The Iron Masquerade: Rokkenjima and Slava Lavosk CLOSED

[Rhodes]

Treblinka Prison
Sarajevo, Slava Lavosk



President Vaclav Kravec descended the damp stairs into Sublevel 6 of Treblinka Prison. The walls were damp and cracked in places, single bulb lamps with wire cages barely illuminated the hallway lined with heavy iron doors. In the distance the occasional wail of misery or scream of frustration or pain could be heard over the dull drone of incessant Orwellian propaganda played over a shitty CCTV system located in every cell.

Kravec was in a decent mood, having just come from delivering the good news to that Tamoran Dilara that she was about to die. Well, strung up anyway. Death would still take some time to reach her. As he walked he idly wondered what Sakura Sheppard would decide. Coming at last to the end of the hallway he reached the door to his favorite cell... the occupant having been his close, personal friend for 13 years...and today was her birthday.

The cell door swung open at his command and a bright light bathed the cell. At times used for sleep deprivation it was now usually off, keeping the prisoner in darkness, save for the CCTV. With the assault on her eyes, the prisoner scuttled back into the corner of the cell covering her eyes with her hands. The cell stank of sour sweat and unwashed bodies, the once a week shower only keeping her from getting sick. Pale ,waxy skin almost glowed in the halogen light but no one would mistake that glow for health. Greasy hair hung down over her face in long hanks. As the woman blocked the light as best as she could, Kravec entered the cell. With him were three guards. One carried a small folding chair and table that he quickly set up. When he left, a second guard entered and placed a lovely strawberry shortcake on the table with a wax 21 candle on the top. Lastly, the third guard brought in a silver champagne stand filled with ice and containing a bottle of rare and expensive champagne.

Left alone with the prisoner, Kravec waited for several long minutes as her eyes adjusted to the light. When finally she peeked over her arm, he spoke:


"Hello Prisoner 11269. Do you know what day it is? That's right! It's your birthday! Well, not really your birthday, but it seems as good a word as any to describe it. 21 years ago today, you came to stay with us. I'm so happy that you have chosen to remain another year with us."

Silent tears began to stream down the prisoners face as Kravec lit the candles with a solid gold lighter and began to sing 'Happy Birthday'. The song finished he clapped and invited the prisoner to blow out the candles. The prisoner unmoving, Kravec 'Awwwed' sarcastically as he blew them out himself. Taking up a sterling silver knife, Kravec cut two peices of the cake. Using the knife he flicked one at the prisoner, scoring a direct hit. Laughing out loud Kravec set his peice on a china plate and took up a desert fork. As he ate he told the prisoner the news of the year.


"Things have been moving on quite well in Rokkenjima my dear. The Federal Republic continues to hold sway in the Krimeon and sits in a permanent seat on the CTO Security Council. Recently they helped to form the Trans Ardian Railway, linking all nations of the Ardian Assembly...of which you know they are a founding member. The traitor Alex Rowe was finally apprehended. The trial was swift and sure, just the same as the hangman. He was laid to rest next to your late husband and Henry Cole. Indeed, I think he was the last of the old guard. 21 years of hunting them down eventually pays off. President Ofdensen is quite the man. He was reelected this year and his support continues to grow. King James of East Moreland visited Pyretta Castle and purchased some of your families heirlooms...paintings and baubles mostly. Good riddance I say, and there was also some small flap in Seaforth when the Cameron line ended, but Good King John Branaghan put that Rhodes upstart to the sword so to speak. All in all, your homeland seems to be getting on quite well without you. I imagine the Federal Republic of Rokkenjima will be around for another century at least."

Finishing his cake, Kravec took up the champagne bottle and popped it open. As it bubbled out he poured himself a glass and drained it. Pouring another he took the glass and bottle and walked over to the prisoner and poured the rest of the bottle out over her head. Lifting his glass he gave a toast.

"To Alex Rowe! May he burn in hell. And may your daughter join him before your next birthday!"

Draining the glass of champagne Kravec turned and laughed all the way out of the cell, leaving the guards to clean up.

[Beatrice]

When Kravec and his minions finally left, the familiar silence and darkness returning, her body became a little less rigid. Cleaning herself as best she could she returned to her favourite spot; she wasn't sure from where it came, but a refreshing stream of air could be felt if one angled themselves just right. Perhaps it was always a matter of time before Rowe fell, the legends of his rogue 'armada' (it was three ships, but they represented the only free vessels fighting the Republicans) that would sometimes be slipped in with her meager rations were one of the few things keeping her hopes up, but they couldn't have lasted forever. Cole, whom she had left instructions to look after her daughter, his death brought her worry each day since she had been informed as she couldn't imagine the position her daughter would find herself in without his guidance.

"Stupid bastard though," she said just barely above a whisper, "Offdensen is going to be the downfall of the Federal Republic. His loyalties to the Anselmo Family are without question. He merely masquerades as their President but I know," she paused, her voice growing louder. "I know he'll kill them all and then, when the Rokkenjiman Army comes for me, you'll be the one sitting in your own filth! He'll have my Beatrice with him too you son of a bitc..."

"Shut up in there!" the call from the guard came, "unless you're asking to go to Room 74 again." She instantly froze, "No, no, no, anything but that," she began to stutter. Curling up in a corner she would finally close her eyes, drowning out the sound of the propaganda as she focused on an image of Beatrice. Certainly it would become less and less accurate, however, it was the only thing she had to hold onto now.
Pyrena Castle, Pyrettania, Azukishima Prefecture

"Can we even verify the report though?" Beatrice asked, looking to Henry Cole. "We're investigating, though it's hard to say. Last we were aware the Federal Republic had a 'take no prisoners' approach. We know the Queen and King were slain shortly after their return, which leaves Anselmo sympathizers in the Socialist movement as the most likely possibilities. It'll take some time." Beatrice nodded, "I may have a friend who can use his connections, hopefully some are still alive for us to utilize."

"Quincy you mean," Cole asked, though he already knew the answer. "Adam Quincy has been a model prisoner at the Rockhart Institution, as well as a former commanding officer in the Grand Republican Army. He's long refused the prerogative of mercy, believing himself beyond redemption in this life. If he can navigate these channels, maybe sniff out leads, we could approach this with more insight and he may finally feel he's earned that redemption. He's a talented tactician, I'm sure Rowe could find some purpose for him?" came Beatrice's reply.

"What do you think, Vicegerent?" McKenna asked, noticing the silence of Emerson. "Quincy has a lot of cred with the Republicans even after his time on stage with the Empress. They seem to view his speech, which dealt the GRA quite the blow, as coerced and a survival tactic. Or we could shut off the payments and tell Kravec to piss off. I'm perfectly happy with either option, provided the Empress supports it of course."

[Achkaerin]

OOC - as Emerson was asked.

Emerson let out a deep breath, he'd spent the discussion silent for a fair few reasons he wasn't overwhelmed by any argument presented, he personally believed that the initial publication of information relating to the payments in the Rokkenjiman press had been ill judged without any prior investigation into what was going on, the implications alone were reason enough for that and now those implications, assuming one were to trust the Free Mundus Network, were becoming manifest.

"We don't deal in fantasy we deal in fact." Emerson said "At the present moment the only fact we have is that the Federal Republic made over a number of years payments to the Slava Lavosk government of the time. That is grounds enough to summon the Slavan ambassador and that is what we need to do - get their ambassador up here and ask the questions we need to ask them." he paused for a moment "Kayleigh would you explain the other side of this?"

Emerson went to the door of the room, opened it and handed a note to his adopted daughter while Kayleigh Pryde, temporarily assigned to the Imperial Council with the intelligence portfolio for the duration of the Anausa review and assigned or the moment as the head of royal security in Rokkenjima looked at the others in the room.

"The problem is that you don't know whether there's any truth in the Free Mundus Network report, if it's true then the person in question by now could be dead or that option is under consideration, if it's false then someone out there is looking to send Rokkenjima and Slava Lavosk on a collision course with each other. You've said the Federal Republic operated a policy of take no prisoners so if they've made this exception for a supposed high value asset then the list of people who would be in the know is small and most likely limited to senior members of the Federal Republic government of the time and members of the Federal Republic military and intelligence. The overwhelming majority of which are either imprisoned or dead in the second patriotic war. So we need to know first is this source real? If it is who is it? And then assuming that we identify the source we then face the more difficult task. How do we do that? Find out where the Free Mundus Network interview took place would be my suggestion, I'd also go through your list of wanted republicans to narrow the list of suspects, but I strongly advise against doing anything involving putting someone like Quincy in harms way until you've spoken to the Slavan's and until you've exhausted other means of getting the source's identity." Kayleigh said

[Beatrice]

"Offdensen," Beatrice said, "He was well placed in the Imperial Government during the time frame, was known for following orders and keeping the proper profile. While he never wished to speak at length of his experiences in the Republican era we may wish to see how cooperative he'd be in sharing any information he may have. There was a time I believed he wouldn't withhold anything from me, misguided and naive of me I know, but we shouldn't discount him as a potential source of information. If it saves burning Quincy as a source it is all the more worth it, though I will see to it that Quincy accepts my overtures one way or the other: his heart is pure, and he's more than atoned for his past."
Treblinka Prison
Sarajevo, Slava Lavosk

"Riding upon the strong horse gifted to him upon his arrival to Rokkenjima, the Nobleman from the North traveled under the cloak of night to reach the Anselmo encampment. His lover, a cousin of the Anselmo Royal Family, has swayed these warriors of the North to our cause. Yes the Federal Republic is larger, more powerful, but this is also its weakness. Whereas it is slow we are quick, it stumbles when faced with our nimble feet. Yesterday it was a fuel depot in Ashinxao, the day before the battleship Valiant and its associated battlegroup joined the Free Rokkenjiman Armada, now under the command of a protege of Rowe: Sophia Forrester."

"Darkness, as we know, can never truly vanquish the light. Even the smallest strand of light, from the most unexpected of sources, can pierce through it, cutting a path for those with just cause to challenge any iniquity. When Rowe fell his death inspired the hearts of Rokkenjimans to rise and stand behind Sophia Forrester as she picked up Rowe's banner and waved it. The Armada, now a force of nineteen vessels, carries with it the hopes of a People and the freedom of a nation."

"With Achkaerinese support the Free Armada has sacked the Port Cities of Fogshore and Aria, launching a two-pronged liberation of Arovium Province. Further details sketchy at this time, Beatrice herself remains safe. The Republican bounty on her head grows ever greater as the days pass and the People believe their freedom grows even a little bit closer. These past few days have been good for the cause. I will include more days from now as not to draw suspicion. Hold your head high, your Majesty, your daughter continues her fight!"
Good news to bring a much needed night of decent sleep, well, as decent as one could have in a Slavan prison.

[Achkaerin]

Emerson looked across the room at Kayleigh, the woman asking the question silently with her eyes, neither of them knew what was going to unfold from this point but they did know what the next step was, he sighed and cracked his knuckles before nodding at Kayleigh.

"Call her Kayleigh." Emerson said
"Ok." Kayleigh said, she took out her phone and dialled a number

Ashai Castle, Achkaerin

Ashai Castle, otherwise known as the home of the Military Defence Initiative (MDI) and Justicar Operations, was as always a hive of activity. The boss on the Justicar end was Rion Ayanami. She was pacing around the operations floor, as they continued the hunt for those fugitives who had evaded them. Then her phone rang.

"Yes Kayleigh?" Rion asked, she listened as Kayleigh explained what the situation was "I see. Ok we're on it." she sighed, hung up the phone and walked the distance to where Emma Hastings sat working.
"Something up boss?" Emma asked
"What have you got on Leonard Clerisseau?" Rion asked
"Let's see Leonard Clerisseau." Emma said typing away on her computer to bring up the information "Ok here we go. Leonard Clerisseau, designation the two of clubs. He's an anti Rokkenjima figure with believed links to the GRA, was a terrorist training camp leader in Marseilles during that crisis, most likely served on the Republican side during the Second Patriotic War."
"You got anything on a current location?" Rion asked
"Last seen in Vanora." Emma said "Crossed the border into Tamora about a month ago."
"Oh joy." Rion said "Ok let's have someone send a message to our intelligence counterparts in that country, meanwhile have Alex meet me at the airport so we can pay Ofdensen a visit."
"About?" Emma asked
"About this business of a prominent Rokkenjiman being held in Slava Lavosk." Rion said

Two hours later Rion and Alexandria Savage, aka 'Alex', were stepping off a helicopter at Coral Rift Prison. They walked through the various security checkpoints and made their way to one of the visiting rooms which for this purpose had been cleared.

"I really hoped we were done with this idiot." Rion said as they waited for Charles to be brought to them.
"Well he's living out his days here isn't he so we're all but done with him." Alex said "Do you think he has the information we want?"
"Possibly." Rion said she looked at her watch, they were certainly on the clock.

Encrypted Communication

To the relevant Tamoran authority,

We wish to make you aware that a wanted fugitive and terrorist known as Leonard Clerisseau is believed to be hiding out somewhere in your nation. This is a man we believe has been there for around a month, we make this known because Mr Clerisseau we believe possesses information of critical importance to an ongoing issue and we would like to see him extradited to us for questioning. In such circumstances we'd request your consent to pick him up ourselves (we'd also appreciate any information you have on his whereabouts) but we will completely understand if you wish to handle arresting him yourselves. Please inform us what you are happy with.

Signed

Mark Sharpe

National Security Advisor

[Markus]

Encrypted Communication

To: Mr. Mark Sharpe, National Security Advisor

After reviewing your request for extradition of the man known as Leonard Clerisseau, we would like to inform you that the Imperial government has approved your request. You are given permission to pick him up. Furthermore, we have informed the local and imperial police of your operation and you will be given full support on the matter including but not limited to intelligence sharing and logistical support.

Respectfully yours,
Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs,
Vahid Shahi
Empire of Tamora

[Rhodes]

Treblinka Prison
Sarajevo, Slava Lavosk



The prisoner awoke from a very deep sleep. The deepest she could have ever imagined. She was not in her accustomed cell however. Bright sunlight streamed in through a window as she turned over in a comfortable bed in a room with pale yellow walls, accented with flowered wall paper. The smell of fresh mountain flowers came from a
plastic vase on a white dresser along a wall. She was wearing fresh pajamas and her hair had been washed and cut and was now dry. She felt another presence in the room and as she rolled over, she started at the sight of Kravec, sitting in a bedside chair.


"Good Morning, My Dear." He said.

As the woman scrambled out of bed and away from him, Kravec remained calm and seated.


"Easy now Cecelia. Yes, it is time for you to remember your name...or at least use it again. This Prisoner 11269 nonsense is behind us now. I'm sure your mind must be racing with questions. Am I dead? What trick is this? I understand completely and I would have the same questions were I in your position. We will talk again when you have absorbed the change in your circumstance. For you own sake I will tell you this. All that you have experienced here, both at my hands and those that came before me was compelled by threats. When I became president in 2006 and was made aware of your existence and circumstance I was frightened. That first night, I stayed awake pacing my rooms and wondering what to do."

"That choice was taken from me with a single phone call.  I was told exactly what I was to do...along with the dire consequences to be faced by myself and my people should I not comply. Now I will tell you some truths I'm sure you have thought about. Yes, I have been lying to you. Lies about the world, lies about the living and the dead. Those lies are no longer needed."


Kravec leans back in his armchair and crosses on leg over the other.


"I suppose we should start slowly and start at the beginning. You were betrayed to the Federal Republic. Someone in your own camp sold you to them. In turn, you were sent to Slava Lavosk where, the Republicans paid us to keep you hidden and broken. Paid on the one hand, threated with the 'End of Days' on the other. My predecessor had little choice...though you will be happy to learn he died very painfully when I had him killed. I'm sure you will be equally joyful at my eventual demise...if you are around to hear about it."

"Now I'm not sure who betrayed you to the Republicans, but subsequent investigation lead me to believe it was your sibling. Indeed, your niece Evanthe has made something of a name for herself. Serving the First Empire of Rokkenjima and marrying into the Royal Family of Seaforth. Rhodes that is, not Cameron or Branaghan."


Kravec catches the sharp eye movements of interest...


"Ah, that caught your attention, did it? The Republic has fallen. Your daughter Beatrice did what you could not...with the help of Alex Rowe and Henry Cole that is. I was truly frightened that day or I thought I was, until I received a second call, more chilling than the first."

"Oh yes, I will never forget 2013, when the Empress Beatrice told me 'keep her'. I guess she rather likes being Empress and thought playing second to you would cramp her style. Now, six years later, we have another problem. Beatrice has in turn, betrayed me. I won't bore you with the fine details, but I knew I could not stand being blackmailed so I have spent these last years removing Rokkenjiman influence in Slava Lavosk and moving forward to secure my country against your daughters threats. I have now done so. Which brings us to your situation. With the treat of Beatrice now irrelevant, I see no need to keep you in your previous condition. I will be completely honest however...I don't know what to do with you. For now though, you will stay here. You will be treated well as you recover from your ordeal, though the outside world will be restricted to you. After what was inflicted on you, I fear it would be too much too fast and you need time to process."


As Kravec started to the door, a nurse wheeled a breakfast tray in. The smell of fresh Quintellian coffee reached her immediately as the nurse revealed a tray of scones and a small jar of Rokkenjiman honey. As the nurse left, Kravec paused at the doorway.


"Enjoy your breakfast, Cecelia."

[Beatrice]

I clasped the flowers in my hand, freshly picked, but mostly weeds. It didn't detract from their beauty though, no, nothing could detract from her beautiful heart. What anyone would see as a bothersome weed, to the eye of a child, their innocence allowed only the beauty to present itself. "You don't have to give me anything else, you're the greatest gift one could ask for," I said as I picked her up and placed her in my lap. "Okay, perhaps if you find some more of these flowers," I replied as she insisted more were required.

"I love you," she said, even as the fog began to roll in the day remained beautiful. I grew worried as her voice grew harder to hear, then as the darkness followed the fog. As my eyes refocused, however, I could see that it was all but a fragment of a dream. And so I awake to the nightmare that is Kravec.

'His demeanour is different yes, but this man remains my enemy,' I thought, maintaining my silence as always. I can't let him know what I'm thinking nor give any entry into my mind; it's the last space that is fully mine, after all. 'So I was inherited, in a way. Is this how it works in places so dark? 2006 seems so long ago, but at times, just like yesterday.'

'Evanthe, the last time I saw her she was just an infant,' I continued making mental notes, 'but her father always did covet more for them. But what did I do for them to conspire against me? No, quiet those thoughts, this too could be a ruse. He's been lying to me for years after all, it's practically an art for him by now. Then again...'

'Henry and Alex, they looked after her, I knew it. But Empire...that's not right. Rokkenjima and empire do not belong in the same sentence...but at least they're all alive. I can at least have hope in that.'

As quickly as I had found hope I would see it crushed before me or, rather, the weight of Kravec's words would take the very wind from my lungs. 'Keep her, no, never, not my Beatrice. She'd never....but what if....damn it keep this liar's words from here! Islyna, Sehkma, grant me vision and clarity...but the prospect of power, I never did prepare her for that responsibility. My little girl, what if she fell to its corruption? That she would betray even me? No, I have to find out for myself, hear her voice, then I would know without a doubt...'

Kravec's departure was both a blessing and a curse, instinctively I relaxed whenever he departed, but he also remains my only conduit to the outside world. The scent of the coffee and the food before me didn't help after the "food" I had consumed for so many long years. The nurse most likely thought I had reverted to some level of savageness, though I was most delicate with the honey. Savouring it, 'Kavania, most definitely, the honey of the wildflowers which rivals Pyrenan orange blossom honey, depending who you ask. Why all this thought and sourcing for me now? I must be careful, letting his words in here, but it's my only avenue right now...we will see what our next encounter brings.'

[Achkaerin]

Rion was leaning against the wall of the interview room while Alex paced around, they'd been waiting a few minutes and then the door opened and two of the security guards assigned to the prison marched in the man Rokkenjima called "The Great Traitor" Charles Foster Ofdensen. They sat him down and then left the room, Charles glanced around at the two women as if trying to gauge what this all about but neither woman spoke one of them just stood there against the wall while the other sat opposite him their eyes drilling into his skull from the front and back, having been the Lord High Steward of Rokkenjima and one of the Secretary Generals of the CTO he knew who they both were - Rion Ayanami a daughter of the Achkaerinese nobility and the woman who had been in charge of intelligence during the Marseilles crisis, the other woman was Alexandria Savage a woman with a largely questionable past yet now redeemed. Yet even knowing that he couldn't decipher what this was all about?

"How's the life of a convicted criminal Charles?" Alex asked "Made any friends in here?"
"Any special friends?" Rion asked "What do you think Alex?"
"Handsome guy like this, involved in a child abduction of a princess no less." Alex said "Yeah I'd think he's made a few."
"Are we done with masterpiece theatre?" Charles asked
"While I'd love to go more graphic after everything you did but I don't really have the time for it." Rion said, she nodded from where she was standing and Alex placed two pieces of paper on the table one was a copy of a Rokkenjiman news report the other was a copy of a Free Mundus Network article, Charles looked first at Alex and then round at Rion who met his eyes with her own honed piercing gaze before she continued speaking "One chance Charles the name of the individual."

"What makes you think there is an individual?" Charles asked "And how would I know who it is anyway?"
"You're talking to two badged members of the intelligence community." Alex said "These payments were tracked by Rokkenjiman intelligence, Achkaerinese intelligence has as part of ongoing work independently verified that the information is accurate and not a trap you left for Beatrice. So we know these payments are real and we know they go back years."
"They go back to the Federal Republic era, you served in that government." Rion said "You're part of this I feel it but I just can't see it clearly yet."
"You give me too much credit I never had that much influence." Charles said
"Pull the other one." Rion said "You were high up in the government maybe not a big name but certainly a prospect, had the second patriotic war not happened you could well have been President by now. You had a hand in Adriana's kidnapping, you managed to corrupt the Anausa beyond recognition and redemption, and when your world started to crumble around you you orchestrated the attempted assassination of Beatrice Anselmo. And there's no way any of that was your first rodeo, the name Charles."

Charles just sat there not saying anything.
"What do think Rion?" Alex asked
"Well we could let Lucinda in here." Rion said "I'm sure she'd love to get reacquainted with Charles."
"We could dump in the sea off East Moreland, say he escaped in the recent prison break." Alex said
"Nice place for a holiday, oh wait he collaborated with King's Blood they'd hang him." Rion said "What about dumping him in Rokkenjima's EEZ?"
"He had a hand in the attempted murder of their Empress, that's treason and they probably still have the death penalty for it. Plus after everything else I don't imagine it'd be a pleasant death." Alex said "Beatrice might even forget everything she's said about the Iwi and suspend parts of the MCUR just for you."
"She wouldn't dare." Charles said

"Wouldn't she?" Rion asked "The Foreign Office gets near enough weekly requests from Rokkenjima about extraditing you. And each and every time the leadership of this country says no. Why does he say no? Because he is determined that Beatrice Anselmo does not fall into the trap of becoming you, he won't sanction it. Now that's because on a monarch to monarch level there's respect there."
"However when the Achkaerinese crown passes to the Crown Princess that could change." Alex said, that got Charles's attention "In fact it probably will because the relationship between Serenity and Beatrice is quite different, now imagine what happens if Serenity says yes to extradition."
"Get it Charles?" Rion asked now walking across the room to stand behind Alex "You're likely only alive because Peter Azurewind currently occupies the Achkaerinese throne, now might be a good time to start mending some fences. So the name please."
"What's in it for me?" Charles asked
"A guarantee of no extradition to Rokkenjima or East Moreland." Rion said "In writing if the information provided proves accurate."
"And we'll see about getting you a television that has the Rokkenjiman news channels on it." Alex said "And have the guards do more to look after you."
"But first the name of this individual." Rion said

Charles looked from Alex to Rion weighing up his options, it wasn't a bad deal was it?
"In writing?" Charles asked
"Once we've got proof that the information you provide is accurate and helpful." Rion said "So?"
"The name of the individual." Charles said "Is Cecelia Anselmo."

That sent shockwaves through both Rion and Alex but they couldn't allow themselves to process that just yet, they weren't quite done with Charles. Alex put a notepad and pen on the table.
"Dates, times, places, names." Alex said "Everyone involved in it and your own account."

A few minutes later Rion and Alex were finished and taking the lift back up to the surface, now they could allow what Charles had said to sink in.
"Bloody hell." Rion said "Cecelia Anselmo?"
"Do you ever wonder how many more skeletons Ofdensen's got in his closet?" Alex asked
"I keep thinking I'm going to spend the rest of my life digging them all up." Rion said "After I've got hold of Anna La Montagne of course."
"Now what?" Alex asked
"Now we have to go and tell Peter." Rion said "Good thing we know where he is."

In Valtheim the Achkaerinese Emperor Peter Azurewind and his staff were at Liberty Hall, the home of the Achkaerinese Senate, it was the run up to the Covenant Address the big speech the monarch gave each year it was similar to the Rokkenjima Imperial Address and so Peter liked to get in a bit of practice in the days leading up to it in situ so he could refresh himself in terms of the setting. They were mid conversation concerning a section of the speech when Rion and Alex walked in.

"Peter." Rion said "We have a problem."
"What is it?" Peter asked he knew Rion was serious, she only ever used his name like that when she was deadly serious
"You know me and Alex went up to Coral Rift to talk to Ofdensen?" Rion asked
"Yes." Peter said "About this Slava business in the FMN?"
"Yeah." Rion said "He gave us the name of the individual Slava has."
"Who?" Peter asked
"Cecelia Anselmo." Rion said

Peter didn't say a word, he just walked out of the Senate chamber into the Senate Library, a room thankfully deserted at that late hour, he was trying to take deep breaths but he could feel the anger welling up inside him, his fists clenched and a pile of books sat on a table was sent flying across the room, he proceeded to pound the table with his artificial hand. He slumped into a chair and looked up at the ceiling remembering something from years ago.

Gowu, Several Years Ago

It was a cloudy day in Gowu, a rainstorm imminent it was perhaps an omen of the day or the days to come, it was the day that Peter the Crown Prince of Achkaerin had been worried about for a while. Ever since the beginning of the Federal Republic regime in Rokkenjima the Anselmo family had been sheltered in Gowu, living in Wyvern Castle's guest wing they'd survived the Ardian Empire's bombs during the great war and the attempts of Su Mai Nekhaga to conquer Gowu in the 1980's. Peter presently served as the Defence Liaison Officer to Gowu, which meant he lived with his family in the main part of the Castle. On this particular morning Peter and his wife Iona, currently pregnant with their second child were watching something they'd long dreaded Cecelia was saying goodbye to a twelve year old Beatrice, it was something that had happened every school morning of course to send the Princess off to school but this was a different thing, a schoolday yes but also the day that Cecelia intended to depart Gowu to attempt to retake Rokkenjima. When Cecelia had finished the emotional fairwell and Beatrice had gone to run around the garden for a few minutes before school Peter went and stood next to Cecelia.

"I wish you'd agree to wait until after I've tried to talk to my father again." Peter said
"He's said no four times he's not going to say yes on the fifth try and you know it." Cecelia said
"Perhaps." Peter said "But promise me this if this goes wrong, you get out or you go to ground you stay alive and we'll find you. Because that girl" he pointed at where Beatrice was running around "Is going to need you."
"I promise." Cecelia said "Now you promise me to keep an eye on her if I can't, Henry and Alex will be around but they're not always going to be here. Look after her for me?"
"As if she were our own." Peter said "You have our word."

Cecelia glanced towards Iona
"You had the scan yesterday so boy or girl this time?" Cecelia asked
"Girl." Iona said
"Do me a favour pick a name that means something. There are a lot of names that cling to the past how many Emperor Harry's were there before your father? Pick a name that doesn't rely on the reputation of others something with a little peace to it a little serenity. Heaven's know Mundus needs a fair bit of that." Cecelia said
"Don't we know it." Iona said, Peter meanwhile had picked up his car keys
"I'll take her to school today" he said looking at Cecelia "You get your head in the game."

In the car a few moments later, while stuck rather predictably in a traffic jam, Peter glanced at Beatrice sat in the passenger seat he hoped for Cecelia's success but if it didn't go that way he would keep his word, that was the sort of man he was.
"Your mother tells me you're interested in learning to play the piano." Peter said, Beatrice nodded "Well I've got a friend called Celine who's pretty good. Do you want to meet her?" Beatrice smiled.


Present Day

The mood in the Senate chamber among the Emperor's staff was still riddled with shock at Rion's revelation, Celine Tyler Peter's Defence advisor was looking more shocked than the others though something that the Emperor's foreign affairs advisor Nettie Taylor noticed, she went over and stood next to Celine

"What do you all know that I don't?" Nettie asked
"A few years ago before he was Emperor Peter was the defence liaison officer to Gowu, he knew Cecelia, he kept an eye on Beatrice as she grew up, I actually think he went to her parents evenings at school if I remember rightly." Celine said "And of course Cecelia's body was never identified was it? He's angry with himself right now for buying a story without proof."

At that point Peter returned to the room in a more composed manner than when he'd left, he paused and looked round each member of his staff he hadn't had a shock like that for a while, he took a deep breath before starting.

"Rion do you believe Charles?" Peter asked
"Yes." Rion said "I don't think he has a reason to lie about this."
"Alex?" Peter asked
"I agree." Alex said
"What I'd like to know is why." Kumiko Arkwright, Peter's Chief of Staff said

"I might be able to answer that." Peter said "Charles Ofdensen likes to pull the strings but prefers the shadows to the spotlight, he could have been President of the Federal Republic if he'd have won an election. But given how heavily rigged those were he may have sought an alternative. He was Beatrice's man inside the Federal Republic what if he was Cecelia's man as well?"
"And she wouldn't give him what he wanted so he betrays her?" Nettie asked
"Well think about it if Cecelia had succeeded that's her on the throne and you've then got Beatrice, Evanthe and Euphemia all in supporting roles plus Henry Cole and Alex Rowe." Peter said "Doesn't sound like there's room for Charles to me, Cecelia was always more confident and sure of herself. Beatrice is by comparison limited but that's the sum of her experience."
"So what do we do?" Celine asked

"Tamora have agreed to our request regarding Leonard Clerisseau" Rion said "Which is even more helpful because that name is on Charles's list."
"Get him." Peter said "And find out what he knows about this."

"Do we tell Beatrice?" Kumiko asked, it was the question that needed airing
"Nettie?" Peter asked
"No way." Nettie said "Peter you're just about controlling your anger, Beatrice is Cecelia's daughter she'll flip."
"But she's got to be told at some point." Celine said
"Yes but not until we have a complete handle on this." Nettie said "We should talk to Emerson in the meantime."
"Agreed." Peter said "First we verify whether this is Cecelia or not, we do that before we do anything else, if we get confirmation then we reassess our options."

[Beatrice]

Treblinka Prison
Sarajevo, Slava Lavosk

The passage of two week's time may seem trivial to some, but to me, it was as if a lifetime had passed. I haven't seen Kravec since then, perhaps generous in his gift of time, my strength had been returning to me both physically and mentally. I had nearly forgotten that, just a few short weeks ago, I subsisted on a substance that could only claim a casual association with oatmeal as well as the cell which was designed to maximize one's pain in all areas of life. Today I had two visitors and for the first time in countless years I had two friends; my nurse, and the bird that would visit the ledge of my window.

I'd even been gifted a CD player, with the last two albums Queens of the Stone Age released; having been deprived of music it was a small victory for me. With information tightly regulated it was the one connection I had to home, aside from the honey which graced my morning breakfast. 'All of this is designed to make you forget, even the nurse, it wouldn't surprise me if the bird had cameras for eyes.'

Naturally I'd considered that, I knew my situation yet I also knew I couldn't go back to my previous situation. I may be in danger, but my only hope in all of this is playing on Kravec's benevolence. It's a matter of survival, nothing else, and if it comes with these comforts I'd been denied for so long could anyone blame me? I hold no cards, the time to make a stand may come one day but to do so today, I'd only be welcoming a trip down a corridor, my head slapping against door cases perhaps, to be thrown into a dark cell one again and today, damn it, is not that day. Nor is any day until I hold some cards to prevent that scenario.

At the same time maybe something in Kravec had changed, it wasn't perfect by no means and he seemed a prisoner on some level himself, but I had been given back so much. My dignity as a human being, my identity, my name, things taken for granted and are so inalienably ours, yet here I was worshiping them as gifts. 'I should speak this nex time,' I thought as I pondered so much, 'I can't expect generosity without some sort of reciprocation. There's little harm in entertaining some conversation.'

I wondered if Kravec would return, how soon would it be before I could be told more?

[Rhodes]

The day of Kravec's return eventually came. One morning he simply arrived with breakfast. This morning breakfast was scrambled eggs and back bacon with pan fried potatos. Coffee, tea, scones and Rokkenjiman honey accompanied it with orange juice and fresh strawberries.

Vaclav Kravec uttered not a single word to Cecelia. When breakfast for two had been set for them he graciously waved her into her chair. Kravec the poured her a cup of tea and took his own seat. They ate in silence, Kravec reflecting her own refusal to speak back at her. As they sat in the morning sun, and ate as the mountain birds sang to them, Kravec's silence seemed to imply to Cecelia that he wanted nothing from her. No demands would be made, no indignities offered.

When he finished his breakfast, Kravec poured himself a last cup of coffee and pulled from his jacket a newspaper, idly flipping through it as he sipped. After several long minutes of reading in the sun, Kravec drained the last of his coffee with a sign. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he neatly folded the paper and stood up. Smiling and walking  over to Cecelia he placed the paper before her and dipped his head in a short bow.

With that, he turned on his heel and left....still not a word spoken.

[Beatrice]

"Guard," Cecelia shouted, "Please ask the President to return." Not knowing if her request would be honoured she nonetheless prepared herself, mentally, should it be granted.

[Achkaerin]

Midaranye weather was substantially different from that of the north, though that was quite easily said of any nation that sat geographically south of Achkaerin and north of Foxtrove. It was in the Tamoran province of Vojvodina, just a few miles to the west of the Tamoran/Slavan border that Leonard Clerriseau had found sanctuary, or at least what he believed was sanctuary it was a house at the end of a road the standard two storey it looked quite average, knowing the sensitivity of the situation Rion had dispatched a trio of Justicars who were highly skilled at this sort of thing, they'd set up camp at a local hotel and started surveillance on Clerriseau, they'd followed him around, learned his routine and above all confirmed that their were no other residents in the house, this was most important because it governed what happened in terms of the actual grab. It was the early hours of the morning now and at the far end of the road the four by four was creeping slowly towards the house, at the wheel sat Elena Walsh, in the passenger seat sat Colin Quinn, he was the man running the show, finally there was Maki Hamer.

"Ok Elena rolls up on the house, Maki you go in through the back while we hit the front, chances are this guy's upstairs sleeping." Colin said "Sweep the ground floor first then go up, radio silence unless we wake the guy up. Fast and safe."
"Copy that." Elena said
"No argument from me." Maki said
"Hit it." Colin said

Elena drove the car right up in front, keeping the lights off to maintain the element of surprise, the three of them moved quickly with Maki sprinting round to the side and climbing over the garden gate to get to the back, Colin and Elena made their way to the front door, with a swift and heavy kick Colin put the door in and led the way inside, at the same time Maki had put the back door in and the three of them balancing their flashlights and firearms started their sweep, meeting at the foot of the stairs, so far so good, now they proceeded up the stairs Colin took point with Maki behind him and Elena in the rear guard position. They eliminated each room one by one until there was just the one left. Colin opened the door and with Maki rushed in, Clerriseau heard them but before he could really do anything Colin had him face down on the bed and Maki was cuffing him.

"Leonard Clerrieseau you're under arrest." Maki said
"Thought you could hide from us?" Colin asked "We're relentless."
"Secure." Maki said
"Let's get out of here." Colin said


A few hours later Peter and the relevant ministers and other officials were being briefed by Rion.

"A few hours ago we managed to arrest Leonard Clerriseau he's one of the outstanding Deck of 52, more importantly in terms of our Cecelia Anselmo situation he's listed on Ofdensen's list as 'courier'. Something which made sense once Leonard here gave up his story." Rion said tapping the screen that displayed Leonard's picture and file.
"His story being?" Peter asked
"Back when Cecelia tried and failed to take back Rokkenjima, Cecelia was captured and the Federal Republic did a deal with Slava Lavosk to hold onto her, hence the money being paid out." Rion said "Clerriseau back then was a junior officer in the Federal Republic's army and was the man in charge of handing Cecelia over to the Slavan's, he had a hand picked squad and flew from Rokkenjima to Slava Lavosk where Cecelia was handed over and has since then presumably been imprisoned."
"Do we trust this information?" Sally Barkley, the director of Achkaerinese Intelligence asked
"Yes." Rion said "It tallies with what Ofdensen gave us and we didn't tell Clerisseau that we got this from Ofdensen."
"So we have independent verification that Slava Lavosk have Cecelia Anselmo." Peter said "Looks like I'll be signing that piece of paper."
"Do we know where she's being held?" Adam Sheppard, the Minister of Defence asked
"I can't be certain." Rion said "According to Clerriseau she was put into Treblinka in Sarajevo, but that was years ago. It's possible she's still there, but we're going out on a limb."
"A limb's all we've got." Peter said "Rion what's next?"
"We start sniffing around Slava Lavosk." Rion said "Ask a few questions of a few people, find out whether Cecelia is in Treblinka or not."
"Ok do it meanwhile start putting together plans as are now necessary." Peter said
"Assuming she's in Treblinka?" Rion asked
"Yes." Peter said "But also other likely locations."

[Rhodes]

Cecelia's request had caught Kravec by surprise. He had felt his heart leap in his chest and he was excited she had chosen to break her silence. What it meant he didn't know....but he had to find out.

He took his time walking back, the clack-tap of his shoes echoing off the hardwood floor. Re-entering her rooms he held her gaze.

"How can I help you Cecelia?"

[Beatrice]

"I've hated you for years," she said, the words just coming forth with little regard for their consequence. "You tortured me, you starved me, humiliated me, I was near sheer insanity...but," she paused before her voice grew any louder, "You also saved me. I didn't consider your situation, how could I have known you were a prisoner like me? I can stand with my own strength again, my hair shines again, and I'm actually happy to be gaining weight," she couldn't help but to chuckle at that notion.

"I planned when I heard Beatrice was Empress to tell you how wrong you were, I know my daughter, she wouldn't leave me here. But..." she said, producing various articles of Rokkenjiman interventions and joint military actions, "She sends her armies and navy all over Mundus, has two military bases right here in Cotf Aranye. She can go to all these places," she said pointing forcefully at each spread of newspaper, "but she doesn't send them here, for me? That's the moment I no longer hated you and began to sense, there is truth here. My enemy was actually in the trenches with me all along, perhaps more broken than me because you had to pretend to take joy in what you did to me."

"President Kravec, I wish to apply for asylum in Slava Lavosk. I also wish to establish my government in exile, not as some Empress, but as the rightful Queen of Rokkenjima. My girl has gotten out of hand," she said with a sniffle, "She can't be allowed to bring great death to Slava Lavosk. What can I do to help you, if you'd accept that is?"

[Rhodes]

"My Dear Cecelia. I am truly sorry for all the suffering inflicted upon you. Forced though it was, it was wrong. Slava was wrong. I was wrong. I fear if word of your existence were to be released at this time, it would mark the end of you. The Anusa would come for you. Those implacable murderers and torturers would complete the lie that you are deceased. The time will come, but it is not today. Until that day we need to ensure that Beatrice will not be able to eliminate you. We must move slowly, cautiously. We may fail, but until we do, I will keep you safe from harm."

[Beatrice]

"I understand," Cecelia sighed, looking out her window. "It's been so long since I've felt a fresh breeze or the naked rays of the sun on my skin, unobstructed by glass. Heard the songs of a robin, felt a drop of rain, funny that would be inconvenient at one time but now, it would be such a joy. You didn't deprive me of these things, and I am curious, how was it for you? Sleeping at night knowing of my state?"

"There were ants that crawled through a crack in the wall, drawn in by the cake and sugars that clung to my hair and skin before those rare showers. I was in such a pathetic state because my daughter wishes to play commander, the lives of so many in her hands, do you have any idea what put her on this path? Who sits beside her whispering such things into her ears? I have the information but my heart does not wish to accept it."

[Achkaerin]

Justicar Operations was a hive of activity, it was always a busy place but this was busier than normal they'd spent a lot of time running various target probability calculations and had picked out a few possibilities of where Cecelia might be being held though Rion still didn't like knowing exactly where, she could handle wandering into the unknown and was more than capable of adapting on the fly and thinking outside the box but she also knew the value of certainty in her line of work. It was then her phone rang she picked it up off her desk and put it to her ear, looking down through her office window to the operations floor as she did so.

"Spandau." came the voice on the other end of the call, it belonged to Sakura Sheppard the niece of the Emperor who was calling from the nuclear talks in Paracambi "Horses mouth."
"Thank you." Rion said she hung up and left her office.

A matter of seconds later Rion was down on the operations floor where she found Nix Williams, her second in command musing over the current situation with Paul Kessel
"We've got a location." Rion said "Spandau."
"Map it Emma." Nix said, Emma soon had the satellite image up
"I'd almost prefer her being in Treblinka." Paul said
"I wouldn't." Rion said "Way too public." she drummed her fingers on the table "Ok then briefing room"

Rion walked into one of the briefing rooms and was joined moments later by Nix, Paul, Michelle Frost and then from the floor upstairs at the MDI Captain Sarah Culshaw.

"Ok we have a location on Cecelia Anselmo." Rion said "Spandau Prison."
"It's on our possible location list." Nix said
"Paul what do you think?" Rion asked
"I think an extraction operation is possible." Paul said "But it's got a few issues, mainly that actually doing it is the easy part, getting into place and the narrative afterwards is going to be the hard part."
"I agree." Rion said "But in all of this there is one blessing."
"Which is?" Nix asked
"Kravec's not an idiot." Rion said
"I see." Sarah said "He knows better than to admit that she was rescued from Slava Lavosk if we go in and get her out. Because doing so..."
"Creates a whole international mess he doesn't want or need." Nix said "So we're going to give Kravec wiggle room?"
"That's the only way this can work." Rion said "We need a plan that gets Cecelia out of there without incriminating Kravec in her detention and can then safely reintroduce her to Mundus with a plausible story and narrative that stacks up."

"Ok then." Michelle said "We got the location from Bathory right?"
"That's who was being approached." Rion said
"Then we need to incriminate a Slavan who could hypothetically have been involved in this and who is someone Kravec would probably be happy to see in his rear view mirror as it were." Michelle said
"Got anyone in mind?" Sarah asked
"Konrad Radvak." Michelle said
"Pretty big fish." Paul said
"It needs to be a big fish." Rion said she paused "So narrative wise start with him, where do you end it?"
"In some hellhole." Michelle said
"What about getting her out in the first place?" Nix asked
"That's going to be tricky." Rion said "Even if we know Kravec can't admit to this we can't go leaving any footprints, it's a fully deniable operation. Sarah you, Paul and me will figure the operation out, Nix stage manage the post op narrative Michelle work Radvak. I want us to have a proposal for the Emperor within two days."

[Achkaerin]

Marble Palace, Valtheim

The Marble Palace's Round Table Room was for the first time in a long time at what was termed a 'full compliment' every government minister, the military leadership, the intelligence community and the Royals plus advisors were in the room. Standing at the front of the room in front of the large wall screen were Rion, Sarah and Sarah's boss Lt Colonel Kara Thornton. The room was buzzing, everyone present knew what they were about to get into and each had their own misgivings, obviously this included the Emperor though Peter was more prepared than most to let those misgivings lie given who the person they were going after was.
"Ok you three." Peter said looking at the three women standing at the front of the room "Give me an operation I can sign off on."

"This isn't going to be an easy operation to pull off because we have to not only extract Cecelia, but extract her in a way that doesn't lead to a confrontation between Rokkenjima and Slava Lavosk." Rion said "So we have to do it quietly and stealthily, and more than anything we need a credible narrative."
"How do we do it?" Peter asked

"According to the latest information provided by our contact - Bathory Cecelia is presently here." Sarah said an image of a compound was on the screen "It's one of Kravec's properties, the place looks like it was built to be a fortress."
"That's a lot of square footage." Celine said
"Gets worse." Sarah said "Bathory was able to give us a rundown of the security measures in place here and it's pretty tight."
"How tight?" Saki Ryoko, the Deputy National Security Advisor asked
"Approximately thirty armed guards on location and a panic button that shows up at a military barracks ten miles down the road, we don't know how many troops that could bring running but we do expect that to include armed helicopters." Sarah said "But the big worry is that there's an underground bunker on the site."
"So if we get rumbled and they get Cecelia in there it's game over?" Peter asked
"Yes Your Majesty." Sarah said
"So how are you suggesting we pull this off?" Nettie asked

"Justicar assault team goes in here." Rion said she pressed a button on the remote she was holding and a blue dot appeared marking a point on the perimeter.
"Why there?" Adam Sheppard asked
"It's the woods." Rion said "Longest edge, plenty of hiding spots, weakest point of the perimeter."
"Go on." Peter said
"Once inside it's about a mile to the inner wood edge." Rion said "Cover that distance and we emerge here." another dot appeared this time a red one "If all goes to plan this is where we're most vulnerable because there's about thirty metres of open ground between the woods and the house and that could mean random patrols seeing us, there's probably a sniper on the roof."
"Have we got specs of the house?" Field Marshall William Dawson asked
"No but we think we have a work around." Rion said

"Security control for the compound operates from the outhouse here." Sarah said, a green dot now appeared on the screen "Before entering the main house we take control of the outhouse and we can guide the team through the house safely."
"We sweep the house and get hold of Cecelia." Rion said
"How do we get Cecelia out of the country?" Peter asked
"There's a river that runs just to the south of the compound and it runs all the way to the coast" Sarah said "We have the INS Rhyth Icerider deploy a Resonance and run it deep up the river, we rig the Resonance to be able to support Cecelia and get her out by sea."
"And everyone else?" Adam asked
"Conventional means." Rion said
"How are you planning on covering it?" Peter asked
"By making sure that this looks like a coup attempt." Rion said
"Sounds possible." Nettie said
"Rion are you asking what I think you're asking?" Peter asked
"Yes I am." Rion said "I trust you'll get me the paperwork in advance of the go."
"We will." Celine said

"Ok." Peter said "Tell me about the narrative element."
"This is Zhen Qiang." Kara said an image of a man now appeared on the screen "He's the leader of a terrorist militia in Phuebra. Took a beating in the war but he's been around for years."
"And?" Peter asked
"And this." Kara said another picture came up on the screen this time of Qiang and another man.
"Who is that?" Kumiko asked
"That is Kravec's predecessor as President of Slava Lavosk." Kara said "Or to put it another way Stalin's puppet. And as a final point Qiang is a big player in the human trafficking game and has been for years."
"We're closing in on him in Phuebra at the moment." Sarah said
"I get the picture and I like it." Peter said

"Where do we take Cecelia once we've got her?" Nettie asked
"Gowu at first." Peter said "Then stage the Phuebra component and then we tell Beatrice."
"Slava will know it was us the moment Cecelia's reintroduced to Mundus." Kumiko said
"They tells on us we tell on them." Peter said "And no one in Slava Lavosk is that stupid."
"So do we do this Peter?" Rion asked

All eyes snapped to Peter, there wasn't much doubt about what he was going to say but still the protocol required him to say it.

"Do it." Peter said 

[Achkaerin]

OOC - With permission of Rhodes

Fox One, Above Aranye

Fox One, the lead aircraft in the Achkaerin Royal Fleet or more precisely the aircraft that carried the Emperor when he flew around Mundus sat nicely above the clouds in the Aranye, travelling south to Gowu. Peter sat watching the latest days action from the Mundus Games, he could still remember the times he'd competed in the Games and what had happened each time. Today though his arm side lined him from competing just as Serenity's leg did for her.

"Adam played a blinder." Nettie said coming and sitting down opposite Peter, a table between them "We'll take some heat but..."
"But we didn't tip anyone off." Peter said "Better everyone thinks we're keeping an eye on Royal Seleucid and the Iwi than what's actually going on."
"Whoever thought Piripi and Heydar playing a game of 'my Dad's bigger than your Dad' would be the cover?" Nettie asked
"Yeah well it was the perfect opportunity." Peter said, he sighed "We've got the best part of forty eight hours before this gets messy."
"Beatrice isn't going to believe this." Nettie said
"It won't get her back all the years missed though." Peter said "But it's something she's needed for a while."

INS Rhyth Icerider, Gulf of Auraxis

The INS Rhyth Icerider, a Musketeer class vessel in the Achkaerinese Navy was part of Operation Vigilience - the Achkaerinese mission mounted in response to Slava Lavosk's nuclear weapon development. However today it wasn't the nuclear weapons that were the specific focus, down in the Moon Pool section of the vessel Crew Chief Stephanie Coleman was working on a Resonance Type AUV, normally these things were used for reconnaissance or as a weapons platform but now here Stephanie was fitting one of them out to essentially be an underwater lifeboat.

"How's it coming?" Flight Leader Mika Saikolov asked from the hatch that led into the section
"Where did the MDI get this idea from?" Stephanie asked
"Well they say a reasoned thought process." Mika said "Personally I think they watched an episode of Star Trek."
"The Next Generation episode where K'heylar arrives inside a Federation probe?" Stephanie asked, Mika nodded "I was wondering why this was so familiar."
"Yeah but will it work?" Mika asked
"It'll work." Stephanie said "The things stripped out with enough space for the person and a life support system."
"Power supply?" Mika asked
"Enough to get the job done." Stephanie said "She'll be ready for deployment in about twenty minutes or so."
"Good." Mika said

On the bridge of the ship the CO Captain Fiona Baines stood with her arms folded, she was still mentally processing the call she'd received about the operation they were about to get into, send a stripped out Resonance up the river into Slava Lavosk and bring it back carrying Cecelia Anselmo inside it? It sounded like an April Fools Day joke but that had been months ago. She bit her lip, a habit she had developed as a kid when she was edgy which had been a lot of the time. She answered the ship's intercom when it buzzed.

"Captain Baines." Fiona said
"Moon Pool skipper, the Resonance is ready to go." it was Stephanie
"Copy that." Fiona said, she pressed a button down to the drone operations section "Flight Leader Saikolov are you set?"
"As ready as we'll ever be." Mika said
"Chief Coleman." Fiona said "Deploy the Resonance."
"Aye Skipper." Stephanie said

Down in the drone operation section, Mika was sat at the controls of the Resonance, next to her was Pilot Officer Rory Mount.
"Ok Rory you've got the sonar, I'm steering." Mika said
"We're not using the auto pilot?" Rory asked
"It may be an AUV but there's a bunch of mines between us and the Slava coastline." Mika said "I'd sooner not blow up an expensive piece of kit because of a tidal movement shifting a mine."
"Fair point." Rory said
"I'm taking us under the mines and straight to the coast, from there it's up river." Mika said "It'll take about forty eight hours to get into position."

In the skies above the Kyne

One of the aircraft deployed to the Kyne by Achkaerin was a Sparrowhawk, joining its crew onboard for this mission was Sarah, her eyes narrowed in concentration as the monitor she was watching began to display the Resonance's position.
"Rhyth Icerider calling Shadow-wing." Fiona's voice came over the radio "Resonance is in the water and on the way."
"Copy that we see it." Sarah said, she let out a deep breath the pieces were now in motion and there was no stopping this express train "Now let's hope everyone else is up to the task."
"Aren't they always?" the pilot asked
"Oh yeah but this is more high risk than we've handled for a long time." Sarah said

Justicar Operations, Achkaerin

At Justicar Operations Rion was monitoring the situation as it unfolded, this was phase one the preparation - the assault team were on their way to Slava Lavosk by various means of travel, they were determined not to leave a breadcrumb trail to their own door. A prep team had been in Slava Lavosk for days acquiring supplies and assets that would be needed. However Rion's priority at the moment was the backstory they needed to create,
"We've done some crazy operations in our time but this takes the cake." Kara said entering the room and standing next to Rion "All the moving parts."
"We're not leaving anything to chance." Rion said "Emma, Amy can you get into the Bank?"
"Provided Ashley doesn't screw up yes." Emma said
"This sort of thing is her speciality." Rion said
"Driving the wedge?" Paul asked
"That's the plan." Rion said "We set this up to make it look like Radvak was planning something against Kravec."
"No greater betrayal than that of family." Kara said
"Precisely." Rion said "We also at the same time make a play on the account history to back up the other part of the equation. Bank security is of course second to none these days so we need to gain access from within."
"Hence Ashley." Kara said

Silver Crown Hotel, Sarajevo

The Silver Crown Hotel, one of the most luxurious hotels in the capital of Slava Lavosk was a reputable establishment, a high class place, choice of establishment for many major players and had a penthouse suite that was the day to day home away from home for the commander of the Slava Lavosk Defence Force (SLDF) Admiral Konrad Radvak, his companion in bed was Ashley Selvaria, it had been a somewhat simple sting to execute once they'd found out where Radvak lived when not at his family home, put an attractive younger woman in his path, flatter the man's ego and let Ashley's charms do the rest, nothing had happened despite the Admiral's yearnings the night's intimacy had been restricted to touching and kissing rather than anything penetrative. Ashley wasn't asleep she just looked it - keeping her back to Radvak, her eyes closed but her ears open. She didn't have long to wait until she heard the tell tale sound of movement next to her, he was getting out of bed and then heading into the bathroom, she waited to be certain and then made her move, she got up and visually scanned the room, the sound of the shower running in the bathroom was music to her ears, dressed only in her underwear she quietly picked up Radvak's jacket from the previous evening and carefully searched the pockets, eventually finding the man's wallets. Ashley smiled as she picked her phone out of her handbag, she photographed both sides of Radvak's personal bank card and Government ID before replacing the cards in the wallet and then replacing the wallet into the jacket exactly where it had previously been.

Ashley paused for a moment, the shower was still running and now the Admiral was having a little sing song, this was a good thing because it meant she now had the time she needed to appropriate the man's fingerprints, it didn't take her long to do - she was well versed in how to do this and highly experienced at pulling it off. By the time the bathroom door opened Radvak found Ashley putting her clothes back on.

"Leaving so soon?" Radvak asked
"I'm afraid so." Ashley said "I have a business meeting in an hour that I can't really miss."
"You never said what kind of business you're in." Radvak said
"I buy and sell antiques." Ashley said "And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."
"I see." Radvak said

Five minutes later Ashley was walking out of the hotel, half an hour later she was across the city at the National Bank. She didn't need to con her way in here, her family had many off shore accounts and this was where one of them could be found, the advantages of being a wealthy heiress.
"Ms Selvaria." the bank manager said coming out to meet her
"Mr Marinov." Ashley said "Nice to see you again."
"Of course." Marinov said "What can we do for you today?"
"I need to make a withdrawal, a discreet withdrawal." Ashley said
"Right this way." Marinov said

Marinov took Ashley through to his office.
"So what is this withdrawal?" Marinov asked
"I need three hundred thousand broken down into these quantities." Ashley said handing the manager a piece of paper
"I see." Marinov said "I will take care of it personally. Please wait here and help yourself to a drink."
"Thank you." Ashley said

Once Marinov left the office, Ashley sighed, walked over to the drinks cabinet, poured herself a drink and let her eyes dart around the room, there were no camera's, but then banks did value privacy. She walked over to Marinov's desk, the computer was on
"Let's hope this thing is networked." Ashley muttered more over her com than to the empty room, she took a USB drive out of her handbag and plugged it into the computer then she went to work "I'm uploading it now."
"Copy that." Rion's voice came over the com "Remember just upload it and retrieve the USB, once we're in we can handle the rest."
"Got it." Ashley said

A few seconds later Ashley retrieved the USB after the upload was complete, then Marinov entered carrying a silver case which he opened for her inspection.
"Three hundred thousand broken down as requested." Marinov said "Will that be all?"
"For today yes." Ashley said "As always a pleasure doing business with you."
"The pleasure is mine." Marinov said

Moments later Ashley was walking out of the bank to her rented car, she got in and drove away.
"I'm out and en route to the border." Ashley said
"Good work." Rion said
"Only if Emma and Amy can work their magic." Ashley said
"They're on it." Rion said

[Achkaerin]

Slava Lavosk Defence Ministry

Joe Ochre attached the forged identification badge to the jacket pocket of the maintenance uniform he was wearing as he walked across the busy road towards the Defence Ministry. Once Ashley had got a copy of Radvak's ID he'd known what this badge had to look like and making one that looked right had been simple enough in the end. Walking next to him was his colleague Robyn Mears.
"Into the Lion's Den we go." Robyn said
"That's one way of putting it. Still we can be thankful for the inside information." Joe said, this wasn't like Ashley's task at the bank this was a level higher, it was far more risky to go into a government building that was more accurately the headquarters of the SLDF, probably patrolled by members of the military who would naturally be armed.

Stepping inside the pair joined the queue of people at the metal detectors, both of them mentally going over their mission it was largely the same as Ashley's but required a little more care and attention - Ashley had managed the first half of the equation, they had to handle the second half.
"Can I help you sir?" A security guard asked looking at Joe in his uniform and the cart next to him with a box on it.
"Yes I have an order here to replace the hand dryers in a bathroom on the fifth floor." Joe said in a well rehearsed and passable Slavic accent
"We'll need to scan the boxes sir." the guard said
"Of course." Joe said, there were only two boxes on the trolley he was pushing in front of him, he lifted them up onto the conveyor belt and let them go through the scanner before stepping through the metal detector himself with the trolley, obviously the trolley set the alarm off but once the security guard was satisfied (after running the wand over him) Joe was on his way and in the lift, boxes on trolley, moments later.

Joe got out on the fifth floor and walked down the corridor, he passed the room marked as 'Security Control' and kept walking towards the rooms further down the corridor. He knew there was one security camera panning the corridor, he could see it out of the corner of his eye. He turned left and walked into the men's room, he went about the job as carefully as he could first removing two of the hand dryers already in there and then replacing them, it took slightly longer than he thought it would because this wasn't really his area of expertise but it was what was needed. Once the two hand dryers were on the wall he smiled and left the bathroom, taking everything with him and went back to the lift flexing his fingers in the plastic gloves he was wearing, standard for the room he'd been working in, he got down onto the ground floor and left the building. He made his way to the pickup truck he'd been using and drove it away.

Robyn meanwhile had finally gotten through the metal detectors and had taken the lift to the eighth floor, where she'd walked to a reception desk, she approached the woman on the desk.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked
"KOS." Robyn said in a Slavic accent flashing an ID badge and identifying the Slavan Agency "I need to speak with Admiral Radvak."
"May I ask what it concerns?" the woman asked
"It is a matter of utmost importance and above your pay grade." Robyn said
"The Admiral isn't here right now but he is on his way." the woman said
"Very well." Robyn said "I'll wait in his office then if you'll show me where that is."

The woman on the desk didn't argue, perhaps it was Robyn or perhaps it was badge intimidation or possibly even fear but she showed Robyn into Radvak's office. Where Robyn sat and waited, everything seemingly normal, she waited pacing the room taking in the trappings of the Admiral it was obvious that he took pride in his noble status there was a lot of militaria around the office as well, she quite liked the mirror on the wall, not least because it allowed her to see the security camera without looking directly at it. Then it happened, the red light on the camera went off.

Not bad Robyn thought as she quickly made her way to Radvak's desk and powered up his computer, both the hand dryer's that Joe had fitted were rigged, the first had been rigged with an EMP, not a huge one, just one big enough to take out the central security system in the control room - effectively rendering the control room blind, well at least for around five minutes until the back up system kicked in. The computer required a fingerprint scan to open it which was where Ashley's handiwork from earlier in the morning came in handy, a digital copy of the fingerprint on her phone was enough to open up the computer. Now just as Ashley had at the bank Robyn plugged in a USB and uploaded a file, the occasional glance at the camera to make sure it was still off. When the upload was done she retrieved the USB and went back to pacing the room as if waiting for Radvak to turn up, the red light on the camera came back on. Robyn glanced at her watch it should be any moment now...and right on cue the fire alarm went off.

This was the second rigged hand dryer, it had been designed to catch fire in such a way that it looked like an electrical fault, it would also destroy not only itself but act like a reasonable blaze. Robyn made her way back through the building and out onto the street along with the other people who'd been in the building. She waited a few seconds and then vanished into the crowd. She walked a few blocks down to where her motorcycle was parked, she took her phone out of her pocket and dialled.
"I'd like to talk to someone about ordering a wedding cake." Robyn said, it was the confirmation code for what had just happened "Two tiers. Oh I see I'll call back later." she hung up, got on her bike and drove away.

National Ballet Theatre, Sarajevo

Scotia Conway had gotten to know the Midaranye routine fairly well now, the various intricacies and nuances were becoming more apparent to her and this monthly event for ambassadors in Slava Lavosk was part of it, today they were out for an afternoon showing of the ballet version of Sleeping Beauty. She was also quite happy at having become recently engaged, her fiancé Thomas was a businessman in the hotel industry, however her 'date' for the reception was Anthony Vilani, there was a very good reason for this. While Scotia was conversing with the other ambassadors Anthony slipped outside, he didn't smoke but there were times that carrying a pack of cigarettes and a lighter was helpful. He had his com in as well.

"Ok Kravec's still here, making plenty of jokes and small talk." Anthony said "You'd better have that satellite overhead."
"It's there." Rion answered
"I'll let you know when he leaves." Anthony said

Justicar Operations

Rion was smiling now, the pieces were fitting together and now her two best hackers Emma and Amy Taylor went to work, this was where they had to make it believable, this was now about making it look like Radvak had gone after Kravec. Rion glanced over at where Kara stood watching
"Our ten ghosts?" Kara asked
"Yeah Robyn got us inside their Defence Ministry system." Rion said
"Ten person operation team means we need ten ghosts." Kara said
"And one stooge." Rion said "Amy's planting the files of our ten ghosts meanwhile over on the banking system Emma's getting the money trail ready."
"And it all looks like eleven people were paid off to make a hit on Kravec." Kara said "Who's the stooge going to be?"
"Well we thought this guy." Rion said "Amy bring up our stooge."

A service file appeared on the screen.
"Srebrenko Mirkovic?" Kara asked
"A Sargent Major in the Slavan Army." Rion said "Posted at Treblinka Prison for seventeen years been there even since he joined by the looks of it."
"And what did the Sargent Major do to earn the honour of being our stooge?" Kara asked
"Drove the nails into an innocent eighteen year old girl." Rion said
"Well it's certainly some form of justice." Kara said
"Twisted perhaps." Rion said "Amy, Emma how are we doing?"
"We'll be ready." Emma said

Slava Lavosk, Undisclosed Location

One of the interesting things about Slava Lavosk was that there were a lot of abandoned buildings and bunkers, relics from the days when the country had been a USR satellite state prior to Kravec's rise to power, one of these long forgotten bunkers had been the storage point for the equipment that was going to be used in what was going to go down in the next few hours. Keeping watch on the store was Alandra Kozlowska in all of this she initially at least had the easy job. She looked up as she heard a car approaching, she drew her pistol, raised it and when the door opened she let out a sigh and lowered the weapon.

"Easy there Alandra." it was Julian Lawson
"You took your time." Alandra  said
"We're all being highly cautious on this one." Julian said he closed the door "Everything here?"
"Slavan weapons and equipment, uniforms, vehicles." Alandra said "Everything you'll need."
"Rest of the team arrives in the next couple of hours at various points." Julian said
"I'm on the next flight to Rodina." Alandra said "Next section of the narrative is my job."
"Good luck." Julian said
"Same to you." Alandra said

[Achkaerin]

OOC - In the interests of fairness I'm putting this here to explain where this currently stands.

At the present moment I have the authorisation of Rhodes to proceed with the extraction of Cecelia, I have asked for two further clarifications which to be fair concern firstly what I'm allowed to do in relation to certain Slavan Characters and secondly a potential development in the aftermath that affects the Slavan Nuclear program and another matter. Having talked with Dave (as the RP Mod) my intention is to give Rhodes until the 27th of October (Sunday) at which point I will advance this on the presumption that the clarifications are in the affirmative.

Also in the interests of fairness should Rhodes return at a later date he will have the right to retcon.

[Achkaerin]

National Ballet Theatre, Sarajevo

It was 9pm local time when the ballet came to an end, normally this would have been followed by a social drink before the gathering broke but not tonight, barely fifteen minutes after the performance finished the Slavan President was in his car and being driven away, shortly after that the Premier Vedran Marek - essentially Kravec's second in command was in his car heading off in a different direction. Anthony had watched it all unfold and now started his walk out into the night towards where his car was parked, Scotia had already headed back to the Achkaerinese embassy.

"Sauron is heading west, Saruman south." Anthony muttered over the com he had with Justicar Operations "And next time can we come up with better id tags than this?"
"Copy that." Rion said "You're with Nix she'll guide you to your position."
"Have that." Anthony said

Suburbs of Sarajevo

Srebrenko Mirkovic stepped into his home after his days work at Treblinka prison, he removed his coat and stepped into the darkened lounge, he hung the coat up and then hit the light switch and set eyes on Joe who was sat at his table.

"Sargent Major Mirkovic how nice to meet you." Joe said, Srebrenko went for his pistol but heard the tell tale click of a safety catch right behind him
"Don't bother you won't make it." Robyn said, she'd been hiding behind the door
"Who are you people?" Srebrenko asked
"That's not important." Robyn said "Now take that belt off and hang it up with your coat. Pistol and all." Srebrenko very carefully did as instructed
"Good." Joe said "Now we can get down to business."
"I'm not doing anything for you." Srebrenko said
"Oh yes you are." Robyn said "Unless you want your sister and her family to die unexpectedly."
"You wouldn't dare." Srebrenko said
"Really want to call our bluff?" Joe asked flexing his hands, despite the gloves they were a little cold "Not the best time for it." he took a phone out of his pocket "I dial this and their house goes up in flames."
"I can do that as well." Robyn said
"But the good thing is we really don't want to have to let it come to that." Joe said
"What do you want me to do?" Srebrenko asked

"Have a seat." Joe said, Srebrenko sat down and Joe put a pen and a piece of paper in front of him "You're going to write a confession. All about how Markus Bathory enlisted you and several others in an attempt to oust the current government and install a new regime by killing President Kravec and Premier Marek before aiding Bathory to power. You're going to explain that you were to frame Admiral Radvak and the military for it but that you personally couldn't go through with it when the time came."
"KOS will kill me for this." Srebrenko said
"I wouldn't be worried about KOS." Robyn said "They're not the ones who'll kill you.", Srebrenko looked at Joe
"What you didn't think you were walking out of this alive did you?" Joe asked "No you're dying here by your own hand."
"You expect me to kill myself?" Srebrenko asked

"You drove cold metal nails into a young girl barely eighteen years of age who had committed no crime. You put her through senseless and pointless agony, not to mention what you did to her father as part of that show." Joe said "Be thankful you're getting a painless death and that it is only your death, now write the letter unless you want to be joined by your family."

For a moment Robyn and Joe weren't sure what was going to happen but then Srebrenko started writing and he was writing exactly what they wanted him to right down to the last detail, dates, times and places everything they needed him to write. When he'd finished writing and signed what was effectively his suicide note Joe put a small jar containing a pill on the table.

"Cyanide?" Srebrenko asked
"Yes." Joe said "Take it." Srebrenko took the pill from the bottle, placed it into his mouth and swallowed it, moments later he was dead his head resting on the table. Joe and Robyn carefully left the premises by the back door and after skirting around the side of the house they were in the clear.

"Double cross is set up." Robyn said
"Copy that." Rion's voice answered over the com.
Wyvern Castle, Gowu

Peter stood alone in the informal dining area of the castle, his eyes staring out at the gardens as the sun set he could remember an awful lot of fun times here the days when a teenage Beatrice had run around the garden playing with the young Simon, Serenity, Sakura, Yuki and even a three year old Danièle at various points. He'd never shirked his promise to Cecelia he'd raised Beatrice the same way he'd raised his own children, treated her the same way as well and while he wasn't at all pleased with the Empress's near continual avoidable blunders he had more important things to worry about. How different things could have been if not for Ofdensen's first betrayal, possibly Cecelia sat on Rokkenjima's throne, possibly her husband still alive. A more secure a more together Beatrice being prepared for the day she would assume the throne. But that hadn't been the path life had taken, now they had an Empress who saw enemies at every turn, who interpreted the most minute difference of opinion as hostility and betrayal. Hopefully in a few days time that would be behind her for good.

"Peter." Nettie said from the door behind him "Rion's on the line...it's time."

Peter nodded and followed Nettie into the study where on a monitor, courtesy of a video call, was Rion. Also present in the study was the Junior Royal Counsel Eve Acheson

"Where are we Rion?" Peter asked
"Kravec's heading to Spandau." Rion said "Our assault team is moving into position, Merak is heading home and we're tracking him. We're at that time Peter." at this point Eve handed Peter an electronic tablet which had a document open with the header Omega Order on it and at the bottom Rion's signature in electronic form. This was a kill order authorisation, it was an order Rion had never asked for until the events of the Phuebran war and now here she was again asking for the authority to strike against a prominent public figure. Peter took from his jeans pocket a stylus.
"Eve?" Peter asked
"It's legally sound Your Majesty." Eve said, Peter looked at Nettie
"Of all the things I imagined I'd put in motion when I took the throne this was never in my mind." Peter said, paused for a moment and then signed the order "Let's make it happen Rion."
"Of course Peter." Rion said

Justicar Operations

With Peter's authorisation now granted Rion was set, she looked at the large wall screens they were tracking Kravec's car as it arrived at Spandau.
"Sauron's arrived at Mount Doom." Nix said
"We seriously need to do something about codenames next time we do something like this." Rion said "Paul what's your guess as to what the cavalry is going to look like?"
"Based on satellite photo's of the nearest base probably a couple of Mi-24's, a few IFV's and a couple of truckload's of heavily armed and highly pissed off locals." Paul said
"What's the response time going to be when this goes loud?" Rion asked
"Helicopters probably five minutes, everything else probably ten to fifteen." Paul said
"Good enough." Rion said she put her com back in her ear "Julian where are you?"
"In position at the perimeter, ready to hop the wall." Julian answered
"Anthony?" Rion asked
"On Merak's tail." Anthony said
"Where's the Resonance?" Rion asked
"Resonance is in position, we're rotating through one hundred and eighty degrees now." the voice of Captain Baines answered.

Rion, hands on hips, nodded it was more to herself than in acknowledgement of anything else, she sucked in a deep breath and looked at the clock on the wall.

"All Callsigns this is Raven I have control. Standby" Rion said watching the second hand tick closer and closer to the twelve it would be 8pm Achkaerin time and therefore midnight in Slava when the second hand reached the top of the clock "Standby...Standby...Standby...Go."

Spandau, Slava Lavosk

On the 'Go' from Rion, Julian had lead the eight strong assault team to the wall, it was stone, it was aged and it was a few feet high. One of the team Cyd Dixon, started to climb the wall, she was a free climber in her spare time. Once she got to the top of the wall she dropped a rope for the others on the team to use before climbing down the other side of the wall. One by one the rest of the team followed, Julian was the last up, he made sure to pick up the rope before climbing down the other side, they were not up for leaving anything to chance.
"Colin." Julian said
"On it." Colin Quinn said, he took some plastic explosive from his pack and set it on the wall, priming it for remote detonation, as a former frontline soldier in the army he knew his way around explosives "Done it'll blow a hole for us when we need it."
"All right then." Julian said turning to look at the small forest "Let's get moving."

The eight Justicars made their way through the forest until they reached the inner edge, they kept their distance surveying the situation and readying their weapons.
"Ok I see the outhouse." Julian said "No sign of any guards at the moment."
"There's a sniper on the roof." Misty Kennedy said, she was looking through the scope of her silenced sniper rifle
"There's always a sniper on the roof." Cyd said
"Misty don't you dare miss." Julian said
"This is me Julian." Misty said as she took aim and fired, dropping the sniper with a headshot "I don't miss."
"Ok outhouse it is." Julian said

This was the cue for two more of the team Charlie Robinson and Luke Holmes to move on the outhouse, the building was the security control position, presumably Kravec for whatever reason didn't want it in the house. The two men snuck up on the door, there were two guards inside, the pair instinctively drew their silenced pistols, Luke as the senior of the two used hand signals to outline the play, Charlie gently nudged the door open with his foot and then they each downed a guard quickly, neither giving the guards the chance to go for their own weapons.

"Can you do this?" Luke asked as Charlie sat down at the controls
"Wiping this system's data is going to be child's play." Charlie said
"Luke tell me where they are." Julian said over the com
"Ok Cecelia's in the south wing upper floor in what appears to be that wings master bedroom." Luke said looking at the security monitors "Two guards outside the door and a few others in that wing."
"And Kravec?" Julian asked
"West wing upper floor wide awake with a few of his cronies and probably reliving the good ole days of the revolution." Luke said
"Opposition?" Cyd asked
"Fair amount of it, the second we're in there it's going to get loud." Luke said
"Ok then." Julian said "Luke, Charlie you stay outside and cover the exit route, you'll need to stall the cavalry when they come in. Tell me you've got the rocket launcher."
"Colin brought it in." Charlie said
"He'll leave it for you, wipe the computer and then set charges." Julian said "Cyd, Colin and Misty are with me we're hitting west." he glanced at the other two on the team that that left "You two hit south, get Cecelia, get her to the Resonance and get out."

The two person team that were hitting the south wing consisted of Lucinda Hadley and Hazel Nairn, the pair approached the wing carefully they both knew that they would inevitably be discovered at some point, there were simply too many guards for them to get away scot free but they at least wanted to be close to Cecelia when that happened. There was one guard outside who got Lucinda's blade through the back of his neck and then it was into the house, they kept it quiet using their silenced weapons to down the guards as they came across them, making sure not to raise the alarm but of course it was too good to be true because then came the sound of gunfire from elsewhere in the building.

"Party's started then." Lucinda said, they were just around the corner from the bedroom where Cecelia was, she glanced at her watch "If our estimates are right we've got minutes."
"I'll take the guards you get Cecelia." Hazel said pointing at a room they'd just cleared, Lucinda nodded and hid in the room. Hazel unscrewed the silencer from her pistol and fired down the corridor towards the guards, she wasn't trying to hit them, though that would be a bonus, she was trying to get their attention and so it worked out the guards fired their rifles, Hazel returned fire and ran down a separate corridor, the guards gave chase as she'd hoped. She skidded around another corner and turned around, she downed the first guard with three bullets to the chest and then hugged the wall by the door of the room she was in waiting for the second, she drew her dagger and waited until she saw the guard step inside the room, then she pounced, first a shoulder to throw him off balance, then a sharp kick to the back of the leg to drop him to his knees, she was behind him with her blade edge against his throat before he knew what hit him.

"May you find your peace." Hazel whispered in his ear before slitting his throat with the blade.

While Hazel had been busy with the two guards Lucinda had entered the bedroom where Cecelia had been sleeping but due to the gunfire was now wide awake.
"Excuse me ma'am but I need you to come with me." Lucinda said
"Who are you?" Cecelia asked
"That's not important, we're here to get you out of here." Lucinda said "And we're not leaving without you so move!" she grabbed Cecelia and guided her towards the door it was time to go "Galadriel secure."
"Copy that." Rion said

Over in the north wing Julian and Cyd were engaged in a firefight of their own, they'd gotten to just down the hallway from where Kravec was and were exchanging gunfire with a fair number of guards. Misty was holding position on a different angle effectively cutting off the escape route to the bunker if Kravec tried to make a run for it.
"Colin sit rep." Julian asked over the com
"Found the kitchen and a whole lot of alcohol, hell this guy even keeps a stock of Quinntopian vodka." Colin said
"Sounds like you found your fuel." Julian said "Set it and go."
"One alcohol fuelled fire coming up." Colin said

"Now we just need to get in there and end this."  Cyd said
"Ok enough screwing around." Julian said, he took out a grenade and threw it down the hall, the explosion shattered everything from porcelain pottery sculptures to mirrors and even the chandeliers, it also cleared the hall of the enemy, Julian and Cyd reloaded their assault rifles both of them very happy about the simplistic nature of Slavan weaponry, Julian kicked the door open and more bullets flew this time from Kravec's rather drunk friends - Julian and Cyd dispatched them without much trouble, Kravec was attempting to run for the balcony but a shot from the doorway hit him in the back of the left knee, it was Misty she fired again hitting him in the opposite knee, the Slavan President dropped to his knees, his legs unable to hold him, his eyes turned upwards to Misty who stood there weapon trained on him, she pulled the trigger twice more planting two further rounds in his chest, he fell forwards at her feet.

"Sauron down." Misty said
"Copy that." Rion said
"Time to get out of here." Julian said

Outside it was all about to kick off, well kick off for the second half anyway Luke and Charlie had been fighting the roaming guards and having now dealt with them they had the small matter of a pair of Mi-24's to deal with, Charlie had the rocket launcher lined up and blew one out of the sky with reasonable ease but the second now had managed to turn around after its first pass, Colin was emptying assault rifle magazines at it.
"Charlie if you don't hurry the hell up I swear I'm going to find you in the afterlife and kill you all over again." Colin said
"Oh shut up." Charlie said, he finished reloading the rocket launcher, lined it up and fired, he hit the second helicopter but it was more a glancing hit that sent the aircraft sideways into the now burning house.

By this point Julian's team had extricated themselves from the building, he looked around
"We're on the clock, get Cecelia into that Resonance now." he said then he looked at Charlie "Blow the outhouse."
"Nothing would give me greater pleasure." Charlie said, he took out the detonator and pressed the button, the outhouse was in flames a second later.

Meanwhile Hazel and Lucinda, the latter pulling Cecelia along, had covered the distance to the river.
"Get the Resonance on the surface!" Hazel said as they ran and now began to wade into the river. As if on cue the Resonance surfaced, it's payload doors opened
"Get in." Lucinda said, Cecelia slowly and carefully did so, Hazel placed the oxygen mask over Cecelia's face
"It'll be a bit of a trip but this'll keep you alive." Hazel said "Galadriel's aboard." at that point the payload door closed and the Resonance submerged the former Queen of Rokkenjima was on her way. Hazel and Lucinda sprinted back to where the others on the team were making their way into the woods
"Come let's move." Julian was urging them along, they sprinted the distance to the wall, Colin blowing the explosives en route and then they were out and clear.

Sarajevo

Anthony had just walked into a hotel in Sarajevo a case in hand, he looked every bit the businessman, He stepped towards the lift and was met by Robyn coming the other way, she hugged him - all about putting on a show
"591" she whispered in his ear as she slipped a key card into his pocket.
"Bar in ten minutes." Anthony said

Anthony took the lift up to the fifth floor and entered room 591, he laid the case down and opened it, the contents were a stripped down sniper rifle which he quickly assembled, the window was already slightly open, the angle on the diagonal good enough visually, peering through the scope Anthony could see about a block down the street the home of the Premier, how helpful for both the President and the Premier to have the equivalent of state homes in the city. He waited for a moment until he had Merak in his sights.
"I have the shot." Anthony said "All green."
"Take it." Rion said, Anthony pulled the trigger, the silenced shot taken, the bullet travelled hitting its mark.
"Saruman down." Anthony said
"Have that." Rion said

Justicar Operations

At Justicar Operations Rion breathed a huge sigh of relief, so far so good.
"Paul coordinate the exfil of our people." Rion said
"Got it." Paul said
"Nix put me on the next flight to Gowu." Rion said "Now we play for all the marbles."

Wyvern Castle

The silence of the Castle was broken by the ringing of a phone, Peter picked it up.

"Yes?" Peter asked
"We've got her." it was Rion's voice "She's in the Resonance which is away and clear. The whole thing will look like a move against the Kravec regime by one of his government."
"Good work Rion." Peter said, his left fist clenching
"Thank you Peter but this isn't over yet, now we need to manage Cecelia's reintroduction." Rion said
"Don't I know it." Peter said "Thank you."
"Good night Your Majesty." Rion said

Peter waited for Rion to hang up and then let out a sigh of relief and then came the smile, it was done but now came the tricky part.

[Achkaerin]

Gulf of Auraxis, Outside Slava Lavosk EEZ

The Sea Dragon aircraft circled in the skies above the Gulf of Auraxis, this was the final stage of the extraction of Cecelia, they'd gotten her out of Spandau - that had been the hard part but now they had to pick her up. Standing in the back of the Sea Dragon was Tim Patterson, he was the man in charge on site when it came to the recovery. They were waiting for the Resonance to come up at the pre-determined coordinates.

"We have eyes on the Resonance." the voice of the pilot echoed down the plane.
"Put us down!" Tim shouted back, he glanced across the plane to where his colleague Roxanne Cohen otherwise known as Roxy or Rox stood, both she and Tim were in wetsuits "You ready?"
"I'm the best swimmer in the Justicars." Roxanne said "I should be asking you that."
"Funny." Tim said, there was a slight bump as the aircraft touched down on the water and came to a halt, the rear ramp lowered and they could see where they were in relation to the Resonance, about fifty metres away.
"Let's go." Roxanne said

The pair took ran and dived into the water, they swan the distance over to the Resonance where Tim helped Roxanne, because she was clearly the lighter of the two of them, up onto the top of it.
"Ok let's have the door open please." Tim said over his com, the Resonance's payload door slid open and Roxanne was able to see Cecelia.
"Got her." Roxanne said as she set about taking the oxygen mask off of Cecelia "You got the board ready?"
"Yep." Tim said, this was a lifeguards board, "Shall we get her down?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." Roxanne said

It took them a few minutes but between them Tim and Roxanne were able to lower Cecelia down onto the board and then back over to the Sea Dragon where they towelled themselves off before the final member of their team Elena Walsh crouched down in front of Cecelia, she was the medic in terms of the Justicars and was now doing some very basic checks on Cecelia.

"Physically she's ok, probably underweight and malnourished by the look of her but nothing that can't be dealt with." Elena said "Mentally's a whole different ballgame."
"Good to know." Tim said, he hit the button to raise the ramp and then a few seconds later, after a deep breath "Let's go!"
"We're gone." the pilot said, the plane was off the water moments later and Tim was back on the com
"Lionheart to all callsigns." Tim said "Package retrieved we're on our way."

Wyvern Castle, Gowu

When Tim's words came through the speakers in Peter's study in Wyvern Castle, the Achkaerinese Emperor banged his artificial fist on the desk, the relief palpable in that moment.
"We did it." Nettie said "We got her out."
"And we're not done yet." Peter said "Not by a long shot. But for now we'll enjoy the moment. Kumiko make the preparations for Cecelia's arrival here, you know the drill under the radar, no pomp and fanfare yet."
"You got it." Kumiko said
"I want Maddy and her staff dealing with Cecelia once she's here." Peter said "Full check over."
"I'll see to that." Celine said
"Nettie." Peter said "Tip the Senate the wink, let's walk this back."
"Understood." Nettie said "When are we telling Beatrice?"
"We're not telling her anything until we've 'rescued' Cecelia." Peter said "Once Rion gets here we'll get the full detail on that."

[Achkaerin]

Wyvern Castle, Gowu

The sound of the helicopter was hard to miss, Peter and his staff watched from a distance as an unconscious Cecelia was wheeled into the Castle and straight into one of the spare bedrooms, this had been what they'd wanted ever since they'd found out that she was in Slava Lavosk. So far they'd managed to play the game as it were to perfection, not missing a beat. But everything so far had been the easy part, the hard part was going to begin fairly soon and this was why Peter, Kumiko, Nettie, Rion and Celine had spent hours in conversation going over what the possible variations of what would soon be upon them.

"Are you ready?" Peter asked looking at Rion once Cecelia was in a room
"We'll have the trail laid out soon enough." Rion said
"But is Radvak going to give us what we want him to?" Peter asked
"No way to know for certain but we'll have him over a barrel." Nettie said "He's more likely to yield than not."

A few hours later the Royal Physician Doctor Maddy Dale stepped out of the room where Cecelia was and met Peter.
"How bad?" Peter asked
"Physically not as bad as I feared." Maddy said "She's malnourished, underweight, pretty poor skin condition and on x-rays has a few bone injuries but there's nothing serious, we've washed her, scoured her hair for lice, treated any injuries etc." Maddy paused "If there is serious damage it's going to be of the psychological nature."
"When will she come round?" Peter asked
"She's sedated for now." Maddy said "Should wear off in the morning."
"Ok." Peter said, he glanced at his watch it had been another long day "I've asked Arthur to come down hopefully he gets here in time."
"He knows her?" Maddy asked
"He's my uncle of course he knows her." Peter said

[Beatrice]

The sight of the room was immediately different, the view available to her outside of the room was no longer Slava Lavosk. Her mind remained somewhat in a fog with a million different scenarios playing out within her mind. She was fairly certain danger wasn't an element present, although of that she could not be sure. Caution was the best path forward.

"If anyone can hear me," she said aloud, "I need an explanation."

[Achkaerin]

"You really mean you don't recognize your old bedroom?" Peter asked, he was standing behind Cecelia, the woman turned to face the Emperor "Welcome back to Gowu and welcome back to the land of the living. You may want to sit down Cecelia." he waited for Cecelia to do so she sat down on the edge of the bed, Peter meanwhile pulled up a chair and sat down opposite her, the woman's eyes drifted to the Emperor's bionic arm.

"A lot's changed since you and I last spoke." Peter said "When you made your play to take back the Rokkenjiman throne in 1997 you were betrayed by your man inside the Federal Republic, you were transported to Slava Lavosk and kept prisoner there first by the Soviet puppet regime and then by Kravec's government. Seven years after you were captured your daughter took the Rokkenjiman throne back, restored the Anselmo dynasty and so on, she's married to the heir to the Dartfordian throne and has two children. Your two nieces are back in the fold and Rokkenjima has the foundation to be what it can be. Though it hasn't been without its challenges. We have a lot to catch you up on and then when you're feeling up to it, we're going to talk about how we reintroduce you to Mundus and then your family."

At that point the bedroom door opened and in stepped Miranda Kalenchic carrying a laptop and several thin notebooks
"This is Miranda Kalenchic, she's going to help you catch up with everything you've missed." Peter said "I won't be far away."

Miranda swapped places with Peter and handed Cecelia the laptop
"So where do you want to start?" Miranda asked

[Beatrice]

"Gowu, yes, but it has been so long, memories fade with time. I don't know how to reconcile this, however," she paused, "President Kravec was clear he had no choice, he had to be brutal, lest those watching him act against him with furious anger. When he was able to, he brought me into his warmth, but he also told me that my daughter had forsaken me. He was worried that she was power hungry and leading Rokkenjima down path of aggression, effectively bullying Slava Lavosk and other nations. Then there was no treachery on her part....?"

"I knew it couldn't end well when they got Henry, he was always such a loyal friend to the Anselmo Family. Before we involve that laptop in our discussions, I need to know what is true without any doubt. President Kravec never allowed me to see Rokkenjiman newscasts, why, I don't even know if the RBC is still in existence. They had such a dedicated effort in the Republican era, many of our bravest journalists risked their life to bring light to the truth. Tell me they survived as well?"

"This is all so much."

[Achkaerin]

"The word treachery implies a few things. It implies that there is someone to be betrayed and that the person who is to be the traitor knowingly betrays that person for personal gain whatever form that may be in. So think about it carefully President Kravec is no fan of Rokkenjima but a fair amount of his ambitions and vision depend on avoiding international scrutiny - a common trend in Midaranye, so having leverage against Rokkenjima, having a grand plan is in his interests. Why paint the picture as he did? Perhaps because he knew he could use you as a weapon. Point is it's pretty hard for Beatrice to betray someone she doesn't know exists. As for the suggestions as to Rokkenjiman policy and her character, that depends on who you ask." Miranda said

Miranda was keenly studying Cecelia the problem with this situation was that she had to gauge the extent to which Kravec had gotten inside Cecelia's head and then unravel what hold if any the now former and late Slavan President had over her. Miranda took a calculated gamble and opened the laptop.
"If you want to know what's true type whatever you want into the search engine RBC, Beatrice Anselmo, any of the other international news services." Miranda continued slowly her mind trying to think what the next move should be "Discover the truth for yourself."

[Achkaerin]

Phuebra

To the south of the camp belonging to Zhen Qiang's terrorist militia Achkaerinese Special Forces were moving into position to raid the camp, a planned operation that had now become the cover for reintroducing Cecelia to Mundus, leading the ground operation was Major Craig Roberts, it was a simple enough plan, hit from three different directions and take the camp.
"Everyone in position?" Craig asked over the radio, the affirmative responses came back and Craig checked his watch "Hit it."

The early morning silence was shattered by the sound of gunfire as the Achkaerinese began their assault. Craig took his Panther Troop and made the direct assault while to the left, coming through some long grass and cover Captain Akiza Taylor led Cerulean Troop up to the perimeter, this started the push back of the terrorists into the centre of the camp and critically got them away from the outbuildings.
"Close it up let's bring the axe." Craig said
"Aye sir." Second Lieutenant Leon Kent said in response, this was the third troop Amethyst Troop, coming in from the right flank and backing the enemy into the quarry that the camp was situated in. Qiang himself fell to two rounds from Akiza's rifle.

"That's the last of them." Leon said a few moments later.
"Ok double check and clear the buildings." Craig said

Now came the carefully orchestrated part of the operation, Colin Quinn now led Cecelia along a carefully determined path, a deliberate blind spot left by the Achkaerinese to avoid pick up by their body cams, Cecelia went into one of the buildings and Colin retraced his steps to clear the area while across the camp the clearing of buildings started.
"We've got a lot of trafficking victims by the look of it." Leon said as they began to gather the non combatants they were finding.
"Sure looks like it." Akiza said, kicking the door to the building where Cecelia was open, "Building clear one more in here." Akiza said pulling Cecelia out of the building.
"Final sweep has no more hostiles." Craig said "Ok call for transport for the civilians and let's get back to base."