iKrolm Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 (edited) OOC: Continuation of a couple posts in my news thread. OOC comments welcome. This thread exists within it's own timescale, but is canon. (EDIT(s): ^ updated) IC: Arnel Lucero was late for a meeting; there just wasn't enough time for everything these days. Leading a rapidly-growing political party, the Communist Party of Selenarctos, took most of his time as it was but now here he was, personally overseeing the effort to create a coalition with the United Socialist Front. Throw into the schedule the party's half-completed move to new headquarters and accidents were bound to happen such as now, when he'd been [i]in[/i] the car before realizing the latest draft of the coalition agreement was still sitting on his desk, eight stories up. So here National Director Arnel Lucero was now, walking as fast as humanly possible without actually running (to be seen running would be unprofessional, even if only by one of the eight or so employees who'd moved so far). If only his secretary had moved already, she was excellent at keeping track of details and he'd never have left his office without the draft. Doesn't matter now though, but he'd make sure she was transferred after this. Third door on the left after the elevator; name plate held up with masking tape because the men to install it properly still hadn't come around on his floor yet; unlock and open the door and there's the draft right on the desk where he left it and... There was a young woman sitting in [i]his[/i] chair behind [i]his[/i] desk. And she was just watching him with amusement in her eyes, like she knows something he doesn't. "Excuse me, may I help you?" Arnel asked, blinking in surprise. He didn't recognize her, which wasn't surprising in itself: there were plenty of freelance reporters hanging around lately as rumors of the coalition developed, but she didn't act like a reporter. She had the overly-self-confident air of a reporter perfected, but she'd let herself into his office. His [i]locked[/i] office. And now she was sitting in [i]his[/i] chair, bare feet up upon [i]his[/i] desk. Bare feet? That certainly wasn't very reporter-like either... "Arnel Lucero, National Director of the Communist Party of Selenarctos?" She asked, phrasing the words to form a statement rather than a question. "I, yes... Can I... How did you get in here? Who are you?" Arnel stammered, recovered his wits and continued, "You've got 60 seconds to start answering before I call security." "Making threats?" She smiled, clearly amused at the idea. "You have no idea what's going to happen here, do you? But of course you don't, how rude of me: I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Nicole Alcasid." She paused, watching him. "Doesn't ring a bell? Shouldn't, hardly anyone knows I exist after all but everyone knows at least one thing I've done: I killed Marcos Aguinaldo, after all." She said, still smiling and leveling a previously-concealed, suppressed MP7 with his chest. "This room's bugged you know... And under constant video surveillance, security will be here any minute," Lucero said, thinking furiously. She killed Marcos? Was that even possible? The police had never arrested a suspect, but the profile was a Filipino male between 1.7 and 1.9 meters and she was no more male than she was a centimeter over 150. "Now, now, we both you'd never tolerate monitoring in your office and building security? There's a single guard with a baton, a cup of coffee and a newspaper on the first floor." He blinked with surprise again as she continued, "And don't insult my intelligence by suggesting someone will hear us, you're the only occupied office on this floor or the one below it. There's just us, alone." Now she, Nicole, had him scared. "What do you want? And do you mind if I sit down?" Lucero added as an afterthought, stumbling toward a chair opposite his desk, his legs growing weak. "Not at all," Nicole answered, still smiling as she stood slowly then jumped over the desk, somehow managing to land on her feet leaning back on the the desk and simultaneously keep the MP7 leveled at him the whole time. "Nice office you have here. View could be better, though. How much the rent costing you?" "What?" She's asking him how much the rent costs at gunpoint? "That's right, how much you pay per month for these offices? You're paying for most of the 6th, 7th and 8th floors, but you're communists," She paused. "That's right..." "So with all this, shouldn't you be getting it for free or something? You know, the whole 'everybody owns everything' thing. Am I right?" Nicole said, gesturing lavishly around the office, the MP7 still perfectly still on his chest. "I don't think you quite understand the theory of Communism. Have you seen Ferrer's latest book? There's a copy of it right up on the shelf there, you're welcome to it if you'd like: you may find it quite enlightening," Arnel answered nervously, eyeing the gun just 3 meters away from him. He wasn't a fighting man, never had been, and yet it was just 3 meters... Might as well've been a hundred, he'd never get it. Nicole didn't even glance when he pointed at the book. "No thanks, I'm afraid I've already found a calling, and it pays better too. Sure the hours aren't great, but there's a certain satisfaction when the job's done. So, shall we begin?" "Begin what?" He said, glancing up nervously at her face then back at the gun. "Your death, of course. All a bit melodramatic, don't you think, the lead up? More personal too though, and that's the way I prefer it. Get to know who you're going to kill and when they're dead, I know why and I'm OK with it." It took a moment for the words to register with him. This wasn't robbery or extortion, this was murder. His murder. Well, he was only going to have one chance but hell if he wasn't going to take it. Coiled his legs up and jumped at her, reaching for the gun and her throat. Almost. He'd barely left the chair when, faster than he could blink, she shot him in the leg. Just angled it just slightly and CLICK. Didn't even have time to wonder why it only sounded like a click before the pain in his right leg hit him. He looked down in time to see blood spray out from both sides of his leg, entry and exit wound, but he kept moving. It was only 3 meters, right? Then she shot him in the other leg and he felt the femur shatter. Saw it shatter too as a hole opened up on one side of his leg and an aerosol of blood and bone fragments flew out the other. She saw it too, watched still smiling as he collapsed yelling in pain, his useless leg bent at an angle which normally wouldn't be possible. Had to stop yelling, can't talk if you're yelling. He could still talk his way out of this. A leg could be repaired and surely there was something he could offer her, money maybe? He wasn't a wealthy man, but... "Go ahead, yell and scream. You can't talk your way out of this and there's no one around to hear you. No one to see you in your pitiful final state, your dignity shattered, your "I" breath "have money," breath "ask and" breath "its yours." Arnel managed to get out. "Listen here, the great communist offering money in exchange for life. How much is your life worth? A hundred thousand? A million? But wait, isn't assigning value on life a capitalist thing? I'm disappointed in you Arnel Lucero, I thought it'd take longer before you cast aside your Communist ideals but alas, no. Only two bullets, only one broken bone. There's 3 major bones in your leg you know? I've broken your femur, the longest bone in the human body. Guess that one isn't the longest anymore. There's also the fibula and tibia in the lower leg. CLICK. He couldn't see it, couldn't raise his head to see it, but he felt another bone shatter and couldn't suppress the shout of pain. That one's the tibia, supports half the weight of your body, you know. So does each the femur, I suppose... Well, not your left femur at any rate." CLICK. His eyes were closed but he heard the sickening crunch and almost blacked out. He didn't though, opened his eyes again and there she was, standing above him: brown hair, light brown skin and jeans; blue eyes though. Still barefoot too, though he couldn't see that. "That one's the fibula, couldn't turn your ankle without it. Not that I'd recommend you try though. I'm going to give you an injection now, adrenaline. The shot shouldn't hurt too bad, not compared to your leg. The adrenaline may dull some of the pain or it may not; results vary but it will keep you awake longer," Nicole informed him in a matter-of-fact way, bringing a syringe into his field of view, popping it out of the plastic case. He never felt the needle go in but he felt the affects of the adrenaline immediately: his heart kicked into overdrive and a little of the pain went away. Maybe. Or maybe he just imagined it did. "The arm's remarkably similar to the leg in design: it's got couple extra bones for more flexibility but really, it's got the same layout. Large bone in your upper arm called the humerus." CLICK. Oh $&%!. Oh $&%!. "Two bones in the lower arm, the Ulna and the Radius allow you to twist your wrist, just like the fibula does." CLICK, CLICK. "And there's one central nerve in the arm, carries the feeling from those shattered bones straight back up to the brain, you know. Don't worry, I won't be shooting it: then the arm'd go numb and we wouldn't want that," she said leaning over him. She reached out, touched his arm and her fingers came away stained red. Rubbed the blood and watched it run around her fingers as she stood up before flicking it back on him. "You can lose an awful lot of blood before you die of blood loss, you know. You've got almost 6 liters to start with and most adults whole liter without going unconscious. You? I'd estimate you've lost at least 750 milliliters and more going quickly, so lets not waste time, shall we? Maybe in the future, I'll bring a mirror with me. That way you could see for yourself, the way it pools around your legs and soaks into your business suit and carpet. Going to leave quite a stain, trust me," she said without a hint of humanity in her voice. "Now then, the vital organs. Problem with these are, they really are vital. The kidneys for example: you've got two of them and all five-and-a-half liters of your blood flow through them every couple of minutes so once they're gone, we're on a pretty strict time limit, not to mention anything we hit behind them. That's how it goes sometimes, though." CLICK, CLICK. He just kept screaming and was could barely keep track of what she was saying anymore. "The stomach intestines just tend to produce a lot of brownish fluids which don't complement the red blood so well, so we'll leave those intact for now, same with the stomach. Your kidneys seem to be going awfully fast, I'd guess you have less than 30 seconds of consciousness left. Any last words?" She paused, before continuing above his screaming. "You might last longer if you didn't scream, using up your oxygen. In any case, under normal pressure the arteries in you will produce small geysers of blood." CLICK, CLICK. "Guess you're blood pressure's a little low but I suppose that's to be expected. After all, there seems to be an awful lot of it spilled across the floor." "You don't seem to be screaming as strongly either, maybe time for your lungs to go? I prefer four shots: one to the lower lung and one to the upper lung for each lung just to make sure, you don't seem to be in any state to come up with a better idea so I'll skip asking." CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. "My, my, so much blood spilling across your nice white shirt and tie. How much did they cost you, do you think? No matter, there's still one more thing: the brain. The center of it all and since you're the head of the Communist Party, wouldn't that make your brain as close to the the center of the Communist Party as you could get? Won't be the center for much longer, I'm afraid. After all, a billion years of evolution couldn't even save you from a couple grams of metal. Such is life, I suppose," Nicole finished. CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. The life of Arnel Lucero's brain, which ceased rational thought a number of seconds prior, ended as three foreign metal objects beat their way through his forehead, strewing torn up skull fragments and a trail of shredded brain tissue in their wake before exiting out the softer bone in the back of the head. Nicole Alcasid walked casually out of the building back into the streets of Manila, and proceeded to report Arnel Lucero 'neutralized' to the agency that employed her. Edited March 8, 2011 by iKrolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted February 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2010 [quote]FROM: Alejandro Tiempo TO: Melchoro Diokno ENCRYPTION LEVEL: 1024-bit SUBJECT: Upcoming External Review MESSAGE: Melchoro Diokno, the recent actions of Security Division Intelligence and Analysis have raised some concern among the members of the Security Council. Most notably, the circumstances regarding the recent death of Communist Party National Director Arnel Lucero and other reasons. We are writing therefore to inform you that your organization will undergo a complete external review, the conclusion of which may determine the future of SecDev Intel & Analysis. Sincerely, Alejandro Tiempo, Second Director of the Security Division [/quote] [quote]FROM: Melchoro Diokno TO: Alejandro Tiempo ENCRYPTION LEVEL: 2048-bit SUBJECT: RE: Upcoming External Review MESSAGE: Dear Director Tiempo, While I thank you and the Security Council for your concern, rest assured that everything in my sector is under control. Arnel Lucero's death were most untimely and unfortunate, however there is hardly adequate reason for a total external investigation. As you well know, SevDev Intel & Analysis is a highly classified organization and to put together a board of review with the appropriate clearances would take some time. Furthermore, assuming such a board was hoping to find some bit of incriminating evidence, they would be disappointed: any review of Security Division Intel and Analysis will show that my organization and I have [i]always[/i] acted in the best interests of Selenarctos, and will continue to for as long as I serve. As such, the time and personnel needed to prepare for a complete external investigation simply cannot be allocated at this time. Thank you for your time and I look forward to correspondence in the future. Sincerely, Director Melchoro Diokno [/quote] [quote]FROM: Alejandro Tiempo TO: Melchoro Diokno ENCRYPTION LEVEL: 1024-bit SUBJECT: RE: Upcoming External Review MESSAGE: Melchoro Diokno, I'm afraid you seem to have misinterpreted my initial message. I wrote not to obtain your opinion on the occurrence of a the investigation, such decisions have already been made, but to inform you and ensure your organization understands that they are to cooperate with the reviewers. The review [i]will[/i] take place and you [i]will[/i] cooperate, regardless of assurances, no matter how personal, you may issue. You may not be under the official employ of the Security Division, but you have your orders and you will follow them. Sincerely, Alejandro Tiempo, Second Director of the Security Division [/quote] [quote]FROM: Melchoro Diokno TO: Alejandro Tiempo ENCRYPTION LEVEL: 4096-bit SUBJECT: RE: Upcoming External Review MESSAGE: Dear Director Tiempo, Of course I will cooperate with any such investigation to the best of my ability; the mere suggestion that I would not pains me deeply. However, as previously stated, the personal to prepare for such an investigation are simply not available. The operations of my sector require near 24-hour attention and most of those under my employ are already overworked, as anyone you wish can attest to. To removed any individuals for days or even weeks, especially with the recovery leaves sometimes granted to individuals who've undergone particularly stressful questioning, could prove disastrous to the carefully organized time frames SecDev Intel & Analysis operates under. Furthermore, a number of of my operatives are deployed in the field and will be unavailable for some time. I am not trying to avoid an external review, I would welcome one for the positive results that would surely ensue, I am simply informing you that such an investigation would be significantly more useful in the future. Sincerely, Alejandro Tiempo, Second Director of the Security Division [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 (edited) [quote]FROM: Alejandro Tiempo TO: Melchoro Diokno ENCRYPTION LEVEL: 1024-bit SUBJECT: RE: Upcoming External Review MESSAGE: Melchoro Diokno, nothing irritates me more then when I am required to reiterate myself and you are trying my patience. The investigation will take place, as I have already stated. It will begin within the next week. These two points are non-negotiable. To ensure your cooperation, I have taken the liberty of dispatching a team of Foreign Intelligence Force security personnel to secure you and the contents of your office. Do not try to reply, your internet connection shall be terminated after you receive this message. Sincerely, Alejandro Tiempo, Second Director of the Security Division[/quote] [quote]FROM: Melchoro Diokno TO: Alejandro Tiempo ENCRYPTION LEVEL: 8192-bit SUBJECT: RE: Upcoming External Review MESSAGE: Dear Director Tiempo, I'm sure you will find all the files within my office in order and you're more than welcome to look through them though may I recommend your Foreign Intelligence Force team not preform such a search? There are certainly classified and quite possibly incriminating documents within. Unfortunately, as you may have guessed by my ability to reply, I am not in my office as the trace program must have shown. My current location must remain undisclosed for the time being for security matters, however I will return as soon a circumstances allow. Sincerely, Director Melchoro Diokno Sincerely, Alejandro Tiempo, Second Director of the Security Division[/quote] [quote]FROM: Alejandro Tiempo TO: Melchoro Diokno ENCRYPTION LEVEL: 1024-bit SUBJECT: RE: Upcoming External Review MESSAGE: Melchoro Diokno, first off, you are not a Director. You are the commanding officer of Security Division Intelligence and Analysis. By the name alone, you are a part of the Security Division and I speak with the full authority of both Directors and the Security Council when I order you to report immediately to Foreign Intelligence Force command where you will be placed under their custody pending the outcome of the investigation. To ensure your compliance, a warrant for your arrest is being drafted even as I write this, to be distributed to local Domestic Force police officers. Should you resist, use of force in your apprehension shall be authorized. Sincerely, Alejandro Tiempo, Second Director of the Security Division[/quote] Edited February 21, 2010 by iKrolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted February 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 A Joint Press Release from the [size="3"][b]Communist Party of Selenarctos[/b][/size] and the [size="3"][b]United Socialist Front[/b][/size] The Communist Party of Selenarctos and the United Socialist Front are proud to announce today a joining of forces between the two fastest growing political parties in Selenarctos and the formation of the Ferrerist Coalition. United in by the ideas of Marx and Ferrer, we represent the people of Selenarctos, not the corporations. We represent the path forward, the path to a more democratic nation, a more progressive nation and a nation and a nation truly run by the people of Selenarctos. The combined strength of our two parties is large, and we will be heard. By many estimates, we are already larger than the National Conservative Party and still growing. With the elections just one year away, we have set our sights high: we aim to for a Ferrerist Economic Director, a Ferrerist Popular Director and a Ferrerist sympathizer in the Security Council. A lofty goal? Of course. Some may say we've set our sights too high and they may be right, but we do not believe it. We're setting out to bring radical changes to the very structure of the Selenarctan economy and government. Small steps won't cut it and the Selenarctan people deserve more; we aim to deliver. -[i]Carlos Burke[/i], (Acting) National Director of the Communist Party of Selenarctos -[i]Eduardo Joya[/i], President of the United Socialist Front [quote]FROM: Melchoro Diokno TO: Rio Agbayani, Commander of the Domestic Force ENCRYPTION LEVEL: 1024-bit SUBJECT: Ferrerist Coalition MESSAGE: Commander Agbayani, Allow me to introduce myself, I am Melchoro Diokno, Director of the Security Division Intelligence and Analysis. Most likely, you have not heard of my organization, however all relevant authorizations area attached should you have any questions. By now, you've no doubt heard of the Ferrerist Coalition and it's goals for radical changes to the current government. SevDev Intel & Analysis has been monitoring the situation closely for some time and we have determined the coalition to be a very credible threat. I recommend the Domestic Force immediately raise the Threat Level for the Ferrerist Coaltion to [size="1"]EXTREME[/size]. Furthermore, my sector is ready and willing to take action, discreetly of course, to blunt the point of the Coalition's sword, so to speak. All we require is your signed order, preferably filed a soon as you are able. Sincerely, Director Melchoro Diokno[/quote] [quote]FROM: Rio Agbayani TO: Melchoro Diokno ENCRYPTION LEVEL: 512-bit SUBJECT: RE: Ferrerist Coalition MESSAGE: Director Diokno, You are out of line with your suggestions. As we both know, the Domestic Force does not involve itself with political movements and certainly does not take actions to influence the political landscape. That said, however, it is enlightening to find someone in your position who agrees with me. The Ferrerist Coalition is quite possible the most dangerous threat to Selenarctos in the history of our nation, yet most of my fellow commanders fail to realize this. I am authorizing your organization to take the actions you deem necessary to ensure the Ferrerist Coalition does not achieve it's end goals. This shall remain off the record until you produce evidence, as I'm sure you will, describing in detail exactly how great of a threat to Selenarctos the Coalition's plans are. Good luck and may God be with you Melchoro; the actions you undertake will decide the fate of our nation and I only wish I could join you. Sincerely, Rio Agbayani[/quote] [b]CLASSIFIED[/b] Domestic Force Executive Order 3410 By order of Commander Rio Agbayani, the Ferrerist Coalition threat-analysis level has been raised to [size="1"]EXTREME[/size]. To all receiving this message, please advise those under you accordingly. More instructions will follow as the situation develops. END MESSAGE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted March 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 OOC: Not following the normal time scale with this thread. IC: A Press Release from the [size="3"][b]Ferrerist Coalition[/b][/size] It's common knowledge that the elections of public officials in the city of Preh come eight months before the elections for national government-level positions. Furthermore, the Preh elections have a history of accurately predicting the outcome of elections for the Directorships. With this in mind, we are proud to announce long-time socialist Dr. Mora Quiroz will be running for Mayor of Preh and the Ferrerist Coalition wholeheartedly endorses Dr. Quiroz's campaign. Dr. Quiroz was born in Preh, recieved her M.D. from the University of Manila and spent three years working in Preh-area hospitals. Five years ago, Dr. Quiroz left her position and spent the last five years working as a health care activist for the United Socialist Front. We hope you, our comrades of Preh, will join together to support Dr. Quiroz with your time time, your money if you are unavailable to volunteer your time, but above all else your votes. Thank you, -Carlos Burke, (Acting) National Director of the Communist Party of Selenarctos -Eduardo Joya, President of the United Socialist Front Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted March 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 [b]Darkened Basement in Manila[/b] "Good evening gentlemen. You already know me, I already know those who work for me so we'll skip the introductions," Melchoro Diokno said, entering the room where 5 other men already sat around a table. Melchoro took a seat at the head of the table and clicked on a projector to display an image of of a woman in her mid-thirties, smiling and waving as she stepped out of a car. "You already know Mora Quiroz, the Ferrerist's mayoral candidate for Preh. Early polls put her in the lead and the Ferrerist's support isn't hurting either. Obviously, she can't be allowed to win, however Commander Agbayani would prefer she wasn't killed outright either. Lets hear the options." A man to the right of Melchoro spoke up, "We're pretty limited on options for this one, sir. Normally, it'd be a simple matter to lace her food with some chemicals and to make her fall ill or turn up positive on a drug test and force her fall drop out. Unfortunately, Quiroz possesses a strong allergy to eggs; all her food's checked before she eats it so that's out. We can't find anything incriminating on her either. In fact, she challenged the press to find anything but I can already tell you they won't, there's nothing there to find. We could always falsify something, but some of her support borders on fanatical and there's no guarantee it'd work. An 'accidental' physical injury's out too: someone over at Ferrerist HQ's a little paranoid and hired a private firm in addition to the Domestic Force officers assigned to Quiroz. It's doubtful anything we got past both of them could appear accidental, assuming it succeeded." "I see, looks like Agbayani's out of luck this time. I assume you have a plan?" "Yes sir, we do. 5PM tomorrow, Quiroz arrives by car to a rally at the People's Park. She'll exit the car on Palma Gil Street, just across from a hotel currently under renovation so the security cameras are down. I had a man down there earlier today and we've got a clear line of fire easily within the range of a SG550 sniper, plus the entire 3rd floor's without glass in the windows so even if they do manage to locate the direction of the shots, they'd have no way to know which room the shots came from. My man timed an exit route too, easily enough time to break down a weapon get out before anyone shows up." "Very well, make it happen. Unless they're anything else, I believe we're done here." "No sir, that's all. Thank you sir." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Press Release from the [b][size="3"]Ferrerist Coalition[/size][/b] We bring good news following on the wake of yestraday's news. As many of you already know, just minutes after 5 o'clock yesterday evening Dr. Mora Quiroz was shot twice upon exiting a car to attend a rally. Dr. Quiroz was rushed to a hospital, where she currently resides. We are now announce, with cautious optimism, that the bullet proof vest Dr. Quiroz was wearing at the time appears to have saved her live. According to her doctors, Dr. Quiroz's condition has stabilized and is expected to make a full recovery intime to continue campaigning before the election. Dr. Quiroz has not commented on events. The Domestic Force has yet to arrest a suspect, however they have said the both bullets are 5.56mm and were likely fired from a SG550 assault or sniper rifle. Under normal circumstances, this should have killed Dr. Quiroz, even with the bullet proof vest and rather long shot. Domestic Force and private security personnel have declined to comment on why the bullets appear not to have penetrated the vest. Additional security arrangements are underway, however details will not be released. Visitors will not be allowed to see Dr. Quiroz during her hospital stay, however to send a card, letter or other message to Dr. Quiroz, please... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Warehouse in Manila[/b] "What the $%&/ went wrong?" Melchoro Diokno exploded after taking a moment to ensure they were alone in the warehouse. Melchoro's second in command flinched. "I'm sorry Melchoro, I mean sir. I had no way of knowing-" "Knowing what?" "The man assigned to take Quiroz down: he doesn't take instructions well..." "And that's how come she isn't [i]dead?[/i]" "He didn't use the rifle we provided for him. The gun he used was a SG553LB-" "A 553? We don't even manufacture those in Selenarctos! Where'd he get one and what'd he do with the 550 sniper we gave him?" "I don't know. Where he got one, that is. Apparently he sold the 550 though it may take some time to track down where it is now..." "No matter. Now why isn't she dead?" "Well sir, it's a miracle he hit her twice with that gun in the first place, but even the lower muzzle velocity and distance to the target shouldn't have stopped the bullets completely. Apparently the private security firm provided her with an experimental bullet-proof vest. I've no idea where they managed to get one from either..." "I see. You know we'll have to remove our man, now that he's shown he can't be trusted." "Of course, that's being taken care of even as we speak." "Very well. As soon as she's out of the hospital, we move again and this time a bullet goes through her head. That clear?" "Of course sir." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted April 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 [b]Telephone Call:[/b] (Not intercepted or recorded.) [font="Courier New"]Call begins.[/font] Person A: Hello? Person B: Director Diokno? Diokno: Yes. I assume you have a good reason for calling at 3:30 in the morning? B: We the bomb in place on Quiroz's car, but we've identified a secondary target. Iwan Molina: the brains behind Quiroz's running strategy and he's expected to run the Coalition's national election campaign. With your approval, we'd like to move to remove him from the picture. Diokno: Approval granted; injure him, kill him, whatever you wish. Anything else? B: That's all. Good night, sir. Diokno: Good night. [font="Courier New"]Call ends.[/font] [b]Preh:[/b] Iwan Molina. Nicole Alcasid didn't like the name. And she didn't know the man either, which was unusual. With links to the right databases, you could learn just about anything about anyone and Melchoro Diokno provided her with all the links she needed. Iwan Molina was an anomaly: one of the few native Selenarctans who did not possess an extensive history on file. Small files aren't uncommon: it wasn't unheard of for the rich to place money in the right hands to have parts of their records erased and there were a few individuals who went to extreme lengths to avoid creating a digital record, yet Iwan appeared to be neither for he possessed absolutely no record except to prove he was, in fact, born in Selenarctos. Considering Iwan Molina was about to die, it was a relatively small detail. Normally, even so, it would have bothered Nicole: she liked to know who she killed. In fact, she obsessively learned as much as she could about her target, specifically what led him to the point of her gun. Then she killed him. But then she wasn't going to kill Iwan so she pushed the nagging detail of Iwan's history out of her mind. She was simply backup incase the Primary failed, and she laughed to herself at the thought. Diokno was wacked out after someone had tried and failed to kill Quiroz, insisting they couldn't afford mistakes. Well, good for him, but Diokno wasn't [i]backup[/i] for an assassination that couldn't fail. It was so simple: Iwan walks the same path from his apartment to the bus stop on his way to work everyday, a path that takes him right through an alleyway between two buildings. The Primary, who's name she didn't know, didn't need to know and didn't care about, would walk up to Iwan, shoot him, take his wallet and run, leaving the scene as a mugging-gone-wrong. Diokno worried to much: suppose Iwan was carrying gun or some other weapon? He'd never had one while walking through the metal detector at the City Hall, yet on the off chance anything should go wrong, here she was: sitting in an empty apartment cradling a suppressed SG550 sniper, staring out a window overlooking the alley and waiting for Iwan to appear. The Primary was in place, she didn't need to look through the scope to tell her that. Hell, much closer and she wouldn't need the scope at all: the rundown apartment building in which she currently sat across the street and her windows looked out across the alley (surprisingly empty of the usual collection of dumpsters and other urban clutter) with a perfect view of the kill zone 50m away. A kill zone that she was merely watching... Well, #$%&: still eight minutes until Iwan was supposed to show. She'd have to talk to Diokno about a raise if this kept up... Seven minutes, fifty-three seconds later Iwan Molina entered the alley. Nicole watched with mild interest as the Primary made his move when Iwan was twenty meters into the alley. From her position, laying on a kitchen table she'd pushed up to the window, bipod of the 550 extended near the edge of the table and the butt resting comfortably against her shoulder, she almost didn't notice the second man enter behind Iwan, and blinked in surprise when she finally did notice him. The Primary didn't notice him at all. Must be #$%&/(! blind because he kept on advancing anyway, pulling the gun out as he did. CrackCrackCrack. #$%&, Nicole jumped at the sound. CrackCrackCrack, the man behind Iwan had produced an MP7 out of nowhere and fired two three-round bursts into the Primary. #$%& #$%& #$%&! The were running now, back the way they'd come. Nicole took aim and planted a round through the MP7 wielder before he made it out the alley. #$%&. She aimed again, sending the second round through Iwan's heart and watched with small satisfaction as he fell into the MP7 wielder's blood. Then she fired a round through the Primary's head for screwing up. That was going to need some clean up... Feeling better already and with adrenaline pumping through her blood, Nicole slid off the table and stuck on the rifle a miniature C4 brick she'd asked for specially for this purpose. A block away, she clicked the detonator and imagined the crowd no doubt gathered infront of the alley turning in fearful surprise as a window of the apartment building behind them blew outward. Unless the Primary had been dense enough to carry identification on him, the only evidence found would be the body of an unknown man, the body of Iwan Molina, the body of the body of (she presumed) hired bodyguard and the burnt wreckage of a rifle. A clean getaway, in her opinion. If she'd just been able to learn a little more about Iwan before she'd killed him... [b]Coalition Headquarters in Manila:[/b] "Mr. Torres, Director Burke will see you now." Astor Torres looked up from his paper at the aid staring expectantly at him. "Thank you." Astor rose and walked towards than through the door of the waiting room. Turning to close the door behind him, he found the aid following expectantly behind him. "Thank you, but I can find my own way from here." "Of course, I apologize." The aid turned to go. Astor wasn't sure exactly why Carlos Burke, Acting National Director of the Communist Party of Selenarctos, wanted to seem him but he had a pretty good idea. Arriving at Burke's office, he found the door open. "Astor, please come in." Carlos rose from his cluttered desk to shake hands. "I'm sorry to skip the pleasantries, but circumstances are rapidly changing for the worse. We forwarded your suggestion to our private security firm and they created the alias of Iwan Molina to 'run' Dr. Quiroz's campaign. 6:45 this morning the man playing Iwan Molina and the bodyguard assigned to him were found dead along with a main shot by the bodyguard. All three were shot by a fourth man armed with a SG550 sniper. The fourth man escaped, presumably unharmed, however the SG550 was destroyed by an explosion in the position it was fired from." "I see. Anyone else hurt?" "Not so far, but after Iwan's death the security firm found a bomb in Dr. Quiroz's car. When Marcos Aguinaldo died, it was a tragedy. When Arnel Lucero died, I thought it was the work of a lone extremist. Now though, we seem to be up against something organized and I don't know how to stop them." "There are those who've called me an extremist too," Astor said carefully, staring Burke right in the eyes. "I know," Burke replied slowly, carefully. "But what we're doing and what we represent is too important. Changes are coming and I fear this may be just the start of the resistance we will face. We need you Astor Torres, former Lieutenant Second Class in the Ground Force discharged for excessive expression of political views. We cannot afford to lose the good men and women that make up our Coalition to such acts of violence and clearly the powers that be are not going to help us. We need expertise and you're the only communist I trust to provide it." "I assume I'll have the coalition's financial support?" "You'll have everything my party can supply you with. For the time being, the National Socialist Front doesn't need to know what we're doing." "Good enough. And I'll need some men. Preferably those with a criminal record but'll who still take orders. "I'll see that you get full access to all our party member files and may I assume you're on board?" "I'll do what I can. When it's over though, you owe me. I want my discharge wiped and to be reinstated in the Ground Force, preferably in a position of command." "Help me and you'll have your choice of posts. Anything else?" "One last thing, Director Burke." "Yes?" "I walk out your door and there's no turning back. Once this starts, it keeps going until the end no matter how bloody that end is. If we lose, there's a good chance we'll both go down in the books of history as criminals, possibly even traitors and if we win. Are you prepared for that?" "And if we win, we write the books of history. Do what you must Astor Torres, and godspeed to you." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted April 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 [b]Basement in a Preh industrial sector[/b] Astor Torres looked around at the 30-odd men assembled in the darkness around him. Every one a veteran of the Ground Force, the Security Division selective service requirements made that easy enough, and every one an extremist. The time had come for a revolution, and these men were here to see it through. More would come, of that Torres had no doubts. Once they were known, once they were perceived as having a chance, more would come. Once they won they would be heroes but for now, they were terrorists. No delusions of grandeur though, they had a job to do Torres didn't need to tell the men what to do, they already knew. They'd brought their own guns: P229s and a other handguns mostly, a few assault rifles although in close quarters those wouldn't be of much use. A few had body armor, fewer than Torres would have liked. It meant casualties would be high, but it was a price everyone present recognized and accepted. If they didn't, they wouldn't be here. "Sixty seconds," Torres quietly announced, the men acknowledged with silence. "Thirty seconds," a few men cocked pistols and guns, even fewer clicked off safeties; the rest had already done so. "Five. Four. Three. Two. One." The men moved as one, ascending the steps up and out of the basement where they'd met and waited. Exited the building into the night, crossing the street simultaneous with flickering and dieing of the streetlights as their power was cut. Approaching the other side, the men divided into their assigned 5- and 6-man squads, each squad entering Domestic Force Central through different door. Torres' own team, alpha team, entered through the main lobby where a single guard sat at a desk behind a pair of metal detectors. When Torres entered, he was bent over, fumbling in the dark for a flashlight that he managed to switch on and point at the black-clad men of alpha team who promptly shot him. "Torres here. Shooting has started, proceed accordingly," Torres advised into his radio, leading his team quickly around the metal detectors and towards the hallway leading to the armory. "B team here, taking fire," the radio spouted forth accompanied by the thumping of automatic weapons fire coming through the walls. Not a man in Torres' team reacted: B team was going, soon to be gone, but the mission proceeded. "Contact!" Torres' lead man shouted, firing and diving into a side hallway, the man behind him going down with a bullet through his chest, blood running out where a vest would've been if there'd been more time to prepare for the mission. Torres ignored the fallen man, moving forward and firing his MP7 at a wooden table where a pair of Domestic Force officers had taken cover, the armor piercing bullets cutting straight through the table and the unarmored men crouching behind it. "Keep moving," Torres ordered at the men of him team emerging behind him from where they'd taken cover, then continuing onward at a jog. They moved quickly through the wing of offices, empty of personnel at this late hour, firing when the met resistance and continuing on when they didn't. "Delta team here, garage is secure, holding position." "Torres here, confirmed. We're at the armory now." Torres' team arrived to find E team beat them to the objective and was already loading weapons onto carts. "Forget about the 229s, you can get those anywhere. Focus on the heavier stuff: 240s, grenade launchers, pulse rifles if they have any, and any non-standard ammunition: grab that too." "No pulse rifles, but we've got a couple crates of 551s and MP7s, getting them onto the carts." "E team, get the first load up to Delta team in the garage and wait for us there," Torres ordered as half of F team arrived. "Rest didn't make it," F team leader said, himself limping and his leg bleeding. "We got any AT4s?" "There's a couple, not as many as I was hoping for. If you can carry them, do it." "Not enough men to move all this stuff. Do we bring the M82s?" another asked. "Take them, ditch some of the 551s to make space," Torres ordered, dumping boxes of 4.7mm cartridges into a backpack, then slinging over his shoulder. "Roger, F team moving to the garages." "Alpha team is right behind you." Then on his radio, "Delta team, E team reached your position yet?" Torres barked into the radio. "They're all here, we've loaded up the trucks and move as soon as you get here. There's also a sweet armored car here, permission to take it?" "Negative, too easily tracked. We're 30 seconds out, start opening the doors." Thank god the armory was on the first floor, no need to deal with elevators. Torres brought up the rear, covering the end of the convoy of gun-laden carts with a pair of MP7s but no one followed them: E team had cleared the way and anyone with half a brain was hunkered down waiting for reinforcements. Reaching the garage and running to the pickups D team had commandeered, Torres tossed his backpack of ammunition in the back then jumped in himself, F team and the rest of his team dumping the contents of their carts into one of the two other two trucks. D team members ready and waiting gunned the engines and roared out the doors of the garage, hitting the streets and flooring the trucks towards the highway out of the city. As the banked around a corner and out of sight, Torres heard the first sirens of units responding to the scene but they were too late: he and his men were already gone and their load of weapons with them. The revolution had begun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted April 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 [b]Industrial Sector in Preh[/b] The Sentinal Prime braked to a halt in front of the warehouse in question and Lieutenant Amaro Solózorno of the Domestic Force Rapid Response Unit as he climbed out, surveying the street as he did so. The street was remarkably unremarkable: row after row of tan and grey rusty, corrugated steel-sided warehouses; dumpsters, forklifts and other industrial debris scattered around the sides of the buildings. The whole area was shutdown and empty of personnel for the weekend, eerily silent but for the occasional, poorly-maintained air conditioner. There was nothing interesting on the outside of the building in question, it was grey, rusty in spots, and had a row of loading docks in the front. Across the street from the grey warehouse stood four black SUVs and team of armor-clad Rapid Response personnel. "What's the situation?" Solózorno asked, addressing the sergeant who handed him an SG551 as he disembarked. Popped the clip out, checked it, slid it back into place and clicked the bolt as the sergeant answered his question. "No developments, sir. We've got the exits covered, no one in or out since we arrived and as far as we can tell, they still don't know we're here." "Still haven't confirmed the identify of anyone inside?" "No sir. We know they're in there: the men covering the doors reported hearing them talking, but we can't make out what they're saying." "All right Sergeant, signal the other teams and get ready to move. Our orders are take them alive if we can, shoot to kill if they resist," Solózorno said, strapping his helmet on and clicking the built-in radio to the correct channel. The men inside were believed to be radical members of the Communist Party of Selenarctos and have participated in the raid on Preh Domestic Force Central two days ago that left twelve dead and fourteen wounded. Solózorno didn't know how they knew the men were communists or how the communists been located so quickly, if the news stations were to be believed the Domestic Force's investigation was still having trouble identifying those involved. If it was the communists though, they'd be heavily armed with stolen weapons. Solózorno followed the sergeant's team from the SUVs toward the main door, a breaching charge already in place on the lock. "Alpha Team sergeant here, blowing the door in 30," the sergeant called into his radio, gesturing to the member of his team holding a detonator ready. There were three teams entering from different doors to catch those inside by surprise. Hopefully. "Beta Team here, confirmed." "Delta Team, roger that." "5. 4. 3. 2. 1." BANG, the door flew inwards and a pair of stun grenades flew threw where it had stood. BANG BANG, the first members of Alpha Team entered the building simultaneous with the muffled bangs of Beta and Delta team's grenades. "Drop any weapons you're holding and freeze!" The door they'd entered through led first into an office of sorts, and second door took them into the warehouse proper. Solózorno, at the rear of Alpha Team, was still in the office when the shooting started. "They're definitely our guys, taking fire from MP7s and some other $%&/," someone from another team radioed, "Take cover and return fire." Solózorno followed the rest of Alpha Team in and took cover behind stacks of metal crates the warehouse was full of. Near the back of the warehouse, a semicircle of tables had stood covered in guns. Now the tables were flipped down to provide cover, MP7s and SG550s spilling across the floor in front of them. Bullets sprayed forth in sporadic bursts as the Rapid Response teams and the communists traded fire. It occurred to Solózorno that the communists must've been ex-military; they took cover too quickly and returned fire in too coordinated of a manner not to have some sort of formal training. But while MP7s fire lots of small, armor-piercing rounds really fast, flipped over tables don't provide much cover against the 5.56mm rounds from a SG551 and the unarmored communists went down fast. "Cease fire!" Solózorno shouted into his radio, firing one last round as a man peeked over a metal crate who shuddered, falling backwards as Solózorno's bullet shattered his exposed shoulder. "Cease fire! Check to make sure they're all down. Dispatch, you there?" "We read you Lieutenant, go ahead." "Send that medical team as soon as the all clear's sounded, we've got casualties on both sides." "Roger that, they're standing by outside." "That's all of them, sir!" the Alpha Team sergeant shouted at Solózorno, then radioed "Send that team in. There's two men in Beta Team hit, one in Delta team and four commies alive but in critical condition." One of the men from Beta Team and two of the communists died in the warehouse despite the best efforts of the medical team, the other Beta Team member had suffered only a minor wound to the leg. The man from Delta Team and the two remaining communists were rushed away in an ambulance and the seven dead communists were sealed in body bags. As soon as the ambulance left, siren echoing flatly into the grey rows of warehouse, Delta team leader called Solózorno over the the overturned tables. "This is all the weapons we could find, and it's not even close to everything they stole. They're a couple of boxes over there," he pointed to a stack of short metal boxes, the only items in the warehouse not on forklift pads, "looks like they were filled with weapons at one point, but they're empty now though." "So we didn't get them all?" "No sir, doesn't look like it." "Well hell." Into his radio, "Dispatch, Solózorno here, we've searched the warehouse but it looks like most of them are still out there." "Say again?" "The weapons we found match some of the stolen weapons, but they're not even close to the number of weapons stolen. Looks like they moved out most of the guns before we got here." "Roger that, we'll update the commander on the situation. Dispatch out." Solózorno sighed, looking around at the blood-stained concrete floor and the newly-arrived Force officers photographing the scene. He wasn't sure what, but something was starting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted May 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 [b]Dock in a small costal town in southern Selenarctos:[/b] Astor Torres inspected the crates of weapons as they were unloaded from the boat tied to the dock. The boat was a depressing affair: peeling paint, rotting deck boards and a motor that choked and sputtered and threw up a cloud of smoke. The weapons were better, but not by much: an assortment of AKs with a number of more modern weapons mixed in. The price the dealer was asking was outrageous, but when you needed large quantities of assaults rifles without drawing attention to yourself, you had to use people like this dealer. Astor watched the dealer snap at an underling, but couldn't quite peg the dealer's nationality. Probably as mixed as the weapons he sold, and he certainly didn't have the make of a revolutionary. The dealer was a business man; he drove a hard bargain that, unfortunately, Astor had to accept; there were few enough dealers who'd make the run. It takes balls to run illegal weapons through Selenarctan water: the domestic force was a constant nuisance, you never knew when one of their drones would appear overhead though thankfully they didn't have many of those, but with the current war situation the navy'd been patrolling the waters too, and you can't run from a 13,000 ton destroyer armed with anti-ship missiles. "Where the $%&/ you find this $%&#/& AK? The stock's rotted off! We pay you good money and this is the $%&/ you bring us?" Astor shouted at the dealer, waving a gun in the air. "New stock. Just needs a new stock, but fire good!" The dealer shouted back. "No good, not buying it!" "Only fifty coin. Fifty coin and it's yours, just needs a new stock!" "You see this coin? The National Selenarctan Coin is accepted at any exchange in the world for a good reason. It's worth something. Your gun isn't worth the metal my coin's made of, but you have the nerve to ask fifty coin for it?" "Thirty! Thirty coin, and I get you a new stock too!" "And a new gun while you're at it!" Astor answered, throwing the AK back onto the boat without bothering to check the chamber was empty. If this @$%&/() kept his merchandise loaded, he deserved for the gun to go off. It didn't. "You no want the gun, just say so." The dealer replied, unperturbed by the automatic rifle that landed barely a meter from where he stood. "Three more crate, no?" "Three more crates of guns that work and we've got a deal." "No worry, no worry. I bring your guns, just as you ask for. You bring the money, of course?" "It's here," Astor said, inspecting the last three crates before clicking his radio. In response, a man stepped out from one of the trucks parked on shore carrying a slick, black briefcase. Upon reaching the dock, the man handed the case to Astor who opened it, displaying the crisp bills to the dealer who's beady eyes wrinkled in delight before Astor snapped the case shut in the dealer's face and thrust the case at him. "It's all there, fifty thousand in cash and not a coin less." "Good business with you, do business again soon?" the dealer asked, bobbing his head and clutching the briefcase as if it might vanish in a second. "If we need you, we'll be in touch." "I be around, you know. I'm always around," the dealer said winking at them, gave a short half-bow, and boarding his boat. The boat pulled away from the dock the moment he stepped on, leaving an oily wake behind it. "The $%&/ like that we have to put up with, comrade, the $%&/ like him" Astor muttered, heading back towards land along the dock. "Yes, sir," the briefcase carrier answered, following two paces behind Astor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted May 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 [b]Office building in a poorer district of Preh:[/b] Astor Torres was working late. Things weren't going well for the Coalition, but that was to be expected. The Coalition represented change; the power-that-be didn't want change. More immediate, however, was the Preh election and the TV in front of Astor reporting the election tally as it came in. Dr. Mora Quiroz wasn't winning. Oh, it'd be very close-she'd started off with a small lead-but she wouldn't win, Astor was sure of that. The powers-that-be wouldn't allow the Coalition such a victory. Astor didn't need a political victory, though, and certainly wasn't working late tonight in a vain attempt to create one. He was working late tonight organizing the protest that would take place in front of the mayor's office tomorrow morning to demand a recount. The protest would go peacefully, he'd have men in the crowd to make sure of that, because he wasn't trying to win a political victory; such a thing was all but impossible for the Coalition. He was out to win a victory in the media because a victory in the media is a victory with the people. [b]One day after the election, outside the mayor's office building:[/b] Astor Torres, standing inconspicuously with in the crowd, eyed the police in full riot gear positioned around the mayor's building. There were far too few present if the crowd had actually wanted to get in, but they didn't. This was a peaceful protest, not the makings of a riot Astor had put together-those would come later. Even though he'd organized it, the turnout surprised Astor. The crowd filled the streets around the office building, there must have been more than a thousand present waving signs and cheering as as a few self-appointed group-spokespersons passionately shouted speeches into megaphones. More importantly though were the the news vans. Parked around the perimeter of the crowd, some parked on sidewalks where the streets were full of people, Astor could identify vans from every major Selenarctan news network and a number of smaller ones, filming the crowd. Astor had a few of his better men hand-picking protestors and strategically steering them towards where the reporters were interviewing members of the crowd, but for the most part he let things be. These people were here because they believed in the cause, and they were exactly who he needed. Except from the [size="3"][b]Manila Times[/b][/size] Those traveling through downtown Preh this afternoon were greeted by a crowd of close to 1,000 communist and socialist party members protesting outside of the mayoral office building earlier today. Holding signs and politely but firmly blocking vehicles from traversing the surrounding streets, the protestors called for a recount of the mayor's election in which Coalition candidate Dr. Mora Quiroz lost by less than 1% of the vote. The protest lasted the better part of four hours before beginning to disperse and business returned to normal. At the request of the reelected mayor Palqui Montano, riot police were deployed to the area but by and large the protestors remained peaceful with no reported injuries or damage to property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted May 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2010 Except from the [size="3"][b]Manila Times[/b][/size] In Preh today, the mayor's office announced that after reviewing election proceedings, everything appears to be in order and a recount of ballots shall not be taking place. Within hours of the announcement, members of the Coalition filed a lawsuit against the mayor's office demanding a reinvestigation of the matter and that election records be turned over to the public. The mayor's office has not released a public response to the lawsuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted May 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 (edited) [b]Preh, Domestic Force Central[/b] "Please come in Melchoro Diokno, I'd been informed you'd be dropping by." Melchoro Diokno entered the office of Konrad Merino, Chief of the Preh Domestic Force and dropped a stack of file folders onto his desk. "Of course you were," Melchoro replied with a tone of belittlement present in his voice. "I'm a busy man with many things to do and I don't like to be kept waiting. The people detailed inside of these folder," Melchoro paused, gesturing to the stack of folders, "are believed to have helped organize the protests outside the mayor's office. And this," Melchoro paused again, opening his briefcase on Konrad Merino's desk and withdrawing from it a signed paper, "is a warrant for their arrest and any others I deem it prudent to detain, signed by Commander Agbayani." "This is quite a few individuals," Konrad said after a moment flipping through the folders, then examining Melchoro's warrant. "On what charges am I to arrest them?" "Attempting to undermine the authority of the government of Selenarctos." "Treason?" "Now, now, we wouldn't want to alarm the public, would we?" "With all the respect due someone able to obtain a blank warrant signed by the commander of the Domestic Force Mr. Melchoro, that's a pretty heavy charge." "No more than appropriate given circumstances I am not at liberty to discuss at this time, Chief Merino. You have your warrant, I'd suggest you alert your men. As much as I'd like to continue this conversation, I have important things to do but never fear, you'll be hearing from me. Oh, and one more thing: if any of those under my employ should happen to drop by requesting anything-anything at all-you'll see that they receive it or face the consequences. Understand?" "Yes, of course Mr. Melchoro…" Konrad answered automatically and made a mental to look up just who this 'Melchoro Diokno' was as Melchoro snapped closed his briefcase and exited the office. [b]Downtown Preh[/b] "Dispatch, this is Patino-we've confirmed the target inside the restaurant is Celestino Borrego, ready to move in." "Roger that, cleared to move in. Minimum necessary force to ensure compliance." Sergeant Ariadna Patino sighed and gestured to the three other members of her team. As a sergeant in the Rapid Response sector of the Domestic Force, she wasn't accustomed to standard arrests, but then there really wasn't anything standard about arresting someone for treason-no wait, undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Those little distinctions get mixed up sometimes… Exiting the black surveillance van they'd been watching Celestino Borrego from, Patino and her team crossed the street toward the restaurant Borrego was eating lunch in, unaware he was about to be arrested for treason against the state. In full tactical gear with SG551s strapped across their chests, it was obvious the moment they entered the restaurant that Patino and her team weren't there for a bite of lunch. "Everybody remain calm!" Patino elevated her voice, keeping her attention focused on Borrego and the man he was eating lunch with, knowing her man on their six was watching the other patrons of the restaurant to ensure no one tried anything. ----- "Everybody remain calm!" Oh $%&@. Astor Torres jumped at the word and the four Domestic Force officers entering the restaurant, adrenaline flooding his system before logic took over and he forced himself to relax. But they couldn't be here for him, could they? Could somebody have sold him out? Probably not one of his deputies. One of the arms dealers, perhaps? $%&@, they were coming towards his table. ----- Ariadna Patino crossed the restaurant towards the table quickly, so far no one in the restaurant was panicking. "Celestino Borrego?" Patino asked to the man seated in front of her. "Yes? May I help you?" "Celestino Borrego, you are under arrest for attempting to undermine the authority of the government of Selenarctos. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law-" "Hold on just a second, I'm under arrest for undermining the authority of the government? You're arresting me for treason?" Borrego looked amused, which worried Patino. "You're under arrest for attempting to undermine the authority of the government of Selenarctos. I have the warrant right here, which you're welcome to examine in detail while in transport to HQ now if you'll please stand to be searched," Patino gestured one member of her team forward. ----- Borrego glanced across the table at Torres, then stood slowly and placed his hands on the back of his head. "There's a P229 in my jacket, permit in my wallet, and a utility knife on my belt," Borrego said, addressing the Domestic Force officer who removed both weapons without comment, handing them to the team leader behind him, then patted Borrego down and then ziptied his hands behind his back. "Don't worry Celestino: they've got the wrong guy, I'm sure of it," Astor Torres said as the Domestic Force personnel led Borrego out of the restaurant. "This'll all be resolved in the end." (OOC fun fact: IRL they give the same Miranda Rights speech in the Philippines that's given in the US, albeit translated. ) Edited May 24, 2010 by iKrolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted May 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2010 [b]Suburb Outside of Preh, Late Night[/b] Sergeant Ariadna Patino jumped out of the black SUV as it rolled smoothly to a stop, the three members of her team doing likewise and falling in behind her. Patino checked her watch, 2:00AM. The neighborhood could have been a clone of the last two: a road, gently curving to hide just how long it was, lined on either side by sidewalks, grassy lawns and houses differing only in color. A street light in front of every other house cast dim shadows into the night, just bright enough to drown out the stars but not bright enough to give any useful light. "Last arrest of tonight, shouldn't be any different than the last five." Patino said, adjusting her 551 into place after the ride in the van: gun across her stomach, right hand grip and trigger finger resting lightly on the trigger guard, then led the way toward the house of their target. Knock Knock Knock. The sound echoed off the mass-produced door, reverberated from the cheap plastic siding and sailed away into the humid night. No lights were on in the house. Knock Knock Knock. This time a light flicked on on the second story. A minute later, the lights just inside the door flicked on, the door cracked open and a man's face peaked out. "May I help you?" "Selenarctos Domestic Force, open the door," Patino ordered in a well-practiced, no-nonsense tone. "Oh, I'm sorry, what can I…" The man's voice trailed off as he opened the door and glimpsed Patino's Rapid Response squad in full tactical gear. Patino gestured two of her squad members forward into the house. "Jacob L. Strom?" Patino asked. "Uh, yes. Can I help you?" "Please stay calm, make no sudden moves, and place your hands on the back of your head-" Patino began "Wait- I don't-" the man stuttered, unsteadily doing as he was told. "Jacob Strom, you're under arrest for undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law," Patino recited for the sixth time that night. "Jacob, is everything alright?" A woman's voice came from the back of the house. A moment later she emerged to see as Jacob was cuffed and being led out of the house. "Mrs. Strom?" Patino asked. "Yes-here are you taking Jacob?-hic" The woman's question ended with hiccup. "Ma'am, your husband is under arrest. Please address inquiries to the Office of the Domestic Force of Preh," Patino, turning to exit the house and follow her team escorting Jacob to the SUV. "Wait- What?" Mrs. Strom looked confused. "But Jacob isn't a criminal-he hasn't done anything wrong!" She looked on the verge of tears. "As I said, please address inquiries to the Office of the Domestic Force. Have a good night Mrs. Strom." Patino left Mrs. Strom standing in the doorway staring as the SUV drove away. ----- "Come in dispatch, this is Patino. Jacob Strom is under custody, returning to the station." Patino radioed in. "Rother, that's the last one. Well done, soon as you check back in and hand off Strom, you're off the hook for the rest of the night," dispatch answered "They'd better be paying us overtime for this. Patino out." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted June 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 [b][size="3"]Report on Arrested Communist Troublemakers[/size] Authorized and Produced by Security Division Intelligence & Analysis ---CLASSIFIED---[/b] Name: Jacob Strom Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: Held in Preh Jail. Name: Edilma Olivas Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: Held in Preh Jail. Name: Alardo Casanova Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: Held in Preh Jail. Name: Otelo Zúñiga Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: Held in Preh Jail. Name: Tancredo Guardado Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: Held in Preh Jail. ... (list continues for 28 more names) Name: Lino Santillán Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: In transit to Dammi Island Penal Facility. Name: Lahual Rosas Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: In transit to Dammi Island Penal Facility. Name: Gad Callas Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: In transit to Dammi Island Penal Facility. Name: Laumer Ceballos Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: In transit to Dammi Island Penal Facility. ... (list continues for 8 more names) Name: Einar Nava Jurado Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: Held in Dammi Island Penal Facility. Name: Nicomedes Castillo Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: Held in Dammi Island Penal Facility. Name: Anabel Cordero Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: Held in Dammi Island Penal Facility. Name: Darwin Alfaro Orosco Charge: Undermining the authority of the government of Selenarctos. Trail: Date Not Set. Status: Held in Dammi Island Penal Facility. ... (list continues for 105 more names) [b]Dammi Island Penal Facility[/b] Location: Dammi Island, South Sulu Sea Status: Under construction, completion expected within four months. Current Capacity: 48 inmates Capacity when Completed: 512 inmates Current Inmates: 109 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted July 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 [size="3"]Manila Times, Editorials[/size] Here in Manila, life continues with relative normality. Socially, minorities are largely respected and the gender percentages of pre-child raising-age adults in the work force are about equal. Economically, the middle class continues to shrink while the upper class' control over wealth continues to grow, but at rate that doesn't concern the average Selenarctan. Politically, tensions exist are growing but analysts say there is nothing to worry about. Not so in the southern city of Preh. Since the year began, Preh has been rocked by political strive and rapidly increasing occurrences of violence. I'm sure there are those won'd trace it further back, but I'll begin with the attempted murder of Dr. Mora Quiroz. Dr. Quiroz, if you're not familiar with the name, was the Ferrerist Coalition's Mayoral candidate. About two months into the campaign season, Dr. Quiroz was shot twice by a sniper from across the People's Park. The gunman was never caught. Over the next month Iwan Molina, Hadrian Tovar and Renaldo Marrero, all important parts of Dr. Quiroz's campaign effort, were all murdered. Each time, armed robbery was the suspected motive but no leads were found and no arrests were made. Just two weeks ago in an election so close the number of votes incumbent-Mayor Palqui Montano won by was less than the margin of error for the counting process, at the request Mayor Montano's orders the ballots would not be recounted. A crowd, by some estimates close to 2,000 strong, rallied outside the Mayor's office calling for a recount; their demands were ignored. Then one week ago, the arrests began. Ordinary, working-class citizens of Preh, often with no criminal history, are being arrested in the middle of the night charged with 'attempting to undermine the authority of the government of Selenarctos.' No one knows just how many have been arrested, estimates range from just 30 to close to 500 and the Domestic Force isn't giving out details. Friends, family members, even lawyers have been denied visiting privileges to the arrested and the Domestic Force will not even disclose where the arrested are being held. This is unacceptable, and if history has set a precedent, the people of Mindanao will not stand by. Yesterday another crowd gathered in Preh, outside the Domestic Force Central this time and only a few hundred in number, but the atmosphere was clear: answers and action on the part of the government or things are going to get nasty fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted August 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2010 [b]Apartment Complex in Preh:[/b] Astor Torres watched the evening news while eating a microwaveable meal with a plastic fork. The apartment was temporary; all but unfurnished with only a cheap table and chair, basic kitchen appliances and a cheap, mass produced TV mounted on the wall. The apartment was paid for in cash and rented under a false name. Astor was fairly confident no one was looking for him by name but he couldn't be too safe, especially after Celestino Borrego's arrest. That'd come as a shock to Astor, he didn't think the powers-that-be would react that fast. It turned out not to matter though, they'd played right into his hands. The arrests had mobilized the people in exactly the way Astor had hoped and all he'd had to do was lead their fire towards the gasoline. When the story he'd been waiting finally came on Astor clicked up the volume to observe the results of his latest work. [font="Century Gothic"]"…Protests continued today in downtown Preh. Tensions were close to the breaking point as a crowd of more than 3,000 chanted and shouted at Domestic Force officers outside of Domestic Force Central. The protestors blocked the streets around the Domestic Force offices, among their demands were the return of those arrested for Treason Against the State. It appeared the protest was on the verge of becoming riot when, approximately six hours after it began, the demonstration spontaneously broke apart. Fifteen protestors were arrested for various reasons and bail has been set at Fifteen Thousand…"[/font] Astor clicked the volume back to barely audible. Organizing a successful protest was a work of art, and Astor felt he'd preformed masterfully. With today's protest, they'd raised the stakes but managed to remain the victims in the eyes of the media. Both were equally important. Tensions had come very close to boiling over; closer, perhaps, than he should have allowed them to come but it'd all worked out in the end. Through careful control over lines of communication, the next few days would see smaller, calmer crowds keeping constant pressure on the Domestic Force. Come the weekend, things would heat up again as buses were provided (paid for, indirectly of course, by 'friends' of Astor's) from Communist hotspots to downtown Preh. ---------------------------------------------- [b]Condominium High Rise, Undisclosed Location:[/b] Melchoro Diokno watched the evening news from a well-furnished, though by no means lavish, condo on the eighteenth floor of a multipurpose high rise building. The condo was a safe house of Security Division Intelligence & Analysis, leased under a dead business front with just enough money in it's bank account to meet payments on the condo through the end of the year. With funding becoming scarce, SecDev I&A had had to cut back some; the condo would be repossessed by the bank when no more money was deposited in the account but Melchoro would see that someone came by to clean out the place before then. Melchoro poked at a steak while flicking idly through a magazine he'd found in the condo's mailbox when he'd arrived, pages full of overpriced items ranging from trinkets to computer and furniture some company in the America (so said the shipping address) thought just [i]might[/i] interest the non-existant owner of the condo enough to purchase 200 Coin's worth in order to obtain the free shipping offer. Hell, half the electronics there were probably made in Selenarctos and were certainly a lot cheaper here… The steak, ordered from the restaurant on the ground floor of the high rise, was supposed to be so rare it still dripped blood but the cut they'd given Melchoro was medium well. Rather than track down a waiter in the mob of patrons enjoying their evening meal and demand a new cut, Melchoro took solace in the fact that he wouldn't be staying in the condo long. Director Alejandro Tiempo was still out to frame him, but as tensions heated up to the south in Preh the Director's attention had turned elsewhere. Just as well, as long as Tiempo didn't focus too closely on what the long fingers of the Security Division were up to. The story Melchoro was waiting for finally came on just as he finished flipping through the magazine. [font="Century Gothic"]"…Protests continued today in downtown Preh. Tensions were close to the breaking point as a crowd of more than 3,000 chanted and shouted at Domestic Force officers outside of Domestic Force Central. The protestors blocked the streets around the Domestic Force offices, among their demands were the return of those arrested for Treason Against the State. It appeared the protest was on the verge of becoming riot when, approximately six hours after it began, the demonstration spontaneously broke apart. Fifteen protestors were arrested for various reasons and bail has been set at Fifteen Thousand…"[/font] Melchoro mashed the power button on his remote control, then tossed the remote at a sofa that looked suspiciously like one from the magazine he'd been picking through. Standing up to find his secure satellite phone, Melchoro cursed to himself. The arrests weren't quenching the Communists and Ferrerists nearly as well as he'd hoped. They weren't a failure either though; in fact the protests had succeeded in drawing out Communist troublemakers far better than he'd expected. Now that they were out in the open, it should be simple matter to make a few mass arrests and virtually wipe out the organizers behind the demonstrations. Melchoro smiled to himself at the though, then located his phone near the condo's land line (for appearances of course, all operatives had been instructed never to use the safe house's land lines). Picking up the phone, Melchoro placed dialed the number of Domestic Force Commander Rio Agbayani. ---------------------------------------------- [b]Downtown Preh, Several Hours Earlier:[/b] Sergeant Ariadna Patino stood shoulder to shoulder with the hundred-and-fifty or so Domestic Force officers who happened to be available when the demonstrators' numbers began to swell. Through the clear polycarb riot shield she held in front of her, Ariadna could see the anger in the faces of the protestors. Their shouts reverberated and echoed back from the surrounding buildings and their determination saturated the atmosphere. Without the SG551 strapped across her stomach, Ariadna felt vulnerable against the thousands of angry Preh citizens gathered in the mid-afternoon heat and humidity outside of Preh Domestic Force Central. She was wearing the full Rapid Response tactical armor setup, but they'd been ordered to carry non-lethal weapons only, so the SG551 was replaced by a Taser and a gas mask hung in the space her P229 usually occupied; neither of which give the same weight and security as a firearm with a fresh magazine. The protest went on for hours; more Domestic Force officers were called in from other locations and it still didn't look like there were enough. The thousands of demonstrators tirelessly called out the officers hour after hour, slowly but continuously growing in numbers and volume until it seemed the air could carry no more noise and no more people could be packed in the streets visible from her position. Ariadna tensed as she saw the first protestor with a rock in his hand and felt the officers to the right and left of her do likewise. She raised the polcarb sheild a fraction of a centimeter, ready to fend off projectiles and sensed the officer behind her cease pacing and ready his grenade launcher. Then, as if someone had spoken a magic work, the protestors dispersed. They just turned and left, a few at first (the loudest, Ariadna guessed, as the volume dropped to just below skull-racking) and then more and more until a wall of polycarb shields and the officers holding them were all that remained in the streets around Preh Domestic Force Central. "Holy $#%&," muttered one of the officers; "What the €/&% was that?" 'Holy $#%&,' Ariadna silently agreed, slowly lowering the shield and glancing around as her eardrums unclenched. They'd come so close to dispersing the demonstrators by force; she didn't think they'd be so luck they next time. 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iKrolm Posted August 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2010 Saturday Mourning. [b]Near Preh Domestic Force Central:[/b] Astor Torres watched the first three buses come to a stop three blocks away from the Domestic Force Central building. Perhaps forty people to a bus, Astor estimated. It was still early in the morning, by mid-afternoon he hoped to have the buses filled bringing people the protest sites. They'd pass five hundred outside of Domestic Force Central once these joined the crowd and more were arriving as he watched, those with the means to reach the location without the help of the buses Astor had rented. Astor surveyed the people he'd collected as they disembarked from the buses. They was mostly in their mid-20s, though there were a few older and a couple of children in the group. A few stuck out from the crowd: two were wearing Ground Force uniforms, one was a reporter followed closely by a cameraman from one of the local networks, and three looked like they'd ridden the buses just to get downtown. With the exception of those three and the news team though, they were all angry. The Domestic Force had been busy the last two nights, making a series of arrests between the hours of 23:00 and 4:00, a random assortment of people (only by a slim margin did the majority of the arrests Astor knew of have ties to the Communist Party) but all for treason against the state. Perhaps as many as 500 were arrested in the last few nights, perhaps more: Astor had no idea. Neither did those who'd just disembarked from the buses, but most had had friends, family or loved-ones arrested and they wanted them returned. As soon as the buses were empty, the man Astor had appointed to oversee transportation (it wouldn't be ideal for Astor to be seen running things) signaled the drivers to make another run; they'd be dropping off outside of the Mayor's office next. [b]Mayor's Office Building:[/b] Amaro Solózorno, now Captain Amaro Solózorno of the Domestic Force Rapid Response, surveyed the crowd of protestors around the Mayor's Office from a window seven floors up. They didn't look quite so menacing from here, small with the distance and only a few hundred in number (he'd heard there were close to a thousand outside of Domestic Force Central, even though it was only ten o'clock), but the sound of their angry voices was audible through the reinforced glass. Amaro turned around to the three lieutenants behind him, and spoke, "The order's just come down the line: we're to disperse the protestors outside and arrest as many as possible." Amaro paused, watching their expressions. Not surprise, they'd been expecting it, but more than a little nervous apprehension. The protestors outside were angry as hell. "Arrest as many as possible?" Lieutenant Vulpiano Malave asked. "That's the order. Filled out, signed, sent to all the correct people and when I asked-" "They said don't ask?" Amaro wasn't one to reprimand when for interrupting, especially when he was irritated. "No, they said I wouldn't want anyone thinking I was sympathetic to the arrestees, would I? So that's that" Amaro paused again. "Any questions?" "How soon to we move?" "As soon as everyone in position. At the rate this crowd's going, it can't be soon enough. Anything else?" No more questions. "Dismissed." [b]Outside of the Mayor's Office:[/b] Sergeant Ariadna Patino loaded a gas grenade into her launcher. Tear gas was a wondrous substance. In front of her stood a line of Domestic Force Officers, polycarb shields held up to fend off the occasional rock the crowd ejected. Nothing dangerous yet, just a nuisance but the tension and anger of the crowd was all there. She glanced at Captain Solózorno, standing on the steps of the Mayor's Office Building. Like her, he was wearing the full Rapid Response tactical armor. There were only a half dozen Rapid Response officers present outside the building though; the rest were normal Domestic Force officers, day-time policemen really, and they were expected to disperse the demonstrators, arresting everyone who resisted. Captain Solózorno raised a megaphone to his mouth. The crowd quieted slightly, then raised their voices even louder in an attempt to drown out his words. "By the order of the Mayor's Office, the Domestic Force, the Security Division and the Government of Selenarctos, you are hereby ordered ordered to stop all activity and disperse peacefully. This is your first warning, you will receive one more before being dispersed by force. Those who resist will be arrested." A few rocks leapt out of the crowd in response to him finishing, but were casually knocked away by officers' shields. Unless you wanted to start breaking up sidewalks or streets, there really weren't many good-sized rocks to be found in the urban areas of Downtown Preh. Ariadna clicked the safety off her grenade launcher, counting away the seconds in her head. "This is your second warning. You have thirty seconds to begin leaving the area." At fifteen seconds, Ariadna removed her gas mask and clicked it into place on her helmet. Along the line, the few Rapid Response officers did likewise while the Domestic Force officers pulled masks over their heads and fumbled with straps while trying to maintain their shields in a protective position. At five seconds a brick flew out of the crowd and landed squarely on the half-lowered shield of an officer still arranging his mask. "Three. Two. One. Zero." Ariadna fired off a round, then with well practiced ease ejected the spent casing, dropped in another round and fired it off as the first ejected it's cloud of irritating and debilitating smoke into the crowd. The crowd responded, some running and other throwing a cloud of debris at the line of officers slowly advancing forward, shields and batons ready. Ariadna fired off her fourth and last round, then pulled a pair of zipcuffs from the hook on her back and moved towards a young teenager who'd run in between a pair of officers, away from the gas. Coughing as he ran, the teenager didn't notice Ariadna until she was right on top of him. As he raised his arm to throw a rock Ariadna hit him with her baton, spinning him around then slamming him to the ground with the butt of her baton in his back. Before he'd had a chance to move, Ariadna yanked his arms behind him and zip-tied his hands together. Ariadna left him, coughing and nose bleeding on the ground, moving forward to fill a hole between two officers as the line broke apart. The protestors weren't giving up easily. One of the vehicles parked on the street, a pickup truck, had a load of bricks in the back. Coughing and sputtering from the could of gas, the demonstrators threw rocks and chunks of metal as the slowly retreated. They smashed windows and doors of cars, pulled up metal grates from the street and attempted to throw them at the officers. To her right, Ariadna spied a man wearing a crude gas mask, the kind available from certain less-reputable pawn shops and the like. As the man bent down to pick up a broken chunk of brick, Ariadna broke from her course, ran up to him and smashing her baton into the face of his mask, breaking a glass eyepiece and knocking him backwards. Another wack to his stomach doubled him over and a third to his knee sent him to ground. Ariadna grabbed the back of his gas mask and pulled it up and over the back of his head, taking hair with it. He coughed as the gas reached his lungs, giving Ariadna the opportunity to wrestle his arms behind him and zip-tie them together. Ahead of her, a man with a baseball bat was trying to get a blow past the shield of an officer, the officer staggering under the impacts on his polycarb shield. By reflex, Ariadna reached for her P229 which wasn't there. Instead she drew a taser, aimed and fired without waiting for the laser sights to come on. The man dropped the baseball bat, shuddering in time with the taser's snapping for a few seconds before Ariadna released the trigger. The other officer handcuffed the man while Ariadna clicked the spent cartridge out and a new one into her taser. They'd driven the demonstrators back and split them up in to different streets when gunfire sounded far off to the left. Ariadna's radio, which had been silent until that point, snapped to life. "Officer down, repeat officer down. Bullet wound to the right shoulder, returning fire with less lethal shotguns. Someone call backup, someone get us some real guns!" $%&/. The regular thunk, thunk of pump action shotguns could be heard, then something that sounded an awful lot like automatic SG 550 fire. $%&/, Ariadna swung her taser around and shot the closest protestor, a young woman roughly in her twenties. Leaving the woman down with wires trailing away from her, Ariadna snapped out the cartridge and ran back towards the Mayor's office leaving a Domestic Force officer to secure the woman, if he cared to do so. She arrived just as a squad of Rapid Response officers were emerging from the building, armed with an array of rather-more-lethal weapons. "Rifle!" She demanded of one of the younger officers, grabbing his 551 and releasing the harness before he had a change to protest, then shoved the empty taser back into his hands. "Bolton street," the lieutenant leading the squad said, leading the way. The firing had paused, but resumed a moment before the street came into view. A pair of men had taken cover behind a large concrete traffic barricade down the street, one firing an assault rifle while the other reloaded a handgun. Across the street and behind the corner of a building, two officers were returning fire with less lethal shotguns. A third officer lay on the ground at their feet, not moving. "Take them down," was all the lieutenant needed to say. One of the squad members dropped to a kneel to provide covering fire while the squad took cover; Ariadna dropped down behind a car, then crouched firing through the car at the men. The windows' glass was long gone, smashed out by hastily retreating the protestors. The man with the assault rifle fired another burst, spraying wildly across the street. Ariadna ducked behind the car, then aimed around the side in time to see the man with the handgun do likewise around the concrete barricade, firing at the squad member who'd provided cover fire and was now moving out to cover. The squad member took a hit and went down on his back, Ariadna fired back but was too late: the hand gun man had ducked behind the barricade. "€&%$," the shot officer said, then rolled onto his stomach and slid behind Ariadna's car. "Armor but €&%$!" Gunfire continued as Ariadna moved to fire through the car again. The man with the assault rifle was hit, draped across the barricade with blood running out of multiple exit wounds on his back. The handgun man ducked around the side of the concrete barricade again, head barely peeking out when Ariadna and two other officers opened fire. His head flew backwards and he collapsed, the top of his skull missing. Ariadna didn't think it'd been her shot that killed him. "Forward, secure their weapons and anyone else in the area," the Lieutenant ordered. "Avilés, what's your status?" "Armor took it. I can move, but it's gonna be a hell of a bruise," the officer on the ground behind Ariadna called back. Ariadna turned around, he was starting to prop himself up; she grabbed his shoulder and helped haul him up. "Lieutenant Carbajal," a squad member who'd advanced up to the gunmen's former position at the barricade called, "We've got three wounded up the street, two look like they've taken a few less lethal pellets to the face." "Roger that, you," the Lientenant gestured the Domestic Force officers out of their cover, "secure the wounded. Peralta, see to the downed officer. Rest of my squad, split up in groups of two and fan out. Arrest any last stragglers from the protest, use lethal force at your discretion. "Avilés and," Carbajal glanced at the name on her armor, "Ariadna, double back to the Mayor's office and make sure no one loops around behind us trying to sneak into the building. No name badge, arrest 'em." Then he turned around and began speaking into his radio. "Avilés, you mobile?" Ariadna glanced at him. "Right behind you." [i]€&%$,[/i] Ariadna thought, surveying the street, the dead, and the blood before turning to go. [i]What the €&%$ were they trying to do?[/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted August 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2010 [b]Manila Domestic Force Central:[/b] R-r-r-ing. Domestic Force Commander Rio Agbayani looked up in annoyance at his office phone, then answered it. "Yes?" An office aid was on the other end, "Excuse me for the intrusion Commander Agbayani, but you requested to know as soon as word was received on the demonstrations in Preh." "Ah, of course, no trouble at all then. Please proceed." "Yes, sir. Shortly after ten o'clock Captain Amaro Solózorno, the ranking Domestic Force officer on the scene, ordered the demonstrators outside of the Mayor's office to disperse. They were given two warnings that they would be dispersed by force if they did not leave peacefully. There were about 400 protestors present at the time, and the demonstration devolved into a riot the moment the Domestic Force officers began firing off gas grenades. The demonstrators were successfully dispersed and approximately fifty were arrested, but the crowd caused significant damage to the surrounding area as they were driven away. During the process, two men open fire on the officers present; one officer and both men were killed and three civilians were injured in the ensuing firefight. As far as we know, there weren't any live cameras present when our officers took action and so far no footage has been broadcast on the networks. Even so, we believe the close-to 3,000 protestors outside of Preh Domestic Force Central have learned of the incident and become emboldened by it. By all accounts, sir, it's on the verge of becoming a riot out there." "I see. Is there anything else?" "Preh Domestic Force Central is asking for directions sir, and they sound nervous." "Very well, tell them to maintain their current actions for now and I'll work on getting them some reinforcements. As soon as the reinforcements arrive, I want the demonstration dispersed." "Yes sir, I'm sure they'll be glad to hear that. Have a good afternoon, sir." The aid hung up, and Agbayani pressed the disconnect-switch on his end. He held if for second, pondering, then released the switch to call Ground Force Commander Joey Celerio. There was a clause in the Constitution allowed him to request Ground Force assistance to maintain order. It appeared that clause was about to be activated for the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted September 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2010 Nicole Alcasid examined herself in the full-length mirror; she rather liked how she looked in the uniform of a Ground Force captain. Captain Nicole. She liked that too. She'd been living out of an Intelligence & Analysis safe house (safe condo, actually…) in Rrenes, spending the days relaxing on the beaches or firing off clips from a 550 on a nearby range when Melchoro had called. As usual, Melchoro skipped the hellos and got straight to the point (she respected that about him): Melchoro needed her in Preh, now. Instructions and tickets were already waiting in her I&A email, along with the address of a safe house where food, weapons and the uniform would be waiting. Finished with mirror, Nicole spun around and marched over to the closet. Unlocking and opening it, Nicole examined the collection of guns and explosives inside. 229s, a few 550s and 551s, half a kilo of C4 plus detonators, a pulse rifle, the list went on. Nicole moved a couple of pipe bombs out of the way, then selected an MP7, a kris (titanium, of course), and a P229. She grabbed some ammunition, made a mental note to request some more 556 rounds, then paused admiring at the Kampilan sheathed and propped up against the wall of the closet. For a second she considered taking it, but decided not to: the Kampilan was too long for her and she didn't know how to use a sword anyway. Nicole closed and relocked the closet's door, hiding the armory from view and picked up the Ground Force helmet Melchoro had left with the uniform. She dropped it onto her head, but it felt too heavy and did something funny to her hearing; she dropped back where she'd found it. Loading the guns and chambering a round in each, Nicole stowed the guns and ammunition in the appropriate pockets in her uniform, then left the safe house locking the door behind her. [b]Preh, Domestic Force Central:[/b] Ground Force Captain Donald Bonifacio (no relation to the Director) pulled on his helmet as he climbed out of the command humvee, two blocks behind the Domestic Force Central building. Two platoons were already assembled and the third was arriving as he did. Bonifacio waved away the formalities from the lieutenants in charge of the platoons as they approached. "In case you haven't seen the orders," Captian Bonifacio watched the lieutenant's reactions-they'd all read the orders but he continued anyway-, "we've been assigned to clear out the demonstrators from around Domestic Force Central. Non-lethal weapons preferred so I don't want a single unholstered pulse rifle unless I say otherwise. There's more than enough less-lethal shotguns to go around, fire at will if they don't disperse peacefully. Lieutenant… Juárez?" The lieutenants weren't usually under Bonifacio's command, forcing Bonifacio had to read the name on their uniforms looked apprehensive. Bonifacio's didn't need a name to know something was agitating Juárez. "Captain, orders said there were about 3,000 protestors. There's only three platoons of us, less than 200 soldiers. How are they expected to take us seriously?" "There's already Domestic Force officers with riot gear and gas in place, they should be able to disperse the demonstrators but some vigilante decided to start shooting when demonstrators were expelled from around the Mayor's Office. We're just here to ensure everything goes… smoothly. Any other questions?" Lieutenant spoke up, "Fair number of the men have expressed a certain… empathy… with the demonstrators, Captain. I get the feeling a few of them would be out there if they weren't on duty." Bonifacio expected as much. He was a soldier, but his wife's friend's husband had been arrested for what amounted to treason. He'd known the man for years, hadn't suspect a thing until he heard the sirens at 2AM, seen the Domestic Force officers preforming the arrest and after that, nothing. Not a phone call, the man had just disappeared. "Fair enough, but orders are orders. I trust they'll follow them?" "We will, sir." The slip of 'we' was not lost on Bonifacio, but he carried on. "Alright, we enter through the back door of Domestic Force Central, then come out the main entrance and take up positions behind the Domestic Force riot police. I've talked to the Domestic Force captain in charge, we'll give 'em three warnings then disperse the demonstrators by force," Bonifacio finished. "Dismissed." [size=3][center][b]-----[/b][/center][/size] "THIS IS YOUR SECOND WARNING! YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES TO BEGIN TO DISPERSE PEACEFULLY!" Bonifacio shouted into the megaphone. The crowd seemed determined to prevent him from hearing his own words; their combined volume drowned out everything as it echoed off the surrounding downtown buildings. Bonifacio could feel the noise reverberate in his armor plates from where he stood halfway up the wide, white staircase leading up to the Domestic Force Central building. 3,000? Try more than 5,000 $&%%ed off Mindanaoans. They weren't even all visible from Bonifacio's position; they occupied the street in front of Domestic Force Central, stretching back into the surrounding streets and out of sight. Before he'd arrived, the only thing holding them back was a pathetic-looking (from his point of view) line of Domestic Force officers at the base of the stairs. Bonifacio's platoons now formed a secondary barricade, two men thick across the front of the building, but all told they were outnumbered worse than ten to one. "THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING! IN ONE MINUTE, YOU WILL BE DISPERSED BY FORCE!" The Domestic Force officers raised their polycarb shields against the two dozen or so rocks the crowd ejected. Bonifacio's men had no shields, luckily the rocks fell short of them. The seconds ticked away; Domestic Officers a step behind the line loaded gas grenades. The Ground Force infantry strapped on the wide-view angle gas masks the Domestic Force officers already had on. Three second after the deadline, the gas-armed Domestic Force officers opened fire. Their grenades arced into the crowd, trailing streamers of tear gas. As the second round of grenades arced forward, the line of Domestic Force officers began to advance forward, reading batons. The Ground Force infantry advanced too, moving to take the place of the Domestic Force officers at the base of the stairs. It was during this maneuver, as the Domestic Force officers reached the first protestors, that the gun shots began and, in Bonifacio's post-conflict opinion, the demonstration became a riot. Bang. BangBangBangBangBang- Bonifacio, standing alone on the steps of Domestic Force Central, staggered as a shot slammed into his armor and fell as a second tore into his left arm. On adrenaline, he picked himself back up. Two Domestic Force Officers were done and another fell as Bonifacio stood. "Clear them out!" Bonifacio roared to one of his lieutenants-he couldn't read the name tag. The infantry didn't need the order: they fired less-lethals indiscriminately into the crowd, aiming at barrel flashes or the glare of sun off glass. The crowd ran, but did not disperse. They were driven back by the advancing officers, split up into the different streets but they did not disperse. Those at the front left a trail of smashed windows, cars and anything else that would break. Those at the rear of the processions threw stones and fired at the officers. "Move forward, remove all resistance!" The lientenant ordered, interpreting Bonifacio's order then catching Bonifacio as Bonifacio stumbled, blood stains growing on the left shoulder of his uniform. The Ground Force infantry broke apart into squads, moving to follow the groups of Domestic Force officers advancing forward when, from a balcony up on the third or forth story of a building opposite Domestic Force Central, a man unloaded an AK into the nearest squad. "$"%& this," the lieutenant grunted as he maneuvered Bonifacio towards cover. "Lethal force authorized, lose the $"%&)(/ less-lethals!" he radioed as the squads moved out of voice range. They didn't wait, unslinging Pulse Rifles and slinging the shotguns. Very-lethal shots blew through the lone sniper, then turned towards the retreating protestors. "Halt them at 10 blocks; I don… I don't want a $"%&)(/ city-wide massacre here," Bonifacio addresed the lieutenant as the lieutenant lowered him to sit, waving a Domestic Force EMT who'd just emerged from Domestic Force Central over. "All Ground Force units, halt at ten blocks from Domestic Force Central by the Captain's orders." The lieutenant paused as reports came in from the squads, then muttered "$"%&" again. All squads were taking fire. When members of the crowd has started firing, it had been mostly handgun fire. As they'd moved outward, however, the soldiers began taking assault rifle fire from demonstrators-no, rioters-hiding in doorways and in cover. $"%&. Then another voice came over the radio on his own second squad's channel. "Long live the Ferrerist revolution," it rasped harshly and too close to the microphone, "Long live the Communist Party!" The Lieutenant startled. "Second squad, report." Pause. "Second squad. Sergeant Marquéz, what's your status and who the /&%$'s on the radio?" No response. "Third squad, are you near second squad's position?" "Sorry sir, we don't have a clear path to their last location." "First squad, your status?" "Same as third squad. Two of my squad are injured, one dead sir." !@$%, !@$%, !@$%. The medic had injected Bonifacio with something and he was out cold. "Listen up all units, belay the previous order. Report back to Domestic Force Central immediately." The lieutenant ended, then glanced up at a helicopter buzzing over the city. [b]Above Domestic Force Central:[/b] "This is news chopper eleven reporting from above the Preh Domestic Force Central in Preh. We can't get a camera on the scene so you'll have to bear with voice only for now, but if we had a camera we need have to advise digression about the events we're about to report. "As those of you who've been following the morning's events know, protests have sprung up outside of government locations around the city. I'd give a rough estimate of close to 5,000 demonstrators outside Domestic Force Central when the Ground Force infantry arrived on the scene. Just moments ago, the Ground Force attempted to disperse the demonstrators and the protest turned violent. I can't say who fired first, but fire erupted from both sides: scattered fire from the crowd matched by lethal fire from the Ground Force as the crowd retreated. "We're above Domestic Force Central and even from our altitude there's visible bodies and blood in the streets below. Even now, Ground Force squads are following the protestors-I'm going to go ahead and call them rioters-who, instead of breaking up, are simply moving outward leaving debris-strewn paths behind them. There's scattered fire in the streets below and… Hold on one second, we're trying to get a better view…" Pause… "Yes, there's bodies, both rioters and a few Ground Force soldiers, left in the wake of one of the groups. Domestic Force riot police down there too, firing at something… Firing into the buildings. One of the Domestic Force officers just fell, I'm not sure but I think he's been shot." "We're moving into position above another group of rioters now, and… There's definitely a classic-soviet flag waving above the crowd. There's also a squad of soldiers, but they appear to have have given up on this group of rioters and are retreating. It looks like some of them are wounded…" "We're running into some gusts of wind now so I'm going to return you to the studio but we'll be back with continued coverage as the situation continues to develop." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted September 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2010 (edited) Astor Torres stood on a worn, wooden dock of a small village-town just a few kilometers outside of Preh. Behind him, standing in a loose semicircle, stood eight men armed with AKs and SG550s. Two wore Ground Force standard issue combat armor repainted with a red hammer and sickle; the rest wore civilian clothes. Astor wore a light bullet-resistant vest under his shirt, but in the mid-afternoon humidity almost wished he didn't. Almost. Preh was a train wreck into hell and getting there faster than he'd anticipated. Lax gun laws and pent-up anger had sent the population into full-scale riots, looting and burning as they went. He'd been avoiding the worst areas, but the media hadn't and the images coming out showed the beginnings of what was rapidly becoming a bloody street-by-street fight. Astor's Ferrerist forces formed a loose core now: local gang and illicit organizations had jumped at the chance to bring down the government and thrown everything in, guns, money and people, but the loyalist elements of the 2nd and 4th Mechanized Divisions still had the upper hand. That was half the reason Astor stood waiting on a dock in rainy-season tropical heat for an arms dealer's boat. The other half was the man the arms dealer was transporting. Finally, the boat became visible and an inconsequential wait later it drifted to stop against the dock. "Benigno Maturan," Astor addressed to the first man to step off the boat. "Welcome back to Selenarctos!" Astor and Benigno bowed slightly to eachother, then shook hands warmly. Astor hadn't seen Beningo in several years; since just before the Beningo'd slipped out of a holding cell, gone AWOL, missed his military tribunal and left the country. Beningo's passport had been canceled, his citizenship revoked and a arrest-on-sight-shoot-if-he-resists warrant issued for him, yet here Beningo was. He looked older now and wore nondescript fatigues that could have been issued by any one of a dozen nations and a worn but obviously operational M249 slung over his shoulder. "Astor comrade, how've you been keeping? Well enough, I suppose, though I'd have to ignore those," Beningo grinned, gestured at the eight men, "If I'm to reach that conclusion. I don't supposed they'd like some real weapons?" Astor smiled to himself; Beningo hadn't changed a bit. Astor liked to think he maintained flexible morales, but he was sure Beningo maintained no morales. Beningo may be grinning and smiling now but if Astor hadn't had a history with Beningo, Astor could've been dead the moment he turned his back on Beningo. Just like a certain officer back in the Northern Luzon Campaign… Astor turned as the boat's owner, an arms dealer Astor'd had moderately successful dealings with before, emerged fromt he boat. "Whadya got, and whadya asking?" Astor asked the dealer. The dealer wiped a mixture of engine grease and gun oil on his pants, then lifted a case with a clipboard onto the dock. Running down the clipboard's list with his finger, he read off, "The usual rifles, 'bout a dozen heavy 'chine guns," the dealer's accent was heavy and he slurred some of his words, "'couple RPjeez and 'renade launchers, two dozen cases of fra'renades, half dozen cases of HE 'renades, couple kilos of HE, and you'll like this," with a flourish the dealer opened the case under the clipboard, "twelve javelin missile launchers and thirty missiles. First world-manufac'ured, dun't ask where I 'ot 'em, but the quality is perfec'." "Yes, yes, I'm sure it is. How much you asking?" Javelin missiles? Where [i]had[/i] he gotten those, Astor wondered? "These thin's, they not easy to 'et you 'ot to know. Plus them patrols and birds, nine million coins for the lot." The dealer said, as if the price was fair and reasonable. "Yes, yes, I'm sure you'd love to see me drop a few million right here," Astor paused, "It ain't going to happen. Why don't you try again, this time with an offer you'd make to someone who knows which way to point the gun you sell." "No, no; no money here. Do I look like a backwurld trade'r, or somethin'? You wire nine million my bank account, I see it rite' here," the dealer waved around a rather-large cellphone, "then I 'ive you the 'oods. Ye-" The dealer looked in annoyance at one of Astor's escort, who was interrupting to hand Astor a phone. Astor took the phone in slight annoyance, stepped away (purposefully ignoring the dealer), listed for a moment, then stood bolt upright. "What? They're doing what?! You… Are you sure? Why? And who???" Astor listened a moment longer, than said, "Yes, I see. Get as many as you can-hell, get them all… I'll be there right away." Astor ended the call and handed the phone back. "We appear to have acquired another… supplier… of guns. If you'd-" It was the dealer's turn to interrupt, which he did with a smirk and smug air about him. "I'm shure you do. Maybe 'e's even got a couple of main battle tanks to come 'long with 'at merchandise, too. Or maybe you dun't. You 'ake me for a fool, you dun't listen, and I heard t'is one before, ya'know. Now then, shall we talk a 'little price?" Astor blinked. "Yes, lets. Three million for the javelins, wired to the bank if you insist, or we walk and leave you with a boat full of illegal missiles to take back out through Selenarctan waters. Capish?" The dealer peered intently at Astor for a second, as if unsure whether Astor was bluffing. Then he made up his mind, "You walk, you lose," the dealer shrugged. Astor wasn't. "Best of luck getting out safely. They way things are in Preh, they may not even give you the benefit of a trial. 'May just you blow your little boat right of the water on sight, but that's you're problem, not mine." Then to his escort, "Fire up the vans, we're headed back to Preh." "Wait!" the dealer came running up the dock as Astor was shutting the van's door. "Four million coins and 'them missiles are yours…" He trailed off. Astor almost smiled. Nobody wants to be caught with a boat load of illegal guns, heavy AT missiles are something else. "Three point five and deal." "Ok, ok, them're yours," the dealer nodded energetically. [b]Preh, Ground Force Armory:[/b] Captian Carlos Romero had been sidelined since certain… events… (classified, of course) involving Roachin. Romero maintained he'd made the correct decisions under difficult circumstances, the review board agreed that circumstances had been difficult, and Romero had been shuffled sideways until he ended up as commander of the Ground Force Armory in Preh. If it ever sounded like an important position, it wasn't. While not important, it had become more interesting very recently. A small but gradually growing group of rioters had gathered outside the armory's main gates shouting, shaking the compound's barbwire topped fence and throwing rocks at anyone who came in view, angry over the Ground Force's actions at Domestic Force Central. Romero had contacted SelCom as soon as they'd appeared, and now stood in the armory's comm room awaiting orders. "We've got a response, sir," a junior comm officer, the room's only other occupant, glanced up at Romero then back at the screen and began to read, "By the Order of Security Division Command, cosigned by Security Division Intelligence & Analysis, all contents of these orders are classified to be shown on a need-to-know basis only, destroy all copies after execution-huh, haven't seen that before," the comm officer deviated from the order's text, "-do not print, do not release-yada yada yada, some authentication codes, they all check out, ah here we are, the orders: Disperse the rioters by any means necessary. Shoot all who resist-" The comm officer froze. So did Romero, staring at the the screen where the words stood. Disperse the rioters by any means necessary. Shoot all who resist. Lethal force authorized. That was it. The entire contents of the orders. SelCom had ordered Romero to massacre civilians. Again. "$%&/." Romero swore quitely. The comm officer didn't swear out loud, but he looked scared as he asked Romero, "What do we do? They want us to kill them? All of them??" "No, they can't-" $%&/. Not again. "There must be some mistake. Check the authentication codes." "I already did," the comm officer answered, already checking them again. "They match. They order is valid." He paused. "Sir? You're orders?" "Call some lieutenants up to my office. Not the hardliners, but those who… might be sympathetic to the people outside. Those with some backbone, if you know what I mean." "What are you going to do?" "Just summon the lieutenants." ---------------------------- Ten minutes later, four lieutenants (of the six currently on the base) stood in Romero's office. Romero didn't waste any time. "We've just received orders from SelCom. I have a copy here, which you're free to look at it, but these orders are classified. Hell, I'm classifying them even further: these orders do not exist. You never saw them, I never saw them, they don't exist. From now until I relieve you, you take my orders and my orders only. Is that clear?" The lieutenants nodded. Technically, Romero hadn't don't anything wrong yet… "Good. Because we've been ordered to clear the rioters with lethal force, and I'm not going to do it." The lieutenants didn't say anything immediately, their discomfort was all too clear. "Sir. What are you going to do?" "We're not following this order, but there are Ground Force elements already deployed throughout Preh that will. As of now, I'm ordering the dispersal of this facility's weapons to the citizens of Preh in the defense of the citizenry of Preh. We're going to give them guns and tell them to get the hell away from any other Ground Force troops they see. Now get on it, I'd guess we've only got a couple hours before they send in the calvary to stop us." [b]Communication Logs:[/b] [Channel Opens] Preh: This is Lieutenant Angulo calling from the Ground Force Armory in Preh. Circumstances prevent me from utilizing standard communication channels, please understand and verify communication authenticity. SecDev: Communication authenticity confirmed, proceed with status report Lieutenant Angulo. Preh: Status is not good. Armory commander Captain Romero has begun handing out weapons to the rioters outside of the armory in an effort to 'protect' them. Mostly small arms so far, 550s, 229s, pulse rifles and the like. He's handing out ammunition to and lots of it, but I don't think he's handing out any grenades for the pulse rifles. SecDev: Status received. Is Romero acting alone? Preh: Negative, he's got a fair number of personnel helping him. SecDeV: Lieutenant, are you aware that Captain Romero was ordered to disperse the rioters? Preh: I was, yes. He informed a select few of us. SecDev: Would you follow through with such an order? (pause) Preh: Yes. Yes, I would. SecDev: What is your current status. More specifically, are you accompanied and/or are you armed? Preh: There's five men with me now, we all have sidearms. There's probably some more around here. Do you have orders? SecDev: Lieutenant Angulo, you are promoted to Captain Angulo effective immediately. Captain Romero is stripped of his rank and command of the base. You are promoted to commander of the base. Your orders are as follows: One, stop the transfer of arms to the rioters. Two, secure the compound. Three, disperse the rioters. Four, terminate ex-Captain Romero. Utilize any means necessary, lethal force authorized. Remain on base premises and ensure no Ground Force personnel leave base premises until further notice. Good luck. Preh: Is that [i]all[/i]? SecDev: Yes. That is all. Do you have any questions? Preh: No, no questions. Orders received and will be executed. Lieut- Captain Angulo out. SecDev: Security Division Command out. [Channel Closed] [b]Preh Primary Air Base:[/b] [Air Force Comm Chatter Log] 114IS.7: This is Raptor Seven, we are airborne as primary. 114IS.11: Raptor Eleven airborne, flying wingman to Raptor Seven. Comm: Roger, you have the coordinates. 114IS.11: Confirmed, we have the coordinates. Aren't these coordinates one of ours? Ground Force's, I mean? Comm: Yessir, they are. Must've done something to really $%&& off command because the airbase commander got a call straight from SecDev. Said they wanted the installation leveled to the ground, so there ya' go. Orders received, we get 'er done. 114IS.11: That we do. Raptor Eleven out. (Break In Comm Logs) 114IS.7: Raptor Seven, coming within range of the target. Comm: Raptors Seven and Eleven, take the target out. (Pause) 114IS.7: Raptor Seven, munitions away. 114IS.11: Raptor Eleven, munitions down the tube. Whoever's down there has thirty seconds to say their goodbyes, then lights out. Comm: Good work 114th, they's better make goodbyes quick. Loop around to visually confirm base destruction, then return to base. 114IS.7: Confirmed, will radio in visual confirmation 114IS.11: Raptor Eleven right behind Seven. [Log Excerpt Ends] [b]Preh, Ground Force Armory:[/b] Romero ceased to exist as the first JDAM crashed through the section of the armory he stood in. Angulo had precisely five and half seconds before he died too, on the opposite end of the armory. Slightly less than 400 Ground Force personnel died in between these times, the total number of personnel in the armory at the time of the attack. 87 civilians were killed outright by bombs. 42 civilians died from wounds sustained. 124 other civilians were injured to varying degrees. An unknown quantity of weaponry was carried away before the armory was destroyed. Edited September 18, 2010 by iKrolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted September 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 (edited) [b]Downtown Preh:[/b] Nicole Alcasid worked her way through the smokey streets of downtown Preh. A group of rioter had already been down this street, and the street was lined with ruined cars and smashed store-front windows. A fair scattering of bullet holes and chips out of stone walls further marked the passing of the struggle. No bodies, but a few of the cars were still smoldering, hence the smoke. Her boots crunched on the broken glass spread throughout the street and distant echoes of the ongoing conflict could be heard, but otherwise the street was quiet. "Captain!" Nicole startled, spun around dropping into a crouch, her MP7 flipped to burst and pointed at the source of the noise; a young soldier-a boy, really-froze under the gun. Oh, the uniform! Nicole lowered the gun slowly and stood. The boy unfroze. "Private Mario Asdrubal of the 2nd Division reporting for duty, ma'am!" He said, standing to attention and saluting. $%&/, this Mario thought she really was a Ground Force captain. Well… She stowed the MP7, "Status report Private. And, umm, why are you reporting for duty to me?" "Ma'am, I was called to active duty and told to report to the Ground Force Armory. Then, umm, they blew up the Armory, and the radio relays along with it. Surely you heard?" He finished hopefully. $%&/. No, she hadn't. She'd felt the explosion though, probably half the city had. Guess that explains why they'd launched the F22s, $%&/ hitting the fan faster than expected if the Communists were in a position to blow up the [i]entire[/i] Ground Force Armory. Well, two could play that game. With her original mission no longer relevant, she had a little operational flexibility. If memory served, there was a safe house not too far from here. Only problem was it's supposed to be occupied, but that's not really a problem… She smiled, then frowned. Last thing she needed was some unknown private following her around… She took a moment to examine him: light brown skin, dark hair, about fifteen centimeters taller than she was. Ground Force uniform but no armor, unfortunately, and the name tag said Pvt. Asdrubal so at least it was his. Well, at least he could carry $%&/. "Private, consider yourself reported in. You feel up for a little demolition work?" "Ma'am? Uhh, yes ma'am!" "You armed?" "No, I'm not…" Asdrubal faltered. She handed him the P229 and a pair of magazines. "P229, you [i]do[/i] know how to use one?" He nodded. "Good, and next time someone points a gun at you, you dive for cover or the ground, whichever is closer. Got it?" "Yes ma'am. Do you have orders for me?" $%&/, shoulda' blown his lungs out when he'd first startled her. "Yes. Follow me-a couple meters [i]behind[/i] me-and shoot at anyone I start shooting. Oh, and shut the #=%& up. You don't have any other questions." Without waiting for his response, she spun and led the way down the street. She heard his foot steps crunching glass behind her. Two hundred meters ahead, she left ducking through an alley short cut. But for the dead body, the alley was otherwise unremarkable. A teenager, just a year or two younger than Asdrubal lay in the alley, a can of red spray paint still clutched in his hand and a half-painted hammer and sickle on the wall above him. Multiple bullet wounds had created a nice slick of blood across the pavement, which Nicole took measures to avoid stepping in. Asdrubal looked as if he might be sick. "Never seen a dead body before?" Nicole grinned wickedly. "I- Do they always look like that?" "Nah, sometimes they look more helpless. Sometimes they wet themselves. Usually, actually, guess this one died with an empty bladder. And they usually smell; give this one a few more hours in this heat and he'll smell worse than the burning rubber you smell now. Nicole kicked the paint can out of his hand and into the pool of blood. It rolled a turn and a half before sticking, covered in the redish-purple of oxidized blood. "Death's $%&/. Count yourself lucky you won't be around to clean up after your own and move on." Nicole smiled at him. -------------------------- A few minutes later, they ran into a road block: several SUVs end-to-end across the street. "Captain!" A man on the other side of the blockade shouted. "Captain, over here!" Another private, older than Asdrubal, waved her around the blockade. MP7 ready but pointing groundward, Nicole cautiously made her way between the end SUV and a building along the path the private indicated. "Captain Alcasid, welcome to the eleventh outpost!" The private joked, gesturing around. About ten meters further along the road stood another road block of SUVs and a pickup truck, only the windows of this line were missing or had bullet holes in them. There were also a fair number of bullet holes through the vehicles themselves. Five or six soldiers in combat armor watched the other side, pulse rifles trained on something out of Nicole's line of sight. "Sarge!" The private called into a store that lined the street between the blockades and had, until recently, displayed expensive clothing in a pair of street-front display windows. The glass was shattered across the street now, and it was through one of these that the Sergeant emerged, gesturing them over. "Sergeant Horacio, at your service and &@·$ are we glad to see you. We drove some rioters outta here," he gestured at the area between the two blockades of vehicles, "but the lieutenant died and we lost radio contact; been cut off from the chain of command ever since. Until you came along, that is." Nicole glanced behind the sergeant, into the darkened interior of the building. She could just make out the silhouettes of (safe-to-assume) injured soldiers lying on the floor, one soldier moving between and tending to them. "Sorry sergeant, I'm afraid I'm not here to restore the chain of command. Out of radio contact, you said?" Sergeant Horacio looked at her funny. "Yah, when the commies took out the Armory. Security Command didn't see fit to equip us regulars with some decent radios; they figured we only needed to reach local relay transmitters which, if necessary, could relay signals elsewhere or to the satellites. Primary relay for Preh was in the Armory and, well, it's caput. They even built a whole bunch of mobile-relays for field ops but guess where they stored them? The Armory." He shrugged, "So that's where we stand. Got plenty of guns and ammunition but 'bout half my men are injured, though most of it's pretty minor. If you're not here to relieve us, guess we're hold out until some one does: we've got a defensible spot and it's quite for now, just hope it stays that way. If you don't mind me asking, what are you here for?" "Special orders, classified-I'm sure you understand." By his expression, he clearly didn't but this was the Ground Force and she was an officer. (Sort-of.) He didn't ask. "I don't suppose you've got and high explosive with you? C4 preferred but anything'll do, really." "'fraid not: we were sent out to handle a few rioters, not blow up bridges," he replied. Ah well, worth a try. "Ammunition and guns, though? Armor perhaps? Private Asdrubal here wasn't able to make it to the Armory." Horacio did the best impression of wincing-but-not-really-wincing she'd seen in a while. "Depends on how you feel about stealing from the dead. Guns are fine, feel free to grab a 550 or pulse rifle; as for armor, we didn't set out with any extra, but I've lost four men. If you decide to requisition the armor, it's yours. Anything else?" "No Sergeant, that'll be all. Keep holding out until relieved or forced to retreat and… good luck. To you and your men, but I'm sure you'll do just fine." "Wish I had your optimism, captain," he paused, "good luck on your mission and may be God be with you." "Oh, and one more thing sergeant-I don't suppose you've seen a hardware store nearby, have you?" [center]------------------[/center] Fifteen minutes later, armed and armored-Asdrubal looked at least semi-dangerous now, helmeted in full combat armor and carrying a pulse rifle, Nicole still helmetless but now with the minimum armor that'd still provide some protection-, they arrived outside of an apartment building, inside of which lay the safehouse. Nothing remarkable about the building itself: an unimposing brick and white-painted wood exterior practically screamed middle-class, single aspiring business people live here. Five stories tall, a glass door and large windows showcased a lobby designed to attract exactly the type of renters Nicole suspected lived inside. The street itself hadn't been hit by rioters; there were half a dozen undamaged cars parked along it's length and all of the ground level windows still had glass. Otherwise, however, it was empty: no pedestrians and no moving cars. Everyone had left or hunkered down to wait for the riots to pass. The main door of the apartment complex was locked, but Nicole quickly fixed both problems, the locked door and the glass still in the door, in one go and entered the lobby. "Wait here, Private. I'll be back shortly." "Yes ma'am," Asdrubal replied, taking up a position to cover the front windows and door. $%&/, he was more likely to give her away than help. "And try not to break anything." She didn't wait to hear a reply. The electricity was still, but Nicole took the stairs. Given the current state of affairs, she didn't trust it to last much longer and she certainly didn't trust Asdrubal to bust her out of a stuck elevator. Safe house was only on the third floor anyway. There's a neat trick you can do when someone's paranoid enough to use a security chain on a door, but not paranoid enough not to open the door. It involves a pair of bolt cutters-Nicole had procured a pair of bolt cutters from a hardware store on the way-held below the peephole's line of sight. "Open up!" Nicole shouted, banging on the door with a fist. There was a light on the other side; that helped, it told her someone was looking through peephole when the hole went dark. "I&A, open up!" They weren't supposed to identify themselves with Intelligence & Analysis, which meant the man on the other side would immediately recognize something was up. It also meant he wouldn't dare not open the door and the moment he did, security chain in place, Nicole rammed the bolt cutter into the cracked-open door. Before he had a chance to close it, the bolt cutter was in place and the chain cut cleanly in two. Nicole kicked the door open, then slammed bolt cutter into the man's stomach before he had a change to react. Another advantage of a bolt cutter is that it's heavy. "Hello Roger," Nicole smiled. "Expected Melchoro would keep you close by, just in case." She kicked him in the ribs to roll him over-he wasn't a large man-, then pressed the MP7 into the back of his exposed neck. "Now, now Roger, no movement. We wouldn't want anything unfortunate to happen between you, me, and an MP7, now would we?" "B@€$%," Roger swore, but stayed still as Nicole retrieved a set of keys from his pocket. "I heard about Arnel, you know, that was sloppy. And of poor taste." "Roger," Nicole purred, unlocking and opening his closet armory. The apartment was a mess, and the inside of the closet armory wasn't much better. "I never thought of you as one who'd be a squeamish around a little blood. Now, I'll admit my showmanship could have been improved a little and I've gotten better, but-" "I saw it first hand," Roger interrupted. "I was assigned to the investigation, to show our good will and uninvolvement, et cetera. Eighteen entry wounds spill a tad more than a [i]little[/i] blood." "Let bygones be gone as they say, eh?" She smiled at Roger, then realized from his position lying by the door he couldn't see her. Ah well… She'd met Roger during initial training, which was how she knew he liked explosives a little to much. It was also how Roger knew she wouldn't kill him. Because she hated the paperwork. "Got enough bombs in here?" Nicole asked, digging around in the closet for blocks of C4. She kept the MP7 handy just in case. "Maybe… Why, didn't they leave you any?" "Sure, but not enough C4 and besides, yours was closer." "Closer to what? I wasn't told we were blowing any $%&/ up…" He sounded disappointed. "[i]We[/i] aren't blowing up anything. [i]I[/i] am taking eight blocks of C4 and leaving you here in your pigsty to blow yourself up, or whatever else you do around here," Nicole paused as she walked past him and out of the apartment, "Oh, and you should get a new security chain for your door… Or better yet a little camera. You know you can get them small enough to fit into a door handle and never notice the difference?" She smiled again on her way out, and this time he could see her. "&@€$%" Nicole heard him mumble into the floor as she shut the door behind her. [center]------------------[/center] "&@·$, didn't expect this…" Nicole trailed off. They were two blocks away from the Communist Party Headquarters for Preh now, and directly between them and the building stood a roadblock, not unsimilar from the one manned by Ground Force infantry they'd come across earlier. Most noticeable difference, of course, was that this one wasn't guarded by government troops. The men behind this barricade wore civilian clothes-with a high proportion of red shirts among them-and held 550s, though through a pair of binoculars supplied by Asdrubal (now where'd he get those?), Nicole did see one Ground Force soldier behind the barricade. Scratch that, ex-Ground Force soldier: a large, red hammer and sickle-symbol was stenciled onto his armor. "How're we gonna get through them?" Asdrubal asked as Nicole leaned back around the building corner that kept the men manning the blockade from seeing her. Nicole sighed. "Maybe if you go ask nicely, they'll let you through." "Hey, that's an idea! I bet they don't have a good chain of command yet, I could just say I want to join them or something!" Asdrubal plotted, excitedly. "Yah, sure, and if they ask why you happen to be carrying a couple blocks of C4 into their headquarters?" She'd given him most of the explosives to carry. "Oh…" She leaned out around the corner with the binoculars again. She couldn't quite make out the soldier's rank, but she thought he looked like a private. Hopefully he'd gained a little more discipline during basic training than Asdrubal had. "Rifle slung and finger off the trigger, now. Then follow me and don't say anything or I'll shoot you before they have a chance to, got it?" Asdrubal nodded. Nicole stepped out from behind the building, holding the P229 above her pointed skyward and called to the men manning the blockade. "Don't shoot, comrades!" $%&/, if they were using the hammer and sickle, surely they would talk the talk too? She made a show of unloading the pistol as she walked towards the barricade, keeping it above her head the whole time. Several 550s turned towards her and thankfully Asdrubal, a few meters behind her, followed orders and did his best to play the stoic-soldier-following-his-commanding-officer part. "Halt," the Ground Force soldier hesitantly called to her. She'd been right, he was a private-Private II, but still a private. She didn't stop. "Status report for our commanders, comrade. There ears only, you understand," Nicole smiled at him as she neared the barricade. The private looked confused; she was a captain (hah!), but that was in the army, which he'd abandoned for his new cause. Even so, he'd been trained to follow orders from superior officers and the training stuck. "You can pass, I guess." Nicole could see him thinking as she made her way around the barricade; no wonder he'd been stuck with barricade duty. "I'm going to need to confiscate your weapons and search you though," he said once they made it to the other side, reaching out a hand for her gun. Nicole almost rolled her eyes. "In your dreams," she answered, slapping away his hand with the butt of her pistol with slightly more force than necessary. His pride was the only thing that looked injured though, as she turned and marched away toward the building. Asdrubal hurried to catchup. The lobby of the Communist Party headquarters was a mess. The party branch office-become-military command (after a fashion) was packed with people, most trying to make themselves heard over everyone else, and no clear picture of who was in charge. All comrades here, noone need be in charge right? Nicole mused. She let Asdrubal clear the way through; armored and weapon slung across his chest, the crowd hastened to step out of his way and the man at the door from the lobby to the rest of the building just glanced at the captain's insignia on her uniform before waving them through. Once in the rear of the building and alone, Nicole redivided the C4 so they each had 4 blocks and began sticking detonators in them. She hadn't actually been trained in building demolition, but how hard could it be? "All right, lets make this fast. Stick your blocks to anything that looks like it's holding up the building: steel supports, whatever. We take out the back of the building, and it'll just topple over." She hoped. "Fast though, be back here in three minutes and if you haven't found enough targets just stick them somewhere out of sight; they're radio-fused, I'll blow them once we're outta here." "Yes ma'am," he scurried off. The building didn't have a very large footprint, but was several stories tall. Nicole stuck one of her blocks to far back corner of the building, two to large steel girders she found in the outlet of a stairwell and the last one on where she estimated the back of the elevator shaft was. Gotta be something important in there, right? Then she met up with Asdrubal again. "All blocks deployed to critical components," he reported. She raised an eyebrow. "Well, I stuck them to big metal chunks like you told me to." "Right. Follow me, time to leave." No sense in leaving someone who'd follow order behind, even if he was about as intelligent as an inbred puppy. She dropped the radio-timer detonator in a trashcan next to the rear door they exited through, five minutes until boom. Outside, a convoy of pickup trucks was getting ready to depart off to who-knows-where in the city. "Sergeant!" Nicole shouted at the uniformed man who appeared more in-charge. "Where's this convoy headed?" "Captain!" The sergeant shouted back, saluting. "Financial district. Word was $%&/ was going down there before they cut the cell towers!" Someone shut down cellphones? "Going east towards the highway, or how you getting there?" He shook his head, "Nah, they might mine the freeway or hit us with a Predator or something. Surface streets all the way, ya'know; why, where you heading?" "As far east as you're going, we'll grab another ride from there." "Not running away from the city, are you? This is it! This is the revolution, starting right here and we'll spread it to the rest of Selenarctos, just watch!" "Got a retrieval job, meeting up with our comrades leaving the Domestic Force. It's rather urgent." "Hell, why didn't you say so? I'll give ya' a truck- hey Kirian, got a job for ya'!" he yelled at one of the men near the rear of the convoy. "What up, Sarge?" Except he pronounced it 'serge'. "Get your truck ready, ya're driving the lovely Captain-comrade Alcasid and her companion to join up with some comrades in the Domestic Force. Gassed up?" Nicole smiled. Sorry Mr. Kirian; while we need your truck, we don't need you. "'Course, you ready to go?" Kirian asked. "Asdrubal, you're in back," Nicole ordered, climbing into the cab of his truck. "Hit it, comrade Kirian." "Yes, ma'am!" They roared out past a barricade, the men manning the barricade pushing a makeshift gate closed behind them. They were a few blocks away and Kirian was just beginning to strike up a conversation when the concussive echoes an explosion came ringing from behind them. "What the-" Kirian slammed on the brake, bringing the truck to a not-quite-screeching halt and staring behind them. "Sorry, Kirian," Nicole smiled sweetly, shooting him twice in the head; bullets, blood and brain exited neatly through the truck's open driver-side window. Before the blood had a chance to reach the truck's seats, Nicole had reached across Kirian's body, opened the driver's door and pushed Kirian out. He toppled over and out, making a dull thud as he fell on the asphalt. Asdrubal glanced over the side of the truck at Kirian's body, then proceeded to throw up over the side of the pickup while Nicole climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the door closed. "Private, you ready to roll?" Nicole laughed. EDIT: Fixed italics Edited April 24, 2011 by iKrolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted November 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 [b]Selenarctos Capital Building[/b] [i]Saturday Evening[/i] "The press blackout will hold, you have my word on that. We clamped down immediately after the first reports and have been downplaying events since then. Now what the hell are you going to do about the situation?" Antonio Pilar leaned forward on his desk, pressing the phone to his ear. Second Security Director Alejandro Tiempo answered from the other end,"The first priority is to make sure the violence doesn't spread. We're moving units into place surrounding Preh and blocking all the major roads in and out. No doubt you've heard the reports of the high attrition rate amongst the Second Division and Third Mechanized, but I have confidence that the blockading units will hold. So far, the violence has been regional and as long as your press blackout holds, it should stay that way. Alejandro paused, for a second, then continued, "However, in the event violence does spread I've taken the precaution of ordering all key government officials back to Manila. I don't feel situation warrants moving everyone into the Bunker yet, but if a credible threat presents itself I won't hesitate to issue the order." "All fine, but what is the Security Council's plan to resolve the conflict? From what I've heard, we can't even trust our own soldiers in Preh-" "I know, which is why as we speak the 2nd Mechanized in mobilizing for immediate transportation to Preh. They've spent the last few years deployed on Borneo, which will have left them out of touch with the development of the rebels and unlikely to go AWOL. The first troops will begin landing at the Air Force Base in Preh at 0300 tomorrow to evaluate the situation and the first units will enter the city at 0600. Force Commander Luis Trillanes, you've met him right?-anyways, he's designated the entire A225 fleet for their transport, so we should have more than 5,000 infantry from the Second Mechanized on the ground in Preh by 1200 hours. They'll meet up with still-loyal elements of the Second Division and Third Mechanized, and from there restore order district by district. Martial law has already been declared, mind you no one who doesn't need to know doesn't, and we'll initiate a public curfew beginning at 2100 tomorrow lasting through 0600 Monday for districts we've already secured at that time. If there are any districts still no in our control, the curfew will last as long as the rebels do. We should have the last of the rebel elements mopped up by Tuesday at the latest." "Tuesday? The Economic Council's approved any emergency funding you need, but that seems rather optimistic if you're looking at the same reports I am," Antonio asked cautiously. "The Second Mechanized is [i]very[/i] good at what they do. All you need to do is keep the press' and public's attention away from Preh, and we'll sort out the rest." "Of course. Very well Director, good luck and have a good evening, considering the circumstances." "And you, Antonio." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted December 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 [b]Borneo Primary Airbase, Sunday:[/b] Private II Aldino Nebrón stood at ease, fully combat-armored in the cool, late-night air. The sky was clear and moonless, the stars hidden by the glaring lights of the airbase. Directly in front of his platoon stood a massive A225 strategic transport; to it's right stood a second and a third a little further down. The flight techs had finished their inspection of the first A225 and four M1s were crawling up it's loading ramp one by one, prepping for the flight back to Selenarctos. Behind the A225, an A400M tactical air transport was taxiing towards the runway, the fourth to do so in the-Aldino checked his watch: 0010-twenty minutes they'd been standing here. "Demonyos Company, heads up!" Captain Collado shouted, approaching Aldion's and the two other platoons standing at ease on the tarmac. Captain Collado was pure Filipino, 165cm tall and captian of Demonyos Company for longer than any of the Collado's Demons had been apart of the Mechanized Heavy Tank Company; there was a persistent rumor Collado'd started the company himself, a rumor Collado did nothing to put down. "Our tank units are loaded up, airborne and en route to Preh as I speak", Collado continued, "However the brass would rather ship men the equipment for the MI platoons, so our BXs are staying here. $%/=, I know, but they say new one'll be waiting in Preh when we land. They'd rather we leave everything, but €/&$ if Demonyos goes in without guns so you're bringing them with you. Usually assortment, armory should've spec'd you out for urban combat and that's where we're headed. Lieutenants, I have your platoons' individual orders and plane assignments. Sergeants, ensure your men are properly equipped. Dismissed!" Collado already knew his men were properly equipped: Armed and deadly, the Demonyos way. Aldino had a Pulse Rifle with one clip and five grenades loaded, five more clips and a five grenades on him; a P229 on his side, one clip in and another stored, and a combat kris plus a pair of his own throwing knives. Santiago, on Aldino's right, had a Pulse Rifle, a P229, an MP7, and a kris. Madrigal, the platoon sniper on Aldino's left, had a kris and an SG550 sniper; no sidearm but Madrigal was… unique. Aldino had seen Madrigal training for close combat with the rifle once, loaded with live rounds while snapping the limbs of a mannequin opponent in full combat armor, and it'd chilled him. Place him with an MP7 PDW and Madrigal with his 550 in a small room and Aldino would bet on Madrigal, hands down. "Second Platoon!" Lieutenant II Noriega shouted, then stopped as he was drowned out by colossal roar of an A225 landing. "Second Platoon! We're with half of third platoon on the tact lifter," Lieutenant Noriega gestured to the A400M tactical air transport at the of the line of A225s. "Captain Collado, first platoon and the rest of third platoon are in the next tact lifter so we'll beat them to Preh, I'll brief you on our orders in flight. You have-" Lieutenant Noriega check his watch-"three minutes, thirty-five seconds to be onboard with your gear stowed or you're AWOL in the Malay Federation. Second platoon dismissed!" "'Bout €/&$ing time," Santiago swore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKrolm Posted December 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 [b]Preh International Airport, Sunday:[/b] "Second platoon, grab your gear, exit the plane and form up on the tarmac as soon as the door's down!" Lieutenant II Noriega was already standing in the dimly-lit A400M the plane stopped moving "The airport's already been shut down and secured, but we're just under six clicks from downtown Preh so everything outside the fence is considered hostile until proven otherwise." The plane jolted slightly as the final brakes were applied and the rear door-ramp lowered. Private II Aldino Nebrón was eighth off the dimly-lit plane and into the blinding tarmac flood lights of the airport. Blinking and retinas protesting, he glanced at his watch-0250, then around at the airport. Sure enough, the airport was clear of all civilians; the 737s and 767s lined up up along the passenger terminals were empty and the assortment of ground crews surrounding the planes were gone. Instead, a swarm of uniformed air force officers hurriedly flown over from the two Air Force bases in Preh were unloading, checking, and refueling a line of eight A400s standing a hundred meters back from the civilian terminal. "Keep moving until you're in the terminal!" An Air Force sergeant yelled over the roar of idling A400Ms as Aldino's platoon disembarked, gesturing them to get out of the way of a fuel truck-civilian owned by the Airport but driven by an Air Force private. Aldino's squad was in the process of regrouping when Lieutenant Noriega emerged down the ramp with the last of second platoon, third platoon following behind him. "Air Force want's us outta here as soon as possible, says they've got more planes than they know what to do with here. Keep moving and form up in the terminal," he ordered. Francisco Bangoy airport had doubled in size and added a second runway in recent years, but it wasn't designed to accommodate the airlift of an entire regiment, especially an airlift so hastily organized. The Air Force bases were being kept clear for Air Force planes, Lieutenant Noriega had said in their briefing on the plane; only the newer runway was long enough for the A225s to land on, the unloading space was inadequate, and the equipment was entirely unfamiliar to the Air Force ground crews standing in since the normal civilian ground crews had been evacuated. The inside of the terminal was less busy than outside, but only slightly. Aldino identified the insignia of at least four different companies of the 2nd Mechanized and the made their way through the crowded disembarking terminals and to the relatively-empty baggage claim. "Sergeants, ensure your whole squad is present and accounted for," Lieutenant Noriega said once they'd all arrived, "Then make yourselves comfortable. The captain's been delayed until they can clear out more tarmac space," Noreiga gestured back where they'd come, "but radioed that he shouldn't be more than an hour. If you've got any issues, bring them up with your sergeants. Fire Team Bravo, you're with me and we're tracking down Demonyos' tank units." "Yes sir. We're ammoless right now though, the Air Force doesn't like live forty millimeters on their planes." Bravo's Sergeant spoke up; Bravo team had the platoon's Mk47 Striker Grenade Launcher. "See what you can do to get some ammo then. Sergeant Duarte, grab some me from your squad and follow me." "Aldino and Santiago, don't set your gear down yet-you're with me and the Lieutenant." Sergeant Duarte selected. "You got it Sarge! I can't stand sittin' around in airports." Santiago, about to set down his Pulse Rifle and grab a seat on the baggage caravel, re-slung the rifle and saluted Lieutenant Noriega. "Private II Santiago, at your service sir." "I know who you are Santiago, just shut up and follow me." Lieutenant Noriega replied in mock annoyance. Everyone in the Company knew who Santiago was, Santiago's mouth made sure of it, but his willingness to volunteer for any job made up his chatter. It didn't take long to locate the tank units: 16 M1A1s parked in neat rows where single-engine prop planes used to be park when airport still received them. "Lieutenant," First Sergeant Roybal of the company's 2nd Tank Unit saluted as they approached. "Heard the Captain's been delayed, but we're ready to move out as soon as he arrives. Lieutenant Barrientos has been is keeping BXs secured for you for the last hour or so since the infantry started landing, bet he'll be glad to be relieved now that you're here." Lieutenant I Barrientos commanded the 1st Tank Unit. "Keeping our BXs secured?" Lieutenant Noriega asked. "You bet. Turns out, surprise surprise, there aren't enough BXs to go around. They aren't even Ground Force BXs either, just the BXs the Preh Secondary Air Force base had on hand yesterday driven over here in a convoy. There's about eighty or so until they fly land more in; Lieutenant Barrientos used the Captain's authority claimed forty for Demonyos Company but you should hear the noise some of the other companies are making. If it weren't for your friendly Demonyos tank commanders, you infantry would be all out in the open marching through Preh," Sergeant Roybal couldn't help poking at the old tanker-infantry rivalry, even to a superior officer. Lieutenant Noriega, who had a fair share of tank-insults attributed to his name, didn't arise to the bait this time. "Where's Barrientos keeping the BXs?" "They're all parked out in the civilian lots, right before the airport's main gates. Can't miss 'em." "Thank you Sergeant, as you were," Sergeant Roybal saluted as they departed. A minute later and sure enough, eighty-five BXs by Aldino's count in a neat rectangle in overflow parking lot E with Lieutenant Barrientos standing squarely on top of the first Bionix II Armored Fighting Vehicle, illuminated under the fluorescence of the overhead street lights. A dozen and a half other Demonyos tankers, SG550s in tactical slings across their chests, cordoning off the first forty BXs. "Lieutenant Barrientos," Lieutenant Noriega called out as they saluted each other, "I hear you've been keeping the captian's BXs for us." A pair of lieutenants from one of the regiment's Mechanized Infantry Companies standing close to Barrientos' 550-toting guards did their best to conceal their irritation. "Indeed, we've kept the vultures at bay," Lieutenant Barrientos called back, jumping down from the BX as they approached. "Santiago, radio Sergeant Pedraza and tell him to send Fourth and the rest of Duarte's Third Squad out to relieve Lieutenant Barrientos," Lieutenant Noriega said to Santagio. "Yes, sir!" Santiago stepped aside and began speaking with a tone of authority into his helmet radio. "Barrientos, this is all the BXs they sent us?" Lieutenant Noriega continued to Lieutenant Barrientos. "It's all of them, Preh Secondary Air Force Base is supposed to hold more ground weapons than the primary base, but they seem to not have stored many vehicles-something the brass didn't check on before they ordered you to leave yours behind. Luckily they told us to keep our rides; a tanker's not much good without his tank," Lieutenant Barrientos answered. "They work though?" "Yep, they've all got the 30mm and dual MGs full of ammunition, I had my men check. Fuel's not quite full since they were driven here from the air base, but they'll be fine unless you're planing to drive across Mindanao." "Excellent Lieutenant, can't thank you enough for what you've done," Lieutenant Noriega replied with genuine gratitude present in his voice. "Don't mention it," Lieutenant Barrientos paused to return the salute of Sergeant Pedraza, who'd just arrived. "Just don't go smashing them up or anything; I won't be able to get you any more." "Don't worry about us, just make sure your tanks drive in a straight line," Lieutenant Noriega replied with a smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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