The March of Progress [Semi-Open]

[Greater Ale Permars]

The Arcanstotskan Embassy
Antalya, The Capital District, Aydin
December 30th, 2020
9:15 AM

Osman walked out of the Arcanstotskan embassy, his mind flooded with rage. Following right beside him was Rifaat trying to keep him from making a scene. Waiting for them both was a large limousine, it's driver, a smaller man in a suit and tie waited at the door ready to open it but as Osman reached the door and the driver reached for the door handle. This proved to be a mistake as Osman grabs his hand, angrily pushing him out of the way.

"I'll open my own damn door." He said to the driver searing with rage. He entered the backseat and moved to the side waiting for Rifaat to enter. A few moments later Rifaat enters the car and their journey to the Palace began. Osman turned to Rifaat.

"What the hell was that? How do Imperial fighter jets and weaponry mysteriously just fucking vanish off the face of the earth?" Rifaat stumbled over his words never having seen him this upset.

"Your Imperial Majesty...I...Uh." His stumbling only made Osman more infuriated.

"You UH--UH what?!" He mocked.

"I do not know how they were stolen, I'm sorry," Rifaat said trembling now.

"YOU BETTER BE FUCKING SORRY!" Osman screamed.

"I SHOULD HAVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HUNG FOR THIS FAILURE! It is not only just a disgrace to me but to my entire damned Empire." Osman with pure fury in his eyes stared into Rifaat's soul. "Please have mercy, your Majesty." Rifaat's eyes filled with on the brink of tears.

"I will correct my wrongs just please, don't hurt my family they have done nothing wrong it is my fault and mine alone." Osman's eyes softened. The fire in his eye's died down a little, he turned to face the window.

"You will find the one who did this and put them to an end I give you my permission to reach out to the Arcanstotskan's, Norsian's and whoever else to track down this son of a bitch and rid him from Eras entirely." Rifaat nodded his head tears still streaming down the sides of his cheeks.

"We have arrived." The driver said turning off the engine. Rifaat opened the limo door and stepped out shortly followed by Osman. Osman turned to Rifaat. "Find the bastard or so help me Allab I will bury you." Osman turning away gestured to a guard to open the Palace door and walked inside.

 

[Greater Ale Permars]

The Imperial Palace
Antalya, The Capital district, Aydin
December 30th, 2020
10:25 AM

Rifaat sat at his desk, staring at the phone beside it sat the phone number of the Arcanstotskan ambassador. He realized that to find out who has been committing these covert acts against the Sultan and the Arcanstotskans he must first get into contact with those who already have men on the ground tracking the culprit. So Rifaat picked up the phone and dialed the number. Over the phone was the Secretary to the Ambassador.

"This is the Arcanstotskan Embassy, how may I help you?" Said the secretary, her slight Arcanstotskan accent bleeding through her Mercanti.

"Hello, this is Grand Vizier Rifaat, main advisor to the Sultan. And I would like to know if I could speak to the ambassador." He said looking at a picture of his family on the shelf behind him.

"I'm sorry but he is currently on the phone with President Sidorov. But I can notify you when they are done." Rifaat sighed.

"That is fine, I can wait." He said trying to feign a happy tone. "I will put you on hold in the meantime." She said transferring him to hold. This was a mild inconvenience although the pressing threat of the execution of himself and his family added to the situation. After a few minutes of waiting he is taken off hold the same feminine voice from earlier cut through the tacky holding music.

"Ambassador Panfilov will hear you now." Rifaat tapped his desk waiting for the phone to transfer. A moment later over the phone came a male voice, the ambassador.

"Grand Vizier, you wished to speak with me?" His voice was deep but gentle fitting for his diplomatic status.

"Yes I did, I wanted to know if it would be possible for our governments to work together on finding the person responsible for supplying the West Vaasans and causing your people so much trouble." He said repositioning himself in his chair. The ambassador sighed.

"I'll have to run this by the President." Rifaat continued to tap on his desk.

"I see, call me back when you get a response, I have a particular interest in helping you find this madman, and Allab help I will." He said his fists clenching slightly. He knew that everything was on line his family, his job and his life could all be destroyed if he didn't find this mystery benefactor.

"Alright, I'll notify you when I do." The ambassador hung up the phone. Leaving Rifaat with nothing but the thoughts of his possible impending doom.

 

[Arc]

Wednesday
December 30th, 2020
11:14 AM
National Executive Office
Siloyev, Arcanstotska

Artur Osin walked up the stairs of the National Executive Office building to the third floor, flanked on one side by his secretary and on the other side by a soldier of the Republican Guard. Further down the hallway were another two Republican Guardsmen standing at attention on either side of a door dressed in their dark blue uniforms. Artur himself was only dressed in a black suit and tie, as was the standard dress code for the Director of the HPY*.

“Do you think he’ll accept the Grand Vizier’s offer?” His secretary pushed up his glasses.

“I don’t know, but I hope he doesn’t. I have a feeling the Aydinis are going to attempt to manipulate such a thing. We can’t trust them,” Artur explained. “Very shady things happen in that country.”

“I know, it’s just that,” his secretary hesitated.

“Just what, Andrei?”

“Nothing sir.”

The three men came up to the door flanked on either side by men of the Republican Guard. The guardsman on the left leaned over to open the door for Artur and Andrei. When the door opened, the three stepped in to be greeted by the Prime Minister, Anton Tsvetayev. The man was seated behind his desk looking over some papers, dressed in a black suit similar to Artur’s, although the Prime Minister’s tie was a navy blue. Tsvetayev looked up from his papers and smiled. “Ah, Director Osin,” he motioned to two chairs in front of the desk. “Please, have a seat you two.”

“Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister,” Artur said as himself and his secretary took their seats.

“I assume you’re here to speak with me regarding the Aydini Grand Vizier’s offer for a mutual investigation?”

“Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, and as director of the National Intelligence Agency I would like to greatly advise against accepting the offer.”

“Don’t worry, Tsvetayev smiled. “I have no intention of accepting. I don’t trust the Aydini government to be transparent. I will instead organize a multinational investigation into Aydin’s backing of the separatists in our east.”

“Why is that sir?” Artur asked.

“Because if more than one person looks into Aydin, and Aydin lies, then I believe it’s more likely that Aydin’s coverup will be found out. The more help, the better. I’ve already notified Minister Danikina of my decision and she will go on to inform Ambassador Panfilov.”

---

*HPY = Национальное Pазведывательное Yправление / National Intelligence Agency

 

[Greater Ale Permars]

The Imperial Palace
Antalya, The Capital district, Aydin
December 30th, 2020
11:26 AM

After a seemingly endless silence, the phone rang. Rifaat picked it up.

"So what did they think our offer?" He said in an inquisitive tone.

"It has been declined." Said the Ambassador, Rifaat's heart sank, the ambassador continued.

"But, we will be along with the other members of the Luscova pact assist you in the investigation into the disappearance of the aircraft and other corruption." Rifaat quietly sighed in relief.

"That is acceptable, we shall communicate any discoveries we make to not only you but also our fellow allies in the Luscova pact and we shall graciously any support you may give us in these coming weeks." The phone was silent for a moment.

"That is acceptable, but I must hang up now." He said in a hurried tone.

"Goodbye," Rifaat said hanging up the phone.

Bozkurt's Compound
Göreme, Simyah, Aydin
January 5th, 2021
7:22 PM

Bozkurt paced around his living room, the past few months had not gone well. First the decline started when the jets had been discovered in one of the West Vaassan warehouses, next came the international condemnation and suspension from the Luscova pact after that came the defeat of the West Vaasans and finally to add insult to injury an investigation is being held into the loss of the jets and corruption. This cascade of events made Bozkurt livid every week some new problem that he needed to put down but now it was getting to the point where he might not be able to handle this. The old General summoned his remaining loyal supporters to craft a plan to escape the walls closing in around them.

"I need ideas people!" He yelled still pacing the room.

From the couch a young officer spoke up."We could frame the rebels in the mountains for the theft and say that they gave the jets to the West Vaasans in return for weaponry." Bozkurt frowned and shook his head.

"Why would rebels help rebels especially when both are in dire need of equipment?" He asked in frustrated tone.

"They're desperate?" Said the officer. Bozkurt rubbed his temples, many of the more experienced and intellegent officers had jumped ship leaving him with these idiots, men whos only qualifications were that their father was some hot shot noble. Coming from nothing Bozkurt despised these types, people who think they have what it takes to climb the ladder but in the end aren't cut out for it.

"No, Liutentant they would not exchange jets for guns if they were desperate, now does anyone else have any idea of how to get the fuck out of this hole we are in?" The room stayed silent, whether that meant they didn't know or didn't want to sound dumb was a different question but whether or not that's the case it infurated him. In seconds his frustration became anger and that anger to pure rage.

"YOU USELESS SACKS OF SHIT!" He screamed, his face turned a bright red color. "Not one of you, deserves the awards and medals that line your chests! You spit in the face of the entire Aydini military with your idiocy!" He picked up a vase and threw it at the wall above the couch. The vase exploded into a thousands pieces promptly causing the men to stand up.

"Get out of my house, NOW! I don't want to see your sorry ass faces again until you have found a way to get us all the hell out of this situation!"

 

[Greater Ale Permars]

The northern forests of Abyan Province
Abyan, Aydin
April 24th, 2021
10:32 AM

Devrim awoke to the sound of birds chirping, sitting up from off the ground he looked around himself and observed his five sleeping comrades. The group had been working with one another for by his guess about eight months, each of them coming from all sorts of different places some were local to the province of Abyan, and others came from the opposite end of the country in Karasova. But all of them came united under the same cause the cause of the Demokratik Partizan Hareketi* whose goal is to bring democracy to the nation of Aydin after almost nine centuries of absolute rule by corrupt and unchecked tyrants while the rest of the world moved forward.

He himself had been brought up to be pro-democracy from a young age in Antalya by his father, who protested the Sultanate in the seventies and early eighties. But after he was arrested by the authorities in 2005, Devrim took up arms against the government and joined the DPH ready and willing to leave behind his old life and die to stop the injustice that was the current system. And so here he is now half-starving, stuck in the backwater forests of Abyan fighting for a cause with little chance for success.

But at least he had a team, his cell was one of several scattered across the province, some were larger than others with theirs being the smallest of them but also one of the more dedicated groups. Each member had come from a background of partisanship or anti-monarchist activity, to start you had Katarina Lasov their marksman, a second-generation immigrant from Arcanstotska whose patriotism for the nation was so high even though she had never even been there, and then you had Bayar and Bedri two brothers who were both former construction workers now demo experts from Adandik turned partisans after they were both arrested for protesting the Sultan's rule during the mass demonstrations in early 2020.

Then you had Burhan Çakmak a techie from Karasova who had spent more time under a car than most of the team had spent walking. And finally you had Ece Çetin the leader of this rag tag bunch, hailing from the mountains Ece had spent years living in these forests with her father, eventually joining the military when expenses began to get high. but after an incident involving her being forced to kill innocent civilians during protests in the nineties. She left the military and went off the grid, joining the DPH ready to fight and die if that means the the centuries of oppression and bloodshed would end.

They had been hiding out in the forests ever since their last mission in Hasamit, trying to acquire contacts in the local militia group but thanks to one of the milita members, their presence was revealed and they had to flee into the woods, the AOI and SIS* on their trail. But thankfully the forests would provide at least some cover for the time being until they need to get moving again.

As the rag tag group of partisans awoke a loud beeping noise began to eminate from one of the few telecommunication devices they still had, Ece stood up and walked to the device, picking it up and putting it to her ear, after a brief exchange she put done the device and addressed the now awake group.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an assignment."