07-26-2018, 02:54 PM
Aelurian Coast
"This cigarette butt is too old," commented PC Rhona Cooper to her partner, Ben Caperhill as they wandered along the beach, keeping an eye out for all the usual petty criminals that local police had to deal with.
"How can you tell?" Caperhill replied. They both kept their tone of voice light, but each of them knew the other also felt terrified underneath. Cooper bent down to pick up the remains of the cigarette.
"Look how faded it is. And besides, it's a different brand to the ones the Kivasekians brought. It's definitely from before legalisation."
"If the legalisation actually happened. Some would argue Noguera had no right to pass that legislation..." Caperhill tested.
"Some people might end up as target practice for the Kivasekians if they keep saying such things. There is a war on, after all."
"And so, people are no longer allowed to say what they think?"
"People know better than to say some things. You never know who could be listening," Cooper warned, in a tone that signalled the end of the conversation.
The pair continued along the beach, until they heard whispering, and Cooper held her hand up to stop Caperhill. They snuck forward, taking cover behind some rocks as they listened.
"...have the right to make that decision for myself!"
"You are free to divorce your wife all you want, but you are jeopardising your mission and the unity of our country."
"I no longer care! You said you'd get me out of here, but you didn't keep that promise! Why should I do anything for you?" the man shouted.
"Is that Anael Noguera?" whispered Caperhill.
"Shh..." responded Cooper.
"Because we can just as easily expose you. I wonder what your dear wife would do to you if she discovered you have been working for Chaher since the start."
"You little..."
"You will cooperate, Mr Noguera."
"When I first got involved with this, I believed I was fighting for something worthwhile. But all I see is destruction and death, and all of it caused by you."
"Me? Oh, you utter fool. I stood on this same beach at the beginning of May with Suleman Chaher himself, and even he thought the same. No, this was never my doing."
"He's smoking the same brand cigarette as the one I found," whispered Cooper.
Through bad luck, the wind carried her voice, and Anael Noguera and the mysterious man both turned around and started heading towards the rocks.
"Shit," swore Cooper, and then began to try and sneak away, but she tripped and fell, rolling over in the sand. Beside her, Caperhill had raised his hands in surrender, as the unknown man raised a gun at her.
Suddenly, he turned and shot Caperhill in the head, and Cooper just had time to notice the silencer before he shot her too.
Lauchenoirian News Service Broadcast
"It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Prime Minister Suleman Chaher, who passed away yesterday at 2:23pm as a result of his wounds following the assassination attempt carried out by former President Leanna Walker. Defence Secretary Charissa Clarke has the following words to say."
"Prime Minister Suleman Chaher was a great man. He always worked to do what was best for Lauchenoiria, and his death at the hands of the traitorous Leanna Walker signals a dark day in Lauchenoirian history."
"We will now have two minutes silence in memory of Prime Minister Chaher."
Resistance HQ, Usera
"They're going to execute Walker. Tomorrow," a young man said, turning from a computer.
"What makes you say that?" Leonie asked, walking over.
"Look," he gestured at the computer. The man was a computer scientist and had been assigned to attempting to hack enemy communications. Leonie read the screen but it looked like gibberish to her.
"What am I looking at?" she asked.
"See this bit here? It's in code, but thanks to the defectors in Ulinaria, we know the code. It's indicating that MacKenzie signed an executive order permitting execution," he said, then scrolled down fast and pointed at a different paragraph, "and this is a prisoner transfer order for Leanna Walker."
"And it says they're going to kill her?"
"Not explicitly, but if you look at the other text surrounding these two sections it seems the most probable explanation."
"I'm going to get Sonja."
Fleura/Yervia Boundary
Jae Chung snuck up behind the barn, careful to keep out of sight. She heard voices and slowly crept nearer so she could make out what they were saying.
"... evacuate north immediately before the battle reaches this area."
"I don't care who you work for, I am not leaving this property!"
"Sir, we have orders to forcibly remove anyone who does not go willingly. The so-called Resistance are heading this way, and we have already had civilian casualties in this area. You will evacuate."
"My daughter lives in Nuevo Baeza, I am not leaving without her."
"Sir, Nuevo Baeza has already been the site of a major battle. The civilian population has either already left or is dead. The entire way from here to Usera and Yerville is blocked by fighting. Now, are you going to come with me?"
Clearly the man nodded or something because the pair walked off. Jae slid down the side of the barn in exasperation, and then stared up at the sky.
"Are you trying to make this more difficult?" she asked a god she didn't believe in.
Kerlian-held territory, southern Yervia
Camino Arreola woke to the sound of an argument in French. He groaned and tried to roll over, sending pain shooting through his body. He yelped and his eyes flew open.
"Do not move," a voice said in English in an accent he couldn't place. The argument became more heated. Without moving his body, he tried to glance in the direction of the argument. He saw a group of what appeared to be Laeralian soldiers, most of whom seemed injured in some way.
He tried to sit up, gently this time, being helped by a man he didn't recognise.
"Where... am I?" he asked, concerned that he wasn't going to like the answer.
"Still somewhere in Yervia province," the man shrugged in the accent Arreola couldn't place.
"Okay..." Arreola said, somewhat unsatisfied by the answer. He glanced around him. It appeared to be a barn, filled with an assortment of a few people he recognised from Usera, and a whole bunch of foreign soldiers. "Can you be more specific?"
The man took another look at Arreola and then a look of... guilt? Fear?... passed over his face.
"We're wherever the Kerlians are currently keeping their prisoners of war."
Fantastic, thought Arreola, and if he had spoken the word aloud his voice would have dripped with sarcasm.
"Not all bad news though," a man he recognised from the battle in the field with sheep. "Chaher's dead."
"Um... how long was I unconscious?" he asked.
"Little under 24 hours," he shrugged.
"Ah," he nodded, not quite sure what to say.
One of the Laeralians who had been arguing suddenly stopped talking and stormed off to a corner.
"Um, does anyone here know how Kerlians normally treat prisoners of war?" Arreola asked in the sudden silence. One of the Laeralites turned to him.
"Do you truly want to know the answer to that question?" he said in heavily accented English.
"This cigarette butt is too old," commented PC Rhona Cooper to her partner, Ben Caperhill as they wandered along the beach, keeping an eye out for all the usual petty criminals that local police had to deal with.
"How can you tell?" Caperhill replied. They both kept their tone of voice light, but each of them knew the other also felt terrified underneath. Cooper bent down to pick up the remains of the cigarette.
"Look how faded it is. And besides, it's a different brand to the ones the Kivasekians brought. It's definitely from before legalisation."
"If the legalisation actually happened. Some would argue Noguera had no right to pass that legislation..." Caperhill tested.
"Some people might end up as target practice for the Kivasekians if they keep saying such things. There is a war on, after all."
"And so, people are no longer allowed to say what they think?"
"People know better than to say some things. You never know who could be listening," Cooper warned, in a tone that signalled the end of the conversation.
The pair continued along the beach, until they heard whispering, and Cooper held her hand up to stop Caperhill. They snuck forward, taking cover behind some rocks as they listened.
"...have the right to make that decision for myself!"
"You are free to divorce your wife all you want, but you are jeopardising your mission and the unity of our country."
"I no longer care! You said you'd get me out of here, but you didn't keep that promise! Why should I do anything for you?" the man shouted.
"Is that Anael Noguera?" whispered Caperhill.
"Shh..." responded Cooper.
"Because we can just as easily expose you. I wonder what your dear wife would do to you if she discovered you have been working for Chaher since the start."
"You little..."
"You will cooperate, Mr Noguera."
"When I first got involved with this, I believed I was fighting for something worthwhile. But all I see is destruction and death, and all of it caused by you."
"Me? Oh, you utter fool. I stood on this same beach at the beginning of May with Suleman Chaher himself, and even he thought the same. No, this was never my doing."
"He's smoking the same brand cigarette as the one I found," whispered Cooper.
Through bad luck, the wind carried her voice, and Anael Noguera and the mysterious man both turned around and started heading towards the rocks.
"Shit," swore Cooper, and then began to try and sneak away, but she tripped and fell, rolling over in the sand. Beside her, Caperhill had raised his hands in surrender, as the unknown man raised a gun at her.
Suddenly, he turned and shot Caperhill in the head, and Cooper just had time to notice the silencer before he shot her too.
Lauchenoirian News Service Broadcast
"It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Prime Minister Suleman Chaher, who passed away yesterday at 2:23pm as a result of his wounds following the assassination attempt carried out by former President Leanna Walker. Defence Secretary Charissa Clarke has the following words to say."
"Prime Minister Suleman Chaher was a great man. He always worked to do what was best for Lauchenoiria, and his death at the hands of the traitorous Leanna Walker signals a dark day in Lauchenoirian history."
"We will now have two minutes silence in memory of Prime Minister Chaher."
Resistance HQ, Usera
"They're going to execute Walker. Tomorrow," a young man said, turning from a computer.
"What makes you say that?" Leonie asked, walking over.
"Look," he gestured at the computer. The man was a computer scientist and had been assigned to attempting to hack enemy communications. Leonie read the screen but it looked like gibberish to her.
"What am I looking at?" she asked.
"See this bit here? It's in code, but thanks to the defectors in Ulinaria, we know the code. It's indicating that MacKenzie signed an executive order permitting execution," he said, then scrolled down fast and pointed at a different paragraph, "and this is a prisoner transfer order for Leanna Walker."
"And it says they're going to kill her?"
"Not explicitly, but if you look at the other text surrounding these two sections it seems the most probable explanation."
"I'm going to get Sonja."
Fleura/Yervia Boundary
Jae Chung snuck up behind the barn, careful to keep out of sight. She heard voices and slowly crept nearer so she could make out what they were saying.
"... evacuate north immediately before the battle reaches this area."
"I don't care who you work for, I am not leaving this property!"
"Sir, we have orders to forcibly remove anyone who does not go willingly. The so-called Resistance are heading this way, and we have already had civilian casualties in this area. You will evacuate."
"My daughter lives in Nuevo Baeza, I am not leaving without her."
"Sir, Nuevo Baeza has already been the site of a major battle. The civilian population has either already left or is dead. The entire way from here to Usera and Yerville is blocked by fighting. Now, are you going to come with me?"
Clearly the man nodded or something because the pair walked off. Jae slid down the side of the barn in exasperation, and then stared up at the sky.
"Are you trying to make this more difficult?" she asked a god she didn't believe in.
Kerlian-held territory, southern Yervia
Camino Arreola woke to the sound of an argument in French. He groaned and tried to roll over, sending pain shooting through his body. He yelped and his eyes flew open.
"Do not move," a voice said in English in an accent he couldn't place. The argument became more heated. Without moving his body, he tried to glance in the direction of the argument. He saw a group of what appeared to be Laeralian soldiers, most of whom seemed injured in some way.
He tried to sit up, gently this time, being helped by a man he didn't recognise.
"Where... am I?" he asked, concerned that he wasn't going to like the answer.
"Still somewhere in Yervia province," the man shrugged in the accent Arreola couldn't place.
"Okay..." Arreola said, somewhat unsatisfied by the answer. He glanced around him. It appeared to be a barn, filled with an assortment of a few people he recognised from Usera, and a whole bunch of foreign soldiers. "Can you be more specific?"
The man took another look at Arreola and then a look of... guilt? Fear?... passed over his face.
"We're wherever the Kerlians are currently keeping their prisoners of war."
Fantastic, thought Arreola, and if he had spoken the word aloud his voice would have dripped with sarcasm.
"Not all bad news though," a man he recognised from the battle in the field with sheep. "Chaher's dead."
"Um... how long was I unconscious?" he asked.
"Little under 24 hours," he shrugged.
"Ah," he nodded, not quite sure what to say.
One of the Laeralians who had been arguing suddenly stopped talking and stormed off to a corner.
"Um, does anyone here know how Kerlians normally treat prisoners of war?" Arreola asked in the sudden silence. One of the Laeralites turned to him.
"Do you truly want to know the answer to that question?" he said in heavily accented English.
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