The house of rebellion (completed)

Cimmerian aid deploys to Thederic Nors
ICAFB Herrington
Herringtonshire, Kidonia, Cimmeria
Tuesday, 10 October 2017


A squadron of 6 TA MK-III cargo transports taxi their way to the runway. The lead pilot handles the controls before requesting permission to take off from the control tower. "Control tower, this is Burgandy Leader. I'm at the runway. Requesting permission to take off". The control tower gives him the clear after a couple of seconds have past. Burgandy Leader begin to increase speed before making his assent. He continued climbing until his altitude restrictions were cancelled. All the other transports took their turn, one by one, until they left the runway.

---

Castleblank Naval Drydock
Castleblank, Kidonia, Cimmeria


Meanwhile, 7 naval transports finish loading heavy equipment, including some CX-18 MK-IVs, AT-APTVs (All Terrain-Armoured Personnel Transport Vehicles), AT-AMPTTVs (All Terrain-Armoured Multi-Purpose Tracked Transport Vehicles), and some other heavy equipment. The captains of each had to make sure that there were no problems, and that they were ready to go. When they were ready, each ship began to depart, one by one, until they were out of the drydock, and into the Meterran Sea in order to head out to Thederic Nors.

shortly after the first bomber drops its payload Air Raid sirens sound their "ESCAPE" tones throughout Everlene, After a few short moments the power goes out throughout Everlene.
Spotlights turn on and point to the sky, searching for the enemy planes. slowly but surely Anti Air guns become manned and sporadically fire into the sky, hoping to hit the aerial attackers.

It is too late, the bombers are already dropping their payloads Everlene is now fully realizing the pain of not having Radar in the modern age. an Artillery entrenchment and a nearby ammo depot go up in a fireball reaching for the sky, the flames reaching higher than the tallest buildings in the city, the shock waves blowing out windows in cars and buildings for several blocks. Missiles and rockets fire off streaking off into the sky and down streets and fields hitting and annihilating anything in their path. the sheer force of the explosion levels the neighboring military buildings in its immediate adjacency. soon it had started raining, and started raining hard, it only seemed to amplify the sorrow of the victims.

---

Lieutenant Cyrille De La Renou looked out of the window of the lead truck leading a RLA convoy, she could feel the truck get pushed to the side as the wind blew. the night was young and pitch black, had she got the time and the weather was kinder, it would be the perfect night for stargazing, she needed some peace in her life right now. The winds had picked up as the rain rolled in hard over the Central mountains and Renou from Kings Lake. the Trucks finally rounded one of the winding roads and got eyes on one of the crash sites. Cyrille tapped on the dash with her palm as she pulled up the radio.

"Convoy pull here. Infantry dismount. split into buddy teams and comb the area. One flashlight per team, four teams will get one truck. if the pilot survived, we have a runner, orders are to capture not kill." Her tone was angry, she wanted nothing more than to beat the pilot to an inch of their life for what they did to her hometown, but she couldn't afford that risk and it weighed on her. her heart wanted revenge but her mind knew the consequences of what her heart wanted.

Cyrille got out, her buddy tapping her on the shoulder as she loaded and chambered her rifle.. The rest of the infantry dismounted the trucks and spread out. the trucks going off road as they followed some of the teams, using their headlights to aid in the search. Cyrille and her partner along with their truck approached the wreckage of the Jet, they don't know if the pilot managed to actually eject or not but there was only one way to find out.

---

The RNA soldiers attacking Plaiseau had been forced to a standstill by the weather. the rushing rain made the roads of Plaiseau hazardous in their current damaged state, that was always the problem with Plaiseau, whenever it rained traffic would become locked down on the more critical roads and it rained in Central Nors often. it was an infrastructural problem the crown never deemed worthy to fix. and now it has halted the RNA. giving the RLA soldiers time to regroup and possibly counter attack. Baschet was angry, seemingly at the World. Baschet couldn't let the push itself die, it was a race for Everlene, they couldn't let weather stop them. the infantry was ordered to move without the vehicles, they'd just have to commence the final push without the armor victory was in their grasp! if Plaiseau is theirs Everlene is theirs!
Maybe not many realized it just yet. but Victory day was just around the corner for the Royalists. it wasn't far now, they were up on the mountain, now they just had to get over it.

Flight Lieutenant Peter Helsø was having trouble finding cover from the rain. The anti-aircraft fire had come out of nowhere. No one had been warned about the RLA having access to effective AA systems. He saw another jet go down, but had no way of knowing if the pilot was alive...

The rain was heavy, beating down on him as he found a sturdy tree to rest against. He leaned back, the trunk feeling good against his spine. His heart was still racing, but he forced himself to stay still. He didn't even notice, or care, that he was shivering. His hand rested over his SP-771, secured in its holster.

He closed his eyes as the rain came down on him. It had long stuck his hair to his forehead, and his flight suit was soaked through.
The howling wind only put him more on edge. Not just because it made it harder for him to hear anything. It just cut right through him. Made him feel on edge, like something was nipping at his heels. And in this case? That feeling was accurate.

He knew what he should do. Get his barrings. Head to the lake, see if he could steal a boat and get across back to Prydania. He reached for his belt, pulling his compass out. He held it up, and thankfully the glow in the dark bits had just enough light in them to remain readable. He hastily shoved it back in his belt, knowing where he had to go.

No doubt the RLA would have someone...likely many someones...out looking for him. Best to make up as much ground as possible while it was still dark and windy....

He didn't get very far from his tree before he heard Ceretian Nor in the distance, and was able to see the light from flashlights through the rain.
"Fuck" he muttered to himself, taking off. The darkness and rain would provide cover...if he was lucky...

...and it was just then, just as the word "lucky" shot through his mind, that he tripped on an exposed root of a long-dead tree, landing face first in the wet grass.

The calm putters of dozens on dozens of quiet trucks was interuppted by a hail of gunfire from the surrounding, dark trees. Hundreds of flashlights clicked on and yelling sounded out as chaos ensued. Men filed out of the vehicles and began running for cover, but they were surrounded in an ambush. Confused conscripts not diving for immediate cover or laying flat were often cut down by the rain of bullets.
Eventually the Mountaineer's managed a small circle of trucks, and began organized fire into the forest. Their tactic was to conserve ammo. Make every shot count, being sure it would hit a man. It was efficient and kept the enemy far from their defensive truck circle. The regular infantry were less carefull, filling the air with a desperate fire. For many of them, it was their first time in battle.
After the mortars and light artillery had been set up, heavy fire fell on the Nors, and the firefight ensued for some time. Eventually the enemy began to crumble under simple number majority and less firepower. The Mountaineers began charging forward with bayonet and grenade. They managed to pull any remaining soldiers out of their foxholes and took them prisoners.

Over 80 Nors' were captured. The Kanadians had a little over 40 dead.

While the explosions rocked Everlene, the Syndicalists lamented the lack of RADAR, however one unit was not lacking it. Formed up and ready to move towards the front line were 1000 Cogorian volunteers and the Commander. As the first explosions rocked the city the orders began to scream out over the radios, the single SAM battery that had come in on the cargo planes began to deploy. The grunting engines of the tracked vehicles roared as they ragged themselves out of the column on the road and into positions in fields. The command RADAR raised its mast and the displays lit up. Now it was their turn to burn the world. The CADV-09 was not the newest SAM in the Cogorian arsenal, but it was effective and deadly none the less. The launch vehicles could track two targets on their own RADAR, but slaved to the command set they could launch all four of their racked missiles at different targets at once. The air filled with streaks of light as the SAM battery opened fire, the beefy missiles homing in on the Iraelian jets, trying to get in close enough to send red hot fragments of steel through their targets or engulf them in a ball of fire. The Commander watched the troops under her command with a sense of pride as they efficiently went about the business of killing the enemy airmen. The battery didn't have near enough to kill every plane in the sky, but hopefully those that they did bring crashing back down to the ground would send a loud message that the tables had not yet been fully turned.

---

The rag tag fleet that had set out from Lupagrad was a mottely collection of cargo ships with racks of MLRS bolted to the decks along with field artillery pieces. They flew no flags as they rounded the Northern Horn. Their holds were filed with the volunteers along with copious amounts of heavy equipment that would help turn the tide. Most unusual of them all were the four ships whose cargo decks held attack helicopter gunships. Ready to support the cause. As the fleet approached the Stan Yeran blockade they began to broadcast. "Stan Yeran vessels, Stan Yeran vessels, Stan Yeran vessels. This is the First Fleet of the Peoples Republic of Nors Navy, requesting passage to Nors in order to support our forces already engaged with the imperialist aggressors and reactionaries we await your response, over." The officers sat around the set waiting to see if their war would be over before it had even begun.

The wind only blew slightly as Sleswick stood on the northern shore of King's Lake.

"So it's finally happened. The 'volunteers' finally showed up." He scoffed at the news.

"Indeed sir" Colonel Veers answered. "And flying the flag of the Red Laurels..."

"They're Cogorians. Make no mistake about that...do we have the order?"

"The order is a go sir, we have authorization. The air force will be with us..."

"Let's hope they can do better knowing what the enemy has then" Major-General Sleswick remarked. "And the men?"

"All 10,000 prepped and ready to move out. The landing craft are prepared. We're ready to embark."

The Major-General just nodded, making his way to the Altavara Army Base....

---

Sleswick wasted no time as he put on his flack jacket, securing it as Prydanian soldiers raced into place on board the mini armada of landing craft being prepared. Smaller ships with improvised machine gun attachments prepared to escort them as the Major-General confidently slapped the side of one of the troop transports.
Soldiers radioed across each other as the word was spread...

"You're sons of vikings, are you not? Be vikings!"

Soldiers pumped their fists in his vicinity cheering as Colonel Veers handed him a phone. "Yes, Marshal. We read you. We'll look for you from the beaches."

"Let's take Renou from the scum!" he cried out again as men loaded into their ships, the sound of RPAF Harriers cracking through the sky overhead.

As the fire and hell rained down upon the city from the military bombardment General Wilhelm looked onto it from a safe distance. He could see the civilians and soldiers alike running for their lives as the city was consumed by massive crimson blasts of fire and shrapnel from his soldiers surrounding the city. He felt remorse for the people of Thedric Nors for the years of pain and suffering that they have had to go through and the hell that they have lived through but his job wasn’t to feel bad for them it was to take the city of Freseau.

Whenever he felt right he stopped the massive bombardment from the Malorian Army and started to send in the forces who would be fighting in the city itself. He decided to send his soldiers in on the soft spots that they could clearly see in the now ruined cities defenses while keeping the bombardment of the stronger targets that wouldn’t be faltering. So he waited as his troops moved in on the city as the bombardment started back up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Malorian Army had made progress on their march to Everlene through the woodlands forests of Western Nors but at the price of high casualties. The communists, though outnumbered and lacking technologically had fought to the last man and each one took several Malorians with them. They used the familiar environment to them to their advantage as they fought tooth and nail to the advancing Malorian soldiers however Alexander’s Fist would not falter.

So through the woodlands and the forests sustaining high casualties the Malorian elite marched ever more fighting what communists that would meet them.

Cyrille and her partner had moved away from the crashed Jet it only took a few seconds to determine he wasn't there and move on. She was looking for tracks, an upset environment anything to give her a clue where exactly the flying bastard was, she had a vague idea of the direction they were going, the quickest way he could escape would be to steal a boat. The real question was which way was he going to get there?

Cyrille found some already badly marred footprints in the mud they didn't go on for long before the rain washed the trail away, but it gave her an idea of where he was, she raised her hand to her radio on her shoulder.
"If he is going to escape us, he is going for the quickest if not hardest route to safety. Diverge your search north- North Ea-" Cyrille stopped as she heard a barely audible wet thud far into the brushes under her speaking and the rain, she raised her rifle shining her light in the direction where she thought she heard the noise, her partner followed her suit as she started creeping into that direction.
They were off target by a bit but they were getting closer. Cyrille raised her hand to her radio again.

"search elements, converge on Platoon lead, tighten search formation." after a few moments all of the RLA soldiers turned direction proceeding towards Cyrille, spread out along the landscape still searching, but drawing closer.

---

A convoy of 8 Civilian semi trucks bearing illuminated humanitarian symbols carrying food headed for the TN Prydanian border in the calm dead of night. the objective was clear, honor the Queens offer to the Prydanian government to aid in the relief of the starving. their first destination was Darrow. within 35 minutes they were approaching the border hills into Prydania from Irras.

---

The deeper into PRN territory the Malorians marched towards everlene the thicker the resistance got. soon they hit a series of trenches and anti tank guns. the RLA was fighting fierce here. the roaring of rockets could be heard in the distance, before explosions rocked the landscape around both forces.

Prydanian army trucks from Darrow, a small town but the largest one within the Geadland March, rendezvoused with the trucks from Thederic Nors to provide safe passage to Altavera. Soldiers looked nervously out past the coast. Korova and the Auburn Isles lay west, and the Stan Yera fleet just south of that...

---

Helsø could hear someone approaching, and heard chatter...his vision was blurred as he rolled himself over on his back. He closed his eyes as rain hit his face. Vision blurred, in the dark, with the rain? He just cursed under his breath before drawing his sidearm and forcing himself to his feet. He turned north again, and began to run, hoping to see a farm house, a shed, or even a fence...somewhere where he could at least partially shield himself. As it was though? Even if those things were around he couldn't see them if they weren't directly within his limited and blurred field of vision.

His ankle, the one that had tripped, was aching now, and he gritted through the pain. Even then though, it wasn't long before his quick pace was slowed to a hobble with sporadic bursts of quick jogs....

Even that couldn’t last though, and his ankle rolled on him. He hit the ground on all fours before he rolled onto his back once more.
He looked up as the rain came down on him, and before he knew it a rifle was in his face.

He couldn’t see who was pointing the rifle at him but it didn’t matter.
“Flight Lieutenant Peter Helsø, X71 428 354” he muttered in Prydanian.

After their third flyby, the captain of the Vanguard took stock of the city. He glared down upon flaming artillery pieces, barracks, and fortifications across the city. Soldiers scrambled below in a panic, mixed in with them were frightened civilians, shocked awake by the force of the bombing. The damage was sufficient.

"Captains, can I get a casualties report?" The pilot said. It took a couple of minutes as each Captain submitted their reports and he tallied the numbers in his head. Only two down, he thought.

"Ladies, Gentleman, we've done our dues, the city is weakened and ready for the Malorian March. Set a course to return for Prydania, we'll communicate our success to Commander Naram. Over."

It was up to the Malorians now.

The trucks continued south through forest and plains. Soon, the ambushes were brushed aside as the group became better and better at repulsing the attack. Within days, the enemy city of Freseau was in sight. About 200 men remained ready for combat from the original 300, and they had drove nonstop through Nors, so the soldiers camped in for the night. Singing, dancing, drinking, and waving at the Malorian soldiers closer to the city occured. Relaxation before the battle to come.

---

Three frigates were moving in a small convey. Some of many of the ships patrolling in the sea north of the Kanadian coast. They were headed north towards the horn, to patrol near the area of water where the coastlines of Kanada and Cogoria met. With doubt Cogoria would declare war on Kanada, there was little worry about the safety of the ships. A collection of what appeared to be merchant ships appeared on the horizon, and curious sailors cluttered on the port sides of their ships to watch.
Closer inspection found field artillery on board, along with many soldiers. With no flag flying, the men remained silent. The captain of the largest frigate made no move to attack, and they watched as the group of ships move east.

a few hours after the Iraelia bombing and some of the smoke has cleared, a small mob gathered in the middle of the parade avenue in Everlene. A woman climbed onto the base of an old statue, blown away by the Iraelian bombardment covered in dirt, cuts and bruises. She started chanting as loud as she could to anyone who would listen to her. The mob that has formed of people that reached their breaking point slowly getting larger and larger as time passes.

"End the War, Expel the Barbare! End the War, Unite the Nation!" the crowd kept chanting, after several minutes RLA soldiers started to form up around the square, preparing to put down a potential insurrection, but they were already outnumbered 10-1 by the time they managed to respond. the crowd started to march forward as the woman jumped down and started walking forward, still chanting

"End the War, Expel the Barbare! End the War, Unite the Nation!" Members of the mob stopped their march only to pick up improvised weapons in the form of rocks and other debris, and sometimes the guns of dead soldiers as the mob marched for the everlene capital building

The skies above Renou were awash with fire and smoke as RPAF Harriers attempted to bomb the city's defences while avoiding the anti-air weaponry the Red Laurels suddenly had access to...the mountains of Central Nors were a foreboding sight in the background as landing craft began to unload soldiers in the waist-high waters of southern Kings' Lake.

Encamped RLA guns fired on the approaching Prydanian invasion force, bombs raining from above even as RLA anti-air weaponry worked to keep them at bay.

Sleswick watched through binoculars from his own landing craft off-shore as the fighting raged on, watching a landing craft unload a jeep up onto the beach.

"They knew we were coming. But we expected that. Good. Let's bleed them dry over this town..."

Rapid fire of howitzers pounded the city of Freseau, tearing holes through roofs and blowing up streets. The Mountaineers let the regular infantry stay and man the artillery, while they marched in with the Malorians. The Malorians had a much larger force, and they attacked in multiple places, but a single column of one hundred mountaineers began moving to pierce deep into the streets and buildings. They stormed the defensive positions of the communists and took light casualties, but breakthroughs would be tough due to their lack of numbers.

---

A relief column followed far behind the original Kanadian force. It had extra infantrymen and supplies, but it would take an estimated ~48 hours to reach the city. So they waited.

Cyrille lowered her rifle letting it fall to her side and kicked Helso with all of her might twice. she yelled in mercanti "You Barbare monster!" she grabbed Helso by the collar of his flight suit and pulled him up forcibly. forcing him to an eye level her rage filled blue eyes let some of her sorrow through as they stared into his.

"Have you any idea what manner of pain and suffering you have inflicted on my people?! Renou was untouched before you came! my town was pure!" Cyrille punched Helso in the jaw as the trucks started to roll up one by one. her buddy flagging them down with his light. after a moment all of the trucks were assembled.
Cyrille and her buddy loaded themselves and Helso onto the back of one of the middle truck.

---

Some Civilians stood out in the open in the streets, doorways and windows of the buildings of Freseau even as troops, bullets and explosions happened all around them. All of them had the look of intense hate on their faces as they watched Malorians and Kanadians both advance up the ruined streets, crushing the RLA as they moved on. it was starting to become obvious that a lot of the RLA soldiers in Freseau no longer had the heart to keep up the fight, not for the cause.

From one of the doorframes an old man shouted, he looked ancient, propping himself against the doorframe to a house, he raised an old Alceste Type 12 Rifle at the Kanadian soldiers. "You will not take our country, MY country! I BLED FOR IT!!" and started firing, pulling the bolt back and forth with each shot quickly. others quickly following his stead either pulling guns of their own or directly charging the soldiers with knives, clubs, and even antique old swords. in a matter of moments a small mob of a dozen civilians had turned into furious combatants.

Helsø stumbled back as the RLA soldier hit him. He knew Mercanti, but his head was still ringing. Her gaze frightened him, but he maintained as steely a demeanour as possible and replied in Prydanian.

"Flight Lieutenant Peter Helsø, X71 428 354."

He was loaded into the back of the truck, and closed his eyes. His head had was ringing from tripping, and he hoped that the truck, however briefly, would provide him an opportunity to get his bearings.

Cimmeria Lands At The Fray
Thederic Nors International Airport, Thedric Nors

The Burgundy Squadron, a group of TA MK-III cargo transports finally arrive at the airport in the fray. Each cargo contains a group of military advisers, and weapons for the Royalists to use. The lead plane begins decending when he contacts the control tower. "Control tower", he says, "This is the Burgundy Transportation Wing 16-32 of the Imperial Cimmerian Air Force. We are containing aid to be supplied to you. Requesting permission to land."

The soldier was hit on the helmet with the old man's bullet, and collapsed down from the force. His partners fired back and brutally mowed down the people rising up in arms, as they ran for cover. A few mortar crews moved up to the pinned position and began to fire mercilessly farther into the city, upturning roads and tearing down walls. Instead of going for their target with minimal damage, as usual, the Kanadian artillery began to tear apart their section of the front.
Thankfully, as the line began to waver from too many losses and the endless stream of Communists, the relief column began to arrive, adding a strength of a little over 500 infantrymen, and three AFRV-21s, which are small, Kanadian made, armored reconnaissance vehicles. But instead of scouting ahead, these vehicles are used for shielding infantry columns from the bolt-action rifle fire of the communists. As long as they didn't have sophisticated anti-armor weapons, they could hardly pierce the vehicles from the fronts.

---

Low above the city, two alone Kanadian bombers fly. When the bomb doors open, instead of explosives falling and tearing through the already battered city, papers flutter down and find their ways to the communist fighters. They are written in their language, telling them that their situation is hopeless, and that their uprising will soon crumble.

Thederic Nors International was abuzz with Malorian and RLA soldiers planes and trucks, but the runways and the eastern most hangars were clear. at least from the air. Flight control chimed in, their radio static for a brief moment.

"Burgundy Transportation Wing, this is Flight control, you are cleared to make your approaches. one at a time, you are clear for the eastern hangars."

---

Cyrille's platoon was on the way back, driving through one of Central Nor's few forested mountain passes, this one leading back to Renou, the rain was still pouring on, the trees were moving with the wind. and the closer they got to Renou, the smell of burning became more powerful and the sounds of warfare more audible.. Soon they had cleared the most of the forest save for the sparse tree, and in the distance they could see the fighting, the convoy slowed for a moment before coming to a full halt. Cyrille looked on, spiritually defeated already. she turned her head to Helso while she prepped her Rifle.

"I guess I won't have to interrogate you in front of the commissar after all, Peter. I am actually glad for that, I don't want to be a demon.." she scoffed a bit "Though in a way I guess I already am, being complicit to a regime of lies for as long as I have been.." Cyrille gave Helso a half hearted smirk. Somewhere on the trip back she seemed to give up being angry, and was mostly just defeated, they all seemed defeated.

Cyrille raised her radio not bothering to speak in Ceretian Nor, her entire platoon knew mercanti, it had been the 2nd official language in Thederic Nors for a long time. "Lock and load they are here earlier than we expected. Damn the standing orders of our commissar, we aren't going to Rodier by ourselves, and I doubt we will hold this town. New orders! Protect your neighbors, my neighbors. No matter how bad the fighting in the town gets keep a corridor down the main road to Rodier open, we must get the people out! if that fails, break through to the east!" a distant cheer could be heard from the truck behind Cyrilles but the group remained mostly quiet.

the trucks started to speed off, the lead trucks driver spun tires for a moment, the trucks raced towards the town. Cyrille looked to Helso again. "You are the enemy, but you aren't my enemy, not now. if you manage to 'escape' I won't notice." ----

the RLA soldiers poured on the fire towards the boats and the forces unloading, a soldier on the roof of one of the beach houses fired a rocket at the jeep that had made beachfall, most of the town garrison started to funnel toward the beach as civilians fled in the opposite direction, a few staying to pick up guns from any RLA soldier that would fall and keep up the fight. the AA guns surrounding Renou kept firing, but with the lack of the surprise element it was a lot harder to hit the harriers in any meaningful way if at all. some were disabled by the harriers on some of their passes.

the Commissar in Renou was being tugged at every direction he was both making sure no one was retreating ,but he was also trying to secure reinforcements, of which he was being denied. Eventually he had given up, and had manned the machine gun that had been abandoned in one of the harriers many strafes. firing wildly at the enemies on the beach.

Helsø contemplates just repeating "Flight Lieutenant Peter Helsø, X71 428 354" once more, but he didn't, holding his breath. He understood Mercanti and he could hear the sounds of warfare....
"We've all done been complacent in things we're not proud of" he replied in Mercanti as he stayed put, wondering what exactly he'd do...

---

Sleswick didn't look any happier despite the positive progress of the battle, observing it through his binoculars....the KPF (RPAF) was flying back to Prydania. The battle was progressing positively but it was taking longer than expected. The smaller RLA defending force was fighting for their lives. The Harriers needed to return home to reload their compliment of bombs.

He watched the slaughter on the beach, already happy that the attack had done its job tying up potential RLA reinforcements for the UKTN, Maloria, or Kanadian fronts.
Now he just had to take the city.

Part II
Thederic Nors International Airport, Thederic Nors

The lead plane begins its descent to the runway. The pilot reduced power, before activating the landing gear. Then, he continued to descend until, finally, he landed. The other transports began following the same procedure, one by one, until they'd all landed at the airport.

---

Cargo Ships Begin to Port
Haland Harbour, Haland, Prydania

The cargo ships containing the more heavier equipment and vehicles for the Royalist forces begin to reach the harbour. Due to special circumstances, the cargo ships must port in Haland, which is second closest to the Prydanian-Norsian border. The captain contacted the harbour to request permission to enter.

"Haland Harbour, this is HIMNS Ratopia of the Imperial Cimmerian Navy. We are carrying aid to be delivered across the border. We request permission to enter port."

---

HIMNS- His Imperial Majesty's Naval Ship

The Syrixian Empire had been watching the conflict in Thederic Nors with great interest. The ruling SJP had wanted to intervene in the Nors conflict, but opposition parties had spoken vocally against it and Emperor Rajesh III had routinely blocked it. Rajesh knew that, if the Empire was to act and involve itself in the conflict, it would only exacerbate the situation unfolding within the Phoenix Union. Maloria and Sil Dorsett hated each other. Arrandal most likely felt bitter over not receiving assistance for their own troubles. Then, things got even more complicated when Sfan K'ter shocked the world.

When reports came in that the Stan Yera was blockading the coast of Thederic Nors, in what was clearly an egotistical show of power and possibly even a subtle attempt to assist Red Laurel and by extension Cogoria, the motion came up yet again. Diwan Sahab, as usual, spoke passionately about the need to prevent further Cogorian influence, and that the Empire had been wasting time. He expressed great concern with the actions of the Stan Yera, and said that now was the time to get involved, to preserve peace and capitalism, as well as Syrixian interests, in the Craviter area.

Everyone expected Rajesh to veto the motion, but it passed still. Just as the Speaker, Rajnath Advani, was announcing the passage of the motion, however, three loud knocks were heard on the doors. IGCN (Imperial Governance Coverage Network) coverage of the meeting suddenly went dead. The Congressional Chambers became so silent one could hear a pin drop. Each congressman looked toward the doors, with curious expressions on their faces. Then, the knocks came again. Two attendants opened the doors, and two Imperial Sentinels, clad in black and green, marched into the room. The curious expressions on the faces of the congressmen turned to expressions of shock and awe. It was the Emperor.

Rajesh walked into the room calmly. "Men and women of the Congress, you must pardon my interruption," he said, "but I come to you, in knowledge of the passage, once again, of a motion for the intervention of the Empire in the ever-growing Nors conflict." A couple groans could be heard. Perhaps the Emperor was tired of repeatedly vetoing the intervention motion and came to shut the idea down once and for all. Perhaps he was even here to end the session with his Imperial prerogative, or even dissolve the Congress. But, none of those things happened.

"We cannot stand by any longer, with Yeran involvement in Thederic Nors." the Emperor stated. "I am here today to give this Congress my direct assent. It is time we step in." With that, the room erupted in applause, as the SJP congressmen gave their emperor a standing ovation. Diwan Sahab led the room in a chant of "Jai!" and the chant soon echoed throughout the Congressional Chambers. Opposition congressmen had mixed reactions- some just sat down, some booed the SJP congressmen- though they dared not boo the Emperor- and a couple radicals flat-out left the room.

But Rajesh did not plan to truly intervene at all. He had merely placated the Congress. He had planned to only make it look as if the Empire were intervening, however, in actuality, he now had the go-ahead to restore stability in the entire Northeast- he would send a delegation to Sil Dorsett to evaluate the ongoing tensions within the Phoenix Union, and would simultaneously assemble a massive aid fleet. The aid fleet would, once it went around the bottom of Craviter, separate into three contingents. The first contingent would send humanitarian aid to Thederic Nors and would be escorted by a contingent of Imperial Navy ships incase Sfan tried anything. The second contingent would proceed north to Prydania, and supply aid and an offer of alliance to the new government there- meaning he'd have to have Khanna send a message to them as well. The third would stay behind, and send aid to Arrandal, as well as an apology for the Empire's lack of prior action.

The next phase of his plan involved ISIA, the Imperial Security and Intelligence Agency. He would have them assemble a complex code, and then use that code to assemble messages for Thederic Nors's royalist camp, but not to directly send them. He knew that in its state of war, Thederic Nors would likely have no capability of decrypting the messages and interpreting them. An ISIA operative, perhaps of Nors descent, disguised as a Nors civilian, would take a plane into the country and make his way to Queen Alycia to deliver a guide to breaking the code, which would be hidden in a secret compartment in his suitcase.

He intended to ensure that the Royalists would know that the Empire was on their side, but also to explain why Imperial aid could only be limited to secret financial aid. Not only was Red Laurel doomed, what with the majority of foreign intervention backing the Royalists, but direct Syrixian intervention, as he had previously thought to himself, would further mess up the Northeastern situation, specifically that of the Phoenix Union. And, of course, his message would include an offer of alliance once the war was won, and an urging to Thederic Nors not to apply to join the Phoenix Union until the Union's internal situation was stabilized.

To this extent, Rajesh would ask the Cabinet to replace Pranav Rai as the Empire's Senior Parliamentary Representative. Though he had conveyed the will of the Congress concerning Cogoria, the apologist camp formed a majority, and one representative had even condemned his words- a great PR blow. Sushma Rajawat would replace him. She was a much-loved figure in Syrixian politics. She had begun her career in the government as a nurse during the Iterian War, and eventually went on to become a leading figure in the Syrixian medical community, as well as a philanthropist. She had also dabbled in politics, and had been the Prefect of Dhantara from 2005 to 2015. She would be a motherly figure to the Union- a uniting figure.

The plan was laid out. Now, it was time to act. First he would send private communiques to Prydania, Arrandal, and Thederic Nors, informing them of incoming Imperial aid and the other things the plan entailed for each country to be told and to know. And on the back of Thederic Nors' message would be, in invisible ink, the encrypted code, and a small indicatory symbol denoting the code's presence. The secret message would be the one promising financial aid- and it'd be the one which the ISIA operative would be sent to Thederic Nors to tell the royalists how to break.

Jean waited for the Communique to come back, the Communique came back faster than he had anticipated and the Queen seemed rather decisive in her words. Jeans face was actually shocked, he was not expecting this from her. but regardless he had new orders finally.. He would carry them out, regardless if it angered the Stan Yerans or not, the time for weakness was over.

After several hours a battalion of armored cars, trucks tanks and APC's covered and filled with soldiers, supplies and equipment made their way to the northern border from Irras. one or two of the APC's flew large Thederic Norsian flags in the wind proudly. their objective was clear, and they would carry it out. They met cheers and jeers alike as they made their way out of the outskirts of the city. a supply train of trucks followed them not too long after, most likely following to reestablish old outposts and build new ones for a possible defensive theater.

The Coastal fort north of Irras was never part of the self imposed demilitarized zone. but the borders of Prydania and Stan Yera and the surrounding provinces were demilitarized long ago by Alycia's great great grandfather not long after the Fascist War. now this most recent troop movement has cast that out.

Remilitarize the Highlands, for Queen and Country!

---

In Irras word of the bombings of Everlene and Freseau spread, and incensed a fair bit of the populace, who were now marching through the streets making their voices and their wrath heard. the response from law enforcement was limited, simply keeping passerby and the angry mob seperated to avoid any potential incident. the Queens recent orders however, enabled them to better act. more Police rolled out with batons, stab vests and shields. and the Gendarme rolled out with old military police gear. and thinly armored cars, just enough to withstand small arms fire and the angry batterings of a mob.

The perimeter was tightened around the mob and now they were more isolated from the rest of the city, if they wanted to proceed further, or commit to violence they would face down the newly reformed police force, and the new Special Response Units.
Three of the protesters were almost too happy to oblige. They stood no chance against the somewhat organized shield walls, and were surrounded and pinned down and dragged off faster than they charged the walls.

"We're Here to Help"
Thederic Nors International Airport, Thederic Nors

The squadron of 6 cargo planes part of the 14th "Burgundy" Transportation Wing had recently landed on the airport. They began heading to the eastern hangers, where they were told it was clear to go to. Once there at the hangers, the planes began to stop as they entered. The back of the lead plane began to open, and out came the military advisers that were send by Cimmeria. A majority of the advisers are part of the Imperial Ostarian Guard.[note]The Imperial Ostarian Guard are a Cimmerian military unit,
which are from Ostaria, one of the 16 Imperial Constituent Kingdoms that are part of Cimmeria. [/note] The leader of the first group, Colonel-General Sebastian Hinton, comes out alongside his second, Brigadier Ryan Grimm, and the other that are behind him.

A woman wearing a trimmed hat with a wolves head embroidered on its band and an officers jacket walked up, a hand on the sword sheathed to her hip. as the Cimmerians disembarked their planes, with a soldier on either of her shoulders. The woman officer stood at attention and gave a salute.

"Commandant Rika Lentz, welcome to Thederic Nors such as it is. Are you here to train and advise our soldiers and commanders in modern warfare?"

---

Cyrille and her Platoon go door to door, opening, banging and otherwise kicking them down, shouting for women, men and children alike to run for the trucks, the soldiers urge those who refuse, some to no avail, the soldiers simply having to relent and move to the next houses. It takes a long time to round up an entire block. in the distance the intensity of the fighting grows louder, and the increasing amount of back and forth of RLA troops along the beach front perhaps hint its not going well at all.

Cyrille tried to keep Helso close to her, but with the evacuation efforts, he quickly fell out of her focus. presenting him with continuous opportunities to escape should he wish. the RLA soldiers that occasionally look over towards Cyrille and Helso, probably the only reason they haven't shot yet is because Cyrille is danger close and currently not fighting him.

Soon, through the thunder, the pouring rain and the sounds of intimate and ugly chaos, the distant and haunting sounds of rockets launching could be heard, and the shrill shrieking of the rockets overhead as they come down violently hitting houses, streets. the waters and the beach.

The Prydanians got the local bases attention. if the rocket artillery was firing, the tanks would be here very, very soon.

Mountain King
Plaiseau
Dawn

Major Baschet laid in his commandeered mattress in the corner of a room completely upturned by civilians and soldiers alike. The pouring rain and the night had largely stopped the battle that otherwise would have kept on into the night. Baschet despite his body and mind needing rest, could not lull himself into slumber. Instead he watched the door.

Both sides stopped the fighting for now, but that did not disarm the possibility an RLA soldier might sneak in and put a knife to his throat or start hacking away with a sword. and it was very likely, RLA soldiers were probably sleeping in the adjacent house for all he knew. he looked to his squad for a moment in the dimly lit room, his squad got hit pretty hard. Two of his men were dead and another with minor injuries, he looked back to the door trying to banish his sadness and watched as the sun slowly came up through the door. when it became light enough, him and his squad got up and grabbed their guns and went out.

the squad moved up the street one house at a time. shooting any resistance they found, the battle was back on especially when the tanks and APC's started to move foward again. The RLA failed to give much resistance at this point at least not conventionally. The conventional battleline was pushed out of the city completely now, pushed all the way out into the [note]The Black fields are what the Norsians call the shelled out and dead No Mans Lands of the Trench warfare Phase. the ground is blackened, the vegetation is dead, and bodies still lie where they fell. To the Norsians its hell on Eras, and it was the worst phase of the War, Spanning mid 1999-early 2001[/note]black fields, the RLA now occupying one of the first of many, many long abandoned trench networks.

the battle itself was all but won in a conventional standard the RNA held most of the town, now it was asymmetric as RLA soldiers started taking off their uniforms to blend in with the civilians. both the RLA and the RNA knew how to deal with asymmetric warfare like this. the RLA was not as effective as they'd hoped but they were doing way more damage than they were before.

*The Berkowitzian Elected Representative grows ever more anxious as the rebels in the south continue to grow in numbers and are now a very serious threat to the nation, and with no reply from Thedoric Nors, the rebels have started to form their own side in the conflict, the Communist Revolutionary Front.*

“As you may have noticed,” The Berkowitzian Representive shouts at a crowd of protesters outside her office, “That the situation in Salex has gotten out of control, but we promise everything is going to be taken care of as soon as we can!” The protesters start to throw objects at her including tomatoes, bananas, and even phones. The Representative quickly retreats into her office to hide from the angry mob. “Holy mother of Violet they’re angry!” the Representative exclaims to the Vice Representative, Alexander Garcia. “Quickly! Open communications with the queen of Thedoric Nors. We can’t have this problem anymore!”

Part II
Thederic Nors International Airport, Thederic Nors

"Yes, we are", Hinton responds, but then tells her another thing that must be known. "But we are also here to provide you with military equipment and vehicles for your army, if you so wish it. We do not have the vehicles for your army yet, but they should arrive here eventually."

Haland’s port authority responded in accented Mercanti.

“HIMNS Ratopia, you are free to dock. Royal Prydanian Army is ready to escort you to the Thederic Nors border.”

---

Major-General Sleswick set foot on the beaches of Renou, his grimacing as rockets rained down on the town. He barked orders for his men to establish their own artillary positions. Armoured jeeps carrying Prydanian soldiers unloaded, adding to the sheer numbers his army was overwhelming RLA defences with. The gunfire in the distance told him the house to house fighting had begun.

It was the rockets that worried him though. Even as he grimaced again, this time as his own soldiers fired off rockets in return. RLA rockets could only means tanks. Tanks that could still make problems for his men.
He watched as subordinates relayed orders, anti-tank weaponry moved into whatever defensible positions they could manage in the areas of the town they had under control.

The entirety of his world was pure chaos. Rockets dropped from the sky and machine gun prattle filled the air. The wind and rain added to the noise. And yet it was all a mild buzz as he barked the orders that had to be barked. Focused on seeing this excursion to the end. Only looking up to curse under his breath.

“Where are those damn Harriers?”

---

Helsø was dragged from house to house, Cyrille losing interest in him as she faced more pressing concerns. He almost took off a few times, but he gripped with anxiety. Maybe Cyrille wouldn’t notice, but one of these RLA soldiers would, surely. And in his KPF (RPAF) flightsuit? He wouldn’t blend in either.

The rocket fire and the sound of machine guns going off told him the battle was near though, and his muscles tensed as he considered making a run for it once more. He knew that no RLA soldier would run after him, into Prydanian lines, alone...
He almost did it, before the smell of smoke and sound of gunfire overwhelmed him. The urge to run was instead met not with sprinting but by a weakening of his knees, collapsing, as he breathed heavily and deep. An old memory from the Prydanian Civil War forcing itself into his mind as he forced himself to breath, propping himself up against the side of a house while his vision blurred.

Getting the Cargo Across the Border
Haland Harbour, Prydania

The HIMNS Ratopia, along with the other cargo ships began to dock on the harbour, as they must get the cargo our of the ships, and into the port so that they may be able to unload the heavy equipment, and the vehicles that are to be sent to the Royalists. Once the Ratopia had entered port, the others began to follow suit.

Rika just nodded hand still dutifully on her sword. continuing to speak in fluent Mercanti "Any gun, bullet or shell we can get we'll take, vehicle too. as for training, we have a base just south of here, a lot of the grunts we recruit go through there and its our biggest training facility. for officers we have Fort Cross for those looking to be more than just NCO's, Fort Cross is southeast of here, I can provide you maps and if you so wish, convoy escorts."

---

the barrage of rockets had stopped abruptly, maybe they had run out? maybe they are simply holding fire, whatever the case the devastation has already been done to the general area as fires and smoke rise towards the sky. The buildings hit by the barrage topple to the ground or partially crumble. Cyrille after a few minutes had exited the house she was in, the civilians that were inside come out and ran up the road towards the waiting technicals, the battle had gotten close enough Cyrille and her platoon Helso as well were now in the thick of the fighting. Cyrilles platoon was scattered like chaff to the wind trying to get the people out, disregarding their orders. some of the RLA soldiers started to raise question and even the commissar was starting to take notice.

Cyrille hadn't realized she was exposed in the middle of the firefight, she went to look for Helso around the corner, expecting to finally see him gone. Cyrille instead she saw him struggling to keep his own weight. she went to go to him but a bullet found her first, her armor ripped apart and her right side and BDU turned crimson as she shouted in pain and falling to on her opposite side, clutching at it. After a few seconds she dragged herself into the alleyway where Helso was hiding, she continuing to groan in pain as more of her uniform went from a light brown to a dark reddish brown.

soon the sounds of heavy engines and the clanking of tracks could be heard, just before a loud BANG. a moment later the sounds of the engines and clanking of tracks could be heard louder and louder before a tank rolled up in front of the alleyway, the commander poking out from his hatch talking orders into the radio. The Commander unaware of Cyrille and Helso's presence, entirely focused on the enemies streaming from the beach.

The first of the Tanks have arrived, more are sure to be on the way.

Haland Harbour, Prydania

---

The ships began unloading the cargo on their ships. As promised, the cargo was merely heavy Cimmerian military vehicles and equipment that was to be sent across the border to Thederic Nors to aid the royalist forces there. The vehicles, which were in containers, started to move as they were being unloaded from the ships one by one, by the ship's cranes. The crew that was in the harbour could see the tank transports that would carry CX-18 MBTs moving out from the containers as soon as they were opened, while the crew was moving out of the way. They could see the armoured fighting vehicles coming from the containers. They could perhaps even see the tanks themselves come from the containers that were being unloaded. There was also military ordinance for the royalists being unloaded from the cargo ships. The vehicles started to move from the ships, and further into the harbour.

Helsø found himself on his side, his back against the ally wall. He breathed deep and he squirmed as he desperately tried to avoid blacking out. He knew he’d likely be put down if he did. That only fed his panic though, his vision going black around the edges and his joints somehow tingling and numb at the same time.
Seeing Cyrille fall near him actually made him feel a bit of relief. She wasn’t going to kill him. He was sure of that. She would have done it already. The warm air began to enter his lungs as he breathed, enough to slowly roll back the blackening around his eyes. He didn’t dare try to sit up, his joints were still too weak.

---

Sleswick could hear the sounds of the tanks. He didn’t need to see them to know. The mortars his invading forces had laid down weren’t enough, and only a few workable anti-tank missile launchers were fully operational.
He looked into the dark, rain-filled sky. No sign of the KPF/RPAF Harriers. He cursed under his breath. He could only hope, for now at least, that the enemy didn’t have enough tanks to overrun his army.

Cyrille put a hand on the brick wall next to her opposite of Helso, trying to bring herself up, struggling under her own weight and the weight of her gear. she puts weight on the leg of her wounded side and she comes crashing into the water and mud with a loud yelp. she laid there for a few seconds quickly muttering panicked curses and begging in mercanti, where her voice was once authoritative and jaded, its now fearful.

"Not now.. not in my home town.. not wearing these traitor colors.. I want to go home.. I was wrong, I just want to protect my home.."
She rolled onto her back as the tank parked and continued firing. the commander staying out of his hatch foolishly, shouting commands over his headset.
she situated herself with a grunt and leveled her rifle and fired a burst, the commander fell back into the tank.

She dropped her rifle into her lap and fell onto her back with a pained grunt. Cyrille pulled Helso's pistol out of her holster slowly and slid it over to him with a spare magazine.

"Helso, you need to run, get up and run.. They can't find you here with me like this.."
she turned her head to look at Helso. She paused for a moment as she listened to the distant explosions and the furious gunfire surrounding her.
"Just south of here, along a foot path up on the northernmost mountain, there is a radio tower. hit it and you'll black out RLA HQ comms for this entire northern area.. from here to Rodier."

[redacted]

Jean stood anxiously next to the Thederic Norsian throne with a small retainer of Silver Guards, and ranked officers on either side some privately talking to each other some standing dutifully. A Silver Guardsmen on every pillar and door in the room. they were given the news the Queen was on her way home and would be arriving imminently from abroad, her business in Prydania finally concluded, the room was filled with a type of static energy, you could still feel the raised spirits of the guardsmen loyal to the Queen. Jean wore his silver dress uniform his medals ribbons and even wore his sword on his hip.

The Queen was coming home, coming back to finally resume leading the nation and hopefully put the final touches on the end of the war. Jean however did not share this sentimentality. he knew his imminent encounter with his daughter would bury him alive. his only plan was to try and reconcile with her and explain his thought process on his actions in hopes that she may spare him. he Knew better than anyone maybe even the Queen herself that he had committed treason twice, in the old regime that would be met with death on the spot now he awaits to see his sentence by the ultimate judge jury and executioner. His time of immunity to consequence has run out.

Twenty minutes had passed every minute seemed like a painful uneasy eternity for Jean as almost everyone else in the room seemed to count the minutes in anticipation, she hadn't meant to do so but somewhere along the lines of her so far short rule Alycia had made herself an impromptu Cult Personality among her soldiers, and among a decent chunk of her civilian subjects. but with how Thederic Nors had been for the past several centuries people were bound to cling to any shred of hope with a death grip.

finally, the wait was over there was no knock no fanfare no anything; but the quick and loud creaking of the doors and the banging of them against the walls as they were quickly pushed open by Alycia's entourage of guards who as a group quickly were marching towards the throne and in turn Jean.

From the back of the room a older voice could be heard. "Queen Alycia, Salute!" which every soldier in the room promptly did without hesitation. Alycia paid no mind as she rushed up the steps, before Jean could even react and greet her personally face to face her hand met his face and the snap echoed through the hall as Jean visibly recoiled.

Queen Alycia leaned into his face slightly, reminiscent to what her drill instructors did to her in boot camp "Have you any idea the damage you have caused?!"

"My Queen I can -" Jean took a step back as his own daughter yelled into his face once again.

"SILENCE! Do you, have any idea the damage your actions have caused?!"

"I did it to win the war!" Jean replied quickly so she could not interrupt him only for another snap to echo through the hall.

"You ignored two of my decrees and made a fool of me! when you sit on the regent's chair you represent ME! I said no napalm we are better than that, you continue to drop napalm!"
"How else we-"

"I said no napalm, when you continue to drop more napalm it is seen as ME dropping that napalm, that I am condoning that barbarity! You tell me to lead us from that darkness to make us a better nation a better people, you taught me to be different, but how can I be different if you are still stuck in the past?! What could I possibly learn from you?"

"I just wanted to secure your throne.." Jean replied in a defensive tone as the entire throne room watched on in subdued shock.
"All you have done is secure the fact that I will always have enemies within the kingdoms, enemies I shouldn't have, all you have secured is my lack of faith in the old guard such as you. All you have secured is my shame for putting you up as regent. YOU are my shame."

Alycia paused for a second as she thought to her self just long enough for the both of them to catch a breath. before she extended her hand to the set of ribbons on his tunic and violently ripped them off and threw them to the floor. then she quickly moved to the medals as she ripped them off one by one throwing each to the floor. Jean just stood there at attention trying to be as stoic and not to reveal his shame or his broken spirit. quickly and surely Alycia worked her way down to the sword at his hip, she unclasped it from the belt ring it rested from and pulled it away from his person scabbard and all and stepped back from him.

"Jean Valluy, Headmaster of the Silver Guard, Regent of my crown, I hereby strip you of rank and title, I hereby shame your name as a disgrace to this nation.. Your noble birthright is forfeit, your estate will be seized and divided to those who need it more. You are not worth the expense of a bullet, you are not worth the expense to feed you while you rot in a cell.."

Alycia stared into his eyes as the next words sprang from her lips. "You are banished from Citizenship, you will not pursue politics or association, a new military Career, civil service of any kind. You will not vote in any capacity. You will not be given the right to bear arms of any form. You may leave the Motherland if you wish, but know if you do so you may never return. Guards escort him out of here."

Jean remains silent and looks at the ground as two guards grab him by each arm and take him towards the doors, vanishing from sight within the next minute. Alycia walks off sword still in hand, heading towards her study to be left alone, Colart is the only one who dares to follow, still in his black tactical gear.

Going Across the Border
Haland Harbour, Prydania

"Captain, the vehicles and the equipment have been unloaded from the cargo ships, and are ready to head out then", one of the many crewmen tell the captain. The captain responded, "Good then. Check the cranes and maintenance." The crewman goes out of the captain's brigade to check the cranes. Meanwhile, the military vehicles and equipment that are to be sent to Thederic Nors across the border are ready to be move out, and be escorted to the border. The Major leading the group asks his adjutant if the group is ready. "We are sir", he responded. "I'll let them know we're ready". The adjutant goes to the Prydanian presence that they're ready. He then comes back to the Major. "Sir, they say they're ready to escort us." The Major responds, "Then get in." The vehicles begin moving out of the harbour, and into the streets of Haland.

[redacted]