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Author Topic: The Empire of New Letonna  (Read 5176 times)

Offline Myroria

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Re: The Empire of New Letonna
« Reply #15 on: August 19, 2014, 02:45:21 PM »
"I have the greatest affection for them, I really do." Peté said, tapping his pen on the desk. His longtime associate and closest friend, Chostamir Dalonmabar, sat on the opposite side nodding. It was six o'clock in the evening, and the sun was beginning to set, casting the Empeurer's entire office in a golden glow.

"But they're not going to make it 500 years. The Neustrians, we can use them now. But I don't see any way they'll even make it to the end of the 21st century - they just won't. Now the Pelagians - they have heritage. You know, they lie and cheat and steal now but they do have some concept of dignity. They don't live like a bunch of dogs - which the Neustrians do live like."

"But we have to fund them," he continued. "We can't let them lose this war - now I respect the Letonnan emperor's willingness to give all to win but we can't let him. The Neustrians have been the only thing keeping Letonna in line - if they're out of the way they'll start pressing border disputes, trying to take over Myroria inch-by-inch. I just know it. If the Neustrians win, they owe us. They'll do whatever we ask them. Then by 2040, 2060 - they'll collapse in a heap and Meneldur or his son can sweep in and take over what's left."

"What if they don't, though?" Chostamir asked.

"Don't what?"

"Collapse. We can't assume they'll owe us for the rest of earthly existence."

"Oh, they will. When Titus and his men marched in in '23 the whole Neustrian government crumbled. As soon as there's some crisis in the new Neustrian state the same thing will happen. You know, I respect the Letonnan's hardiness. Even this civil war isn't shaking them - not too much anyway. If they were on the other side of the world we could even be allies! But Myroria has a sphere of influence to maintain - we need to clear the neighborhood." He adjusted his tie and continued his monologue.

"That's what House Quarrovth doesn't understand. Hlaren, the only thing he's concerned with is the status quo. He doesn't understand how to bring this country to greatness! Or Idris - she just wants the trade bonuses so she can funnel it back home to Ivorheart. That's her district, you know." Chostamir nodded. "Gothren - all he's concerned with is his wallet. Who can pay him the most. That's why I fired him - arguing with me all the time about his check and this and that. Then Fredrika hires him! I still see him walking around the Residence every day - doesn't say much to me at least, thank God."

"Now the MIA is losing weapons shipments. It's Quarrovth, I know it - the place is full of them. Men loyal to their Houses instead of the country. I should have put the IOI on this - at least they can keep things together long enough to get a job done. Ugh, the whole situation is a mess. The Neustrians are about to lose the whole game."

"It certainly appears that way," Chostamir said. If there was any hint he thought the Empeurer was rambling he didn't show it.

"What do you think, Chostamir? Should I send troops in?" Chostamir looked like he felt like he was in over his head.

"I'm not a general. But I think that's too much."

"Intervening?"

"Yes."

"We have a lot of interests in Letonna that need to be protected. Citizens who can't get out."

"You can't tell the Neustrians apart from the citizens;" Chostamir replied. "I think it'd be a quagmire."

"Citizens;" Peté replied, his speech tinged with bitterness. "I suppose you're right. Maybe I'm being paranoid. But we need to win this! I just don't want to take any chances."

"Put men you can trust in the MIA."

"I have been!" Peté said defensively, "There's so many Myrorians in it it's like trying to rid a house of cockroaches by putting one spider in it." Chostamir nodded.

"What does House Quarrovth know?"

"It's impossible to get any spies in the Houses, at least not at a high enough level for something like this. After the whole Indiotrovth affair they've become so entrenched in their old families it's impossible for outlanders like us to get any men inside. The only thing that can spy on a Great House is," Peté paused and smirked. "Another House."
"I assure you -- I will be quite content to be a mere mortal again, dedicated to my own amusements."

Offline St Oz

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Re: The Empire of New Letonna
« Reply #16 on: August 19, 2014, 03:39:37 PM »
Pelagis

The dreaded first fog of autumn descended on Pelagis, and the less noticeable pedestrians vexed the natives on their commute to work while amateur artists roamed the sidewalks and parks taking perspective shots of fountains and statues with faded building silhouettes in the background. Gothren drove home when the sun set, and the misty street lamps did their best to illuminate Pelagis’ wide streets. He turned into his home spot, pulled the parking brake, and stepped out of the car. Though he did not collide with any civilians, the scent of zuvaka did. On his stoop he spotted the flicked bud of a zuavka cigarette. He grimaced, “Filthy.”

   He kicked it to the side behind a bush, figuring nature or a gardener would take care of it. Walking up his stoop he found his key and raised his hand up to unlock it. The door squeaked open, and he sighed wondering when the landlord would oil it again. On the thought of sound, the apartment had an uncomfortable silence to it. He walked up the stairs and midway down the second story hallway to unlock his door into his apartment.

   The creepy feeling never settled, but it wasn’t going to keep him from his daily reading rituals. He stepped to the kitchen to grab a beer, and when he flicked on the light, a set of dark blue eyes were watching him. He flinched back eyeing the tan Ozian woman up and down, his heart quickly pumping the adrenaline throughout his body. She wore one of those Ozian keffiyehs over a black coat that hugged her body all the way to her thigh and propped one leg over her knee which showed gray slacks and scuffed women’s flats.

   “Looking for one of these?” She waved three bottles of beer in her hands and opened each with the bowl of one of his spoons.

   He clenched his chest with his right hand and took a few deep breaths before speaking, “Sure, help yourself.”

   “Come sit.”

   He rolled his eyes until he felt a presence behind him. Turning his head he met the barrel of a silenced .22 pistol. Behind it were a pair of maroon eyes staring down the sights, she spoke now, “She said come sit.” She wore very similar attire as the other woman.

   Back at the table, the woman pushed beers on each side of the breakfast table, “I’d do as she says, she’s shot the fly off a bison’s ass with that.”
   
   Gothren had to tell himself not to freeze and move towards the table, the woman behind him kept to his pace, still pointing the silenced pistol towards him. She eased into her seat at the same time he did. The blue eyed woman pushed the book he was reading towards him, “I was a bit disappointed with your collection, The Ethical Man is Reasonably Socialist book by that hack of an Aelu’zhi philosopher. Read the source.” She leaned in, “We Ozians invented socialism. Madame Ousi herself came up with both the utility function and the merits of controlling rogue markets.”

When she finished talking he took a moment to look at the gun then back at her, “I take it you’re not from a direship if you’re mentioning Madame Ousi, you managed to find your way into my apartment without breaking anything, and you opened these bottles with a spoon, which I never fathomed could be possible, so you’re probably some scary operatives from Ozia.”

The blue eyed woman responded, “You see Saul? He’s a bright one. Most of the MIA think we’re just petty criminals or lost from little Ozia.”

Saul talked back to her, still staring at him with the pistol drawn, “Right you are as always Larry. Tell him why we’re here then.”

“Right, the reason we’re here.” She took a leather case from inside her jacket, removing two zuavka mini-cigars, and lit them with a match from a Q-club matchbook. “Want one?”

He grimaced and shook his head, the smell would be in his kitchen for weeks now.

She passed one of the lit cigars to her partner then held it idly next to her with her arm leaning back against the top of chair, “Let me just clarify that we’re on your side.”

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

“We trust you the most, mostly because you have the most to lose. We also have information you’d greatly like, but first let’s just get the unfriendly stuff out of the way.” gripped a folder from a pile of manila folders next to her on the table, and she spread out large photos of Galyn and him meeting with the Letonnan Emperor. “We also have you on a recording talking to Agent Doofus here about hiring him on as a double agent.”

Saul spoke, “That’s treason against your King”

“Right, the weasel wouldn’t like these. You’d be hanged for this.”

He looked down at the photos then took a long deep drink of his beer. He wiped his mouth and looked up at Larry, “So you’re blackmailing me, and you’re helping me?”

She looked around the room then nodded, “Uh, yeah. As far as we’re concerned, we never met. This is just the evidence needed to make you not missed.”

Saul said, “If not us, one of our comrades would happily make you disappear, and you’d wish you were hanged.”

Larry nodded, “So, say you promise or else,” she pulled another leather case out, and she unrolled it onto the table. Inside lay a couple of syringes and a bottle. “You’ll go to sleep, and believe this was all a dream.” She held up the bottle and read the label on, ”Also you’d be at risk for brain cancer later in life.”

The beer was harder to swallow now, but he managed to gulp it down, “I promise, we never met.”

They both said in unison, “Good.”

Larry picked out another folder, this time throwing out papers of account information an internal memos, “So we have some treats for you, for your loyalty. We have here some definitive proof that Petê issued the material and financial support for these Neustrians. Just in case you don’t have any.”

Gothren arched an eyebrow towards her as he looked through the documents, “Why are you giving this to me?”

“We’ll get to that.” She then selected another folder. “We also know that you’re trying to find the elusive leader of these pesky Neustrians. We’ve pinpointed his approximate location at this old Neustrian estate outside of Khenstein.”

She pushed the rest of the  reports to him, “Some Myrorian armory records, before and after tampering, showing what was given to them. Then of course, why we’re here. Why are we here Saul?”

Saul spoke, “We want in.”

“We want in Letonna that is with your imbecile MIA double too. He could be useful.”

Saul laughed.

“He can act as our ‘RIP’”

“Tell him what RIP stands for”

“Resident Indigenous Person. It’s a joke because we Ozians are tan, and you’re white, and we have these buggy eyes and can’t blend in, so we use these RIPs to get into dangerous situations, and then most of them die. Thus why RIP is so funny.”

“Larry you can’t explain the jokes, then it becomes unfunny.”

“He’s Keihesse’zhi, he can’t understand our humor.”

“Whatever.”

Gothren realized while the two were talking that they had impeccable Inglish accents for Ozians, but his amazement dwindled when he saw how much zuavka smoke they were generating. The two continued to talk between each other like they were completing each others’ thoughts.

“So we need this white guy to do errands for us, and we think we can find the leader, soonish or whatever.”

“Larry, you haven’t told him why we came to him specifically yet.”

“Oh yeah. You’re easier to blackmail. Also the Letonnan Emperor and our MIA contacts aren’t very discrete.”

“We also shipped something to your apartment so we’re going to stay here until arrives.”

“Yes we need our guitars.”

“More than that piccalo she’s got pointed at you.”

“Iseltov guitars.”

“They didn’t want to send SOSOT, Ozian People’s Army, or Ozian Rats, so they sent us.”

Gothren could finally stop moving his eyes between Saul and Larry like a tennis match when Larry said, “What do you say? Will you harbor Ozian agents or have mush-brain for a night? Either answer we’re going to drink all your beer before we leave. To help comfort any inhibitions we can act as an Ozian folk band hosted by yourself.”
 
Gothren picked up one of the folders listing contacts and approximations of the estate in question, then looked between the two Ozians and the gun. Sera, they’re good. After all this time facing a gun he became quite comfortable, “Why do you have to stay here?”

“It’s just easier and because beer.”

Saul nodded, “Beer.”

He shuffled all the information into their respective folders again nodding to them then furrowing his eyebrows at the amount of smoke in his kitchen, “I have a living room where I smoke. If you have to smoke zuavka, and are you going to point that damned gun at me the whole time?”

Larry nodded to Saul, and she slipped it back into her coat holster. Larry said, “So who wants another beer?”

Saul raised her hand, “Oh I do!”

“Then go grab three!”

Gothren sighed.

Offline Prydania

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Re: The Empire of New Letonna
« Reply #17 on: August 20, 2014, 04:19:10 AM »
Becaonsfield

"It's too bloody bright out today" Sir Sanders Bellamy remarked, looking out the windows of the Prime Minister's office to the street below.
Bellamy was the first Prime Minister in twenty years to not sit in the House of Commons. His seat was within the House of Lords. Lords PMs were, historically, a frequent occurrence. They got rarer and rarer as the democratic franchise grew, however. Bellamy and the Tories' victory, though by a decent margin, almost seemed like the last hurrah of a world with both feet in the grave. When politics were the affair of the elite and the elite only. The stuffy cabinet appointed seemed beset by a feeling of their own demise even as they celebrated their electoral victory.

"Letonna..." he repeated a moment before turning to face John Lesley, his Minister of Foreign Affairs and the government's highest ranking member in the Commons.
"No other people as decent have suffered as much" he finished.
"Agreed Mr. Prime Minister" Lesley answered, "though this has all the makings of a quagmire we ought to stay out of, I fear what the implications would be if these Neustrians are allowed to succeed."
"Eire" Lesley responded.
"Eire" the Prime Minister answered, nodding. "Well Minister, give Emperor Ulfrum our deepest well wishes."

The Minister nodded, though he remained worried. The Myrorians had been quiet on the matter, and he worried about the potential ramifications of crossing a traditional ally. Still, the government was unanimous in its decision, and it was said that Richard VII was sympathetic as well. Letonna would not be allowed to fall.

Offline Myroria

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Re: The Empire of New Letonna
« Reply #18 on: August 28, 2014, 04:31:46 AM »
Quote
WEAPON SHIPMENTS FOUND DIVERTED TO NEUSTRIANS; RESIDENCE DENIES INVOLVEMENT
-----------------------------------

DISARRAY APPARENT
-----------------------------------
Was Not 'Fully Informed' About Weapons Shipments, Empeurer Asserts


by ORVYN VERANISETH
Special for the IVORHEART POST

Pelagis, Sep. 24 -- His Majesty Peté Tar-Ilium said today that he had not been in full control of his regime's Neustria policy, and the Residence has said that as a result up to 3,000 arms intended for use on military bases near the border had been diverted to Neustrian rebels in the Empire of Letonna.

At the same time, the Empeurer announced that one of the men he held responsible - Maj. Gen. Fendel Sadiroth, the director of the Myrorian Intelligence Agency, and several members of the general's staff, had resigned their positions.

With the Residence already in upheaval over the earlier disclosure of a military buildup near the Letonnan border, and with speculation rampant that His Majesty is planning a massive overhaul of his staff membership, the Empeurer's statement only seems to confirm earlier suspicions that the Residence is in disarray. All signs indicate that the Empeurer faces the most serious crisis of his almost fifteen-year long reign.

-----------------------------------
Investigation Imminent
-----------------------------------

His Majesty shocked assembled Councillors, ranking regime officials, and members of the press by announcing in a televised press conference that he had not been "fully informed" of some of the details of the MIA's operations near the border with Letonna and that General Sadiroth would be leaving after a "serious breach of protocol". He continued by saying that General Sadiroth was not being fired, but had "asked to be relieved of his post at the head of the Myrorian Intelligence Agency".

After the Empeurer's announcement, the Council of Great Houses' Imperial Oversight Committee said it was still investigating how Neustrian rebel forces recieved "between 1,800 and 3,000 arms, including at least one hundred rocket-propelled grenade launchers and 40 portable mortars".

Myrorian and Letonnan sources told the Ivorheart Post that agents of the Myrorian Intelligence Agency played a "central role" in coordinating and organizing weapon shipments to Neustrian rebels. The details of the "Neustrian weapons affair", as the scandal is quickly becoming known as, were revealed to the Post by an anonymous source.

In Mets, Austrasia, and Traval, Myroria, spokesmen for the Neustrian rebel coalition said they knew nothing of weapons shipments organized by Gen. Sadiroth.

-----------------------------------
'Lone Actor'
-----------------------------------

"The only person in the Myrorian government that knew what was occuring near the Letonnese border was Major General Sadiroth," said Minalcar Ilium, the Imperial Representative to the Council of Great Houses. "IOI Director Helerith, Minister of Foreign Affairs Novroth, Minister of Defense Andulorovth - none of us knew. Major General Sadiroth was truly a lone actor."

"The Empeurer knew nothing of this affair until I reported it to him yesterday afternoon," Sera Ilium said before the assembled reporters in the Residence's Press Room. "I alerted him as soon as I confirmed the reports."

Later the Imperial Representative said that Gothren Quarrith, former Imperial Chamberlain and currently serving as an aide for Her Majesty the Empeuress Consort, likely knew of the plan. Sera Ilium said that Sera Quarrith was likely aware of the plan "from its beginning".

Asked why Sera Quarrith failed to say anything to the Empeurer, Sera Ilium said "I don't know". Neither General Sadiroth, nor Gothren Quarrith could be reached for comment.

-----------------------------------
Unanswered Questions
-----------------------------------

The Residence's account, though admittedly incomplete pending the ending of an official probe, left several questions unanswered, such as:

Whose idea was it to help the Neustrian rebels and why did the Minister of Defense, who oversees the Myrorian Intelligence Agency, not notice up to 3,000 arms missing from its inventory?

What did the Letonnese government know about these arms shipments?

Why would Great House Quarrovth publicly oppose the Neustrian rebels while being involved in weapons shipments to those rebels? What does Gothren Quarrith know?

Did other Myrorian officials know of this plan to help the Neustrian rebels?

-----------------------------------
The Empeurer's Brief Appearance
-----------------------------------

His Majesty devoted less than five minutes to address this surprise disclosure and left Sera Ilium to field press questions. His Majesty seemed tense and almost angry. Asked if anyone else in the government would be let go, he shortly replied: "No one was let go. They chose to go."

His Majesty then walked quickly out of the press room.

Gothren folded up his copy of the Ivorheart Post and placed it on the table next to him. Standing up, and walking to his hotel room's only phone, he dialed his contact in Letonna, grabbing a manila envelope off the bedside table as the other end rang.

"It's Gothren," he said, taking pictures of an old manor outside Khenstein out of the envelope.

"I'm in Letonnasburg with some very interesting documents. When can we meet, sera?"
« Last Edit: August 28, 2014, 04:39:32 AM by Myroria »
"I assure you -- I will be quite content to be a mere mortal again, dedicated to my own amusements."

Offline Letonna

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Re: The Empire of New Letonna
« Reply #19 on: August 31, 2014, 12:47:13 AM »
“They could do better. If this war was spilling into their borders they would be more concerned. Rusty out dated rifles and small explosives won’t stop those Imperialist pigs from cutting us down.”

Nenrin Bauflaum was inspecting some new weapon shipments that had just arrived from Myroria. He was the only clean shaven, and nicely dressed of them. A lot of them haven’t seen a shower or a shave in weeks. They were thin, hunched over, and tired.

   “Well, it will have to do. Get these rifles to the new recruits; this can be an opportunity for them to learn how to clean their guns.”

   Nenrin sat down in a rickety wood chair. He was currently in an abandoned plantation on the outskirts of Khenstien, a town about 20km from Myroria. This used to be a Neustrian estate, back when Neustrians had social status. The walls had mold on them and the roof leaked, but it also served as a temporary hide out for the time. He had to keep moving to avoid detection form scouts and loyalists.

   “We may need to plan for a reduction in arms shipments for a while. Looks like Myroria’s media caught wind of the shipments.”

   His advisors and commanders stood around him with a demoralized and tired look on all their faces. They may have had it bad under the Letonese, but at least they had warm food and a roof back then. He sympathized for them. Being a revolutionary was no way to support a family.

   “It’s been two weeks since Ghrel, I think we should plan another major assault. I was thinking we should hit Vems, rumor has it Ulfrum put a large deposit of weapons there to support the influx of troops passing through.”

   “No. Vems is too big. We don’t have the manpower to overpower the garrison. We may have caught them off guard once, but they won’t make that mistake again.” A pale man in a cameo jacket said. “We really only have the man power to raid a small settlement. However there’s never much there, we would get very few supplies, and it would be more of a gesture than a tactical assault.”

   Nenrin rested his forehead in his hand. He remained silent while he thought, constantly under the hollow gazes of his advisors. 

   “Have we heard anything from our men in Letonnasburg?”

   “We haven’t heard anything in days. They’ve all gone silent.” The same pale man said.
Another few seconds of silence went by. Nenrin sighed and put on a frown.

   “Then it’s time for us to turn out attention east. We’ve done what we can here, we need to strike closer to the heart of the beast to wound it.”

   He gave his men a second to exchange glances of concern.

   “The Grittens Communication Center. It services all of western Letonna. With it down, we can have a chance of taking these towns and cities. It will hopefully delay the military for calling in reinforcements, and give us a chance to make some strategic gains.”

   His men were silent. They didn’t object to the idea, but their faces didn’t show approval. Nenrin let a few second go by to allow them to process it.

   “Then it’s decided. We will send a strike team in the morning. Dismissed.”

They all shuffled out, whispering to each other. Nenrin went back to cradling his head in his hands. He had commanded men before, but never on this scale. Years ago he was a Captain in the Army; the highest ranking Neustrian in the whole military. But he was dishonorably discharged after he refused to fire upon Neustrians protesting over a labor dispute.  Although he was blessed with a formal education, it never would have prepared him to be a leader of his people.

   He reached into his pocket and pulled from it a small leather wallet. He opened it, and pulled some wrinkled pictures from alongside some Letonese bills. There was a picture of him in his military uniform from years ago, a picture of his mother, but what he was after was a picture of a young woman in her early 20’s.
He remained silent as he stared at it. He let out a sigh, and put it back in his wallet. Grabbing his pistol and holster from the table, he walked outside into the daylight.




“hmmm….I see, very interesting.”

Ulfrum leaned back in his chair while looking shuffling through papers in a manila folder. With one hand he flipped papers in the report, and the other he tapped a spoon against a ceramic tea cup and saucer.

“Just as interesting is why Terrin Ver isn't here taking all the credit he doesn't deserve.”

“Minister Ver is busy talking to our ambassador in Prydainia my lord. They are arranging the transfer of funds from the Prydainian government to ours to help support our interests in the conflict sir.” An aid from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said from a bowed position in front of Ulfrum’s desk.

“You must be new.”

“I’ve only been part of the Ministry for 3 months sir.”

“Well, you’ll learn quickly your bosses are all boot sucking brown nosers. The only reason they exist is so they can take credit for your work.”

“Yes my lord.”

Ulfrum grumbled as he flipped a few more pages in the report.

“What do you think of the conflict uhh…”

“Hern Gelrum Sir, MOFA rank 3 sir.”

“What do you think of the conflict Gelrum?”

“We should do what benefits the crown and the government the most sir.”

Ulrum stopped flipping through papers when he saw a photograph paper clipped to a military personnel file in the folder. He saw a young man, who appeared to have the qualities of a Neustrian, in a captain’s uniform posing for a photograph. He picked up the photo and studied it.

“And what does benefit the crown and government Gelrum? These Neustrians, not all of them are rebels. Many are hardworking people. Many are respectable members of society. Many are, or were, one of us.”

“I’m sorry sir, but I don’t underst-.”

“You’re dismissed; tell Ver I expect a follow up report tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yes my Lord.”

The aid bowed and dismissed himself. Ulfrum kept staring at the photograph, intrigued.

“Well well well, looks like I found you, Captain Bauflaum.”
« Last Edit: August 31, 2014, 12:57:18 AM by Letonna »

Offline Letonna

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Re: The Empire of New Letonna
« Reply #20 on: September 07, 2014, 11:45:35 PM »
“I don’t know man, how can you even trust them anymore after what they’ve done?” One guard spoke to another, standing outside a fenced gate to a large walled complex with wires coming out from all directions.

“There’s no way to tell. According to the reports they look just like normal laborers. That’s why we haven’t squashed them yet. If one were to walk past me right now I’d have no idea if they were the good ones or the bad ones.”

The other guard mumbled in agreeance while flicking a cigarette butt with his fingers.

“Man, and to even think of all we’ve given them. Jobs, shelter, protection. If they had had the audacity to throw that back in our face then I don’t even want them in my coun-“

A single shot rang out, and fractions of a second later the guard knocked back, blood spraying out.
 
“SHIT.” The second guard said, throwing his cigarettes butt to the ground. He fumbled with his rifle. The guard whimpered in fear. In his hurriedness, it jammed, and he frantically cursed and hit it to get the jam unstuck. All the while, a lone figure with green face paint walked forward out of the bushes. He approached the guard, who hadn’t noticed him out of his frustration.

“That’s good, because I don’t want you in my country either.”

Nenrin pulled his pistol from its holster and shot the fumbling guard.

The crack of a short range radio could be heard.

“South gate secure, but not for long, there’s a patrol due in three minutes.”

He wiped some paint from his face, making a hand gesture to the brush behind him. Men dressed in mostly civilian clothing came forth, holding various assortments of rifles, pistols, and duffel bags. About 30 of them emerged, and they slowly made their way to the gate.

The Grittins Communications was a heavily guarded complex, vital to not only civilian and business communication, but also for military. Officially it was owned by WireCross-Letonna, a private communications company; however it was guarded and protected by the military because of its importance.

Even with a country on the verge of an all-out civil war, it was still rather lightly defended. It was almost suspicious.

“Alright men, the plan is still on. Alpha will cause a distraction in the southern end, while Gamma will plant the explosives. We will rendezvous 1 km west of here. Once the blast goes off, they will come pouring out of the wood works to kill us. You have permission to use whatever tactics necessary to make it out alive. Hostages, explosions, smoke grenades, whatever. If you aren't back by 22 hundred hours then you’re being left behind. Questions?”

Nobody said a word.

“Good, then move out.”

The men broke into two groups and moves into the complex. One team went south to some large power pylons, while the other went to the large building in the center of the complex. Nenrin accompanied the team heading towards the center building. Normally he would be commanding from the background on these sorts of things, but he was one of the few Neustrians with demolitions experience.

Nenrin had a bad feeling in his stomach. This place was to quiet. No patrols, no guards, and more eerie of all, no noise. He could see it bothering some of his more senior members as well. They kept creeping along until they reached the exterior of a large square building with wires coming out in all directions from the roof.

He waved to his men to begin setting up the explosives. They placed down the bags near support beams, power cords, and below large structures supporting communications cables. Nenrin reached for his short range radio, and was about to activate it before he heard explosions go off in the background. He looked to the south and could see smoke rising from the base of some power pylons and support structures.

“Hurry it up! They’ll be on us soon.”

Nenrin pulled out a timed detonator, and set it to three minutes. Attaching the cables his men laid out to it, he primed it, and set it down carefully.

“Alright, now we move out men, get a move on!”

His men picked up their rifles and made their way back to the west gate. They ran as fast as they could, but in the distance they could no longer see the green of the forest, but instead a horizontal layer of black. As he approached, Nenrin recognized the sight as a line of Ministry of Internal Security soldiers. They formed a line two deep, and held their rifles in standby.

“Hault!” Nenrin shouted aloud.

Nenrin and his men stopped. He was about 400 feet from the gate with the soldiers, but they did not react.
“Make for the North gate!” He yelled out.

He and his men went to turn around, but a second group of soldiers were marching from the east, cutting them off.

“Hold your position, and ready your weapons!” Nenrin yelled out. Both groups of soldiers were marching towards them, but had not yet fired. His men formed a circle around Nenrin, and pointed their weapons at the wall of approaching soldiers.

The soldiers stopped about 40 feet from the group of rebels and remained still. A young officer, also in a black uniform, stepped from behind the soldiers. He held a single piece of paper and a pistol.

“Nenrin Bauflaum, you are hear by ordered by the Ministry of Internal Security and the Ministry of Justice to surrender your arms and be taken into custody on charges of Terrorism and Conspiring against the Crown. How do you stand?” The young officer shouted at the group.

Nenrin was covered in sweat. There was no way out of this. His men kept sneaking panicked glances at him. His only option was to try to confuse the soldiers. He snuck a hand into a soldiers back pack, pulling out two grenades.

“HOW DO YOU STAND NENRIN?!” The officer shouted again.

Nenrin sighed and whispered “I’m sorry my brothers.”

He pulled the pins from the grenades and put the grenades in a soldiers pocket in front of him.

“I STAND BY YOU BURNING IN HELL IMPERIALIST PIG!”

And with that Nenrin gave the order to charge. His men ran towards both groups of soldiers, shouting and firing their weapons. The officer only had time to give the order for his men to fire before a massive explosion rocked everyone to the ground. Smoke was everywhere; the stench of seared flesh burned the eyes.

Nenrin ran into the confusion. He ran through the smoke, trying to avoid the twisted mass of Rebel and Imperial soldier’s corpses, along the wounded and dazed. He made it through the smoke and chaos before the remaining soldiers realized what had occurred. Shots rang out behind him, and he could hear bullets whizzing past his head. He made it to the gate, and only had a short distance before he made it to the forest when a strong blow hit him in the thigh.

He yelled out in pain, and put his hand on the wound. He could feel the warm trickle of blood on his fingers. He looked back to see soldiers gaining on him. He clenched his teeth and hobbled along as fast as he could, holding back the pain. Making it to the forest, he put on a camo poncho someone had left behind, and dived into some thick bushes.

He continued to hold back the pain as soldiers reached the forest edge and ran past him.
“He ran this way, follow me!” he heard someone yell. More soldiers ran past him. He would wait here until night fall, and then he would try to make it back to the rendezvous. He could feel himself growing weak; he had just enough time to put on a tourniquet and bandages before he passed out.

Offline Myroria

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Re: The Empire of New Letonna
« Reply #21 on: September 08, 2014, 01:42:40 PM »
"Don't give me that shit, Hlaren!" Gothren exclaimed under his breath, tossing a newspaper that read "Letonnese communications complex raided, scores dead" to the side. He leaned forward and put his hands on the table that he and Hlaren Quarrovth, a Quarrovth councilman and a man about 10 years his senior, sat at. "I didn't drive all the way out to the Quarrovth Estate from Ivorheart to hear you hem and haw. My men are scared shitless in there. We need to get out, now. And besides, with this scandal with the king breaking, there are no Neustrian shipments to stop. My men are sitting there, twiddling their thumbs, hoping they don't get blown away tomorrow."

"It's the opinion of the Quarrovth Ruling Council, Gothren," Hlaren began, "That our interests in Letonna must be protected. We can take you off this case, if you'd like."

"I don't want to get taken off this case and have some politician come in and get my agents killed."

"Then I recommend, Gothren, that you follow the directives the Council issues to you."

"Hlaren, you're not on the ground out there! It's a civil war! The Neustrians feel it, the Imperials feel it, the civilians feel it - and I feel it too. Now that the Empeurer is pulling out, I don't see any way that - "

"Gothren, sera, I should remind you that we don't know for certain the Empeurer is pulling the MIA out."

"Once he does - and he will - the Neustrians will collapse. They won't have any support abroad except maybe the Ozians, and my... sources tell me they want to keep as distant from this as they can. They see how unstable the situation is."

"I don't particularly care what the Ozians are up to," Hlaren began, slightly exasperated. "My job is to ensure that the Great House's interests are protected in Letonna, and that's it. And until this war ends, our interests need protecting." Gothren sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. The grey mat of hair sitting on his head was more than disheveled.

"I think you're making a big mistake, for our agents in Letonna and for the House."

"Your opinion is noted, sera." Hlaren used a term of respect but the tone was all annoyance.

"I agree with Gothren," came a voice from the room's doorway.

"Your Majesty!" Hlaren said, quickly rising from his chair as Gothren did so at a more leisurely pace. "Please forgive me, I didn't see you standing there. Gothren and I were just discussing House matters while we waited for our meeting with you regarding - "

"Regarding the next reapportionment, yes. I do have a ledger, sera." Fredrika said. "But I do find this train of conversation much more interesting." she continued, removing her tweed hunting cap. "I hope my earliness is not of concern; Bervaso and I just ended the hunt early. I've never seen the grounds so devoid of grouse."

"Of course not, ma'am." Hlaren said, still cursing himself for not standing for the queen earlier. "I was just informing Gothren of House Quarrovth's objectives in Letonna. Now is certainly not the time to withdraw our forces."

"That much I got, Hlaren," Fredrika said, loudly dragging a chair across the tile floor to the table and sitting down. Taking her cigarette case out of her jacket, she sat silently for a moment. "You can sit." Hlaren and Gothren both sat - again, Hlaren quickly and Gothren leisurely.

"I believe the situation is too dangerous. We can't afford to lose any of our kin;" Gothren began. "And with the Empeurer pulling out following the armrunning scandal I don't see why the Letonnese need our help."

"What's Idris' opinion?" Fredrika asked no one in particular, referencing a Quarrovth councilwoman also present on the case.

"I think she agrees with my opinion," both men said almost simultaneously.

"Oh! It sounds like either one of you is lying, or Idris has a doppelganger none of us know about."

Gothren coughed nervously.

"Well, regardless of her opinion, I think we should listen to our man on the ground. Hlaren, I want you to pull our men out of there. With my husband tied up in this scandal the Letonnese are more than capable of handling an unfunded, disliked, disorganized rabble."

"But, Your Majesty," Hlaren said, reaching for the Quarrovth Press-Times on the table, "What about the attack yesterday? It looks like they're getting more organized, not less. Letonna needs our help more than ever."

"Listen, Hlaren," Fredrika said, leaning in. "I don't have any particular attachment to the Letonnese cause. Shooting Neustrians in the street like dogs... innocent women and children. We should have withdrawn our forces weeks ago, but now that my husband's dealing with this scandal, it's the best chance we'll get. Let Letonna and the Neustrians finish their fight. I have no doubt who the victor will be, but at least we can keep any more blood off our hands."



"I assure you -- I will be quite content to be a mere mortal again, dedicated to my own amusements."

Offline Letonna

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Re: The Empire of New Letonna
« Reply #22 on: September 11, 2014, 06:09:35 PM »
“So you’re telling me, you had a whole battalion of men there and you let one wounded man outmaneuver you, am I understanding this correct General? This is not going to look good on your record.”

A thin, tired looking man stood in a bowed position in front of Ulfrum’s desk. He had a black sash over his decorated military uniform showing he served with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“He was able to slip through the dense brush undetected sir. My men aren’t trained in hunting or tracking, but enforcement. It started raining soon after, which would have washed away any blood. My men attempted to block all major roads off but we still never found him.”

“I don’t tolerate petty excuses General. You lost 23 men and let a high risk target escape. These are mistakes we can’t have in our Empire. You’re on suspension for the time being, and General Grimbell is taking charge of the situation. You’re dismissed.”

Ulfrum kept a scowl on while the man left the room; his head bowed in shame.

He let a few moments of silence pass before he picked up the phone on his desk and dialed an extension.

“Get me Ambassador Vechs in Myroria.”





Nenrin lay panting and bloodied in a ditch. The ground rumbled as two large halftracks rumbled past on a bumpy dirt road. When they were out of sight, Nenrin got up, and ran across the road into a large corn field. In the distance there was a large house with a barn.

He clutched his leg while hobbling through the field, the house growing ever closer. When he reached it, he stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door. An old man, clearly not of Neustrian decent, answered the door.

“Vera Sey Helmaufen”[old Neustrian for ‘Live On, Revolution’] Nenrin said through heavy frantic breaths.

“Come in, come in. Looks like you’re a bit under the weather friend.”

Nenrin shot the man a fowl gaze. He made his way to the kitchen, and collapsed in a wooden chair. The old man reached into a cupboard and brought out a dusty first aid kit. The man began to tend to the wounds.
“We….we were set up.”

“Hmmm, why do you think that? I heard the explosions from here, sounded like you really did some damage.”
“I’m…(pant)not sure what happened. Imperial troops showed up from nowhere. I had to blast through them to escape. I don’t….(pant)know if anyone else made it out alive.”

Nenrin winced as the old man poured alcohol on the wound.

“I’ve heard interesting things through the grapevine in the past few hours. Supposedly your forces in Khenstein split in three groups after they heard you were dead. All went in different directions.”

“I’m not dead! AARGHHH. Those idiots. A bunch of timid children trying to fight a lion, as soon as their man in front is down they scatter.”

Nenrin winced again as the old man began digging around in the wound looking for the bullet.
“Well, you’re a likeable person. You can always rally more to your cause right?”

“With what? The promise of fighting a power who can out fight, out maneuver, and out man you at every turn? The dream of being cold and hungry for months to years? Unless you die first. No, no amount of salesmanship will sell the rebel life. My people are too afraid. They are blind to the potential they could be.”

“Perhaps some revolutions are not meant to be fought behind a gun, but rather with ideas; with pens and type writers. Strike your enemy in their weak spot, their ears and eyes if you will.”

“Yeah, whatever doc.”

The old man smiled just as Nenrin yelled out in pain, the doctor producing a bullet with the tweezers.

“You may stay here tonight, but you’ll need to be off tomorrow. Those troops are going to start searching houses soon. They know you couldn’t have gotten far with that wound.”

“Alright, thanks doc.”

The old man carefully stitched up and bandaged the wound. When he was done, he brought Nenrin some tea.
“Do you have a gun I can borrow? I feel I may need one with all these Imperials around.”

“I do not. I did take the oath after all.”

“Well, alright. At least try to send word to whoever you can and tell them I’m still alive. I’m going to try to make it to Vems, we have a hide out there, and maybe I can get some men to rally with me.”

“That’s a long way to go without transportation. I hope you don’t plan to do something reckless.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill any civilians, I’ll just need to borrow one of their cars. If I do it at night it will buy me a little time before they report it.”

“Well, alright. It’s getting late; you should really get some rest. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to sleep in the cellar. If troops come in the night they will easily find you if you’re in a bedroom.”

“Thanks again Doc. When we win this I’ll make you a national hero.”

The old man smiled.

“Let’s just worry about getting through the night ok?”

Nenrin smiled back.

“Sounds like a plan.”





Ambassador Vechs sat behind his desk, flicking a pencil back and forth with his fingers. He was looking at some papers that sat alongside a square black briefcase. He didn't like the orders. They didn't just come from the top of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they came from Ulfrum himself.

“…use House Quarrovth contact to establish an underworld contact. Myroria has infamous Assassination families. Use provided funds to establish a contract. Nenrin Bauflaum must be captured alive.” The letter said.

“Ugh, now were turning to common criminals? How far we've fallen.” Vechs thought in his head.

There was a buzz from the com system on his desk, letting him know he had a visitor.
“Come in!”

A Tall grey haired man walked through the door, and made his way to his seat.

“Ahh, Gothren is it? Please sit down. You’re from the House? We have some mutual business to discuss.”

Offline Myroria

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Re: The Empire of New Letonna
« Reply #23 on: October 12, 2014, 11:49:55 PM »
Gothren pursed his lips and sat with a sigh. His face wore an expression that screamed "I'm tired of this shit, and tired of this shit he was indeed. The question of whether or not his House would stay involved in Letonna had been unanswered long enough, and the plan had changed enough times, that he decided to attend the meeting mainly just to wash his hands of the whole situation. Despite denying it to anyone who asked, he indeed knew individuals in Omaryntown who specialized in "eliminating problems" such as the one the Letonnese had.

So when the Empeuress sent Gothren a telegram at his home in Novrith stating "LETONNESE LOOKING FOR CLEANERS", he reluctantly booked a flight back to Letonnasburg. Rubbing blood-shot, jet-lagged eyes, he spoke quietly.

"The pleasure is mine, Ambassdor."
"I assure you -- I will be quite content to be a mere mortal again, dedicated to my own amusements."