The Black March Conflict (IC MT)

[Welzat]

Victor House

The two took the panting down with ease which was a relief for all in the old house. Next Crowls motioned them to a room, passing the fading, red, flowery, wallpaper that circled the strange mix of individuals and into the parlor. As they stepped in with a loud squeak of the floorboard announcing there arrival, Knoll quickly flicked the lamp on dimly lighting the room revealing his other comrades behind the doctor. The room was nearly barren besides the newly set up tables and the back door that was blocked by another one of his troops, if this was to be some sort of breakthrough in the conflict the setting was not a grand one, at least to the aristocratic society that knew nothing of the meeting. As what he assumed to be the talker sat down on the rigid basic chair, Cowls took his position behind the woman and her companion took his spot next to the large rebel.

For a second the room was silent before the woman spoke introducing herself and Knoll shook her hand with a firm grip. He listened to her nodding his head in affirmation and when she finished, Knoll cleared his throat and launched into his talk, "It is a pleasure to meet you too, Major Vantchev and Lieutenant Fox. I hope you did not mind the pant down, after all, I am a very wanted man by the Welzat government." He said letting off a slight chuckle before continuing, " I did hear about what happened at the police station in Armitage and truly it was a shame....I guess that is why I am willing to talk now with you Major. The horror committed by those thugs on the common Welzat man was an abomination, so I must tip my hat to you for ridding them from this country. I am curious, however, Major why are you so interested in our affairs? Welzat is such a small country and its not the government trying to make peace but you... how particular." He said with a curious tone and letting the woman respond to his brunt question.

Meanwhile, Cowls nodded with agreement with the Doctors question before a whisper caught his attention, it was the Lieutenant asking about his Uzi. Cowls thought the question was a bit odd but a smirked just for a second before returning to his stone clean shaved look.

" Mhmmm can't say. You been hanging with the gov. go ask them. They do leave these things pretty unprotected to get." He said back in a very quiet whisper and returned his brown eyes back at the doctor.

[Lauzanne]

Victor House

The two took the panting down with ease which was a relief for all in the old house. Next Crowls motioned them to a room, passing the fading, red, flowery, wallpaper that circled the strange mix of individuals and into the parlor. As they stepped in with a loud squeak of the floorboard announcing there arrival, Knoll quickly flicked the lamp on dimly lighting the room revealing his other comrades behind the doctor. The room was nearly barren besides the newly set up tables and the back door that was blocked by another one of his troops, if this was to be some sort of breakthrough in the conflict the setting was not a grand one, at least to the aristocratic society that knew nothing of the meeting. As what he assumed to be the talker sat down on the rigid basic chair, Cowls took his position behind the woman and her companion took his spot next to the large rebel.

For a second the room was silent before the woman spoke introducing herself and Knoll shook her hand with a firm grip. He listened to her nodding his head in affirmation and when she finished, Knoll cleared his throat and launched into his talk, "It is a pleasure to meet you too, Major Vantchev and Lieutenant Fox. I hope you did not mind the pant down, after all, I am a very wanted man by the Welzat government." He said letting off a slight chuckle before continuing, " I did hear about what happened at the police station in Armitage and truly it was a shame....I guess that is why I am willing to talk now with you Major. The horror committed by those thugs on the common Welzat man was an abomination, so I must tip my hat to you for ridding them from this country. I am curious, however, Major why are you so interested in our affairs? Welzat is such a small country and its not the government trying to make peace but you... how particular." He said with a curious tone and letting the woman respond to his brunt question.

Meanwhile, Cowls nodded with agreement with the Doctors question before a whisper caught his attention, it was the Lieutenant asking about his Uzi. Cowls thought the question was a bit odd but a smirked just for a second before returning to his stone clean shaved look.

" Mhmmm can't say. You been hanging with the gov. go ask them. They do leave these things pretty unprotected to get." He said back in a very quiet whisper and returned his brown eyes back at the doctor.

Nataliya examined Doctor Knoll speak, his mannerisms and body language. Nataliya noted that he was very passionate when talking, he was every bit the dedicated head of an insurgency. As he finished talking about the patting down, she spoke up.
"Of course not. You set the terms and we have nothing to hide."
Knoll talked about the police station, seeing the look of regret on his face was very telling. Receiving the question made her clasp her hands together.
"Why are we interested in your affairs? We ourselves are going through an insurgency, albeit ours behave a lot more like those police station types. Now, Lauzanne has remained rather shut off from the world until recently, but we have chosen to try and put our best foot forward, so to speak. We're pretty small, although not as small as Welzat. However, having learned of the particular... Peculiarities of the country, I knew that I would have to get creative in ending this insurgency. So, why not end it by achieving it's goals with the least bloodshed possible?"
She cleared her throat before continuing.
"The reason I came here instead of them is because they are inflexible, unwilling to listen to the masses, and outdated. But given that they like us and we have their ear, and there's a group with apparent flexibility on the other side to work with... A little leverage here, some good suggestions there..."
She brings her hands together in a soft clap
"And you're on your first steps towards proper democratisation. It won't be done like that, naturally. But I'm sure you of all people can understand what a huge step that is."

Sergei heard the man talk, before looking down at the weathered old SMG.
"I swear man, these guys walking around with fucking Lee-Enfields and Webleys like it's world war two, I wouldn't be surprised if that Uzi isn't from the 70's."
Sergei looked the man up and down
"I get the feelin you're ex-military yourself."

[Welzat]

Victor House

Knoll listened to Nataliya's responses back to him and he even chuckled when she mentioned how inflexible the government was in any affair that did not benefit that dreaded class above them all. "Oh, believe me, I know how the gov acts with everything. Why do you think we are here now in an abandoned house talking about peace? I wish I was back in the classroom teaching the youth to better this land, but alas, we all have to make a stand even if we can never go back to our comfort... wouldn't you agree, Major?
He paused for a second and continued his hands laying softly on the table.

"Even if they like you all what makes you think the government isn't going to just kick you out because you spoke the quote on quote enemy? I mean... this can go very differently for you all. Though I must admit this conflict has been brutal in my eyes, the death of anyone is one that fills me with dreadful sorrow, especially the poor working class of this country who are paying the most for it.... " He paused for a minute staring into the flame of the lantern in front him, thinking of the next words to say. His lips seemed to treble with speaking such a taboo sentence that was forming in his mind before finally, he ravaged it out of his throat.

"You know Major... I will tell you what... lets cut to the chase...I could consider some sort of peace if you could somehow convince the government to allow some sort of democratic voting. This nation in its long painful history has never had such a thing. Hell, voting for a few members of that council would be pleasing. I just cannot in good conscious continue a long drawn out conflict that would only pressure the government to act in radical ways killing more of the good working class. What do you think?" He said in a modest voice now as the room became eeirly quiet with silent gasps from his guards on such words.

Meanwhile Sergei before this odd breakthrough was still talking to the cold Cowls.

" Yeah we all are using absolute shit... fifty years behind human rights but fifty years ahead in the newest useless gadgets." He said in a scroff voice before pausing at his second question.

"Yeah ex something alright..." He smirked at the thought of his old days of being a pawn for the Principality.

[Lauzanne]

Nataliya listen to him talk, nodding in response to his line of conversation.
"Just Nataliya is fine, Doctor. And yes, I would agree. A lot of Lauzannean people can understand, seeing as we had a civil war not 40 years ago. A very... Messy affair..."

She continued to examine him speak, the pause and his hesitation making Nataliya realise she was close to a breakthrough. Things seemed to be going well, Knoll was far more agreeable than her initial assessment suggested. In fact, the idea that he was suggesting such things was nothing short of excellent. Nataliya knew that to try and steer a group a certain way, they had to have that idea already or something close to it, and already a plan was forming in her mind... And being asked about what she thought made her relax a bit, clasping her hands together.

"The government does like us, and I'm sure they would be displeased if they did learn about it, but there's approximately fuck and all they can do about it, pardon my French." She started, throwing some accent into the end of the sentence.
"We may be a small country. But we're certainly bigger than Welzat, and we can offer them things that they can't exactly pass up, but if they do decide to shoot us, they would be in pretty deep trouble... But, if this conversation never happened and the WAF released demands about allowing council seats to be democratically voted for... Perhaps a certain third party could urge the Welzat government to negotiate the demands, bring about peace in a relatively bloodless manner. Of course, that does lead the question about reprisal arrests, but if negotiations for that fall though, a university in some other country and some other places could end up with a few extra people there. With clean records, naturally."

"However, since your council consists of five, aim for three to be democratically elected. It will likely be negotiated down to two, which while it isn't the majority of power or even a 'proper' democracy, it's certainly a start..." Nataliya separated her hands, before placing them back on the table.
"Of course, I'm not sure all the members of your particular group would be happy about this, but that's okay. If you want, I can have the good Lieutenant here have a team to provide protection, while myself, the man 'supposed' to be in charge of things and my fellow agent ensure things go smoothly on the government's end." Sergei nodded when his name was mentioned.

Sergei listened to the man, nodding with his frustrations.
"From what I've seen, you're about the same distance behind in armaments. You know, I'd never actually seen a Lee-Enfield used in combat until I came here?" Sergei added, before looking him up and down.
"Either special forces or secret police then, I'd imagine. Would be a tough gig for this kind of place.

[Welzat]

Nataliya listen to him talk, nodding in response to his line of conversation.
"Just Nataliya is fine, Doctor. And yes, I would agree. A lot of Lauzannean people can understand, seeing as we had a civil war not 40 years ago. A very... Messy affair..."

She continued to examine him speak, the pause and his hesitation making Nataliya realise she was close to a breakthrough. Things seemed to be going well, Knoll was far more agreeable than her initial assessment suggested. In fact, the idea that he was suggesting such things was nothing short of excellent. Nataliya knew that to try and steer a group a certain way, they had to have that idea already or something close to it, and already a plan was forming in her mind... And being asked about what she thought made her relax a bit, clasping her hands together.

"The government does like us, and I'm sure they would be displeased if they did learn about it, but there's approximately fuck and all they can do about it, pardon my French." She started, throwing some accent into the end of the sentence.
"We may be a small country. But we're certainly bigger than Welzat, and we can offer them things that they can't exactly pass up, but if they do decide to shoot us, they would be in pretty deep trouble... But, if this conversation never happened and the WAF released demands about allowing council seats to be democratically voted for... Perhaps a certain third party could urge the Welzat government to negotiate the demands, bring about peace in a relatively bloodless manner. Of course, that does lead the question about reprisal arrests, but if negotiations for that fall though, a university in some other country and some other places could end up with a few extra people there. With clean records, naturally."

"However, since your council consists of five, aim for three to be democratically elected. It will likely be negotiated down to two, which while it isn't the majority of power or even a 'proper' democracy, it's certainly a start..." Nataliya separated her hands, before placing them back on the table.
"Of course, I'm not sure all the members of your particular group would be happy about this, but that's okay. If you want, I can have the good Lieutenant here have a team to provide protection, while myself, the man 'supposed' to be in charge of things and my fellow agent ensure things go smoothly on the government's end." Sergei nodded when his name was mentioned.

Sergei listened to the man, nodding with his frustrations.
"From what I've seen, you're about the same distance behind in armaments. You know, I'd never actually seen a Lee-Enfield used in combat until I came here?" Sergei added, before looking him up and down.
"Either special forces or secret police then, I'd imagine. Would be a tough gig for this kind of place.

Knoll listened back now with an easing tone to the room as Knoll was genuinely impressed with the woman in front of her. She seemed true to her words with bringing peace to the country and not fiddling with its affairs. This all was risky but what was the point of carrying this on if bloodshed could be avoided. While the government was unreasonable they weren’t beyond coming to terms. After all, the faster the country went back to some status of normalcy the class above could enjoy their lavish lifestyle, even if that meant giving up some scapes of power. This was enough for the doctor in coming to terms.

“Yes, it would probably be best to keep our conversation away from them. Us coming to them with some sort of negotiation will feed their insufferable egos of a grand victory. Ha I’m sure you have heard the word grand constantly while with them... it’s such an odd thing they do. But well guess we all are a bit odd in this country.” He said smirking just a little bit while adjusting his glasses before continuing.

“As for reprisals it’s all but certain. If some of my followers may leave safely I can see this going better with the fighters however, you also bring up another good point. While most of my WAF are faithful to my word we do have a minority who have fallen to... let us say extreme measures of prejudice. I cannot say what they would do at this news but it’s a risk I have to take.” He said exhaling loudly and with a more confident calm tone said, “ Well, Ma- Mrs. Nataliya how should we start the end of our little war? Let us not waste time.”

Meanwhile, Crowls nodded in approval of the Doctors reasonings, while he despised the government he rather go back to it then let the country fall to some extremity that the occasional WAF member had spoken on dark nights in whispers. As he listened he was again spoken to by the man next to him. “Mhmm none of the above. Just a mere grunt for the rats above us all here.” He grumbled back.

[Lauzanne]

Knoll listened back now with an easing tone to the room as Knoll was genuinely impressed with the woman in front of her. She seemed true to her words with bringing peace to the country and not fiddling with its affairs. This all was risky but what was the point of carrying this on if bloodshed could be avoided. While the government was unreasonable they weren’t beyond coming to terms. After all, the faster the country went back to some status of normalcy the class above could enjoy their lavish lifestyle, even if that meant giving up some scapes of power. This was enough for the doctor in coming to terms.

“Yes, it would probably be best to keep our conversation away from them. Us coming to them with some sort of negotiation will feed their insufferable egos of a grand victory. Ha I’m sure you have heard the word grand constantly while with them... it’s such an odd thing they do. But well guess we all are a bit odd in this country.” He said smirking just a little bit while adjusting his glasses before continuing.

“As for reprisals it’s all but certain. If some of my followers may leave safely I can see this going better with the fighters however, you also bring up another good point. While most of my WAF are faithful to my word we do have a minority who have fallen to... let us say extreme measures of prejudice. I cannot say what they would do at this news but it’s a risk I have to take.” He said exhaling loudly and with a more confident calm tone said, “ Well, Ma- Mrs. Nataliya how should we start the end of our little war? Let us not waste time.”

Meanwhile, Crowls nodded in approval of the Doctors reasonings, while he despised the government he rather go back to it then let the country fall to some extremity that the occasional WAF member had spoken on dark nights in whispers. As he listened he was again spoken to by the man next to him. “Mhmm none of the above. Just a mere grunt for the rats above us all here.” He grumbled back.

Nataliya shrugged her shoulders.
"Here and there, although it makes sense given how old the country is. Remember, Lauzanne as an independent legal entity is only roughly 70 years old. And yes, everyone is a bit odd, you should see some of the soldiers I work with."

She nodded while listening to him talk, considering the reprisals and the splinter factions. They were solid and well-founded concerns, especially given what had happened to the group and it's... 'Friends'.
"Of course, I can arrange for you to come to Lauzanne should the need arise, which it likely will have to. As for the splinter group, that's why I'd suggest I send some men to ensure you're protected. As for how this should end..."

She put her hands down on the table, looking at all the WAF soldiers around her before settling back on Knoll, the piercing gaze of her green eyes a standout feature of hers.
"It's simple, to my knowledge you haven't released demands, so your demands can be for the democratisation of the Council. Pick more seats than you plan to get, we can ensure it will happen. Seeing as we have the ear of the government, we can ensure that things go relatively smoothly. While this happens, you have some of my men to protect you from renegade WAF soldiers. Of course, we can sweeten the deal with the government too... But that's for an ambassador."

Sergei listened to Cowls' reply, nodding.
"Nothing wrong with being a grunt. Always comes down to the infantryman and his rifle, after all."

[Welzat]

Victor House

The night seemed to get darker somehow, as the late hours just crawled along with the top of the hour coming and a new day for Welzat was on the horizon. Again, Knoll listened to the woman with nodding approval and made some mental notes on the character before him, she was intelligent and was shockingly reasonable with everything, the old doctor was so used to dealing with extremists that this was a breath of fresh air in the old muggy room.

As she finished, Knoll went silent for a second to gather his words and then spoke with sincerity, " Yes, I do suppose I will need some sort of protection from both the government and my supposed loyal fighters.... well I suppose I need to start working on this end of the conflict and I think you need to be talking to those royalists." He paused for a second more and continued, " I guess, unless there is something you would like to add, this little talk is over. We have a lot of work to for the coming day before more blood is shed.....oh and.... thank you." He said in a quiet tone to the Major.

[Lauzanne]

"I don't have anything else to add, but I'll send a team of my men around here tomorrow to protect you from reprisal attacks. Once the demands are out, we'll 'help' the government sort things out. And you're welcome, Doctor." Nataliya stood up shaking the doctor's hand as Sergei respectfully nodded to Crows.
"See you around, buddy." He said, before the pair left.

"I think that went pretty damn well." Sergei said, his voice echoing in the dark halls of the house.
"It did go well. You'll be seeing your buddy tomorrow." Nataliya stated, causing Sergei to smile a bit.
"Keeping me busy as always." He replied, as they opened the door to exit into the cold night, heading towards the car.
"We'll be briefing everyone. Need everyone on the same page."
"Anything else you'd like?"
"Make sure Knoll makes it out. If he's gone, negotiations will go to shit."
"Yes ma'am."

The pair entered into the car, Sergei now in the driver seat and Nataliya in the passenger side. The car slipped off into the night, quiet and smooth as it headed back to Armitage.

---

In a secluded part of the barracks they were staying at, eleven operators and an agent listened to their recently-returned comrades.
"So as all of you know, we're at a crossroads in the history of this country. On one end is chaos, collapse and civil war. On the other is crackdown, a monarchist tightening his grip, and authoritarianism. But we're on the way to steering them to a third option. Peace, democracy, stability." Nataliya started, Sergei to her left.
"But after a conversation with the head of the Anarchist Front, we have reached an accord, and the plan is set to democratise the country somewhat. However, this depends on several things, and it is important we're all on the same page here." Nataliya concluded, looking to Sergei.
"Tomorrow the WAF is going to release a list of demands, negotiation with the government and democratisation of the country. BM and Substance here are going to ensure the negotiations go through, and something comes of it." Sergei added.
"In addition, there is a high chance some of the WAF fighters are far more ideologically extreme than the ones that are considered 'mainline'. So, Velichkov, Martin, your teams are with me. Boss, we're leaving you here just in case." Sergei explained, Angelov nodding.
"And we're going to convince them to negotiate? Why would they agree to it?"
"Simple, they're sweating and want the people to not molotov their stuff, and negotiation to have some voting where they can put their own puppets in and maintain the status quo instead? Why wouldn't they take it."
"And to prevent this from being a change to the face rather than actual change?" Angelov asked, to which Nataliya smiled.
"A woman has to keep her secrets. But you, me and Substance will ensure it happens, and I can fill you in when we get there."
Martin was next to raise his hand.
"How exactly are we going to explain us leaving?"
"The reconnaissance and sniper teams being gone can easily be explained in trying to scope out WAF positions and such. Both teams have good reason to go on a mission like that."
"We'll take some civilian cars, so take the 14 and the 338. Velichkov, we're taking just the AS-14's and FZ-8's."
"Sounds doable. the 14 might be overkill, but can't hurt to take it..."
"Good. Any further questions?"

The room was silent.

"Good, we're moving out tomorrow, so get some rest. We're making history, so let's put on a good show."

[Welzat]

Just like that, the meeting was over and once again silence fell over the group until the two were out of the house. Knoll adjusted himself, his aging tired face was ghostly in the dim light of the single lantern as Cowls spoke up. " Well, that was an eventful hour or so Doctor. While am I glad there is some light at the end of this conflict... I think we must still be cautious. After all, what if they rat us out and end it violently here, not to mention some of those commies who are bound to still want blood. I know a guy here... we can stay at his barn for the night and see what happens." He said approaching the lantern and turning it off. " Besides Doctor, I know you its time to get some rest before making a demand." He finished looking at Knoll's eyes in the new dark that consumed the room.

" I...I...suppose you are right. Who is this guy anyway?" Knoll said back while taking off his glasses to rub a dust particle off.

" Oh an old pal of mine, John Cavns, You might remember him from your classes back at AU."

" John Cavns... John Cavns... Oh! That man slept through my classes like clockwork and still somehow passed my tests! Now how do you know that slack off." Knoll said in a joking matter. The usual tense man was now in a relaxed yet tired state. Cowls was his right-hand man for a reason and one of the few who could bring the doctor to a state of normalcy and not the leader of a rebel group.

"Well we got a walk to go. I will tell you on the way Doctor but let me just say it started with my old betting days on those damn horses I told you about the other week."

---

Armitage


Shiloh, Armitage Home of Lord Ezra Heron

The sun had risen on another day of the conflict and like a machine Lord Ezra was up at sunrise already in his parlour going over reports. The last week had been unusually quiet with few reports of WAF activity, that was until today. The foremost report was of a rogue sniper in the woods near Flaust Hill who injured a patrol man overnight. Lord Ezra had already ordered some more patrols in the area but he knew whoever was shooting would be long gone by the time further reinforments arrived. The whole conflict was starting to be a troubling affair for Lord Ezra who was pressured by the Prince to strike hard against the WAF but how could one do that with zero leads? Not to mention, the strange sense of excitement about the insurgnecy over the nation was slowly fading into frustration about the curfews, the elites, and finally more and more commoners were thinking of that dreaded democracy. The Lord knew it was just a matter of time before riots broke out and the situation would worsen forcing the iron hand on all those who opposed. However, Ezra even with his unmistakable nobility surrounding him was not ignorant to the fact the common man kept this nation going and losing support would spell the end of Welzat.

It seemed to be a gloom situation but in the current frame of Lord Heron in the parlor, all seemed to be quaint with the birds chirping outside and a cup of black coffee on an exotic wood table. If one took a picture of the scene it would show no signs of the man deep in debating within himself on the next move for the surivial of his homeland. Just as he took the last sip from his tea cup a flurry of messages came to him and then a solider came into his parlor with a face of pure surprise.

" My Righteous and Honorable Lord Heron, you might want to read this if you haven't!" The soldier said saluting and handing a sheet of paper to the confused Lord who promptly took the item. He studied the paper with a mix of emotions as he read over it, his mouth dropping in a rare show of weak emotion and after what seemed like a hour of staring at the paper he spoke, " BY GOD HIMSELF! Send word to the Prince to contact me immediately and get those Lauzanne boys in here now! What do they mean peace!" He said in a tone truly mixed in emotions.

[Lauzanne]

Angelov headed the two-car convoy towards the Shiloh house, Nataliya, Substance and Stefanov accompanying him. In the other car was Drago, Crnčević, Kozłowski and Górski.
"I sure wonder why we're called in..." Stefanov asked out of the blue.
"Sounds like it could be serious, maybe they found the WAF negotiating for peace?" Substance suggested, before all of them smirked to different degrees.
The final drive in lead to the group becoming focused. It was time to get to business.

After pulling up, the team left the vehicle in full gear, striding up to the house with Blue Monday and Substance leading the way into the house. The pair and Angelov entered in, the rest of the team standing guard in a relaxed state as they would await trouble.

Blue Monday led the entrance into Ezra's room, the two agents sitting down followed by Angelov.
"What's the situation, Commander?" Nataliya asked, placing her hands onto the table.

---

At the same time, Fox pulled into Victor house with a civilian Land Rover behind him. They had armaments aplenty and enough ammunition to be able so sustain a guerrilla campaign against even Welzat if they had to.
"Nice place, is it for sale?" Velichkov asked, admiring the ancient mansion. Such structures were beyond rarity in Lauzanne, after all.
"Probably, but you want to live here?"
"Suppose you can't move the house over back home."
"Nope."
"Worth a shot."
As they pulled to a stop, the six of them dismounted also in full gear. Sergey waved to where he believed the WAF fighters were, hoping to get their attention.
"As promised, here we are!"

[Welzat]

Shiloh

Lord Heron greeted his Lauzanne allies with hast and in an unusual matter did not sit back down on his luxurious velvet chair, instead, he handed Nataliya a piece of paper and motioned his guards to close the door with a mighty thud. On the paper was a transcript of message which read the following:

Code: Select all

TO: PRINCE LEDGER EBERHAND & LORD EZRA HERON
FROM: DR. K WAF

Greetings, respective leaders of the Welzat government and military forces. As we all know this conflict has been a most displeasing affair with torn families and carnage already in its wake. We WAF would be hypocrites to say we want more of this terrible matter, and as more are sent to the great beyond, we realize that in our homeland talks have has always been the way to greatness. From Prince Welza to Prince Dunwich the art of speaking has been crucial in keeping the nation together in the most troubling times. Now it is time for you, Prince Eberhand, to continue the great legacy of our leaders and push forward with progress. We WAF, simply want progress, in our new modern age an absolute monarchy simply cannot function with people who yearn for some rights. This is the reason we have taken arms, the time of the aristocrats ruling us with an absolute just cannot function anymore, however, we are not without reason. We are not thugs who want to further cut the country and instead we dare say we are patriots who see much more in our homeland. A land where the people have some say in the inner workings of the government. Prince Eberhand, you know- we all- want peace and I can guarantee that peace can come if a few simple requests are met. I know you are a smart man truly, one does not become Prince with low wits, as such please seriously look into our requests. If they are met all hostiles will be over without another word. If you come to terms please message back and let us unite and strengthen grand Welzat.

[align=Center]TERMS TO LAY DOWN ARMS[/align]
1. Three members of the council of five to be democratically voted in by the people over the age of 18. These elections should be set up within a year of agreement with candidates allowed to campaign freely of their position and beliefs.
2. The right to democratically vote on local town positions such as mayors and sheriff within two years of the agreement.
3. The end of nepotism in government positions by opening jobs to the public and picking fairly.
4. The elimination of purchasing commissions in the armed forces within two years of the agreement.   

As you can see our requests are extremely reasonable and I do hope we all can unite again. This is all we ask and you have our word that the conflict will be over without another word. Thank you.

Dr. K 

The commander waited for a few minutes before speaking in an excited whisper.

" Those ruffians have finally cracked! They are asking for some sort of peace and you know my fellow friends between us the request are not so bad. However, the Prince is not pleased with the council request and I must say I cannot fault him for that. THREE members! For men on the brink of collapse they sure do ask a lot. Maybe one council member and the end of nepotism as some of the lads are about as useful as a broken fan but three-oh lord no! Now I have called you all in to see what you all think, after all, your nation has been through some conflicts and the likes. These requests are ridiculous right?" He said awaiting an answer still standing above the guests.


Victor House

When the WAF scout that had been watching the house realized it was indeed not a trap Knoll and his group were called back to the house.

"Well it seems our friends were not lying." Knoll said to Cowls as they approached the foreigners.

" Mhmm now that's a shocker." He said back in a monotone voice with a Uzi in hand.

" Do speak to them I must check to see what the government has said. The newspapers will be all over this like a swarm of locust Mr. Cowls." Knoll said in a cheery voice, something that had been gone for a long time. As the taste of the end felt like it was coming, but one could only hope for this.

[Lauzanne]

Nataliya read the terms, nodding along.
"If I had to make an educated guess, the police station action is what shook them bad, and this is their attempt to avoid such a thing in future. But I would advise not being so confident and under-estimating them. Respect your opponent and what he can do, especially given the threats we face. We've been fighting the Red Star Movement for the better part of a decade, their demands are far more outrageous than this, to be completely honest with you." Nataliya said.
"To be honest, I'm glad these guys are seeking out peace like this. the Reds would pull out all the stops, even taking a hospital and holding it under siege..." Angelov trailed off, rubbing his shoulder as he felt the phantom of pain pass through his shoulder, reminding him of that awful hostage situation. He made a mental note to check in on Kristina after this mission...
"To be honest, you could do the fourth one yourself as head of the armed forces, it would certainly help your army out in the long run. The other three though..." Nataliya continued, rubbing a finger on her chin.
"... How about two? That way the democratically-elected positions don't outweigh that of the current standing host, but it is still charitable enough that they would take it without much of a fuss. Seeing as this Doctor K is likely a fairly smart man, he's probably angling for the two and knows three is too much. It is a negotiation after all, you set a goal and you either attempt to oversell or underbuy. But apart from that, these terms are pretty reasonable from what I've seen. Better than uprooting the government, pardoning pricks like Orlov and that murderer Aleksandrov and going back to being a Soviet-era hellhole." Nataliya betrayed some measure of emotion in the last sentence, before taking a small breath.
"Ultimately the decision is for you and the Prince to work out, but something this massive and unprecedented could make him the next Great Equaliser. Perhaps even more so than Prince Bryn." Substance chimed up, noting Nataliya's loss of cool.

However, the trio awaited a response.

---

"Hey Cowls, I got 5 other guys with me, and a fuck-load of guns." Fox started, with Martin and Belanger grabbing the fairly hefty-looking PR338 and the colossal AMR-14 to unconsciously hammer home the point, the pair shifting as much gear towards the house as possible while Velichkov, de Lazuré and Foster are all behind Fox, weapons low and all of them in full gear.
"What's the situation? We going to be outnumbered?" Fox asked Cowls, hoping for some intel before this apparent shit-fight

Martin and Belanger carried the pair of hefty rifles upstairs, placing them down into a room as they scoped out all the windows and best angles to shoot from. When finding the right ones to give a near 360 degree coverage of the surrounds, Martin started to cover them with a screen to conceal the firing positions, while Belanger shifted priceless wooden tables into position
"Almost a wet dream for us, eh Seb?" Belanger asked, causing Martin to chuckle.
"Too right. We'll probably stick with the 14 for now, get some of the MP rounds and ball loaded. Don't want to get too nuts."

[Welzat]

Shiloh

Lord Heron studied the woman as she spoke in his normal strong posture and demeanor until the Major mentioned the Red Stars and the hospital siege. A slight grunt of displeasure was audible with the thoughts of such an awful event occurring before he continued to listen in silence, now taking his position in the study chair. When substance mentioned Prince Bryn a smirk of appreciation for knowing the countries history came over his face and answered back the waiting trio of soldiers.

" Oh all sure do know to talk to a fellow! Wish my troops could speak like that when I ask for it!" He said as he scribbled some notes on a piece of paper, " Well I will take everything just said to my sincere heart and see what my Prince has to say. If we meet with this Dr K. please expect me to call back you all as a third party to the events. Oh and If by some miracle peace may be had I would also like to share the pleasure of victory with our most sincere and honorable allies." Lord Heron looked up from his notes and smiled at the trio with the warmest one he could muster before marking his paper further.

" I will call you back if we have a breakthrough. Oh and my Prince may make an appearance at such a monumental event so please, if you may, wear something nice. If you need a suit or other wares head over the Royal Dressers, its a business that has only the finest clothes, and tell them to put it my tab. Now my friends until next time!" He said getting up and shaking everyone's hand before being lead out by a soldier.

---

WAF Hideout

" And so the old man has betrayed us! The one who started this all is now bending over to the government! What weak bullshit! We have all thrown away our old lives to make a better Welzat, free from this dictatorship but now K is demanding some the most token nonsense of democracy I have ever heard! I will not take this and I know you all won't either! So let us pay the doctor a little visit and adjust his worldviews a little." Lisa said in a angry tone that quenched for blood.

All around 30 or so WAF fighters cheered and agreed with her statements. The news was already spreading like wildfire and of course, the insurgents were on top of it. While some at the base camp silently cheered for what Knoll was doing, a majority were angry. They felt betrayed by Knoll who did not even consulate with his fighters and instead went on a wild meeting. In fact, Knoll did not even tell the group where exactly he was going but that did not matter now as one of Knoll's loyalist in the camp was "obliged" to tell the angry group by less than friendly means. If the war was to come to an end, it would come to an end on their terms, on Lisa's term of the death of Knoll and the continuing of fighting until the monarchy was nothing but a pulp.

With as many guns and cars they could bring the group of marauders finally left their hideout without the careful precautions from before. This was a mission to annihilate the man who had lead them so far just to falter at the last moment. It would only be an hour or so before the Victor House would be home to the most important battle this land had ever seen.

---

Victor House

Cowls looked on at the massive amounts of weapons the group had brought with them in amazement. " I think that is more than the damn military has!" He said still awe struck before snapping out of the trance, " We lost contact with the camp earlier this morning. I can only assume they are pissed and are coming. I can tell you one thing. We are outnumbered. Before this there was always a sizable chunk in the WAF that wanted more and more. A war that just kept going on and on. Not to mention their bullshit idealogy. So I can only imagine they are coming for Dr. Knoll." He said as he flicked a lighter and started smoking a tobacco roll-up, then launching into his final statement, " So Mr. Fox, get ready this will be ride of the life time and I am going to have to ask for a better gun for me and the boys." He said looking at the high-quality weapons in front of him.

Meanwhile, Dr Knoll was in the basement of the house awaiting the government to reply to his message.Truthfully, he would accept many things as long as one of them was the right to vote, something he always dreamed of the common man doing and finally a message came back to him. However, before he could read the message a commotion was occurring upstairs...

[Lauzanne]

Shiloh

Substance nodded in appreciation to Heron's talk, with Blue Monday calming somewhat back to her normal self.
"Of course, we're all too happy to be a third party to peace, and of course, we can be there for the wonder of peace."
At the talk of breakthroughs, Princes and nice clothes, Blue Mondya nodded.
"We'll see what we can do, Royal Dressers. We did bring some other suits, most of the guys did too for such official occasions, but we'll look into it. Until next time."

With the now empty room, Nataliya received a call from her phone. Pulling it out of her suit pocket, she placed it to her ear.
"Looks like your hunch was right, they've splintered and are coming. Glad I brought the PDW's." Fox started, causing Blue to nod.
"Make sure Knoll stays alive. If he's gone, the negotiations won't happen."
"Will do. Fox out."
Blue returned her phone to her pocket just as easily as before.

"Looks like Fox has to get busy. Insurgency's splintered, the extremists are gunning for Fox now."
"We should go." Angelov stated, with Blue shaking her head.
"Ne, things will go south fast if that is the case."
Angelov wasn't happy, but he knew she was right. To make things obvious like this would break such agreements and ruin everything.

---

Victor House

"We've got a Hell of a budget to keep various people the fuck out of our country, plus we make a lot of this shit." Fox replied, nodding with the mention of the breakaways and them being outnumbered, already working ideas in his head. The talk of 'better guns' got him to smirk a bit.
"I've got you there. Welcome to the 21st century.' Fox said, getting the others to turn around and grab more weapons from the back. After rifling around for a bit, they returned, with small sub-guns in hand. Each one had a red-dot sight on top, with pouches containing spare magazines ready to go, each one going to Cowls and his men.
"Courtesy of Zawisza-Lanik, the Vydra. These have got 10x20, fairly light, but punchy as fuck. Got a machine gun too, gonna need two of your guys to man it. Any of them familiar with operating machineguns?"
As Fox lead them to the weapons and ammo, he turned to the other three
"We're gonna be outnumbered, mine the sides of the building, RGN grenades and tripwires."
"Going to try and funnel them?"
"They got us two to one, but we have the firepower and the training. If we can get them to lose the momentum inside, they'll be easier for us to get."
Velichkov nodded, getting Foster to take a box of grenades and lengths of clear wire with them into the house.
"Now, Mister Cowls, I know this is your and the doctors' big show, but if you don't mind, since there's so few of us, we'll need to work together. I'd say we need two lookouts to help my snipers to spot them, two on the machinegun, and the other four can fight with us or protect the good Doctor. Me and mine are going to give them a Hell of a fight too, but I think it best that we draw up a plan. How long until they get here?"

[Welzat]

Victor House

Cowls was impressed by the weaponry, he was so used to using older weapons the sight of such modernity nearly made him forget how to operate a gun, nearly. The man which had been through everything from streets fights to firefights was now at the pinnacle of his conflicts, with his own troops. Luckily, loyalty was still not lost on some of the oldest members of the WAF who while just eight-strong prided themselves on giving all they could in this bloody affair.

"Yeah we got some guys who know how to operate a machine gun, Smith and Finny help these guys out and get on that machine gun will ya!" He barked orders at two men who nodded and went to find the machine gun. Cowls then continued looking back at Fox, " Where do you need the lookouts? Oh, and look we are going to protect the doctor at all costs even if it kills us. I did not fight the government for weeks using 80-year-old weapons for nothing. We are so close to change and these thugs are not going to ruin that. You guys have much more experience then us, you tell us where you need us." Cowls said with a stern tone, " and I give it an hour max before they get here. So lets get it going shall we?" He finished awaiting an answer



Meanwhile, the breakaways were fast approaching to the old house. They were taking backroads to avoid detention by government forces as gunmen nearly poured out of the vehicles which numbered six including two pickup trucks which they planned on mounting a .50 cal machine gun to rain on the house. The strategy was rather simple, most of their heavy weapons would be directed towards the house from the road and using the cars as cover while a small group consisting of 12 renegades would hit from the west with RPG and small arm fire to disorient the defenders. The RPG's would be launched first to hopefully burn the house down and pick off the traitors. The operation if successful would leave no survivors and the continuing of the conflict until the Principality was nothing but reborn.

" We are about 30 minutes from the house! Everyone get your weapons ready and remember your groups.WE WILL WIN!" Lisa said in a fanatical tone in the comms which was greeted by cheers and other words of praise. The battle was nearing to the first rings of the new Welzat.

[Lauzanne]

Sergey took all the information in, nodding.
"Foster, teach em the Raikka. Put 'em facing Westwards." Foster nodded, grabbing the Raikka GPMG, handing it to Smith. Finny got a few boxes and belts of ammunition as well as a spare barrel, the three heading off to the house. Sergey then reached for his radio.
"Martin, get the AMR on the road, Belanger face the North." He said into the radio, simply receiving "Roger" twice.
"Alright, once it's all set up we'll meet and talk."

---

Sergey gathered everyone except Martin and Belanger who kept watch for oncoming hostiles. The cars were stashed in the nearby forest and covered with camouflage netting to hopefully avoid detection.
"Alright, here we are. Outnumbered two to one at best, but we have the building, we have the firepower, and they don't know that we know they're coming."
Sergey was fully kitted out, rifle and pistol at a moment's notice.
"The most important person here is the good Doctor, he's our High Value Individual. Our job is to ensure he survives, so the negotiations can go through." Sergey points at Doctor Knoll, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"He dies, we're fucked. So, he won't die. Now, here's the game plan. You and you-" Sergey pointed to Smith and Finny "-have the machinegun, Foster taught you well enough I hope. Your teamwork is important and your job is to suppress them into cover or if we catch the stupid fucks in the open, you fucking ventilate them."
"Cowls, take someone else and Knoll, you'll be in the basement, if we don't say we're from a land far away, they're not us. That goes for you guys as well." He then points at all of the allied insurgents.
"Two of you keep watch on the East, top floor alongside Martin and Belanger. If they aren't busy they can come and shoot at them too." Now pointing at two more of the fellows.
"Lastly, the last two are with me, Velichkov, de Lazure and Foster. We're the mobile team, we watch the North and South, two teams of three. If we need to reposition, we reposition. Avoid the East, we have tripwired RGN grenades there, they'll blow the bastards to kingdom come if they trip them. Any questions?"
There were seemingly none, Sergey nodded.
"Alright lads, let's get this shit done."

---

Everyone and everything was in position. Sergei and Foster were facing South, along with one of the fighters and Martin overhead with the AMR-14. Out of sight, Sergei was keeping watch while Velichkov and de Lazure were looking at the North with their own fighter, Belanger with the PR338 at the ready. Smith and Finny were watching the West with the Raikka, two fighters were watching the East, while Cowls, the last fighter and Knoll were all together in the basement, where they would hopefully be safe.

[Welzat]

In sudden actions, the allied insurgents moved to their respective locations for the upcoming assault on the old home. While Cowls much rather fight it out topside with his men he knew protecting the Doctor was the right move and so he took a young rebel only 22 years of age with him down to the basement by the name if Guff, if they made it out alive he wanted the young man to tell the story of what happened here for the future generations of Welzations.

Outside the sky was partly cloudy with peaks of sunlight coming through the gray clouds above. The wind was heavy on this day with the trees and their early spring leaves thrashing back in forth with wildly with each gust. Birds of all different species chirped with the arrival of warmer days and the first of the insects resurrected from the cold dreary winters Welzat was home too. The day was painfully average for a Spring in Welzat if only somehow the season was sentient and today was a rain-filled mess of mud and slush, a perfect heroic end to the conflict but alas none of this would happen as the rays of light broke through the cloud cover over and over again. In about 15 minutes of anticipation for the coming cracks of hellfire suddenly a noise from the distance heightened everyone's senses, cars bumping and humming hrough the backcountry roads.

"This has to be them..." A Loyalist whispered to Martin after hearing the commotion. A few more minutes of tense anticipation the hums of the vehicles seemed to get louder and louder as the wind picked up what sounded like a commotion of animals getting to the Western treeline. "Oh fuck me... should we start wailing them or wait! It was to be them!" Smith said in a concerned voice to his new allies with his finger itching on the trigger finger ready to spay hell at the extremists.

---

Meanwhile, downstairs Knoll received a counter to his terms and conditions from the government. " Well it looks like they are open to talks but the only two request they did not change was 4 and 5! They are open to one position on the council to be open for public voting and not even considering local elections. Ughh! A bunch of cocky ones!" Knoll said in frustration reading the counter. He was in a tight position after all, the WAF was falling apart and if no agreements could be reached then all this was for nothing.

"Oh Doctor counter with two or something! Look the WAF is dead but they do not know that yet! We must get something out of this dammit!" Cowls said frustrated as commotion from upstairs started to ring out, " I know it is not much but for God's sake we have to start somewhere!" He again barked out to the doctor.

Knoll looked at the soldier for a second, studying the man as he did with all people but never with his right hand commander. The scars were obvious from weeks of fighting on the streets and the pain of losing friends. This had to end now he thought to himself before turning back to the screen. " May you find peace after this." He muttered so slightly that the soldier could not hear him and started typing away to the Prince and Lord Heron who waited on the other side of things.

[Lauzanne]

Martin's eye was firmly in the scope, eyeing up the approach of the vehicles. There were six of them total, the front and rear vehicles bristling with some serious firepower.
"I see technicals, they've got fiftys." Martin said into his radio, Fox replying with two taps of the transmit button.
"It is indeed them, they've got some serious firepower, too. I wouldn't worry though, buddy."

Velichkov heard Smith, him and his team relocating near the two machinegunners as he eyed up the party in the bushes. They were clearly amateurish, but he wouldn't under-estimate that.
"Got a party here, RPG's and small arms." Velichkov said to Fox over the radio.
"In the treeline?"
"Da, they might be approaching."
"Martin, do you have a shot?"
"Not all of them yet. A few more seconds."
Velichkov turned to Smith.
"Wait until they get out of cover, then hose them down. If they bring up the RPG's, light them up."

Fox watched the convoy approach from the road, while his rifle was at the ready. All the AS-14's that his men carried were suppressed, hopefully making it harder to accurately return fire on them when they open up. The 14 didn't have a suppressor, but considering it's level of firepower it was an acceptable trade-off. Belanger continued to watch the North, but it seemed unlikely that they would attack from three directions given the friendly fire chance. So he quietly slinked to face the West end, his scope now focussing on all of the fighters there as he placed it on the pre-prepared table. He should be hard to spot due to the screen as well, darkening any views inside and blurring the shapes.

The extremists probably didn't know they were being watched and scoped in even now, or else they would probably have taken more care. Hell stood just a hair-trigger away.

[Welzat]

. The noise became louder and louder each second the impending invaders rapidly approached the house. The technicals also made a hellbent fast approach to the positions held by the loyalist. Smith waited in agony as the shuffling was nearing the defenders, until finally like the first strike in a storm an ear-piercing and startling noise erupted from upstairs. The machine gunners let a hellish barrage of bullets into treeline as the extremists returned fire with small arms.

"They got an RPG! Watch out!" He yelled as a puff of smoke and the whistling dread came bursting out of the treeline, hitting the ground just meters from the base of the house. An ejection of dirt and grasses launched upwards but they did not stop the gunners as they still fired concentrated shots into the woods. The extremists in the woods used the many trees and bushes as cover as they all took turns spraying wildly towards the house. AK-47's, Uzis, and the occasional carbine were the traitor's main weapons but none of these weapons was a match for the machine gun. Tree branches and early spring leaves collapsed violently as the gunfire rang closer to some of the rebels. A traitor closest to the edge of the treeline hid behind an old Hickory tree his black balaclava already dirty with tree debris loaded his RPG with diligence. His mission was simple, launch a well-executed shot into the house and knock the defenders out. All he needed to do was wait just a little longer for the vehicles to arrive this would hopefully give him that quick second of a surprise to launch a devastating blow to the defenders.

In another minute of the beginning of the firefight, the rumbling in the distance was now upon the Victor residence. Even before true visual confirmation could be had by the rebels the .50 cal machine guns screamed out towards the direction of defenders. It was inaccurate but the rebel behind the hickory tree realized his moment was now and peaked his body from his woody cover... ready.

[Lauzanne]

Velichkov's group opened fire the same time as the machine gun, laying down 5.56 on the extremists with precision. At this range they should be somewhat protected from most of the fire, the main threat coming from the AK's and the RPG while the Uzis were more or less out of velocity by the time they hit the house. As if to emphasise the point, a rocket exploded just a few scant meters away from the house, causing the trio to duck behind cover. Almost immediately after, the team was back up, sending bullets downrange at their foes. Some shots whizzed by the extremists while a few injured the insurgents, but even at this distance targets behind cover are very hard to kill.

Martin saw the flashes of the .50cal machine guns as they blindly charged down the grass and the rocky road as he scoped the front vehicle in. Sighting in the first vehicle in the convoy as it wildly sprayed fire, the first powerful boom would no-doubt alert the extremists that they have some very hefty firepower with them. The first shot hit the engine block, sending clouds of hot steam up and obscuring the gunner's vision as the second shot hit the fuel line, the car starting to be set ablaze by the ammunition. As it careened off to the side, it collided with one of the unarmed vehicles, denting it and slowing it down as the impact made the on-fire vehicle spin a little more, no doubt disorienting the crew.
"Come on, we've got to relocate!" Martin barked at the WAF member with him, picking up the hefty rifle and starting to lug it out of the room as fast as he could. He had to get to another window, because two shots from such a massive weapon would undoubtedly draw attention from either the .50cals or an RPG.

Fox and his team immediately started to open up on the group of oncoming vehicles, no doubt with many unfriendly faces in them. However, their weapons were less than ideal for dealing with even soft skin vehicles, the crew all being unable to do more than injure most of the insurgents barrelling towards them. However, with one of the 50cal gunners getting disoriented and practically thrown from the vehicle, Foster bagging the gunner with three well-placed shots ensuring he stopped moving.
"Martin, that other fucking Browning needs to die!" Fox shouted over the radio as the other heavy machinegun tore into the old wooden house with ease.
"I'm moving, keep your pants on Boss." Martin replied, his huffing interrupting most of the complete words.
Fox was in the zone, as he saw the tracer fire out of his rifle he was ducking behind cover dropping the magazine out of his rifle and slamming a fresh one home. As he peered back up, the cars got closer and closer, so Fox opted to focus his fire on a single vehicle's occupants.

Belanger saw the man with the RPG, as he swung his suppressed sniper rifle over to sight him in. He sent out a single shot, not able to see if the shot hit before quickly racking the bolt back and forth, taking aim at one of the men with the AK's. A second shot, and as he was chambering another round, he started to bolt out of the room, trying to find another window.

[Welzat]

The battle just minutes in, was a savage affair of gunfire and explosions all desperately trying to destroy the other side. The lead truck gruesomely was put out of commission with massive shells annihilating its usefulness as a crude fowl smelling fire overcame the white vehicle that now was turning all different shades of black and coal. The four in the technical bailed but the gunner and driver were not as lucky as the defenders dropped the two. However, the other truck was now in a wide view of the house and laid down an oppressive, ear-piercing fire into the old Victor House. It stopped on the grass near the road to the house and its occupants flew out to get cover behind their vehicle. Nearly, all of the extremists now firing wildly into the house, or attempting too as the cars jammed the road with troops and the two technicals left determined to collapse the defenders.

Back at the other front of the battle the rebel with the RPG violently launched back as a shot pierced the skull and the dangerous weapon left his grasp dropping to the forest floor with a thud. The other rebels were not deterred by a comrades death and slowly moved forward through the treeline, the shot getting concerningly more accurate from the AK and even the Uzi. The machine gun nest was getting increasingly less viable as most of the round concentrated on the WAF gunner until finally the inevitable happened.

"GAHH! They got me!" Smith said holding his soldier as blood started trickling down. An enemy bullet had made a rather deep passing into Smiths right shoulder temporary stopping the gunfire from the nest. Finny had to push the man out of the way not out of malice but for concern but by the time the gunfire launched back the rebels had picked up the RPG and a cloud of smoke came shooting out. The round was going to hit first floor.

[Lauzanne]

Fox was doing his best to keep calm while a .50cal machinegun perforated the ancient house, sliding in a fresh magazine and hitting the bolt release. Foster planted down a few more suppressed shots before getting tapped on the shoulder.
"Move to the next window! You move too!" Fox shouted to the WAF fighter beside him, who nodded as Foster ran to the left. The insurgent ran right, Fox popping back up to let off small bursts of fire to hopefully keep the extremists' heads down. After Foster and the other man got into position again and kept up the fire, Fox was able to drop another of the disorganised but fanatical fighters.
"By Zašt, are all Welzat fuckers this insane!?" Fox said, hitting another extremist in the leg. As he dropped, his buddies pulled him into cover, out of the line of fire.
His thoughts were interrupted by the booming sound of the AMR-14 again, the other technical starting to catch fire as the second shot went straight through the gunner, sending red sparks flying as the bullet detonated on the ground behind him. Things seemed to be under control, until he heard that spine-chilling phrase.

"RPG!"

Velichkov and de Lazure were keeping things under control with the machinegun team until they heard screaming. Velichkov heard Smith get hit, tilting his head ever so slightly towards de Lazure
"Get him out of the line of fire! First aid!" Velichkov ordered, running empty as he dropped another magazine himself. de Lazure disengaged, running as low as he could in the house to get to the two de-facto machinegunners, skidding next to Smith.
"Hey buddy, you're still alive! Good shit, comrade!" He shouted over the staccato of machine gun fire as he grabbed Smith by the collar. As soon as he had another wall out of the way, he pulled out his small first aid kit from a pouch, grabbing the combat gauze and placing it on the entry wound.
"Hold this here, you'll be alright. Nice scar too, chicks love it." He said to keep Smith's spirits up as he pressed down on it. He grabbed the elastic bandage next, applying the gauze to the exit wound before applying the bandage.
"You're doing good."
Before Smith could say anything, Velichkov swore
"RPG!" He shouted, before grabbing the WAF fighter next to him and pushing him to the floor. All hell broke loose as the projectile struck home, sending splinters of wood and shards of metal flying in every direction. Velichkov was the first up, de Lazure tapping Smith on the shoulder as he ran back to the position on the line to mete out retaliation for the missile strike. He couldn't see Velichkov or the other man in the dust of the impact, but now wasn't the time. He had to fight, and Finny was right beside him in sending lead down-range.

[Welzat]

"Errr.. LT. Howard do you hear that?" A Welzat soldier said in a worrisome tone as the distant noise of crackling gunfire rang through the farmlands of rural Welzat.

"Yes, I do Private. I do not think any other patrols are in this area... which begs the question of who is lighting up a storm. We must check it out. Someone get on comms and tell command we are going to investigate gunfire sounds in the vicinity... and to get another patrol out here with us it sounds... it really sounds like a beating." The commanding officer said still listening to the nonstop gunfire that had to be a good few kilometers away. The crackling was distant but loud enough to obviously tell this was not some good ole boys lighting firecrackers but in fact, the real chaos of war.

The platoon size patrol consisting of 40 soldiers from the 1st Royal Battalion, quickly got into their Land Rover Defenders and two Iveco LMVs to investigate the noises. It would take the patrol no time to reach the disturbance whatever it may be.

---

The Victor House was now taking a massive beating bullet holes dotted nearly every wall and it seemed the whole house would somehow collapse with the massive amount of gunfire projected at it. Matters became even worse when the RPG hit sparking a small fire that would take no time in building up consuming all the wood within the classic farmhouse. The insurgents were feverish in trying to destroy the house. The successful RPG attack just fanned the flames further as they cheered from cover returning fire to the traitors. Another devilish missle was being readied by the rebels on the West end of the attack this time the target was upstairs.

Meanwhile, on the frontal assault, two technicals were out of action thanks to the defender's precise firing but now a cloud of thick toxic smoke from the burning trucks was rising, giving the attackers a crude smokescreen. The final technical with its gunner pushed closer to the house in a desprite charge to break the attackers with an oppressive .50 barrage into the upstairs while behind it other attackers inched closer ready to lob grenades into the abandoned house. It seemed now the final pitch was to be set as the rebels were slowly taking casualties and the battle had to end soon or the frenzied thoughts would be sobered by the death of so many comrades.

Inside the house, the first casualty took place as a loyal WAF member on the lookout was gutted by the .50 cal machine gun that easily traveled through his cover behind a thin wall and into his stomach dropping the man instantly. While with the gunners, a lucky burst of AK fire right above their heads blinded Finny with a piece of shrapnel flying right into his eyes. Even the Lauzanne elite fighters were starting to feel the pressure from this new wave of rejuvenated gunfire.

Down below in the basement a breakthrough was being made. An agreement to meet. In usual circumstances, this would be met with a triumph cheer but the RPG hit worried the men dearly.

"Doctor stay here I gotta check what the hell just happened." Cowls said running up the stairs to meet a gruesome scene of the aftermath of the missile blast.

"Oh fuck! Hey Fox whoever we can not stay up down here there is a fucking fire here!" He said yelling as he looked all around for something to put the fire out while avoiding small arm fire that randomly entered the house.

[Lauzanne]

Velichkov's ears were ringing. The RPG had bypassed his hearing protection despite his best efforts, getting up over the WAF fighter below him, similarly dazed. Wasting no time, he drew his rifle again, laying down fire to try and stem the tide, but it was clear they had the momentum.
"de Lazure, you still alive!?" Velichkov called out as he heard screaming.
"Merde, gunner's been blinded!"
"Blyat, grab the Raikka, get him to cover!"
"Smith! Grab Finny and drag him to cover!" de Lazure ordered, as he grabbed the machinegun, emptying it towards any fools who dared leave cover. The momentary reprieve in gunfire lead to the man under Velichkov being able to scramble back.
"Fox! We're getting fucked here!"
"Just make sure those bastards don't fire another shot!" Fox shouted back. de Lazure was already reloading another belt, the smoke and acrid smell coming from the barrel of no concern to him now.

Up above, Belanger was shaken by the blast but he was on his feet. As they were loading, he picked out the member, Belanger letting off a shot, quickly working the bolt to chamber another one and shooting a second one in quick succession hopefully took down the grenadier as he transferred to his AS-14, his high vantage point compared to the ground floor defenders giving him a degree of efficacy against their cover.

Meanwhile, Martin wasn't having a good time. the incredibly loud boom of the .50cal had torn his unconventional comrade in arms' torso wide open, dead before he hit the ground. Not a second later, a shot went through his gun, knocking him off balance and destroying the rifle's receiver. Wasting no time, he drew his AS-14 as well, unleashing a flurry of fire at the man on the .50cal.
Fox heard Cowls shouting, quickly turning his head to look at the man.
"Don't put it out! Take your boys, get into the cars in the East and get the fuck outta here! We'll take care of the bastards!" Fox shouted, grabbing a grenade, tossing it towards the nearest group of encroaching extremists. It was impact fuzed, so when it struck something, it would explode, hopefully in the faces of some insurgent bastards.

[Welzat]

The battle was truly getting hectic as carnage raged on this once silent homestead. The extremists were now taking high casualties but would not let up as they felt the defenders were nearing an ultimate collapse. Even with unfaltering gunfire, the western assault team was obviously weakening while the tree provided cover the team was nearing 50 percent casualties and the raucous roar was slowly dissipating. However, the western team still had one more ace card, it was the final RPG missile and again the fighter poked his head from his now torn up tree and aimed directly at the position the gunners were just seconds ago...

Meanwhile inside the house, Finny was withering in pain the eye wounding was horrendous and Smith even in his injured state had to step up to protect his friend and ally.

"Come on man fight the pain! We are so close!" Smith said and then repeated the phase in different wordings over and over again trying to comfort the injured man. Finny was able to gain some composure but hearing Cowls yell in such an alarm state nearly panicked the man again.

Down below Cowls was now returning small arms fire with the technicals and other grunts outside when Fox answered back with his suggestion to leave. The man was deeply loyal to those he respected and this loyalty was already taking some form with these foreign soldiers who had nothing to gain from this victory besides wounds and pain. The idea of just leaving now was almost unbearable without thought Cowls almost protested leaving the Lauzanne troops however, he had to remember what this was all about, the prospect of a better Welzat, the prospect of peace. So the soldier held his tongue and instead stated instead what he needed.

" Okay, I hear you! But we won't make it if that damn truck is not knocked out! You think you can take care of that Fox!" Cowls yelled back reloading his weapon behind an old turned-over table. The truck was still hammering wildly at the house but its gunner like the others was wide open to attack and the defenders had to disable the menace if Knolls was to make his escape.