
"When are you ever going to get around to asking her number?"
"Don't rush me, Vladimir. Right now I have more important things that need attention."
"Like that plate of chebureks?"
"Exactly."
"You never change. Well, what are you all waiting for? Eat up."

(OOC: Again, sorry for the late response. Ended up being ever later than I thought blyat. I for any reason you still need more info on the nation's history, please don't hesitate to ask.)