Lead of State

[Val]

— Begin quote from ____

ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON THE PRESIDENT!
The Kjerne Island city of Mærdi, on the coast of Thia, is under lockdown tonight after an unidentified gunman opened fire on Kohlandian President Zoë Kirk. President Kirk was visiting the island as part of an inter-state summit to discuss the recent petition for the Kjerne islands to secede from the Republic.

Details of exactly what has occurred are sketchy at this stage but eyewitnesses report at least one gunman fired on the Presidential party as they left Mærdi city hall following what was reportedly a “productive” meeting. The President was hit several times and was rushed to Mærdi Central Hospital under armed guard.

“The President is at this moment in critical condition,” said Girthen Hopper, the Presidential Press Secretary. “Three others, including Chief of Staff Mark Skjerne, were killed during this senseless attack.”

At this moment, the gunman or gunmen are still at large. Local and Federal Police are still investigating.

— End quote

In a skyscraper in an empty floor overlooking the Mærdi city hall front entrance, Becker laid on a table with a suppressed SR-25 semi-automatic precision built rifle. The rifle had no manufacturer’s marks or serial number. There was a small circular hole cut in the window in front of the mercenary to allow passage for a string of lead flying at around 2,600 feet per second. The boat-tailed hollowpoint rounds traveled through the hole and struck their targets. The Kohlandian President Zoë Kirk was his primary target, and so three rounds struck her center mass. He shifted his aim a few feet to the right and struck the Chief of Staff, Mark Skyjerne. Three rounds struck the CoS, and more targets were selected. The primary and secondary targets were done, his next goal was to cause as much mayhem as possible and get out clean.

He fired a few more rounds in quick succession and hit two more people, three rounds each. Twelve total rounds were shot. After that he got up, and quickly grabbed the small circular cut of the window, he had it pre-glued moments before the shooting so he could make a rapid escape. He carefully put the cut peice back where it belonged, wiped around the edges, and focused his attention on cleaning up and bugging out. He grabbed the spent casings and wiped them down for prints. Next they were thrown into the rifle case laying aside. The Rifle was wiped for prints and put it inside the case. The locks were engaged and he grabbed the case and walked towards the elevator on the floor.

Once inside the elevator, he contemplated what was next after waiting for the elevator to hit the ground floor. The doors opened and everyone was watching the news station about the “breaking news” on the Kholandian President being shot. He walked through the lobby but was mindful not to let his face be seen by security cameras. Out the building he went and down the street away from the brutal assassinations. He walked casually with the cased rifle in his gloved left hand, the other was in his pocket.

His getaway was a flying boat that waited for him at the harbor, just a mile or two away. Becker looked up at the sky and said, “Beautiful day, shame about that.” He grinned and went about his way.[edit_reason]RP reasons…[/edit_reason]

[Zoe]

Sirens blared as ambulances rushed down Baker Avenue, the main thoroughfare through Mærdi, up to City Hall. Armed Special Branch personnel surrounded the President as she lay unmoving on the steps outside the Victorian era building. Through the clamour of shouts and panicked screams, a young doctor was talking to the President while we worked to keep her alive.

‘Come on, come on!’ he whined. His hands were covered in blood, none of it his own. He attempted CPR but despite his best efforts, he knew his actions were at best only delating the inevitable.

‘Paramedics are here,’ said one of the Special Branch people. The doctor looked up briefly and nodded.

The paramedics hurried to the scene, carrying a stretcher and medical kits. The Special Branch people stepped aside briefly to let them pass. As they knelt to lower the stretcher, the doctor sat back on his haunches, his head lowered.

‘You’re too late,’ he said. ‘She’s gone.’

[British_Grand_Pacific]

Jack Kearns leaned back in his chair and stretched. The analyst had spent the last couple hours watching footage of the Kohlandian Assassination as fast as it came into the Central Desk at ODIN[note]Occidental Defense Intelligence Network[note] headquarters in Kimberley. He took a sip of long-cold coffee and double-clicked the next file in the queue. It looked like B-roll for a local news crew- handheld camera from a different angle than the pool cameras. Jack popped his lips and nodded along to the succession of gunshots as if listening to his favorite song on the radio.

Definitely semi, he thought to himself. Why three in the second pair of victims? Why waste the time if you’re looking for effect? “Whoah!” Jack lurched forward in his chair and rapidly clicked with his mouse to pause the recording. He backed it up a dozen frames and played it back in slow motion. The cameraman was obviously scrambling for cover and was no longer paying attention to what was being recorded. The camera raised up and caught appeared to be a silhouette standing in the window of a highrise. “What the hell are you doing up there?” Jack played and replayed the clip over and over. “You dumb sonuvabitch!”

He quickly saved the video file to a thumb drive and twisted into his suit jacket. “Let Director Curtis’ office know I’m coming up, Allison.” He said to his assistant as he tossed the drive to her. “And get somebody to clean that up.”

[Zoe]

Sirens wailed as the armoured car carrying http://nswiki.org/index.php?title=Alix_Trevørentsdottr rushed through the city centre of Dunhallow, the Kohlandian capital, to the Presidential Palace, the Rosetpalas.

‘Madam Vice President,’ said the man sat opposite Alix. She knew she should recognise him, he had been the head of her personal security for the last three weeks, but she was just so bad at names. ‘I’m sorry to inform you that the President is dead.’

Alix blinked. ‘What?’

‘The President is dead, Ma’am. We need to swear you in as soon as possible.’

It took Alix a few moments to process this information. She had just spoken to http://nswiki.org/index.php?title=Zoë_Kirk yesterday morning, before she had flown out to the Kjerne Islands for yet another summit on their independence movement. Everything had been going well - they were about to sign a treaty to devolve more power to the regional parliaments on the islands.

‘What happened?’ Alix asked.

‘Details are sketch at the moment, Ma’am,’ said a second man, sat beside her. Alix recognised this fellow. He was Marc Goodfellow, the Speaker of the Lower House. ‘She was shot along with three others as she left the summit early this morning. Judge Winters will meet us at the Rosetpalas to swear you in, then we need you to speak to the press as soon as possible; to quell any further speculation and keep everyone calm.’

Alix’s large, catlike ears sagged. She put her head in her hand and sighed. ‘I can’t believe it,’ she said.

‘We know, Ma’am,’ said Goodfellow. ‘We all feel the same way.’

The car pulled up around the back of the Rosetpalas and was immediately surrounded by members of the Special Branch security service. One of Special Branch held the car door open and Alix hurried inside, surrounded by more security than she had ever experienced before. She knew the service would be on high alert at a time like this but she couldn’t help feel this was overkill.

Shots rang out, the sound echoing in enclosed space around the rear of the building. Where could they be coming from? Alix wondered as she half ran, half got carried inside the building. The back of the Rosetpalas faced out onto a small, private beach and there was nothing but sea beyond.

As the doors closed behind her, she thought she saw a small boat pulling away from the buoys that marked the closest any vessel could get to the beach without security coming to investigate.

‘Madam Vice President,’ said Judge Winters. ‘I am so sorry to hear about the death of President Kirk. You have my condolences.’

‘Her death is a great loss to us all, Your Honour,’ said Alix.

The Judge held out a small, leatherbound copy of the Foreninglov, the Act of Union between Cuthria and Thursus that acted as the basis of the Kohlandian Constitution. Alix knew the drill, she had seen it several times with previous Presidents. She placed her right hand on the book and held her left over her heart.

‘I’m sorry to do this with so little ceremony but needs must under the circumstances,’ said Winters. ‘Please repeat after me. I, Alix Kereen Trevørentsdottr…’[edit_reason]Added links to the NWWiki so anyone who wants some background info on some of these people can get it.[/edit_reason]

[Val]

The lone man was walking on the docks, his every footsteps producing thumps against the wood planks. At the end of the dock was a Be-200 amphibious jet airplane disguised as an airliner. Another dummy company used to throw off any investigations and as such, does not exist in any official records. The engines were already warmed and sucking fuel for the departure. Becker stepped in and shut the entrance door, sealing it for the long flight. He walked to his seat, being the only person on the plane with the exception of the stewardesses and flight crew.

The plane picked up speed and lift, the big water-capable bird lifting as streams of the sea were kicked up from the roaring engines.

After an hour, the plane was at altitude and over the Christeas Sea. Becker rose up from the seat and carried his rifle to the back of the plane. There was a small compartment containing tools, including a drill and drillbit. He started the tool and drilled holes into the rifle case, turning it into a huge swiss cheese container. Nearby Becker was a telephone that went straight to the cockpit, into it he spoke, “Prepare for depressurization and open the back door.” The pilots noted and started flipping the switches in the cockpit, the stewardesses were strapped in.

Becker was strapped to the plane by a harness, at 15,000 feet the rear door opened and a huge constant rush of air went out. The man threw the rifle case out and then hit the door button, closing it.

http://images.gizmag.com/hero/ocean-freashwater-aquifiers.jpg
Outside the plane the rifle case flew, spinning violently as it descended through the air. It hit the ocean with a resounding splash. The Case containing the rifle and spent cartridges floated for a few seconds while water rushed in through the drilled holes, until it finally sank and went down the depths, slowly but steadily into the bottomless depths.

http://ak.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/21143/preview/stock-footage-an-underwater-scene-with-sunrays-shining-through-the-water-s-glittering-and-moving-surface.jpg

[Aelitia]

— Begin quote from ____

To our dear friends in this time of shock and grief,

The government and peoples of the Dominion formally extend our condolences to the peoples of Kohlandia, and to the families of the fallen.

It is said that a nation’s ideals are made and measured in the most dire of circumstances. Too often are the best qualities of a nation necessitated by death and destruction, but in that is the resurgence time and time again of those very values. Sometimes latent, but ever present are the honourable qualities of humanity even in the face of evil and chaos.

We wish nothing but the best for the people of Kohlandia, and the continuity of your government.The Dominion reasserts its support in whatever capacity our dear friends may require in this trying time.

-Aiaden Melodom

— End quote

[Val]

The flying boat disguised as a passenger plane was a few minutes away from the corporate islands. The plane steadily decreased altitiude while Becker stood at the forward section of the plane. He was speaking into the phone for almost an hour.

http://brucesangels.com/p57telep.jpg
(Becker, the cold-blooded gun for hire working for the company)

His face remained cold, if not tired after the mission back in Kohlandia. He could never sleep on the way back. The next words that came out of his mouth was, “Understood.” He hung up the phone and went to the nearest seat. One of the stewardesses walked up from behind and placed her hand on Becker’s shoulder.

“Sir, we are landing in a few minutes. Please buckle up,” she said, with an unnatural smile. The company man complied and buckled up.

In several minutes, the plane was landed on the sea next to one of the corporate islands. The islands are more commonly known as the Comona Islands, or Comonas. It was a stretch of three landmasses in a row, each connected by a huge 8-lane highway with a rail system running underneath the bridges.

The aircraft was cruising on the waters steadily, floating like a boat as it neared a ramp going into the sea. The hydraulics hissed a little as the landing gear compartments opened and the legs of the airplane stretched out into the water. A few minutes as the plane floated on the ocean the landing gear rested on pavement and the plane angled upwards as it went up the incline. Slowly it went up, trailing seawater.

http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/beriev_be-200/images/be200_2.jpg
As it leveled out on the pavement, the engines were idled and the main door opened. Becker was present at the exit. He noticed that there was overcast and it was possible a rainstorm could happen. As his foot hit the pavement at the bottom of the stairs, he noticed a drop of water on his clothing. Regardless he continued on and went towards the awaiting four door Lund Rover Defender. Inside, his boss was sitting next to him.

“I heard,” said Val Saar’bac, CEO of Wey-Yu Industries and Becker’s employer. He wore a black suit with a white shirt underneath the jacket, however a tie was lacking and the shirt was a few buttons undone, showing more of the cheetah’s fur.

“Evidence is disposed of. Why me?” replied the blonde figure. The last few words were of discontent. Becker felt disappointed he wasn’t able to nail the entire heads of state.

“You will get your chance, probably in the near future. It won’t be in Kohlandia though. As to why you, I don’t trust the others to do their job well. I know the Corsairs are the best and all that, but they still don’t have my absolute trust like you do.”

“Four targets, why?”

“The original plan was to be the entire heads of state, but I don’t trust those nutjobs over there. They are a little too… Fanatical,” he gestured. “The new deal was the Chief of Staff and the President. The extras were for added measure that they can be our customers.” The two sat in absolute silence in the Rover as it sped. Each looking out their own window.

After 10 minutes of silence through the ride, Val spoke up again to Becker. “Prepare for another mission, like the last but it’ll be a lot closer to home.”

The blonde man looked at his boss and replied, “You don’t mean?”

“Yes…”

Outside the Lund Rover, it was pouring, rain drops were falling from the clouds and hitting the window with audible ‘thunks’. The vehicle was roaring down one of the bridges towards New Heaven Island.

[edit_reason]Airplane landing scene was lacking words…[/edit_reason]

[Zoe]

President Trevørentsdottr burst into the briefing room several floors below ground in the Rosetpalas, a tired but angry look on her face. She had only been President for a couple of days and already it was shaping up to be the worst job she had never wanted.

‘What do we know so far?’ she asked. The other people in the room, mostly military but with some civilian officials present as well, looked as tired as she was, if not more so. They would look tireder still by the time this mess was sorted out.

‘We are getting preliminary reports in now, Madam President,’ said Tomas Conwyr, the current Secretary of State for Internal Security.

Alix didn’t like Tomas, he was a fussy little man and he had always acted far too stand-offish around her in the past; no doubt in part because he thought his cat allergy made him allergic to Felixoids. It was a stupid and long-since-disproved prejudice that nevertheless still managed to hang on in some parts of the world.

Alix took a seat at the head of the long table that dominated the room. She had trouble thinking of this as her seat. To her it was still President Kirk’s and she was merely filling in for her until she got back, but that wasn’t going to happen. She had to get used to that fact. Like it or not, she was in charge now and there was work to be done.

‘Okay, let’s hear it,’ she said.

‘The gunman fired twelve rounds in total,’ said Tomas. ‘Three into the President, three into the Chief of Staff, then six more into the crowd. Given that one of the crowd victims was a junior staffer and the other was a member of the security team, we think those two were either hit because they got in the way during the commotion, or because they were randomly-selected targets to cause confusion. The pattern of the shots that hit those two don’t match the careful placement of the first two victims.’

‘You said gunman. Are you sure there was only one?’

‘Yes, Ma’am. The ballistics all line up with a skyscraper down the street from Mærdi City Hall. It was outside the security cordon but the upper floors overlooked the steps outside the Hall. We didn’t think it a reasonable threat at the time.’

Alix nodded slowly. You couldn’t cover every eventuality without shutting down an entire city every time the President was going to step foot there. Sometimes there are just risks you have to take.

‘We had police and forensics sweep the building and go over all the security footage,’ Tomas continued. He pulled a couple of photographs from a thin brown file and passed them to the President.

‘We believe this man is the gunman,’ he said. ‘These images are taken from the foyer security cameras and a traffic surveillance camera across the street from the skyscraper.’

Alix looked at the pictures. They were grainy and so lacking in detail that all she could make out was a blonde-haired white man, thin, and carrying something, possibly some kind of briefcase.

‘What do we know of this man?’ she asked.

‘As yet, nothing. The security forces are still working on that. The police are questioning everyone in the skyscraper at the time of the shooting, and anyone we can find who was in the area when he arrived and left.’

Alix closed her eyes, her ears drooping. At this point she was not expecting a huge amount of information but this was less than nothing in her eyes. This man could be anyone. The investigation was going nowhere.

She opened her eyes, stood up and addressed the room. ‘Keep me informed,’ she said. Then she left.

[Zoe]

FORMER PRESIDENT LAID TO REST IN STATE FUNERAL

Former President Zoë Kirk, who was assassinated last week on the steps of Mærdi city hall as she left a summit on the future of the Kjerne Islands’ membership of the Republic, was laid to rest today in a state funeral. The procession, as per tradition, followed the route from the Rosetpalas to the Storsirkel, the traditional home of Kohlandian Wicca; where a final service took place, attended by representatives and heads of state from nations around the world.

President Kirk will be buried in her home town of Kielsi, Thursus, in a private ceremony tomorrow morning, attended by family.

[hr]

‘Madam President, the Secretary of Agriculture is in the Declaration Room,’ said John Tømmerhugger, the recently-appointed Chief of Staff.

Newly-appointed President Alix Trevørentsdottr nodded to the guests she had been speaking to, made her excuses and slipped out of the room with Tømmerhugger in tow. She had been attending the state reception following her predecessor’s funeral and although meeting foreign dignitaries was always a pleasure, being able to escape the dour atmosphere the circumstances behind these meetings was welcome. The Secretary of Agriculture was not in the Declaration Room, she knew that. It was a code message; she was needed in the Briefing Room. Something was up.

Trevørentsdottr and Tømmerhugger walked into the Briefing Room, the most secure room in all Kohlandia; situated half a mile beneath the Rosetpalas and accessible only via a secure elevator or more stairs than Alix could care to count. Since the assassination, she had spent more time in this room than in her office; or her bed now she came to think about it. Good grief, she was tired.

‘What’s happened?’ Alix asked.

She took her seat. The assembled military and security forces followed suit.

‘Madam President, we’ve identified a secessionist training camp in the hills on northern Rhegdo.’ A General, she forgot what his name was, stood and tapped a panel by the large set of screens at the far end of the room. The central screen blinked to life, showing a satellite photograph of the area where the camp was situated.

Alix’s ears twitched, always a sign she was wary. ‘Another one? That’s the third this week, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, Ma’am,’ the General continued. ‘This one escaped our notice until now because it has mostly been laid dormant. Over the past 24 hours we’ve seen cars and vans transporting people and goods into the camp from villages in northern Rhegdo and from the local port.’

‘The ports are all supposed to be shut down while we continue the investigation into President Kirk’s assassination,’ Alix said. This news was not helping her mood.

‘Yes, Ma’am. There have been illegal night-time landings at the port. We’ve stepped up security in the area but so far we’ve not caught the people involved.’

‘Okay. Go on…’

‘Madam President, we have security forces in the area, ready to take the camp on your order. A G-71 will take out the power and communications with a precision missile strike, then a team from the 27th infantry will enter the camp, take out any resistance and secure the area. On your order, we can begin the assault within the hour.’

Alix looked at the photograph, then at the General; then at the photograph again. ‘Are we sure these people were involved in the assassination?’

Tømmerhugger leaned in close to Alix and spoke softly. ‘Madam President, these are secessionist fighters. They build bombs, they shoot soliders. They are enemy combatants.’

Alix nodded to her Chief of Staff. ‘I know what they are. I’m concerned about making a bad situation worse if we hit the wrong people.’

The General spoke up. ‘Madam President, all our intelligence suggests President Kirk was shot by a secessionist combatant. Whether the people on this camp were directly involved or not, they are all part of the same group.’

Alix weighed the situation over in her mind. Was she about to fan the flames of another civil war if she made the wrong call here?

Only history could tell.

She nodded. ‘Do it.’

[Zoe]

PLANES POUND SEPARATIST CELL!

Late last night, while official functions to commemorate the recently assassinated former President were ongoing, the Kohlandian Air Force launched a missile strike on a Sjerne Island separatist training camp in northern Rhedgo. Shortly after, members of the 27th Infantry stormed the camp and took control of the facility.

‘This is a great victory in our war against separatist terrorists,’ said General Meeks, speaking for the Kohlandian Combined Armed Forces HQ at a press briefing a few hours after the attack on the camp. ‘But our fight is not over. There are still other separatist cells to quash, and our campaign will continue until all the Republic is safe from terror.’

General Meeks refused to be drawn on whether the assassin responsible for killing President Kirk was in the camp that was hit last night. The official Rosetpalas response on this matter is that “investigations are ongoing”.