Requiem of a Dream

[Michael McBride]

(OOC: When instructed, if you want the full effect of this piece, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Ma4BvMUwU...ec-HM-fresh+div and try and keep the story as close as possible to the music times marked in OOC tags)

Harrison Brown straightened his tie in the mirror of his office. He was ready. This was the biggest interview of his career, interviewing the Director, Louis Egon. Director Egon had agreed to appear on WTOP. The fact that he had chosen this station, one focusing more on local stories around the country, rather than WXCN, Xaristan Cable News, or WNOX, News One Xaristan, was something of a shock, but a welcome one at that. With this interview, Brown knew that he could soon become the most trusted source for news in the entire country, a prospect that made him smile.

His short brown hair immaculate, his smile perfect, his suit nicely pressed and fitting exceptionally well, Brown walked out of his office and into the television studio to find Director Egon already sitting in his interview chair. Smiling, the dark-skinned Director rose to greet Brown.

“A pleasure to meet you face to face, Director Egon.” Brown said, his hand shaking slightly as he grasped the Director’s palm. “I am trusting the drive over was well.”

“Indeed, Harrison. Please, call me Louis.” The Director flashed his famous smile at Brown and then sat again. “Shall we begin?”

“Indeed.” Brown sat and hooked up his microphone and IFB into his ear. A list of questions sat in front of him, ready for the live interview. It was almost noon in Redemptio. The Director’s interview would air live and then again, taped, later in the night.

“We’re on in one minute, Harrison.” The floor manager gave Harrison the thumbs up and Director Egon smiled as well. He watched the red numbers on a nearby digital clock slowly tick upwards towards noon.

“Harrison, we’re on in ten… in five, four, three…” When the floor manager pointed at Harrison, he smiled and looked directly into the camera.

(OOC: Begin song)

“Good afternoon, Xaristan. I’m Harrison Brown and I’m sitting down today with Director Louis Egon to discuss all sorts of topics, ranging from opposition to expansion by any country in the world to…”

“Harrison, hold on, we’re having technical difficulties.”

“What do you mean, we’re having technical difficulties. This is the biggest interview of the decade.”

“We know… but something else is playing…”

“What?” Harrison rose from his seat and switched on a monitor in the studio. Louis Egon remained seated, but turned to watch the live feed as well. And, indeed, something else was playing.

Low, haunting music accompanied by a slowly flapping simple green flag was all that was seen to begin. Behind everyone else, Director Egon noticeably tensed.

“Get that !@#$ off of our channel!” Harrison yelled at a technician inside the control room.

“We tried, Harrison, we can’t. It’s overriding every frequency. Every station, throughout the country, is only showing this right now.”

“And public spaces? The televisions downtown?”

“The same.” The camera view suddenly switched to people on the streets of Redemptio, looking around, bewildered. They had no idea what the music was, where it was coming from, or, for those in view of a television set, what they were watching. When people noticed themselves on the screen, they began to get very worried, looking around frantically for the cameras.

“Mitch!” Another technician in the control room called out. “We just got message… that opening shot was of our building. That flag is on our roof right now.” When Louis heard this, he stood as well, tearing off his IFB and microphone.

“I need to contact my security team.”

“We tried, Director. Phones seem to be dead, the elevators aren’t working, and the automatic locks on the doors aren’t letting us out at the moment.” A pit of ice formed in Louis’ stomach as he heard this.

“What do you mean the elevators aren’t working?” Another technician asked. “There’s no way in hell I’m walking down fifty flights of stairs.”

“Doesn’t matter if we can’t get out,” another technician said, looking at him. Director Egon reached onto his suit and pressed one of the buttons, a panic button to be used as a last ditch effort. He heard the button beep once… and then die. Slowly, the Director moved into the control room.

(OOC: 0:57 into the song)

“Mitch, something else is coming through.” Everyone’s eyes shot to the screen as the images they had seen before were interrupted by static at first. “Is someone else trying to break through?”

The static then dissolved into images of the terrorist attacks on Xaristan, the plane crashing into the Congressional Building and into the lake outside Redemptio. They then began fading back and forth between those images, the horrified looks of people on the street, and the green flag flapping again. Another bought of static brought images from news stations in Ardoria of cars exploding in recent terrorist attacks. The images started cycling faster and faster, flipping to a new one nearly once a second, as if everyone was watching four separate movies at once.

(OOC: 2:20 into the song)

The volume of the music dropped considerably, and the flashing images were replaced only by the slowly waving green flag again.

“No one was trying to break through…” Louis spoke softly, but in the silence of the control room, everyone heard him. “Someone is trying to make a statement.”

The music started to rise in a slow crescendo, the earlier close up shots of the green flag and the shots of people on the street slowly zooming out, creating wider shots, giving clues of their position, but also showing those they were targeting. A slight rumble started to be felt beneath the feet of everyone in the studio.

“What the hell is that?” Harrison wondered aloud.

(OOC: 2:53 into the song)

An explosion suddenly rocked the ground beneath them, accompanied by a gushing fireball shooting out the side of the Redemptio skyscraper on the television set. Those in the studio were knocked to the ground as smoke began to fill the air. The sprinkler system started immediately, but quickly stopped.

Televisions across the country saw the explosion, which was then switched to another shot, this time of a crowded city street, and another powerful blast from a storefront sent bodies flying in all directions. Another shot was followed by another blast, and more death and destruction.

An explosion rocked the rack room next to the control room, sending Louis flying against a wall. Getting to his knees, he crawled, coughing, into the studio, where a camera was still on, Harrison Brown clinging to the base.

(OOC: 3:43 into the song)

He looked up, pain in his eyes, breathing labored as he heard a single pound on the door. It was followed by another pound, and the door slowly opened. The lights behind the man in the doorway, wearing a flowing, floor length black jacket and a ski mask, silhouetted him against the darkened studio. He did not say a word, but took two steps inside as five others rushed in through the studio into the control room. Automatic weapons fire followed their entrance.

The masked man walked over Louis, a smile evident even through the small opening in his ski mask. Grabbing the back of his dress shirt, the man looked down at him. “Hello, Egon Douglas.”

Louis’ head snapped upwards at the sound of the name. He had known all along who the attack was by, he had known it since the first image flashed up on the television screen. He had just not known what the purpose was or who it was for. Now he knew. His identity had been compromised.

“What do you want?” Louis asked, defiantly, looking up at the man through his pain. His ignored the shocked look from Harrison.

“You know what we want… and you will deliver it. Do not fail as your predecessor did. You remember what happened to Tom Dobbs.”

“You thought you killed me, Derrick. Maybe you missed him as well.”

“You were our one mistake, Egon. We don’t make them again. You know what you will do, or you will die.” The masked man turned back to someone in the control room and nodded. The camera flashed to life.

(OOC: 4:55 into the song)

“People of Xaristan. We are the Green Flag. We have now twice attacked your country. We have attack Ardoria. You have witnessed our destructive power firsthand. Now witness with your Director the price of resisting the Green Flag.” He raised his gun and pointed it downwards, off camera. He fired a single shot.

“You will not resist again.” The camera shot switched to a shot of another explosion on the skyscraper, this time from the opposite side, along with more shots from other explosions around the city.

These live shots were mixed in with the taped shots of the planes and the bombings in Arodria. The live shots featured explosions, impeccably timed with the music still playing over the entire broadcast, shots of rising fireballs, or the dead bodies lying in the street. The music reached a crescendo and then fell silent. The last shot was of the green flag at the top of the skyscraper, now enshrouded by smoke.

The live broadcast was immediately packaged up and sent to every government and television station in the world.

[Centurius]

OOC: This is one epic piece of roleplay, good job, nice song

[Arkantos]

Aiginor Government Complex, Castle Hill, Agrona, Aiginor

The package was recieved from Xaristan. Odd, considering we had not had hardly any past relations with tem. When it was opened, a simple DVD was inside. Unmarked. Unlabeled. Only a low-level Aide was on duty at the time, so he found a DVD player and popped in the DVD. He puked in horror of what he saw.

The next day, it was shown to the entire Assembly and the President. The room was silent the entire time, until the end, one Assembly member from District 7 spoke and said, "My God..."

[KingChris]

OOC: Truly epic!

IC: Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, the Dean of the College of Cardinals after James Ratzinger had recently resigned, was in his office in Rome when a priest rushed in his office, followed by a team of Swiss Guards trying to stop him. The Cardinal stood up and said, "Stop! Let him go, his message may be of importance."

"Your Eminence," the priest panted, "this DVD. It, it was..."

The Cardinal grabbed the DVD, shoved it into the computer, and watched the video with horror. After a few minutes, he called the Pope. The call was brief. He summoned another Cardinal and told him, "His Holiness has...instructed me to...call an assembly here in Rome. He is on his Tour for World Peace and will continue. He's left me in charge for the meeting. Get every Bishop and Cardinal available, have two fly to each country and deliver a message to the head of state and ONLY the head of state. Have them make sure that NO ONE ELSE sees this message. If this terrorist group intercepts the message, they will level Rome, and every head of state that comes will be dead. The message is: The Vatican invites you to Rome for an emergency meeting concerning the Green Flag message. Please make sure no one else finds out about this."

A Bishop and a Cardinal has been sent to each country to deliver this message of utter importance.

[JEDCJT]

CLASSIFIED - IN THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE, BOSTON

“Oh my God….” Kennedy stuttered out in shock and terror as he watched that terrible live broadcast on a large flat-screen TV in the conference room. The President was having one of his meetings with his Cabinet when an aide rushed into the room and switched the channel.

While the rest of his cabinet watched on in horror, the President immediately picked up a hidden telephone receiver. “Mr. Mielke, you saw the news? Good…I want you to issue proper security measures so what happened in Xaristan will not spread over here!” Kennedy instructed the Directorate over a classified line on the telephone. “Do everything else you can to ensure this.” Hanging up, the President heaved a sigh as he turned to the television screen.

‘I hope Xaristan will be allright…’ He thought to himself.

OOC: Truly epic.

Edited July 29, 2009 by JEDCJT

[Raritan]

*National Intelligence Agency, Ansley Park, GA*

Thanks to Ardoria's proximity to Xaristan, many recievers in the southern portion of the country recieved the transmission as it occured, including several by the NIA.

"Get me the supervisor and start recording the feeds from R23, R24, R32, F54, and F57," the person on watch barked as he saw the green flag appear on screen.

His supervisor appeared a few moments later. He, as well as most of the other people who weren't on duty, watched in silence, some making notes in thier head, others just staring in disbelief.

"Compile all the recordings and send copies to the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry, the National Security Advisor, and the President immediately. He'll probably call a Cabinet meeting real soon and we'll be called in to brief them. Prepare some notes and briefing points and get ready to move," the supervisor told the analysts who had come into the room.

*Situation Room, North Wing, Presidential Residence*

Indeed, the President had called a Cabinet meeting. As soon as the most important officials arrived, the meeting began, starting with a briefing by the NIA.

"As you may already know, approximately two hours ago, this (the recording began playing) was recorded coming from several Xaristani broadcast and cable channels. As you see, a green flag is prominently displayed throughot the video in various sections. We've only been working on this since we recieved it, but as you know, the Green Flag recently reannounced its existence to the world just 3 weeks ago. We do believe that the claims they make within the video about attacking Xaristan and ourselves are true, however, we cannot as of yet verify the authenticity of the other claims, including killing Egon. If you remember, during the PI-RV War, most of the government of Pravus Ingruo disappeared without a trace, or very nearly. Despite our attempts, we've been unable to locate any of the former PI officials. We do, however, believe that the Green Flag was, in someway, responsible for at least part of those disappearances, deaths, and the war itself. In this case, we believe that a similar situation may have arisen, and that there is thte possibility of another military conflict or major terrorism incident. Thus, we recommend that effective immediately, all borders are locked down, all territorial waters are closed, and that the airspace be closed. While this may seem extreme, do not forget that within the past five weeks there have now been four suspected terrorist acts."

"What else do we know about the Green Flag?" Defense Minister Bradford asked.

"Unfortunately, not very much. They are a very well trained and professional group. We were lucky we were able to capture one of their members, albeit dead. The Federal Police are working that case. We believe he was responsible for the attacks against us."

Just then, an aide came into the room, looking very worried and carrying a package in his hands. He then opened it to reveal a disc which was played in front of the Cabinet. It was nearly the same as the broadcast the NIA pirated, with just a few minor differneces here and there, which were to be expected when pirating television stations. It would be gone over in detail later. Meanwhile, the meeting continued.

"We cannot immediately close our borders everytime a little incident like this happens. How can foreign affairs continue if we isolate ourselves from the rest of the world?" Foreign Minister Dale protested.

"Must I remind you of how the significant the damage to our country has been in these attacks? The attacks have cost us millions, millions of taxpayer money thay must no go to fixing stuff that shouldn't need fixing in the first place," the Transport Minister responded.

Finally, President Briar spoke,

"Darryl, carry out the NIA's recommendations. Nothing in or out of the country unless I give explicit approval. The order remains in effect indefinately until I rescind it. Is that clear?"

He got yesses in response and dismissed his Cabinet.

OOC: Great job on the RP, too bad I can't see the video (YouTube blocked in China for some stupid reason).

[Arkantos]

OOC: Because Youtube promotes Freedom.

[Raritan]

OOC: Because Youtube promotes Freedom.

OOC: I'm coming back to the US in 2 days so I'll probably just rewatch it then. Anyway, less OOC and more IC.

Edited July 29, 2009 by Raritan

[Michael McBride]

OOC: Truly epic!

IC: Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, the Dean of the College of Cardinals after James Ratzinger had recently resigned, was in his office in Rome when a priest rushed in his office, followed by a team of Swiss Guards trying to stop him. The Cardinal stood up and said, "Stop! Let him go, his message may be of importance."

"Your Eminence," the priest panted, "this DVD. It, it was..."

The Cardinal grabbed the DVD, shoved it into the computer, and watched the video with horror. After a few minutes, he called the Pope. The call was brief. He summoned another Cardinal and told him, "His Holiness has...instructed me to...call an assembly here in Rome. He is on his Tour for World Peace and will continue. He's left me in charge for the meeting. Get every Bishop and Cardinal available, have two fly to each country and deliver a message to the head of state and ONLY the head of state. Have them make sure that NO ONE ELSE sees this message. If this terrorist group intercepts the message, they will level Rome, and every head of state that comes will be dead. The message is: The Vatican invites you to Rome for an emergency meeting concerning the Green Flag message. Please make sure no one else finds out about this."

A Bishop and a Cardinal has been sent to each country to deliver this message of utter importance.

OOC: Does this include Xaristan? Just wondering for my own purposes.

[Franz Ferdinand]

Bornholm, Lübeck

A courier ran into the office of the ruler of the nation, speaking quickly and out of breath. He was carrying some sort of brown jiffy bag under his arm, marked 'Important'. Vega, the almighty ruler of Lübeck was smoking a cigar, while working on top-secret plans for the nation. He was focusing hard on his work, yet looked up towards the courier when he heard him speak.

"Min leder, Director Egon, lineal of Xaristan has been assassinated!"

"Why must you be so melodramatic, I bet he's just forgot which city he's in again."

With this, Vega laughed to himself, as he found his little joke amusing, the courier also faked a laugh, so that his boss wouldn't fire him on the spot.

"So, tell me, my kurer, what do they call you?"

The courier was shocked that the ruler of his gracious nation asked him for his name.

"...Well, if you really want to know, it's Klaus."

Vega smirked a little, upon hearing this.

"I foresee great things for you, so anyway, who is that parcel from?"

Klaus then spoke in a semi-serious tone.

"It's from the nation of Xaristan, that is all I was told."

"Ok, then Klaus, leave the package here, I'll see what is so important, that it interrupts my precious planning... oh, by the way, you can have the rest of the day off to enjoy yourself."

"Thank you, min dejlige leder!"

Klaus then dropped the parcel on the table for Vega to read and observe, while going through the large oak doors he originally came through.

10 Minute Later

Vega was deep in thought over after watching the tape, something was intriguing him, and then he remembered what it was.

"Looks like that Green Flag is turning out to be a formidable foe for America, now that is perfect for me. I can now focus on the finer perks of the job, time to put this footage in the archive."

With this, Vega stood up from his desk, turned around, and dropped the DVD case down a chute.

"I don't believe any of the citizens will want to see that, time to arrange a conference, and get all footage of the event off the airwaves of Lübeck. Sure, people will find it in the end, yet what can I say, once I'm done with it, they will have become too desensitised to it."

Vega then laughed heavily, and hard, knowing that his plan will be certain to work.

[Markus Wilding]

Yuan, as usual, was sitting behind his desk working on some paperwork. An aide knocked on the door, and he said, "Come in." The aide walked in with the package. "What is that?" The aide brought it over and set it on the desk. "It is from Xaristan, sir. It is a nation in the American states." Yuan opened it, and saw the DVD. "A present?" Yuan called for a DVD player and a television. A few minutes later, an A/V crew had set it up. "Now let's see what this contains." The message began. "What are they saying?" The aide, who was a translator, began listening to it closely. "Something about the destruction of Xaristan and a green flag." Yuan jumped when he saw the scenes of voilence. He stayed frozen in his chair until it ended. "This is madness. I wish it had something to do with us, but it really doesn't. Take this dishonorable garbage away."

Edited July 29, 2009 by N Reeki

[KingChris]

OOC: Does this include Xaristan? Just wondering for my own purposes.

OOC: Yeah

[Centurius]

Due to it's extensive Satellite systems from Greater Nordland Croatia was one of the first to receive the broadcasts, busy in her office with general matters Nadine saw her Minister of Internal Affairs come in.

"Your Imperial Highness, we have received a broadcast from Xaristan. You have to see this yourself."the Minister said as he put the stream on the large screen in the Office.

As it started to play the music already incited fear into her body as it continues she would show a few tears reaching it's height at the shot she thought about the man she had met at the ball.

"What shall we do you highness?"the Minister asked.

"It is obvious our open border policy can become a problem for the sovereignty of Xaristan, I want all borderrs closed and the ISA to screen all immigrants of the last year, keep this out of the National Press as of this moment we will enter an increased Terrorist Readiness"as she made the orders the messenger of the church came in.

"I apologize your highness but could we walk in private?"the man asked, ordering the Minister to leave and locking the door after Nadine looked up.

"What do you want to talk about?" as the conversation progresses she ensured she would attend.

---

Official Dispatch from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Greater Croatia officially condemns these terrorist actions and will commit all resources available to finding any trace of these terrorists to extradite them.

[Amyante]

A small package arrived at the Zargathian governmental building. It was a small surprise to read that it had been addressed to Amyante of Zargathia, especially given that the country was still officially called Yamato, but in order to make that kind of a decision she would need to wait until after elections. The last thing she wanted was rushing things. Either way, opening the package revealed an unmarked DVD and, figuring she could use the break, decided to watch it while having a cup of tea brought in.

Needless to say, she was not amused at the end of it.

After the Chiefs of Staff had been called in, they all watched the video that had been recorded. Results were mixed, mostly disapproval with a hint of contempt mixed in in varying degrees. Her Chiefs of Staff were all veterans after all. Folding her hands, Amyante leaned over on her desk, looking as angry as she was upset.

- "Right... Yelena, the troops we placed at important locations? Make them permanent additions, and keep them fully armed. Ulrica, you're in charge of finding these guys if they cross our border, carte blanche. Sergei, you have permission to gun down unscheduled flights that fail to identify themselves. Haewon-san, same goes for smuggling vessels. And Ishima-san, i'd like the police force integrated with the army, they should have access to military hardware as well, including tanks and triple-A guns if need be. If there are any problems, wait thirty minutes before bringing them up, i'm not in the best of moods right now."

They nodded, and left to make the preparations. Overall it wouldn't even be that hard to achieve, especially since the army was pretty much doing what she told them to already, and this would only make that permanent rather than temporary. In the doorway, Ulrica paused for a second, turning around.

"If we catch any, what do you want us to do with 'em?"

- "You're the Chief of Security, Ulrica, i'll leave that up to you. The more information we have on them the better."

Amyante looked at a document on her desk, trying not to think about what way the information would be extracted from Green Flag prisoners, telling herself that they were not considered 'lawful combatants'. As Ulrica closed the door, she had already started to grin in anticipation.

[Michael McBride]

OOC: Obviously most of this post is private.

A single eye flickered open. Was he alive? His first breath in was met by a sharp hiss at the pain in his right side. Yes, he was alive. The single open eye scanned across the floor where he was lying. A shattered studio, flames, smoke, and a tattered green flag laying on the ground. He may be alive, but he was still in hell.

His other eye wouldn't open. He tried multiple times, but it would not move. Swollen shut... the product of... what was it? Now he remembered, a boot to the face. After he had watched the masked man kill, he had been kicked in the face... and now he had woken up.

A banging on the door caught his attention. He tried to rise but the pain in his side and in his head forced him back down to the floor. He groaned weakly as the studio door flew open, men in black suits, firefighters, and soldiers rushing in.

"All dead," came the call from inside the control room. He remembered the five others behind the masked man, firing automatic weapons into the technicians there. He groaned again. "We've got one alive out here! Repeat, one alive." Flashlights shot on as they searched the floor for him, finding him within seconds. The harsh light forced him to squint his one open eye, but he managed a weak smile for the first man to come over.

"You're a little late to the party, Simmons."

"Sorry, sir. We got into a running gun battle with them on the stairs, and that delayed our arrival."

"Did you get any of them?"

"We believe we killed one, but all we found was a trail of blood, sir." Simmons slid an arm under Louis Egon's shoulder and helped him slowly to his feet. The agent's eyes then drifted over to Harrison Brown, still clinging to the base of the camera, shot dead by the masked man. "A damn shame."

Louis took one step before hissing and wincing in pain. "That rack room explosion was more powerful than I expected." A look from Simmons caused him to shake his head. "Nothing Simmons... it has been a long day."

"We should get you to a hospital, sir."

"No, no hospitals. Press conference. Now. Get Bill on it. I'll be speaking." Simmons hesitated for a moment and then helped Egon over to a wall and went to make the call. After he had left, Louis pulled out an encrypted cell phone and dialed a number. It barely rung once before a familiar voice answered.

"How's the shiner?"

"Was the kick really necessary, Derek? My eye is swollen shut."

"No one can see a fractured rib. We needed something visible. It will garner you more sympathy around the world."

"Speaking of my rib, did you guys put an extra block of C4 in that rack room? That was bigger than I thought it was going to be."

"We had some leftover stuff from the Ardoria job. Needed to make it disappear. Anything else?"

"Press conference, twenty minutes."

"Good to hear. Stick to the script, we'll be fine." The voice on the other end hung up.

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

**MESSAGE TO ALL WORLD GOVERNMENTS AND NEWS AGENCIES**

There is a press conference in twenty minutes called by Consul of State William Worthington to discuss the terror attacks of today in Redemptio. Xaristani news networks will be carrying the broadcast live and will transmit to anyone who wishes to watch. We understand that the immediate nature of the conference will mean that many nations will not be able to send reporters, however if you have any in our country, feel free to send them.

Signed,

Bill Worthington

Consul of State

[Centurius]

The several reporters of Greater Croatia always pressent in the country immediately moved to attend as pretty much all stations would change their regular programming for the Press Conference.

[JEDCJT]

Virtually every stations in New England switched to the live broadcast as anxious New Englanders awaited the press conference.

[Michael McBride]

"Obviously we here at News One Xaristan send out our condolences to those families who lost loved ones today in the horrific terror attacks in Redemptio. We have no final numbers on a death toll as of yet, but preliminary reports indicate that the number is expected to reach close to five hundred, including Director Louis Egon. No reports yet have been issued from the skyscraper where WTOP's interview was airing, but police and military personnel have been seen entering all day and there has been no sign, nor word of Director Egon's survival." The female anchor paused for a moment to compose herself before continuing.

"Once again, you're watching News One Xaristan, WNOX. We're awaiting the beginning of the press conference, scheduled to begin in a minute or two. To those of you watching from around the world, we wish it could have been under better circumstances, but we welcome you to the program." She paused, receiving instructions in her IFB. "We've just been told that the press conference is starting with Consul of State Worthington, so we'll take you there live."

The camera view switched to a hastily set up podium on the ground floor of the skyscraper where the attack originated. Consul of State Worthington walked out to the assembled press and world audience.

"I thank you all for coming, those of you who are here, on such short notice, and I thank you all who are watching this from around the world. I apologize for the deception, but it was necessary to ensure the continued flow of government. Therefore, I turn the microphone and the conference over to Director Louis Egon." An audible gasp sped through the room at the news that Egon was alive, and seconds later a second, louder gasp was heard as Egon walked in from a side door. His suit was smoke filled, grimy, and had blood on it, as did his white dress shirt. He walked with a cane on his left side to keep as much weight as possible off his right. The left side of his face was swollen, bloodied, and bruised, with his left eye completely swollen shut. Still, he walked with a purpose, only occasionally grimacing in pain from walking. Stopping behind the podium, he looked down, and then up again at the assembled press and cameras.

"As Consul of State Worthington said, I apologize for the deception, but it was necessary. Any rumors of my death have been highly exaggerated, and I hope that remains so for quite some time." The Director cracked a sad smile before looking down and continuing.

"The heinous attacks on our country today are just an example of one thing; that we are winning. Desperate, brazen, and flashy attacks like this one only serve to show that these Green Flag terrorists are desperate for attention, for relevancy. They want our fear, for that is what they feed off of, like parasites, but they shall not have it." He paused. "However, attacks of this nature cannot simply be seen and then ignored. They have reminded us that we need to remain vigilant, and on high guard. Therefore, the following measures are being enacted as I speak."

"Xaristan is officially entering DEFCON 3. This is our highest possible non-wartime DEFCON level. All active military leaves are hereby canceled, and you are to report to your assigned units. Reservists should begin preparing for possible call-up. The military will work in conjunction with our local police forces to ensure the continued security of our people. I want to be clear: we are not entering marshal law, this is not a move to make Xaristan a military dictatorship. This is to ensure that the freedom that the Xaristani people enjoy continues."

"In an effort to continue that, our borders shall not be closed. We urge all other nations around the world to do the same... keep your borders open. When we take drastic measures out of fear, we are only giving these parasites what they want. They want us to disrupt our daily routines for them, and we shall not. Our borders and airports shall remain open, albeit with much increased security. Those wishing to enter Xaristan by vehicle should expect delays as every vehicle will be checked. Each train will be stopped and inspected. Every plane, upon landing, will be inspected and our customs and airport security shall be increased tenfold. We shall increase our vigilance to combat this threat, not shut down our lives."

"To recap: I am still alive, the government is still functioning, and we will not give into the fear that these parasites wish to place in us. I will now take three questions, either from the press assembled or from those around the world. If those around the world wish to ask anything, please phone it in to our Ministry of State. If it is one of the first three, it will be answered."

[Subtleknifewielder]

***Classified***

Davies looked paler than he usually was these days by the end of the DVD. "My God," was all he managed to croak out as he beried his face in his hands.

Subtleknifewielder stared on impassively, his expression unreadable as usual behind his mask.

OOC: BTW Pravus, still waiting for a reply in our thread. Even if Somal is gone, it can still be pinned on one of their people.

[Michael McBride]

***Classified***

Davies looked paler than he usually was these days by the end of the DVD. "My God," was all he managed to croak out as he beried his face in his hands.

Subtleknifewielder stared on impassively, his expression unreadable as usual behind his mask.

OOC: BTW Pravus, still waiting for a reply in our thread. Even if Somal is gone, it can still be pinned on one of their people.

OOC: Link it for me again? I lost it after my last reply.

[Subtleknifewielder]

Question delivered by phone

"Is there any progress on finding the masterminds behind the atacks? Not just the organization, but the people leading it?

[Subtleknifewielder]

OOC: Link it for me again? I lost it after my last reply.

OOC: Here you go... Trouble on top of trouble

[Michael McBride]

Question delivered by phone

"Is there any progress on finding the masterminds behind the atacks? Not just the organization, but the people leading it?

"There has not been any at this time. The last they were seen was 'The Generals' back in the previous incarnation of Xaristan. From what we have uncovered, they almost never make direct contact with their agents, preferring to contact them through encrypted phone messages or other, third party means. This makes it nearly impossible to track where an operative, if captured alive, gets his or her orders from."

[Raritan]

OOC: SMH, you seem to forget that I hold the only land border with you, which means nobody can get in or out by land regardless of what you do.

IC:

*At the News Conference*

A TBS reporter who was already in Xaristan covering the previous attacks and served as the Xaristani correspondant asked the following:

"Is there any indication that these attacks, some directed at you personally, are related to the previous Xaristani attacks and the attaks against Ardoria?"

[Michael McBride]

OOC: SMH, you seem to forget that I hold the only land border with you, which means nobody can get in or out by land regardless of what you do.

IC:

*At the News Conference*

A TBS reporter who was already in Xaristan covering the previous attacks and served as the Xaristani correspondant asked the following:

"Is there any indication that these attacks, some directed at you personally, are related to the previous Xaristani attacks and the attaks against Ardoria?"

OOC: If you prevent my people from getting out on civilian roads, we're going to have problems. And if you close down the roads to blockade me by land, that's an act of war.

IC:

"The Green Flag member who appeared on camera spoke specifically about the attacks on Xaristan and Ardoria previous to this one, including using footage from those attacks. I feel it is safe to say that all of them are related."