Fighting Our Way Back to Freedom

[Kaede Alexeivich]

"Have they begun the operation yet?"
A scratchy, metallic voice, sounding more like it came from a metal box than a human, reached the ears of the man, who winced at the sound.
Not far in front of him, there was some rustling, a click, and a dim light alighted; a cigarette that was the only thing now that lit up the otherwise completely dark room.
Of what the man could see from the cigarette's small light, the smoker was a middle-aged man. His face was wrinkled and hung like jowls, and his mouth was thin and looked almost angry.
"Er, yes." the man straightened up at the question. "Today is the scheduled moment. They should be starting soon..."
"Well done." The smoker complimented as a ring of wispy smoke rose from his lips. "With the arms we have provided, the guards should be quickly overtaken..."
"Yes sir."
"I expect a report on their success soon, so we can then make our move." He held the smoke in his mouth for several seconds, and then silently it poured out. "If it all does not go completely according to plan, we will certainly fail, and I will get to see Gregor for the last time..."

--Within the Bleeding Woods, Khador, Isara Alliance--
"And that is the first of many good soldiers to die today."
As this was said, the body of an Isaran soldier hit the dirt ground. From his stomach area, blood flowed over the mud and dust that covered the ground of the labour camp.
Above him, a man in a white t-shirt and stained and dirty jeans held a knife that had blood in it right down to the hilt. Below his bald head was something that could hardly be called a face. Behind him were many similarly dressed people, carrying assault rifles and shotguns.
"After this, we'll be free to be out of this godforsaken forest..." he growled. "After we've killed all these !@#$%^& guards..."
Behind him, hardened criminals, ruthless and hateful, roared in approval. By now, it no longer mattered if the soldiers patrolling the camp would hear their call. With the savagery and brutality only criminals who had been forced to work their lives in Isara's labour camps could muster, they attacked the guards, who, in spite of their technological and numerical advantage, faced a merciless and furious army of murderers and assaulters.
By that evening, the battle had ended. The troops had called in reinforcements, and the rebels were ruthlessly run down by heavy machine guns and tanks. Of the original workforce, none were left alive, no prisoners were taken by the Alliance troops.
However, across the secluded regions of Isara, similar uprisings were occurring. The rebels spilled from the labour camps, and set up camps and bases within the remote forests of the Alliance.
Meanwhile, Isara was mobilizing to counter the rebels. Soldiers, tanks, APCs rumbled through the forests while helicopters scouted the woods from above. The hope was to contain the rebellion before it reached the cities and populated regions of the Alliance.
However, rumours of combat and rebellion in the forests of Isara soon reached the ears of the people, and these rumours began to spread across the Alliance and over borders, of a possible rebellion.

OOC: Feel free to comment OOC or IC, but be aware that almost all of this is classified except for rumours of a rebellion.

[Kaede Alexeivich]

One week later, and the operation had reached a standstill.

The Isara Alliance ruthlessly scoured the woods and forests for rebels, who, if found, were shot immediately. Meanwhile, the rebels, familiar with the territory around them, were able to conduct hit-and-run attacks on the military. Despite this, lack of modern weaponry, numerical disadvantage, and a drop in morale were starting to take their toll on the rebels. Numbering altogether at 1,080, they had dropped to 700 now. The Isaran military, taking no chances, launched the entirety of the Third and Fourth Armies, numbering altogether 3,160, to crush the rebels. Their technological and numerical advantage meant that even a week later, Isara had lost only 140 troops.

Gregor Eivanov scowled as he read the reports from the military. Even if they did crush the rebels, which was only a matter of time, the loss of some of the valuable labour camps would take a toll, even if a minor one, on the Isaran economy.
The combat had slowed to a standstill, and the guerillas and military were making no progress. The rebels were good at hiding from the military and then springing out in a hit and run strike, but the military easily and brutally ran over (sometimes literally) the guerillas with little effort. The Drei Macht wanted the conflict over, as soon and as quietly as possible. They did not want the news of the attack spilling into the media. First of all, it would cause panic amongst the citizens, which the Drei Macht did not need now. Worse, it would reveal the existence of the labour camps to the entire world, which the Drei Macht really did not need.

Regardless, reports of tanks and gunfire were given to the media by a group of foresters who, having gotten too far into the restricted areas of the forest, reported seeing Isaran tanks and hearing gunfire.
"The military is currently undergoing a training exercise in the restricted areas of the Alliance," Irina Ivanovich, second member of the Drei Macht, informed the media in response to these reports (emphasizing the word restricted). "The rumours of an actual conflict occurring in these areas is ridiculous."