"Sightseeing"

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

As per the decision his excellency the Baron of K'Tzuni had made regarding his troop plan, Operation Custard and Crumble was fully underway. Here is the current status of his troops:

Lywind
'Where are we, squadron commander?'
'On the plains, Lynog'
'Where on the plains, squadron commander?'
'Somewhere on the plains, Lynog'
'Why are we on the plains, squadron commander?'
Squadron commander Lytog's face reddened gradually with every pedantic question as the armoured car wove its way through the barren, featureless scenery of the Lywind plains. Heading for the coast in order to help fortify and defend it against possible rebel attacks on K'Tzuni, the platoon of ten armoured cars trundled along the road, with only 220 more miles to go before the coast. The last petrol station had ran out of toasted cheese sandwiches and coffee and the men were beginning to get fernickety. It was tough in the army.

Modan-Lach
'Habibullahmollahhusseinpashov?'
'Yes, my Baron?'
Contact General Abdurrahmannsuleimanmehmetpashayolbarshmanov. Tell him to commence Operation Custard & Crumble'
'Operation Custard and Crumble, you say?', spake the Aide-De-Camp, with a slight tremor in his voice
The Baron turned around sharply, looking him square in the eye.
Operation Custard and Crumble. You heard me. Now do it'
The red phone rang upon Abdurrahmannsuleimanmehmetpashayolbarshmanov's desk. The troops had reached Musica, it said. The cossacks had reached Wintergleam, it said. The Crumble of the plan was complete. Now all that remained was the custard.

High above the Elwynn Skies
'There she blows, Wing Co'
'Sure does- what a sight, eh?'
'Yes indeedy. Not for much longer, eh?'
A low giggle came from the intercom. The deranged Wing Co, choking as he laughed at the reality of what was to come to Shirekeep, drowned out the sound of the jet engines of the plane squadron and the supporting helicopter gunships as his laugh grew louder and louder.
His co pilot snapped him out of it.
'Wing Co! This is serious- now command the bomb release'
Clearing his throat and his mind of all deranged madness therein, Wing Co Sheriguulorzhak Aghandorjabazhirjev sent the message across to release bombs.
Atop the cliffs near the Elwynn Sluice, two farmers stood watching.
'they're Laqi jets, aren't they?'
'Aaar'.
'blowin' up the dam, aren't they?'
'That they be doin''
Chewing the cud, the farmers leant on the fence and watched as the hail of bombs and rockets hit the concrete dam, splitting it open and widening the gap until a torrent of water rushed down the narrow stream in the direction of Shirekeep.
Farmer Smith went back indoors help his wife with mucking out the stables.

Wintergleam
The Cossack Hetman belched loudly as he cast away his hip flask. Wiping his hand on the back of his sleeve, he mounted his horse with some difficulty and belched loudly once more, reloading his rifle and straightening his kepi.
Listening into the reciever of the field telephone, he heard the successful report of the Elwynn sluice being breached by the Laqi airforce.
'There goes the custard', he drawled
'Now for the crumble?' inquired the corporal nearby
'All in good time, m'boy'

Summary: Laqi Airforce have breached the Elwynn Dam, sending a surge of water flowing down towards Shirekeep. On the hills in Wintergleam above projected flood level, the expeditionary force to save the Imperial Republic's capital awaits the flooding of the capital and all enemy forces therein before commencing aerial bombing and artillery shelling

[Aurangzeb Khan]

It would appear that a torrent of water was on its way down the East Elwynn. The horrified supervisor of the recently bombed sluice quickly notified his superiors in Islus who warmed all the settlements along the line that something et and large was due to this way come.

The frantic search for higher-ground and or anything that floats quickly commenced.

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

'Comrades! The infidelic troops holding our Sovereign's capital are fleeing to the high ground! They shall not pass! To victory and for the Kaiser!'
'For the Kaiser!'
As the supply boxes from the Cossack baggage train were smashed open, the cossacks dismounted and with the aid of the infantry columns, mounted machine guns atop the hill slopes to mop up any soldiers fleeing for the high ground from the flood.
Overhead, the bombing squadron was met with slaps on the back and laughs as the commander pinned medals to their uniforms. The only one not standing to attention was Wing Commander Aghandorjabazhirjev, who was in hysterics laughing at the straggling survivors down below from the Shirereithan city walls. After the pilots had rested, the squadron rearmed and took to the skies once more to go for a running shoot of the boats and rafts coming from the flooded streets of the capital's suburbs in droves.
All of a sudden, the ground shook and the battery of artillery rained down on the suburbs of Shirekeep.
Aghandorjabazhirjev was singing the theme tune to a popular childrens' after school show.

Summary: Gunship and Jet squadron re-arms and sets off down the East Elwynn to destroy all rescue vessels from the capital containing troops and military equipment. Artillery batteries in the hills above Southern Shirekeep fire on the suburban main streets to crater them and stop tank movement, as well as attempting to destroy defence emplacements.
Heavy machine guns, mines and anti-tank defences placed on all paths up to the High Ground.

[Aurangzeb Khan]

The Khanguard as well as Alpha and Bravo Companies of the Elwynnbrigaden were immediately dispatched from their positions to secure the site of the East Elwynn Sluice. Whilst Charlie and Delta Companies were activated to provide emergency assistance to the civil power. The 2nd Armoured Regiment quit Islus and withdrew inland to higher ground.

Meanwhile the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 10th Aviation Squadrons were loaded up with payloads for stand off air to air combat and scrambled to intercept returning lachi forces.

The radars of the 1st Strategic Bombardment Squadron were switched over to provide a fuller picture of the skies high above Elwynn. As the skies lit up with contacts the orders were given to engaged.

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

Remember, O Count, I did state in my Order of Battle the Mobile SAM or AAA I brought with the Cossacks. Or was that something else from our MSN discussion? Oh well.
Anyway, I'm off now so I'll see you in the skies tomorrow. As will Aghandorjabazhirjev

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Meanwhile the 15th Aviation Squadron together with the 4th, 6th and 14th Squadrons swept in on the artillery batteries in the hills above Southern Shirekeep on to which they had been rapidly redirected. Sweeping the hills with rocket salvos and the furious blasts of their twin gatling guns. There was in the end to be no mercy - none for the drowners of Shirekeep.

[Nick Foghorn Leghorn]

Foghorn gave the order that almost everyone had anticipated: "Everyone back to the Keep!"

The Naval Infantrymen scrambled up the rubble and through the Keep, making their way to the highest points in the building. They passed priceless pieces of art, halls that had seen the comings and goings of countless Kaisers, and rooms that had seen so much history, all about to be destroyed because of one man's greed. They made their way up the towers, well out of reach of the rising water, wand waited.

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

Hey- not my fault if they're watercolours on those paintings. Acrylics and Oil Paints don't run as easily

[Prodigy Almighty]

"Smoke?"

Prodigy looked down at the status screen of his Heavy Battle Suit. The HVBS told him nohing was wrong - there was no breach. Must've been the paint. How he failed to notice and shoot down those missiles baffled him. He was better than that.

Meanwhile, his Tigermoth tanks fired their laser cannons at known targets, trying to avoid collateral damage as much as possible.

One of the Chelkran Battle Suits was unloading his Vulcan Cannon at one of the very large and annoying helicopters when he was hit with a boulder roughly twice the size of his suits (which is no small feat) right in the back, from the direction of the keep.

The suit lost weapons function, making it useless. The pilot climbed out, and readied his MPR-07. Prodigy couldn't believe his eyes.

"What the hell... Okay, look, I can't believe I'm saying this from my spot in a giant robot to my mechanized fighting machines and laser beam tanks... but watch out for boulders from catapults. Okay, what the hell. I've now done EVERYTHING there is to do in the world!"

"Sir!" One of the CBS pilots steered his suit towards Prodigy using his Lift Jets. "Sir! There's reportedly a breach in the dam down the river! We're set to flood in a few minutes!"

"Damn! Alright, CBS squads and CEG squads, move in a take the keep! I'm going to take the Tigermoths to higher ground and we'll provide long-range support from there! MOVE!"

The 10 foot tall titanium battle suits and the 8 foot tall supersoldiers made their way towards the keep, runnin' and gunnin', and now scanning the skies for boulders. A few stray rockets flew towards the suits, but they were shot down by the missile defense high-energy lasers. They ceased to exist before they hit.

"Kale, I want 35 Kensai to get in to that keep. Find their leaders. Take them alive. All other hostile resistance, negotiate with extreme prejudice."

"Yessir!"

[andelarion]

Location: Andelarion´s Train, somewhere between Avakair and Diarsanta.

Aradas was deeply troubled. What had happened to the people who dwelt near the River, to the people of Shirekeep? And what about the Kaiser? So many questions, no answers. What if the Laqis bomb this train?

Aradas couldn´t get a moment´s peace. Outside him the landscape swept by. Hills, villages, farms. It all seemed so peaceful. He started humming. "Why does the sun go on shining?" (Oh fuck, he thought. this is an awful song) "Why does the sea run to shore?" (I´m really going crazy) "Don´t they know it´s the end of the world?"

I hate this! Aradas screamed out in his thoughts. He started sweating. Panting. He wasn´t used to fighting. In fact, he had just recently become the count of Eliria and Utasia, when his father died. Inexperienced, young...

"Sir!" Somebody interrupted. It was Audon, one of the soldiers. It was strange, Aradas thought, they were the same age. But this soldier, so into routine, so naïve in away. What had they in common? Not much... Aradas thought that Audon´s parents must have been proud over him, after his enlisting in the Elirian defence forces. He wondered if his own parents would have been proud of him, considering how bad things turned out. Just look at the civil war, of the sluice being bombed. Thousands, maybe hundred of thousands, people probably drowned...

"Yes, soldier?"

"I have intelligence, sir!" Aradas laughed silently as he heard that. What a stupid thing to say. Then he realized what Audon meant.

"Go on..."

"Sir, they say that the Kaiser´s drowned --"

"What? Who?"Audon! Who says the Kaiser´s drowned?" Aradas was now angry. The Kaiser cannot die. He can´t! Sure, he might have been insane, bombing Kildare and that, but he was after all the symbol of the empire, the restorer of laws. Without him, the empire would go into anarchy (more so than it was now).

"I don´t know, sir."

"Get out of here, Audon! And don´t come back until you know more. Get me a name, get me evidence that the Kaiser´s departed to the afterlife."

"Yes sir!" And Audon left. Aradas felt bad for how he treated the soldier, but he was adamant so find out more, and this Audon got him on the nerves.

---

Two hours later, Audon returned to Aradas, who was told that the claims of the Kaiser´s death originated in the person of Iskandar al-Urshalim. Al-Urshalim was an Ardashirian journalist in Shirekeep.

But was there any truth to the claim?

Aradas quickly picked up the phone and made same calls. People had to find out about these rumours. The Kaiser, Gods forbid, could be dead...

[Aurangzeb Khan]

*Malarbor - being offended by the implausable imperviousness of the forces under the command of Prodigy Almighty and being well nourished by the rivers of water and blood that were now in full flood reached out with his roots and branches, which had a long reach, as befits a demon god, and siezed one of the Chelkran Battle Suits and, as if it were no more difficult than prising open a tin can, tore off the armour and devoured the soft fleshy, pleading pitiful mortal that had clung on for dear life inside.

Satisfied with his meal Malarbor went back to mocking the martial endeavours of both sides.*

[Braden Indianensis]

"Well," said Braden, stumbling back into the Keep, "We positively cannot allow ourselves to be taken alive. Can you imagine that, the Speaker of the Assembly dragged as a prisoner before the Kaiser? What a monstrous notion. And you, Nick, they'd kill you right off the bat, I'm sure, the barbarians..."

Nick's mind was wandering far away from that sort of thing, being more preoccupied with saving the lives of as many of the Naval Infantry as possible. It did seem a rather hopeless notion, as the City flooded, and those huge mechanical monsters menaced about, but it was nevertheless his preoccupation.

Just then, those very infernal machines could be seen plainly through a large whole in the wall, their fearful progress shaking the very stone. It was then that a piece of masonry fell, precipitously it would seem, and struck Braden Indianensis clean in the head, cracking his skull open, and dashing his brains upon the flagstones. He slumped over, instantly dead. It would be a dark day for Antica.

[Aurangzeb Khan]

OOC: Congratulations on the very first use of self-immolation to escape an impossible situation in a recwar in Shireroth. A very good example of thinking outside the box.

Sir I salute you.

[benkern]

ooc: A dark day for Antica... I don't think it gets darker than your current situation.

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

Hadjimehmetov, who had freshly arrived from a dispute with the Duchy of Froylan as to postal disputes, stepped out of his jeep and observed with a pair of binoculars Braden dashing his brains upon a rock.
'Oho! One down, several more to go- let 'em have it, boys!'
Just as the artillery were about to let rip and bombard the flooded capital once more, a load of Babkhan jets screamed overhead- obviously with some devilishly naughty plans in mind. Hadjimehmetov followed the fleeing crowd of men into the trenches they had dug for fortification as the jets mowed down scores of the infantry regiments. The Cossacks were faster, however, and managed to escape in time, but over half of the infantry column had been decimated. Luckily, the artillery pieces were still operable with a spot of repair, but not for another hour at least. Until then, they would have to hold off the attackers.
The Baron seized a corporal close by by the lapels. Stunned to see the Baron looking him square in the eyes in the middle of the battlefield, the corporal stuttered and saluted before diving for cover as another infidel jet screamed overhead.
Hadjimehmetov cleared his throat- 'thanks for that'... sorry, Jantzaryntynbataarlamov, isn't it?'
'The very same, my Baron'
'Well, we've still a lot of work to do'- the Corporal summoned his subordinates who cranked up a field radio and ordered the flak cannons to open fire- thank goodness for camouflaged tarpaulins, thought the corporal.
As the flak filled the air with explosions, the platoon took cover and detonated their smoke grenades. The ground filled with an acrid, thick white smoke with a whoosh.
Under the cover of the smoke, the entire platoon save for those manning the artillery and flak cannons entered the city of Shirekeep with their flamethrowers and machine guns.
Up in the sky, the insane rantings of Wing Commander Sheriguulorzhak Aghandorjabazhirjev filled the cockpit of the commanding jet of the attack squadron created more of an atmosphere as the helicopter gunships and jet planes fresh from breaching the Elwynn Dam opened fire on the Zjandarian fighter planes.
'Damn Elfinshi infidels!' roared Aghandorjabazhirjev as he let off a volley before veering off in the direction of the beating sun to put his opponents of the scent. Sanity can be overrated sometimes.
Meanwhile, the Cossacks set off for Crestfallen as fast as horse feet can, in order to rendezvous with the divisions from Musica and Lywind in an undisclosed location in Shimmerspring.

From the charred ruins of Eriksburg, a Lywinder pilot waxed his luxuriously Victorian style moustache and climbed into the cockpit of his bomber. Switching on the comm jammer, he relayed simply for the eleven assorted bombers and escorts jets to follow him Northwards- into the unclaimed territory toward the East.


Summary: read the above for the results of the Babkhan jet attack on the Laqi infantry column and activities of the K'Tzuni airforce. Laqi Cossacks rendezvous with Lywinder, Crestfall, and Laqi troops in an undisclosed location in Modan-Lach for another assault.
A bomber taskforce has left what is left of Eriksburg for the unclaimed territory towards the East of Shireroth. The reason of this shall become clear, Damen und Herren

[Aurangzeb Khan]

"Multiple bandits ahead Sahib!"

"I see them on the screen. Those Leviathans are giving them hell".

And indeed they were. Two hundred and forty of the vast assault helicopters were swirling in a vast melee above Shirekeep into which the fighter aircraft and attack helicopters of K'Tzuni that were returning from their infamous strike on the sluice had been drawn.

Flak, missiles and lasers it made for a hellish brew. Now twenty more Zjandarian fighters, urgently scrambled from Vijayanagara to intercept once news of the disaster filtered out, came screaming in from the North.

"Friend or foe targetting enabled. Targets identified. Lets give them another taste of hell ourselves!" Eighty 'beyond visual range' missiles zoomed away from the oncoming fighter aircraft - heralding their arrival with explosions and death long in advance of their actual appearance.

As the aerial combat came into view the fighter jets armed their AIM-9 Sidewinders, selected targets and again the salvo flew in the direction of the enemy.

Now they were too close for missiles and it was time to activate the cannons for a classic dogfight. An epic dogfight in fact.

Meanwhile the bulk of the Kampfgruppe had withdrawn out of the Old City and into Northshire to escape the worst of the cataclysmic flooding what had washed over the commercial centre, the keep and the Malarboria. The two companies down on the banks of the West Elwynn had endured the worst of it but had reached the safety of the roof of the Multi-Faith Temple, the University Campuses and other monumental buildings and were from there attempting to snipe at the oncoming enemy. They had resolved not to let some bloody upstart cossacks take their lives cheaply.

Bomb vests were already being issued in preparation.

The Farzan Self Propelled Guns in Northshire zeroed in on the K'Tzuni artillery and commenced a brisk counter battery fire that lasted ten minutes before retiring towards Mirewood.

[Prodigy Almighty]

The Naval infantrymen were sure they were fighting demons. These enemies they faced couldn't be human! They were much larger, and those suits...

As they pulled back into the keep to fortify their position and defend their last position with a steely resolve, the walls bust open. The giant suits were inside. The Infantrymen, knowing that many would die, laughed in the face of death and opened fire point blank on the titanium armored beasts. The Vulcan Cannon made short work of them, but one of the men tore open his vest and released all of the pins on his grenades, embracing the metal demon. The explosion threw the suit through the hole that it had made, blowing it open. Though strong, the infantrymen now knew they weren't impervious. There was a chance!

Explosions echoed through the halls of the keep, destroying what windows weren't already broken and making fresh holes in the stone walls. Hell was breaking loose on the world.

Two infantrymen bust open a door and scanned the room, weapons ready. No one was here - that they could see. Two Chelkran dropped from the ceiling with stealth unbecoming their size, and slit their throats noiselessly.

"No one ever looks up," one commented, wiping the blood from his sword-sized combat knife. They put away the melee weapons and drew their silenced sub-machine guns. Making their way through the halls, they joined up with other ninja units - the Kensai, they were called - and made their way for the last known location of their targets, the leaders.

Now 15 Kensai surrounded the door on all sides, even from above. They nodded to each other, weapons ready.

"Now!" their leader said into his microphone. He kicked open the door and charged in.

Nick Foghorn was about to do something about the grizzly sight of Braden's brains when the door burst down. He whipped up his M21 and leveled it at the captain, but a shot came from his right and hit his in the hand. He couldn't maintain his grip on the weapon. Kensai popped in through all the windows, surrounding the small group in the room. The faceless guard were all shot without regard, but the leaders were all incapacitated with non-lethal strikes. Nick growled up at the Kensai as he was bound with thick fettered restraints as well as the Speaker and the other important officers.

The Speaker grinned and swallowed. He fell over, twitching madly and laughing with equal insanity. Then he was silent.

One of the Kensai opened his mouth. "Damn! As I thought! A tooth is missing! It was a pill!"

"Well, we still have these ones," said the leader. "Knock them out now, we want as many brought alive as possible!"

Nick didn't remember anything past that.

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

[OOB]

I believe we should probably place where our forces are on this map before commencing what looks like the battle of the coming year


[/OOB]

[Braden Indianensis]

[OOC, obviously, since I'm dead] May I ask what the purpose of binding my corpse was? Or how that corpse could possibly grin and laugh, considering its brains were dashed out with a piece of fallen masonry? [OOC]

[Nick Foghorn Leghorn]

[OOC] And I don't remember agreeing to be overwhelmed by a mere 15 troops, then drugged...

And there's a gigantic flood, if you'll be so kind as to remember, you can't even get to the Keep without a helicopter, so stealth is out of the question.

Prodigy, I recommend you re-write that last post to something more satisfactory. This war is going so well, I don't want it spoiled by the inevitable bickering that is about to ensue... [/OOC]

[Kaiser Mors V]

From the East, in Alexandretta comes rumors that the Kaiser in fact, lives.

[Nick Foghorn Leghorn]

[OOC] For the sake of the narrative, and because it's just rude to kidnap generals ( ), I'm ignoring Prodigy's last post. Sorry old chap.[/OOC]

Foghorn watched as the city became increasingly waterlogged and the carnage from the gigantic robot battle spread even further. Citizens, little bits of wood, and a few floating chickens were all that remained above the water, save the tops of the government building's tall spires. He would have liked nothing better than to start rescuing the survivors, but the fate of the nation was more important.

The radio operator turned to him. "Sir, we have rumors that the Kaiser is alive in Alexandretta."

"Excellent" he said, "signal the CV-7s to drop some rafts and we'll sneak our way out of this bloody mess, and start maneuvering that way."

"Aye, sir."

SUMMARY: Naval Infantry living up to the "naval" part of its name, and sneaking off to capture the Kaiser

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

Somewhere deep underground in Upper Lach, the Cossack Regiment dismounted and covered the weaponry they had saved from the Zjandarians with a camouflaged tarpaulin.
The Lywinders were already there, with their armoured cars and jeeps fresh from a week of aimless wandering around the trackless wastes of their county. A splash of mud on their vehicles and a waste of petrol was all they had accomplished- but now, unified with the Crestfaller and Laqi Cossacks, there was a revenge to be paid.
'Gentlemen. Let me introduce myself. I am Mollarakhmanabdulhajjov, leader of the Upper Lach unified command. Zjandarian missiles have killed my people, and up in Wintergleam they are killing your brothers-in-arms too. Our entire plan hinges on the fighter squadron now on their mission. The Kaiser lives. K'Tzuni is back under his realm from the three hours of independence last night- long live the Kaiser! Long may he reign!'
The troops saluted back. 'Long live the Kaiser! Long may he reign!'

Somewhere over the border in the wildernesses to the West, the twelve jets touched down on the best landing surface they could find- a disused road from the time the Interstellar Condominium, a CIS state, had ruled these lands. The Confederate flag still flew in tatters- obviously they were in a hurry to evacuate to Eura after the troubles when Seperatist left.
The Confederacy's disused road was in tatters, but made for merely a bumpy landing.
The Group Commander walked out into the ravaged city which now lay overgrown like some ancient Khaz-Modanian ruins like those in his home county.
A shady figure in Shimmerspring military uniform appeared in a nearby doorway.
'I hear the ballet in Crestfallen is very good this time of year'
'Not as good as the opera'
The two men embraced. 'Ibrahimjamshidhadjiyev- how good to see you once more, my friend'
The agent smiled in response, and handed the Wing Commander a brown envelope.
'Read all these instructions and carry them out, even if it means taking your own life as the price. K'Tzuni and the Kaiser need you.'
The wing commander saluted as the agent sped off in his jeep back down South to the Shirereithan border, and he rejoined his fellow pilots inside one of the torched former buildings of the Confederate City.
'To Zjandaria it is, men- scramble!'
At this, the twelve jets took off again. It was only a couple of hours before the West Elwynn Dam was in sight.
'There she blows, men- give it all you've got'
A hail of rockets and dam busting bombs smashed into the side of the dam wall, breaching it and causing another surge of water- this one would put paid to the last defenders of Shirekeep for sure.

Summary: West Elwynn Dam breached- second torrent rapidly approaching Shireroth. Jet squadron returns to Lywind. Laqi troops in Woodshire, by the Southern Bank of the Elwynn river, prepare for high ground and cover as the dogfight in the skies above rages on against the Zjandarians. The rest of the K'Tzuni armed forces save for those defending the coast and Brookshire Hamlet have convened in Upper Lach ready for the second strike on the capital.

Sorry for the prior mistake, but when I kept typing Wintergleam I meant Woodshire- I think Ardy knew that anyway though

[Aurangzeb Khan]

OOC

There is no second torrent. The reservoir was emptied in accordance with Local Order Number Three.

Emptied where? You ask. Well you'll have to find the Local Order since it explains that.

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

I see...

*reads local order*

Aww... a nature park
Very good use of the water, I must say.

Anyway, I think we can assume that the jets attack Ardashirshah instead- bombing runs and rockets aimed at aeroplane hangars and defence structures. Oh, and runway cratering as well.

[Aurangzeb Khan]

OOC:

Oh no.. you bombed the dam holding back a drained lake - and the air defences around Ardashirshahr were accordingly alerted. So perhaps you would like to reconsider that second bombing run and go home instead.

As to why although I am loathe to start suggesting rules because these ultimately interupt the flow of play I think we should establish that once you have initiated an action it must follow through - the effects may be altered by realities on the ground established elsewhere in the 'grand narrative' but if we allow ourselves to retrospectively reassign targets with the benefit of hindsight everyone will be correcting their mistakes oversights and blunders - which will not only unpick the recwar but narrative causality itself.

[Prodigy Almighty]

[OOC] I didn't bind your corpse, Braden... why would I do that? It's silly.

Also, sorry about the general-capturing... I was kinda hoping you'd make an interesting an original escape, with lots of grandeur, actually... But! I have a way to sort this out without editing![/OOC]

"What do you mean they were plants? That wasn't Foghorn?"

"Sir, we don't know how it happened... they looked exactly like them! Braden's body was even on the ground next to them," the Kensai said.

"And the Speaker?"

"We left his corpse; we can't be sure."

"DAMN!" Prodigy wasn't happy. But as far as he could tell, the real Foghorn was heading out with the Infantrymen, leaving the Chelkran Elites the keep. But where was he headed?

"Sir, report!" cried one of the Chelkran Battle Suits, set to monitoring radio channels. "Rumors of the Kaiser in Alexandretta!"

"Right, let's move out! No use keeping an empty building..." Prodigy said, turning the Heavy Battle Suit towards the keep. "Order the CBS units still standing to carry the normal Elites out with their lift jets and meet us at these coordinates, and from there we'll go," he ordered the CBS pilot, uploading coordinates.

"And maybe this time they won't slip through our fingers," Korstokk commented blandly through the radio, disappointed.

[Aurangzeb Khan]

OOC: Max wanted to know where my forces are - the better to kill them with so here we go with a rough general vague indication that takes no account of the actual situation on the ground.

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Many a frantic night had been spend in the Osman-Almagro Shireworks of Ardashirshahr bring forward the Khan's many and varied weapons development projects in light of the latest crisis in the Imperial Republic. The savage and unprovoked assault upon the sluices and dams of the mighty Elwynn had only served as a further spur to the project teams.

The fighting and of course the deluge had taken its toll upon the forces of the South Elwynn Front. Mortality rates were running at around five percent with overall casualty figures equating to 16% of the total force. One company, tasked with defending one of the road bridges across the West Elwynn had lost nearly an entire platoon swept into the backswell of the churning East Elwynn.

Air assets available to the Elwynnbrigaden had inflicted a severe revenge upon the T'Kzuni forces but not without cost. Honours in the air had been more or less even, swinging slightly in the favour of the Zjandarian forces with the late arrival of a squadron of Karkas interceptors from Vijayanagara. Even so it was becoming in the skies a war of atrittion.

Production in Ardashirshahr, Vijayanagara and even Caligae was proceeding at breakneck speed, sustained only by double shifts as well as an influx of 'volunteer' workers from the lower social orders. Even then. New combat aircraft were unlikely to become available at more than replacement levels for the duration of the hostilities - the same story with the heavy armour. The Khanguard Armoured Squadron had lost its complement of Pansersepah Mk V's
when the sluce was ruptured not even a hundred miles up stream.

Already the call up of fresh militiamen had begun. Ardashirshahr and Vijayanagara had been declared "Festungs" or fortress towns. The fight would be long and bloody but a breathing space had to be bought.

And now rolling off the integrated production lines of the Shireworks was the first investment put forward for the purchase of that pause or respite.

On the industrialised edge of Ardashirshahr a new missile stood vertically, prepared for launch from the test site of a closed military facility. It was a unique configuration with mini ramjets and air to air missiles installed on the stubby wings that potruded from the side of the rocket. The shiny black cone which housed the warhead glistened menacingly in the fading light.



A moment later the order to launch was given and, propelled by the booster rocket engine, the 'Vengeful Dervish' hurtled skywards. Flying vertically to a height of 10,000 feet in a matter of seconds the wing mounted ramjets ignighted and the missile began its steep descent towards its intended target - the city of Crestfallen. Reports had indicated that the city had 'survived' the ballistic missile barrage of the previous day. 'Reloads' had not yet been made available for those launchers nor would they be for another twenty four hours. In the meantime Crestfallen represented an asset to the enemy that needed to be disrupted by any means available. And so it was selected for the combat testing of the first batch of Vengeful Dervish missiles. Four more supersonic, remote operated cruise missiles joined the lead missile in the rapid lunge towards the city of Crestfallen. Remotely operated from Ardashrshahr they enjoyed the unique advantage of carrying their own mechanism for defence against interception - namely two air to air missiles a piece. The radars of the Strategic Bombardment Squadron providing guidance and early warning against any attempted intercepts.

And all the while workers busied themselves preparing the next batch.

[Maksym Hadjimehmetov]

The little red light lit up.
'Whaat!' roared Lynog
The little red light, as it was formally known, signalled attacks from aerial missiles or bomber units. Seeing as the bomber units were engaging the Zjandarians in Woodshire, the little red light had to mean a missile attack. Notably by the Vengeful Dervishes.
Obviously oblivious to the fact that the Laqi forces had mustered in an Undisclosed Location in Upper Lach, whilst Crestfallen was in Crestfall Downs, the vengeful dervishes posed less of a threat than the commander had initially supposed. But nonetheless a threat. Now that had to be taken into account.
The commander signalled the only thing that could be done in the circumstances- an evacuation of as much industrial equipment and government assets as could be done in the short time given in the warning. Civilians could come later, and the scant defensive forces were to man all flak cannons and see if they couldn't turn the vengeful dervishes into whirling dervishes. Crestfallen would suffer damage, whatever the outcome, but the only thing the guards could do was to lower the exact level of damage to the once-proud capital of the county.

As the Zjandarian airforce were busy in the dogfight above, the remaining Laqi infantry columns had the oppurtunity to advance on Shireroth. Proceeding with extreme caution, the Laqi troops provided covering squadrons to clear the Foreign Quarter suburb of Shirekeep of any partisan troops still hiding in the rubble of the suburb. Demolition teams proceeded with nitroglycerine- if there was to be any retreat, the ruins of the Foreign Quarter would not hasten it for the proud troops of K'Tzuni. Planting the charges in the basements of ten blocks of houses, the troops ducked and ran for cover as the order was given to detonate the entire suburb. With a massive explosion, the blocks of houses were razed to the ground (after of course the typical Cossack plunder of any goodies which could be found). All that remained was the first row of buildings directly facing the central city of Shirekeep itself. These would provide excellent cover for the remaining Artillery cannons. Two squadrons of Laqi infantrymen were sent to cover the troops hauling the remaining ten artillery pieces and ammunition into the ruins of the Foreign Quarter with the mobile AA cannons left from the Zjandarians' bombing of the infantry column on the hills of Woodshire, and the artillery pieces were positioned behind the wrecked houses, supported by mortar teams.
'Right, men- one shell for every curse word you can think of for a Zjandarian!' Roared the commander of the remaining straggling soldiers of the Laqi infantry column.
The artillery guns and mortars rained down on central Shirekeep- focusing on all possible strategic defence buildings and utilities. Artillery fire rained down on the buildings from The Hub to the Solarist Quarter, already heavily flooded from the breaching of the Dam.

It was now clear that the Laqi fighter jets were being outnumbered by the Zjandarians- but air domination was essential if the advancing units of the Laqi ground troops and those awaiting the attack in Upper Lach were to succeed and gain victory. The squadron designed to bomb the Elwynn Dam near Ardashirshah left for home, destined to land back in Lywind. They would be back to aid their comrades in the skies over Woodshire, however.

'My Baron!' saluted a pimpled new recruit, overanxious to curry favour with his superior.
A neatly-wrapped present was placed upon His Excellency's desk. Hadjimehmetov unwrapped it. A silver cigarillo case, jewelled sceptre, and large crate of finest Kildare Port. The tag was written, in cusive Laqi script,
'To our Baron, Maksymbattur
The men found these trinkets for you amidst the ruins of Southern Shirekeep's Foreign Quarter suburb. We hope they give you as much pleasure as shelling the place gave us.
Kindest Regards,
Captain Babehrjamshidoorzhaktsingirdembikchadaandeznakadrikuulsalchakov, 103rd Laqi infantry column, K'Tzuni Armed Forces.

^ Summary: Read above