Pacification of the Congo

[Yerushalayim]

Soldiers in the uniform of the Pacification Squads hurried across the Republic's forward operating camp. Many and more made their way to the transport helicopters that dotted the landing fields, soon to be ferried across the Republic's border with the territory formerly known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The roar of the mass of aircraft was nearly enough to drown out the thunder of artillery firing in the background. Alexis made her own way to her squads transport, where her squad waited.

The orders had come down from the highest levels of the military: anarchy had ruled for too long in the Republic's Western neighbor; a new War of Pacification was to be launched, and the Congo would join the Republic for the betterment of its own people.

The transport helicopter rose from the earth when the last of the squad had taken their seats, and moved forward across the Republic's border.

***

"General, the Pacification Squads have claimed several strategic positions within Eastern Congo. The Army has begun its advance to these points, under the cover of artillery fire. The Congolese resistance is disjointed and weak, as predicted. Casualties are minimal thus far." Colonel Ounda returned to his seat at the conference table when he finished his report; troop dispositions, casualties, and positions were displayed across the room's television screen, overlaying a detailed map of the region.

"Excellent, Colonel," General Akinyi folded her hands together and leaned her chin upon them, "Be sure to distribute resources to any territory that is pacified. Our men are to bring food and medical care to the Congolese wherever possible. Win their hearts."

"Yes, General," the Colonel nodded his acknowledgement, and returned to monitoring the operations of the East African military. The hum of voices was all around them as various officers and aids scurried back and forth, and the Republic conducted its war.

[Yerushalayim]

The chatter of gunfire was ever present in the city of Lubumbashi. Small arms fire was punctuated by the occasional roar of artillery or explosives, or more rarely by the shriek of engines as aircraft strafed resistance positions. Smoke rose from ruined buildings that had once housed major resistance elements, and the sky was perpetually overcast.

Lieutenant Adondi crouched low behind the shattered wall that had once separated a school from the city's streets. "Sniper in the tower," a voice crackled over her radio, "Can't move in while he's there." Alexis crouched lower, her helmet resting against the stone remnant of the wall.

"James, you're going to blow the tower. We'll provide covering fire. On my mark. Now!"

Alexis shoved her rifle over the wall, angled toward the tower, and squeezed the trigger. The sounds of the squad's other guns opening up filled the air, followed by the roar of rocket launcher, and the greater roar its payload detonating. "Got him," James' voice came through the squad's radio.

"Alright, up and in, clear 'em out!" Alexis lurched to her feet and vaulted the wall, sprinting across the debris strewn yard. Dust from the tower filled the air, choking off vision and making it hard to breath. Shattered concrete and chunks of ruined bricks crunched beneath her boots, and Alexis threw herself flat against what remained of the school's wall.

***

"Lubumbashi International Airport has been taken by the Pacification Squads. Our air force has occupied the airport and are flying close air support missions from it. The Army has prepared a field command center for the Katanga province advance, as well. Though pockets of resistance remain in the city, it is largely pacified. At the cost of 419 of our personnel, and some four times that in resistance fighters. We expect the rest of the province to be pacified within the month, General."

[Yerushalayim]

"What a shit hole," Justine's voice crackled over the radio. The ground all around the squad was scorched and tortured, the result of an artillery bombardment that had ended several days earlier.

"Tell me about it," came a muttered reply, though Alexis couldn't pin point from which squad member. The corpses of cattle and other livestock could be spotted, dotting the blasted landscape from time to time. Swarms of flies rose up and buzzed around the East African soldiers as they advanced through Kivu province.

"Seems a bit like overkill," James husked through his mask.

"Sure does," Justine agreed, "but better them than us, eh?"

"Cut the talk," Alexis ordered, "We're nearing the edge of the forward pacified zone. Last reports indicated the enemy has access to some pre-fall armour, dunno where they got it, though." Sure enough, the squad came to the burned out hulk of a resistance tank, its emblems faded beyond recognition.

"Looks like the poor bastards took a hit from one of our cannons," James ran his fingers across the scorched armour, and the jagged hole that punched through into the crew compartment.

***

"The Kiva territory has fallen, General. Though the resistance possessed pre-fall armour, there was little enough communication between the warlords. Our forces won through without the loss of a single aircraft or armoured vehicle. Kivan infantry were simply farmers with the mistaken idea that they could engage the Republic."

[Yerushalayim]

"Fight the Republic and you will die. Cooperation means food, cooperation means security, cooperation means stability and prosperity. The Republic is here to bring order to the chaos. We are your friends. Fight the Republic and you will die..." The message blared from the base's speakers whenever the time came to distribute food to the pacified population. Men, women, and children lined up around Republican transport trucks filled to bursting with food. The sick and injured were taken to medical tents, where their ailments were treated.

Alexis Adondi walked through the streets of Kisangani, the rain pattering off her helmet. The smell of hot asphalt filled the city, almost overpowered by the smell of smoke from the buildings that still smoldered. The fighting for the city had been fierce, but it had ended several weeks previously. The advance had moved on, and Kisangani was pacified.

Passing soldiers saluted or nodded to her, and she returned their greetings as appropriate to rank. Kisangani was the first rest she'd had since the war began, but even on leave she carried her arms. Pacified did not always mean safe. Even so, it was good to no longer be on the front lines. The war had lasted for months, with the Republican forces taking their time to secure each new province in turn. Already East African corporations were purchasing the rights to the mineral wealth of the Congo, and some few mines had become operational.

Alexis made her way through the Kisangani base, and stopped at the military's cafe. The smells of fresh brewed coffee and roasting meat were faint on the street, but grew stronger as she passed through the doors. Several of her squad members were already seated, and James waved her over. Alexis Adondi sat, removing her goggles and mask, and celebrated her birthday in the pacified city of Kisangani while the rain put out the last of the fires that had raged through the city.

***

"Orientale province has fallen, General. Our corporations have gotten nearly a quarter of the province's mines operational. There were minor clashes early on, but now the local Congolese are working the mines again. Idle hands and whatnot. We now control the entirety of Congo's borders with the Republic, and are prepared to push into the interior."

[Yerushalayim]

The dull roar of artillery was ever present in Kasai. As the Pacification Squads moved ever forward, and came closer to the warlord of Kinshasa, they faced ever greater levels of resistance. The rebels were organized here, and well supplied and equipped. It was almost like fighting another army; almost.

Alexis Adondi held the rung of the tank she was riding with her right hand, her rifle in her left. Her squad had hitched a ride on an advancing armour column, and their engines were nearly enough to drown out the artillery duel that had lasted for two weeks. Little by little, the Pacification squads were making their way through the enemy's lines of defense. The ruins of tanks, and the wreckage of downed aircraft, were testament to the victories of the Republic.

***

"Fourteen aircraft were taken at the central Kasai air field. Old Soviet style things; our own pilots had little difficulty facing them. It seems that Warlord Kyenge's forces are making an orderly withdrawal toward Kinshasa. It seems the resistance plans on making their stand in the city streets, where our armour and aerial advantages will be weakest. At the current speed, we expect the front to reach Kinshasa by the end of the month."

[Yerushalayim]

Bullet holes scarred the streets of Kinshasa. Several buildings had already collapsed under the rain of artillery and bombs that the Republic had dropped onto the city. The resistance fighters, owing their allegiance to a warlord named Kyenge, were putting up a fierce fight against the Pacification Squads. Small armoured vehicles rumbled through what remained of the city's streets, and anti-air guns filled the sky with the roar of their defiance.

Alexis sprinted through a ruined street, and flung herself behind the burned out wreck of a SUV. Bullets slammed into the asphalt around her, and several struck sparks off the shell of the vehicle. Return fire came from her squad, those that were still standing. They were spread across the streets, huddled behind what cover they could find. A machine gun was nested inside a city bus that was acting as a barricade against further advance by East African forces.

"Lieutenant, I can't get a clear shot at 'em," a squad mate's voice crackled over her radio.

"Line up your sights. I'll pop smoke and draw fire. You be sure to take that fucker out before he gets me," she returned.

"Roger that. Got him. Ready when you are."

"Alright, going now!" Alexis prepared her grenade and lobbed it up and into the center of the street. Several more rained down from nearby soldiers, and the street soon filled with dirty white smoke. Alexis rose up and steadied her gun on the car's frame, then began to fire in short, controlled, bursts. Two other guns opened up behind her, sending their fire blindly into the smoke. The machine gun's fire came blasting down the street, churning up asphalt and debris as it stalked toward her position. Bullets began to to strike against the vehicle, and a lance of pain and fire stabbed through her. Alexis dropped to the ground, and heard the roar of her squad's heavy weaponry. A moment later the machine gun was silence.

"Lieutenant," she heard someone calling for her over the radio. Though she tried to speak, Alexis couldn't force the words to come out. Moments later her world faded away.

***

"General, Kinshasa has fallen. Kyenge was taken by the 7th Pacification group, and is awaiting trial for his crimes against the people of the Congo. There are pockets of fighting within the city, but the rural resistance forces have laid down their weapons. We've won the war."

[Yerushalayim]

Soldiers stood guard at the polling places across Kinshasa, and throughout the former Congo. Citizens of the newly liberated nation came, timidly, to vote on their future. Though the referendum was presented as a choice, few enough were willing to vote against the Republic, for fear of its soldiers. Thus did the former Democratic Republic of Congo cement their pacification, and thus did they join the Republic.

***

While the people of the Congo were voting on their future, the Republic continued its war. The small province of Cabinda lay to the north of the Congo, and its lands crawled with the advance of the Pacification Squads. Resistance, under the command of the few remaining officers of Kyenge's regime, fell back in disarray. Those that could, slipped over the border into the collapsing West African Republic, while others were caught and executed by the East African Advance. Some few threw down their arms, and hid amongst the civilian population.

In the end, Cabinda fell as had the provinces before it.

[Yerushalayim]

"Sir," the soldier saluted, "Preparations for the pacification of Congo are underway. The Pacification Squads will be ready to move in three days."

The whine and scream of aircraft taking off from the nearby airfield was near enough to drown out the conversation between the two men. Bomber squadrons were carrying their payloads over the former Republic of the Congo, and punishing the defensive positions that remained within it. Artillery boomed and echoed deeper within the pacified territory that the Republic already held. Formations of soldiers marched and prepared, while the wounded rested. Soon enough the Republic would continue its march of conquest.

[Yerushalayim]

Alexis Adondi, fresh from her stay in the hospital, shifted in the seat of her squad's APC. It rumbled over the cratered roadways of the Congo, across Kouilou province, and toward Pointe Noire. The roads had been cleared by an armoured advance, supported by East African close air support.

The Congolese resistance was organized around local city councils, operating in a loose federation. Their loose ties were being used to the Republic's advantage, for each city insisted on defending itself when threatened by a superior force, and so no national resistance had arisen.

"Sir," James' voice crackled through Alexis' radio, "you think we'll face more resistance here?"

Alexis shrugged, as much as she could in her seat harness, "Maybe. They'll probably fight harder in the cities. Doubt we'll face much in the air, or the roads."

Her words proved prophetic, as the Republic's initial aerial assaults and artillery strikes had ruined the few airstrips available to the Congolese. Followed by the rapid advance of the Pacification Squads, the Congolese had had little enough time to prepare their defenses.

***

"General, the Pacification Squads have entered Congolese territory. We've struck across the southern provinces, and have thus far met disjointed resistance. We expect that Congo will fall in half the time of the Democratic Republic."

[Yerushalayim]

The smoke that rose from the city was so thick, it was as though the Republic's soldiers were fighting in the dead of night. The towers that had dotted the city were burning, and thick columns of smoke rose from them. As the Republic had advanced, the local population had risen in revolt against the oligarchy that had ruled them. The city was burning before the first Pacification Squad had even entered its streets.

Now the Republic's army had a dual purpose; they fought to advance against the pockets of resistance, while fighting the fires that were raging through the streets. Several gas lines had already been ignited, and the fires spread far beyond the towers where they had begun. The battle against the flames was hampered by the barricades erected by Owando's defenders, before the revolt. Burned out hulks of cars and buses blocked many of the streets, and Republican teams were labouring to clear the streets so that fire trucks could move freely.

The battle raged through the day, and well into the night, before the fires were at last checked. Pacification soldiers strode openly through the streets, their uniforms blackened by the ash and soot of the blaze. As the fires died, so too did the last of the city's resistance. Those few still fighting threw down their weapons in the pre-dawn quiet, though the civilians of Owando remained hidden within their homes, those that still had them.

[Yerushalayim]

Lieutenant Adondi scanned the city's streets quietly. She was part of a convoy delivering medical supplies to the central clinics that had been protected during the war. Though major fighting had subsided in the South of the Republic of Congo, there were still a handful of resistance groups that struck where they could. Though few in number, the resistance was fond of launching attacks from apartment buildings, where their RPGs could fire and fall back deeper into the structures before the East African soldiers could respond.

Today there were no such attacks, though they were of limited effectiveness against the armoured vehicles the Republic had taken to using: Tanks, built on a pre-fall design, that doubled as troop carriers, and even ambulances. Alexis was seated in the observation position of one of the new tankbulances, and she periodically maneuvered the tank's observation equipment to scan for threats.

At last, the tanks slowed and ground to a halt in the fortified parking structure that had been put up by the East African engineers. The clamshell doors of the rear opened, and two medics clamored out of the tank, and began to offload the crates of medical supplies. The other vehicles had come to a stop as well, and were unloading their cargo.

Alexis stepped out of the tank and stretched briefly, before wandering toward the reinforced gates that had closed behind the convoy. She glanced out over the city and smiled behind her mask. The Pacification was almost complete, and soon enough she'd be free to return home.

[Yerushalayim]

Alexis Adondi stood within the chamber, shotgun in hand. Her face was covered by a black mask, attached to her helmet, as were all the other guards in the execution chamber. The fires of war had died down greatly since the fall of Kinshasa, and the Republic had consolidated its hold across its territory. There remained one final obstruction to the pacification of the Congolese: Warlord Kyenge.

The doors of the chamber opened, and the former warlord was led in. His trial had been swift, and he had been found guilty of all charges levied against him. The truth of his innocence or guilt was unimportant to the Republic, only that they had a clear figure to execute, a man who had ruled over swathes of Africa with an iron fist.

Lieutenant Adondi's eyes flicked across the Warlord's face, which was stiff and wooden with fear. Kyenge was led up the stairs, and the noose placed about his neck. Journalistic observers filed in and took their places along the walls, cameras trained on the Warlord. A nod was given from the officer overseeing the execution, a lever was pulled, and Kyenge dropped with a sharp snap.

[Yerushalayim]

The final polls were closing across the Congo. Voters, their thumbs inked black as proof of their vote, gathered in the markets, the pubs, and the parks to discuss their future. Their voices were hushed, but some few were marked by a tone of hope. As the fighting had died, as Kyenge had died, their hopes had been revived.

Over the coming days, the votes were counted and the results announced. An overwhelming majority had voted for membership in the Republic. New political divisions were drawn up, and money flowed freely from the Great Lakes to the new territories. Construction crews swarmed out of the cities, repairing the damaged roads, and laying down the tracks of a new high speed rail line. Television was once again broadcast, and the internet was restored.

The soldiers of the Republic took up regular stations throughout the new territory. Vehicles were stopped and searched, and some few officers of Kyenge's forces were apprehended attempting to flee across the border to the former West African Republic. Those that were caught, received the same fate as their erstwhile leader.

The war had ended, and peace was beginning its reign.

[Yerushalayim]

General Catharine Akinyi stared at the map that was projected on her wall. The Republic now spread from the Indian Ocean in the east, to the Atlantic in the west. Though the West African Republic had fallen, the East African Republic had brought civilization and stability to a massive swathe of Africa. With the new treaties that were signed, the Great Lakes stood ready to straddle the world, and to protect the African homeland.

"The Pacification is complete." She smiled and turned to one of her assistants, "Bring our special forces home. It is time for Operation Dark Star to begin." The aide saluted and made a call over a secure line. Her office was soon buzzing with activity, as new maps were displayed, and troop movements plotted. Areas of resistance were marked out, and lines of logistics highlighted.

As one war ended, the next began.