The Great Dying

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Times of great population expansion are often followed by periods of global anguish and death. For decades, the nations of Earth grew and prospered and while the occasional war disturbed peace, great global conflicts, like those of the Nordland or the Cochin periods had faded into history. In the last few years, however, turmoil swept over the earth reminiscent of older times. Wars broke out in North America, in Southern Africa, and Asia was under the grip of civil war and inner chaos. As thousands perished on the battlefields of these conflicts, a greater enemy began to bubble out of the decay of battlefield hospitals and the cities and towns left destroyed by the regional wars - disease.

 

Sickness effected men, women, and children all the same. It left them crawling on the ground, screaming for air to aid their burning lungs, their faces white, their eyes white with a watery pus running down from their lashes. Two days of immense suffering was all the disease took before leaving entire towns desolate, and traveling on to another unfortunate community. Some survived these encounters with the "Whitening," many did not and soon the sickness spread out of the war zones in North America, Asia, and Africa, to communities gently nestled in the crescents of civilization. When the Whitening made it to the major cities of the world, however, the pandemic exploded onto global news stations like never before.

 

A panic came over humanity, co-workers disappeared, familiar faces on the television showed the signs of decay, and even heads of state fell to the unrelenting power of nature's wrath. Nations closed their borders, some faster than others, and for those who moved too slow, their entire country paid the ultimate penalty. Places such as the Stormlands, the Republic of Caldonia, and the vast stretches of the collapsed south in Tianxia fell victim to the disease, but the world protected themselves. Only the courageous ventured beyond the military walls of their nation's border and few came back. Those who did had horror stories to tell before dying of madness, hollering at the moon as their body fell apart.

 

The Whitening lasted for the better part of a year and the entire global population dropped below two billion. Bodies burned into the night sky, plumes of smoke reaching up toward the heavens. The oceans were littered with the dead, eaten by ravenous fish who fed upon the mutilated corpses. The loyalty of people to their governments had been shaken and now, with the Death having passed it was time to begin cleaning up. But the world had changed drastically since the first sign of the Whitening and beyond the stone borders of the world's nations lay enemies, angry, hungry, and desperate for revenge and power.

 

Science had failed and now religion and faith had taken new fanaticism...new virulence.

 

OOC: This is an optional recognition of what has happened to the world. If you would like to join in, please just post with me. If not, pretend none of this has happened.

[Mogar]

The events from above had put a damper on Rapture's continued expansion, first The Cape falling had cut down heavily on construction abilities, the fall of South America even more so, eventually Mogar had to go exploring himself once he had heard the rumors of the world above dying. The cargo ship that floated around the deadzone surrounding Rapture had been retrofitted with vacuum tube electronics to escape the static, and along with a small crew he chose to set off to Rio first. The reports that came in made it seem as though all of  South America besides the two nations that lived in the very southern regions had been entirely wiped out within days.

 

A few days later Mogar stood upon the bow of the ship, looking out upon the South American coastline. The sun was setting behind the horizon, the buildings all along the coast dark. Rio was a beautiful city the last time he had seen it, this new disease had brought darkness and despair to the world, as the doors to the cargo bay containing the VTOL he was going to search the city with he was reminded of an ancient memory, High School History.

 

"Agitation is the opposite of stagnation - the one is life, the other death." said Ernestine Rose, he wondered if the stagnation that had purveyed over the world for the past few decades had led to such a virulent disease finally taking shape, this White Plague was more effective than any human history spoke of. The sound of the turbines whining filled his ears and he walked over to the overlook of the bay, the VTOL lifting up for him to jump into, nodding to the pilot they began to fly over Rio, cars were abandoned everywhere, no light sources were abound, Loudspeakers on either side of the VTOL would play a recorded message, asking survivors to make their way to Cristo Redentor.

 

He shook his head, it was a pity, there were over 10 million corpses down there, having done nothing besides simply not been immune to a virulent strain with unknown origins. he pointed down to a garden with a few bodies in it, large enough for the aircraft to set down. He pulled out blood samples from bodies, they had only been dead a few days, There was little information about the virus, he wanted to gather anything he could, the sensors on his arm were working overtime to inform him constantly that they were keeping him clean. shaking his wrist he pushed the alerts away, an annoyance right now. He wandered through the manor, looking for anyone at this point, this many people couldn't have 100% fatality rate.

 

He called out as he walked, hearing movement on the second floor he quickly moved up the stairs, drawing his sidearm, this type of environment made people crazy. There was whining coming from the other side of a door, he opened it and was almost overwhelmed by the stench of decomposing flesh and human waste. A small dog sat next to a young boy, pale and seemingly blind, wheezing and coughing, a quick scan informed him he would be dead within the hour, the dog constantly pushing his nose against the boy, trying to get him to move, to get up. "Are you the only one left?" Mogar managed to say to the boy. Through a coughing fit he replied. "I have not seen my mother in days, she said she was going to find help, there's no help coming is there?"

 

Mogar ran his hand over the boy's cheek "I am going to figure out how to stop this, can I draw your blood? It will help me." he asked, the boy nodded, unable to speak, the coughing getting worse and worse. his eyes were steaming down the thick white fluid. He drew the boys blood and reached into his belt, pulling out a strong pain reliever, and a bottle of water from his backpack. "Here, take this and rest, I'll go find your mom, see you soon, ok?" he said to the boy, opening the bottlefor him and handing it to him. He wouldn't die from the dosage, but he probably would not wake up by the time the virus had overtaken him. The boy simply nodded and swallowed the pill through coughing fits, spitting out a good bit of the water before managing to get the pill down.

 

He set off back to the aircraft waiting for him, hearing the pilots masked voice. "Any Survivors?" Mogar shook his head, "Let's keep moving."

Edited June 19, 2014 by Mogar

[Triyun]

"FOR THE HORDE!" was the call from the banisters of Fort Nandao outside the gates of the City of Singapore.  The last Southern Fortress, home to the Southern Royal Family was holding against the onslaught from the Jemaah Islamiyah fighters which continued to pour through the jungles towards it.  Imperial Soldiers opened fire with their assault rifles, muzzle flashes lighting up the night as the onslaught of Jihadis kept coming.  The renewed islamist presence in Malaysia and Indonesia, and beyond that rumors of others, was in direct contrast to the Imperial Cult which had sprung up around the former Emperor, Yuan Jia, and his ascension to the God of War.

 

The Southern Empire had been hit much harder by the plague then the other Regions.  Many had died, many islamist groups had taken advantage to advocate a plague against the Imperials and the Empire's decadence, especially its adherence to its warrior religion.  The assaults had been bloody, assassinations, mob violence, bombings of hospitals even treating the wounded.  The fury was so great within a little under a few years much of the region had returned to the dark ages.   The final fall had come when Bangkok, once home of the Chakri Royal Family the junior Branch of the Imperial Line had to be abandoned, to what was now rumored a fight between a new Buddhist Sect as well as the Islamists.  These groups of Islamists were rumored to be the most vicious around, and the Buddhists had adopted tactics equivalent.  Even still were strange rumors of other groups arising in the jungles.  

 

Now Singapore, the jewel of the Southern Empire, the linch pin of the global Empire, was under siege by insurgents, seemingly ill concerned about casualties, wheeling artillery, crude missiles, and other equipment through decimated jungle in order to attack the gates. 

 

Colonel Shen Nobuyaki covered his ears as the sound of rail gun fire echoed.  The beastly giant guns, setup in the ruins of the city, fired deep into the enemy lines flattening targets with the force of a WW II battleship salvo.  The six of them had allowed them to hold the attacking force estimated at over two hundred times their number at bay at several key choke points.  

 

He adjusted his uniform as he looked out onto the great pontoon bridges which were bringing troops across from Malaysia.  Lost Imperial vehicles, along with make shift tanks, were storming across followed by soldiers.  He raised his rifle firing a shot, hitting one of the fightings.  Firing up a flare over the bridge, the sound of mortars flared as the defenders pounded away at the incoming force.  

 

Below the wreckage of buildings, Imperial Guards charged forward into the street, armed with the few remaining exo-frames working in the city, raising their gatling cannons and letting loose into the oncoming rush.  Missiles flew down from the wreckage of the buildings pausing the advance, as another flurry of artillery fired into the middle of the pontoon bridge, it collapsing into the sea as a loud cheer went up.

 

Then he heard it.

 

 

He instinctively shielded his eyes as the small but still potent nuclear device had detonated.  No one knew from where, infiltrators most likely.  The damage to the city was somewhat limited, the nuke was after all only about probably 4 kilotons, but the rail guns and artillery were gone.  Singapore lay exposed....

[Sarah Tintagyl]

The Global South, a land designated by political thinkers as a region of immense poverty, non-existent cultural contribution, and dark skinned people, had been hit hardest by the White Death. It was no coincidence then that the Rapture expedition and the Battle of Singapore were the first recorded movements by the "civilized" world into these areas...

 

The Brazilian coast that Mogar and his entourage found had little life left. Large poor populations combined with unstable governments left the people in cities such as Rio to fend for themselves, for those who did not perish from the disease, a cruel fate awaited the survivors and an even crueler one awaited those adventurers who landed on the South American shore. Unaware to the Rapture Expedition, there were those outside of the ruins of Rio who knew the foreigners had landed. Rumors began to spread slowly, from the roof tops of the city that these foreigners had come to provide a cure for the disease and that meant to things to Don Rodrigo Barros, the chance for fame and the chance for power.

 

Barros owned a large plantation north of the city, he grew coffee, along with other harder illegal drugs that Imperial forces during the Holy Imperium period had attempted to stop. The White Death meant free reign over the drug markets, but he did not escape the plague unaffected. The elderly Portuguese "nobleman's" eyes had nearly poured out of his head in liquid form, leaving him nearly blind and addicted to pain killers to lessen the unbearable agony.

 

Word reached him hours after the young boy died in Mogar's hands.

 

"Word has it," said one of Barros' spies, "That they are coming to cure the disease, the man I watched from the rafters was taking blood samples."

 

Barros stroked his long white beard that gathered together in a messy clump near the shelf of his stomach. "Who is this man, do you know?"

 

"I have no idea, Don Rodrigo, they came across the sea."

 

"Ah, like colonial masters all over again."

 

"But they are few in number. Should they be taken care of?"

 

"No," Barros shook his head, "Find him, invite him to the plantation, the living should never be pushed to live among the dead."

 

With that the spy headed back off towards Rio. Beyond the plantation, in the jungles once belonging to the Stormlands, greater foes shook with anger.

 

---

 

The jihadis represented everything that the Amazon order fought against, but the collapse of the southern empire left the Order in complete disrepair. The Amazons had no leader, they had no organization, and most caught in the cross fire of Singapore donned the regular military uniforms of the imperials and joined them on the walls of Fort Nandao to suppress the invaders. When the infiltrated nuclear weapon went off Sri Halim, a woman no older than twenty let loose a long stream of tears that soaked her face.

 

Sri was a Muslim, she prayed daily, she fasted on the holy days and took Ramadan seriously. The fanaticism that grew in the Malaysian jungles she didn't understand.

 

"Lay into them! Don't hold back! Fire at will!" shouted some imperial officer at the walls before he was gunned down by a volley from the jihadis.

 

The ground still rumbled from the nuclear blast and sirens echoed over the city. Thousands had died in an instant and all around her, Sri saw blood splatter over the ground. She picked up her rifle and panicked. Fleeing form the fort deeper into the city, at that point all she wanted to do was to escape.

[Mogar]

Over three hours passed, and six more landings, including a refueling. The aircraft floated lazily over the husk of a city. There were mostly animals wandering the streets the sensors on the aircraft picking up plenty of smaller heat signatures, but few the size he size he was looking for. Sitting 1,000 feet above the city he held onto the handle, leaning out to scan the city himself. "Where would I go if I were diseased and dying?" he said aloud, quieter than the pilot would be able to hear over the roar of the engines. His thoughts suddenly turned from wondering if helping that kid meet god was a sin or would earn a blessing to wondering if She made it out of here or was even still down there, shaking thoughts away. There was a lot more at stake, and he would need far more fire to clean up the White Death than old flames would provide.

 

The Stadium.

 

It stood in the North Zone, Estádio do Maracanã. If there was anywhere that someone would still be alive it would be at one of the overflow camps they would have established in an emergency like this. Putting two fingers against his throat he instructed the pilot to head to the Stadium. He didn't see anyone but that didn't mean there weren't any, Stadiums would have food supplies, potentially months of bottled water and plenty of space. all the things he'd look for to survive.

 

They landed in the nearest parking lot, a half dozen grunts getting off with him this time, the stadium was a large place and they'd spend hours even split up searching it for survivors. "You know the drill, eyes and ears open, mouths shut, radio in if you find anyone or anything interesting, keep your masks on at all time. Simple stuff guys, move out." Mogar barked at them, his eyes working overdrive now, scanning everything to determine potential threats before he even realized it.

 

Walking into the Stadium proper he looked down upon the field, covered with bodies and military cots. a lot of the bodies wearing fatigues, the military was in over its head with the virus, From his own experience he figured they thought it was just a Spanish Flu or something similar. They had no idea their saviors would get cast down alongside the sinners. He stood yawning, exhausted from the constant moving, that boy had been the only living victim he had found, he needed a patient that survived if he had hoped to cure the plague.

 

"Let them do the exploring this time." he muttered, sitting down in one of the chairs in the top row, looking down disappointed in humanity, or God, he couldn't be sure which was to blame for this tragedy, not that the fault was relevant, only curing it would salvage the planet, he might be a criminal but he still had a responsibility to the survivors regardless of whether or not they say him as a demon or a saint. laying his head back against the wall he closed his eyes, just needing to rest for a moment....

Edited June 20, 2014 by Mogar

[Aggressivenutmeg]

Somewhere off the coast of what was once Nigeria...

 

The helicopter flew low over the waves as they approached the the decaying oil rig. Ever since the cataclysm that had befallen the world, much of the oil production in West Africa had halted, simply abandoned as workers left the rigs and went home to their families. This rig, while decaying was far from abandoned, as the helicopter came closer, the crew would be able to make out a large flag flying from it’s highest point. The base was a wonderful home to the Militaires Sans Frontieres, “Soldiers Without Borders”, a rag-tag company of mercenaries that had made both a name for themselves and a great deal of money (well, conflict diamonds really) over the years.

 

The helicopter landed, dropping off it’s cargo: two MSF mercs and a third man with a black bag over his head. He was quickly shoved blow deck and into one of the rooms set up for interrogation. Sitting under a ridiculously bright light, the man had the bag removed from his head. The light was blinding for someone who had seen only darkness for the past several hours. After a few moments, he could make out a figure moving in front of him.

 

“Hello Namadi.” said the figure. “It’s been quite some time since we last spoke.” The figure moved into the light now, and Namadi could see him clearly. The man looked directly at him. “Where are our diamonds?” He asked, lighting a cigar.

 

“John? Yo don’ need ta do dis. I tol’ yo I’d pay yo, an’ that’s wha’ I’ll do.” Namadi said, starting to panic. “Ples John, jus’ let meh go an’ I’ll get yo da diamons.”

 

“That’s what you said last time.” John said, blowing smoke in Namadi’s face. “We got you control of Lagos, and we expect payment. Tell me where they’re stashed.”

 

“I don’ have ‘em.” Namadi said, coughing. “Theh wer’ stolen from meh. In da han’s of Badluck Boni, he’s go’ a base outside Warri in da Delta. If yo’ wan’ ‘em yo’ll have to get ‘em back.”

 

Christ, though John, not again. John turned towards one of his men. “Assemble a team. We’re heading into the swamp.”

Edited June 20, 2014 by Aggressivenutmeg

[Triyun]

The cackle of gunfire echoed across the city as another wave hit the shores of the city state.  Shock troops the jihadis did not stop for women or children, instead they were hell bent on executing all in the 'heathen' city.  The white death had shown gods wrath with this infidel world, and they would finish the job.  A buzzing sound filled the sky as scores of captured drones flew overhead loaded up with cannisters of crude napalm dropping it down onto the forward Imperial Lines who made a fighting retreat against the onslaught.  A few manpads managed to take down a few of the ships but the swarms were too great to have an effect.  Small mortar positions tried to hold the line but the rounds were insufficient to support the pontoon bridges.

 

Swarming groups of fast boats continued to go around the city, raiding port sites across the city, lighting many of the oil refineries, the central hub for most of the oil imported into the Pacific Rim, ablaze in a fire which raised into the sky, the black smoke blotting out the sun.  

 

Imperial Guards lead fanatical defenses at key road blocks, backed by regular soldiers and citizens militias to try and stop the oncoming onslaught.  Violence was severe, as many of the captured soldiers would be hoisted up, literally crucified for their comrades to see, who stood against this mass of invaders.  The hatred of the Yuan Dynasty intense, with chants of Abbasid, the Baghdad Caliphate destroyed by the Horde centuries earlier.

 

"We're getting overrun here, we have to pull back to the main bunker fortress!" Colonel Shen said as he surveyed the continuing damage, most of the positions were falling, low on ammunition.

 

Colonel Shen shouted out through the darkness and the rubble to all soldiers there.  "Rally to me!" he ordered, to his group of soldiers.  The 110th Guard Regiment, began their move as they counter attacked against the onslaught.  Smoking, shattered glass, and rubble surrounding them.  A single flag Yuan Flag fluttered through the unit as it savagely attacked cutting a path through the swarm deep into the city.  

 

Exo skeleton equipped units would use flame throwings and gatling guns to create a defensive perimeter close in, while most of the soldiers would form units of sharp shooters, taking advantage of their better training and rifles, to shoot incoming groups down to manageable size before the Jihadists were able to get in range to spray bullets on them.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

"Foreigner!" Would be the first words that Mogar would hear after he shut his eyes. "I am Leon de Castillo, welcome to Rio!" the spy said with a small chuckle and kicked a skull out of his way. It shattered into dust and the spy bowed. "I have been watching you and your partner for some time now and your actions with the boy in the manor. A man, a survivor, of high influence and prestige would like to make your acquaintance. He has a plantation only a few miles north of the Rio metropolitan district, if you would like to accompany me. Perhaps he can assist you in your quest."

 

The spy straightened his body and waited for the foreigner's reply.

 

---

 

In the lawlessness that followed the sweeping of the White Death, some mercenary groups became as powerful as older nation-states. For John, MSF's dealings with the former region of Nigeria was serious and risky business. Africa, much like other continents in the Global South, was hit hard by the plague and the bones of Lagos swelled high into the sky of Africans turned dead white from the disease. The warmth and welcoming atmosphere of the humid Gulf of Guinea felt replaced by the quiet decay of North America and Europe.

 

The swamps north of Lagos had once been prosperous farm lands, but due to the lack of organized nations and the scoffing of the world to territories in Africa, modernization collapsed into parochial clan governorship, unable to deal with the sweeping plague. What John and his team entered were not swamps, these were marshes of the dead. A foul stench hung around the stagnant water and and bubbles frothed to the top, releasing human shrieks into the air. The Swamps of Agony was no place for the survivors of the plague.

 

As they moved into the swamp, eyes peeked out from behind wide tree trunks, and torn fingernails tore at the rough bark that snapped off like pulling on a cobweb.

 

---

 

In the history of the reign of Yuan Shizi, the Battle of Singapore would be a testament to the chaos of his reign by imperial critics. As night came over the city, Singapore's streets ran red with blood. Female fighters perhaps suffered the worst during the battle. They were told by their sister fighters that capture was worse than death, and not from a philosophical or principled manner. Amazons passed around cyanide capsules, a last ditch effort when the enemy's hands encased around you. A successful desperate woman swallowed the poison and felt the life fade from her body as the jihadis, threw the captured dead bodies into reservoirs and into the sea. But not every woman was so lucky.

 

One specific, a Burmese Amazon, Naw Thiri, bit into her capsule when a bullet struck her down in an alley by three jihadis. But the poison did not travel into her heart. Instead, she felt the burning pain as chemicals passed into her face, starting to burn her skin. She writhed on the street in pain, clawing at the ground, frothing at the mouth. The devils coming towards her paid no attention. The pain, horror, and humiliation, that the Amazon faced in the many minutes surrounding her falling to death seemed like an eternity, but she held to the ground. A life of suffering of this extent, to pay for all her sins and the sins of humanity in the fires of the poison would surely place her at the highest rungs of Nirvana. Yet, she could not forgive her assailants and even if their souls were connected through the divine spirit, she wished nothing more than to be separate from these demons incarnate.

 

When her breath finally passed, Naw battled her own mind between vengeance and peace.

 

For the Amazons fighting on the streets of Singapore, vengeance seemed to win out. While the jihadis crucified captured soldiers, captured jihadis felt the wrath of the women soldiers. The Amazons mutilated their enemies, bathing in their blood, and praying to Old Gods for power unimaginable. There were no wishes granted that day, but for the Amazons covered in crimson, dripping from their noses and mouths, they felt invincible, and took to battle like harpies from the sky.  As night fell, all humans had disappeared from the city. The only beings left were carnivorous jackals.

[Mogar]

He eyes snapped open at the noise, jumping to his feet off the table he sat upon, hand going to his pistol but quickly realized he wouldn't be needing it yet. the relaxed attitude from the man came as a bit of a shock but was unsurprising considering just how many dead there were laying around. "I am... Mogar." He replied, "A survivor you said? How long has he had the disease? Let's go." mannerisms instantly turning manic at the prospect of finding what he had searched through thousands already to find. Putting two fingers to his throat he said "Once you're finished searching, if no survivors return to the ship, I've got to do something, I'll be in touch, out."

 

He shook the man's hand and began walking towards the exit. "Watching me, eh? I suppose I should be more aware of my surroundings then if you managed to escape my view." he quipped, looking at the man through enhanced eyes though, he figured out why, his heat signatures was at most a degree warmer than the surrounding air, he was invisible to thermal unless Mogar was going to carefully investigate every breeze, which was simply impossible with the scale of this task.

[Kevin Kingswell]

The tide of Whitening brought the end for so many across the globe and yet it in turn gave opportunity to those that could take it. When the disease reached the land of Vietnam and many of the people began to die in the most horrible of fashion a hidden group that had long been hiding and waiting was forced to react and come forth into the light once again. As chaos and panic ran rampant through out the country as men and women off all statuses sought and fought for shelter small groups of heavily armed and armoured soldiers would be seen emerging from the jungle. 

 

Clad in black armour from head to toe and with their faces hidden behind fully enclosed chemical masks they presented a frightening sight, their short and stocky rifles were always carried out ready to lash out with fire or rifle butt as circumstances required. Initially their purpose remained unclear as they stalked the disease ridden villages and towns of the land but it soon became clear that the small groups were converging on the capital city of Hanoi. When these unknown soldiers reached the city outskirts they waited in small camps till more of their numbers showed up.

 

The force of soldiers made their way into the city ignoring the trash and disease ridden corpses that lay among the streets their minds focused on their mission. That mission given to each of them before they left the jungle depths early was to secure the city of Hanoi from the crazed citizens and rampant disease. As the soldiers spread through out the city small groups of them would split off to secure and guard cross roads and entrance ways, any wild or dangerous locals or wildlife would be put down before they could get close enough to be a threat. Anyone showing signs of the disease would be forcefully restrained and taken to a holding area outside of the city outskirts where a small force of soldiers had remained, putting up chain link fences and forming holding pens. The infected would be put inside them and given basic food and water supplies but would not be permitted to leave, with lethal force being used if any tried.

 

Inside the city the remaining soldiers who had not been assigned to guarding intersections and providing over watching security moved to take their two objectives. The first group left to secure and hold the Presidential Palace which they found empty, ransacked and in a general state of disarray. Those soldiers easily secured the building and took up positions either around, inside or on top the building. The second group moved to take the Ba Dinh Hall which had once been the country's center of government and just like the Presidential Palace the building was empty, ransacked and in disarray. This group also secured the interior, roof and exterior of the building leaving only a small handful of soldiers unassigned from any task.

 

This small group would head to the Presidential Palace and meet up with their comrades there. Once inside one of the soldiers would head up to the old President's office and took a seat there, leaning back in the President's chair the soldier reached up and removed their helmet and mask placing it on the desk before them. This soldier was now revealed to be a middle aged woman with blonde shoulder length hair and one brown eye, the other hidden behind a black eye patch. A thing but long scar ran down her cheek on the right side of her face clearly having come from some sort of knife or other bladed weapon. Reaching over she flicked the switch to turn on the personal announcement system and was pleased to see it working.

 

"Ann, James please report to the President's office" she ordered before turning the system off and waiting for those she had called for to arrive. First one soldier and then another arrived the former slightly slimmer than the other. "Commander Klein" they reported in unison the slimmer soldier with the voice of a woman, being Ann and the other a man's voice him being James.

 

"We have the city secure, but only loosely. Send runners back in to the jungle and have more men brought to Hanoi we need to make a show of force if we are to keep the population under control. Ann that will be your mission. James I have something different for you. I want you to go back with Ann and have the scientists and medical staff brought in to the city. Have the former start collecting samples and the later helping those who are injured. Anyone found to show signs of infection must be moved to the pens outside of the city" said Klein to her subordinates. 

 

"What about the bodies of those already fallen to the disease?" asked James.

 

"Have them gathered up and taken to a secure site on the other side of the city to the holding pens and then have the flamethrower teams reduce them to ash. This disease has forced us out into the open and it is up to all of us. The reborn Helzan to be the flame that purges it and its effects from the world!"

 

Saluting and snapping to attention James and Ann turned and quickly left to head back to the jungle to start on their assigned mission, leaving the woman known as Valerie Klein thought dead but in fact alive and well to stare out of the large window in her new office at the city of Hanoi. The Helzan were back and they had much to do.

[Kevin Kingswell]

Reinforcements from the Helzan soon arrived including a number of armoured fighting vehicles, these would be divided out so that each group defending an intersection had a single armoured vehicle supporting them. Along with the military vehicles a number of civilian medical trucks and science transporters arrived, the medical trucks would begin to dispense aid to any injured or malnourished civilians in Hanoi whilst the scientists would take known infected individuals in for sample collecting and would try to persuade the infected to agree to be test subjects in the hopes of curing the disease. Any that agreed would be taken to sealed container housing where good food, sleeping and living conditions awaited whilst those that refused were taken away and disposed of in a humane and quick manner before their corpses were burnt.

 

As night descended on the city it unveiled a new horror, one the citizens had long been fighting. The most heavily stricken infected citizens had been driven mad by the White Death disease and in their addled and crazed state they sought out the uninfected and attacked them, viciously tearing at their bodies with hands and teeth. The first signs of these attacks came when the innermost guard forces reported what sounded to be large amounts of movement near to them which was swiftly replaced by the loud crack of rifles being fired as swarms of infected poured out of the buildings depths and from dark passageways built into the city. The small groups of Helzan soldiers were able to cut down a lot of the attacking infected but were swiftly overrun and killed. The armoured vehicles immune to the infected's attacks still found themselves swamped by bodies, their tracks and turrets becoming jammed by the sheer press of bodies and corpses. The crews inside could only hunker down and cover their ears against the never ending banging coming from the strikes against their vehicle's hull.

 

Recognizing that her troops would be unable to move in to support the survivors in the inner city Valerie had her exterior troops move in to form a cordon around the inner city to contain the infected. What followed was hours of repeated attacks from waves of infected that quickly began to eat through ammunition and claimed a few lives from the defenders. Breaches in the cordon almost occurred in various places when small pockets of infected attacked the cordon troops from behind and they were only stopped when flame thrower teams were brought up to enter, search and burn out any hide outs of infected in the outer city limits.

 

When daylight arrived it was estimated that somewhere between three to five hundred infected individuals had been killed for the loss of thirty three Helzan soldiers which included some crew members from the armoured vehicles who had been driven to suicide by the constant attacks and screams. However, day light and sent the infected survivors back into their hideouts and Valerie and her commanders knew that they would return and wreck more death and destruction on every night till either the Helzan or the infected were wiped out so it was decided that squads of soldiers with at least one flame thrower would enter the dark depths of the city's buildings and passageways and hunt down each group of infected and burn their hideouts to ash.       

[Triyun]

The battle continued as the soldiers around the city of Singapore, retreated deep into the underground fortress that had been built beneath the city in the even of  two front Naval War with the OU and Cochin Empires years ago.  Going deep into the rock, passages were now filled with much of the cities civilian population, as solidiers fought hard trying to hold back the onslaught of jihadis still pouring through the streets of the city.  RPGs flew past Shen and his soliders as they fired their rifles running low on ammo.

 

"Into the fortress, all of you, lets move move!" he yelled as they continued firing back against the oncoming mass of enemies.  He could see the long hair of Amazons as they were retreating back to the wide entrance into the fortress.  Three tanks came rumbling out from underneath, opening up with their top gatlting cannons and main guns, while two 40 mm hydra AA vehicles were positioned to raise their guns parrellel to the streets firing shells into large stems of enemy formations tearing them to pieces.

 

"COME ON!"  Shen yelled as a critical mass of enemies grew closer and closer before they had to slam the doors.

[Aggressivenutmeg]

For decades before the collapse, the Delta region had suffered a total ecocide at the hands of oil companies. Today, the delta was a haunted marshland, home to the dead and dying of the ever present white death. The pandemic that never seemed to end. The infiltration team had been inserted by helicopter, and now made their way through the stinking swamps. The Niger Delta had been dying long before the decay of the whitening. Oil production had left a devastated and polluted landscape. If you didn’t contract the disease, you sure as hell would be killed by the toxins in the water, or in the air. This was the home to bandits, outcasts, and any scavenger who wanted to risk a bullet through the head or infection to make a buck or two.

 

John and the team did all they could to resist the disease, dosing up on antibiotics and wearing gas-masks helped a little, but ultimately it would just come down to luck whether or not any of them got infected. lightly armed with assault rifles, suppressed pistols, and a single squad automatic weapon, the team’s objective was simple; recon Badluck Boni’s hideout, call in a distraction, grab the diamonds and run. If Badluck Boni happened to be home, John had a bullet with his name on it.

 

The trek through the swamps at night was a terrifying experience, even for the hardened mercenaries of Militaires sans Frontieres. The twisted trees cast monstrous shadows in the moonlight, and the constant scurrying of critters or local residence kept everyone on their toes. A single mistaken sound and the whole team would be lying dead in bloody water, riddled with bullets and stripped naked by the assailants.

 

After a good three hours of marching through the swamp, the team came close to their target; a fortified village flying the flag of Badluck Boni’s army - the “Alliance of Popular Resistance”, a warlord army in opposition to MSF old friend, Namadi’s “National Restoration Army” - the team took up observation positions in a nearby abandoned oil refinery. The refineries had been constructed in their hundreds during the oil days of the delta, but were now the homes to the dying natives of the Niger Delta. This residence of this particular refinery/village had seen the team coming from a mile away and had vanished into the moonlight swamp, leaving the team to set up an observation post and survey the APR base.

 

After a few hours, they were ready. They knew the patrol routes, the equipment of the guards and the best way into the fort. The team would aim to kill as few guards as possible. This was a theft (and if they were lucky, a bit of assassination), not an assault. The team broke up into three groups. Two members would take up positions with the SAW to provide suppressive fire along the villages one street. Three others would take up position on the opposite side of town. These two pair would serve as the distraction teams incase things inside when !@#$ up. It was up to John to get the diamonds.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Aggressivenutmeg

[The Zigur]

The Union of Soviet Socialist Eurasia had just established itself formally when the white death began to spread. In the highly unstable, so called white space, death rapidly spread across the stateless anarchic regions, threatening to spread into government regions... but usually contained by state security forces before outbreaks could get too big.

At least, that was the conventional thinking in the USSE. The USSE was surrounded by states on all sides; and was more or less completely unaffected by the global disaster. That sense of security was shattered when Iran fell.

By far Iran was the most powerful nation in the region, and the fact that it could fall was a stern warning to other parties. The USSE decided that action would have to be taken swiftly to contain it.

"I love the smell of napalm in the morning." General Gurlukovich loved American movies since childhood, and especially their portayal of the KGB. KGB, the sinister secret police and intelligence force that, despite inferior funding and technology, always seemed to maintain a step ahead of the CIA on the ground... at least until the 80s. USSE prided itself on its reformed KGB, and although it lagged far behind the most bourgeoisie countries, it was still perhaps the best intelligence agency in the third world.

The nice thing about being a third world nation is you can take care of problems the simple way. People dont stick their hand out threatening to protest and react if they dont get their due, because in the third world they would lose their hand. The western countries decry it as oppression, but the truth is we dont have the money to spend on buying off our political enemies.

The case was much the same with biological enemies as well. Why hire expensive riot control police and ineffective medical teams when you can simply napalm an infected area? We have no desire to be bit and infected by this 28 days later disease. At least, that is what they say on the news channels. We have done a good job bombarding from a distance. Done correctly, it would provide the infected a quick, clean and merciful death.

And thus, Iran was taken with just a few mechanized divisions sent to contain heavily infested areas.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Tywin Lannister

[Triyun]

Tianxia condemns and is horrified by the use of napalm for this problem.  It is proper to quarintine ones own borders, but slaughtering the ill for the sake of territorial agrandizement is insane.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Triyun

[Kevin Kingswell]

Private First Class James Smart grunted with a titanic effort as he pushed back against the steel shelf he had pulled down over the basement access door, that same door was shaking violently as the infected on the other side slammed themselves into it again and again. James cursed his luck once again as he felt the door begin to budge open even with his efforts, he hadn't meant to fall down into the stupid basement but he had really wanted to collect some flowers for Colonel Sarah Jackson the bad ass but beautiful commander of his unit and like many of the younger men he had fallen for her. The shelf bounced back before slamming into the door again as the blows got stronger and faster and with his efforts proving fruitless James gave up holding the block in place and ran to the other side of the room praying for a miracle under his breath as the shelf was knocked away from the door.

 

As the door burst open and the infected poured into the room James shot the first few with his handgun before being dragged to the floor and beaten and torn to death all whilst screaming the Colonel's name. James died alone and was swiftly marked as MIA believed KIA as was usual for the odd lone soldier or two who suddenly disappeared as for Colonel Sarah she had more important things to worry about than foolish privates who got themselves killed.

 

----

 

Across the whole of Vietnam the second wave of Helzan troops left their jungle bases where they had been hiding for many many years and moved into the cities and towns of Vietnam. Any infected too far gone were quickly located, killed and disposed of by fire whilst those still suffering the early effects were taken in for study and research though the researchers knew that as soon as the pain grew too much they were to kill the subjects to spare them further misery and horror. Surviving members of the civilian population were given food, medicine and any other aid that they required though their numbers were so few it was heart breaking. With the arrival of the Helzan however, it seemed that Vietnam would still survive though with the majority of the population now being Helzan in origin it was decided to rename the country to Helzan. 

[The Zigur]

PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT

 

[Before No Fly Zone]

 

KGB General Gurlukovich looked over the map, pointing out cities to the other officers. The city of Mashad was the largest in Northern Iran, and needed to be carefully secured. There were several other areas in the north that needed securing, but Mashad was primary. After hearing about patients with the white death acting aggressively, the Eurasian military was taking every precaution to prevent the sickness from reaching further north.

 

The approach to the purging mission was carefully calculated. NBC-protected LAV-25s had entered the city to conduct recon during the first stage of operations. In the outlying, less populated areas, the disease appeared to be restricted to bubonic-plague like systems, with some victims leaning against walls or lying in the streets, covered in odd bulges and obviously in lots of misery. However, when they entered the urban areas the scene was more distressing. 

 

LAV drivers be like "nope"

 

As a child Gurlokovich was terrified of American zombie movies. Mechanized infantry were known to be tough !@#$%^&*, so when the LAV-25 scouts came flying back reporting walkers the KGB General did not hesitate to order napalm strikes on the densely infested areas.

 

"No no not artillery, we are not trying to destroy the buildings, just clear the streets. Make sure to bring back one to show the media."

 

Helicopters flew low over the city to identify infestation choke-points and tagged them with smoke. In the areas marked, SU-34 strike bombers carefully delivered napalm ordinance, lighting up multiple streets with the fiercely burning substance. It would melt the asphalt, but the streets would be ready to access after the fires burned out. 

 

Once the bombardments were completed, LAV-25s with NBC equipped soldiers re-entered the city to investigate the locations. After the napalm strikes, the city was enveloped by low lying smoke.

 

Street sweeping by NBC-protected mechanized infantry

 

The area was obscured by smoke, but the LAV25s passed charred corpses from the bombing and aside from some heat damage the buildings appeared to be relatively unharmed. The squad dismounted from the vehicle to clear a small three story apartment building to look for survivors, and of course, example to show the media.

 

Inside the building, it was very dark, but nobody was to be found in the lobby. They entered the second floor, clearing the staircase and found blood all over the walls. Most of the apartment doors were unsecured, which disturbed the soldiers, but perhaps all the zombies had gon out into the street and been killed by the napalm. There was, however, one door still secure.

 

Taking a battering ram, they smashed open the door and quickly entered. There were no zombies, but a little girl was found hiding in the shower. Turning off the flashlight, Squad leader Muhammad Rabbani approached the girl and held out his hand.

 

"We are here to help. What is your name?"

 

Before the girl could reply, the radio snapped to life.

 

"Sergeant Rabbani, we see motion in the other buildings, it's time to go!"

 

!@#$.

 

"Ok young lady, we are going to take you to safety. Climb up on my shoulders and hold on!"

 

Suddenly, he heard a scream by the stairwell 30 feet down the hall. Gunshots erupted as one of his privates fired his M4 into a crowd surging up the stairs. However, at least 20 of the infected surged forward pinning Private Ivan to the wall as they began to beat him into unconsciousness. Ivan yelled out one last time... "GRENADE!"

 

"Everyone, take the other stairs, back to the LAV!"

 

From inside they heard the armored vehicles 25 mm auto-cannon open fire... CHUM CHUM CHUM... CHUM CHUM CHUM... From the stairwell a bang sounded and the hallway filled with smoke. Rushing down the other stairwell, they saw the LAV-25 holding off a swarm coming from the taller building across the street, but the large caliber cannon was only stirring up the hive. A deafening roar, almost like that of a stadium but sicker, roared to life in the buildings around them. Checking that the girl was still on his shoulders, they began to engage small arms fire against the crowds as they re-entered the rear of the LAV-25. Closing the door, they quickly evacuated the area and drove at top speed back towards the small FOB outside the city.

 

"Sergeant, did you manage to obtain a sample of the infected?"

 

"No Major, but I did find an apparently healthy girl alive in one of the apartments we raided. She's in shock but I think she can tell us more about what happened."

Edited June 25, 2014 by Tywin Lannister

[Triyun]

OOC:  I'll edit when you do, but you do know these are the F-5 and F-8, they are units from Tianxia's designations, not the old US models, they can reach (not to mention very hard to find).  

 

http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?/topic/120184-tianxia-factbook/?p=3218093

 

I figure your response may be a bit different, tangling with these.

[The Zigur]

OOC: Adjusted the timeline, story occurred earlier to explain earlier napalm engagements.

 

-----------------------------

 

PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT (NATO: TOP SECRET)

 

KGB General Gurlukovich spat when the word came from above to suddenly pull back from Iran.

 

"Comrade Putin, have you lost your God-damn mind? We've only cleaned up ten percent of Mashad! Do you realize we are still finding healthy people hiding in the buildings?"

"I understand your frustration Comrade, but bear with me. The Chinese have used the 'napalm massacre' as an excuse to position themselves offensively against us. They have stealth aircraft in Iran as we speak."
 

General Gurlokovich thought for a moment. Obviously this was a Chinese ploy to control Iranian oil, but this situation could provide an opportunity to observe Chinese stealth aircraft in action. Stealth aircraft attempted to reduce their radar cross-section, but there was no such thing as a completely undetectable stealth aircraft. The presence of tail fins and externally mounted ordnance increased the cross-section of even a stealth aircraft considerably, while advanced VHF radars could detect small cross-section aircraft which could then be further tracked by higher frequency radars. If a pilot was scared into activating his jamming system, the presence of his aircraft could be detected. Some Over the Horizon radars, and AESA in particular, represent types of radar that would be the most effective against stealth aircraft, but it was far from Eurasia's reach at the moment. Right now, they needed to make do with modernized soviet designs. 

 

"We will do what the Serbians did, but do it from behind our own border. We want to setup three P-18 VHF radars and coordinate them with one S-300 battery for tracking purposes. Engagement is not authorized, this is just a data collection mission. We will want to send up our ELINT and AWACS aircraft in the rear, and have more S-300 on standby in case the Chinese chose to engage. If they open their weapons bay, they will probably reveal themselves and we will need to record the data. Make sure to have some SU-27s in the air near our border."

 

As for the ground forces, it looked like the Iranians would be forced to suffer and healthy innocents would just have to die. At least they saved the one girl from Mashad.

[Mr Director]

OOC EDIT: nvm, this would screw up some other stuff.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Mr Director

[Triyun]

 

OOC: Adjusted the timeline, story occurred earlier to explain earlier napalm engagements.

 

-----------------------------

 

PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT (NATO: TOP SECRET)

 

KGB General Gurlukovich spat when the word came from above to suddenly pull back from Iran.

 

"Comrade Putin, have you lost your God-damn mind? We've only cleaned up ten percent of Mashad! Do you realize we are still finding healthy people hiding in the buildings?"

"I understand your frustration Comrade, but bear with me. The Chinese have used the 'napalm massacre' as an excuse to position themselves offensively against us. They have stealth aircraft in Iran as we speak."
 

General Gurlokovich thought for a moment. Obviously this was a Chinese ploy to control Iranian oil, but this situation could provide an opportunity to observe Chinese stealth aircraft in action. Stealth aircraft attempted to reduce their radar cross-section, but there was no such thing as a completely undetectable stealth aircraft. The presence of tail fins and externally mounted ordnance increased the cross-section of even a stealth aircraft considerably, while advanced VHF radars could detect small cross-section aircraft which could then be further tracked by higher frequency radars. If a pilot was scared into activating his jamming system, the presence of his aircraft could be detected. Some Over the Horizon radars, and AESA in particular, represent types of radar that would be the most effective against stealth aircraft, but it was far from Eurasia's reach at the moment. Right now, they needed to make do with modernized soviet designs. 

 

"We will do what the Serbians did, but do it from behind our own border. We want to setup three P-18 VHF radars and coordinate them with one S-300 battery for tracking purposes. Engagement is not authorized, this is just a data collection mission. We will want to send up our ELINT and AWACS aircraft in the rear, and have more S-300 on standby in case the Chinese chose to engage. If they open their weapons bay, they will probably reveal themselves and we will need to record the data. Make sure to have some SU-27s in the air near our border."

 

As for the ground forces, it looked like the Iranians would be forced to suffer and healthy innocents would just have to die. At least they saved the one girl from Mashad.

 

 

The lack of respect for the no-fly zone, meant the unfortunate incident that the Soviets would get themselves into an air match with the Chinese.  Restraint would be placed on not doing deep bombing as was standard protocol however, the planes which were in fact flying in the no-fly zone had been in effect sent in to die.

 

The VHF radars particularly older models would detect a lot of background noise, perhaps some which were in luck to point to a where large dispersed numbers of fighter aircraft were coming from may detect something, but most of it would be unreliable, certainly none of it could be used to guide a missile or scramble aircraft in an efficient manner.  Further exploitation of information required the aircraft to be really close, being at such high altitude and super cruising the tactical utility vs that against the old slow flying sub sonic low altitude F-117 was next to nill.  Radar information, what could be gathered would also have very limited utility. 

 

The pilots of the aircraft would scan the skies using their passive sensor arrays, detecting the high emissions from the Soviet AWACs and the Su-27s along with the heat signature.  The SAM sites would be engaged indirectly by groups in the formation suddenly tuning on their AESA Radars.  However, their purpose was not to detect but to engage.  All the pencil beams on the radars would be focused at once, engaging S-300 control systems at the speed of light, cooking the circuitry, while others continued on, their weapons bays opening being only more detectable for a second, and still outside the detection envelope of the aircraft they were engaging as each Su-27 and AWAC got pounded.  Air to air missiles equipped with AESA radar guidance (making it very hard to out turn, but also a low probability of intercept to detect) would zip across the air towards their targets before the Soviets even knew they were coming.  

 

By the time the soviets could get any information on where aircraft were though, they'd have closed their bay doors and were moving at super cruise to another location.  The Soviets now had a game throw their air force into a cat and mouse game with the Chinese or acquiesce to not napalming civilians.  It was theirs to make. 

[Aggressivenutmeg]

Badluck Boni’s fortress was just outside the village, in an old colonial era mansion, reinforced with plenty of machine guns and sandbags. Sticking to the shadows cast in the moonlight, John slinked through the undergrowth, avoiding the few patrols that made their way around the village. when he got to the mansion, he peeked in through one of the windows. He was looking at a small room, with a few couches and a television in a corner. Through the doorway on the other side of the room, he saw a few guards sitting at a table playing cards, drinking, and laughing. John could barely make out the soldiers sketchy pidgin, so he continued around to the other side of the house. There was no visible way to get to the second floor from the outside, with no other option, John climbed through the window into the kitchen.

 

He quickly crept upstairs, being extra careful not to disturb the half drunk guards playing cards in the other room. The upstairs floor was divided into three rooms and the balcony. There was a single guard there, keeping watch over the town. He was quickly dispatched with a hand over his mouth and a knife through his heart. All but one of the rooms were empty. From behind a closed door, John could hear two men arguing in Igbo. He opened the door, AK at the ready and stormed through. The two men stopped as he ran into the room, and immediately the nearest one lunged for Johns rifle, grabbing it by the barrel, pulling it from Johns hands and sending it flying across the other side of the room.

 

When the Kalashnikov hit the opposite wall, it fired with a loud BANG! John threw a punch at his assailant, hitting him in the jaw, before drawing his pistol, firing three shots and shooting the men dead, neither of them were Badluck Boni. John could hear more gunfire in the distance now, as his team mates began attacking the soldiers in the village. He could also hear yelling and footsteps rushing up the stairs a lot closer. There were some diamonds on the table. Whether or not they were the ones stolen from Namadi John didn't know or care, they were more than enough to pay MSF for that job. scooping them up into a pouch, john grabbed a grenade from his vest, pulled the pin and chucked it down the hallway and covered his ears. Grabbing his AK, he stepped out into the hallway (after his previously chucked grenade had exploded, obviously) firing at the staircase. There wasn't anyone there but he could hear the guards downstairs.

 

Time for another one. John though, pulling the pin on another frag grenade before throwing it down the stairs. After it had gone off, John bunny hopped the banister and fell a little too far, spraining his ankle on the stairs (or what was left of them after the shrapnel of two frag grenades had shredded the timber). He recovered and raised his rifle in time to kill two guards rushing through the front door. He limped out of the house and took cover next to a low stone retainer wall in the front garden (which, for a warlords garden was surprisingly well cared for). He took out his radio and called in the helicopter for extraction. His team by now, had retreated from the village and were making their way up to the mansion to meet the chopper. In a few minutes, the helicopter arrived and drove the soldiers back with a hail of fire from the door guns. Within two hours the team was back at the base with one bullet wound, a sprained ankle and a small pouch full of diamonds.

Edited June 26, 2014 by Aggressivenutmeg

[Triyun]

One after the other Soviet aircraft would be dropping from the skies from the missiles of the Tianxia Air Force, which now took up permanent overhead patrols over Iran.  Long range squadrons made E/A-18-Gs would escort groups of EC-130s (along with some support tankers), jamming ground based missile batteries while the EC-130s would disrupt communications that were being used to coordinate the advance of Soviet troops.  

 

Tianxia special forces were authorized to deploy the areas of Iran where the population was intact and relatively healthy, funnelling weapons and training to them to resist both the more extreme forms of 'zombified' disease but also the Soviet Invaders.

 

OOC:  Converting 100, 000 troops into these militias for now.