One Stray Bullet

[Elrich von Richt]

The Palace had been put into lockdown. Whatever was going on here, nobody had a clue just how big it was. Everyone remained in the dark. Haruhi, back and forth from chamber to chamber, curious as to what the heck this "Fists of Harmony" was, and as to why it wanted to assassinate her cousin. Sakuya was still very nervous, curious as to if they would try to strike again, and if they even had such strength to.

All Imperial Troops had been tested, and loyalty was affirmed in every soul. Yuki put mobilization on standby, in case this incident was just the beginning. Suddenly, the LCD TV flickered, and went off. The TV was prone to occasional error, like all TV's, but this time it went to a static screen.

As the screen just went to static, not long after it came up again. A shadowy man in a black figure could be seen, his face was covered as was the rest of his body. He used a system to distort his voice heavily, as was apparent in his opening remark, "I'm here, and my goal is simple." Everyone flickered into the throne room, and stared at the TV, curious as to what this was all about. Then, the man began to speak.

"Heh. For those of you who don't realize it yet, this group isn't small. Yes, we attempted to assassinate the Vice Empress, but with just reasoning. Her very existence, the existence of the House of Karafuto completely contradicts our entire social doctrine. Haruhi is eternal, regardless of limitation. She has none. Her body is even eternal, young forever, and never prone to failure. Her mind shall rest with us eternally, to lead our great nation. By the existence of this House of Karafuto, our doctrine is contradicted. As stated earlier, it's absolute truth. This existence shows that they believe Haruhi shall one day pass away, and needs a heir or successor in order to maintain this state. This is absolute nonsense. Her body shall live on. Eternity does not take a toll on the God-Empress. For divinity, and for eternal salvation, the Fists of Harmony hereby demand the dissolution of this house, and the recognition of Haruhi as eternal in all aspects. If not, may you die quickly."

The screen did not yet cut out, as he was obviously waiting for a response. Sakuya herself decided to step up, along with Haruhi.

First, Sakuya began to speak.

"You will never see this Empire, or our family, broken apart by terrorists!"

Then, Haruhi slowly grabbed a knife from the table, and slid it lightly across her hand. A rather miniscule amount of blood, but still a decent amount for a normal cut, began to come out of the wound. She let it drip off her fingertips and showed it to the screen. She then wiped it up with a towel, and bandaged it lightly.

"Your existence, and this terrorist act of assassination contradict our doctrine, my body is mortal, this is clear."

The man made a call on the screen, and ended the call, obviously saying that his intent was pursed.

Before he ended it, he let one last thing slip out. "Lies and props, why do you allow your advisors to pervert the truth?"

The phone rang rather morbidly. Sakuya went over to answer it, and got a rather odd report. The man on the phone was a military official. He simply summarized everything for her as this, "revolts in various parts of the mainland province, mostly situated in the south." One main question she asked him was this, "Any nationality specifics, or otherwise?". The officers reply was stern simply put as this, "Varied ethnicities, ages, and otherwise. All armed."

Haruhi wanted to see these people pay for causing this in her Empire, The Fists of Harmony? Hah, more like disharmony. They were causing disruption to way of life. Nagato even managed to give her reports of murders against civilians being reported. The miltary mobilization was called up, and forces were to shoot these units wearing white armbands on sight. It had begun, one stray bullet had begun the inferno.

Haruhi stood up, and lifted her voice, these were her words of defiance to these traitors.

"Rebels. Heretics. Disharmonious elements. May they drown in their own blood!"

[OOC: Consider those in the previous thread, still in the Palace unless noted otherwise. They may continue posting.]

Edited September 13, 2009 by Elrich von Richt

[iamthey]

Devereuax while he fasioned himself the as the Greek Ideal had not truly exerted himself athletically in some time. When he had been in the Dominion he had simply used the construction pods as a regenerative system; meaning he would never have to worry about his weight, his age or staying in shape. The past year had changed that considerably. So by the time his Royal Marines allowed him to stop he was already panting. "Gentlemen you are both capable officers but I think we are out of immediate danger, and that you all can adequately protect me from whatever we should confront." Pausing the four red berets looked at on another and nodded.

"Alright, but let us take the lead." Devereaux consented.

"Now we need to find this Haruhi, and her cousin. They will have some answers for us."

[Amyante]

Amyante walked through the halls of the Palace, glancing into corridors as she walked. Though she was primarily looking for Haruhi to discover what just went horribly wrong, she'd be lying if she claimed not keeping an eye out for more assassins, this time considering her a target of opportunity. If the Fists of Harmony were a splinter faction of the Eagles of Dawn, she might very well be a target herself as well considering Zargathia's part in taking Beringovsky and Murska.

"Rebels. Heretics. Disharmonious elements. May they drown in their own blood!"

Recognizing Haruhi's voice, she opened the door, walking into the room the Haruhiist Royal line was in without hesitation. She could tell Haruhi was angry, and from saying 'they' as opposed to 'you' she assumed there was no assassin present in the room with them or he'd have been addressed personally.

- "Haruhi, is everyone unhurt? Also, who are these Fists, are they connected to the Eagles of Dawn?"

Her mind was working at top speed to figure out as much as she could, as soon as she could. War favors the informed she recalled her cousin telling her once when she had asked her about her decision to join the Korean army, and she found herself pushing down the urge to call her, and see how she was doing.

Edited September 13, 2009 by Amyante

[Razgriz 2K9]

Dimitri was standing next to the entryway. Haruhi's decision to lock down the palace might work for her or against her, depending on if any more enemies escaped or not. Looking around the halls, he would need to recall on his past knowledge as a mercenary and use it to find a way to stop these so called 'Fists of Harmony.'

"The problem with terrorists is that they never demoralize, and they never give up." Dimitri said to Vice Empresses, "Your lives may still be in danger."

[Elrich von Richt]

Haruhi and Sakuya carefully observed the situation, and looked at strategic maps. They could map out clearly where the reports were coming from, mostly near Zargathia's border with the Empire. Sakuya looked in dismay, she also had gotten information about where these rebels received their funding. Most of it had apparently come from the Eagles of Dawn. Some of the membership also came from their remnants. Apparently Yuktobania's efforts, although greatly successful, had some loopholes. As to how they got across her border, Sakuya had no clue.

Haruhi read the membership roster statistics off, and Yuki provided the battle, and casualty data. Apparently this organization was numbering over 100,000 members. While this wasn't exceptionally strong, when compared to the Haruhiist military, they were armed and dangerous.

Devereaux, Dimitri, and Amyante were seen entering the room.

"As for casualties within this building, they killed two of my guards. But that's acceptable, at least they didn't harm any of the royalty. As for the guards, they will be buried in state funerals, for their heroism and bravery."

She heard Dimitri's response.

"Terrorists are nuisances, nothing less. No matter how much resolve they have, I will crush every ounce out of them."

Sakuya then spoke up to reply to Dimitri and Amyante

"How dare they try such a cowardly act. This battle is clear, no mercy shall be given by either side. And as for the Eagles of Dawn? Some of their remnants are within the Fists of Harmony, and a great deal of their armament came from them too."

[Razgriz 2K9]

"Then everyone's lives are in danger." Dimitri said. he had come across a terror attack before, barely surviving a rocket attack on the Capital Builiding that killed many Cabinet Members. He then said in response to terrorism, "I'm happy you feel that way, none of us negotiate with terrorists, and I'm more than willing to help you in your efforts to stamp them out of this palace."

[Amyante]

Amyante groaned loudly in annoyance as she crossed her arms. The Eagles of Dawn again, what was it with those people? On more serious terms however, if they had been behind the attempt on Sakuya's life just now, she considered it likely that Zargathia was next on their list, having been the ones to capture the Commander and deal a devastating blow to their operations.

- "Right, I... need to make a call. Haruhi, do you have a phone around that i can use? Secure of course."

She would need to call Ulrica, and tell her to put ZEIS on full alert until more of the Fists would be known. Still, there was a chance it would be tapped, so she'd be needing to use the code the two of them had devised between them.

[Subtleknifewielder]

Dimitri was standing next to the entryway. Haruhi's decision to lock down the palace might work for her or against her, depending on if any more enemies escaped or not. Looking around the halls, he would need to recall on his past knowledge as a mercenary and use it to find a way to stop these so called 'Fists of Harmony.'

"The problem with terrorists is that they never demoralize, and they never give up." Dimitri said to Vice Empresses, "Your lives may still be in danger."

Anthony Harlem was not put off by the danger. Every moment of every day, he was keenly aware of how thini a thread each individual life hung on. That did not mean he wouldn't do his best to combat those who would murder for no good reason.

As he strode into the room, he heard Dimitri's statement.

"The best way to deal with terrorists is to get them to fight each other," he commented. "In case no one has noticed, Promised Land is for the mosat part stable and free of these people--and largely because that is how we get rid of them. You send in government or police forces to deal with a terrorist, and it only creates a martyr."

[Razgriz 2K9]

"But how do you expect these terrorists to stop trusting in each other?" Dimitri Petrenko said, "It's not as easy as you think it is. Mr. Harlem."

[Subtleknifewielder]

"But how do you expect these terrorists to stop trusting in each other?" Dimitri Petrenko said, "It's not as easy as you think it is. Mr. Harlem."

"In the long run it's easier then just sending in the troops...doing that will enure all you fight are ghosts and phantoms. How do you fo it? Are you familiar with the term divide and conquer?"

[Elrich von Richt]

"In the long run it's easier then just sending in the troops...doing that will enure all you fight are ghosts and phantoms. How do you fo it? Are you familiar with the term divide and conquer?"

Haruhi slammed her fist against the planning desk, hoping to make sure the other delegates heard it.

"These scum have committed an unforgiveable offense, regardless of how you deal with terrorists. We seek, destroy, and execute."

[Subtleknifewielder]

Haruhi slammed her fist against the planning desk, hoping to make sure the other delegates heard it.

"These scum have committed an unforgiveable offense, regardless of how you deal with terrorists. We seek, destroy, and execute."

"Believe me, no one understands that better than I, Empress," he stated, pointing to a faint scar on his right temple. "I understand how violent they can be. But they are less likely to return if you can undermine them from within, rather than without."

[iamthey]

Devereaux had sat there for the majority of the discussion but now decided to weigh in.

"While I would agree to some degree; I believe there are a few more effective ways to deal with the terrorists. Like a chimera overt and direct attacks on terrorists will only breed more, and create sympathy for their case. Rather than that I would suggest simply stripping them of recruits. Right now their cause is built on an inconsistency in your ideological platform, which will not matter to the vast majority of your society. They will realize this and in time seek support from your population by appealing to social and economic issues in your nation. You should start by solving issues in your nation denying them typical at risk population such as the poor and the under educated. I would also unify your intellectual base by creating haruhiist political party that your bureaucracy, state officials, and intellectuals will be pressured to join. Both of those while longterm, were exceedingly effective in maintaining control of my nation.

In the short term rather than utilizing overwhelming force, send small units of elite forces into areas where the insurgents are located. Rather than sending large units which contribute to sympathy, show brutality, and simply represent large targets; attack them on your own terms with their own tactics. Most important all attempt to suppress any reality of their existence. Don't allow your media to report on them, do not send normal law-enforcement after them, do not hold public trials. All of that will only spread their cause. A terrorists game is as much based on propaganda and psychology as it is based on actually destroying things."

As he concluded the Lord Marshal Stephens entered the room and handed a note to Devereaux. Opening it he quickly read it before handing it back to Stephens. "I apologize but it seems the Prince requires my counsel. However, for the duration of your crisis I will leave with you one of the most elite military leaders in the Citadel. If anyone can offer useful Counsel in these matters it will be him." Devereaux looked at Stephens who nodded, and Thomas stood exiting the room.

Edited September 16, 2009 by iamthey

[Razgriz 2K9]

OOC: You do realize the palace is in lockdown, you probably couldn't escape even if you wanted too.

[Elrich von Richt]

Haruhi had left the palace grounds for the moment, Katsumi and Yuki began moving plans into action.

The Teikoku's military had been moved into positions near the southernmost part of the Transamur, ready to strike at these "Fists of Harmony".

[Subtleknifewielder]

Haruhi had left the palace grounds for the moment, Katsumi and Yuki began moving plans into action.

The Teikoku's military had been moved into positions near the southernmost part of the Transamur, ready to strike at these "Fists of Harmony".

It wasn't that Anthony Harlem was uncomfortable, or bored, or any of those things. But he really did need to get back home.

That was why he tried to find someone who could provide the autorization for him to leave. Unfortunately, Empress Haruhi had just left, so he would have to make do with talking to Sakuya. At the very least, she could pass on to Haruhi his request to leave.

[iamthey]

OOC: You do realize the palace is in lockdown, you probably couldn't escape even if you wanted too.

OOC: I highly doubt they are going to kidnap a de facto head of state. That would be like holding the president of the US, or prime minister of the UK. Not to mention he has several heavily armed paramilitary soldiers with him. If Elrich wants to RP a confrontation with the guards thats fine, it may not end well though .

Edited September 22, 2009 by iamthey

[Subtleknifewielder]

OOC: I highly doubt they are going to kidnap a de facto head of state. That would be like holding the president of the US, or prime minister of the UK. Not to mention he has several heavily armed paramilitary soldiers with him. If Elrich wants to RP a confrontation with the guards thats fine, it may not end well though .

OOC: The point is that the palace IS on lockdown, so you wouldn't get out without authorization--that or a fight.

Edited September 22, 2009 by Subtleknifewielder

[iamthey]

OOC: The point is that the palace IS on lockdown, so you wouldn't get out without authorization--that or a fight.

OOC: Should make an interesting RP then.

Edited September 22, 2009 by iamthey

[Elrich von Richt]

OOC: No more OOC after this, bump