Something Wicked

[Rhodes]

[Rhodes]

Treblinka Prison



The drums beat on in a precise staccato, the ratta-tat-tat echoing along the concrete and cobblestone. A slight Tamoran girl, dressed in a simple shift, walked softy behind the drummers, her small footsteps lost in the beat. The final march of Dilara Haghighi. The Slavans had originally intended for her to carry her own cross, but it quickly became clear she could not lift it, let alone drag it out of the prison to the adjacent field where she would be raised up. The field, actually a parade ground, was ancient. Pounded flat by centuries of soldiers, mostly vassals of the defunct House Treblinka, the field would be where she died, though not her final resting place.


Looking back at Treblinka Prison, the former castle still bore the scars of it's fall, when Seaforth razed the castle and House Treblinka itself during the great war. Dilara wondered to herself if Seaforth would come again and burn out the Slavans.  She hoped they would.



"Eyes Front!" came the harsh whisper.


Snapping her head back around she saw she had come to the cross. As the drummers pivoted to one side the guards behind her stepped up. Suddenly overcome with fear she fought now. Kicking and screaming, spitting and biting, she was no match for the implacable guards. Beat quickly into silence Dilara was slammed onto the cross, rough rope quickly looped over her wrists and ankles. For a brief moment, Dilara thought she would be spared the nails, though the cold touch of iron soon cured her of that notion. Dilara cried out again as the large iron spike were driven through her feet and forearms, just proximal to the wrist. Her limbs quickly dulled in pain as the men united her, only to scream out again as the cross was raised and the nails took her full weight.

As the cross reached it's full height, the beam was dropped into a hole dug to keep it upright. From her new height and dizzy with pain, she saw her torment was just beginning. There on a reviewing stand and staring back at her was  President Vaclav Kravec himself and a variety of powerful and influential Slavans, civilian and military. As she locked eyes with Kravec the drummers started a drum roll. A slight smile crossed Kravec's face. There to her right, an ancient catapult was wheeled onto the parade ground. No, not a cataput she thought. A trebuchet. The old war machine squeeked and creaked to a stop. She saw the counterweight was already raised and into position to fire its payload....her father.

Cradled in the strap her father was bound and gagged, the glint of a wire coming from his neck. Father and daughter could only stare at each other and weep. As the drum roll reached the apex of it's crescendo it suddenly stopped. A soldier triggered the trebuchet and Dilara's father was lauched down the length of the parade ground, the shiny wire, still attacked to the trebuchet but unspooling rapidly. Mr. Haghighi continued to arc until he hit the apogee, the pre measured wire reaching the end of it's spool and snapping taught. Dilara watched as her fathers's head came clean off his body in a spray of blood, much like children pop the tops off of dandelions.

Dilara let out a truly gut wrenching wail as her father's head and body spun back down to the ground. When it did so, two Slavan guards, who had been waiting for that moment, hefted their sledgehammers and smashed them into her femurs until they broke. As her legs gave out and her body slumped, her wail was cut off as she mercifully fell into unconsciousness, never to wake again.

[Rhodes]

Celtic Protectorate



The woman known as Carol Booth had not opened her shop in several days. Quiet and unassuming, the woman had posed as a devout cultist and talented seamstress in the Celtic protectorate for years. With food scarce and forward thinking cultists under seige from the Seleucid nationals, it simply wan't safe for her to walk from her tiny house to her modest shop anymore. It wasn't until she recieved the coded message that she would dare venture out, but now she must. She was compelled.


Under the cover of darkness, Carol  walked silently down darkened alleys, intent on keep off the main streets. Hearing the occasional shouts of anger in the night, she eventually arrived at the back door of her shop. Glancing quickly left and right, Carol gently slid her key in the lock and eased open the door. Slipping in quickly, she silently closed the door once more, breathing a sigh of relief as she did so.


"Bonjour, Caro." Came a soft voice behind her.


Catching her breath, she froze in place at the sound of her true name.


"Come in, leave the light off."


Caro slowly raised her hands and backed up from the door. Slowly she turned around to face the speaker. There at her small tea table sat Anna La Montange herself, a smile on her face and waving Caro to also sit with her prosthetic left hand. Instead, Caro dropped to her knees and took the prosthetic hand in hers before leaning down to kiss it.


"Oracle! Materna Bless you and keep you!" Said Caro


"And you as well Daughter. Please, sit."


Caro released the hand and sat across from the Oracle of Materna and the leader of the Sorority.


"You cave done well here my daughter. You have managed to blend in with the Cultists and remain well hidden. You have remained a true asset to Materna in the years since the fall of Marseille."


"Thank you Oracle. I am at your service, though our brother Serge deserves much credit. His oversight of the Borlander training camp allowed  ample opportunity to study their ways until I could pass as a Cultist. I pray for him and I pray he and our other brothers and sisters at that vile prison will someday be relased."


"I pray for that as well daughter, though you touch upon my reason for visiting."


Caro's eyes light up...


"Is that it? A prison break! Thank Materna! I thank you for the oppor-..."


Anna raises her hand to silence Caro.


"In a manner of speaking. Your close association with the Borlander's may now become a problem. Things in Royal Seleucid are spiraling out of control. More attention will be placed on the Protectorate. More attention by the East Moreland military specifically. You my be able to pass as a cultist in a sea of cultists, but any scrutiny by Cultist Armed Forces, or Materna forbid, EMIS and your cover will evaporate like morning mist before the desert sun. That is a threat to our future plans that we cannot afford to let stand."


"But-..."


"I'm sorry my love. Materna watch over you."


With that, Anna La Montange raised her other hand from under the table. The moonlight glinted off the dull black of the silencer and the three little cough's were lost among the shouts and cries of the night.

OOC:

Caro Boutet was a Sorority Cell Leader from the terrorist organization, The Sorority of Materna, and is listed as the 3 of Spades in the 'Deck of 52'. Should police, intelligence or whatnot come across the body they will easily identify her as such.

[Rhodes]

Holy Empire of Achkaerin


Harper Rhodes, Countess of Stirling, sat naked in the bed. Clothes lay strewn about the bedroom while chinese takeout boxes and champagne bottles covered the dresser and night stands. As she flipped through channels, the sound of the shower turning on came from the ensuite. Smiling,  she sipped her champagne and called out.

“Julian! Don’t use all the hot water!”

Setting the glass aside she took up her chop sticks and started to pick through some particularly good Lo Mein, chuckling as Julian started to sing. Taking another bite Harper heard her phone ring in the other room. Putting down the noodles, she wrapped herself in the bedsheet and skipped out of the bedroom grabbing the phone just before it went to voicemail.

“Hello?” Asked Harper.

“Harper?”

“Yes?”

“Harper Rhodes?”

“Y-yes? Who is this?”

“I am the Cardinal of Manchuria.”

When the man spoke those last words, Harper felt suddenly dizzy. Her nostrils filled up with the sharp smell of silage and the sweetness of heather. The psychological conditioning she had received at the hands of the Seaforth Catholic Church had finally been triggered. Receiving her instructions, Harper hung up the phone and returned to the bedroom. There, she opened the false bottom of one of the takeout containers and withdrew a small packet of powder. Dumping it into Julian’s glass she topped both his and hers, dissolving the powder.

The shower tuned off and the singing stopped. Harper took both glasses and got back into bed. As Julian Lawson came out of the bathroom Harper smiled at him and held up his glass. Ginning back, Julian hopped into bed next to her. Giving her a long kiss, Julian took his glass. On the outside, ‘compelled’ Harper smiled and drank her champagne. On the inside, ‘real’ Harper screamed

“No Julian! Don’t Drink it!”

The two lovers snuggled into the bed and watched a movie and sipped champagne. The heat from Harper’s body, the alcohol and the additive soon had Julian dozing off. Harper listened to his breathing become deeper and deeper, more relaxed. When the time was right, Harper slipped out of bed. Taking the sheet with her once again, she walked trance-like to the front door. When she opened it there stood a team of four, dressed all in black and carrying large hard-cases. Standing to the side, she let them in.

“Well done my child.” Said the Cardinal.

The team moved quickly and professionally to the bedroom. Opening their cases, the team copied all the credentials and keys they could find. To Julian, they made sure to collect fingerprints, hair and other DNA samples as well as a retinal scan but otherwise did not harm him. The team did this work quietly under the supervision of the Cardinal as Harper looked on. When they had finished they filed out past the two.

“Well my dear, one last task today, yes?” Said the Cardinal.

Taking from his pocket another small packet of powder he upended it into Harper’s glass and filled it once again with champagne.

“We can’t leave you walking around, Harper. You and Julian will have a nice long sleep. Very restful, yes?”

Nodding her head Harper took the glass and drained it. The Cardinal smiled in approval. Taking the glass back from Harper he waved her towards the bed. Crawling in, she snuggled next to Julian, her head on his chest and locked eyes with the Cardinal.

“I’m so proud of you my dear” Said the Cardinal, as Harper closed her eyes and waited for the drug to kick in.


When Harper closed her eyes, the Cardinal turned and left, pausing only long enough to lock the door behind him. He quickly joined his team, sliding into the back seat of a black sedan.

 “Let’s go. We only have a few hours to pull this off.

[Rhodes]

Holy Empire of Achkaerin


The specially formed team worked quickly but carefully. In the long years since the fall of the Sorority of Materna in Marseille, never had there been as many members of the Deck of 52 in one place at one time. It would make some Achkaerin beat cops day to pull over one of the two plain white panel vans as they headed to the coast. Marie-Thérèse Dembélé, the former Sorority Commander in Marseilles and current 9 of Spades mentally tallied her team. There was Aliénor Cellier,  a Sorority Cell Leader, her closest confidant, second in command and the 5 of Spades. Alexandra Barrande, another Sorority Cell Leader and the commander of the fire team that would provide muscle and drivers. She was also the 4 of Spades. Colonel Jérémie Beaufils, the 4 of Hearts. Jasmin Cazenave, expert Bomb-maker and the 6 of Clubs. Rounding out the team were the 6 and 7 of Diamonds, Edmond Boudet and Thomas Chéreau. Experts in scrounging, logistics and cyber crime, these men were most useful in the early stages of their mission. Even now Thomas continued to use the materials obtained from Justicar Julian Lawson to doctor hard gotten identification, forge a retinal scan contact lens and so on.

Eventually, the vans made their way to the cache at the coast. Hidden there was Edmond's masterpiece. It took three long years, but he had eventually managed to piece together a perfect replica of an Achkaerin Bureau Of Prisons motorized launch. Complete with uniforms, ID and paperwork it was their ticket into the Coral Rift Prison. Located 40km northwest of Avalon, the partially submerged prison was a virtually impregnable fortress. Indeed, if it wasn't for their quasi recent alliance with the remnants of the Seaforth Catholic Church, the opportunity to get in would never have happened. Even now, the ruse would not last indefinitely. For many of them it would be a one way trip, ending in death or their very own cell in the Coral Rift Prison. Each member of the team was committed to the success of the mission. There were many important members of the Sorority imprisoned there, but tonight...only one mattered...Dr. Patrice Manaudou, head of the Marseille ICBM Program.


As the motor launch sped away from the shore, it slipped into the normal traffic lane into and out of the Coral Rift Prison. The regular launch, courtesy of another Sorority member had suffered a mechanical malfunction and would be delayed for awhile, hopefully at least two hours...but probably less. As the launch approached the dock of Coral Rift Prison, Aliénor nudged Marie-Thérèse, knocking her out of her reverie. Noticing their position, she waved one of the fire team members forward. He bore a passing resemblance to Julian Lawson and was equipped with the forged altered identifiers. He was of course expendable, needed only to get them in the door. Marie-Thérèse wished of course that they could have killed Lawson. The Justicars had been particularly effective against the Sorority, both during and after the war. None more so than Rion Ayanami. Their SCC allies had agreed to provide a distraction for their mission and it was hoped that the death of Ayanami and the Justicars being unable to reach Lawson...that it would buy enough time to grab Manaudou and get out.

The fake launch docked at Coral Rift as the "arriving" Sorority members, dressed as replacements for various parts of the prison nodded greetings with the prison workers finishing thier shift and heading off of the island.

"Good morning, Sir." said the prison guard as he waved the fake Julian Lawson through the first checkpoint.

The time and effort going into the mission had payed off and the team was passed into the first level. From thier they went to thier assigned tasks. The fireteam became prison guards. Edmond and Thomas headed to command and control to be in a position to influence internal and external communications. Marie-Thérèse and "Julian" began the decent to where Dr. Manaudou was held. The quiet intesity felt by Marie-Thérèse increased as each subsequent ring of security was breached...finger prints, retinal scans...all were successful as far as they knew. Eventually they came to stand infront of Dr. Manaudou's cell. Escorted by a guard, "Julian" waved him forward to open the cell. As the guard did so....

"What's happening at 606?" Asked the Guard Captain, watching on a monitor.

"Justicars. They want to interview Manaudou."

"I didn't hear about this. Who are they?"


The guard tapped on the keyboard several times.

"Pike....she must be new. Aaaand...Lawson."

"Bullshit. I know for a fact he's....occupied. All this week." The Guard Captain depressed a silent alarm. Toggling another switch he spoke into a mic.

"Julian Lawson. Stand to."

On the screen, the Guard Captain watched in horror as "Pike", in a blur, pulled a hard plastic 'chopstick' hidden in her hair and drove it into the guards ear. As he fell, "Lawson" grabbed the digital key fob and swiped the door. Sliding open, Manaudou stepped through. Smiling wide he held "Pike's" face and kissed her on both cheeks. The three then trotted to the end of the halway and crouched down.

"What are they doing?" Asked the Guard Captain. "They have no where to go. They are trapped."

As "Julian" looked up at the CCTV camera and gave those watching the finger an explosion ripped through Dr. Manaudou's former cell. As the smoke cleared, the three infiltrators ran through the newly created breach into a maintenance corridor. There the three were met with Jérémie,Jasmin, Alexandra and the fire team.

"The others?" Asked Marie-Thérèse.

Colonel Beaufils shook his head 'no'.

"They went down in the control room. They managed to scramble outgoing communications but were quickly overwhelmed by the Rapid Response Team. I don't know if they are alive or dead. Internal security is still up. It's going to be a fight to get to the outer wall, but the Ablette is in position."

Marie-Thérèse nodded. The DMS Ablette, a rouge Marseille submarine, had spent weeks on electrical power slowly creeping along the sea floor and would provide the way out. Everyone here knew it came down to this. A dive team would attach a limpet mine to the prison wall, flooding the corridor. Marie-Thérèse and Dr. Manaudou would wait until the corridor flooded and swin out to the sub. Everyone else would hold off security until they got away. Tears in their eyes, the sorority members bid each other a fond farewell and a promise to see each other again in the next life. Marie-Thérèse held onto Dr. Manaudou as the limpet mine detonated and she involuntarily held her breath as the frigid water hit her body. Realizing the mistake, she forced herself to start hyperventilating as the corridor flooded.

Lieutenant Gloria Arutti, commander of the INS Alliance, was at her post sipping on her second coffee when the sonar operator shouted out.

"Captain! Contact! Explosion in the water! Sound of flooding! It's...it's coming from Coral Rift Prison."

Arutti wasted no time. "Come about 137 degrees, make for the Coral Rift. Ahead flank."

"Come about 137 degrees. Aye! Ahead Flank! Aye!"

"Contact the Coral Rift."

"Captain, no response....nothing at all infact."

"Damn."


Marie-Thérèse and  Dr. Manaudou were thrown shivering onto the deck of the Ablette as they were removed from the escape truck. Coughing and wretching up seawater, blankets were haphassardly thrown onto thier shoulders as they were half dragged half carried down the gangway. The Captain, a devout Maternist, explained quickly.

"There is a patrol vessel bearing down on us. Well, bearing down on the Coral Rift, but I can't risk them detecting us and forfeiting the mission."

The Captain slapped a young officer on the shoulder.

"Henri here will take you away in the SDV. I will fight my ship. I will come about as fast as I can and cavitate. I will also launch countermeasures and snap-fire my rear torpedos before I do so. The SDV is small and quiet and will get lost in the noise. Avenge us madame, Mother watch over you."

As the SDV detached from the Ablette, Marie-Thérèse wept for her friends and followers, but Marie-Thérèse was also joyful. The shivering old man next to her would secure the future of Materna...and a bright and radiant future it would be.

...elsewhere

At the time the Sorority team stepped foot onto the Coral Rift Prison, Rion Ayanami stepped out into the street. A satchel in one hand and metallic "Go Mug" of coffee in the other she tucked the satchel under one arm and dug in her purse for her car keys. Finally finding them she carefully set the coffee mug on the roof of the car so as not to scratch the paint. Opening the door, Rion slipped one foot into the car and half sat down on the seat, wanting to start the car before grabbing her coffee. She slid the key into the ignition and turned it. As she did she caught a whiff of what can only be described as "electrical fire" and the faint high pitched whine of a charge building. Whether it was years of training or a natural survival instinct doesn't matter, but in that moment, Rion knew she had a split second to react....

[Achkaerin]

Rion didn't waste any time, she sprang from the car and sprinted she wasn't sure how much time she had but this was her one chance for survival, distance and cover...or was that two chances? Who the hell cared she was running for her life. She got halfway behind a stone arch's pillar, one of many that dotted Artaxia's main road when the car went up, the force of the explosion still threw her down, she felt her side and arm, she was wounded but at least to feel this pain she had to be alive. She glanced back towards the site of the explosion, the car door still being open had probably saved her life, but better the car in flames than her. She reached for her phone she needed to call this in.

"This is Raven." Rion said giving her callsign when Justicar ops picked up the phone "I need a team to my location now."

In the vicinity of Coral Rift prison the INS Alliance, a Waverunner class continued its speedy approach, Gloria sat in the command chair this was the unthinkable, a raid on Coral Rift? This was arguably the most secure prison on Mundus, it housed some of the most dangerous criminals on the planet including those behind the Andean Genocide.

"Surface contact Captain." one of the bridge officers said
"Identify." Gloria said
"Submarine." the officer said "She's diving by the looks of it."
"Midshipman Wiseman send the following message to Command." Gloria said "Watership Down."
"Yes ma'am." Wiseman said
"Mr Burnett keep track of that sub until we get backup." Gloria saidto the officer who'd reported the contact, she was aware that her ship wasn't outfitted for a tangle with a submarine and if it got under the water they were in trouble "Helm..."

"Torpedoe's in the water repeat torpedoes in the water." Burnett said
"Helm hard to port increase speed shake those things off." Gloria said "Mr Hamilton return fire."

Captain Sarah Culshaw was on shift at the headquarters of the Military Defence Initiative otherwise known simply as the MDI.
"We have an incoming message from the Alliance" one of the communications officers said
"What is it?" Sarah asked
"Watership Down." the officer said turning in his seat surprised at the words.

Sarah was momentarily stunned, Watership Down was the codeword that designated an attack on Coral Rift, it was a contingency that no one had ever believed would be needed. She ran a hand through her hair as her eyes narrowed.
"Details?" Sarah asked
"No communication reported from inside the prison and there's a foreign submarine in the vicinity." someone said "Alliance also reports flooding at the prison."
"Someone's clever." Sarah said "Deploy the duty ASF relief, advise the Alliance to hold their ground and task the cavalry with making that submarine go away. And somebody ID that submarine."

The codename for the contigency in the event of Watership Down being enacted was called Operation Hazel it was a flexible operation as it reacted dependent on the circumstances. On the surface a Stymphalia helicopter was instantly deployed for Coral Rift carrying the duty ASF troop, this was a responsibility that rotated between each of the troops but today it was Emerald Troop's turn and they were about to make history by answering the call that no one had ever thought would come. The Troop's commander was First Lieutenant Jamie Bridge, when the helicopter landed he led the way inside and was met by a police sergeant.

"Report." Jamie said
"Several armed intruders in cell block Foxtrot." the sergeant said "They've gathered together in the common area which means they can block the run to the cells."
"We'll want a full report on how this happened later." Jamie said "Ok everyone you know the drill, triple threat profile go less lethal in here. Sam with me, Tia with Tim, Harry you're with Paul. Fast and safe let's do this."

The six soldiers were quick in making their way down to the cell block where they split into their three sub teams sweeping left and right down corridors into flanking positions were two pairs while Jamie and Corporal Sam Caldwell took position at the main entrance to the common area where the intruders had reportedly mounted their main defence. Bullets flew down the corridor past where Jamie and Sam were in cover. Then it was the turn of the two ASF officers to fire, though they were firing rubber bullets as opposed to live rounds.

"I see they lack our restraint." Jamie said as the pair took cover from more flying bullets
"I assume talking's out of the question then?" Sam asked
"Absolutely." Jamie said, he got on the radio "Ok team listen up, Bravo you take position at upper entrance door, Echo at lower entrance door two, Alpha will hold at lower entrance door one. The action is flashbangs and up close. Bravo you're on point."
"Copy that." Harry said
"Got it boss." Tia said

On the upper level of the cell block Sergeant Major Harry Martin and Corporal Paul Sims moved into position, Harry had his rifle drawn while Paul was crouched down grenades at the ready, he nodded to Harry.
"Boss this is Bravo we're in position." Harry said
"Echo in position." Tia said
"At your discretion Harry." Jamie said
"Go" Harry said

Paul threw the flashbangs into the room, they would have only a few moments to gain the upper hand when they went off, then it happened the grenades went off and as one the team moved in as one each of them weapons raised and ready.
"DOWN ON THE GROUND!!!" was the most common shout, this was what they trained for to take advantage of that momentary loss of concentration, that moment of disorientation, from up above Harry and Paul stormed in getting in close enough that they were able to start wrestling the intruders down, Jamie and Sam came in from the ground level and did the same while from the other ground level entrance came Sergeant Tim Masters baton drawn, he found himself up against Beaufils but with the advantage he wasn't going to yield he ducked a punch and struck the man's knee with the baton. As he pinned him down he saw a flash of movement

"We've got a runner." Tim said
"It's covered." one of the other team members said

The runner was covered by the final member of Emerald Troop Sergeant Tia Lucas, she went after the runner cornering them against the emergency door that had sealed off the area that was breached.
"Aliénor Cellier." Tia said identifying the runner "You're under arrest."
"It doesn't matter as long as he gets away." Aliénor said
"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Tia said she drew her tazer and levelled it at the unarmed woman "Down on the ground now!" Aliénor gave a defiant look before dropping down to her knees placing her hands on the back of her head, Tia walked around and handcuffed the woman. "Boss I've got the runner."

"Copy that." Jamie said, they had everyone now and with the guards marching them off to processing he was relieved "Control this is Emerald One, Warren is secure I repeat Warren is secure out."

While all the action inside Coral Rift had been coming to a climax and subsequent resolution the action outside had changed playing fields, the INS Alliance having shaken off the torpedoes was now unquestionably outmatched against a submarine but it had done it's job in reporting the situation so now it could withdraw and leave the Ablette to meet its new playmate the INS Normandy under the command of Lt Commander Cynthia McLean, the Truthsayer hidden inside the Achkaerinese Navy, the Normandy had been incoming for port from the west of Avalon after a standard Northern Ocean patrol but had made ground to intercept the fleeing Ablette. A jailbreak from Coral Rift was a serious business and there would be consequences for it.

"What are we looking at COB?" Cynthia asked
"Records identify it as an older model submarine that was in service with the Marseilles navy in the eighties." the COB said "Based on records we believe it to be the Ablette"
"Any reason for that basis?" Cynthia asked
"She was the only one not decommissioned." the COB said "And she went missing after the Marseilles crisis."
"I see." Cynthia said
"Torpedoe incoming!" the sonar officer yelled
"Helm hard to starboard, port countermeasures now." Cynthia ordered

The Normandy's swerve was unmistakable as she turned away from the torpedoe, Cynthia bit her lip as they waited in that moment of suspense.
"Torpedoe has acquired countermeasures." the sonar officer said
"What do you hear ensign?" Cynthia asked
"She's making an awful lot of noise." the sonar officer said "She's cavitating."
"That's what they did to the Alliance" Cynthia said "What are they up to?"
"No idea but that's not going to do them any favours." the COB said
"I agree." Cynthia said "All submarine warfare is founded in stealth, you get nowhere by making noise. Very well then let's teach them the error of their ways." she picked up her radio "Mr Stevens load tubes one and two with fish and three and four are water slugs."
"Yes Captain." Stevens responded
"Helm increase speed to close distance." Cynthia said "If the Ablette wants to play in our backyard it can damn well play the game to the end."
"Aye Captain." the helm officer said

"Trying to make them commit?" the COB asked
"Something like that." Cynthia said "A slug sounds very alike to a torpedo once fired it's how we train after all, but with all the noise they're making they might not pick up the difference."
"Bridge torpedo room." Stevens voice came over the radio "Set."
"Fire slugs." Cynthia said
"Slugs away." Stevens said
"Sonar?" Cynthia asked
"Ablette is deploying countermeasures and going to port." the sonar officer said
"Adjust course to cut them off." Cynthia said "Stevens say when."

The Normandy now turned at a sharper angle than the Ablette in order to keep the Normandy's bow and therefore firing angle on the Ablette. Cynthia kept her eyes firmly trained on all the screens that were giving her information, this had been the Normandy's maiden voyage she hadn't expected it to end with a combat situation.

"Solution." Stevens said, Checkmate Cynthia thought.
"Mr Stevens." Cynthia said "Fire!"

The two torpedoe's were deadly and accurate, Cynthia held her breath turning in her seat to the Sonar officer.
"Direct hit, sound of the Ablette breaking up. Target destroyed." the sonar officer said.
"Good work everyone." Cynthia said "Cob put us on the surface and make port."
"Yes ma'am." the COB said.

At Julian's apartment, the door was kicked open by two Justicar's Joe Ochre and Anthony Vilani, with the situation at Coral Rift resolved and reports that mentioned the name Lawson there had been no time wasted in investigating the situation, the pair found Julian and Harper where they'd been left - in bed together.

"Both alive and everything seems normal." Anthony said as he felt the pulses of the two lovers after the pair had cleared the apartment.
"Let's get them out of here." Joe said "We'll need to do forensics in here."
"I agree." Anthony said

A few minutes later a now conscious pair of lovers were being driven away and a forensics team was inbound to see what they could find.

Over at Justicar Operations Rion was sat in her office as the Justicar medic Elena Walsh finished patching her up.
"I don't want to imagine what would have happened if you weren't such a good sprinter." Elena said
"Yeah tell me about it." Rion said "You know I've been shot at, fought in battles, even gone sword on sword with Alex but this is the first time I've had the 'what if?' at the back of my mind." and right on cue Alexandria Savage, aka Alex turned up at the office door.

"Are you ok?" Alex asked
"Pissed off and ready to get even with whoever's behind this." Rion said "I'm fine Alex."
"Well I've got Julian and Harper Rhodes in the medical wing." Elena said "So if you'll excuse me."
"Got any leads on that?" Rion asked
"Drugged I think but by what I'll need to look into." Elena said
"Thanks Elena." Rion said

"So how are you really?" Alex asked once Elena had left
"I'm fine really." Rion said
"Don't make me pout you know how good I am at it." Alex said
"If I hadn't left the car door open I'd be dead." Rion said "But I'm still tough as old boots."
"Well I hate to break it to you but you're not the headline of the day." Alex said
"Coral Rift?" Rion asked
"Yeah Paul's got something for you to see." Alex said

Rion and Alex walked down to the floor of Justicar Ops where Paul Kessel stood waiting for them.

"What have you got Paul?" Rion asked
"We finally got to see the security footage from inside Coral Rift during the incident." Paul said indicating one of the large screens on the wall which was playing the footage through "Facial recognition identifies among the raiders Marie-Thérèse Dembélé, Aliénor Cellier, Alexandra Barrande, Colonel Jérémie Beaufils, Jasmin Cazenave, Edmond Boudet and Thomas Chéreau. All except Dembélé are now in custody. Which normally would be good news but look who they busted out." the footage played on to the point where they could see Dembélé and Manaudou's escape.

"So they traded five lower cards to wrestle an Ace from us." Rion said
"We believe the submarine Ablette picked them up from here." Paul said "The Ablette was destroyed by the Normandy. The fate of Dembélé and Manaudou is unknown."
"You don't break into Coral Rift by leaving anything to chance." Rion said "They knew how to get in, they had a plan to get out and they knew the layout. I am not going to presume Dembélé and Manaudou to be dead until I see their bodies, so I want the wreck of the Ablette investigated and a search for their bodies undertaken. Who's going to talk to the Emperor?"
"Mark I think." Alex said
"Good." Rion said "Ops briefing in four hours."

[Rhodes]

PARTIALLY INTERCEPTED COMMUNICATION

SUBJECT 1:

"...*^^%$….*ou sure?...."

SUBJECT 2:

"Yes....@#%^...in place. Test...$#$*%irmed at 30..%@)^%..."

SUBJECT 1:

"...*@$*t our frie^%&...."

SUBJECT 2:

"He..^^#@%...way."

SUBJECT 1:

"Very well, you...#$@**...n ligh%$#..."

SUBJECT 2:

"...*^@%^ be done.."

SUBJECT 1:

"...go with God."

TRANSMISSION ENDED

[Achkaerin]

Peter wasn't best pleased, it was bad enough being told that a man had been broken out of a high security prison, worse that the man in question had survived the submarine battle associated with the event but now it was all slipping into place, here he was sat with what was called the Round Table Conference there was only one matter on the table and that was the Slava Lavosk nuclear test and the fallout thereof. On her feet explaining things was the day to day director of the Military Defence Initiative Kara Thornton it had been a thorough briefing explaining the nature of the Slavan test and some speculation on associated questions.

"Why do we think they did this underground and not at sea or by air?" Peter asked
"Two possibilities either they didn't want to tip the international community off or they don't have the delivery systems for this thing yet." Kara said "I'm not sure which of those I'm more convinced by." she sat down in her seat
"Manaudou was the head of the Marseilles ICBM program" Rion said "He'd obviously be useful to them if the Slavan's were behind the breakout somehow."
"What about the blockade?" Peter asked
"Not legal by any means." the Attorney General Samuel White said "It's the express train to mass violations of the Fair Seas Concordat. But it's equally preposterous that when the circumstances are as grave as this that there exists no recourse for states to take action under the convention especially given the joke status of the CTO."
"We're going to have to do something about that." Peter said "Michael what do you think?" he was looking at the leader of the elected government of the country the Consul.

"Your Majesty I believe that we have to be clear that we cannot join any illegal blockade." Michael Williams said "Righting the issue highlighted by the Attorney General is something worth pursuing, but we must not permit Slava Lavosk to retain this capability."
"Which is where Operation Vigilance came in." Adam Sheppard the Minister of Defence said "Observe Slavan developments in regards to the potential for them to possess nuclear arms."
"Well they've got them and they sure ain't keeping them." Peter said "Deploy the fleet to the Kyne, no blockading but get in the area. I want proposals on the Treaty issue relatively quickly and Rion you find Manaudou and you take care of him one way or another do I make myself clear?"

"Yes." Rion said