Riots in Centralis

[GeneralTacticus]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


OOC: I certainly hope you do know how electronic warfare works. It seems that this kind of omni-directional, full spectrum, all weather coverage you envisioned doesn't work.

So enlighten me. How does it work?

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by GeneralTacticus
So enlighten me. How does it work?

ECM (jamming) basically is sending a lot of white noises towards the targets on the frequencies that they are using.

The 3 big problem with your scheme is:

1. You don't know the frequencies being used
2. You don't know where the signals are coming from
3. You don't know when they are coming

If you wish to carry out such a jamming scheme, it'd require an impossibly large armount of energy. Besides, it screws up everything as well. Just consider that all civilian wireless communications will be shot, among other things.

[GeneralTacticus]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


ECM (jamming) basically is sending a lot of white noises towards the targets on the frequencies that they are using.

The 3 big problem with your scheme is:

1. You don't know the frequencies being used
2. You don't know where the signals are coming from
3. You don't know when they are coming

If you wish to carry out such a jamming scheme, it'd require an impossibly large armount of energy. Besides, it screws up everything as well. Just consider that all civilian wireless communications will be shot, among other things.

Ok then, clearly it isn't going to stop Jack's planes from flying around the place (not that that was it's original purpose - it was there to jam whatever commlinks the Centralis military still had, and prevent them from doing anything). Given that, consider my previous post retracted.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by GeneralTacticus
Ok then, clearly it isn't going to stop Jack's planes from flying around the place (not that that was it's original purpose - it was there to jam whatever commlinks the Centralis military still had, and prevent them from doing anything). Given that, consider my previous post retracted.

The communists still can jam the Centralis military though, at least on some levels. That's not unrealistic.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Mr. President
Dakmoristani armies marched into Acre and down the Anduin Valley. In ferocity, the fighting equalled the medieval Aerathi conflicts. Villages were razed, and thousands displaced.

Noosland denounces the Dakmoristani invasion. All Dakmoristani troops must withdraw behind the original borders quickly and orderly.

[GeneralTacticus]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


The communists still can jam the Centralis military though, at least on some levels. That's not unrealistic.

I wasn't going to have them stop doing that - it would screw up the entire plotline I'd got planned out - and I did assume that it would be possible to do, given that they have inside information and controlled a number of the major communication hubs for the military.

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Noosland denounces the Dakmoristani invasion. All Dakmoristani troops must withdraw behind the original borders quickly and orderly.

He didn't say who did the village-razing, or why...

[GeneralTacticus]

"...inform her guards of the sentence, and have them carry it out immediately. Next..."

Blackstone had just hit a key on his laptop computer and was about to begin reading out the details of accused when the 'diplomatic' telex machine nearby began to whir and spat a message out into the hands of a waiting aide.

"Who sent it, and what does it say?" Blackstone asked curiously, momentarily distracted from the Tribunal proceedings.

"It's a message from the United States of Jackson, Comrade Chairman, and it reads as follows:

To Centrails Communist:
The United States of Jackson will not stand for what you have done. You have 48 hours to step down from power and allow the President and the rest of the Executive Concil to regan controll of the Centrail government and armed forces. If you do not comply Jackson will be forced to use force to do so. We have six aircraft battle groups in the area, we sugest that you heed our advice."

Blackstone s******ed for a moment.

"Do they really think we're just going to throw in the towel and surrender because they tell us to? Rather funny, really..."

He was interrupted by a shout from the other side of the room.

"Comrade Chairman! I've just recieved word that there are Jackson aircraft flying over our cities. Apparently they've evacuated their embassy by helicopter, as well..."

Blackstone scowled. "Well, that's one option for us gone - there's no way we can take the Embassy staff hostage now. Oh well, it's probably about time they learnt to respect the sovereignty of other nations anyway. Send them back a message telling them that if they don't get out of Centralian territorial waters and airspace, they'll be fired upon - we've got ourselves a nice stockpile of SAMs and anti-ship missiles, don't we?"

Another CPC functionary nodded. "Yes, Comrade Chairman. We captured a good few mobile SAM launchers and Stinger missiles from the arsenals we've captured, as well as a few naval helicopters and strike fighters armed with an assortment of weapons, including anti-ship missiles."

"Excellent. Tell them that, and in the meantime, get some of our men ready to start firing on the Jackson aircraft - and get the planes and choppers armed and ready to fly out. Also, tell our ECM crews that I want them to try and figure out what frequencies the Jacksonians are using for their radar and communciations, and start jamming them."

Thos ein the vicinity all nodded, and the aide manning the telex machine began typing out a reply. Blackstone turned back to the laptop to continue the Tribunal deliberations, but then paused and looked up.

"One final matter. If this doesn't work, get word to our agents in Jackson that they're to start causing some anonymous mayhem to distract the Jacksonians, and perhaps deter them form further action. Under circumstances are they to reveal they're connected to us, but they're free to say that they're doing this because of the Jacksonian intervention. Got that?"

Once again, all who would be concerned with this nodded or mumbled affirmatives, before going back to their stations. Blackstone looked down at the screen again, and began to read.

"Accused number 851..."

[GeneralTacticus]

"Captain Shinji?"

"Yes, soldier...?"

Shinji, who had just gone out in the unlit street from the building he had been communicating from, turned to face the soldier who had spoken. When he arrived, Kurnous had brought an escort of soldiers from some elite unit or other, but until now, none of them had actually said anything.

"I'm Commander Draker, Captain Shinji, ranking Centralis officer here, for what that's worth. I was wondering if you'd like some extra backup?"

Shinji stared at the masked face of the commander standing in the doorway, while the other Yokuza agents and Centralis soldiers silently slipped into the street.

"You heard the Monarch's orders, Commander. We're to go straight to the government complex and break in, without wasting any time. Now, let's get moving."

Shinji turned to go, expecting the commander to drop the issue and follow him, but was surprised when the officer strode up behind him and grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip.

"And I thought Yokuza agents were supposed to be smart!" the man hissed, with more than a little irritation in his voice. He swung Shinji around to face him and released his arm. "Think, Captain! The city from here to the complex is crawling with communists, and the complex itself will be swarming with them! Do you seriously think that you and your nine agents, and me and Kurnous and our seven soldiers, could even get there in one piece? We're good, but we'd be shredded before we were halfway there. Numbers matter, you know-"

Shinji cut him off, impatience in his own voice.

"So what? We've been told to make the attempt, and so we must."

"You fool. You bloody fool! There are over a thousand elite Centralis troopers - the best we have - gathered just five minutes walk away! They're already preparing their own strike against the communists. Add just a few minutes to our travelling time, Captain, and you'll have a force behind you that will turn the communists to ashes!

"So tell me, Captain. Do you want to win, or do you want to die?"

Shinji stared, again, and the concealed face of the man standing in front of him. A blank, emotionless visor stared back.

"Very well, Commander. I suppose you're right. Lead us to your comrades, and we'll lead them against the communists. I just hope this won't make us too late..."

"Beleive me, Captain," Draker said, in a softer tone of voice, "if we don't get backup, we'll never get there at all."

* * *

"How much further?" Darker heard Shinji whisper to him as the Yokuza agents and Draker's men slipped along yet another darkened street. He opened his mouth to reply, but his words died in his throat, because at that moment, through his night-vision goggles, he saw a sight to make his blood run cold.

A patrol group of over thirty men and women armed with heavy assault rifles and infravision gear had appeared at the end of the street. All wore the embelem of the CPC, and their guns were pointed directly at the joint Centralis/Alecrast force. There were not nearly enough guns pointed in the other direction to make a difference, and in that instant, as the deafening roar of gunfire filled the air, Draker knew he was about to die.

* * *

It was only when he realized that he was still alive, and that he could hear no bullets impacting around him, that the Centralian officer snapped back to reality. The communsits force had been decimated - and it was entirely unclear by who. A few of his and Shinji's men were firing, and Kurnous was doing something incomprehensible with a long, lethal-looking blade, but most of the shooting seemed to be coming from somewhere to the right of both sides.

Draker was not left to wonder what was going on for long, however, because after ten seconds of sustained and devastating shooting, twin tongues of flame roared out over the communsits, and an instant later, the soldiers wielding the flamethrowers came into view - they were from the group fo soldiers they had been looking for. Draker felt almost lgiht-headed with relief as the flames incinerated the last of the communsits, their piercing screams dying away as they were reduced to ash, and another search party of 12 soldiers came into view, waving for Draker's men and the Yokuza agents to come and join them.

When they met at the end of the street, one of them, whose shoulder pads indicated that he was a Lieutenant, lifted his visor and grinned wolfishly.

"Third lot of those bastards we've barbecued in the last fifteen minutes," he said with relish, "we keep going at this rate, and we'll have 'em wiped out by tommorrow."

There was some laughter at this, but it quickly died out.

"Lieutenant, I have Minister Kion Kurnous here with me, along with ten Alecrastian Yopkuza agents under orders to rescue President Arrayende. We need to link up with the rest of the troops and then head off to do that."

"Sure thing, Commander. HQ is just on the next block - this way."

With that, the now enlarged group hurried off to find the help they were looking for.

[Jack_www]

abroad the USS Hornet.

"Admiral we have received new orders from CINCLEast.
They want us to recall all fighters from Centrail Airspace and start regalur patroll. We are also auhorized to use force if the fleet is under attack to being directly threaten."

"Clear the deck and get ready to recall those fighters. I also start battle drills, I want the fleet ready for anything that might come our way. Have all figters ready to launch as well."

"Yes sir!"

[GeneralTacticus]

"Accused number 862, Martin-"

Blackstone was interrupted again by another shout from the other side of the room.

"Cormade Chairman, our troops are reporting that the Jacksonian aircraft are withdrawing from our airspace, back to their carriers."

"Nice of them. Tell our troops not to fire on them, but keep our anti-ship strike force ready for takeoff, just in case they try anything else."

"As you wish, Comrade Chairman."

* * *

"Captain Shinji, may I present Colonel Fritz von Reinsfeld, commander of the Omnicron Batallion."

Shinji silently examined the man standing a short way in front of him, talking quietly to two other officers - unlike most of his troops, not wearing his helmet. His hair was dark black streaked with grey, and his dark green eyes stared out of a face so gaunt as to be almost skull-like. Noticing the nee arrivals, he dismissed the other officers with a flip of his hand and turned to face Shinji.

"So... you must be the Yokuza agent my troops told me was on his way here."

"That is correct, Colonel."

Reinsfeld nodded silently, looking thoughtful. After a few seconds, he spoke again.

"So, Captain... why are you here?"

"I am under orders from the Monarch to rescue President Arrayende, who has been sentenced to death by the communist forces. I came to you in violation of instructions to waste no time in making the attempt, in the hope that you could help me and my men do that."

"You came to the right place, Captain. Give me a few minutes to get everyone together and recall our scout patrols, and we'll send those murderous bastards back into the darkness from whence they came."

* * *

As massed forces of elite troops began sweeping silently across the city toward the government complex, Minister Kurnous allowed himself a small smile of triumph. Everything was going as he had planned. Soon, both the communists and the old regime would be finished, and a new order would arise from the ashes, an order whose emergence would forestall the calamity which the Farseers had seen in the future.

* * *

As usual, Draker and his seven trops were taking point, ahead of the main mass of troops. They were under orders to eliminate any communist forces they came across and prevent them from slowing down the main body... or, if they couldn't, to pin them down until reinforcements arrived to finish them off. So far, they'd cut down two groups of patrolling communists, both without taking a single casualty.

Down the street, standing in the front garden of a house, they could see another group of armed troops with red flags on their shoulders... more communists... but what were they doing...?

Even as they silently asked themselves that question, it was answered for them. Three more CPC soldiers emerged from inside the house, dragging with them a man, a woman and a small child, all of them looking terrified, the child frantically struggling to get away.

One of the communists, his face visible from Draker's position, stepped foward and stared down at the prisoners with a look of contempt on his face. They were too far away to hear what he said, but by the movement of his lips and the expression on his face, it was clear enough.

'Counter-revolutionaries.'

A cloud of blood sprayed across the lawn as the three communists holding them pressed pistols to the heads of their captives and fired.

* * *

Draker and his scouts stood in stunned silence for a moment, before Private Garcia hefted his grenade launcher and fired three grenades into the heart of the communist troops. A second later, everyone else was firing too, filling the air with flying bullets.

Not a single shot was fired in return. After most of them expended their magazines, the scouts stopped shooting; as the smoke from the grenade explosions cleared, they could see there was nothing left of their targets but bloody tatters. As the other scouts moved cautiously down the street to keep looking for more communists, Draker tried to get a message through the jamming to report what had just happened, but had no luck. He sighed, and ran to catch up with his men. Sometimes the emssages got through; sometimes they didn't. There was no ay to tell which it would be, nor any way to alter it.

When Draker's troops arrived where the communists had been standing a short while before and looked around, their fears were confirmed - these were not the only people who had been shot by the communists. Outside every house on this side of the street down to the one they stood in, there were corpses lying on the ground with bulet wounds to the head. Draker checked to see that the camera built into his helmet was running, and was relieved to see that it was, and had recorded everything that had happened since they set out, without a pause. That record, if nothing else, would seal the fate of the CPC...

[Jack_www]

never mind

[GeneralTacticus]

OOC: Jack, this is the main reason why I asked everyone who wants to get involved in this to discuss matters with me first. There are two problems with your attempting to do this, both of which could have been avoided if you'd asked me about them first (the information in question would have been available to your military if they'd looked for it).

1) There's rather a lot of jamming sites, and they're mostly located in civilian areas, so if you bomb them, you're going to kill a lot of people who have nothing to do with the communists.

2) The Jacksonian Embassy is located in a major population centre, so I really can't see how you plan to avoid population centres if that's where you're going.

There's also a third one, which the Jacksonian military might not know, but which I'll point out anyway just so you know: the communists have a lot of Stinger missiles and a lot of them have infravision gear too, so don't be in the least bit surprised if that helicopter gets shot down.

[Urban Ranger]

Emergency Session, Nooslandian Standing Committee of the People's Congress

The General Secretary scanned around the table with a serious look on her face. "As you may have already be briefed, our intelligence reports are now indicating foreign covert interventions in Centralis. Currently, our two main concerns are refugees and Centralis becoming a puppet of monachists."

Comrade Ma pushed a button on the keyboard in front of him and a laser halograph was generated. "As you can see, the refugees are flooding across the border. Currently, we have received 20 million and the number is increasing by tens of thousands a day. Our ability of relief is stretched to the limits. We will need immediate international relief aid and a very fast stabalising situation in our neighbour, or we will have to start turning them back."

"Our intelligence sources reported foreign covert agents and special forces are active in Centralis," said Comrade Shoemaker,"they are believed from Alecrast."

"What do you think, Comrade Miner?"

"Perhaps we should covertly contact the Centralis Communist Party to see if they need help."

"Very well, inform our embassy to carry out the task immediately, and to standby 24 hours a day until further notice."

"Comrade Secretary, we have already drafted up a rapid response plan against the emergency situation unfolding in Centralis. I need the approval of the Standing Committee to put Operation Cloud in action."

"Comrades, lets vote on the plan now."

A sweet female voice intoned, "Motion carried."

"The preliminary tests on the vaccine show that it offers excellent protection against Agent Set, the virus strain created by Dr Tsang. It will take 3 months to inoculate our whole military. Mass production can start in 6 months."

A beep sounded from the console in front of the General Secretary. "Comrades, remember the probe sent to Jupiter?"

[Squeblish Nef?]

[Dr Ideo grins as he reads the list of the 'enhancements' soon to be added to Jed.]
"Sweet, merciful sadism! The man's going to end up like WD-40."
{WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?}
"Nothing significant. At least the patient's going to keep his organic brain. I'm going to have to replace all of his other organs, his entire skeletal structure and cyberwire all of his neural senses. I'm also supposed to put in the standard cyborg arsenal and give him a juicebox. I almost pity him."
[Dr Ideo's Luxury-Model Igor grins with excitement, anticipating the heavy surgery.]
"You won't, mashter. Not when you're finished, you won't."

[GeneralTacticus]

“Sir, the door’s locked.”

Reinsfeld nodded, his visored face expressionless.

“I would have been very surprised, Lieutenant, had it been left conveniently open for us. Get some heavy weapons and explosives together, and blow it p. Once we’re inside, we’ll split up – some of us will go looking for Arrayende and the other prisoners, others will search for the security control room so that we can use the cameras, doors and defence systems to our advantage.”

The officer nodded and turned, barking out orders. Within a few heartbeats there were six special ops troops armed with anti-tank missiles aiming carefully for the doors. As one, they fired.

The missiles hit almost simultaneously, and the door vanished in a cloud of smoke and fire. When it cleared, the doors were still standing, but only just – they were charred, crumpled, and apparently ready to fall over at the slightest touch. Impatiently, Reinsfeld grabbed the rocket launcher of a soldier standing next to him, aimed, and fired. This last explosion tore the doors away altogether, leaving the way now clear for the Centralis troops to storm through into the building. This they did, mowing down the hapless CPC troopers who’d been posted inside as guards.

* * *

As the loyalist forces swept inside, Kurnous slipped over to Reinsfeld’s side and indicated he wanted to talk.

“Colonel, two things. Firstly, my brethren in the mountains report that they and the troops they’ve collected are ready to counter-attack the communist forces holding the communication centres. Given the disparity of forces, this should not pose too much difficulty for them.

Secondly – one of the Farseers says he’s cast the runes regarding Arrayende’s fate, and said that although he’s still alive, he won’t be for much longer. If you want to save him, do it quickly.”

Reinsfeld nodded to show that he’d understood, not bothering to ask how the Warlock was communicating – he’d long since learned that trying to understand the Eldar was an exercise in futility.

Following the rest of his men, and surrounded by his own crack command squad, Colonel Reinsfeld loped through the shattered doors, into the heart of the Centralian state.

* * *

“Comrade Chairman?”

Blackstone, interrupted for the third time in a few minutes, looked up with great annoyance.

“Yes, Comrade-whatever-your-name-is, what do you want?”

The comrade, whose name was Alejos, was waving another slip of paper from the diplomatic telex machine.

“Comrade Chairman, we have received a message from Noosland. They are offering us direct support, if we need it.”

Blackstone looked stunned for a minute, then smiled.

“Well, I never expected them to back us, but… this is excellent. Send them a telex back saying that we’d very much appreciate help, in whatever form they’re willing to offer it, and asking them to specify exactly what help they’ll be sending.”

“Will do, Comrade-”

Comrade Alejos was cut off by a sudden blaring alarm, which triggered a small panic among the aides watching the arcology networks.

“Security breach!” one of them shouted, “Hundreds of elite government troops have gained access to the building and are flooding in!”

“Curse them!” Blackstone snarled, leaping to his feet, “We’ll finish with the Tribunal another day. Everybody, battle stations! Mobilize everybody to resist them in every way possible. I don’t want a single one escaping this building alive!”

They was the sound of chairs being shoved back and falling over, and then frantic footfalls as the CPC leadership scurried off to organize a defence, and then the only noise remaining was the continued blaring of alarms.

* * *

It took ten minutes for the soldiers of Omnicron Battalion to secure the ground floor. In the course of that fighting, they lost three dead and eleven wounded, their notoriously thick armour protecting them from anything except lucky shots. Once the floor was secured, they gathered around the lifts from the upper floors and prepared to defend against the CPC reinforcements who were even now beginning to arrive.

Meanwhile, Reinsfeld, his guard, and some other soldiers were heading towards a small, hidden lift shaft that Kurnous had told them about. If he was right, it would allow them to move directly to the security control centre and, to all intents and purposes, retake the complex with one swift blow.

When they arrived at the spot the Warlock had described, they could find nothing – nothing except a small keypad on the wall, half-hidden in a small alcove, into which Reinsfeld entered the code he had been given by Kurnous. There was a chime, a hiss, and what had appeared seconds before to be a section of blank wall slid away to reveal a lift, which, it turned out, held all of them, although they did have to stand quite close together.

Once the last soldier had stepped inside, Reinsfeld hit a key on the wall for the floor number, and then hoped for the best as the lift hurtled upwards toward the security centre.

After a few minutes of rising at staggering speed, the lift slowed and stopped, indicating that it had arrived. It’s occupants raised their weapons, and one of the officer **** the ‘Doors open’ button.

* * *

The first thing to emerge from the lift was a small, cylindrical object, about the size of a large hand grenade. Before the troops on duty in the control centre could wonder what it was, it had activated, and the only thing on their minds, as they clapped their hands over their ears was the deafening, high-pitched whine now being broadcast by the device. IT was almost a relief when a series of carefully targeted pistol shots dispatched them all, one by one.

* * *

“Well, that looks like it went to plan,” remarked Major Marceau, as he picked up his sonic pulsar, deactivated it, and dropped it back in a belt pouch.

“Indeed, Major,” Reinsfeld murmured in reply, staring at the banks of computers that filled the room while the troops that he’d brought with him fanned out to secure the doors, and their IT personnel hurried over and busied themselves taking over the system.

“Sir,” one of them reported after a few minutes, “we’re done. The communists did a surprisingly bad job taking over in the first place, so it wasn’t that hard to take it back. However… the building security systems are now under our control. As it appears that the CPC never did get access to the building communications networks, we can probably use them safely to co-ordinate our troops using it.”

“Yes, do that. And start using everything the system allows you to do to make life hell for the communists. If we can do this right, taking the rest of the building should be a piece of cake.”

The soldiers saluted and turned back to the computers.

“Oh, and by the way,” Reinsfeld called, “have you found out where Arrayende is yet?”

The soldiers looked back over his shoulder.

“Er, yes, actually, sir,” he replied, “he’s in the old MSS prison facility. Shall I rely that information to Captain Shinji and his strike team?”

“Yes. Now.”

The soldiers nodded again and began hitting keys.