Follow the Leaders

Roleplay Library
1

(OOC: Imma see where I can take this)

“Order 23, your drink is ready! Order 23!” The young girl behind the counter waited a few seconds, looking around the little shop to see if she was heard. Even though it was late in the day, the shop still had a handful of customers, either there just coming from work or getting themselves a quick snack. Just as she was about to yell out the order again a middle aged man with jet black hair stepped up, taking the coffee cup from her hand.

“Thank you young lady,” the man said to the girl as he handed her 10 Fortunes as a tip. He then quietly moved back to his table located by one of the large windows that faced towards the glowing city of Destiny City. He took a sip from the cup before returning to writing in his little notebook. The coffee wasn’t the best the man has had, but at least it served its purpose. After 15 minutes passed the man was able to finished on the current page just as a tall, well built man came into the shop and sat in the chair next to him. He looked up to glance at this ‘intruder’ noticing he was dressed in a dark grey business suit which matched nicely with his short blonde hair. Unlike the many other businessmen in the shop, this man didn’t show any signs of fatigue and kept a military posture.

“You should be wearing a coat Romano, it’s still a bit chilly outside,” the man with the notebook said quietly, but enough for Ferdinand Romano, the Commander of Fortuna, to hear. Romano smirked as he looked at the dark haired man.

“And you should choose more secluded meeting areas Reason. What if we get noticed, hmm?” Romano asked Alexander Reason who slowly closed his notebook and placed it by his coffee cup.

“I have nothing to fear,” Reason answered in a slow, quiet voice. “Besides, even the most powerful men in the country need to wrap themselves in reality.”

“Very poetic, but that still doesn’t make up for the fact that we’re making it easy for others to see us,” Romano said sternly. He didn’t like the idea of someone of Reason’s rank showing dominance over him. Even though he nearly had the same power as the High Commander himself, Romano was still felt uncomfortable around Reason, a mere Elite seat holder. Maybe it was the fact that he knew barely any background information on Reason, or how Reason was able to manipulate his words to convince the majority. But Romano wasn’t here to learn this Elite’s little secrets; he was here to strengthen Fortuna. “Whatever, you probably want to know how it’s going with the High Commander,” he said to Reason.

“I’m guessing he is still has stubborn as before,” Reason answered back, sounding a bit annoyed. “If we don’t get him to agree, then there is no way to set off the operation. Looks like we’re going have to go with plan B.” The Commander shook his head in agreement, confronting the High Commander upfront was never going to work, but there was one thing that might do the trick which consisted of plan B; the Elite Chamber. The Elite Chamber held nine of the most powerful men and women in Fortuna, not counting the High Commander and Romano. If a majority of the Elites agreed with the operation then maybe, just maybe, they could sway the High Commander’s mind.

“Based off what you know at the moment, how many of the Elites are most likely going to agree?” Romano asked, leaning in closer to hear Reason’s answer.

“I’ve talked with Mrs. Ettori and she is says that I will have her vote if needed. Head General Rani also seemed quite supportive with the operation. That would mean that we would get three votes including me. I’m sure that I can get another making it four, maybe even five…” Reason picked up his drink to take a sip before continuing. “The problem is that the the chamber is filled with a bunch of isolationists who would rather sit quietly on their hands because they are too afraid of awakening the monsters. If we keep having that mindset then we’ll just get gobbled up like the rest. Someone’s got to show them that you need to take risks or you’ll be left in the dust.”

“And I’m guessing that someone is going to be you,” Romano said as he looked straight at Reason. If anyone was going to get at least half of the Elites to agree, it would be Reason. “Well, I guess the rest is up to you,” Romano stood up, straightening his suit in the process, “I’m expecting a convincing speech or something.” A few tables away two men stood up at the same time, waiting for their leader to begin leaving.

“The decisions made will tell if it was convincing or not,” Reason replied. The next planned meeting of the Elite Chamber was in about a week, should give him enough time to plan Reason thought to himself. Reason was pulled out of his little trance as he noticed Romano turning around to leave. “Hold on Romano,” he called out, “Will you throw this away for me?” Reason lifted the empty cup to Romano, waiting for the military man to take it. After a moment of silence between the two of them, the Commander of Fortuna grabbed the cup from the Elite’s hand and threw it into the trash bin located by the door on his way out.

2

The center of Destiny City was had an eerie silence to it as Alexander Reason stepped out from the car. Many of the roads and sidewalks were closed, soldiers and armored vehicles preventing anyone to roam freely around as the meeting was taking place. After straightening out his hair he looked up at the building standing in front of him; the Chamber Building. The building once stood as the center of power for the Emili government, but now stands as the center of power for Fortuna. Inside is where both Chambers met together to discuss, to create laws, and run the small island nation. The cloudy sky which blocked out the sun gave the grey building a more sinister look to it, and the lack of warm air made the building even more chilling.

The steps going to the entrance of the building was covered over with a red carpet with soldiers on both sides at attention, dressed in dark green uniforms and dark grey caps with every other soldier holding up the flag of Fortuna. Behind them photographers and journalists were busy snapping pictures as each member of the Elite Chamber one by one stepped out of their cars and walked up the steps. Reason was the eighth to arrive to the meeting, his small book in hand. As he slowly moved up the steps, he recognized the member in front of him and quickened his pace to catch up. By the time he reached the top of the steps he called out to his fellow Elite member just before she entered the Chamber Building.

The woman quickly turned around to see who called her, giving off a small smile when she saw who it was. “Good day, Reason. Anything I can help you with?” Rachel Ettori clasped her hands in front of her as she waited for Reason to catch up. Like everyone who was part of the Science Department, she wore a dark green uniform with the badge of her department sewn onto the left shoulder. She wasn’t any normal scientist but was the current head of the Science Department, represented by the six stars neatly lined up on her collar. Being of age 60, Rachel was one of the oldest members in the Elite Chamber by both age and time as a member, being the first chosen by the High Commander to be part of the chamber since the beginning of the nation. Because of this she has gained much respect throughout the nation through both her works in science and politics. Reason was one of these people who respected her and over time gained a friendly bond with her. In a world where he didn’t put his trust in anyone, he knew at least he could depend on Rachel, and if he wanted this operation to succeed he’ll need to put as much trust as he can muster into trusting that she’ll uphold to her word.

‘Hello Mrs. Ettori, I just thought it would be best if we go in together,’ Reason replied as he reached her side, reaching out his arm for a hand shake.

'I see, well there’s nothing wrong with that," she answered back, reaching out to his outstretched hand in response. After the quick greeting the two entered into the building which was just as silent as outside besides the echoing of each step they took. The few minutes of silence between the two were finally broken with Rachel. “So you’re actually going to try to get that military operation approved?”

“I will, but you are going to need to help me,” Reason said slowly, “I know that it’s just a little thing, but convincing those hard headed fools will not be easy. I still have your support, right?”

“Of course you do,” she replied, sounding a bit offended, “but there is a limit to what I can do.”

“I know,” he said quietly. The two stayed silent for the rest of the way, finally reaching the doors to the Elite Chamber. After of few seconds, Rachel turned and nodded to Reason before stepping up to the doors as two guards opened it for her and closed it with a bang behind her. Reason then waited another few seconds before he too entered in to the Elite Chamber.

3

Reason took a sip from his cup of water as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him. Two Elite members were in the middle of an argument on the topic at hand. The other members watched silently as the two bickered, a couple of them glancing at the screens in front of them once in a while. On the screens in the middle of the round table showed a map of the recognizable circular shape of Fortuna. It wasn’t their nation that was on their mind though but eight small islands colored in a golden color that had the Elites’ attention. Reason too took a glance at the screens, smiling slightly as he recalled his speech about the operation.

It was to be named Operation Destiny; a military operation to annex the eight Medium Islands. This would be the first time Fortuna would take any military outside the nation, “a good way to show off our military strength to the world” as Reason stated in his speech. The rest of the Elites at first were not sure how to react, but after an hour of arguing the chamber was split in two. Reason’s chain of thought was broken when the argument between the two Elites caught his attention.

“A military operation that close to Eridani Theta could be taken as an act of war,” the eldest of the two, Miguel Amello, stated, “and from what I heard they aren’t fond of strangers.”

“That’s why we’ll first make claims to the islands beforehand as a warning. If they do want to fight then we’ll just hit them with everything we got!” the other Elite, General Leonard Rani, yelled as a response. Around him a couple of the other Elites shook their heads in agreement while others began to tense up at the idea of a war.

“And what if someone larger like the Pax then decides that it wants to have an island nation as part of their empire because they ‘showed aggression’?”

“Then we’ll fight them too! We’ll show them what it means to be Fortunan!” This time the room erupted as all the members began talking at once.

“A war? We aren’t ready for a war!”

“There won’t be any war as long as we declare that we’re annexing them ahead of time, right?”

“What’s the point of the islands anyway?”

“In the name of the High Commander!”

The bickering between the Elites came to a halt when a booming sound and a deep voice yelling “Quiet!” came from a balcony above them. In the balcony stood Ferdinand Romano whose fist was turning red where he hit the wooden rail. One by one each Elite turned quiet as they made eye contact with the Commander. Once everyone was silent, Reason decided it was time for him to speak up.

“A few of you seem to believe that a war would follow the operation. I assure you, Fortuna will not be thrown into any military engagement with any nearby nations because of this. To be truthful those eight islands are quite useless, no one seems to want them. The Pax could’ve taken the islands years ago, but clearly they have interest elsewhere. The VU are too busy with the Elphanan crisis to care. Eridani Theta seems to be more worried about themselves than a few tiny islands. Besides that, no one else would care what we do with those islands. And as General Rani stated, to prevent any scares we’ll declare that Fortuna will annex the eight islands ahead of time before moving our troops in.” Reason watched as each Elite slowly shook their head in agreement except for Amello who seemed agitated.

“But why use troops? Couldn’t we simply just claim the islands without showing aggression? From what I can tell this operation would just be a waste of money and unneeded manpower.” Before Reason could answer back, Rachel Ettori, who hadn’t participated a lot during the meeting, answered Amello’s question.

“It’s not that simple Mr. Amello, we have to use the military as proof that those islands are ours. A good example would be… a child with a toy. Just because the child says that a toy is his and leaving it alone won’t stop other children from taking it. But if the child was to hold on to the toy then it would tell the other children that the toy is his.”

“But taking these ‘toys’ could anger larger children!”

Reason, by this time had enough of Amello using the same argument over and over again, stepped back into the conversation.

“Mr. Amello if I may. Your whole argument is on the chance that the operation would only anger nearby nations, causing some war. But if we are to do it correctly then there won’t be any problems. It’s not like we are declaring war against a specific nation. We aren’t invading a recognized nation in any way. We are simply taking control of a few islands to both help bring prosperity and security to Fortuna. Now Mr. Amello unless you have a different argument, would you please sit down and shut up!” Both Reason and Amello were locked in a death stare for a few seconds until Amello reluctantly sat back down, staying quiet for the rest of the meeting. Reason took this time to take a small breather just before another member, Salvador Nicchi, spoke up.

“Just wondering, you mentioned that taking control of these islands would bring security to our nation. What do you mean by that?” Hearing this brought a smile to Reason because it allowed him to use his strongest argument.

“I’m glad you asked this. As many of you know there are still those who wish to bring down the High Commander, even after we pushed them out nearly 15 years ago. Our intelligence has told us that a few of these rebels took shelter on the same islands we are now talking about right now, slowly growing to strike back hard at us. Unfortunately they were not wiped out fully due to some people.” Reason stared straight at Amello who was doing his best to not make eye contact. “But now we have the chance destroy those rebels once and for all.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Elite Chamber, I ask one simple thing from you, vote yes for this operation. With those islands under the flag of Fortuna, our nation can strengthen its economy. With those islands, our nation will be a safer place. With those islands, our nation… our nation will grow.”

4

“With a vote of 7 out of 9 voting for, the Elite Chamber approves of the military operation known as Operation Destiny. Glory to Fortuna, glory to the High Commander!”

[hr]
Everyone in the room had their eyes on Tristan Lytle, the High Commander of Fortuna, sitting at the table located in the middle. He was busy reading the papers in front of him, even though he has read it a few times already. When he reached the end he paused and stared at the line located at the bottom of the paper, waiting for his signature. After a few, long seconds he picked up a pen and signed his name, approving of Operation Destiny.

Around him the small group began clapping, but Tristan was still not exactly happy. For years he did his best to prevent military actions. He knew that his nation was an able fighting force, but he was afraid of the repercussions. As High Commander, Tristan had the power to drop the operation placed before him and even have the whole Elite Chamber executed for treason. It was the clever arguments and pressure by the Elite Chamber and the words of his Commander though that convinced him this operation is what he needs to keep hold of Fortuna. If he wants to stay in power he had reset the fire he created back when he first united the islands. The only way to do that was a military action, to bring back that nationalistic pride.

Tristan made eye contact with Reason who stood with the other Elites. Tristan knew that it was Reason who was behind it all. He was told that Reason merely did this to help bring security to Fortuna, help Fortuna economically, and secretly help keep Tristan in power at the same time, but the real reason was still for Reason’s actions were still unknown to him.

Tristan shook his head, not wanting to think about it at the moment. For now all his energy will be needed to preparing the military for the upcoming annexing. ‘Besides, Reason has always been loyal to me. I doubt he would be thinking of treason now,’ Tristan thought to himself.

Tristan stood up from his seat, ready to speak to his followers. “Prepare for Operation Destiny. We’ll begin by attacking islands with suspected rebel bases. At the same time we’ll let the world know about our plans, but by then the islands would be in our hands, a flag of Fortuna flying over each one. Fortune to you all.”

5

“Message from Destiny City!” The young officer moved swiftly on the bridge of the aircraft carrier Claudia (Cavour Class Aircraft Carrier) until he was standing right by Admiral Francesco Guido who stood staring at the empty deck. The rain was pouring down hard on the aircraft carrier that was harboring near a small fishing town on the island of Ancona making visibility a bit difficult. Turning to the officer, Guido grabbed the message from his hand and scanned it. His blank look was replaced with shock, having to reread the message two more times.

“Really? Are you sure about this?” Guido asked the young officer.

“Yes sir,” the officer said hesitantly.

“Uhuh.” The admiral was still processing the orders given to him. In all his years being in the Fortunan Naval Force, he had never expected to take part in a military action outside the nation. After a while he slowly nodded in agreement and handed back the message to the officer. “Alright then, tell them we’ll get the fleet moving. You’re dismissed.” After the officer took back the message he saluted the admiral.

“Glory to the High Commander!” The young man replied out loud.

“Glory to the High Commander.” Admiral Guido returned the salute and as the officer scurried away he turned back around to stare out the window again. The rain was starting to lighten up, allowing for him to see the escort frigates that waited nearby. After a few seconds of silence Guido turned to face the rest of crew on the bridge who were waiting for orders.

“Prepare to move out! Let’s go grab ourselves some islands!” The men replied with a salute shouting a “yes sir! Glory to the High Commander!” in unison.

“Yeah, glory to the High Commander.”

6

The skies over Fortuna were heavily clouded, covering the area in grey light. The rainy season always started around this time, so a few people were a little concerned that the rally would be ruined. Luckily no rain fell that day except for a few drops here and there. As people entered through the gate of the rally grounds they nodded in thanks to the statue of Fortuna, the goddess of fortune located in front of the gates, for allowing the rally to continue as scheduled.

The rally ground was a huge field surrounded by a wall of balconies with a gigantic stage right up front. Where ever one looked the flag of Fortuna flew, bathing the field in dark grey. Every year a rally would be held to boost up the morale of the people, announce plans for the year, and spill out a bunch of propaganda. What made this rally different was that it was not part of the annually routine, coming a few months ahead. It was unexpected and many had a feeling something big was about to happen.

The crowd kept pouring into the grounds, filling up the seats around the field. When the seats were filled those who couldn’t get inside watched outside at large screens that showed what was happening inside. Around the nation people stopped what they were doing to turn on their televisions and watch the rally. Once everyone was comfortable in a way they spent the next half hour waiting by staring at the thousands of soldiers that covered the field in front of them. A few made it a game to see if they could spot out one of their family members in the crowd of soldiers who were dressed in dark green uniforms and dark grey caps. As the waiting time came to an end the crowd drew their attention to the stage where a single man in uniform walked up the podium. The man then quickly tapped on the microphone before speaking.

“All will stand for the national anthem,” he said in a demanding voice. As commanded everyone stood up from their seats while the soldiers stood at attention. Once it quieted down the music played and everyone in unison began to sing the Fortunan national anthem ‘Fortuna Forever’. Once the song came to an end and a few finished wiping away tears the man spoke up again.

“I am honored to present to you the Great Uniter, the chosen one of Unus, our glorious High Commander Tristan Lytle!” Even before the man could finish the whole rally ground erupted in cheering. From the behind the stage Tristan Lytle walked up at an even pace in his ceremonial uniform while being followed by members of the Elite Chamber, high ranking officers, and close advisers. When Tristan reached the podium the man gave his best salute to the leader of Fortuna before backing away to allow for Tristan to speak to the crowd. He waited a few more seconds until everyone settled down a bit before he began his announcement.

“Today starts a new chapter in Fortuna, a day that will be remembered! In the days of the Fortuna Empire our ancestors spread far and wide, growing our nation. Over time though weak men destroyed our nation due to their own greed, leaving us as a mere shadow of our former self. But Fortuna is no longer in the hands of the weak but now in the hands of real Fortunans! Since the day we returned to being united, we have grown to even rival what the Fortuna Empire was. But we’re not finished yet! Today we are taking what has been rightfully ours. Today what was once lost shall be returned. For today Fortuna declares the Medium Islands of the northeast as ours. As I speak our brave men and women have already begun moving in, solidifying our grip on the islands. I now speak to anyone who will try to defy us, back down for if you fight back I promise that you’ll feel the wrath of real Fortunans! Glory to Fortuna! Glory!” When he finished the crowd broke out into a frenzy, saluting and chanting the same thing over and over again.

“Glory to Fortuna! Glory to the High Commander! Glory to the High Commander!” As the crowd chanted, Tristan stood at the podium with the largest grin on his face for he felt something that seemed lacking ever since a younger him stood behind the same podium… the feeling of power.

7

A couple weeks later

From under a black umbrella, Alexander Reason silently watched as the coffin was lowered into the ground. In the coffin laid the body of Miguel Amello, the late Elite member and ‘rival’ of Reason. Just a week ago he was found dead in his home and it was later announced that he committed suicide. Even though he was part of the Elite Chamber many seemed to not care for his death since it was known that he was against the current military operation in the Medium Islands. Reason was also glad that Amello was no longer around since it meant that Max Nasato, a young nationalist and an ally of Reason, would be taking Amello’s seat in the Elite Chamber. Reason only came to the funeral since it was expected of the Elite members to give their last respects.

Once the lowering of the coffin was finished a nearby Claritist priest stepped up and began saying a prayer. Ferdinand Romano, who stood to the left of Reason, decided to take this time to speak with Reason.

“We both know that Amello didn’t actually commit suicide,” Romano said in a near whisper.

“And we both know that none of us care on how he died,” Reason replied back.

“Yes, who knew what trouble that he could’ve caused if he was still around.” Romano paused before continuing. “I heard you did the dirty work yourself this time.”

“I wanted the last thing he saw to be my smiling face.”

“Well that’s not a bit creepy at all.” The two stayed silent as the priest finished his prayer. Soon after that one by one those who gathered for the funeral slowly turned away and began walking to their waiting vehicles. Once everyone was nearly gone Reason and Romano also started leaving, walking side by side under their umbrellas. After a few seconds of silence Romano spoke up again.

“Operation Destiny has been going quite smoothly, and as you predicted no one seems to be bothered. Either that or they haven’t spoken up against us yet.”

“We’ll have to keep an eye on Eridani Theta, military action so close to them could be a problem.”

Romano hesitated a bit, “and what about the Pax? Aren’t you afraid that they might react?”

“Everyone is afraid of the Pax, but I will not be intimidated by them. And as I have said before I doubt that the Pax would care if we grab a few small islands. If they do then they can just tell us, not like we’re going to let go of them though. Speaking of which could you give me quick summary of the operation. I haven’t taken a look at the last report yet.”

“Well, currently our fleet has full control of the surrounding waters and we have troops on all eight islands. There is barely any resistance from the natives except for a few small skirmishes. The only issue that we’re having is on Linaro Island where that rebel group is held out.”

“We still have to deal with them?”

“They shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I predict that they’ll be wiped out in less than a week.”

“Then all that’s left is to decide on what to do with the islands.” By now both of them had reached Romano’s awaiting car. Before stepping into the backseat, Romano turned to face Reason.

“Whatever happens in the future, we’ll be prepared for it. For now let’s just worry about what is happening in the present.”

“Agreed, let’s make sure we have a firm hold on the islands before we do anything else.” Reason sighed deeply as he looked back at the burial site. “Anyway this funeral was pretty interesting, who would’ve expected such a turnout.”

“Yeah… interesting…”

“And you know what? These next few days are going to be even better.”

8

Town of Cannato, Linaro Island

“Everyone get down!” The warning was quickly drowned out as a grenade exploded by an armored truck sending shrapnel into building walls, windows, and other vehicles. From a two-story, brick building gunfire rained down onto the street where Fortunan troops were taking cover behind armored vehicles. The Fortunan soldiers, who were caught off guard by the fire power of the rebels, returned fire at anyone they could spot in the building before getting back down again as another grenade went off. None of them were expecting this much resistance from the group.

At the beginning invasion of Medium Islands by Fortuna, the first target was Linaro Island where the rebel group Free Fortunan Fighters (FFF) was based. Even though many of their forces were destroyed, the remainder of the FFF took shelter in hidden tunnels and the few towns on the island. For the next couple of weeks the FFF attacked and ambushed Fortunan soldiers whenever possible. In retaliation Fortunan troops began ‘search and destroy’ missions all around the island, but at times overestimated their opponents.

“They’re held out pretty good!” the unit commander shouted to the radio operator next to him who was taking shelter in the building across from where the rebels were held out. “What’s the word from Command? Are they going to send us help?”

“Yes sir,” the operator replied, “a unit from sector E6 is heading our way!”

“How much longer?!”

“About 15 minutes, sir!”

“15 minutes. That sucks…” The commander looked up for a second at the battle before ducking back down as another grenade exploded. “Well it looks like we’re going to have to keep these damn rebels pinned until then.”

“Wait sir, new orders from Command!” The soldier shouted to his commander.

“What do they want us to do now?” The commander asked as he scooted closer to hear the details.

“They’re sending in an airstrike to take out the targets. We’re ordered to pull back!”

“Well that’s convenient.” The unit commander grabbed his radio and shouted his order, “New orders! Everyone fall back from the targets! I repeat, fall back!”

“Sir, what about civilians?” The operator asked as he grabbed up his equipment.

“If they are dumb enough to be near here then that’s their problem. Our orders are to take out the rebels and that’s it. Now hurry up!”

As fast as they could under fire the Fortunan troops quickly backed away from the rebel building. Once at a safe distance they took cover and watched to make sure no one would try to escape. A few moments later the sound of jet engines flying over were heard followed by deafening boom as the payload was dropped. The whole building was demolished leaving a pile of heap, fire, and buried bodies. The small skirmish left 24 deaths with only two casualties on the Fortunan side while the FFF faced 18 casualties. The rest were civilians.

9

City of Regara, Telga Islands

The area in front of the chief building was filled with hundreds of Telganese, angered at the occupation of their three island nation by Fortuna. Guarding the front of the building a couple dozen Fortunan soldiers stood at guard behind the barrier that they quickly threw up. The protesters seemed to not care as those closest to the soldiers began to show signs of violence by yelling insults and curses. In the background the rest of the crowd began chanting and waving flags of the Republic of Telga, the former government of the Telga Islands.

“I request for everyone to end this protest and return home before any harm is done!” a bewildered soldier yelled into a megaphone. “If not then force shall be used!” Since he didn’t speak Telganese the soldier got an interpreter, a young Telganese native, to interpret the warning to the crowd. Unfortunately this only angered the protesters even more.

“Traitor! Siding with the enemy for ‘benefits’!” an angered protester in the front yelled. The rest of the crowd also began shouting insults like the first man. “You coward, selling out your own people! We don’t need the likes of you!” Just as the protester finished yelling a brick from the crowd was thrown at the soldiers, nearly missing the head of the interpreter. This threw the crowd into a frenzy as many of them began ripping at the barrier while others lifted up rocks to throw. The Fortunan soldiers also responded by raising their weapons at the crowd and pushing back anyone who got too close.

“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” the commander, who was beginning to panic, commanded. “Everyone please return to your homes. We do not wish to harm you!”

“If you didn’t want to hurt us, then maybe you shouldn’t have come here in the first place!” the same protester from before responded. The crowd was for sure going to break through the barrier after hearing the response when armored vehicles from the side streets began moving onto the crowd. Soldiers soon followed and quickly formed a circle with raised weapons around the angered protesters. One armored vehicle drove up to the front of the building from which a man stepped out and walked to the commander.

“Major! I didn’t know you’ll be the one bringing reinforcements. Thank Unus you did though!” The soldier sighed in relief before straightening out and saluting his higher up. The emotionless major returned the salute and turned to face the crowd. Since the major didn’t answer back, the soldier hesitantly continued, “We have set up a barrier around the front here; we’re now simply trying to calm down the situation until further orders.”

“Well you’re orders have arrived,” the major replied in a deep voice only the soldier could here, “Command wants your men to open fire on these rioters before they do something… serious.”

“Sir?” The soldier said slowly. Never in his life was he ever received such an order.

“Did you not hear me? Tell your men to open fire,” the major said in a calm yet annoyed voice. After a few long seconds the soldier replied back.

“I-I c-can’t follow your orders. It’s the wrong thing to do.” He knew he would get in trouble, but firing on unarmed civilians didn’t fit well with him.

“Sigh, not another one,” the major said under his breath, clearly talking about the disobedient soldier. He then nodded in the direction of the crowd before turning to utter one word to the soldier. “Weak”. Before the soldier could react a sound of a shot was heard, the last thing he heard before he collapsed with a bullet wound to his head. No one was sure what to do but gasp or scream at the fallen soldier. The first to react was the major who already grabbed a radio and yelled his orders.

“Open fire!” He didn’t even finish when the Fortunan troops began blindly firing into the crowd. The Telganese, who just a few minutes ago were willing to put up a fight, now began to run in fear of being shot. The air began to be filled with smoke as the soldiers threw smoke grenades into the fleeing protesters in an effort to slow them down. After only ten minutes, the area became quiet and empty besides the many bodies that littered the ground. No more protests or riots would be seen by the Telganese for a long time.

10

Mira Island
http://imgur.com/Ns3OjUa

On the bridge of the aircraft carrier Claudia, Admiral Francesco Guido stood looking in the direction of Mira Island which laid two miles from where the ship was anchored. Guido lifted his binoculars up to his eyes, making out two of his frigates closing in on the island. In between the frigates and the island sat a couple dozen boats, many of them mere fishing vessels filled with angered islanders. Like the many others in the Medium Islands, they were angered by the Fortuna takeover of their home but did not resist. It was until they were required to hand over their weapons and boats over which caused them to fight back, overpowering the soldiers stationed there and closing off the harbor to their village.

Guido sighed deeply as he put his binoculars down, he was hoping the resisting would stop after the infamous “Telga Massacre” which took place just a month ago. The government tried redeeming the actions of the soldiers by stating they fired back in self defense, especially after one Fortunan soldier was shot and killed first. The occupied seemed not to care for reasons and only grew more resentment for Fortuna, but they stayed quiet in fear of being shot themselves. That was until now and the current situation taking place right in front of Guido.

‘Can’t they tell that there is nothing they can do to stop us?’ Guido thought to himself. He was hoping they’d have the islands secured weeks ago so he could come home to a hero’s welcome, maybe a parade will be thrown for those who participated in the operation and he’ll receive some medal for his work by the High Commander himself. Yet here he was ordering the bombings of those who resisted, participating in a massacre in a way, and receiving glares by the occupied. It was at this point he was beginning to doubt the actions of his nation and those in charge including the High Commander. Was this operation worth the lives of innocents just so his nation can grow? Guido shook his head intensely, grasping the edge of the window in front of him. ‘Stop it, what you’re thinking is treasonous and can lead to execution.’ He began to take deep breaths to calm himself down, and was thankful when an officer stepped up next to him.

“Are you okay sir?” the young officer asked.

“Yeah I’m fine, nothing’s wrong,” Guido answered back quickly. He then cleared his throat before continuing, this time a bit slower. “So what’s the problem?”

“Oh, uhm, well there’s no problem. Just informing you our frigates have reached their positions.”

“Alright,” Guido replied. He lifted the binoculars back up in the direction of Mira island. The two frigates had finally reached the island and now sat right in front of the line of fishing boats. Guido stared for awhile knowing what was going to happen before putting the binoculars back down and turning to face the officer. “They know their orders, blow 'em sky high.” That’s one thing he noticed about his higher ups, they didn’t care what they did as long as the opponent gets the message, and their way of giving the message was usually brutal.

“Yes sir,” the officer answered back hastily, he then saluted before stepping away. “Glory to the High Commander!”

“Glory to the High Commander,” Guido replied softly as he returned the salute. He then stood there a couple seconds before walking back to his quarters. A few minutes later the two frigates opened fire on the group of fishing boats, the thin hulls of the boats providing barely any protection. A few islanders tried to escape by jumping into the sea, but they too couldn’t escape the frigates’ guns. The last of the boats were finally destroyed after just 15 minutes. From behind the frigates, landing ships rushed past the wrecks and headed into the harbor to secure the village. The Claudia, successfully completing it’s mission, turned and headed with it’s escorts in the direction of Linaro Island for one last mission.

11

“Yes, yes,” said Valintino Saarbac. The cheetah-like figure standing at a window overlooking the rest of Ellis, South Hills. From the outside, he was in one of the highest structures of the world conducting business on behalf of Wey-Yu Industries. Furthermore, Ellis is a sprawling urbanized island considered by many to be the beating heart of world trade. Resuming, “Well that’s great,” followed by a few, “Uh-huhs.”

Finally hanging up, he looked to his right and spoke to his assistant. A rather petite woman looked up and began scribbling down any orders that were given. It came to her as jumbled, a series of signals that would be done by a few phone calls to each individual specified within the company. Then certain words would be said that only the receiver would understand. When Val stopped, she stopped writing down the demands and started walking away while dialing on her cell phone.

Val took a second to look at the skyscrapers around, thinking to himself, “Goddamn idiots. You figured they would be able to keep a lid on this shit, but no.”

He sighed and resumed his train of thought, “Weapons and whatnot are flowing into the islands, we are making a killing. Literally. Poor bastards probably think they have it all on lockdown. Weapons are clean, no serial numbers or anything to point to who the manufacturer was. Delivery is swapped between multiple shell companies of differing nationalities. Then the goods are given to a poor schmuck outfit who gets paid to do the deed and receive our compensation.”

Then a second voice appeared in his mind, “But what if they run off with the money?”

To which he responded mentally, “Doubtful, a single mention of the Corsairs is enough to send any professional outfit shivers up their spines. They know not to fuck with their employers, as if they know who is paying them.”

Val continued his self deliberation until his assistant returned from her duty and confirmed everything was done and that the meeting is to resume. He nodded and then began walking away from the windows.

12

Linaro Island

Alexander Reason stood silently in the middle of the rubble covered street, focused on a small flower that somehow survived all the fighting. Around him the brick houses that once lined this street have all collapsed due to airstrikes against rebel forces that supposedly were hiding in this village. Nothing was safe from the destruction except for this one flower. Reason frowned, he didn’t like the idea that this one flower stood in his path. To show his dominance he stepped onto the flower, crushing it into the ground. He then continued his walk down the street towards one of the only standing buildings which was turned into a command center. Inside a collection of soldiers and operators were busy at work, taking them about a minute to realize who just entered. Once noticing who their unexpected guest was, they all jumped up at once and saluted the Elite. Reason smirked before returning the salute.

“At ease,” Reason said calmly to the group. “Can someone tell me where I can find Admiral Guido?” The room was quiet for a moment until a young officer quickly gestured to the stairs.

“He’s up this way sir, talking with Colonel Duce.” The young officer gestured for Reason to follow him as he began heading up. In one of the rooms upstairs, Reason found the two military commanders in a middle of a discussion over a chart of the surrounding waters. Duce was the first to see their guest standing at the door.

“High Ambassador Reason!” Duce exclaimed out loud, “what an unexpected surprise!” The two officers paused for a moment before saluting to their higher-up and saying “Glory to the High Commander” in unison. Reason returned the salute and slowly made his way to the table.

“Good evening gentlemen, I’m sorry I did not warn you ahead of time of my arrival.” He looked down at the chart, finding the island he was on. “I’m here to personally congratulate your work, Colonel Duce, for the annihilation of the traitor Leon and his rebel group.”

“Thank you sir.”

“Any problems with the natives?”

“No sir. Ever since we wiped out the rebels here, the natives have been quite willing to follow orders. Some of them even helped find the last of the rebels and hidden weapon stashes.”

“Good. And to you, Admiral Guido, I would like to congratulate you for your efforts in protecting these new waters and providing air support to our men on the ground.”

“Thank you sir,” Guido replied in a quiet voice.

“I especially am proud of your work at Mira Island. No wonder why you are in charge.”

“It was nothing. I was only following orders, and they were only fi-fishermen.” Guido cleared his throat, angry at himself for cracking up.

“Well even a fisherman can cause a lot of trouble. You did the right thing.” The two men stood staring at each other, Reason studying the admiral intently. ‘Just as Romano said. Weak, but will follow orders’. Noticing a bit of tension in the air, Duce stepped in to help his fellow officer.

“Would you like anything to drink, sir?” Duce asked quickly. “I’m sure I can get some tea.” Reason stared at Guido for another second before turning his attention to Duce.

“No, I’m fine. However I wouldn’t mind a tour of the area.”

“I’m sure I can arrange something. I can show you where Leon took his last stand and the recent weapon stash we discovered on a fishing boat, quite an interesting find. In the mean time I can show you around our little base here.”

“That would be nice.” Reason backed up to allow Duce to pass by and walk out the room. Reason began to follow him before turning around to Guido. “And will you be joining us Admiral?” Reason asked.

“I unfortunately don’t have time. I have orders to move my carrier group to the Telga Islands, things are getting tense up there…” Guido went over to the coat hanger and grabbed his coat. “Thank you for the invitation though.”

“No problem.” Reason turned around and headed for the door. Once outside the room, he turned his head to say one more thing. “Again Admiral Guido, thank you. Because of your help, Operation Destiny has been a success. Glory to the High Commander.”

(OOC: It was bugging me that I didn’t have an “ending”. I’ll just say “to be continued” with this.)