La Résistance

[Pikachurin]

Contrary to popular belief, the [i]Front de libération du Québec[/i] [Quebec Liberation Front], or remnants of it at least, continued to remain active within Disparu. The Front was primarily active during the 60s and the early 70s, when the original Canada was still around. It was responsible for more than one hundred and sixty acts against the state, all done in the name of socialism and sovereignty for Quebec. The Front's activities subsided to a great extent following the revolution led by Lynneth Sarkara, and the formation of socialist Saboria. At this point, the Front felt that most of its goals had been more than fulfilled, considering that they were living in a technological, socialist utopia led by the father of rational communism. As Saboria reformed to communist Canada and continued to progress in every field imaginable, the Front felt that its work was done and it was nigh time to disband.

That was the case until communist Canada was dissolved by its last chairperson, Angela Merkel.

Canada's collapse wasn't necessarily detrimental for the Front. In fact, they could have seized that opportunity to establish their own state—a French socialist state solely for the true Quebecois. But with Tahoan and Vinilandese forces, both being opposed to the idea of a socialist state controlled by 'terrorists', flowing into the area to secure the former nation's territories, the Front's plan was basically next to impossible. Instead, they opted to gather weapons, supplies, recruits and the like for the time being, while waiting for an opportunity to assert their power over Quebec and form their own state. Around the same time, a ragtag group, composed of Anglophones, Francophones, Aboriginal people and immigrants, was being led by former Governor General Caitlin Darach in the areas now known as the Disparuean provinces of Coronet and Almia. The group referred to themselves as the 'Disparu Committee' and was determined to establish peace, balance, harmony and unity within Quebec. While the 'Committee' was rather naïve and often had Pokémon-related references on their work for some odd reason, it still had more authority than the Front, and therefore also had access to an almost infinite supply of various resources, from conventional weapons to humanitarian aid. The Committee's members were able to move about and do their work freely, something the Front was unable to do, hence the reason why they eventually garnered much support from Anglophones, Francophones, Aboriginal peoples and immigrants alike. The Committee's work eventually focused on developing a peaceful, prosperous nation in Quebec and beyond. Their work resulted in the formation of the nation now known as the Federation of Disparu. Shortly after the new nation's formation, Caitlin Darach propped herself up as the nation's first Monarch, while the rest of the Committee split up to form political parties for the upcoming 'democratic election'. The Committee's main members are now top members of the Empire, Democratic and Green Parties.

The elections resulted in a minority victory for the Democratic Party, with its former leader, Lance Pikachurin, becoming the nation's first Chancellor. Though Disparu had several policies that could be considered as capitalist and anti-Quebec policies, the Front still grudgingly supported the new nation and Government since its leftist and socialist policies still outweighed its undesirable policies. At this point, the Front had ceased its recruiting efforts to avoid being caught, and focused instead on training its members and obtaining more weapons. They still obtained most of their supplies from the black market, but the Front slowly began to obtain trustworthy contacts in the nation's military in an attempt to gain more advanced weapons, like intercontinental missiles. This operation worked during the first few months, however it began to backfire on the Front when the Disparuean Government became suspicious on the sudden, unexplained disappearances of their own weapons. The final blow came when the Government launched an investigation and found most of the Front's military contacts guilty of corruption. The Front immediately cut its ties to the Disparuean government and handled any 'loose ends', and decided that laying low would be the best option for that time.

As time passed, the Front's power began to wane as disgruntled members quit due to most of their plans and goals not being carried out. The Front's top brass needed to come up with something that would moralize their members, lest the Front collapse due to inactivity and demoralization.

The opportunity came when the Government announced that the former Queen, Caitlin Darach, would be visiting Disparu's newly-built capital, Jubilife.

Though Darach was a supporter of Quebec sovereignty, she was also an advocate of various other things the Front didn't like, such as non-Francophones residing in Quebec or free markets. Hence, the front was able to use her as a scapegoat for the the Quebecois' (and the Front's) problems of losing their French cultural identity and the like. This managed to moralize the Front's members and to support the Front's cause. Morale increased even more when the Front revealed that they had an operation was designed to destabilize the Disparuean Government's authority and enable them to finally work on their goals. Essentially, the Front's operation was to assassinate Caitlin Darach while she was visiting the new capital. The capital's defences and security measures were still in the process of being built at that time, so it was the perfect time to assassinate Disparu's beloved Monarch.

In a way, the Front's operation was successful...

[Pikachurin]

...but severely backfired in countless ways. The operation's main objective was met—Caitlin was shot by a FLQ sniper, who also happened to be the FLQ's best sniper, en route to the New Parliament Building, and the assassination sparked what was perhaps the first and largest internal crisis Disparu ever faced. Unfortunately, the assassination did not cause the effects the Front desired. Minutes after the assassination, Jubilife and its surrounding areas were immediately put under lockdown and cut off from the outside world. Military personnel patrolled the streets while the Disparuean Forces' Special Operations conducted a thorough manhunt in the city, making it impossible for the FLQ's three operatives to safely escape the city. Out of desperation and stupidity, one of the operatives used his shortwave radio in an attempt to contact his superiors. Needless to say, the radio's signal was traced and triangulated, and their position was revealed to the military. The operatives tried to change their hiding location, but alas, they were surrounded by angry Disparuean soldiers before they could even leave their hideout. The operatives were convicted with various criminal offences, most of which called for life imprisonment for the offenders. Heck, the Commons even passed a law that would enable them to execute criminals with life sentences by lethal injection. The assassin himself was executed (the Commons would later repeal the execution law they passed) while the other two were merely incarcerated for life.

Not only did the FLQ lose its best sniper and two new recruits, but their failed operation also paved the way for Lance Pikachurin's ascension to the throne and Cynthia Celeste's promotion as the new Chancellor. Both happened to be former members of the Committee, and both were also Anglophones. While Lance was slightly more favourable due to his centre-left stance on politics, Cynthia was a conservative liberal who immediately introduced right-wing policies to the Government. Her Chancellorship eventually helped her right-wing party to take power during the 2010 federal elections.

The investigation following the assassination was unable to trace it back to the FLQ. Instead, the investigators publicly blamed a group called 'the Gauntlet', which was, upon closer inspection, entirely non-existent. Regardless, it still seemed that the investigators knew about the FLQ's existence and involvement privately, as several of their members were detained within the next few weeks. All in all, the operation was a total disaster for the Front. Morale reached an all-time low and its members deserted the Front [i]en masse[/i]. Fortunately, most had remained silent about the FLQ's existence, as they obviously did not want to be connected to a 'terrorist group', though there were also a few whistle blowers who were quickly taken care of.

The FLQ had essentially collapsed as an organization. Most of its top officials had mysteriously disappeared, while its all but a few of its underlings had renounced their (false) allegiance with the Front. Only a few remained, namely those who truly believed in establishing a French-only socialist state. It would be interesting to note that most of the remaining members were also the assassin's friends, and those members also swore to avenge their friend's cruel fate with the Government. At this point, the FLQ would reform its organization and protocols. They no longer bothered to recruit new members, since those newbies often joined just for fun, or to make a quick buck. Instead, the FLQ was solely composed of those who truly believed in the organization's noble values and goals. They already gathered enough firepower over the years, so instead they focused on espionage, training and communication. While the Government busied itself with foreign affairs over the next few months, the FLQ would silently construct a network of safehouses, secure communication channels and training grounds, as well as placing loyal agents in the ministries of Disparu and all provinces.

The FLQ silently strengthened itself, waiting for the day when their dreams and aspirations will finally be realized.

[Pikachurin]

[i]1 July 2011
Present day[/i]

Ah, Ferinh. Or Eterna, as the ingrates officially call it. Just over five years ago, this city had a proud population of nearly twelve million people and was capital of communist Canada, the bastion of rational communism and Canadian knowledge. Now, it was just a city of nearly three million people and was just the capital of a minor Disparuean province. Ever since the Government of Disparu assumed control of the city, they had made several modifications and additions to suit their needs and to obscure the city’s communist past. Since the city’s population had shrunk by four times, there was less need for housing and the like, therefore the Government had taken the liberty of demolishing residential buildings and other unneeded structures, and making way for wooded parks and other open spaces. Unfortunately, it seemed that monuments to rationalism and communism also fell in the ‘unneeded’ category; hence most of them went down with the initial demolitions. Fortunately, some of the greater monuments to the former regime’s greatness continued to stand–the Centre and Nakheel Towers, the SkyCity and the ComIntern headquarters (now the headquarters of the Communist Party of Disparu) would be first things that come into mind.

[center][IMG]http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii55/LT_imageserver/TorontoCityHall.jpg[/IMG][/center]

A great example of an addition by the Government would perhaps be the Eterna Stock Exchange. The capitalist eyesore stuck out of the city like a sore thumb. The building was a total mockery of the city’s glorious past, a mockery of the city’s noble attempt to pay homage to its former benefactors. The Exchange will be where our unlikely protagonist, Jay, and her subordinates would start their most important mission–a mission they had been preparing for during the past two years.

Jay was not her real name. She had abandoned her original name to protect her identity as soon as she joined the FLQ to avenge her husband. You see, Jay happened to be Darach’s assassin’s wife. Her hatred for the treacherous Disparuean Government started when she watched her husband slowly die as deadly fluids were injected into his body. His lawyer [i]tried[/i] to do everything in his power to stop her husband’s execution, but it seemed that the Committee-loving Government, the Commons specifically, already made up its mind and murdered him anyway.

The FLQ had been quite sympathetic to her after her husband’s execution. After coming home from Coronet High-Security Prison, the place where her husband was detained and eventually killed, some of the remaining members of the FLQ were at her house, coming to express their condolences and apologize for what happened. At that time, she was tempted to punch the closest Felquiste [a term used for the members and supporters of the FLQ] she could reach, but instead she was overcome with grief and instead buried her face into the shoulders of the nearest Felquiste, and sobbed. The FLQ took great care of her during that time of need, even at great personal risk to them. Touched by their benevolence, she decided to join their cause to overthrow the Government, and to avenge the memory of her husband. She sold all of her unnecessary belongings, packed up the things that were dear to her, and left her hometown for a FLQ training camp in the wilderness. During this time, she would pretend to be a nature enthusiast so that the Government wouldn’t be suspicious of her sudden disappearances in the middle of nowhere. In reality, though, she spent most of her time receiving military training from the top members of the FLQ. Occasionally, they would send her on a mission to test her skills. Whether it was espionage or a smuggling run, she was always successful and gained the respect of her comrades. She eventually rose up the ranks and became a field commander for the FLQ.

Jay was currently in a motel in Eterna South, which was one of the city’s four residential sectors. Her motel was only a few blocks from the Exchange, located in the Eterna Commons sector, and therefore she had a decent view of the complex home to the Exchange. The complex was composed of two curved towers, with the western one being a few storeys shorter than the other. The buildings’ inner sides were panelled with glass windows, while their outer sides were merely made of ribbed, curved concrete. A saucer-like dome and chamber was situated in the middle of the towers, normally used by the city’s chamber of commerce. In front of the buildings was a large square for public use. The square contained several fountains and a reflecting pool that could be used as a skating rink in the winter. All in all, the complex was identical to the City Hall in Toronto. The city’s planners obviously liked the City Hall’s design so much that they copied nearly all of its elements.

Jay buzzed with excitement as she ran through tonight’s operation while going through various maps of the city. Her team had been planning this mission for months–her subordinates had been placed in various job positions in the city months ago in order to avoid facing suspicion from the authorities. Jay, meanwhile, had been studying the city’s terrain, routes and security measures to ensure that they would be aware of all of the Government’s tricks in the event that their mission goes through.

Their mission was only the opening stages of a much larger plan designed to induce instability to the Government and perhaps fulfill some of their own goals for the people of Disparu. They were about to practice "propaganda of the deed", a concept promoting the usage of violence against political enemies as a way of inspiring the masses and sparking a revolution, and as such, they had planted various ‘surprises’ throughout the complex, all of which will be activated tonight. The FLQ had chosen the first of July as its plan’s starting date due to its significance–if the original Canada, the FLQ’s former enemy, still existed today, this day would have been the 144th anniversary since the British North America Act of 1867, an act which essentially created the original Canada and its government. Today was also one month before the two year anniversary of Caitlin Darach’s assassination, and her sniper’s eventual execution.

As Jay pored through a map of Eterna and its surrounding areas, with the Exchange, her motel, various safehouses and a secure exit route conveniently marked on it, when she heard someone banging on her room’s door. Cocking the pistol beside her, she cautiously approached the door and asked, "[i]Qui est-ce?[/i] [Who is it?]"

"[i]C’est moi, Jean.[/i] [It’s me, Jean]" came the reply.

Jay lowered her pistol, though she remained cautious. "[i]Qu’est-ce que le mot de passe?[/i] [What’s the password?]" she asked.

"[i]Fichu-ce, Jay! Est-ce que je dois chanter cette chanson puérile?[/i] [Damn it, Jay! Do I have to sing that childish song?]" replied the man named Jean, from behind the door.

Jay giggled. "[i]Ces sont protocoles des sécurités, Jean. Maintenant, chante![/i] [These are security protocols, Jean. Now, sing!]"

There was an awkward silence for a moment, before a half-hearted version of the nursery rhyme [i]Alouette[/i] came from behind the door. Jay opened the door for Jean as soon as he finished singing the last verse.

"[i]Mon Dieu, Jay! Tu aimes vraiment cet emploi, eh?[/i] [My God, Jay! You really love this job, eh?]" replied a scowling Jean. After going through the usual security protocols (such as checking if they were bugged, or if they were being trailed by a Government agent), Jay would begin to ask Jean what happened at "work".

Jean was an undercover agent for the FLQ. Unlike Jay, he had been a member of the FLQ before the disastrous Darach incident, and he was one of the few who remained in the Front after that failed operation. He isn’t much of a hardworker, which explains why he is still in the Front’s lower ranks despite being in it longer than Jay. Anyways, Jean was disguised as a broker who regularly went to the Exchange to purchase stocks from various companies. He had been doing his job well for nearly five months. While in the Exchange, he had also been secretly planting surprises throughout the complex, while another agent hid his tracks.

This pattern would continue for the next hour or so. The next agent who returned to the motel and had to sing [i]Alouette[/i] was Marc, an undercover agent working as a member of the Exchange’s security staff. He was the one who modified the security cameras’ footage of Jean planting the surprises, as well as making sure that their surprises would never be discovered by actual employees. The last one who returned was Louis, who worked in the city’s emergency broadcast division. He would be planting his own surprises in there.

"[i]Est-tout le monde prêt pour notre operation?[/i] [Is everyone ready for our operation?]" asked Jay out loud when everyone had gathered in her room.

"[i]Oui![/i] [Yes!]" came the reply from everyone.

"[i]Bon. Ici va rien![/i] [Good. Here goes nothing!]" said Jay, smiling, as she made her way towards the door. Before leaving, she would order the others to watch out for her and make sure that no one else would follow her, even if it was unintentional.

Upon leaving, she made sure that nothing was watching her, machine or human, and made her way towards the motel’s roof. Excitement buzzed through her as she entered the elevator and pushed the "R" button. The elevator crankily rose upwards, and stopped with a screech as soon as it reached its destination. A blast of warm air passed through the elevator as its doors noisily opened, the wind gently hitting Jay’s faced. Her surroundings felt oddly surreal as she stepped out of the elevator, as if she was dreaming, and any sudden moves would wrench her back to the real world. Stopping at the roof’s edge, she looked around her and savoured every single bit of the moment. The warm, evening breeze continued to blow through the roof. It was oddly silent tonight, despite the fact that cars and the like bustled below her, anxious to arrive at their destinations before dinner. In front of her were the tops of many buildings identical to her motel, and beyond that, her life’s goal–the Eterna Stock Exchange. In contrast to the slightly deteriorating buildings in this part of the city, the Exchange shone brightly and newly, like a futuristic structure from out of this world.

Ensuring that no one was with her, she extracted a baton from her sleeves and tapped a pipe next to her thrice. She then silently conducted an invisible orchestra, moving her baton like a maestro would in a grand concert. Anyone who saw her now would think she was insane or something.

At first, nothing happened.

But then, a familiar orchestral piece, a piece filled with heavy brass and string notes, began to play through the city’s sound systems. It was, of course, the finale of Tchaikovsky’s [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4h7NGMz2RI"][i]1812 Overture[/i][/url], the same piece that played during the destruction of the Old Bailey and the Palace of Westminster in [i]V for Vendetta[/i]. Residents who got the reference would begin panicking and would run away from the source of the music, however most residents merely stood on the spot, dumbstruck as to why the emergency systems were playing an orchestral piece. Why would the systems’ controllers be playing it? Was there an event going on in the city? As it turned out, a disastrous event (for the city’s residents) was about to unfold.

[center][IMG]http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii55/LT_imageserver/ExchangeExplosion.png[/IMG][/center]

As the overture reached its crescendo, a large explosion simultaneously occurred in the East Building of the Exchange. The next few explosions were, surprisingly, timed exactly to the beat of the overture. As cymbals crashed and cannons exploded in the piece, a new explosion shook the foundations of the Exchange. Glass pieces, steel bars, concrete blocks and the like were shaken out of their foundations and fell to the ground with each new explosion. As the overture reached its ending, more explosions rocked the Exchange, now coming from the base and at important structural points in the buildings. Blue, white, red and yellow fireworks, all being colours of the FLQ, were simultaneously fired as the Exchange shook, lighting the sky above the gruesome scene. As more explosions shook the Exchange’s very framework, the buildings’ support systems began to fail and collapsed. Millions of glass, steel, concrete and other materials from the buildings began to fall inward, crushing the saucer-like dome below into pieces. The Stock Exchange had, literally, crashed into the ground.

Firefighters, ambulances, police officers, other emergency services and news reporters immediately rushed into the wreckage as soon as the explosions ceased. Thousands of shocked residents, meanwhile, looked at the fallen Exchange in extreme disbelief. Within the next twenty-four hours, the entire city would be placed under lockdown, while soldiers and tanks were sent to the city to secure the streets and prevent possible suspects from leaving the city.

Back at Eterna South, Jay maniacally laughed as she observed the destruction she had done. [i]"At last, my husband’s memory has been avenged. May he rest in peace."[/i] thought Jay as she saluted the empty space where the Exchange had been just two minutes ago. Turning around, she headed back to the elevator and returned to her room.

There would be no need to notify the FLQ and risk being caught. After all, the Exchange’s destruction would be forwarded to them by the various news agencies of Disparu.

Edited July 7, 2010 by Pikachurin

[Pikachurin]

[i]2 July 2011[/i]

The first operation of the plan was an overwhelming success. The Eterna Stock Exchange was explosively reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes, and the Disparuean economy was already suffering from the negative effects of the Exchange’s destruction. In fact, the Government now had to rely on foreign aid just to keep the economy afloat. In addition, Jay and the others’ roles in the operation still haven’t been uncovered by the Judicial Police. The FLQ’s sources in the Government also indicated that the Judicial Police was still looking for a scapegoat to blame, and was in fact clueless as to who exactly plotted and executed the Exchange’s destruction.

Fortunately, there were only a few civilian fatalities in the operation. This was good, as any more fatalities would have antagonized and alienated the masses, something the FLQ did not want. If this ever happened, the Government would have more reasons to bastardize the FLQ’s noble goals, and therefore the public would follow along, succumb to the propaganda, and condemn all FLQ-related events in the past, present and future. Instead, they have managed to spark a concept which has long since died out in the masses–the idea that the Government should be afraid of the people it serves, and not the other way. The operation had inspired anti-capitalist protests throughout the nation. There were occasional reports of ‘anarchic riots’, according to the news, though they weren’t as isolated as the pro-Government media attempted to present them.

Now that the FLQ had orchestrated the opening stages of its act, it was now time to move on to the next one–namely the part where they announce their continued existence to Disparu and the international community. As Jay and her comrades held out in fortified Eterna, another FLQ sleeper cell located nearly four hundred kilometres to the west would begin to awaken and carry out the second stage of the FLQ’s grand plan.

Edited July 3, 2010 by Pikachurin

[JEDCJT]

[quote name='Pikachurin' date='02 July 2010 - 06:52 PM' timestamp='1278125552' post='2358328']
[i]2 July 2010[/i]
[/quote]

OOC: I think it's supposed to be 2011, right? Otherwise, we have an interesting case of time travel here, lol.

[HHAYD]

Somewhere in GLP:

"If this gets any worse, what should we do?"

"Do the same thing that Disparu always did to GLS and us when we were hit with terrorist attacks."

"Invasion?"

"I wish, if only the world wasn't such a hypocrite and filled with douche bags..."

[Pikachurin]

[quote name='JEDCJT' date='02 July 2010 - 11:46 PM' timestamp='1278128788' post='2358359']
OOC: I think it's supposed to be 2011, right? Otherwise, we have an interesting case of time travel here, lol.
[/quote]

OoC: Correct. Thanks for pointing that out, JED.

[quote name='HHAYD' date='03 July 2010 - 01:27 AM' timestamp='1278134814' post='2358473']
Somewhere in GLP:

"If this gets any worse, what should we do?"

"Do the same thing that Disparu always did to GLS and us when we were hit with terrorist attacks."

"Invasion?"

"I wish, if only the world wasn't such a hypocrite and filled with douche bags..."
[/quote]

Please keep all IC comments in my news thread. There's a reason why I posted that report about the attack, you know.

The next IC post will be put up as soon as I finish it.

[Pikachurin]

[i]3 July 2011
7:45 AM[/i]

The city in question was, of course, Jubilife, situated deep within the province of Coronet. Formerly a small, sparsely-populated Cree town known as Mistissini, it went through a brief period of massive population growth and infrastructure upgrades following a Government decision to move the capital to the town from Eterna (the latter had served as the de facto capital of Disparu for five months since the nation’s establishment). Believing that their good fortune was a work of the Disparu Committee, the town’s original Cree residents happily renamed the new capital after Marian Jubilife, a Committee member who hailed from Mistissini.

The city now had a population of 120,000 people and was virtually a fortress of glass, marble, and steel, with an occasional park placed here and there. Being the capital of the entire Federation, nearly all of the federal Government’s ministries, agencies, institutions and affiliated organizations were headquartered here, usually in the Federal District, considered to be one of the securest locations in the city, and perhaps the entire province. However, certain Government-affiliated organizations remained in the former capital, with the reason usually being financial or logistic constraints.

An example of such an organization was Disparu News Network, the state-sponsored radio and television broadcaster. The Network’s headquarters was located in the DNN Centre in the Eterna Commons, where it has been since it was created more than two years ago. It had refused to move its headquarters to Jubilife since most of its broadcasting and filming equipment were in the Centre, plus the Network’s administration did not want to lose its staff back in Eterna. The Government conceded, however the Network still had to establish an office and broadcasting centre of sorts in the new capital as per the federal Government’s laws regarding the public broadcaster.

The FLQ would have preferred to broadcast their message in the DNN Centre since they would be able to relay it to all DNN stations throughout the nation if they utilized the Centre’s machinery. However, Eterna was currently brimming with security forces, and their sleeper cell was trying to lay low following the Eterna Stock Exchange’s destruction. Consequently, the FLQ had to settle with using the DNN’s office in Jubilife. It wasn’t really a terrible idea–they had a sleeper cell in the city waiting to strike at a moments notice. Plus, infiltrating the DNN’s Jubilife centre would have struck fear in the Government when they realized that their highest sanctum happens to be vulnerable to their enemies, and may even have inspired a revolutionary or two. It’s just that they would only have a limited audience tuning in to their message if they only infiltrated Jubilife. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers, for now…

The ringleader of this particular sleeper cell was a man named Giles St. Danoche. Like Jay, he uses an alias to protect his true identity from the authorities, and he also likes ending operations assigned to his cell with a bang. Unlike her, however, he had been a member of the FLQ even before the Darach incident. In fact, he had been a supporter of the FLQ since he was still a college student during the 60s and early 70s, and had been a top member of the Front during its existence under Saboria and communist Canada. As he was stationed in the capital itself, he controlled one of the largest sleeper cells operated by the FLQ. He had agents placed in various jobs, from simple custodians to high-paying administrative jobs, in the different Government institutions in Jubilife. He will only need a few agents stationed in DNN Jubilife’s office to pull the operation off, however. Therefore, he began to type nonsensical e-mails with hidden messages laced in them to certain operatives as soon as he received word about the Eterna Stock Exchange’s destruction and intel that the Judicial Police had not traced the attacks to Jay and the others yet.

[quote]À : [u]15 des courriers électroniques (montre tout…)[/u][sup]1[/sup]
DE : [u]stdanoche-g@courrier-froid.dp[/u][sup]2[/sup]

SUJET : [u]Bonjour, mes amis![/u][sup]3[/sup]
MESSAGE:

Minneapolis pie lunched cake five freaking hours / xylophones train love lies nine dark nightly subsequent videos cars not pies çedille team lax drat monopoly piano hack / observe holiday ‘ last gold karat the état bureaucracy in really zero bad gravity cries reeled banana lemon zinc mirages / wolves gold vivaciously silver fetched bronze coffee / zero trans fat / xerox type vulture typewriter mogul entrepreneur guy not is really xenon / Infinite aristocrats états not have wheel veered Microsoft zero Apple flights nice–Why not right left hat tie kaleidoscope telescope zen temple if not fallacy / zero trans fat is question but light year fear not imbecile the wicked nonexistent’ super jargon fast Excalibur rock.[/quote]

[spoiler][i][center]---Out of Character---[/center]
1 – TO: [u]15 e-mails (show all…)[/u]
2 – FROM: [u]stdanoche-g@cold-mail.dp[/u]
3 – SUBJECT: [u]Hello, my friends! [/u]

Solution to message:

Remove the word after the first word, and then remove every other word (i.e. Minneapolis [b]pie[/b] lunched [b]cake[/b]). Treat each phrase separated by a slash as a separate section (for example, "xylophones" shouldn’t be removed, but the word next to it should be).

[quote]Minneapolis lunched five hours / xylophones love nine nightly videos not çedille lax monopoly hack / observe ‘ last karat état in zero gravity reeled lemon mirages / wolves vivaciously fetched coffee / zero fat / xerox vulture mogul guy is xenon / Infinite états have veered zero flights–Why right hat kaleidoscope zen if fallacy / zero fat question light fear imbecile wicked ’ super fast rock.[/quote]

Take the first letter of every word and type all of them next to each other, adding spaces where slashes are.

[quote]Mlfh xlnnvnçlmh o’lkéizgrlm wvfc zf xvmgix Iéhvzf–Wrhkzif zfqlfiw’sfr.[/quote]

Substitute each letter with the letter opposite to it in the alphabet (i.e. A=Z, B=Y, M=N). Ignore the letters ç and é.

[quote]Nous commençons l’opération deux au centre Réseau-Disparu aujourd’hui.
(We commence operation two in the Network-Disparu (Disparu News Network) Centre today).[/quote]

[center]---End of OoC---[/center][/i][/spoiler]

As he sent the last e-mail, he began to get ready for "work". He wore a regular suit, though he also wore a balaclava and a light sweater underneath. He opened a nearby drawer full of random objects and extracted an unmarked DVD disc out of it. After examining it to make sure it was the disc he was looking for, he pocketed it, picked up his bulky yet innocuous-looking briefcase, and began to head towards the door. As usual, he would follow his usual route to his workplace so as to not arouse the suspicion of any observers.

[i]8:30 AM[/i]

About half an hour later, he arrived at the DNN Jubilife office in the city’s downtown sector. Its location was quite fortunate for him–performing the operation would have been suicide had the Network’s office been located in the city’s Federal District, like most Government-affiliated buildings.

He entered the building’s diminutive lobby, muttered an unenthusiastic ‘bonjour’ to the front desk clerk, signed in, and then proceeded towards his department. He worked at the office’s human resources department, and therefore had some access to the office’s worker attendance records. Upon reaching his department, he proceeded to his workstation and duly logged-in to his computer. He first went through today’s attendance records, and was glad to see that all of his agents were present. Hopefully, they had received his memo (which should have been expected, after all they had arranged the entire operation months ago and had hammered out the details and procedures everyone should pay attention to). Just to make sure, though, he sent coded notes to everyone regarding the operation. A few moments later, he received an affirmative for every note he sent. Satisfied, Giles turned towards his computer and began to go through today’s workload. He would pay attention to the computer’s clock as he worked, making sure that his timing was right.

[i]5:30 PM[/i]

It was rush hour in Jubilife. The work day had finally ended for most workers; therefore they were hurrying to get home by dinner. DNN Jubilife’s human resources department, for instance, was already empty save for Giles. He had told his boss earlier that he had a lot of work to go through. His boss, hurrying to get home, relented and allowed him to work overtime. Giles was not alone in the building, though. The other departments, such as broadcasting and equipment, were still (mostly) fully-staffed, and were preparing for the evening news. All of his agents were still working at their respective departments, too.

Glancing at his watch, Giles picked up his suitcase and headed for the men’s washroom. Upon reaching it, he ensured that no one was there, and then locked the room’s door. He entered one of the stalls and locked it. Sitting at the toilet, he opened his briefcase and tugged at the edge of its casing. The casing eventually gave way after a few tugs, revealing a secret, padded compartment carrying two semi-automated pistols in their holsters, and several rounds of ammunition. He loaded both pistols, harnessed both into his waist, and arranged his suit in a way that concealed them. Upon closing his briefcase, he left the stall and left the washroom to return to his office. Upon returning, he sent another confirmation note to his comrades (all of which were returned with an affirmative), ensured that he didn’t leave anything important (such as files that identified the FLQ and its agents), and finally logged off of his computer. Leaving his briefcase at his workstation, Giles left his department and headed towards the broadcasting division of DNN Jubilife. On the way, he would use a telephone hooked up to the office’s internal phoning system as well as phone lines outside of the office. He lifted the phone’s receiver, pressed the "PA" button, and entered the system’s five-digit passcode. The phone quickly beeped thrice before going silent.

Clearing his throat, Giles muttered, "[i]Il est le temps, mes camarades![/i] [It’s time, my comrades!]" into the receiver. At the same time, his cell’s agents would pull their balaclava up their faces and withdraw their concealed weapons. They coerced and subdued the office’s staff into reluctant submission, while neutralizing the office’s army of rent-a-cops by knocking them unconscious, tying them up, or shooting them as a last resort. One cop managed to dial 9-1-1 before being neutralized, which notified police units in Jubilife about the FLQ takeover of DNN Jubilife’s office. Unfortunately for them, however, they would be met by rush hour traffic, therefore buying time for the Felquistes. Plus, the office’s external doors would be locked from the inside by the agents, buying them even more time.

Smiling, Giles pulled up his own balaclava, took out his silenced pistol out of its holster, and continued on to the broadcasting division.

[i]6:00 PM[/i]

The broadcasting division was the last department to know about the takeover, and was also the last to be subdued by the Felquistes. This was caused by the fact that there were no PA systems in there so on-air shows wouldn’t be disturbed. The evening news’ anchors were in the middle of explaining the Government’s recent trade and travel sanctions against the Great Lakes Provinces, and reporting a press release regarding a planned defence system by the Disparuean Forces when armed Felquistes barged in. The panic-struck anchors involuntarily raised their arms out of fear, while an agent coerced the camera crew to cut the feed. The division’s staff was then coerced into a corner and were told to stay put.

Viewers who were watching the evening news at that time would see the anchors suddenly freezing and raising their arms, while hearing off-screen voices shouting hostile commands in French. The screen would shake, before it was replaced by a blue screen with the words "No signal! / Pas de signal!" scrolling in the centre, and the DNN logo on the lower-right corner. Of course, the voices’ owners were never seen on-screen during this time.

[center][IMG]http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii55/LT_imageserver/NoSignalPasdeSignal.png[/IMG][/center]

Meanwhile, Giles barged into the room, gun raised, where broadcasts and the like were managed by a technical crew. The room’s crew also raised their hands upon seeing him while some retreated towards small hiding places, hoping that the assailant wouldn’t notice them. Still with his gun raised, assailant casually strode into the room and approached the computers, screens and switchboards that occupied most of the room. The computers’ operator, expecting the worse, began to shake and closed his eyes. He opened them again after a moment when the gunshot he was expecting never came. Instead, the assailant was holding out an unmarked disc to him.

"Play it!" said the assailant, threateningly raising his gun at the operator. The operator glanced away from him and looked at the other staff members in the room. They fearfully nodded, indicating that they were willing to obey the assailant’s orders rather than dying.

The operator reluctantly took the disc from Giles and popped it into one of the computers’ disc drives. The drive began humming, and eventually a media player window appeared in the computers’ main screen. Glancing back at the assailant, the operator’s hand shook with fear as it reached for the mouse, dragged the window towards a program labelled "Broadcast and Transmission Manager", and finally pressed "Play".

At first, nothing happened. Giles brought his pistol closer to the operator, threatening to shoot him if it didn’t work. But then, the video clip began to play and was relayed to all screens in the room before being broadcast into Jubilife’s television and radio airwaves, as well as the Network’s website. The blue "no signal" screen was replaced by Giles’ video clip.

The clip showed a wooden table in the foreground, with a red curtain hanging from the background. Four flags also accompanied the curtain in the background– with a little guesswork, one could discern them as the flags of the province of Coronet (and formerly, Quebec), Saboria, communist Canada, and the FLQ flag used during the 60s and 70s. Behind the wooden table, and in front of the background, was a person wearing a dark trench coat and a balaclava. The person was also carrying a M16 rifle in his arms.

"Good evening, Jubilife." said the person, who had a deep, masculine voice, in French. "First off, please allow me to apologize for this impolite interruption. Perhaps, to alleviate my rudeness, an introduction would be in order. I am the personification of the [i]Front de libération du Québec[/i] [Quebec Liberation Front], yes, the same infamous FLQ active during the 60s and early 70s who started the October Crisis. Contrary to popular belief, we did not disband during the 70s. We continued to exist under the regimes of Sarkara, Leclerc, Merkel and the Tahoan and Vinilandese authorities.

We continue to exist today; in fact, we were responsible for the death of your former Queen, Caitlin Darach, and not some fictional organization the Government concocted for propaganda reasons. In lieu of this, I would like to take this time to condemn the Commons of Disparu for executing our assassin, despite the fact that your forefathers had condemned its usage as a form of ‘justice’.

Of course, we know full well that the Government perfectly knows that we did it, however it has chosen to suppress the truth and continue to feed lies to its populace. After that, we silently strengthened ourselves, waiting for this day to come.

We are, perhaps, an organization misunderstood by many. Yes, we are socialist extremists, and yes we often resort to extreme measures. But no, we are not extreme anarchists, nor are we French racial supremacists; in fact we condemn those who believe that a certain particular race is superior to others. All we ask for is the protection of the dying culture and traditions of our nation, and for the Government to commit itself in supporting and defending the little man. We, like many of you, also appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the mundane, and the tranquility of repetition. Members of the Front enjoy them as much as the average Disparuean would. However, as the Government distracts many of us with national issues and petty promises of good life and technological advancement akin to those of the past, in exchange for your unconditional obedience and loyalty, we fail to realize that there is something terribly wrong with our nation.

Prior to the dissolution of communist Canada, former Chairwoman Angela Merkel once said that, "Perhaps new nations will arise, perhaps we will continue in this way, to a truly enlightened society." When the Government, meant to be a humble institution that serves the people, was established two years ago, we all believed that the former in Merkel’s statement had finally been fulfilled–the true successor to the former Rational Communist states seemed to have risen from the ashes, and was on its way to lead us back into the golden age, a time when we were truly enlightened by rational knowledge.

And yet, over time, the Government which we knew and loved evolved into a gruesome, self-centered, and pessimist entity. As it distracted us with petty progresses in science, all of which had already been developed in the past by Canada, it took the liberty of destroying our environment, suspending our rights, freedoms and liberties, overreacting to all problems it faced, and utilizing us like we were just resources. One should only look around us to see what I mean–the suspension of rights and forced institution of martial law during internal crises, the compulsory vacation of towns and cities along the Great Lakes Provinces-Disparu border, and the subsequent conversion of a large strip of land adjacent to the border into a heavily armed zone that has the potential to destroy our environment. Along the way, it has also antagonized those who claimed ties to communist Canada, as they believed, albeit secretly, that only them can claim its ties to the past, and therefore it considered itself as the sole successor of Canada after its collapse. While [i]some[/i] of these projects could be seen as well-intentioned, they are nevertheless harmful to society, and demonstrate that the Government now believes that it has supreme authority over us. This is why we, and we alone, took the liberty of destroying the Eterna Stock Exchange to remind both people and Government what they have forgotten–that people should not be afraid of their governments, but governments should be afraid of its people.

Now, you may ask, who is to blame for all of this? Some people are certainly more responsible than others, and justice shall be served to them. However, if you are looking for the guilty, you only need to look into a mirror to see them. We know why you did it. You were afraid–a perfectly appropriate response at that time. Following Canada’s collapse, there was terror, chaos, and anarchy. Your world’s former order and stability, both of which were constructed over a period of years, vanished in an instant. While you were looking for a semblance of order in your ruined world, you turned to the Disparu Committee and the late Caitlin Darach. They promised you peace, progress, equality and harmony. In exchange, they demanded your unconditional and silent consent. Being vulnerable after the destruction of order, your reasoning was corrupted, you were robbed of your common sense, and fear got the best of you. You supported the Committee and allowed them to retake the former lands of Quebec under the banner of Disparu, and of course, under the deceiving laws they have created.

If you have not seen this assault to our freedoms, if you have not seen the follies and madness of the Government, then I suggest that you turn a blind eye to the state of our current affairs. But if you see as we see, if you feel as we feel, if you think as we think, and if you seek as we seek, then I ask you to stand beside us, on the fifteenth of July, outside of the Black Mesa Research Facility, and together, we shall give them a revolution that will never, ever be forgotten! [i]Sanum cogito supra omnis[/i]! [Rational thinking above all!]"

[i](OoC: This speech was inspired by V’s own speech in V for Vendetta. :3)[/i]

The man and his surroundings suddenly disappeared, and was replaced by a clip of the new flag of the FLQ waving in the blue sky. The flag was a roughly rectangular flag equally divided into two colours–navy blue and white. A red symbol reminiscent of the Canadian Chairman’s seal, fimbriated with yellow, was charged in the middle of the white half. Meanwhile, a familiar piece, a piece that had been forgotten for several years, began to play in the background. At first, it sounded grainy and archaic, but it faded into a high-quality and orchestral version of the same piece after a few seconds. A few moments later, a soprano joined in and sang the piece’s lyrics.

[center][IMG]http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii55/LT_imageserver/NeoFLQFlag.png[/IMG][/center]

The piece in question was, naturally, the [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm5QxCHbgLA"]anthem of the former nations of Saboria and communist Canada[/url].

Giles smiled as the anthem played through the room’s speakers. He knew that all televisions tuned in to DNN Jubilife were also broadcasting the FLQ’s flag and the anthem. Savouring his triumph, he thought, [i]"Finally, it has been done. Now I just need to escape."[/i]

At that moment, though, he would hear the sounds of sirens coming from the outside. After a few moments, the sirens were accompanied by distorted voices, also coming from the outside, followed by a large thud and the sounds of gunfire. It seemed that the computer’s operator noticed it too, and began to reach for a large, red button marked with an "E". Giles raised his gun towards the operator, and he quickly pulled back his hand from the button.

"Keep it playing, or I’ll personally come back for you!" shouted Giles, who still had his gun pointed at the operator, while he edged towards the door. He kicked it open and, after ensuring no threats were outside, hurriedly left the room and headed towards the office’s roof. On the way, he encountered some of his agents, as well as terrified staff looking for the authorities.

[i]6:30 PM[/i]

The office’s roof was large and spacious enough that it supported two helipads. The roof could be accessed by taking an elevator in the office’s highest floor. This particular elevator was separated from the other elevator shaft in the building so that unauthorized people would be unable to access the helipads easily. The helipad elevator was also guarded by a security guard, who had mysteriously vanished following the office’s takeover.

In the helipad itself, DNN Jubilife’s two Eurocopters, both used as news helicopters, were in the process of being stolen by the FLQ’s agents. As soon as the police broke in, the agents ran to the roof while fending off police advances and bullets (this was part of the plan, of course). The helicopters were slightly modified as soon as the agents took over them. Both helicopters’ cameras were rewired so that their signals would be directed to the FLQ instead of DNN Jubilife, and a surprise package was jammed into their backs and wired to the helicopters’ transmitters.

Only three more agents were still missing–two agents who covered the group’s escape to the helipads, and Giles himself. Since they were taking too long, some of the agents were thinking about leaving them (despite the consequences they would face from the FLQ) when the three showed up.

The two agents climbed aboard helicopter one, while Giles checked to make sure no one was following them, and to see if everyone made it. Fortunately, everyone was there, even though some were injured by gunshots and needed help…fast.

[i]"A pity we can’t go to a hospital without blowing our cover."[/i] thought Giles as he climbed aboard helicopter two and closed the door behind him. Taking the only remaining seat, he watched the other helicopter lift off and fly towards the south. His helicopter’s pilot began to take off as soon as the other helicopter was at a safe distance. After taking off, they began to head towards the north.

"[i]Cette opération a été une réussite, eh?[/i] [That operation was a success, eh?]" said Giles as he saw the office shrink as they went further and further away. All was well for a moment until he heard the unmistakable sounds of rotors from afar. Turning back, he saw a pair of dark-green helicopters closing in on them.

[i]"Military helicopters. How expected."[/i] thought Giles as he turned around and told the pilot to speed up. A panicky agent, meanwhile, grabbed a RPG stashed under the seats and began to reach toward the door’s opening mechanism when Giles interrupted him.

"[i]Non, ne les donné pas une raison qui anéantissons-nous.[/i] [No, do not give them a reason to annihilate us.]" he said, pulling the RPG away from the agent. The agent obliged and returned the weapon back under the seat.

Soon they were out of city limits, and yet the helicopters continued to pursue them, slowly closing in on them. Giles expected this from the Government; they would naturally overreact to their takeover of a DNN office in the capital itself. He was surprised that only two helicopters were going after them, though–he had also been expecting the police to follow their path from the ground, or perhaps they could be using Aurasphere and mobile anti-aircraft systems to shoot them down (perhaps the Government was trying to avoid bad PR if this ever winded up in the news, which it most likely will).

The pilot pushed the helicopter’s controls further forward, urging it to go even faster.

[i]7:00 PM[/i]

Soon, Giles’ helicopter finally reached its destination–a small clearing in a forest in Jubilife’s outskirts. The pilot skilfully manoeuvred the helicopter into the clearing, making sure it landed decently and didn’t snag on a loose branch. As soon as the helicopter hit the ground, its door was opened and all but Giles and the pilot left and ran towards the forest. Giles made some last-minute inspections in the helicopter’s interior before joining his other comrades. The pilot would also run off as soon as Giles left.

A SUV with tinted windows was waiting for them in the forest. Its driver, a FLQ agent, was leaning outside the car, waiting for his comrades while he smoked.

"[i]Vous êtes en retard. Entrez![/i] [You’re late. Get in!]" said the stern-looking driver, who threw his cigarette into a nearby puddle and got into the driver’s seat. The other agents, including Giles, got in. They ensured that their wounded comrades were in a comfortable and healthy position, just to make sure that they received medical attention on time.

"[i]Je veux mon portable maintenant![/i] [I want my laptop now!]" said Giles as he got in and buckled up his seat belt. The driver motioned towards the passenger seat at the front, and the agent sitting at that particular seat reached down and extracted a black laptop bag underneath his seat. Giles reached for it and pulled out a sleek, thin, navy blue laptop. He opened it, woke it up from its hibernation mode, and logged on to his account. As soon as the desktop showed up and finished loading, he went through the list of icons in front of him until he found what he was looking for–the TV tuner program. As soon as it loaded and opened, he was presented with a live feed from the camera underneath the helicopter they were just using. Smiling, Giles extracted a remote from his coat and held on to it.

"[i]Allez![/i] [Go!]" ordered Giles, and the SUV surged forward. The driver navigated through the maze of trees before emerging into a road paved with gravel. The other agents, meanwhile, paid close attention to Giles and his laptop.

Five minutes later, the two military helicopters pursuing Giles’ helicopter finally reached its target. The helicopter had landed on a small clearing; hence there was no space for them to land. Instead, they decided to drop paratroopers into the clearing to inspect the idle helicopter below. Ropes were dropped, and two soldiers slid down to the ground.

Upon reaching the ground, the two cautiously entered the helicopter with their weapons ready to neutralize any threat. They realized it was empty, and radioed their colleagues back up that the criminals may have escaped.

"They may still be in the forest, captain. We can go look for them, if you want. Over." radioed one of the paratroopers.

"Negative, they may be armed and we may be outnumbered. We’re gonna call in backups just to-" The captain on board one of the helicopters was suddenly interrupted when his helicopter shook violently. Below him, the DNN helicopter suddenly turned into a huge fireball, disintegrating the helicopter and consuming its two occupants. Black some rose up and was clearly visible for several miles. The explosion set nearby trees on fire; hence emergency helicopters would later rush into the scene to prevent a major wildfire from happening. The military helicopter’s captain would later know that a similar situation happened south of Jubilife, when the other hijacked DNN helicopter was found empty and then suddenly exploded.

A few miles away, Giles smiled as he observed the static-filled window on his laptop’s screen. Turning to the nearest window, he was satisfied when he saw a large plume of black smoke rising up from the forest.

Edited July 7, 2010 by Pikachurin

[Pikachurin]

[i]11 July 2011[/i]

A lot of things had happened since Jay’s destruction of the Eterna Stock Exchange and Giles’ hostile takeover of DNN Jubilife’s office. The most noticeable effect was, perhaps, the recession of the Disparuean economy. Ever since the Exchange was destroyed, people were less willing to invest their money on businesses, fearing that their investment could be destroyed by the FLQ in an instant. In fact, one of the few things that was still keeping the economy together was the abundant flow of money flowing in from J Andres.

As the fifteenth of July slowly approached, the number of protests and riots throughout Disparu reached an all-time high. Fortunately, most of the reports were merely peaceful assemblies and protests, backed by people with ideologies ranging from anarcho-communists to authoritarian capitalists. Most protests revolved around the recent terrorist attacks and the unauthorized DNN broadcast, though oddly enough, some people were advocating beliefs that had nothing to do with recent events, such as whether or not the strict restrictions on smoking and drinking should be lifted. These people were merely taking advantage of the environment generated by the FLQ. Some reports, however, were related to riots. Riots, led by suspected anarchists, broke out in most populated areas, such as Montreal and Eterna. Most of these riots originally started out as ‘peaceful’ protests. Anarchists, hiding among the innocuous protestors, would suddenly don black garments, bring out handheld weapons (such as clubs), and pop out of hiding. The anarchists would then begin to systematically damage or destroy certain buildings, such as banks and government offices, while simultaneously trying to attack the police. On both counts, the authorities tried to be as lenient as possible so that they wouldn’t give any reason for the people to support the FLQ and its goals.

Meanwhile, the political tension in the Government had begun to rise. There had been several reports of explosives being planted in the Empire, Democratic and Green parties’ headquarters and constituency offices (fortunately, only a few of the explosives actually exploded), as well as threats being sent to members of these parties. These events caused several Empire, Democratic and Green parties to resign from their respective parties and become independent politicians, or leave politics altogether. At the same time, the Communist and French parties were suspiciously immune from these attacks. As such, the public became suspicious that the parties supported the attacks, and was slowly alienated to both parties. This, in turn, caused members of the two parties to resign, as they’ve also received threats from anonymous people who were against the FLQ’s goals.

The Government was actually working on a thorough investigation behind the scene, even though it remained oddly silent to the outside world about the attacks. Two separate yet linked investigations were simultaneously occurring, one focusing on the Exchange’s destruction, while the other worked on the DNN Jubilife office takeover. The former was having some difficulties, while the latter was doing fairly well.

The first investigation, officially known as the Royal Inquiry into the Eterna Stock Exchange Terrorist Attack (more commonly known as RI-ESETA or the First of July Investigation), had finally completed its analyzation of the Exchange’s remaining rubble. The rubble had been cleared out, and four bodies had been retrieved from it (the other three deaths occurred outside the Exchange). They also found remains of the explosives responsible for the Exchange’s destruction in the rubble. Analysis of those indicated that the explosives were remotely detonated. Soon, they managed to create a vague reconstruction of what happened to the Exchange on the night of 1 July. The reconstruction agreed with eye-witness accounts and scene captured by security cameras, all operated by the Eterna Public Security Administration, located near the Exchange and in adjacent areas. Essentially, the explosives weakened the Exchange’s load-bearing points and support structures, while fireworks were simultaneously launched at the roof. Eventually, the building was unable to support its own weight and collapsed.

Unfortunately, they still had to find the detonator itself and the person who used it. A RI-ESETA team had been ordered to retrieve videos from both public and private security cameras to see if the culprit was caught on tape. So far, they haven’t found him (or her). The same goes for the investigation’s efforts to extract accounts from those who witnessed the event, as well as local residents.

It was also the question of how the explosives got there in the first place, and how the Exchange’s security team never noticed them. The investigators got a hold of every single member of the security team and extracted as much information from them. Most didn’t know how that happened, unfortunately. Though there were reports of an investor who sometimes brought in unusually large felt bags and bulky suitcases, with wiring sometimes sticking out of them. At the end of the business day, they wouldn’t be with him, or if they were, they were usually empty. He wasn’t found suspicious or anything before since he was a regular investor at the Exchange. The investigators, as of this moment, were trying to get a hold of him, but to no avail.

The investigation in Jubilife, officially known as the Royal Inquiry into the Hostile Terrorist Takeover of the Disparu News Network Office in Jubilife (or colloquially, RI-HTTDNNOJ or the DNN Jubilife Office Takeover Investigation), was faring better since they had names. DNN Jubilife gave the investigators a list of employees responsible for the takeover, among other things, as soon as the investigation started; hence they had something to work with. All the names’ documents turned out to be falsified (the Judicial Police made a note to go through every single record and dispatch any fake documents, just so this didn’t happen again). However, some of the information was still useful. Using the employees’ faux names, addresses, phone numbers, personal descriptions and the like, the investigators stumbled into several data goldmines.

First, using the employees’ addresses, each of their homes (all turned out to be apartments, oddly enough) was raided and thoroughly analyzed. Most of them contained mundane things that could be found in any other Disparuean single apartment – stacks of microwavable and instant-ready meals, some normal and questionable magazines, a small flat-screen TV with a receiver and player, several discs, furniture, and a computer. Some of the apartments had weapons in them, too.

The employees’ computers served a useful purpose. Upon opening the computers’ browsers and going through its history, the investigators noted that they had recently viewed news articles about the Exchange’s destruction, web pages about firearms, several underground and anti-Government sites and many more. The investigators also noted that some of the employees were smart enough to clear their computer’s histories, or even better, wipe or wreck their hard drive.

The investigators also found some interesting things in the computers’ e-mail software. They mostly contained nonsensical e-mails composed of random words and slashes, usually with a French subject. It was most likely some sort of code, perhaps an anagram. The software’s address book would serve a better purpose for now. They contained the e-mails of every single person in the list DNN Jubilife provided, as well as others. The other e-mails were collected, and the investigators would either attempt to track their owners (either electronically or physically), or fool them into thinking they were speaking with the e-mail’s actual owner. After enough evidence was gathered, the owner’s home would be raided and the owner arrested. Some of the homes they raided were already empty, though those that were still occupied had their occupants arrested and later charged for treason and conspiracy against the Government, among other things.

[i](OoC: Sorry guys. I know I posted that the next move would be today, but I haven’t been able to write it out due to RL concerns. I’ll try to finish it over the weekend.)[/i]

[Pikachurin]

[i]14 July 2011[/i]

"[i]Sommes-y-nous cependant?[/i] [Are we there yet?]" inquired Jean, yawning, as he tried to focus on the view in front of him.

"[i]Presque.[/i] [Almost.]" replied Jay, rather annoyed, as she carefully navigated their SUV through the gravel road they were going through. Though she was still feeling sleepy and her subordinates were starting to tick her off, she was still glad that she was finally on the go. They managed to leave Eterna about three hours ago, and they were now on their way to their next destination.

Their original plan was to stay in the city for an indefinite time following the Exchange’s destruction, but they had to change their plans when the FLQ’s spies in the Government received word of the RI-ESETA team’s alarming progress on the investigation. They were told to silently move out of Eterna and rendezvous with another sleeper cell in a FLQ safe house in the middle of the wilderness. After carefully avoiding contact with the Eterna Police and federal agents, they managed to slip out of the city without being caught.

About half an hour later, the cell’s SUV came to a screeching halt. Ensuring that no one hostile was watching them, Jay opened her door and got out. Her subordinates quickly followed suit. Jay looked at the spectacle in front of them – she was in front of a modest-looking wooden lodge in the middle of the woods. A parabolic satellite dish pointing towards the sky was attached to the lodge’s left side, while an antenna with various boxes and gadgets attached to it was set up at the roof’s highest point. A stone-built chimney was integrated to the right, though it was merely decorative since the lodge most likely used an electric heating system and an electric fire place. A raised wooden porch with two chairs, a porch light and a wall-mounted mailbox was integrated to the front and was linked to the ground via a railed staircase. There was also another SUV parked near the lodge, though it was muddy. To top it off, a flagpole bearing the flags of Disparu and the province of Almia was attached to the porch; both flags were hanging down at the moment since it wasn’t windy. All in all, the lodge looked extremely fitting and mundane; though Jay and her subordinates knew that it was anything but mundane. This lodge was their destination–the FLQ’s safe house in the wilderness.

Jay gingerly approached the lodge’s door. From here, she could hear the sounds of a piano playing a hearty tune coming from the inside. She fished a key from her pocket, and opened the door.

The lodge’s interior was more sophisticated compared to its exterior. On the left side there were several tanned leather armchairs huddled around a wooden table of Inuit origin, and a fairly large flat-screen TV with a satellite receiver. Beyond that was a tiled kitchen with chrome-finished refrigerator, kitchen, dishwasher and sink, faux granite-topped counters and wooden cupboards. To its right was a grand-looking wooden table surrounded by padded chairs. A thin, silver laptop rested on top of the table. Slightly to the right of the table was a modest wooden staircase. Finally, on the near right side of the room, there was an electric fireplace embedded into a stone wall. It was surrounded by more leather chairs. The chairs also surrounded a polished upright piano with a padded stool in front of it. It was occupied by a stern-looking man smoking a cigarette. His right hand was gently playing something on the piano, while his left hand was reaching for a pistol resting on the far side of the piano.

"[i]Elle est vous, Jay. Bonjour…comment ça va?[/i] [It’s you, Jay. Hello…how are you?]" said the man as he brought his left hand away from the pistol.

"[i]Éteins ta cigarette Pierre, elle est très malsain.[/i] [Put out your cigarette, it’s very unhealthy.]" said Jay rather repulsively as she entered the room. Being the wife of a former smoker, she could no longer stand smoke-tainted air now that she had gotten used to not being surrounded by a smoker for most of the time.

"[i]C’est ma seule fois à fumer, Jay. Le Gouvernement disparuen ne permet pas les gens à fumer dans le public, après tout.[/i] [It’s my only time to smoke, Jay. The Disparuean Government doesn’t allow people to smoke in public, after all.]" said the disgruntled, stern-looking man known as Pierre. Even though he didn’t want to, he still squashed his cigarette into a nearby ashtray since Jay was his superior in the Front; hence he had to obey her orders. "[i]Je sais votre mari a été un fumeur, mais vous ne devez pas arrêter les autres gens de faire qu'ils vont.[/i] [I know your husband was a smoker, but you don’t have to stop other people from doing what they want.]" he continued.

Jay sat on one of the chairs surrounding Pierre’s piano. Shortly after, her three other subordinates barged in, and the door was closed. Jean threw himself at a chair near the TV, turned it on, and began channel surfing. Louis, meanwhile, went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and extracted a can of beer from it. Marc, meanwhile, sat beside Jay. As he was friends with Pierre, he was eager to have a chat with him as soon as Jay finished interrogating him.

"[i]Ah, Pierre, si nous avons été les agents fédéraux, tu seras sur le sol. Tu n’as pas réflexes rapides.[/i] [Ah, Pierre, if we were federal agents, you will be on the ground. You don’t have quick reflexes.]" said Jay, completely changing the subject of the conversation, if there ever was one to begin with.

Pierre and Marc frowned. Jay often had the tendency to insult those who she considers to be below her. Those on the receiving end would receive petty insults at first, but if they antagonized her, she would begin to systematically attack all of their known flaws and mistakes.

"[i]Où est Giles, Pierre?[/i] [Where’s Giles, Pierre?]" randomly asked Jay, once again changing the subject.

"[i]Il est dans l’arrière-cour.[/i] [He’s in the backyard.]" responded Pierre rather angrily.

Smiling, Jay stood up and headed for the backyard. As soon as she was out of sight, Pierre lit up another cigarette and offered one to Marc. After Pierre ranted about how Jay was a total pain and how she should be disposed of. Soon though, they reverted back to more casual topics.

**********

A blast of cold air met Jay when she opened the backyard’s door. The zephyr she felt reminded her of something she did just thirteen days ago. Her memories of that particular night was still vivid – she could still feel the air wafting around her, hear the noises of the city coming from below, and see the cityscape and the fires of destruction beyond her rooftop lookout. This particular wind reminded her of those memories. Her environment was completely different from the one she was in at that night, though. Instead of a vast cityscape, she saw rugged hills in the distance. Most of her surroundings were composed of tall coniferous trees, while a small clearing dotted with various object served as the lodge’s modest backyard. On it was the man she was looking for, Giles, and a few of his own subordinates. They were busy fiddling with what looked like giant floating white and blue blobs. Some of the blobs had metal pieces tied to them, while others had banners praising the FLQ.

"[i]Commandante Terrain Robertson, je vous attendais.[/i] [Field Commander Robertson, I’ve been expecting you.]" said Giles, authoritatively, without looking at Jay. He had somehow detected her presence. Alternatively, one of his henchmen reported her arrival.

"[i]Ah, oui.[/i] [Ah, yes.]" replied Jay. When she didn’t get an answer back, she decided to continue the conversation. "[i]Eh, comment ça va?[/i] [Eh, how are you?]"

Giles left the blob he was working on and slowly walked away from Jay. "[i]L’opération a été une mission suicide pour mon équipe et moi. Nous ne pouvons jamais montrer nous-mêmes sans encourir la colère du Gouvernement.[/i] [The operation was a suicide mission for my team and me. We can never show ourselves without incurring the wrath of the Government.]" said Giles rather depressingly while continuing to walk away. He stopped after finishing his speech.

"[i]Comment sur la chirurgie esthétique?[/i] [How about plastic surgery?]" asked Jay sarcastically.

Giles turned around with a shocked looked on his face. "[i]Non. J’aime mon visage, merci.[/i] [No, I like my face, thanks.]" he replied, coldly.

Jay decided to change the topic. "[i]Quels sont ceux pour?[/i] [What are those for?]" she asked, gesturing towards the white blobs.

Giles grinned. "[i]Les parties intégrales de la Phase Trois, Commandante Terrain. Elles sont du bureau du Haut Commandant.[/i] [The integral parts of Phase Three, Field Commander. They’re from the office of the High Commander.]"

[Pikachurin]

[i]15 July 2011[/i]

Something was definitely abuzz today, especially on the northern reaches of the country. On this day, hundreds, if not thousands, of Disparueans with varying ideologies had gathered in the expansive field in front of the Black Mesa Research Facility in Nunavik province. The mob (or protestors, in a more sensible way) was primarily composed of extreme leftists wearing black clothing and ski masks, and wielded truncheons and clubs. This particular tactic is known as a “black bloc”, in which protestors don black clothing and face-concealing garments to avoid being identified and increase unity and solidarity in the group. Most leftists carried banners praising movements considered to be on the left, such as communism. Oddly enough, they were also carrying balloons of varying colours, though most were red, black, white and blue. Meanwhile, there were also protestors who did not have anything to do with the extreme left and were merely there to promote their own ideologies, beliefs and causes. These protestors particularly stuck out of the leftists. Buried two hundred metres below the protestors was a series of long, circular tunnels equipped with moderately advanced machinery for particle physics. This was, of course, the facility’s own particle accelerator, and had been extremely useful to the aforementioned scientific field in the past, though it is more of a showpiece in the present.

During the tenure of Saboria and communist Canada, the facility had been considered one of the most, if not the most, advanced research facilities in the world. It had a series of particle accelerators, a weapon research facility, and many more departments contributing to science. Its whereabouts and status apparently became unknown shortly after the collapse of Canada. It was rediscovered by the Ministry of Science and Technology three to four years later as an abandoned facility. Its particle accelerators were then rebuilt, renovated and put up-to-date, though its other facilities remain closed and abandoned. It was now a moderately-levelled scientific facility; other facilities in the world had already surpassed it.

Today, the accelerator’s planned experiments had been suspended by the Government (the Ministry of Science and Technology, to be specific) and the facility’s administration due to the expected protest and attack. The facility had also been armed since the DNN Jubilife office’s takeover. It was now equipped with its own battalion of troops from the Disparuean Forces, mobile anti-aircraft artillery, a few tanks, military helicopters, and more. Aurasphere, the Government’s missile defence system, was also slightly calibrated to focus its launchers on the facility and adjacent areas.

Naturally, the media didn’t want to be left out of a possible major news story. Virtually all of Disparu’s news stations had dispatched a helicopter to the facility, including DNN. All were currently monitoring the protestors below, though they were also eagerly waiting for the FLQ’s moves. In fact, almost everyone present was waiting for the FLQ, including the protestors and troops below.

[i]Several hours ago…[/i]

Jay felt rather awkward as she drove her SUV onward to Nunavik. Her passengers were basically the same people who were with her just a few hours ago, so nothing odd there. The scenery outside was gradually changing from lush, green trees to a more sub-Arctic landscape, but there wasn’t anything odd there too. What was odd was the new luggage they were carrying – hidden under the SUV’s compartments were banners, metal scraps and a few explosives here and there. Helium and hydrogen tanks were secured on the SUV’s back, and were also accompanied by Styrofoam boxes containing deflated versions of the floating blobs Jay saw a few hours ago.

The blobs were, in fact, weather balloons secretly purchased by Giles and the Hhigh Commander when they came up with the original plan. Jay felt stupid for not recognizing them in the first place. The way they were going to use them was quite unconventional and unusual. Most of the balloons will be modified one way or another when their plan is put to work – some balloons would be filled with napalm and trackers, and some would be tied to metal scraps and propaganda banners. Jay still didn’t know how exactly they would be used, though.

Sighing, Jay refocused her eyes on the road and kept driving. She momentarily took her eyes off the road when she passed by a sign that said “Welcome to Nunavik!” in three languages – English, French and Inuktitut. If their plan manages to succeed, the first language would lose its special status as an “official language” and French would become dominant over Disparuean society. Inuktitut, meanwhile, will continue to remain as a provincial language.

[i]An hour before the present…[/i]

Jay admired what she was seeing in her binoculars. They were currently on a camouflaged bluff overlooking the Black Mesa Research Facility, and what she was seeing was actually several metres below her. She was seeing thousands of protestors who have heard the FLQ’s message and had gathered here in the sub-Arctic lands of Nunavik. She was surprised by the sheer number of people who were present; she wasn’t expecting this much since they had a limited audience in Jubilife. But, then again, the broadcast was probably uploaded and scattered all over the Internet, while its transcripts were copy-pasted in several forums and forwarded in chain e-mails.

Jay glanced behind her. Giles’ and her subordinates were busy making sure that everything had been prepared and ready to go. Giles, meanwhile, was polishing several rifles next to him while occasionally glancing towards the facility.

Jay turned back to the scene in front of her, and focused her binoculars on the facility itself. As expected, the Government had done everything in its power to defend the facility; there were armed soldiers everywhere she looked, and there were probably more inside. Jay raised her binoculars a bit more. This time, she saw armed military helicopters patrolling the skies above the facility, while a battalion of news helicopters meticulously observed the protestors below. So far, everything was going to plan.

Jay buzzed with excitement as she glanced at her watch. It was almost time; in an hour, one of the largest and most important facets of their plan was about to be put into action.

[i]Present time[/i]

Nothing new seemed to be happening. The protestors were still slightly agitated, the military was still trying to intimidate over-the-line protestors, and the media was either showing random shots of the protestors or interviewing ‘political experts’ about the situation. There was no sign of the FLQ so far.

And then it happened. It happened so fast that there wasn’t enough time for it to register on everyone’s minds. Investigators who would work on the case would find themselves dealing with conflicting accounts from first-hand witnesses and such.

It first started when some people in the crowd released unusually large balloons. Naturally, everyone else followed suit, and the sky was filled with multicoloured balloons, some still bearing banners tied to them. The helicopters above quickly compensated by moving out of the way, just in case some of the balloons came to close and clogged their engines. Everything was fine so far.

A balloon suddenly turned into a massive fireball, consuming itself and the balloons closest to it. This was followed by more balloons suddenly exploding. The protestors below revelled at the sight. Forces stationed at Black Mesa, meanwhile, noticed that the exploding balloons were being triggered by rifle-wielding protestors shooting at the sky. Since it was against Disparuean law for civilians to own firearms, and since the protest was quickly turning into a violent one, the soldiers and police officers rushed forward to neutralize their targets. All of them were wielding riot shields, riot guns, truncheons, pepper sprays and Tasers. The protestors, seeing the advancing forces, met with them and brutally attacked them with whatever they had, usually improvised clubs. The forces slightly fell back and began to retaliate against the mob. Unruly protestors were beat up, pepper sprayed or Tased and taken away. Canisters of tear gas were launched at the protestors, and warning shots were fired. In response, the protestors became even more aggressive and continued their attacks.

BOOM!

The people below suddenly froze when they heard a large explosion. Looking up, they saw the remains of a news helicopter in free fall. Its trajectory made it hit another news helicopter, which immediately turned into a fireball that consumed its occupants. The wreck continued its path to the ground, making the people below unfreeze from their trance. Those in the wreck’s way panicked and began to flee, while those going against the security forces continued their fight. Eventually, the wreck loudly slammed into the ground and burst into flames, killing a few people and injuring several. A sickening black smoke that could be seen for miles rose from the wreckage. Most of the news helicopters still in the air panicked and fled from the scene, while a few brave ones remained on the scene. The security force’s own helicopters remained above the facility and made sure they avoided the balloons at all costs.

At the end of the day, there were thirteen deaths – seven were directly caused by the helicopters, four were caused by the stampede caused by the crash, while two were caused by police brutality. There were hundreds of injuries from both sides of the protest; ranging from cuts and bruises to life-threatening ones. All in all, the entire event looked extremely senseless and meaningless. How could the terrorists benefit from such a tragedy?

Meanwhile, the amount of FLQ-related riots and protests throughout Disparu continued to increase at an alarming rate…

[Pikachurin]

[i]17 July 2011[/i]

“[i]Giles…vous ne devez pas faire cette mission. S’il vous plait.[/i] [Giles…you don’t have to do this mission. Please.]” pleaded Jay to Giles.

“[i]Non, je dois. Je n’ai pas un choix. Cette mission est très importante.[/i] [No, I have to. I don’t have a choice. This mission is very important.]” replied Giles absentmindedly as he continued to type into his laptop.

Both FLQ Field Commanders were currently back at their lodge in Almia. They had returned yesterday, shortly after they sparked what was currently known as the “Black Mesa Tragedy”. Their operation had been moderately successful, and would be a stepping stone for the FLQ’s next move, hopefully. All but one of the Commanders’ subordinates, meanwhile, were out in the backyard playing horseshoes. The one other person who wasn’t playing was preparing for the next operation. This person would be accompanying Giles in his mission, though he wouldn’t be in as much risk as Giles would be. Giles had also prepared himself for his mission; he had taken steps to conceal his true identity by trimming his hair, putting on a large scarf around his neck and mouth, and (reluctantly) putting on some make up. It was vital that his true identity remained a secret until it was the right time.

Now, he was just waiting for his mission’s assistant to finish whatever he was doing. While waiting, he was typing a ridiculously long document that Jay wasn’t able to decipher; most of the document had already been encrypted through the FLQ’s encryption method.

“[i]Giles, ta mission est une mission suicide. Vous arrêterez par le Gouvernement. Est-ce que vous savez les conséquences?[/i] [Giles, your mission is a suicide mission. You will be arrested by the Government. Do you know the consequences?]” said Jay.

“[i]Oui, je sais.[/i] [Yes, I know.]” noted Giles as he lifted his gaze from the laptop into Jay’s face. “[i]Pourquoi demandez-vous?[/i] [Why do you ask?]” he said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

“[i]Je…je suis très concerné de vous, Giles.[/i] [I…I am very concerned about you, Giles.]” replied Jay.

Giles grunted. “[i]Je sais les conséquences, Commandante Terrain Robertson. Oui, je sais je arrêterai par le Gouvernement, mais la vie est pas digne d’être vécue si je dois toujours cacher du Gouvernement.[/i] [I know the consequences, Field Commander Robertson. Yes, I will be arrested by the Government, but life is not worth living if I have to always hide from the Government.]”

“[i]Nous pouvons envoyer un agent pour vous sauver.[/i] [We can send an agent to save you.]” retorted Jay.

“[i]Non, ils ont leurs propres vies à suivre.[/i] [No, they have their own lives to follow.]” replied Giles rather calmly.

Jay was about to object, but Giles silenced him when his assistant approached him. It was Pierre the driver. Pierre was holding a cooler filled with several cans of pop and homemade ham sandwiches. Their trip will be extremely long, so he had prepared it in case they became hungry or thirsty.

“[i]Il est le temps, mon ami. Êtes-vous prêt?[/i] [It is time, my friend. Are you ready?]” said Pierre simply.

Giles sighed and turned off his laptop. After closing its lid, he picked up a briefcase next to him. This was another one of his briefcases with a hidden compartment in them. As usual, the compartment held a pistol, a silencer, ammunition and a holster. The area above it contained items that would belong to an average journalist, such as cameras, pens, and notepads.

Also in it was a journalist pass marked with the coat of arms of Disparu and a silhouette of the New Parliament Building. The pass bore a picture of Giles in his disguise, one of Giles’ pseudonyms, his signature, a fictional news company and a barcode. These passes were handed out by the Government to legit journalists asking for one, and enabled them to gain access to a particular press conference that was usually exclusive. Under normal circumstances, getting a pass while on the run was an extremely difficult feat to do, but fortunately Giles had some connections to the world of broadcasting and the media; hence he was able to obtain one easily. He only got the pass recently and under a fake persona, so his cover wasn’t blown when he sent a form to the Government asking for one.

Giles turned to Jay before leaving. “[i]Si vous entendez de mon arrestation, utiliser mon portable. Il aidera vous, Jay.[/i] [If you hear about my arrest, use my laptop. It will help you, Jay.]” he said, using Jay’s first name for the first time.

And with that, Giles turned around and followed Pierre to the SUV. It was the beginning of his own death march.

**********

[i]18 July 2011
Fifteen hours later…[/i]

“Good morning! Before you can go through, I will have to do a security check on your vehicle, is that okay?” recited the guard stationed on one of the checkpoints blocking off the Federal District from the rest of the city. The guard, like any other guard from the Judicial Police stationed in the Federal District, had the characteristics of the German Shepherds guarding every single Andrean embassy in the world; he was friendly, but vicious (or intimidating, in a more human sense).

Giles cringed as the guard began his inspection. Jubilife had become more fortified after his team’s takeover of DNN Jubilife’s Office. “Wanted” posters of him and his team members had popped out everywhere, each bearing the logos and seals of the Judicial Police, Disparu News Network and the Ministry of Defence. More guards had also been dispatched throughout the city, especially the Federal District; hence his chances of doing this mission successfully were extremely low compared to his previous mission a few weeks ago.

“Can I see that case, sir?” asked the guard as he motioned towards the metallic briefcase on Giles’ lap. The guard had already finished inspecting their SUV’s exterior and back. Giles relented and opened the case, revealing a professional camera and several lenses, both stuffed in padding. They were also accompanied by several pens, notepads and Giles’ journalist pass. The guard then motioned towards the cooler, where he found several cans of pop, some of them empty, and sandwiches wrapped in plastic.

“Okay, you’re good to go! Enjoy your stay in the Federal District.” said the guard as he gave what was supposed to be a reassuring smile, but it came off more as intimidating. The SUV surged forward and entered the nation’s most sacrosanct bastion of order.

Giles sighed a breath of relief once they were past the checkpoint. So far, his cover hasn’t been blown.

The Federal District was a maze and fortress of glass, steel and marble. It was home to the headquarters of virtually all of the Federal Government’s institutions, agencies, offices and more. Of course, there were some who had their headquarters somewhere else for some reason, such as the Disparuean Forces (they were headquartered in an extremely fortified location outside of Jubilife) and the Disparuean Space Agency (they were in Longueuil, which was adjacent to Montreal). Those particular Government organizations had constituency offices in the Federal District, though.

Giles’ target for this mission was the building located at the exact geographic centre of the city – the New Parliament Building. Like most of the buildings in the Federal District, it was designed and built by the same architect who did the other government buildings, and had an extremely modernized look and feel into it. It consisted of two main sections; the first was a roughly-rectangular base that housed the Commons Hemicycle and the Senate Hemicycle, as well as other rooms. Two semi-spheres sat on the base’s roof, each marking the Hemicycles beneath them. The second section was two towers directly attached to the base. The towers were connected via a glass passageway located midway up the towers. The towers housed the offices of Disparu’s Members of Parliament and Senators, and were also home to the Executive Council’s debate chamber. The entire structure had a smaller counterpart located to the east – the City Hall in Pikachurin (formerly Hamilton), Bermuda, J Andres had been directly modeled from it.

In front of the Building was a large reflecting pool; a bridge made out of marble crossed over the pool to link the Building to the rest of the District. A rectangular strip of concrete can be found on the middle of the pool; this strip had flagpoles bearing the flags of Disparu, Jubilife, and the four provinces. In front of the north and south sides of the Building were two, large semicircle-shaped fields collectively known as the [i]Pelouse[/i]. These were often used for celebrations, protests, concerts, speeches and the like. If one looked down on the [i]Pelouse[/i] from the air, they would see a large Pokéball on the ground. This was intentional; it was designed that way to commemorate the “efforts” of the Disparu Committee. One can also find two more important government buildings in the area; adjacent to the northern [i]Pelouse[/i] was Château Jubilife, the official residence of the Monarch of Disparu and his family. Adjacent to the southern [i]Pelouse[/i], meanwhile, was the Chancellery, the official residence of the Chancellor and whatever family she had.

For today’s mission, Giles would only be focusing on the New Parliament Building itself. As their SUV stopped in front of the Building’s main entrance, which was located on the south side, Giles sighed and disembarked, bring his briefcase along with him.

Looking back, Giles smiled at Pierre. “[i]Il a été un plaisir de travailler avec vous, Pierre.[/i] [It was a pleasure working with you, Pierre.]” he said, smiling.

“[i]Oui, il a été, et est encore. Bonne chance, Giles.[/i] [Yes, it was, and still is. Good luck, Giles.]” Pierre said as he returned the smile. He then hastily drove off. His time was extremely limited, as he was seen with Giles from different viewpoints. The Government would undoubtedly make a connection between him and Giles as soon as Giles was through with his mission. As soon as he left the Federal District, he would ditch his SUV in an abandoned parking lot far away from the District. Then, he would take a high-speed train to Eterna, and from there he would hide from the authorities until everything settled down.

Giles silently watched Pierre drive away. This was, of course, all part of the plan, though he would’ve felt better if he stayed to help him. Sighing, Giles began to walk towards the marble bridge that crossed over the Building’s reflecting pool. Upon reaching the entrance, which was composed of three pairs of bulletproof glass doors, he pulled it open and entered the lobby on the other side.

As it was ten in the morning, the lobby was vibrant with activity. It was filled with several Members of Parliament and Senators going in several directions; most of them were equipped with Bluetooth headsets or PDAs. There were also a few groups of tourists here and there, a couple officers from the Judicial Police stationed at certain posts, and a few teams of journalists, cameramen and reporters looking for the New Parliament Building’s Press Conference Room. The last group was expected, since the Chancellor would be holding a press conference regarding the Black Mesa Tragedy today. In fact, that’s where Giles was headed.

After looking around to make sure no one was following him, Giles began to head towards the Press Conference Room.

**********

The public entrance to the Press Conference Room was currently guarded by two officers from the Judicial Police, both of them wielding Tasers, portable metal detectors and a wireless barcode scanner.

Even though his exterior looked extremely calm and confident, in reality Giles was nervous as he approached the Press Conference Room’s entrance and saw the guards. There was a slight possibility of his cover being blown away if any of the guards recognized him.

“Hello sir, are you here for Chancellor Celeste’s press conference?” inquired one of the guards, smiling.

Giles nodded and extracted his journalist pass from his briefcase. The guard courteously took it and scanned it with his barcode scanner. The machine whirred for a while, before it displayed a green checkmark on its LED screen. It then began to display the same information that was typed on the pass itself.

The guard returned the pass to Giles and extracted his metal detector. It remained silent as the guard waved it around Giles, though it began beeping when it reached Giles’ briefcase.

“May I see your briefcase, sir? Thanks.” said the guard as he grabbed it from Giles’ hands and opened it. The guard only found standard equipment and objects used by journalists inside. Embarrassed, the guard hastily closed the case and handed it back to Giles.

“Thank you, sir, and…um…have a good day.” said the guard as he opened the room’s glass door for Giles. Giles merely smiled and strolled in.

Giles found himself in an antechamber. There were a few seats located at Giles’ left and right side. Facing Giles was a wooden, antique-looking door that presumably led to the room itself. The entrance had been designed like this in the first place; the antechamber prevented unauthorized personnel from seeing the press conference itself, and also prevented noise coming from the lobby from disrupting the conference inside.

Clipping his journalist pass onto his suit, Giles grabbed the door’s handle and pulled the door open. He was met by bright light and a series of murmurs and flashing sounds. As soon as his eyes adjusted, Giles began to take in the details of the room. There were several blue chairs set up in neat rows; most of them were already occupied. There was a lot of open space at the back of the room; this was used by camera crews filming the conference. The sides of the room were adorned by several paintings, and potted plants sat at each corner of the room. There were also speakers, cameras and other sensors attached at the room’s walls and ceiling. The room’s centrepiece was located directly in front of Giles – it was a polished wooden platform with an aesthetically-pleasing podium on it. The podium had the coat of arms of Disparu on it. Behind the podium were the flags of Disparu and its four provinces – Coronet, Almia, Nunavik and the Gaspésie.

As it was only a few minutes before the Chancellor’s press conference, the room was already full of reporters and journalists from Disparu’s various news stations. Some of the reporters were wearing headphones; these people probably worked for a French organization and had requested earphones to hear a translated version of the conference (the conference itself would be held in English, the Chancellor’s native language). The reporters’ cameramen had also set up shop at the back of the Room and had their filming equipment ready. Meanwhile, Parliament technicians were making sure that everything electronic was working, such as the speakers, microphone and lighting. Giles walked through the masses and sat at his designated seat. He was surrounded by reporters on all his sides; fortunately they were all busy with their own affairs. As they busied themselves on whatever they were doing, Giles placed his briefcase on his lap and opened it. He secretly opened the secret compartment and pulled out his holster. It already contained a loaded gun; he had prepared everything during the long trip to Jubilife. He hid it under his suit before reclining on his seat, waiting for the conference to start.

**********

A few moments later, an official-looking person came out from a private entrance hidden from the reporters and approached the podium. After testing its microphone, he began to speak.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for Her Excellency, Cynthia Celeste, Chancellor of the Federation of Disparu and Leader of the Empire Party.” he said, in English. “[i]Mesdames et messieurs, s’il vous plait lever pour Sa Excellence, Cynthia Celeste, le Chancelier de la Fédération du Disparu et le Chef du Parti Empire.[/i]” he continued in French.

The journalists and reporters rose as the Chancellor entered the room and approached the podium. She was escorted by two officers from the Judicial Police and someone who was presumably an agent from the Disparuean Intelligence Agency (he was wearing a black suit, black sunglasses and a transparent earpiece). The delegation sat down when the Chancellor motioned for them to do so.

“Good morning, my fellow Disparueans, and of course, the foreign journalists who are joining us today.” started Cynthia as she was met by the flashes of several cameras. “First off, on behalf of the Government of Disparu, I would like to express our deepest condolences to the friends, families and relatives of those who died during the Black Mesa Tragedy on the fifteenth of July. We understand that you are currently going through an extremely painful time…” Cynthia trailed off as she saw a flashback of something terrible that happened to her during her childhood. She quickly waved the thought off and continued. “However, I would also like to take this time to condemn those who have sparked the violent protest that led to the tragedy in the first place. I am talking about the protesters who listened to an extremist terrorist’s spiteful words; the same terrorists who have perverted the ideology formed by a distant forefather of ours, Lynneth Sarkara.” Cynthia felt as if she had been forced to say the last bit about Rational Communism. That particular line had been forced into her speech by the Communist Party and a few other far-leftists in the Commons. “Those who have started this mess have committed a grave crime against the unified peoples of Disparu, and you shall be swiftly brought into justice. Our security forces shall not rest until every single terrorist residing in Disparu has been captured and punished to the most extreme extent of the law. Despite their threats against the unity and harmony of our Federation, I assure you all that we shall prevail!”

Cynthia’s speech was met with applause and more camera flashes. Cynthia sighed as soon as she finished, then smiled briefly at the sea of reporters in front of her. “Now, does anyone have any questions?”

The first reporter to ask inquired about what exactly would the Government do against the terrorists, while a second one inquired about the Government’s plans about those who participated in the protest in Black Mesa. Cynthia gave both of them generic, mostly inoffensive answers.

The third reporter, meanwhile, asked an entirely different question.

“What are your last words?” said the man, who had a heavy French accent, as he extracted a pistol from his suit. Most of the people in the room screamed and panicked; those who were near the rogue reporter began to run away. The Chancellor’s guards rushed forward to stop him, or at least foil his plans, but it was too late; the man had already taken his shot. The bullet quickly pierced through Cynthia’s lungs and heart. She felt the greatest pain she had ever felt in her life; it felt as if her soul (if she had one) was being ripped apart into pieces. She was seeing something extremely contradictory, however; her sight was beginning to fade, but she could also clearly see a blinding light in front of her. That light was beginning to expand, and she could already feel its warmth. Suddenly, Cynthia felt as if the weight of the world was lifted from her shoulders, and she became as free as a dove. She felt herself floating in the air, closing in on the bright light. As she passed through it, she could see her entire life passing by her…

At that exact moment, Cynthia’s body dropped into the Press Conference Room’s floor, dead. She lived an excellent and somewhat controversial life prior to her death.

**********

[i]London, Ontario
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Y7trsjKxw"]Lux Aeterna[/url]
Timeless[/i]

A young girl with blonde hair ran through the streets of London, free at last from the wrath of her teacher. School was finally over, and she had all the time in the world to enjoy the holidays. It was exceptionally bright today, and the weather was extremely good, so she wanted to play with her friends as soon as possible. But first, she needed to go home. She had to tell her parents about the wonderful times she had at school, and of course eat something before going out to play.

Finally, she reached her home. It was a nice house tucked inside a quaint neighbourhood in suburban London. She reached up, grabbed the door knocker, and knocked three times. The door opened after a few moments; revealing a smiling woman whose beauty almost matched the beauty of Sarah Tintagyl.

The woman gazed down on the child in front of her. Smiling, she said, “Welcome home, Cynthia. How was school?”

The child entered the home, put down her backpack on the nearest chair and took her shoes off. The house’s interior was as nice as the outside; it featured aesthetically-pleasing furniture and designs. Most of the furniture inside was somewhat antique, which complemented the home’s harmonic feel. A nearby table bore the pictures of the family, their friends and their relatives.

The child looked back at the woman. “It was great, mom. I met a lot of new friends and had a lot of fun. In fact, I was even the leader of this political group, and even became the Chancellor! I even met a lot of great people, like this boy named Lance Pikachurin.” she said, smiling. “Of course, there were some bad things that happened to, but the good things still outweighed those.” she continued, still smiling.

The woman smiled and patted her daughter in her shoulders. “That’s great to hear, my dear. Now, do you want to have some soup? I bet you’re really hungry after a long day of school.”

The child’s face brightened. Her mom’s soup was the best in the world; nothing else matched it. “Yes, please!”

The woman gently took Cynthia’s hand and led her to her home’s kitchen.

**********

Back in the Press Conference Room in Jubilife, the Chancellor’s guard charged at the man, who was now laughing maniacally, and put him down. More guards had rushed into the room to help the officers that were already there, and to help evacuate the fleeing reporters inside.

Edited August 5, 2010 by Pikachurin

[Pikachurin]

[i]18 July 2011
3:00 PM[/i]

“[i]Oh, regardez à la télé. Giles est dans les informations encore.[/i] [Oh, look at the TV Giles is in the news again.]” said Jean, motioning at the DNN rebroadcast for the umpteenth time. It showed a handcuffed Giles, who was laughing maniacally, as he was escorted out of the New Parliament Building into a police van. Jay ignored Jean and continued pacing back and forth as she tried to think of something that was unsettling her.

Things had taken an interesting turn since Giles’ assassination of former Chancellor Celeste and his subsequent arrest. For one thing, Celeste had been replaced by former Executive Rowan Atkin, an Englishman who rarely spoke French. Atkin was well known for his original opposition of the idea that Quebec should be independent from the rest of Canada, though he got rid of that thought when Caitlin Darach convinced him otherwise. He was also a well known economic rightist, which was quite bad. As of now, Atkin had declared a state of national emergency over Disparu, meaning that the military’s presence had increased, and civilian travel, a right religiously guarded by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, was about to be suspended in a few hours. Stations throughout Disparu had also been shut down by the Government, with the exception of the DNN. To top it off, J Andres, Disparu’s closest and greatest ally, as well as a handful of other nations had joined the fray and were now working against them. The situation looked extremely bad for the FLQ on all sides.

A light bulb suddenly sparked on in Jay’s mind. Giles’ laptop. He had told her to use it as soon as she heard about Giles’ arrest in Jubilife. Could there be an extremely brilliant plan in Giles’ laptop that could salvage their situation? There was a possibility that there was, and Jay wanted to find out the answer as soon as possible.

Jay turned around and headed for the dining table, where Giles’ laptop still sat. Jay hadn’t touched it since Giles left the lodge yesterday. Jay grabbed the laptop and headed for her bedroom upstairs; she locked the door as soon as she got in so that no one would disturb her. Jay lifted the laptop’s lid and booted it up.

A few moments later, the laptop’s desktop screen finally popped up. Jay noticed something different with it; the plethora of icons and files that were usually on it were now gone. In their place was a single Word document named “[i]Lisez-moi.doc[/i] [Read-me.doc]” located in the centre of the desktop. Jay clicked the file and waited for the software to load.

When it finished loading, Jay began to skim through the text. The document contained a series of instructions specifically intended for Jay. At a glance, most of the instructions seemed to deal with a place located halfway around the world. Sighing, Jay scrolled back up and read the first instruction. It told her to open her bedside table’s drawer. She duly did so.

Inside, she saw her passport and what looked like a ticket on top of her things. Jay grabbed it and looked at it; upon further inspection, it appeared to be a ticket for an economy class seat in an aeroDisparu flight. Oddly enough, it was purchased under her real name, even though she couldn’t remember buying an airplane ticket. That particular flight was in Eterna International Airport and would be departing in four hours. Jay opened her passport and noticed that a visitor visa for a southern nation had been stamped on one of its pages.

Jay quickly packed a change of clothing, Giles’ laptop, her ticket and her passport into a blue duffel bag. After informing her subordinates about the sudden change of plans, she bolted for the door and dashed for her SUV. She quickly started it up and began to head for the road. In no time, she was on Autoroute 389, headed for Eterna.

**********

[i]8:00 PM[/i]

Reclining back on her uncomfortable seat, Jay recollected what happened during the last few hours as her plane continued flying south. She arrived at Eterna International Airport an hour before her flight was due to leave, so she had to rush through the airport just to get to her gate. Fortunately, her flight hadn’t been cancelled since it was scheduled before Atkin’s declaration of a state of national emergency. Plus, the Royal Investigations had not yet identified her or connect her with the recent terrorist attacks, so her cover wasn’t blown while passing through immigration officials and security checkpoints.

Jay gazed at the map being shown on the tiny screen in front of her. According to it, she was currently somewhere above J Andres. Jay turned to her window and looked down; she could see patches of light scattered throughout the ground, some of them obscured by clouds. Each patch was connected to another via a small thread of light

Sighing, Jay closed her eyes and tried to relax. She still had a long way to go before she arrived at her destination, and she would need a lot of her energy once she got there.

Her destination was actually quite expected. In fact, she couldn’t believe that she wasn’t able to guess it in the first place. After all, she and Giles had secretly deposited some money and a few items in a bank on her destination just a few weeks ago.

Her destination was none other than Port Howard, the capital city of Las Malvinas.

**********

[i](OoC: I have Zoot’s permission to do this. Also, this goes before his quarantine RP and his nation’s collapse.)

19 July 2011[/i]

Sixteen hours and several flight transfers later, Jay walked out of Port Howard’s international airport. She was met by a blinding light and the noises of the city. Jay glanced at a nearby clock and noted that it was noon. Even though Las Malvinas was ahead of most of Disparu by an hour, the nation did not observe daylight saving time; hence the time on Port Howard and Eterna were the same. Ergo, Jay wouldn’t suffer from jet lag, which was extremely fortunate for her mission.

Looking around, Jay began to look for something that could take her to a branch of the Malvinas Bankers Union. Soon enough, she managed to find a taxi waiting for a paying passenger. Jay quietly got on and told the driver her destination. The driver grunted and pulled out of the airport’s driveway, and was now heading for Port Howard’s downtown core…

**********

An hour or two later, Jay tiredly stumbled into the bed of her cheap motel room. She had just come back from the bank, bringing along all of her withdrawals. As Jay relaxed for a bit, she recalled the events that had occurred at the back.

After arriving at the Malvinas Bankers Union branch that supposedly had their deposits, it took Jay a few moments to get in touch with one of the branch’s staff. As she was already one of their clients, she didn’t have to go through too much red tape. She was immediately brought to her (and Giles’) deposits as soon as she confirmed her login details, which were in Giles’ laptop. She took all of their safe box deposits; both were black metallic boxes that were locked. Giles’ box had the words “Do Not Expose to Magnetic Objects” engraved on them and was medium sized, while Jay’s was only book-sized and didn’t have anything engraved in it. While she was required to get Giles’ box, she reluctantly withdrew her own box after several moments of thinking. She had something really important in there that she wanted to see before doing anything else for the FLQ. She also withdrew all of their money, which was DP$ 1.5 million in total, as instructed by Giles. The branch’s staff reluctantly gave her withdrawals, disgruntled that they lost one of their clients.

Jay looked around her motel room. Her room contained a rather uncomfortable bed, a small TV set mounted on the wall, a wooden desk with a lamp and business cards on it, a wooden chair and a portrait of kittens playing with balls of yarn on top of her bed. A door next to her bed presumably led to a bathroom, which Jay hasn’t checked out yet. She could’ve gotten better accommodations with the money she just withdrew, but she needed to save every single penny from that withdrawal for the future, according to Giles’ laptop. Besides, classier hotels usually tend to ask for more information about their clients, and Jay didn’t want to risk blowing her true identity.

Sighing, Jay got out of her bed and grabbed Giles’ laptop. Setting it up on the desk, Jay opened the Word document containing Giles’ instructions and checked the next step of the operation. According to it, she had to open Giles’ metallic box. The document contained the box’s lock combination.

Jay stood up, took Giles’ box from the corner and set it on her bed. She quickly keyed in the box’s combination and promptly opened it. Inside the box were…lots and lots of bubble wrap. Jay reached in and extracted what looked like a large bundle of bubble wrap. Upon unrolling it, she found a stack of slim CD cases and a flash drive. Each case had a disc in it, and each disc had a number and a string of numbers written on them. Jay gently put them back in the box and grabbed the other bundle.

Upon unrolling it, she found an unmarked cardboard box. In it was an iPhone, a charger and a laminated strip of paper that had a number in it. Judging by the number’s area code, the number’s owner was based somewhere in the Gaspésie.

Jay picked up the iPhone and the number and returned to Giles’ laptop. The final instruction said something about calling a number inside Giles’ box. Jay turned the iPhone on, surprised that it was still fully charged, and began to dial the number.

The person on the other side of the call answered after the first ring.

“[i]Je m’attendais votre appel, Jay. Comment allez-vous?[/i] [I’ve been expecting your call, Jay. How are you?]” said the person on the other side, who had a noticeable English-Dutch accent.

“[i]Qui êtes-vous?[/i] [Who are you?]” asked Jay suspiciously.

“[i]Oh, je suis très impoli, eh? Je suis le Haut Commandant du FLQ, Jay. Je sais l’information sur votre prochaine mission.[/i] [Oh, I’m very rude, eh? I’m the High Commander of the FLQ, Jay. I know information about your next mission.]” said the person on the phone, who was presumably a man.

Jay was extremely sceptical. She had a feeling that this was an imposter, but then again, she had never seen, heard or talked with the High Commander before so she could be wrong. Just to make sure, though, she made whoever was speaking to her go through the Front’s ‘security protocols’.

The man on the other side sighed. “[i]Nous n’avons pas le temps, mais si ces protocoles ferez vous confiance en moi, alors… [/i][We don’t have the time, but if these protocols will make you trust me, then…]” the man said as he began to sing the Alouette, the infamous Disparuean nursery rhyme that FLQ agents usually had to sing. After that, he went through several questions, all of which were answered correctly.

“[i]Bien, je vous crois. Continuez que vous disiez, s’il vous plait.[/i] [Okay, I believe you. Continue what you were saying, please.]” said Jay, though she was still a bit sceptical.

The High Commander grunted, then said, “[i]Nous n’avons pas beaucoup temps, si je ferai ce rapide. Les disques dans la boîte ont besoin un mot de passe. Le mot de passe est………bien? Les disques ont l’information pour votre prochaine mission. Utilisez le portable du Giles pour les disques. Bonne chance.[/i] [We don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll make this quick. The discs in the box need a password. The password is………okay? The discs have information for your next mission. Use Giles’ laptop for the discs. Good luck.]” said the High Commander. With that, he dropped the call, leaving Jay still slightly confused.

Jay put the iPhone down and returned to Giles’ box. She grabbed the discs and neatly lay them next to the laptop. They were conveniently numbered, so Jay assumed she had to look at them in that order. Jay grabbed the disc marked with the number one and inserted it into the laptop. A window prompting for a password suddenly popped up on the screen, which Jay duly entered. Another window popped up, this time showing the disc’s content. The disc contained several video files, pictures, word documents, and flash files. The very first one was named “[i]Regardez-moi.avi[/i] [Watch-me.avi]”.

Jay clicked on the video file. The laptop’s default media player opened, showing the video. The video was showing a man wearing a black sweater and a black balaclava. He was sitting behind a wooden table. Behind him was a red curtain with the flags of the province of Coronet (and the former flag of Quebec), Saboria, communist Canada and the FLQ. It was the same person from the rogue DNN broadcast launched by Giles a few weeks before.

“[i]Salut, Jay. Cette est un message préenregistré de l’Haut Commandant du FLQ. Ces fichiers vous aideront avec ta mission.[/i] [Hello, Jay. This is a pre-recorded message from the FLQ’s High Commander. These files will help you with your mission.]” said the man in the video.

After the video ended, Jay began to browse through the discs’ files. The more she read, the more excited she became with her next mission. Their dreams of re-establishing a Franco-communist state would finally come true.

[Pikachurin]

[i]20 July 2011[/i]

Jay’s mind was abuzz with rough ideas and plans as her SUV came to a halt in front of the FLQ’s lodge in Almia. She had only stayed in Port Howard for a few hours, and yet she felt that those were the most useful hours she had spent since beginning this mission. Ever since her conversation with the High Commander in Port Howard, her outlook on the situation had greatly changed. Shortly after Giles’ arrest back in Jubilife, she felt unsure as to how they could make their dreams a reality now that they lost their best man to the Government. But now, she felt as if her and the FLQ’s goals were just within their reach.

Jay cautiously stepped out of her SUV. Looking at the lodge, she noticed that all the windows were dark except for the one to her left. A very faint and dull light was coming from that window. She couldn’t see where it was coming from due to a curtain installed on the window. Fearing the worst, Jay extracted a pistol and cautiously approached the door.

When she opened it, she didn’t find anyone suspicious or dangerous inside (well, not by the Government’s standards). She only saw Giles’ and her henchmen huddled around the dining table. Their somber-looking faces were illuminated by an overhead lamp hanging on the ceiling. It wasn’t just their faces she could see; on the table, she saw dozens of dossiers and papers, most of them coloured in red.

“[i]Qu’est-ce que nous avons ici?[/i] [What do we have here?]” inquired Jay, somewhat worried.

Jean had an expression in his face that Jay had never seen before when he turned to her. There were impressions of fear and worry in his face. “[i]Jay, remercie le Dieu vous êtes en sécurité.[/i] [Jay, thank God you’re safe.]” said Jean, who looked somewhat relieved.

“[i]Pourquoi?[/i] [Why?]” inquired Jay.

Jean turned back to the table nervously. One of Giles’ henchmen nodded at him, and Jean turned back to her.

“[i]Le…le Gouvernement est en réalité nous traquer. Nous perdrons tous nos agents si nous n’agissons pas rapidement.[/i] [The…the Government is actually hunting us down. We will loose all our agents if we don’t act quickly.]” he said, somewhat scared.

Jay sighed. “[i]J’ai besoin du temps de penser.[/i] [I need the time to think.]” And with that, she headed for her room, locking the door behind her. For hours, she paced back and forth in the room, her mind going around in circles. She already knew what to do; the High Commander and Giles’ files had told her that several hours ago. However, she was beginning to doubt if she could actually execute it, now that the Government had become fiercer and she no longer had Giles’ support. Granted, the High Commander did tell her that the plan takes into account several factors, including the Government, but since that was the first time meeting him, she didn’t trust his explanation that much.

Her eyes fell on one of her luggage; her own metallic box that she left with Giles’ at the Malvinian bank. She left its counterpart back at the Malvinian Bankers Union at Port Howard. She would’ve preferred it if she had it with her as a reference, but the box had odd…properties; properties that would make her stand out like a sore thumb to airport security and blow her cover.

She grabbed the box and laid it gently on the bed. Unlike Giles’ box, which could be opened by a number pad, Jay’s box could only be opened by one key in the world. She extracted it from her cloak and opened it.

Inside were a worn-out book, and a greying white box with white ribbons and roses on it. The box contained her and her deceased husband’s wedding ring. She had obtained her husband’s after claiming his body after his execution at the Coronet High-Security Prison. Meanwhile, she had stopped wearing her ring since she joined the FLQ. After all, it was a liability, especially in…certain situations.

Jay grabbed the book from the metallic box. It was, indeed, worn out, though if one tried hard enough, you could almost decipher the golden letters formerly prominent on the book’s covers. Jay opened it; revealing dozens of neatly-arranged pictures. The first few pages were full of her parents’ pictures, taken around the Second World War. It then proceeded to her baby pictures, pictures of her in kindergarten, pictures of her in high school…

Jay stopped at a particular one. It was a picture of her and her husband in front of a church on their wedding day. At that time, she barely knew her husband’s friends, though now she knew most of them were FLQ agents. She also didn’t know that her husband was a FLQ sniper at that time, too. In fact, she only knew it when the FLQ sent a notice to him a few weeks or months before Darach’s assassination. They had an unnecessary and nonsensical argument; an argument she now regretted. That was, after all, the last time she saw him before he left for a FLQ training camp. She last saw him alive in the Coronet High-Security Prison, tied into an electric chair, saying his last words. It was interesting to note that it was only her husband who was charged with the death penalty; everyone else who were eligible for it, like his accomplices, merely got away with a life sentence or something less severe. It seemed as if the Disparu Committee had orchestrated his very own execution, since he was the one who had dispatched their Chairwoman.

Jay kept on flipping through the book, seeing pictures of her family during happier times. It gradually changed to pictures of her time in FLQ camps, training with them in an attempt to overthrow the Government and avenge her husband’s memory. There were pictures of her, of Giles, and of her current subordinates. She had gone a long way since she started her life as an agent, and she could feel it coming to a close. She skimmed through the book again. She couldn’t let these men’s sacrifices be in vain, she had to continue their legacies and made sure she finished them.

With a heavy sigh, Jay closed the book and returned it to the metallic box. She relocked the box and hid it under her bed. She then began to pace back and forth in the room, thinking about the task ahead of her. The High Commander had told her everything she would probably need for the daunting task ahead of her, as well as a few contingency plans. Soon, several ideas and small-scale scenarios began to run in the back of her mind, with these eventually forming into rough plans.

Jay turned and approached her desk. She carefully unpacked Giles’ laptop, several notepads and two rolls of paper on it. Even though she was quite tired due to her trip, she still felt wide awake from the energy flowing through her veins. She managed to stay awake the entire night, planning out most of the mission’s details.

In the morning, she finally came out of her room. Downstairs, Jean, Marc, Louis and the others were having a somewhat appetizing breakfast; there were bagels, scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee, juice and spam. Some of them were discussing an unknown topic lightly, while others merely kept to themselves and continued to eat. Jay grabbed a plate from the kitchen cupboards and took her usual seat in the table.

“[i]Jay, vous avez l’air terrible. Saviez-vous dormer dernière nuit?[/i] [Jay, you look terrible. Did you sleep last night?]” asked Jean, worried, as he passed some spam and eggs to Jay.

“[i]Non, j’ai été très occupé.[/i] [No, I was very busy.]” said Jay as she wolfed down her breakfast. She had not realized that she was hungry. She also had some coffee when her tiredness began to catch up wit her.

When everyone was finished with breakfast, Jay rose up and began tapping her mug with her spoon. Everyone looked at her direction.

“[i]Mes camarades, notre jour de gloire est arrivé. J’ai le plus grands plan pour le Front.[/i] [My comrades, our day of glory has arrived. I have the largest plan for the Front.]” said Jay. The other operatives inched a bit closer, eager to hear what Jay had to say.

And so she began to explain their plans. They were to rally up every single FLQ sleeper cell, every single FLQ operative, for the grand task that was ahead of them – they were, after so many years, finally going to establish the Franco-communist state they had been dreaming of. They wouldn’t take over Disparu for now though, that would be crazy, but start out in a smaller, yet equally significant, area of the nation, and expand from there. They would need all the help they can get, and that included potential FLQ recruits; people they can probably get from underground websites.

Jay began to arrange the men into teams and sent them out into different locations. These locations had secret FLQ bunkers and storage rooms in them. They contained everything the FLQ would need for their mission, from weapons and ammunition to food and money. The teams were assigned to retrieve these items to their makeshift base here at the lodge, while making sure that the Government would catch them. Everyone happily obliged to this; after all, it was better to be moving than idling here at the lodge. Jay silently watched them get into the SUVs and head for an obscure highway.

Jay then went through the lodge and locked all external doors and locked and shuttered all the windows. She grabbed an assault rifle and her pistol and went to her room. She still had a lot of planning and organizing to do, and she didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone, not even Government agents.

Jay booted up Giles’ laptop and brought up the e-mail client and the FLQ’s custom encryption program. She typed dozens of e-mails to the FLQ’s sleeper cells and agents throughout Disparu, telling each of them to acquire everything in the nearest FLQ bunker to them and stay put. It was an easy enough task, since Giles kept a master list of those e-mails. He even took the liberty of crossing out Government-compromised e-mails, which had been regularly fed to him by FLQ sleeper agents in the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Then, she began to browse the Internet and looked for what the Government would call “underground sites”. Giles kept a somewhat incomplete list of far-left and nationalist forums with a large Disparuean member base, so that task was also fairly easy. She brought these up and, ignoring the torrent of pop-up ads that suddenly appeared, began to post messages asking Disparuean members to come at a certain location at a certain date. Hopefully, there weren’t any undercover Government agents in these forums.

Jay then spent the entire afternoon fine-tuning the details of the plan, and only stopped when she heard and saw one of her teams return to the lodge. She grabbed her rifle, just in case they were compromised, and went out to greet them. Fortunately enough, they weren’t, but they came back bringing bad news. When they went to retrieve stuff from the bunker, they were met by agents from the Judicial Police and the Disparuean Intelligence Agency who were confiscating the FLQ’s weapons cache. Fortunately they weren’t seen, so they were able to escape safely.

Jay buried her face into her arms. It seemed that a FLQ agent detained by the Government had snapped and spilled the beans. She made a mental note to tell the other sleeper cells about this as soon as possible.

Now that they’ve been compromised by the Government, they were going to have a very, very long month…

[Pikachurin]

[i]23 August 2011[/i]

It was a raining rather heavily tonight. In the good old days such a thing would literally be a blessing from the sky, but since they were now in the age of motion and heat sensors, it was quite a disadvantage for them. Nevertheless they had to do their operation in the rain, lest the Government managed to detain them all.

Jay scanned her surroundings with her binoculars. She was currently on top of a M60 Patton tank they had smuggled from the Saborian military a few decades ago. The tank, now half a century old, was still somewhat operational when they managed to extract it from a FLQ bunker in the wilderness. This wasn’t the only thing they had recovered from the bunkers; during the last month, they had secretly extracted as much as they could, from assault rifles and ammunition to helicopters and tanks such as the one Jay was currently on. A lot of other things had also happened within this timeframe; she had managed to rally and organize all of the remaining FLQ agents in Disparu. Hell, she even managed to recruit a few leftist people in the Internet looking for action, and a few military and Government defectors who were more than willing to commit treason for the sake of establishing a Socialist Utopia on Earth.

Jay scanned her surroundings again. Beyond her hiding place were two soldiers from the Disparuean Forces’ Land Force Command. They were standing guard on either side of a highway leading to Eterna, and were probably tasked to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. They weren’t doing their job very well, and judging by their uniforms and appearance, they were probably just trainees or something. She and her agents could easily overpower them, and because of the sheer width of the highway and the amount of cars that were passing through them, they wouldn’t be much help to each other anyways.

And yet, she had to wait for the signal before starting the offensive. If she attacked now, the lackeys could just easily ask for help before a fully-armed, professionally-trained squad of the Disparuean Forces came marching down at their direction. Such a feat was quite easy, considering that Disparu was still under a state of emergency.

They weren’t the only FLQ team taking part in this operation, obviously. A team (or two) was stationed next to the highways leading to Eterna. The largest of these teams were situated just outside of Autoroute 389, and were tasked with distracting the Disparuean Forces long enough for the other teams to charge in.

A radio transceiver below Jay began to ring as she continued to observe the two soldiers. Someone who was manning the tank answered it and silently listened to it for a few moments. He eventually put it back with a smile on his face.

“[i]La Garde provinciale de l’Almie et les 1[sup]er[/sup] et 3[sup]e[/sup] Bataillons d’Eterna ont accepté l’appât – vous êtes clair.[/i] [The Almian Provincial Guard and the 1[sup]st[/sup] and 3[sup]rd[/sup] Eterna Battalions accepted the bait – you’re clear.]” he said, still smiling.

Jay waited for a few more minutes. It was still quite possible that the Battalions and Guards could turn around and fight them if the soldiers called for them. Granted, there were still a few Battalions in the city itself, but a few would be better than having everyone fight back against you.

A few minutes later, Jay tried to strain her ears for any distant sounds – sure enough, she could hear the faint sounds of gunfire, explosions and sirens far away. The soldiers in front of her recently got radioed and seemed to appear more tense than usual. They had obviously been alerted to the FLQ’s distraction team, though they didn’t know it was just supposed to distract.

Turning to her side, Jay extracted a flashlight from her coat and shined it at the dense woods in front of her. She turned it on and off in quick succession; the woods they were in were thick enough to prevent the soldiers from seeing it, and even if they did, they’d probably attribute it to a glare or something. After all, this was an extremely busy highway full of brightly-illuminated vehicles.

There was a sudden burst of gunfire from the woods she was looking at as soon as she finished manipulating her flashlight. Turning back, she noted that both of the soldiers were on the ground, dead. Some of the bullets had grazed civilians’ vehicles and everyone heard the shots; hence there was now an air of panic among them. Some turned their cars around and rushed back towards the city, while others merely abandoned their cars and ran at random directions. This was perfect; in the event that the military did send reinforcements (which they won’t; the soldier wasn’t able to raise an alarm before being shot down), they’d hesitate to strike back due to the sheer amount of panicking civilians among them.

Jay motioned towards her side. In an instant, dozens of agents clad in balaclavas, all in full armour and armed with assault rifles and all sorts of grenades, rushed out of the woods and into the highway in a tight formation. Due to the chaos that ensued, nearly all of the cars on the road had stopped and been abandoned, so there wasn’t any risk of getting run over. Plus, she would be accompanying them, so the risk was really non-existent.

Jay went inside the tank and closed the hatch on top of her. The tank’s operator manipulated the controls, and the tank jolted forward, slowly following the armed agents. It was a bit difficult to navigate through the highway since there were a lot of abandoned cars scattered all over the place, and they occasionally encountered an overenthusiastic Land Force Command trainee/soldier that had to be shot down. Eventually they came into more open spaces and navigation was several times easier. By this time, the city’s emergency broadcast systems had been activated by the military to warn the civilian population; hence the air was filled by the annoying whine of a loud siren.

In other areas, the FLQ’s heavily-armed teams with tanks were going through the city’s outer limits. All of them were slowly securing the area and fighting off opposition, whether they were military or civilian (they were mostly military, of course).

In about an hour or so, they had finally secured Eterna’s outer sectors, which were really just residential areas protected by Land Force Command recruits and trainees. Now it was time to strike the city’s heart – the Commons (Downtown) and the Eternamagne (Government Zone). They were also going to capture Eterna International Airport, which was extremely important to their operation’s long-term success. The teams continued to march on, highly eager to capture those two important sectors as soon as possible.

To their surprise, they were met by what appeared to be companies from the 2[sup]nd[/sup] and 4[sup]th[/sup] Eterna Battalions, as well as an occasional platoon from the Almian Provincial Guard itself. These soldiers were completely unlike the ones they encountered before – these men were heavily-armed, battle-hardened professionals. Most of them had probably been stationed there when Jay destroyed the Eterna Stock Exchange, Giles took over DNN’s Jubilife office, the FLQ incited the Black Mesa Tragedy, and of course, the late Chancellor Celeste’s assassination. Some of them were probably airlifted to the city as soon as the other Battalions encountered the FLQ’s distraction team. But that wasn’t really important right now. What was important was that the Battalions were fully equipped and had good defensive positions throughout the city; indeed, they had set up sandbag barriers, Czech hedgehogs, sniper nests and other defences to prevent the FLQ’s advance.

The Disparuean Forces swiftly launched a coordinated counterattack. The FLQ fell back, slightly damaged, then returned fire. The battle began to rage both on the ground and in the air; agents and soldiers below started firefights below, while military and FLQ helicopters above tried to support ground troops while trying to destroy the other side’s aerial support. For several hours, the battle raged on. Both sides bravely fought, and both sides seemed to have equal amounts of damage. At first, the military appeared to be gaining advantage due to their superior equipment and better organization, but as time passed, the FLQ slowly began to move forward. The military may be technologically superior, but they weren’t expecting a surprise attack tonight, mainly thanks to FLQ agents in the Government who were disinforming the military. That and the defectors who had told the FLQ a lot of useful things about the military troops stationed in Eterna.

A decisive victory came when the FLQ managed to capture Eterna International Airport, as well as a few anti-aircraft installations. Now they were in control of all of the city’s civilian air transportation, as well as some of the military’s. Plus, they could now take down some of the military’s aircraft with easy. Upon capturing the airport, the FLQ duly noted that the Government was, unsuccessfully, trying to evacuate the city’s population. They couldn’t let that happen, since losing the city’s civilians would mean that the military would be able to use more lethal weapons against them. Losing civilians would also render their operation’s next stage useless.

The airport’s capture renewed the FLQ agents’ morale, and they continued fight on with renewed vigour. Soon, the military was falling back fast and was forced to retreat, or worse, surrender to the FLQ. The entire city pretty much fell into the FLQ’s hands. Except for one thing.

**********

[i]The SkyCity
A few hours ago…[/i]

Despite the ongoing crisis, Paul felt relatively happy. Today, after all, was the first day of his paid vacation from his duties in Jubilife as the nation’s Legislative Triumvir. The same went for his wife too, though in her case, she was taking a vacation from her duties as the city’s Mayor. To celebrate this rare occasion, they planned a special and romantic night for both of them. This morning, they went shopping for everything they would need, such as scented candles, flowers, food, fruit, chocolate, wine and other romantic stuff. They also brought out their velvet table cloth and brought out their best plates, glasses and silverware.

They were currently in their penthouse atop the SkyTower. Their dining room gave them an excellent view of the entire city. Before them, the city of Eterna looked like a sea of glittering stars and rays of light. The scene was extremely breathtaking.

Their dining room had also been spruced up for the night. Their table, which was usually featureless, now had red, velvet cloth covering it. The plates, glasses, goblets and silverware on it were professionally arranged and looked extremely pleasing to the eyes. On the table and surrounding they were dozens of scented candles. Served on the table were extremely delicious dishes such as roasted chicken, salads, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, blueberry pie and more. An open bottle of wine also stood nearby.

Paul and Platina were currently having a romantic dinner. The couple kept on flirting with each other; while the other would respond somewhat appropriately. Platina kept on giggling like a schoolgirl while Paul merely smiled at her sheepishly. Everything was going so well that both of them felt like they were in an earthly paradise. Both Paul’s and Platina’s passions were increasing fast that they’ll have a really good–

A sudden knock on the door somewhat ruined the dinner’s mood. Paul reluctantly got up, excused himself, and headed for the door. He was going to give whoever was on the other side a stern talking to, mainly for interrupting the mood, and he’ll probably get him or her suspended from wherever they worked, and he was–

Paul was surprised when he realized who was at the door. It was a trio of agents from the Judicial Police. All of them were wearing dark suits, dark sunglasses and transparent plastic earpieces.

“Good evening, Mr. Berlitz, sir. I trust that you’re enjoying your vacation so far? Can we come in?” said the agent at the front.

“Well I was, until you guys had to barge in and ruin everything, dammit.” said Paul, extremely annoyed, as he began to close the door.

“It is a matter of extreme importance, sir.” said the agent as he put his hand on the door to prevent it from closing. “With all due respect, Honourable Triumvir, we have to come in, sir.” he continued. He pushed the door open without waiting for a response from Paul and entered. The agents behind him followed suit. By this time, Platina came out from the dining room since Paul seemed to be taking forever to get back. Plus, she heard people coming in.

“What’s going on, hon?” she inquired.

“I have no idea. Really.” replied Paul as he angrily faced the Judicial Police agents. “What the hell are you up to?”

“Sir, your family’s lives are in immediate danger. We have to evacuate you to a more secure location.” said the agent.

“Can’t you see we’re busy here? Your damn threat can wait until we’re done.” retorted Paul. “It’s probably another one of those false alarm crap that’s been–”

“Have you been listening to the news, sir?”

“I wasn’t listening to the ******* news, ‘cause I was having dinner with my wife, and you had to–”

“I’m terribly sorry about that, sir. However, your lives are in grave danger and we need to get you out of here.”

The agent turned the television on and switched to DNN. The Network was showing the firefights between the FLQ and the Disparuean Forces back at the city.

Paul and Platina were dumbrstruck. “Is that…is that…the Commons?”

“Yes sir, the footage is from the Commons itself. Eterna has been breached by FLQ terrorists. Your family needs to get out as soon as possible.”

Paul momentarily lost his rage about their dinner’s interruption. For now, he had to protect Platina and made sure they got to safety. Paul, Platina and the agents first rushed to the dining room to pack everything out, and then the couple rushed to their bedroom to pack some clothes and personal belongings, and to get changed into more formal clothes. When they were finally done, they found the agents waiting for them at their living room.

“You’re ready? Good. Please follow me, sir and madam.”

Paul and Platina followed the agents into the SkyTower’s elevator. When they got down, they found a military helicopter waiting for them.

“Get in. The helicopter will take you to an Aerospace Command base. From there, you will be safely transferred to Jubilife.”

The couple reluctantly got in. As the helicopter’s door was closed and the helicopter began to take off, Paul gazed at the window next to him. He took a long look at the city he was about to leave, the beautiful city that had been home to a lot of memories, and was now at the risk of falling to terrorists.

But then he remembered the remains of his vacation.

Paul sighed, upon realizing that his well-earned vacation was about to be turned into a pile of work.

**********

[i]City of Eterna
Present time[/i]

After the FLQ took over the city, it had established its headquarters at the Old Parliament, the building where the Commons of Disparu formerly convened and was now the meeting place of the Commons of Almia. From here, Jay managed the FLQ’s operation as well as the city’s civic affairs.

First of all, Jay made sure that the hospitals were open so that any injured comrade, as well as civilians and enemy soldiers (to show their mercy), could be treated. Meanwhile, those who merely suffered from minor injuries or no injuries at all had been positioned throughout the city in order to defend it in case the Disparuean Forces launched a counterattack. Meanwhile, Disparuean soldiers who were captured or had surrendered were thrown into prison, meanwhile, FLQ agents had gone through the city and arrested all politicians they could find and threw them into cells too. Fortunately, the Government had already evacuated those people, so the agents weren’t able to detain a lot of politicians. Other agents had also began to take down defences set up by the Disparuean Forces and transferred them to where they were needed, such as the city’s fringes. Jay had also instructed agents to make an inventory of all of their assets within the city, both military and civilian, and to take control of Government networks and systems.

They would’ve put the city under something similar to a lockdown to keep civilians in line, but the civilians were already too scared to do anything. They mainly stayed at their homes, which was beneficial for now. It wouldn’t matter in a few days, though, since they would be starting their hearts and minds campaign in Eterna.

Jay’s agents also found out that most of the Disparuean Forces’ battalions in Eterna had retreated to the SkyCity itself. It seemed that they were also accompanied by Special Operations troops, and had turned the area into a virtual fortress, so attacking right now would’ve been suicide. The best they could do for now was to keep them at bay.

Back at the city, Jay had also ordered her agents to go through the city and “take down and desecrate the flags of Disparu, Almia and Eterna”. In their place, the agents put up the flags of the FLQ, Saboria, communist Canada and Quebec. To further emphasize this, Jay had ordered that the city’s name should be immediately changed from Eterna to Ferinh. Signs and other objects bearing the city’s Disparuean name had to be replaced with signs that had its true name.

Outside the city, the Government was silently observing movements from within through satellites, UAVs and binoculars. For now, they had to prevent the terrorists from acquiring SkyCity, but eventually they would plan out how to recapture the city. They also began to disconnect the entire city from the nation’s and the world’s networks to isolate it. Some of their efforts were futile, mainly due to the fact that Eterna, or Ferinh, could be considered as the digital hub of the entire nation.

Edited August 31, 2010 by Pikachurin

[JEDCJT]

[i]In Endor Cuidad, J Andres...[/i]

In his office in the Adrik Annan Governmental Center in the J Andrean capital, President Richard Mercton, having done the paperwork for the day, decided to relax a bit and watch TV. No sooner had he turned on the TV and switched to the DNN did he nearly choke on his spit. Eterna, Disparu's largest city, was captured by FLQ terrorists? He couldn't believe it; Disparu was undergoing internal strife and he had done nearly nothing about that.

Well, he wasn't about to let Disparu, a nation who he admired and loved, and who was J Andres's most important ally, be destroyed by the FLQ cowards. And so he immediately grabbed his telephone and dialed a direct number to the Disparuean King, Lance Pikachurin via a direct hotline (OOC: Given the close relations between J Andres and Disparu, I assume both nations has a direct hotline like the one the USA and the Soviet Union established during the Cold War. You ok with that? If not, I can modify that. ).

"[i]Hello, my old friend! How are things doing? Sorry if I seem to be abrupt, but I've just found out that Eterna had just been captured by the FLQ, and I was wondering if I could provide some assistance to Disparu. Through I may not be the commander-of-chief of the Armed Forces anymore, I'm sure I can pull some strings to provide your country assistance. I'm sure Prime Minister Ben Richards will do something about the situation as well.[/i]"

[center]---[/center]
Interesingly, at around the same time, Prime Minister Ben Richards had, concidentally, decided to turn on the television and switched to the DNN, his favorite news channel after the Anchor Times. Upon discovering about the shocking capture of Eterna - the equivalent of the capture of the city of Mercton by, like, a resurgent National Liberation Army (NLA) - Richards immediately contacted the Disparuean Embassy in the J Andrean capital - namely Ambassador Evelyn Chapman - through a secure channel. The Prime Minister would go on to state that, if Disparu wanted military support, the Army could send in a few divisions to "[i]throw the rebels out[/i]". Aerial support would be provided too. Richards also told Chapman that J Andres could provide the Disparuean Government material support (like supplies and equipment), and intelligence via satellite feeds.

OOC:

[Pikachurin]

[quote name='JEDCJT' timestamp='1283259891' post='2436978']
[i]In Endor Cuidad, J Andres...[/i]

In his office in the Adrik Annan Governmental Center in the J Andrean capital, President Richard Mercton, having done the paperwork for the day, decided to relax a bit and watch TV. No sooner had he turned on the TV and switched to the DNN did he nearly choke on his spit. Eterna, Disparu's largest city, was captured by FLQ terrorists? He couldn't believe it; Disparu was undergoing internal strife and he had done nearly nothing about that.

Well, he wasn't about to let Disparu, a nation who he admired and loved, and who was J Andres's most important ally, be destroyed by the FLQ cowards. And so he immediately grabbed his telephone and dialed a direct number to the Disparuean King, Lance Pikachurin via a direct hotline (OOC: Given the close relations between J Andres and Disparu, I assume both nations has a direct hotline like the one the USA and the Soviet Union established during the Cold War. You ok with that? If not, I can modify that. ).

"[i]Hello, my old friend! How are things doing? Sorry if I seem to be abrupt, but I've just found out that Eterna had just been captured by the FLQ, and I was wondering if I could provide some assistance to Disparu. Through I may not be the commander-of-chief of the Armed Forces anymore, I'm sure I can pull some strings to provide your country assistance. I'm sure Prime Minister Ben Richards will do something about the situation as well.[/i]"
[/quote]

(OoC: It's okay. )

Lance was in his study in Château Jubilife when the call came. Normally, he would be relaxing with his family right now, and perhaps the Chancellor or the Minister of Foreign Affairs would answer it, but he had been forced to work overtime as soon as news of Eterna's fall to FLQ terrorists reached his ears.

"Um, hello...oh, hello Richard. How have you been? I'm...doing well, I suppose." said Lance as he tried to hide his tiredness from the President. "Ah, so you've also heard about Eterna's capture. Well, to be honest, I'm not yet sure if my Government has any plans against those traitors. We would, of course, gladly accept military assistance from J Andres, but I feel that we're already quite indebted to you, especially when the ESE literally crashed. Heh. Besides, I believe that you currently working on something across the Atlantic, or so I've heard. Nevertheless, thank you for your offer, Mr. President. I really appreciate it."

[quote name='JEDCJT' timestamp='1283259891' post='2436978']
Interesingly, at around the same time, Prime Minister Ben Richards had, concidentally, decided to turn on the television and switched to the DNN, his favorite news channel after the Anchor Times. Upon discovering about the shocking capture of Eterna - the equivalent of the capture of the city of Mercton by, like, a resurgent National Liberation Army (NLA) - Richards immediately contacted the Disparuean Embassy in the J Andrean capital - namely Ambassador Evelyn Chapman - through a secure channel. The Prime Minister would go on to state that, if Disparu wanted military support, the Army could send in a few divisions to "[i]throw the rebels out[/i]". Aerial support would be provided too. Richards also told Chapman that J Andres could provide the Disparuean Government material support (like supplies and equipment), and intelligence via satellite feeds.
[/quote]

Ambassador Chapman would first consult with Minister Meridian and other members of the Executive Council before replying.

[quote][center][img]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091230220739/cybernations/images/thumb/2/29/DisparuGovernmentSeal.png/250px-DisparuGovernmentSeal.png[/img][/center]

[b]Date : [/b] 31 août / August 2011

[b]TO/À :[/b] Ben Richards, Prime Minister of J Andres
[b]FROM/DE :[/b] Evelyn Chapman, Disparuean Ambassador to J Andres

Greetings Honourable Prime Minister,

The Government as a whole wishes to thank you for your offer, however, the Ministry of Defence has assured me that the FLQ terrorists in Eterna can be handled without external help for now. The troops stationed in Eterna during the takeover were poorly equipped, were surprised by the terrorists' attack and surprise movements, and were, in most cases, unable to retaliate since there were civilians in the way. The Government had already evacuated a sizeable portion of the city's population and deployed more battalions into the area, so launching a counterattack should be easier. We would, however, appreciate access to some of your satellite feeds in order to help us coordinate our movements when the time comes.

Once again, thank you for your concern. It is appreciated.

Sincerely yours,
[i]/s/[/i]
Evelyn Chapman
Disparuean Ambassador to J Andres
[/quote]

[JEDCJT]

Richard Mercton chuckled. "[i]Oh no! We are glad to help you out, no need to feel indebted to us. After all, we're brothers![/i]" The President grinned. "[i]And yes, J Andres is currently conducting its operation in Britain, but despite that, we can still devote resources and supplies to help Disparu out.[/i]"

[center]---[/center]
Richards composed a reply back to Ambassador Chapman:

[quote][font="Courier New"][color="#000000"]TO: Evelyn Chapman, Disparuean Ambassador to J Andres
FROM: Ben Richards, Prime Minister of J Andres

Dear Ambassador,

Okay, it is good to hear that the Disparuean Government is planning to launch an operation against the FLQ terrorists in Eterna (I refuse to recognize the name they use for the city, for it insults Disparu's sovereignity). Still, our troops and resources will be standing by should you need them. And yes, the Disparuean Government and Military may have access to our satellite feeds. I will inform Army intelligence centers stationed in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire to calibrate their military satellites with yours.

With the highest regards,
Ben Richards,
Prime Minister of J Andres[/color][/font][/quote]

[Pikachurin]

[quote name='JEDCJT' timestamp='1283296163' post='2437525']
Richard Mercton chuckled. "[i]Oh no! We are glad to help you out, no need to feel indebted to us. After all, we're brothers![/i]" The President grinned. "[i]And yes, J Andres is currently conducting its operation in Britain, but despite that, we can still devote resources and supplies to help Disparu out.[/i]"
[/quote]

Lance smiled, even though the President couldn't see him. "That's good to know, Mr. President. If the Ministry of Defence needs your help, I'll call you as soon as possible. Good luck on your operation in Britain, by the way."

[quote name='JEDCJT' timestamp='1283296163' post='2437525']
Richards composed a reply back to Ambassador Chapman:
[/quote]

[quote][center][img]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091230220739/cybernations/images/thumb/2/29/DisparuGovernmentSeal.png/250px-DisparuGovernmentSeal.png[/img][/center]

[b]Date : [/b] 31 août / August 2011

[b]TO/À :[/b] Ben Richards, Prime Minister of J Andres
[b]FROM/DE :[/b] Evelyn Chapman, Disparuean Ambassador to J Andres

Thank you. I shall inform the Government about this.

Yours,
[i]/s/[/i]
Evelyn Chapman
Disparuean Ambassador to J Andres
[/quote]

[b]CLASSIFIED ACTIONS[/b]

As soon as the satellites were calibrated, the Disparuean Forces turned their attention to Eterna. Using the data coming in from both Disparuean and J Andrean satellites, the military constructed a high-resolution map of Eterna and its surrounding areas. A topographic map and a 3-D reconstruction of all of Eterna's buildings were also created. Using these maps, the military began to plan out the details of their counterattack...

[Pikachurin]

[i](OoC: This post is open to IC comments, by the way.)[/i]

[i]1 September 2011[/i]

Ever since the FLQ’s takeover of Ferinh, a couple of things in the city had changed. First off, every single bridge connecting the city to the rest of Disparu, with the exception of one leading to an obscure road, had been destroyed to prevent the Disparuean Forces from crossing over. They left one bridge intact since they weren’t stupid enough to think they could survive without trading with the outside world. Just in case the Disparuean Forces found out about it though (which they would), Jay had concentrated most of her ground-based defences and troops there. Granted, the Disparuean Forces could just transport their soldiers via helicopter, but that’s what anti-aircraft defences are for.

In the meantime, Jay had begun an initiative to control most, if not all, of Ferinh’s civil affairs. She had control of the city’s utilities, emergency systems, institutions, and even the Government’s buildings. She even had control of the DNN Centre, the network’s headquarters; hence she could easily broadcast propaganda throughout the nation. The Government could easily solve this by destroying their own infrastructure, but they obviously wouldn’t do it lest they face billions of dollars worth of damage and several lawsuits.

Nevertheless, Jay had to move soon. Sooner or later the Disparuean Forces would come barging in one way or another, and all of her plans would come crashing down. Hell, she even heard something involving J Andres and France from her FLQ agents in the Government, though she hardly hears from them now that they’re isolated from the country.

But there was still one thing she could use to communicate with the outside world. She could definitely use it to her advantage, whether the Government liked it or not.

She picked up the phone in her desk and started dialing…

**********

[i]6 September 2011[/i]

Five days later, on Labour Day, Jay found herself standing behind a podium in the square in front of the Old Parliament. Her podium was marked with a seal she had commissioned for the FLQ. It mainly consisted of a silvery sword with a golden handle on top of a black-and-gray striped shield fimbriated by blue. On top of these were a red star charged with a golden fleur-de-lis, and a gold-fimbriated red banner with the words “[i]Sanum cogito supra omnis[/i]” (“Rational thinking above all” in Latin) on it. This was the motto of Saboria (or so she thought), and eventually, the Province of Almia. The province had only adapted it a few months ago at the urging of the province’s residents. Before that, the province used something along the lines of “[i]Scientia et fides[/i]” (“Knowledge and faith”) which didn’t sound as inspiring as the current motto.

In front of Jay were the highest-ranking members of the FLQ, all wearing militaristic uniforms. These people would be part of the government she was about to establish. Beyond them were the DNN staff she had commissioned to broadcast the event, and even further were the masses, interested in the sweeping changes that were about to come. The entire square was surrounded by the FLQ’s lower officers, all of them intent on fighting back an opposing force from the outside or dispatching detractors among the crowd.

One of the DNN staff gave a thumbs-up to Jay, and Jay tapped her microphone. All at once the crowd grew silent. She knew that, at this moment, her speech would be broadcasted throughout Disparu via DNN, and would hopefully reach the international community, especially J Andres. The High Commander had emphasized that for some reason.

“Good evening, comrades, and those who are observing our glorious revolution outside of our fair city.” she said in English with a French accent. “To the denizens of Ferinh, I would like to thank you for your cooperation, your bravery and your faith for our noble goals. Your sacrifices, endeavors and legacies will not be forgotten once our glorious Utopia reaches sea to sea. As for our international observers, I wish to present to you the epitome of a revolution by the people. You see, we have been struggling ever since the days of the original Canada over forty years ago. We were satiated a bit when Sarkara and the others rebelled against the old Canadian government and established Saboria, which had semblances of an earthly Utopia, hence our activities were subsided during his time. However, our great struggle was once again sparked upon the great state’s collapse, and we once again found ourselves in the same position we were in fifty years ago. Since the will of the people is impossible to bottle up, even for an oppressive government such as the Disparuean Government, we were able to rise up after years of hard work, dedication, determination and sacrifices by the common people and the FLQ, the people’s will finally triumphed and overpowered the destructive obsessions of the Government. The people once again blissfully set out to complete the glorious and splendid task of building a socialist paradise for the workers of the world. We may only have Ferinh today, but tomorrow and forevermore we shall move onward, so that our dream of an earthly paradise reaches all corners of the globe, and even the farthest reaches of the space-time continuum itself! This is why I, Geneviève Robertson, Vanguard of the Glorious Revolution, Commander of the Front and the Grand Director of the People’s Government, hereby declare the existence and establishment of the Technocratic Commune of Nouveau Saboria!”

A series of red and yellow fireworks lit up the sky above Jay as she finished her speech. The people rejoiced and cried tears of joy; they were finally free, and would be re-led to greatness by their new Director. Jay turned her attention to the flagpoles behind her. The flags of Disparu, Almia and Eterna formerly flew on these, but those had been destroyed a few days ago. Now, some of the FLQ’s highest-ranking agents were ceremoniously standing in front of them, holding flags of various sizes and colours on their hands. A nearby orchestra then solemnly began to play the first notes of [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm7dHfw6hmE"][i]The Internationale[/i][/url]. Jay and the other FLQ agents led the singing in French, all the time raising their fists into the air, and little by little the people began to follow along. Some imitated the FLQ’s gestures and raised their fists as well.

[center][i]Debout, les damnés de la terre [Stand up, damned of the Earth]
Debout, les forçats de la faim [Stand up, prisoners of hunger]
La raison tonne en son cratère [Reason thunders in its volcano]
C'est l'éruption de la fin [This is the eruption of the end]
Du passé faisons table rase [Of the past let us make a clean slate]
Foule esclave, debout, debout [Enslaved masses, stand up, stand up]
Le monde va changer de base [The world is about to change its foundation]
Nous ne sommes rien, soyons tout [We are nothing, let us be all]

C'est la lutte finale [This is the final struggle]
Groupons-nous, et demain [Let us group together, and tomorrow]
L'Internationale [The Internationale]
Sera le genre humain [Will be the human race]

Il n'est pas de sauveurs suprêmes [There are no supreme saviours]
Ni Dieu, ni roi, ni gouvernement [Neither God, nor King, nor Government]
Producteurs, sauvons-nous nous-mêmes [Producers, let us save ourselves]
Décrétons le salut commun [Decree the common salvation]
Pour que le voleur rende gorge [So that the thief expires]
Pour tirer l'esprit du cachot [So that the spirit be pulled from its prison]
Soufflons nous-mêmes notre forge [Let us fan the forge ourselves]
Battons le fer quand il est chaud [Strike the iron while it is hot]

C'est la lutte finale [This is the final struggle]
Groupons-nous, et demain [Let us group together, and tomorrow]
L'Internationale [The Internationale]
Sera le genre humain [Will be the human race]

L'État comprime et la loi triche [The State oppresses and the law cheats]
L'impôt saigne le malheureux [Tax bleeds the unfortunate]
Nul devoir ne s'impose au riche [No duty is imposed on the rich]
Le droit du pauvre est un mot creux [The rights of the poor is an empty phrase]
C'est assez, languir en tutelle [Enough languishing in custody]
L'égalité veut d'autres lois [Equality wants other laws]
Pas de droits sans devoirs dit-elle [No rights without duties, she says,]
Égaux, pas de devoirs sans droits [Equally, no duties without rights]

C'est la lutte finale [This is the final struggle]
Groupons-nous, et demain [Let us group together, and tomorrow]
L'Internationale [The Internationale]
Sera le genre humain [Will be the human race]

Hideux dans leur apothéose [Hideous in their apotheosis]
Les rois de la mine et du rail [The kings of the mine and of the rail]
Ont-ils jamais fait autre chose [Have they ever done anything other]
Que dévaliser le travail ? [Than steal work?]
Dans les coffres-forts de la bande [Inside the safeboxes of the gang]
Ce qu'il a créé s'est fondu [What work had created melted]
En décrétant qu'on le lui rende [By ordering that they give it back]
Le peuple ne veut que son dû. [The people want only their due.]

C'est la lutte finale [This is the final struggle]
Groupons-nous, et demain [Let us group together, and tomorrow]
L'Internationale [The Internationale]
Sera le genre humain [Will be the human race]

Les rois nous saoulaient de fumées [The kings made us drunk with fumes]
Paix entre nous, guerre aux tyrans [Peace among us, war to the tyrants]
Appliquons la grève aux armées [Let the armies go on strike]
Crosse en l'air, et rompons les rangs [Stocks in the air, and break ranks]
S'ils s'obstinent, ces cannibales [If they insist, these cannibals]
À faire de nous des héros [On making heroes of us]
Ils sauront bientôt que nos balles [They will know soon that our bullets]
Sont pour nos propres généraux [Are for our own generals]

C'est la lutte finale [This is the final struggle]
Groupons-nous, et demain [Let us group together, and tomorrow]
L'Internationale [The Internationale]
Sera le genre humain [Will be the human race]

Ouvriers, paysans, nous sommes [Workers, peasants, we are]
Le grand parti des travailleurs [The great party of labourers]
La terre n'appartient qu'aux hommes [The earth belongs only to men]
L'oisif ira loger ailleurs [The idle will go to reside elsewhere]
Combien de nos chairs se repaissent [How much of our flesh have they consumed]
Mais si les corbeaux, les vautours [But if these ravens, these vultures]
Un de ces matins disparaissent [Disappeared one of these days]
Le soleil brillera toujours. [The sun will shine forever.][/i][/center]

The crowed cheered wildly as the last notes of [i]The Internationale[/i] faded, while the sky was lit up by several more fireworks. Amidst the aura of victory and brotherhood, Jay smiled as she regarded the flags of the FLQ, Saboria and communist Canada flying in the air.

[center][IMG]http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii55/LT_imageserver/RaisingoftheFlags.png[/IMG][/center]

Edited September 11, 2010 by Pikachurin

[Pikachurin]

[i]10 October 2011

1:00 PM[/i]

The Ferinhites’ support of the FLQ had pretty much nosedived ever since they started this ridiculous charade. Maybe it was because of the constant attacks against the city by the Disparuean Forces’ Special Operations, or maybe it was because of their failed attempts to control more land downstream, along the Manicouagan River.

Hell, it was probably even caused by the Collective Agricultural Program they were discussing at the People’s Hall. You see, after Jay declared the Technocratic Commune’s existence, she had created a pseudo-legislature known as the “People’s Hall”. Based on the Old Parliament, now renamed as the Grand Hall of the People of the Technocratic Commune, it was composed of Jay herself as the Grand Director, the Council of Praetors, or the highest-ranking agents of the FLQ, the Democratic Council, or the remaining lower-ranking agents of the FLQ who were supposedly elected by the people of Ferinh to represent them, and finally, the People’s Council, or the citizens of Ferinh who were invited to participate in the Hall’s debates. None of that mattered, though; Jay controlled both the Council of Praetors and the Democratic Council, and the People’s Council wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Nevertheless, the Hall continued to debate for the sake of formality. As of this moment, they were debating the Collective Agricultural Program, which mandated that the Centre Tower’s indoor park and gardens should be converted into a collective farm to make Ferinh more self-sufficient. The People’s Council were extremely against it, but Jean knew their efforts were in vain; Jay, and by extension, the Council of Praetors and the Democratic Council, had already made her mind. Nonetheless, the entire Hall still had to participate in the so-called debate. In fact, Jean, being a member of the Council of Praetors, had to be in the Hall’s debate chamber right now lest Jay became suspicious, but he had other business to do.

Jean, making sure he wasn’t seen or spotted by someone else or the security cameras (Jay had control over those too, unfortunately), sneaked through the building’s hallways until he found what he was looking for: a washroom. He entered the room silently and locked the door behind him. After making sure there wasn’t anyone in the room and there were no cameras or bugs installed, Jean pulled out a BlackBerry and a laptop from his coat. He set the laptop up on the counter and plugged his smartphone into it. A window with a list of several programs popped-up; Jean went through it and opened a ciphering program. The program opened, recognized the BlackBerry and used the phone’s call feature to call a number with an area code from the Gaspésie.

A person on the other side of the line picked up after one ring.

“I’ve been waiting for your call, Jean.” said a man with a deep voice and traces of an English-Dutch accent. “Tell me, how is Geneviève so far?”

“Suffering from a god complex. Typical.” replied Jean.

“I see.”

“Do you have any intel for me, Mr. H…?”

“Shh!”

“Sorry, High Commander, I forgot. I haven’t talked…”

“Fine, whatever. As for your precious intel, yes, I do have some for you.”

“What is it?”

“My sources indicate that the Government is planning on testing one of their nuclear ICMBs…”

“The Government has nukes?” asked Jean, genuinely surprised.

“Yes.” replied the man in an unemotional voice.

“And I should care because…”

“Because they’re trying it out on Eterna.”

“The hell!? They can’t do that on their own land!” exclaimed Jean, shocked.

“Well, they’re not making a direct strike on Eterna. Rather, they’re going to detonate it high above the city and use the resulting EMP blast against Eterna.”

“Why would they do that?” asked Jean, once again interested.

“Why, do you think?” snapped the voice.

Jean paused and thought for a while. And then it dawned on him. “They’re…they’re planning on crippling Jay’s force. And attacking them once they do.”

“Good job, Sherlock.”

“What should I do?” asked Jean, with a hint of fear in his voice.

“If you don’t want to end up in Almia High-Security Penitentiary, I recommend leaving the city, by any means possible, before midnight.”

“They’re nuking the damn city tonight!?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“No. What of the others?”

“Dispatch them in any way possible. Be creative.”

“How about Jay and her cronies?”

“Keep them busy; let the Government catch them unaware.”

“Why exactly?”

The voice paused for a bit, before continuing. “I’m afraid this charade has gone on for too long. I’ve overestimated Geneviève’s and Giles’s talents, unfortunately. They will not be able to carry out the rest of our plans.”

And with that, the man hung up.

Jean thought about what the man said as he hid the laptop and BlackBerry in his coat. The High Commander had an unfortunate track of being deceitful, even during his time in public office. It would cost him his life if the High Commander was deceiving him all along, but that would also be the case if he was being sincere. Should he side with Jay, or the High Commander?

Jean continued to think about it as he left the washroom.

**********

[i]7:30 PM[/i]

Jay felt rather good as she entered her office atop the Grand Hall. She was finally living the dreams she had been working for in years. She was finally on her way to once again re-establishing the Canadian communist technocracy of the past. She was helping millions of people along the way too, even though they may not realize it for now. Today, they may protest against the Collective Agricultural Program, but tomorrow, they will hail her as a modern-day hero, and eventually, the liberator of all humanity from capitalist oppression.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a panicked-stricken Jean burst into her office. She had not seen him at the People’s Hall to support her earlier; hence her suspicious spontaneously flared up. She grabbed her pistol from her coat, just in case she needed it.

“[i]Jay, Jay, j’ai de mauvaises nouvelles! Jay![/i] [Jay, Jay, I have bad news! Jay!]” screamed Jean, clutching his heart.

“[i]Quoi?[/i] [What?]” she asked, trying to restrain her voice.

“[i]J’ai découvert un complot contre vous, Jay.[/i] [I discovered a conspiracy against you, Jay.]” replied Jean, calming down a bit.

“[i]Et alors? Comment peux-je te faire confiance?[/i] [So what? How can I trust you?]” snapped Jay, raising her pistol at Jean. She was somewhat satisfied by the shocked look on Jean’s face. Was he scared that she realized his plan to overthrow her all along, or was he shocked that she didn’t trust him? Or was he just shocked by the gun at his face? She didn’t know…yet. “[i]Tu n’y as été pas quand nous avons discuté le programme. Probablement, tu as été avec tes amis de traître.[/i] [You weren’t there when we were discussing the program. You were probably with your traitor friends.]”

Jean tensed. He wasn’t expecting this. He immediately began to think of a possible excuse that wouldn’t bite him in the future. “[i]Non, non, vous ne comprenez pas…j’ai ramassé les témoignages à condamner les traîtres.[/i] [No, no, you don’t understand…I was gathering evidence to condemn the traitors.]” He then began to list the traitors, who were all people he knew, all who were FLQ agents, and a brief summary of what they did against the Front, such as espionage and sabotaging their operations.

“[i]Ils ont été avec moi, dans la Salle.[/i] [They were in the Hall with me.]” replied Jay, raising her gun a bit higher.

“[i]Les témoignages ont été dans leurs appartements. J’ai chipé quand ils ont été dans la Salle.[/i] [The evidence was in their apartments. I sneaked in while they were in the Hall.]” defended Jean.

Jay remained silent for a moment as she thought the situation over.

“[i]Montre-moi.[/i] [Show me.]”

Jean laid down a sizeable suitcase on Jay’s desk and opened it. Inside were dozens of damnable evidence, ranging from reports about her activities to a certain “JEH” to what appeared to be full-scale plans on how to remove her from power. All of them looked genuine and verifiable.

“[i]Merci, Jean. Je suis désolée pour ma réaction. Vous pouvez partir. [/i][Thank you, Jean. I’m sorry for my reaction. You may go.]” said Jay quietly as she picked up the red phone on her desk. Jean bowed to Jay as he stood and went for the door. Unknown to Jay, there was a large mischievous smile on his face as he left the office.

**********

[i]11:30 PM[/i]

Four hours later, the agents Jean listed earlier were rudely awoken by armed men wearing balaclavas. Sacks were thrust on their heads before they were dragged out of their apartment buildings into a dark, unmarked van. They were thrown out half an hour later and led into a rather cold building; the floors were made out of marble. Or was it wood? They didn’t really care, since they were still panic-stricken and their legs really hurt.

After twisting through the building’s hallways for what seemed to be an eternity, they were pushed and handcuffed onto some uncomfortable chairs and the sacks on their heads were ripped off. The first thing they noticed was that they were in a lofty room panelled with wood. Before them was a long, wooden table, with high-ranking members of the Council of Praetors, and Jay herself, sitting behind it. Behind them was a banner of the city’s new coat of arms, draping over something the men could only guess at.

“[i]Traîtres, vous avez condamné à l’haute trahison pour faire de l’espionnage au gouvernement de la Technocratie.[/i] [Traitors, you have been condemned to high treason for spying on the Technocracy’s government.]” shouted Jay at the top of her voice. “[i]Voilà, ces sont des témoignages pour tes crimes. Quelle est ta défense?[/i] [Voila, these are some evidence for your crimes. What is your defence?]” taunted Jay as she motioned to one of the low-ranking agents standing near her. The agent approached a covered table and lifted the covers, revealing dozens of piles of documents, as well as keys, encryption pads, laptops and smartphones.

Over the next few minutes, Jay and the Praetors specified what each person did against the Technocracy, while the agent presented evidence from the table to prove their points. The men, still handcuffed, regarded the evidence with despair and tried to put together arguments against the Praetors. Sure, there were occasional documents that they pleaded weren’t theirs, but the rest was certainly undeniable. There were documents containing their real names, and two pseudonyms – one for the FLQ and another for some unknown purpose. Most were addressed to one “JEH” living in the Gaspésie.

All of them knew that they were done for and opted to remain silent. Jay and her cronies had all the evidence in the world to incarcerate them, and had counter-arguments to all of their arguments against the charges laid against them. They also realized that, by looking around, all of the double agents they’ve worked with were there in the room. All of them actually worked for “JEH,” and kept him updated with the FLQ’s (and Jay’s) latest movements. They all knew what was going to happen to them once the Praetors finished their mock trial.

Well, actually, once they thought about it, they finally realized that one of their men was missing from the trial. It was Jean; the man who had organized their efforts from the very beginning and perhaps one of the most valuable sources of information to “JEH” (he was, after all, a close acquaintance of Jay, and was also a member of the Council of Praetors). At first, they thought he had betrayed them to Jay. Yes, that was it. He took everything that could incarcerate them while they were away and gave them up to the Praetors. He had fallen over to Jay’s side and betrayed their true commander.

But still, a part of them felt that wasn’t the case. Jean wasn’t sitting with the Praetors, so he may still be loyal to them and merely escaped Jay’s wrath. Yes, that was it. He wasn’t at the People’s Hall a while ago since he got wind of the Praetors’ plans for them. He didn’t have time to warn them without making the Council suspicious, so he escaped the city, along with more intel about Jay. He was probably sharing those with “JEH” right now.

But which version was the right one? They may never find out; once this trial ends, their lives would be snuffed out by bullets from their former comrades’ own rifles. They didn’t really care at this point. Either way, their fate was already decided.

Before the trial could end, though, the room’s lights suddenly turned off…

**********

[i]11:00 PM[/i]

Jean was running out of time. In about an hour, the Disparuean Forces would launch the nuke against Eterna, and by then it would be too late. He had to get out of the city fast, but how should he do it?

He could take a camouflaged jeep, but that would be too slow, and the FLQ would catch up to him once they realized his deception. Plus, the only way out of the city was probably blocked by both FLQ and Disparuean troops. He could take a ship, but that would also be too slow.

So instead he opted for a military helicopter. It was fast and stealthy enough, and had the means to take out opposition. Sneaking through the city’s streets to avoid FLQ patrols, he finally reached Eterna International Airport, still controlled by the FLQ and had aircraft despite the Disparuean Forces’ constant shelling. Oddly enough, there were no shells falling as Jean entered the airport’s tarmac. They were obviously lulling the Front into thinking that they’ve given up. Going through the airport’s remaining helipads, he manages to find a somewhat old AH-64 Apache helicopter. Once upon a time, the Disparuean Forces actively used this, even on important missions, but decommissioned most of them upon realizing that there were better helicopters they could use. How the FLQ got this, he had no idea. Nevertheless, it was a working helicopter, and he could certainly put it to good use.

Thirty minutes later, he had managed to get the helicopter off the ground, without being seen or heard, and was now speeding away from the city. He only had half an hour left, and he couldn’t afford any mistakes now. He constantly kept on checking if anyone was following him, or if anyone below was tracking his progress. Fortunately, neither the Front nor the Disparueans were following him. This made him both relieved and suspicious. He was glad that he was escaping without being caught, but it was suspiciously easy. Too easy. Fearing that he was falling into a trap, he became more nervous and continued to scan the horizon for anything that could threaten his progress.

As it turned out, his fears were completely right. In that instant, he saw something fast and slim dart through the air in front of him. In a few seconds, the projectile collided with the Apache, turning it into a gigantic fireball. The entire wreck crashed into the lake below with a splash, hiding it from view.

**********

“Commander, the target has been neutralized. Over.” radioed a man clad in camouflage clothing and had a balaclava covering his face. Beside him lay a bazooka and a few cases of ammunition. He was hiding in a foliage-covered area directly facing Eterna International Airport. His hiding place was extremely advantageous, from there; he had a clear view of the entire area, while those outside it wouldn’t see him at all.

“Good job. Pack up and leave before the Operation gets here. Over.” replied the man on the other side of the line. The man’s voice was then replaced by two consecutive beeps before being drowned out by the sound of static.

The agent who fired the missile began to pack his weapons into a duffel bag. As he was busy making sure that the ammunition were stored properly, he did not notice a faint beep coming from his clothes. He only noticed it when it was beginning to beep at an extremely fast rate. At first, he was confused and didn’t know where it was coming from. But, after a few moments of thinking, it suddenly dawned on him. Wide-eyed, he began ripping his clothes and threw them at the lake. He ripped even faster when the beeping did not stop, and was about to throw his duffel bag into the river when-

BOOM!

The agent suddenly turned into a massive fireball, instantly consuming him, his ammunition and the trees around him. Disparuean soldiers who were observing the city noticed the explosion, as well as the helicopter shot down a while ago, and duly reported them to their superiors. Over the next few days, a team would be sent to investigate both incidents.

**********

[i]11:50 PM[/i]

Operation Neuter was one of the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Science and Technology’s many lovechildren. They had, indeed, worked on numerous other projects in the past, such as Aurasphere, the missile defence system, but those weren’t as significant and monumental as Operation Neuter. One can also say that it is the epitome of the Government’s obsession with making projects multipurpose; Operation Neuter, after all, was a pivotal part of the Disparuean Forces’ plan to retake Eterna, an experiment to test out Disparu’s nuclear capabilities and a show of force and power all packed into one.

Despite the fact that the Ministry of Defence had been very busy due to various wars within North America within the past few weeks, both ministries still had enough time and resources to make preparations for Operation. In fact, it had been in the works ever since the FLQ took over Eterna. Certain electrical grids were taken offline to prevent extensive damage, the airspace over the city was closed down to both civilian and military traffic, certain Aurasphere towers were temporarily disabled, and satellites passing over Eterna were pulled from their orbits mere hours before the Operation’s start.

The ministries also had to accomplish these while making sure that the terrorists never got wind of it. They solved this problem by keeping most movements at night, and constantly bombarding and attacking enemy positions with artillery to keep them busy. As far as they knew, the FLQ had no idea about what was about to happen to them and their iron grip upon the city.

As the clock approached zero-hour, field commanders around Lake Manicouagan and their counterparts back in Jubilife became more anxious and jumpy. Troops from the Disparuean Forces’ Special Operations, based at strategic points around the lake, were preparing and equipping themselves for the operation. Engineering divisions were also preparing themselves; the same was also true for the operation’s strategists. Plans were examined and reread, 3D terrain maps of the area were analyzed, and troops scanned the city itself using their binoculars.

Everyone was waiting for Minister Snap’s green light on the operation. Technically, the operation had already been approved by the Disparuean Forces’ top brass about a month and a half ago, when this whole mess started. However, it was still protocol for the Minister to approve the whole thing.

A chill went through the soldiers as the timer slowly ticked away seconds and neared zero-hour. Anytime now, the Ministry would give the go-ahead and they would be charging towards the city through its remaining bridges, or via helicopter or boat.

Ten more seconds left.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

A faint beep resonated throughout the area as various clocks, watches and timers reached zero-hour. In a few moments, they would be charging towards what would perhaps be the largest internal skirmish in the history of Disparu.

**********

[i]12:00 AM
11 October 2011[/i]

In a nuclear launch facility north of Eterna, conveniently located at the area known as Black Mesa, technicians and engineers were busy making last-minute preparations when they received the green light from the Ministry. They had spent the last few weeks preparing for this moment, as well as making sure security was thigh to prevent intruders from breaking in like the last time. Hence, everything was ready when the Ministry gave its approval. The facility’s staff immediately dropped anything they were doing and began to focus their energies into the launch.

A few moments later, one of the facility’s hidden cupolas opened, exposing one of Disparu’s nuclear missiles unto the elements. Thousands of men and women from the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Project Arceus had worked hard for more than a year to make this piece of technology a success. There were thousands of hours spent on painstaking precise work, there were countless accidents as the technology was developed, but in the end it was all worth it. There was a fury of laughter and applause from Project Arceus’ scientists and engineers, as well as the launch facility’s staff, as the missile’s engines roared and burst out columns of flames. In a few seconds, the chains bounding it to Earth were released and it flew majestically into the clear, starry night sky. The flames and smoke generated by the launch were magnificent and could be seen from miles. The same could be said for the sound blast generated by it. The missile continued to soar high above the atmosphere, crossing the boundary between Almia and Nunavik. As the star of doom soared over Eterna, a small piece of uranium inside was launched into a larger piece of the radioactive element. Within seconds, a large reaction was generated, creating a large amount of energy that continued to expand outwards. Soon, the energy broke free of its metal cage and released itself into the atmosphere…

Everyone first saw it before they heard it. The explosion created a magnificent aurora on the night sky above Eterna. A few moments later, unprotected electric devices below turned off, plunging the entire area into total darkness. Special Operations was, of course, anticipating this; hence all of their equipment were EMP-hardened. As power was deactivated in the city, the troops moved forward.

The aurora’s gruesome light lit the way as soldiers gunned down FLQ agents and firefights broke out throughout the city. Like the terrorists that captured the city before, the military quickly overrun the city’s residential sectors before reaching its core – the Eterna Commons and Eternamagne. Most of the FLQ’s manpower was concentrated here, they noticed. At first, the terrorists put up fierce resistance, but since they were disorganized and disadvantaged, the military soon overpowered them and annihilated them. Soon, Special Operations troops were running down the Eternamagne, liberating Government offices and buildings in it. Members of the Council of Praetors and the Democratic Council suddenly saw the military breaking through their apartments’ doors and arresting them. Even the Front’s ringmaster, Geneviève Robertson, and her cronies, all of whom were busy court-martialling some Front members in the Old Supreme Court Building, found themselves looking down the barrels of the military’s rifles and surrendering immediately. All of them looked shocked and angry as they were escorted out the building and into black, unmarked vans.

The entire city was back into Disparuean hands when morning came. The FLQ’s flags and additions to the city were torn down as the flags of Disparu, Almia and Eterna were restored. The people cheered as thousands of FLQ agents were escorted into vans and were shipped off somewhere, possibly to Almia High-Security Penitentiary.

Over the next few months, the city’s residents, with the help of both the Provincial and Federal Governments, would begin to repair all the damages done to their city by the Front and Operation Neuter. The city’s old Government would also begin to return to their old positions, where they would be met by smiling people who were simply happy to see them again.

**********

[i]2:30 PM
11 October 2011[/i]

The old man smiled as he watched the latest DNN report from his home in the Gaspésie. It was talking about the recent “liberation” of Eterna from the FLQ, and constantly showed clips of people cheering and the Disparuean Forces firing at the Front’s agents the night before.

As more clips from the city flashed before his eyes, he thought about what had happened during the previous months. He had obviously over and underestimated a lot of things, which explained why everything failed in the first place. For example, how could he have believed that an over-nationalistic and irrational person could make his initial plans work? He had a feeling this entire charade would come crashing down from day one, but he had wrongfully ignored his instinct due to Jay’s and Giles’s earlier successes. As the plan progressed, they became more emotional and attached, and thought that self-sacrifice and flair would be beneficial to his plans. They were completely wrong; their arrest by the Government was all the proof he needed for that.

He completely underestimated the Disparuean Government. It was, indeed, easy enough to establish several contacts in it during his time as a prominent official in the former Federated States, and said contacts were completely trustworthy and provided a treasure trove of information. However, he was not expecting the Government’s sudden reaction during the last parts of his plans. It seemed that while they looked soft from the outside, they were actually slier and more dangerous than he thought inside. He should have looked at how the Government dealt with the Great Lakes States and the United Organization before starting his plans.

Overall, he felt stupid that he was naïve enough to think this will actually work from the very beginning. He was uninformed of what the political landscape of the lands north of the Federated States actually looked like, he didn’t have access to enough resources without being arrested, and he had been giving orders to unskilled people. Simply put, he betted on the wrong horse and lost.

There’s always next time, though. As long as the Government doesn’t catch him, or J Andres for that matter, he could continue to plot and hoard resources for as long as he lived. Someday, he will succeed and exact revenge upon those who had deposed of him before – Mercton and his cronies.

Sighing, J. Edgar Hoover took a sip from his cup of tea as he continued to watch the DNN report.