Gracealonian Expansion

The vote was over. The vote totals and the individual votes of each of the 40 senators glowed on the LED board mounted on the wall: 32 votes for, 8 against. It had passed through the House of Representatives about a week earlier and had now passed in the senate, all was left was for the bill to receive the signature of President Carlton. It was already well known that the president would sign it, he had spoken in favor of the bill when it was first introduced. The next day Carlton signed the bill and then made a short speech:
“This is an important day for Gracealona. With the passing of this bill and my signature congress has approved the funding and use of assets needed to expand our nations eastern border all the way to the coast. This expansion is our nation’s first since 1912 and will secure all the land I can foresee needing for many years to come. Naturally schools, hospitals and all other infrastructure will be constructed as required in these new lands as required. To begin with the lands will be only a territory of our nation but will eventually be divided up into new states. I am happy to announce that you, the citizens of Gracealona, will be allowed to begin to move into these new lands within a few months. Thank you, that is all.”

[Where are you expanding?]

[Wow. Hijjma, IR, and I disappear and the RP dies. Hopefully IR and I will return Sunday.]

[Plot 2, I thought that was implyed by me saying that I was expanding my eastern border to the coast, I guess not though.]

[Wow. Your nation will be huge.]

[Yep, this will be my final expansion, that will be all the land I will ever need.]

Engineers and construction workers on the Gracealonian government's payroll spread into the new territory in force. All sorts of projects to install infrastructure began. It was yet to be determined where towns would be founded but as soon as it was hospitals, schools and other public buildings would be built in the new towns. The Gracealonian Military was tasked with transporting the required materials and people around the new territory.

Back in Gracemaria the senate was holding meetings to decide how many states the new lands would be divided into and where their boundaries would be. The consensus was that the territory would be divided into 10 new states to bring the national total to 30 states.

In the secret cave within the plot 2, several tribes of Malabians, the tribal countries that have been illegitimately ruling the territory, gathered for a secret meeting. They were bitter about the expansion of Gracealona and their fall from political power. The area of plot 02, despite the happenings in outside world, has been mostly ignored, and several tribes have with their primitive lifestyles have been ruling the area. Although they fought with one another, they had a strict agreement to keep the conflict within themselves, and that no foreign influence should come in. And all the tribal powers kept their balance in this way, and despite the retarded economic growth and little modern technology, these Amish-like tribes were content with their lives.

However, the recent takeover of Gracealona has been difficult for the ruling classes of Malabian tribes. They were outraged that the foreign country has come in and destroyed their way of life in such ways. However, after the initial tribe’s fall, they knew better: Gracealona was too strong for them to attack on their own. Not only were they outmanned, but their primitive weapons were useless against heavy machineries of Gracealona as well as two tribes, which accounted for 10% of the population of plot 10, were supportive of this new regime. The other eighteen tribes decided to salvage as much technology as they could in order to fight against this invader and establish a country where all eighteen tribes ruled as one: the Great Malabian Federation.

And thus was the leaders of the eighteen tribes gathered in the secret hideout. They wanted to know just how soon will they be able to fight against the foreign nation and reclaim their territory.

“Alright, brothers, what is our current count?” The leader of the Honna Tribe, one of the larger tribes of Malabian Federation, asked other tribal leaders.

“We have counted all the numbers, brother, and it seems like we have thirty thousand willing men and women that can take to the battlefield.” The leader of Twel Tribe answered.

“However, brothers, we have little more than thousand ‘guns’ that we were able to manufacture. We are low on all resources, and we are especially low on bullets.” The leader of Saa Tribe commented.

“Blast it! What how can we fight when we do not have any weapons that we can fight with? They have ‘jets’ and ‘tanks.’ They have ‘battleships’ and ‘grenades.’ They are capable of destroying us as soon as they notice that we resist them, and yet we do not have anything to fight with! Brothers! Are we this weak?” Honna asked, outraged at the prospect of weapons manufacture.

“At peace, brother,” The leader of Yeowl Tribe spoke, “we just do not have the proper technology. We are working as hard as we can, but this new technology is beyond our method of production. They had hundreds of years to perfect these arms, and yet we had little over a week. Our progress is good, but we cannot match their centuries of experience.”

“Then what can we do?” Honna shouted once more, “Just wait and twiddle of thumbs until our brothers and sisters are brainwashed by the technologies that these savages have brought with them?”

The tribes all fell silent. Were there even a chance for them to fight to begin with? Can they gain independence… or will they just fall as another illegitimate country that never was? Despair fell upon the secret meeting hall. They were hopelessly outgunned and out-teched. The war that they wanted to wage… was hopelessly lost before it even began.

“Good evening, gentlemen. Why you are twiddling your thumbs in such a… crude location, I wonder.” A man in business suit, followed by one man that seemed like a figurine completely dyed in black, came into the secret meeting room. The three guards noticed the two strangers immediately and was about to point their gun towards the two unwelcomed guests. The figurine noticed, however, and it drew two handguns and killed the first two before they were even able to draw their weapons. The last one, was too shocked to fire, as his two comrades were both shot at the same time directly between the eyebrows… a skill that shouldn’t be possible for human.

All the tribal leaders stood up, some trembling in fear and others outraged at the stranger’s appearance.

“Where are the guards?” The tribal Leader of Saa Tribe shouted, “Kill them!”

“I am afraid that your guards are… busy… at the moment.” The businessman said, looking around all the tribal leaders.

Outside, five black figurines exactly same as the one in the cave has pacified the entire army that we standing guard outside the secret meeting. They were the highly-trained Corporate Army of Oscalantine, who all wore high-end technology products that enhanced their behaviors. The five were operating the automated turrets, which were in turn controlling the pacified army with their own automated gunpoint. Why the six member of Oscalantine’s elite army were was here was a mystery of its own.

“I knew you will arrive, Mr. Koh.” Tribal leader of Ooh Tribe greeted the businessman.

“Why have you invited a foreigner to our lands, Ooh?” Twel shouted.

“Because I love our country!” Ooh answered, “And I would rather borrow the foreign power than to make my country be taken over by the likes of Gracealona.”

“Yes, yes,” Mr. Koh said, sounding a bit pressed on time, “very touching speech. However, I shall stop you there. I am here to offer you all a business deal. I am not a country. I am here with representation of a corporation. The largest multinational corporation in the world, I might add.”

“Therefore, I am here to sell. You can try all you want, but you will never get to where you can liberate your precious lands.” Mr. Koh continued, “I see you weapons to fight back, I will send people to train them. And you shall command them and fight your war.”

“What do you want from us, stranger?” Honna asked, still suspicious of Mr. Koh’s presence.

“Money!” Mr. Koh answered, “Money, money, money! We want gold, silver, precious metals, Crops, timber, anything that is worth something. You pay us what we want, and we give you what we have.”

“All those we have, but I doubt that we have enough to be exchanged, seeing how much of a filthy greed you are.” Honna answered.

“Oh being modest hardly is good for business. We shall take what we need, don’t worry about that. You just… hold the line as long as you want. If you take over the territory… we are happy for you! If you don’t, please don’t die in a week or we might not get everything we need.” Mr. Koh answered, “Being a greedy man I am, I shall take whatever I can. You just take the guns and weapons that I send you, and you play war. Once I have leeched enough, I shall leave.”

One of the black figurines came into the cave.

“Sir, the goods you requested have arrived.” The figurine said as he left back outside.

“Excellent.” Mr. Koh said as he motioned his guard to depart with him, “Here’s your first batch. Ooh already agreed to let his territory be of use to me. If you want more, you just sign away these papers.”

Mr. Koh left his business case, which must have housed various paperwork to sign away raw resources in the plot 2 for weapons. He and his guards soon left, leaving automated weapons, explosives, some armored vehicles, and mountains of bullets to last weeks in intense battle. They also left calculator and trade catalogue, along with various resources that the tribes could sign off for various services. Two, unarmed personnel that looked disturbingly like Malabians also remained with the weapons. They explained themselves as trainers, asked by Mr. Koh to help with the training of the weapons. They immediately started with the Ooh tribes, training its people with guns and explosives, as well as helping them utilize various landscape and geography.



“There,” Honna said as he signed away his territory for extraction, “do we have a deal?”

“Excellent,” Mr. Koh said as he closed the file and the brief case, “we appreciate your business, Mr. Honna. The goods are already here.”

Mr. Koh left after a bow of good-bye, and Honna left the tent outside to his military installation, where forty thousand army, well equipped and trained, were being armed for battle. The month was intense and quick, with intense training by the men that Mr. Koh sent, and the men and women were now ready to start resistance warfare. Honna was completely dumbfounded at how much of a pacifist Malabians were compared to the outside world. The trainers taught them how to effectively fight in a style that they called “terrorism” and “guerrilla warfare.”

Honna was still thankful that these armies stayed loyal to him, and that they were under the control of the tribes. However, he was a little worried at how fast was their country’s resource being stripped from the lands. Mr. Koh brought labors that worked day and night to extract various resourced from the area. One that they were most interested in were molds, herbs, and otherwise green life in the area. They were, however, also interested in precious metals that was present in the earth, which they employed every means to extract. They built-upon already existing mines and started to stripe its resource quickly using various machineries. Various berries and other exotic fruits found in country’s wilderness were also extracted. Mr. Koh was extracting the resources faster than anyone thought was possible. All the resources were some way or another transferred to Mr. Koh’s home country and headquarters in smuggle ships.

Regardless, the Malabian Federation was ready to starts its warfare. The tribes met in the secret meeting place once more to go over the plan. The plan was simple: strike with small squads all over the unsuspecting locations, and use the country’s wide-spread forests to hide themselves after the initial assault.

The Malabian Federation started its attack unannounced. It struck towns that are at the forest’s edge, destroying the infrastructures that were under construction. They killed all the unsuspecting inhabitants working hard to establish the city before disappearing to where they came from, but not before completely destroying the city first.

In the three days of the strike, five town plans have been foiled, with squads moving fast and destroying the town into nothing but ashes. Building confidence, the Malabian Federated decided to soon go public, and destroy the towns that are larger than simple settlements that they have been destroying. They were going to push back the invaders to where they came from, and they will kill everyone that were destroying their way of life.

The extraction of the resources in the newly claimed Gracealonian territory did not go un-noticed by any stretch of the imagination. Although attacks by the Malabians was a concern, it was no where near as pressing as the fact that the natural resources of these new lands were being exploited by an as of now un-known foreign entity. The green life would grow back in a few short years, but the impacts on the environment of mining the precious metals were not so easily reversed. At the capital a few days later a meeting was held between Secretary of Defense Elizabeth Sterling and Secretary of Homeland Security Tyler Spieker to decide what to do. After greetings Sterling prepared to speak first. She was a fiery woman in her late thirties who had burned quickly through the ranks of the Gracealonian Navy before President Carlton selected her for his cabinet. She was the first female Defense Secretary along with being one of the youngest in the countries history and was eager to prove she could handle the job. She spoke:
“The Malabians have acquired advanced weapons from an unknown source, we know that. However, we do not know if these weapons are limited to only firearms. All they have attacked with so far are guns but they may have also acquired APCs or perhaps even tanks.”

“Why don’t we just send in some fighter and bomber flights and take them out? I mean they are just some simple natives who have managed to acquire some guns, they wouldn’t last long against heavy weaponry once we locate where they’re based” Spieker said

“That is true, but I don’t killing them is a good idea. Building the infrastructure of our new nation upon violence is not a good idea. What I propose we do instead is capture them. That way we don’t have to kill them and we can also capture their weapons and figure out who gave them the weapons.”

“Okay, what about the groups that are extracting the resources?”

“Well, satellite photos have shown that they’re getting it all out on un-flagged cargo vessels. But following course shows that they’re heading to Oscalante. What company they belong to or are selling the materials on board to is still unknown. We’re also not sure to what extent these ships are armed, but there definitely aren’t any obvious anti-ship or anti-aircraft weapons on their decks.”

“Well then a combined air and naval force blockade should stop them from getting any more resources out or supplies in. We can also board one of these ships and get some more info on what company these ships belong to from the crew and what’s on board.”

“Good, sounds like a plan, let’s get it in writing for the President’s signature.”

Within a few hours the plan received President Carlton’s signature and was set into motion. Navy vessels formed a blockade around the Gracealonian territory while Air Force planes flew through the skies searching for the un-flagged ships. Back on land Army soldiers and tanks guarded towns and infrastructure projects from further Malabian attacks.
The Air Force was also tasked with searching where the Malabians were based. Since it was a possibility that they possessed SAMs and AA guns and it was a low priority task this was mostly carried out using UAVs. Once they were located further plans for capturing the Malabians would be worked out based on their location and numbers.

---

Four days later…

A few miles off the coast of Gracealona an Air Force E-2 had spotted one of the un-marked ships. The plane radioed in the ships location and heading and began to jam the ships communications. Soon after the destroyers GNS Abner and GNS Boyden cruised up on either side of the ship. The captain of the Abner got on the loudspeaker and spoke so the crew of the ship could hear him:

“This is Captain Farley of the GNS Abner of the Gracealonian Navy. You are smuggling resources from our nations lands illegally. Cut your engines and have all your crew come out onto deck with their hands up and prepare to be boarded. If you do not we will stop you and board you with force” He hung up the mic and waited to see how the ship would respond.

Honna rushed to where Mr. Koh was. In the strip mine which was extracting precious rare earth metals, Mr. Koh was instructing several of the Malabians with chem-suits to be more quick about getting the processed goods to the cave where all the goods were being stored.

“Quickly, you snails! Get those goods to the cave! Why I pay you minimum wage standard with these speed is beyond me!” Mr. Koh shouted.

“Mr. Koh!” Honna shouted as he gripped Mr. Koh by the collar of his dress shirt, “You did not mention that the Gracealona was going to step up to their games.”

Mr. Koh simply laughed. He snapped his finger and two of the Malabians, from Ooh Tribe, pacified Honna.

“Did you expect nation such as Gracealona to cower in fear after one or two terrorist attacks? You shouldn’t expect that.” Mr. Koh said.

“Then what do we do?” Honna asked.

“Oh it is simple. We now start using more high-end people for the job. Month wasn’t an enough time, but we managed to hire some… mercenaries.” Mr. Koh said, “Oh don’t worry about cost. Ooh covered that before we signed the treaty.”

Honna frowned, but he returned to his tribal huts. The fact that these people were stripping the land out of resources was disturbing enough, but the fact that these same people were now in control of Malabians were even more concerning to him. Could it be that they brought even more nightmarish foe from the world just to fend off a more benevolent faction?




Mercenaries mixed with Malabians have been much more deadly and effected than a band of Malabians. They started to take roads and steal whatever they could. They had the guts to even ambush police force that was attempting to restore order in the area and steal their supplies, and use their vehicles to steal next one. They attacked two road construction sites and one bridge construction sites, effectively destroying the infrastructures in the area. Unlike Malabian squads, these mix of mercenaries and Malabains did not kill the people, but send these captured individuals to the forest, where they were held in caves and awaited rescue.

The mercenaries and Malabians, calling themselves Malabian Liberation Front, or MLF, started to demand ransom for the people that were captured. One head for 5,000 Lotas was requested by the MLF. MLF, also in their kept website, have released the list of people that they will start systematically killing at certain dates. One person would be killed in less than two weeks.




“Sir,” one of the black figures of the Corporate Army addressed Mr. Koh, “we have several UAVs in our sky, attempting to survey the area.”

Mr. Koh, surprised, asked: “Wait, did you just tell me that there are UAVS flying around?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Mr. Koh laughed so loudly that he flinched even the black figurine, “Oh the irony. I am most amused. What are their models?”

“We have yet to confirm it, sir, but it doesn’t look like it is from Nexus Inc.”

“Ah, that makes the job much easier. Well, you must be just itching to get started, eh?”

“Actually, sir, we were just informing you. The situation is under control.”

“Ah yes, they do not call you army of the corporation for nothing. Good work.” Mr. Koh said as he turned and walked off.

These Corporate Army even scared Mr. Koh. To be honest, they were only here to ensure the safety of Mr. Koh, one of the high business official of Lexconia Corporation, or LexCo. Mr. Koh had to pay for them by the 24 hours, and they were not cheap. However, five of them here were getting the job done rather quickly. Whatever technology they were using, Nexus Incorporated certainly had one heck of a scary army. They did not betray emotion or any thoughts. They acted by their own opinions, and they always acted on their own interest. However, by doing so, they mysteriously also fulfilled the objectives of people around them. Such was the case now.

The UAVs started to relay the message back to its commanders. The woods were kept woody, and although few small encampments of Malabians were seen, no major encampment was found. The strip mines seemed to be manned and worked on by the Malabian people, and the docks, where the shipments were being shipped, were also manned by the Malabian people. However, there were some oddities. There seemed to be major movement of the Malabian people to the small mountain. This mountain, confirmed before by several media’s documentary programs, was known for their vast, natural underground caves. People seemed to be frequently walking in and out of there as if they were busy gathering something inside. In that area, the UAVs also spotted a different ethnicity… one that seemed to be from the west. This person, upon closer examination, seemed to wear clothes that were customarily worn amongst the higher-ranked people in previously glorious states of Hijima, a country that has, due to its economic failing, have collapsed into anarchy.




Mr. Koh, knowing full and well that his shipments are now being watched, decided to use other routes than simple sea. Although more expensive, he decided to use smuggling vessels from Okeedoekee. By passing through the countryside of Okeedoekee and New Numair to the docks in the unrecognized territory of Plot 03, Mr. Koh hopped that he will be able to prevent Gracealonia from tracking his shipments. He also changed the course of the smuggling vessel to previously colonized territory of Hijima, a anarchist territory that is stricken with lack of law and order. There was no official documents that could be made in the anarchist country, and through that colonial territory, he would send the goods to wherever they needed to go, which was mainland Hijima where his company was located.




The smuggling vessels did not know what to do. There were various Malabians, but also one of th company officials from LexCo as well, supervising the vessel. Everyone from the vessel started to panic. Did they have to start fighting? Or should they just surrender? The military ships were in bound, and there was no way for them, even with their RPGs, to fight back such a massive naval power.

There were, however, a method for them to be not seen. Mr. Koh instructed that all smuggling vessels be kept with explosives, so that the ship can self-destruct, preventing Gracealona from recognizing that the ships were from LexCo. Malabians were instructed to use it, and the explosive was supposed to be remote controlled by LexCo official. However, the particular LexCo official was also on the ship instead of being at dock, where he was supposed to set charges. This ship just happened to be the official’s ship home, where he will give reports to LexCo and get a raise as well as a vacation.

The cruisers started to through the loudspeaker towards the crew in the smuggling ship. The crewmen knew that it was hopeless. There was no way that a modified, large fishing boat could take on a naval ship.

“Should be blow the ship?” a Malabain cautiously asked.

“No,” the official said, “we are surrendering. Raise your hands, everyone, and help with the search.”

“But sir!” Malabian said, shocked at the decision, “the Malabian tribe and your country might be in danger!”

“Forget the country!” the official shouted, “I want to live. We shall all live. Isn’t that the one thing that matters? Screw the country! Screw the company!”

Just then, a radio started to buzz. The official, realizing the protocols, realized that it must be from the Plot 02. Thinking that there might be a way out without surrendering, he eagerly picked up the radio and matched frequency.

“This is vessel 04. We are under suspicion from the Gacealona navy. We request immediate assistance!” the official said.

“Sir, you have just said ‘screw the company.’ That is out of order by the rules.” A woman’s voice spoke out from the speaker, “And aren’t you supposed to self-destruct? Well, I shall assist you. Good day to you.”

Before the official could say anything, a single, medium-distance missile was fired. It cruised towards the smuggling vessel and hit the ship, exploding in brilliant light. The explosion also triggered various explosives placed in specific locations, causing even more explosions. The brilliant fireworks from the sea soon calmed, and there was no trace left of the official or the crew. They were all smoldering their way towards the sea floor. There were very little left of the cargo and its plating, but a few plating did remain to be spotted that the ship was a modified fishing boat. The radio that would most likely hold the latest conversation between the official and the women was also floating in the sea.

The black figurine looked towards the sea where the explosion happened. She, for the figurine surely looked like a woman, was several yards inland from the coast, making sure that no satellite image will show of her firing the rocket. She was holding up a small netbook-sized portable computer. The screen of the computer showed up “Target Deleted” in green letters. The figurine closed the program out. She pressed more keys on the computer, and the automated turret, which fired the medium-range missile, folded itself into a portable, yet still bulky case. The figurine picked up the bulky and most likely heavy case with little effort, and walked off, letting the people to wonder just what who fired the missile.

MFA Marcus Albinoni was new to Oscalantine. The nation was surely the most capitalist place he had been, shamelessly so. However, they were (ostensibly) Christian, so diplomacy would be EEE's course.

[I would RP a discussion with an Oscalantine official, but I have no idea whom I would be addressing.]

Edo Edi Essum's interest in Hijjman territory had risen sharply. The island's recent anarchy made its precious resources both available and very close to the homeland. Colonization was nigh. In preparation, the island was patrolled/guarded by the Edesu 7th Fleet, which had noticed an unusual Nexus presence.

Massive shipments of arms flowed out of Hijjma, surely towards the Gracealonan Plot 2. Were Oscalantine not Christian, the arms would have been quickly confiscated by the Edesu Navy. Since the nation was Christian, this would be overlooked.

EEE would not steal or destroy any of the weaponry. However, the Nexus would need to relocate its base of operations with rapidity. Perhaps a nearby archipelago?

[[Erm.... I wasn't expecting this...

EEE, fyi, no one really knows whether Oscal is supporting the armed devices or not. The goods are being smuggled, and unless you have fleets on every inch of the lands, you probably won't see the ships, and even if you do, it would be disguised as a fishing boat or the likes... if you want to RP here, would you please telegram me or grace? I think that you assumed that Oscal was having open support in the war, and I really am not.]]

Oscalantine wrote:

[[Erm.... I wasn't expecting this...

EEE, fyi, no one really knows whether Oscal is supporting the armed devices or not. The goods are being smuggled, and unless you have fleets on every inch of the lands, you probably won't see the ships, and even if you do, it would be disguised as a fishing boat or the likes... if you want to RP here, would you please telegram me or grace? I think that you assumed that Oscal was having open support in the war, and I really am not.]]

[OK, about expanding into the island. Would the smugglers transplant to some other island or fight? It would be wisest to leave.]

[[i dunno what you are talking about... but if you are talking about what would the LexCo do when EEE chases them, it depends on how close they are to Hijima mainland. They will fight you in all-out war if you fight near Hijima territory, but closer to other countries they will most likely flee or self-destruct their ships.

And you have to realize that LexCo is a COMPANY that has enough money to back up where they are coming from. They are pretty close to establishing a government in anarchy in Hijima's lands. They will fight you if you decide to disrupt their actions.

Btw, I am justifying this because while I did not take the lands, Hijima did want me to have these lands. So... I'm sure he will be okay with me using the lands for RP until he is back or someone takes over.]]

Captain Farley was shocked when the unmarked ship exploded. It had seemed as though the crew of the ship was complying when the missile warning alarm had tripped. He had assumed that the missile was either aimed at his ship or the Boyden, and had been shocked when it had impacted the unmarked ship. Both of the destroyers immediately began to circle the flaming hulk of the sinking ship. The two ships then launched their helicopters and small boats to collect what debris they could find. Nothing was found floating on the surface to identify what company the ship belonged to but submersibles would dive to the wreck in the coming weeks to search for any evidence.

---

At McNealy Air Force Base a few miles outside of Eastbrooke analysts looked over the video that the UAVs were sending back. It didn’t take a genius to deduce that the Malabians were hiding out in the caves of the mountain. This information was immediately sent back to the Department of Defense building in Gracemaria where Sterling and Spieker where holding another meeting. Included with the location of the caves was also the locations of the strip mines and the port where the vessels were departing. It seemed as though vessels had ceased departing from that port so the UAVs were re-tasked with finding where the materials were leaving Gracealona now. They soon discovered that the goods were now moving to Okeedoekee. This complicated things, since this was another nation’s airspace they did not have clearance to fly UAVs in to look where the materials were going from there. This meant that for now the trail ended there. However they would not give up so easily, the UAVs would continue to seek where the materials were going once they left Okeedoekee lands. The materials had to make their way to Oscalante eventually.

Back at the DoD Sterling and Spieker were meeting once again. Spieker opened the discussion angered:
“We have one of the largest militaries in the region and we’re just sitting on our hands flying UAVs over there heads! What has that solved?! Nothing! Given, now we know where the bastards are hiding, but we still have no idea which company in Oscalante is supplying the MLF with weapons! I say we send the Air Force and the Army in guns blazing and see how long they last.”

Sterling responded much calmer “Well that’s all well and good, but the situation is no longer that simple. They have hostages now, we can’t go in without risking them being caught in the crossfire.”

“You know as well as I that our country doesn’t negotiate with terrorists!”

“True, but negotiating with them is one thing, going in with a complete disregard for the lives of our citizens is another. We’ll step up army security, it will be much harder to get hostages that way.”

“Okay, but what about the hostages they already have?!”

Before Sterling could answer one of the president’s aids walked in.

“Afternoon Mr. and Ms. Secretary, I apologize for interrupting you but the president has an idea he wants to run by you.”

Sterling responded “Umm, okay, what is it? This is kind of a weird role reversal; usually we’re running ideas by him. Anyway go ahead.”

After the aid went over the President’s idea both the secretaries both nodded. It wasn’t exactly a traditional way of dealing with this sort of thing, but they agreed that it was worth a try anyway.

---

The next day President Carlton entered a room at the Presidential Estate that had been set up as a makeshift recording booth with the speech he had written in hand. He put on a pair of headphones and stepped in front of the microphone. He nodded at the man sitting in front of the sound controls and he turned the mic on and began recording. Carlton looked down at his speech and began to read:

“Greetings, my name is Andy Carlton, I am the President of The United States of Gracealona. I hope that all MLF members will, please, lend an ear to this broadcast. I am speaking to you today in hopes of ending this conflict between us. I understand how you are hesitant to step back and allow a foreign power to step in and end your independent traditional way of life; this is only natural. However, I hope you don’t think for a second that we will try and force you to change the way you live. Gracealonian citizens enjoy freedom of religion, free speech, and overall the freedom to live their lives the way they want.

For the sake of ending conflict I offer you this proposition: If you surrender and turn over your weapons and the names of those who gave them to you, we’ll give you the following. Your people will be given a reservation consisting of the mountain you are currently residing in and the surrounding 15 miles of land. On top of that Gracealonian authorities will have no jurisdiction on the reservation and your people will have diplomatic immunity while on the reservation.

I understand that this is not as desirable as complete independence, but your current arrangement is no better. Although you have secured weapons, you must understand the sacrifice you have made. These people that have given you the weapons are pillaging the lands of their resources and doing permanent damage to the environment. Gracealona has the most environmental protection laws, lowest CO2 emissions and most national parks of any nation in Tiberiam. If you agree to become part of Gracealona, I promise you that you will be able to live your traditional way of life and will not see the eco system around you destroyed. Thank you, and I hope to hear back to you and meet you personally soon.”

With that the recording was cut. It will be broadcasted on all radio frequencies until a response (positive or negative) was received.

[I would have debated your standard of lowest CO2 emissions. Then I realized how much oil we drill in the desert.]

[[XP... thought communism is more of an advocate for social equality, the ultimate Utopian form of Socialism... I didn't think they cared all that much about environment as long as it provided jobs...

Dammit, Grace! Using media against me... you were spying on my conversations that media is Oscalantine's critical weakness!!! Bah!!!]]

Oscalantine wrote:

[[XP... thought communism is more of an advocate for social equality, the ultimate Utopian form of Socialism... I didn't think they cared all that much about environment as long as it provided jobs...

Dammit, Grace! Using media against me... you were spying on my conversations that media is Oscalantine's critical weakness!!! Bah!!!]]

[We're still by and large liberals, not fans of Earth raping. But since not much of anything lives in that annex's desert, I am willing to make a major exception. ]

New Numair Prime Minister Spencer Stanley would like to announce that the Royal New Numair Armed Forces (RNNAF) would like to help Gracealona in their current struggle when needed, the King and Regent support the PM's message


Spencer Stanley
New Numair Prime Minister
New Numair Foreign Minister

Crown Prince TeKimiti
Regent of New Numair

King Nu I
King of New Numair

[hope this does not look like spam since its kind of short]

The government of Rasvidi would like to offer it's assistance in Gracealona's efforts to stabilize it's newly acquired territory. They are our long time allies, and have historically had dominion over the territory concerned. We shall provide humanitarian and military aid as requested by the government of Gracealona.

Sincerely,
Kallevi Jaatinen
Foreign Commissar

I thank New Numair and Rasvidi for their offers of support. At this time we are trying to avoid a violent conflict with the MLF and are trying to solve our issues with them diplomatically. Due to this no military support is required as of now. However, we would appreciate any intelligence you can offer on where the stolen materials are moving from Okeedoekee and what company is selling the MLF weapons.
Of course if the MLF does not accept our offer and continues to kidnap and kill Gracealonians military action may be taken to stop them at which time we will call upon you as needed.
Thank you,
President Andy Carlton
The United States of Gracealona

In the forest, two of the Corporate Army was resting. Their black suits were never removed, but their did had their helmets, which deindividuated them as well as provided them with protection and HUD, which allowed them to process information much quicker, off. One of them, a dark-tanned male whose hair seemed to be as long as any women’s, was cleaning with Mobile Turret and another, a pale woman who had just as long hair as the man, was working on something via his small portable computer. A third agent of the corporation joined the two. She, too, removed her helmet, which revealed a short-haired semi-tanned individual around her teens.

“B-040, what are you doing?” said the third agent that joined the group.

The male, tanned operative looked up and offered the third agent his seat, which was a stump that seemed to be cut very recently, and he settled down on a rock nearby.

“The usual. These UAVs are not as difficult as AAXI in terms of firewalls, and I can easily infiltrate its wireless servers. However, editing the visual images to be convincing is difficult for me. I excelled in Graphic designs, but to make photo look real is so hard.” The pale women, whose number must have been B-040, answered, “Maybe you can do a better job, B-098. You got into Corporate Army because you PhotoShop-ed in UFOs and sold online, right?”

“To be fair, I got caught publishing videos of USOs podcasts. They never found out about UFOs auction until I got into the army. But I’ll see what I can do.” B-098 said as she took out her own portable computer.

They typed and glossed over with the cursors for a good ten minutes while the male was messing around with the automated gun. The two women sighed a relief as they starting to ease up on their typing after ten minutes have passed.

“Okay, you are right; these graphics are hard to mess with.” B-098 said, relaxing his tense fingers.

“Makes hacking so much easier, doesn’t it? Regardless, I am concerned about this.” B-040 said.

“What concern?” the male finally spoke without looking back at them.

“The UAVs have already been hacked before. They were sending footage to Gracealona about falsified images of shipments slipping to C-Haven.” B-040 replied.

“Do you think Koh is up to no good? We can take him out.” B-098 commented.

“We are in maelstrom of conflicts, right now, and we need Koh to be the target of blame. All we need to do is to do as he tells us, and not get caught.” Male indirectly replied, stating that Mr. Koh still has his uses.

“Alright, our meeting is done here. Let us move out and make sure that everyone is informed. I’ll try my best to make sure that the UAVs does not keep sending false signals, but the signal from here to UAVs is weak, and it takes awhile to re-connect every time. Let us try our best to finish the mission as soon as possible.” B-040 concluded, “We should be out of here by a matter of days, anyways, we just need to buy a bit more time.”

The three stood up and packed their things. They then took helmets and butted each other’s before putting them on, as if they were doing some sort of toast.

“Long live the Corporation,” the three chanted as they put on their helmets, masking their identity and individual. Their speech started to become similar and dull, devoid of emotion as they put the mask on and turned the HUD device on. “Long live the Corporatcracy, Long live Oscalantine.”

The three, now nearly-identical figurines of male and female, nodded to each other before departing in three separate locations. There were work to be done, and they, along with four others in the field, are the only ones out there that could do it.

---

Honna was in conflict. What was the right thing to do? Honna knew that Gracealona was speaking the truth. If there was any country that they could be part of, it was less radical and less extreme Gracealona. Their policies and non-corrupt government was the only massive country that could support them in their times of need. However, Honna knows that regardless of what he do, the point is that he will be taken over by one or the other… one person or the next. Honna knew that his struggle is futile… that regardless of what he did, Malabians will be forever subjected to someone’s rule; an untimely and the ultimate sacrifice for stressing their purity of technology and blood. It was too late for anything to do about it.

“You look troubled, Honna.” One of the figurines, who have taken a liking to Malabians and have been advising Tribal Leader of Honna about Mr. Koh’s policies, have asked.

“I am. There is no way for me to save us.” Honna replied, “Mr. Kim, what are your opinions? Can our nation be saved?”

“Your nation was beyond repair the moment that your ancestors decided to turn isolationist. However, you can save your people. Gracealona’s offer is true. You know that you have little to worry about.”

“And what, die in horror knowing that our people will forget our way of life and will be slowly perverted into modern lives through the comforts of Gracealona? I cannot think that way, Mr. Kim, I cannot think that is a good deal.”

“I cannot help you, Honna. The best I can do is to allow your tribe to move to Oscalantine, where you can populate the arctic regions of Rhombiom Corporation. Sadly you will be suffering there as well. The climate is so different from here… and your people will still be corrupted by the modern technology.”

“Thank you for your offer. I really appreciate it.”

“You bear a heavy burden. This is why I don’t understand politicians. Why make yourself carry all this burden… when being a cannon fodder is much easier?” Kim asked.

“Because we love our country. I love my country and my people too much. I love the culture enough that I will cut off my arm before I part with it. I love my tribe. I love this forest.” Honna answered.

“Thank you Mr. Kim,” Honna said, as if he suddenly realized something, “I know exactly what I must do now.”

“Again I must say, Honna, you are a very strange man.” Mr. Kim said with a chuckle, remembering the first phrase that he said to Honna through mechanized translator.

“Indeed I am. Now, Mr. Kim, watch me make a difference to the world.”

---

Through the hijacked lines created by the Corporate Army, Honna spoke to the Gracealona and all its allies through a public broadcast. Honna already had the support of the tribal leaders. He knew that Mr. Koh was in power, as Mr. Kim stated that he was effectively held hostage in his own quarters.

Because Honna did not know the standard tongue of the international world, his unique language was translated and spoken through subtitles.

Ladies and gentlemen of the Gracealona and her allies, I bid you good afternoon. I am Tribal Leader of Honna, one of many tribes that make up the great Malabian people. I am speaking on behalf of the entire Malabian people as well as MLF.

We have long debated and considered your options. And we found that your claims are not without your past doings. Your government has been excellent in keeping civil rights and environmental laws in check. And we were at wrong, taking freedom from your people as an act of desperation.

However, we cannot back down. Our way of life will stay. Our culture will be diminished once your machines arrive to stretch roads and buildings to our land, and even if you do not do so, our people will still be inclined to join your culture’s easy-going methods. Our way of life will end, and whether it is for good or not, we will no longer be “Malabians.”

So we shall stay the way we are. We will continue to wage this war to preserve our way of life. However, this decision is not without consent. We have not killed any of our hostages, and we shall release them along with 3,000 of our kin who wished naught to do with this war. Our only wish is that you shall take our brothers and sisters in with open arms, for they are no longer Malabians. They are children without parents. They will need support.

We, however, will retreat deeper into the forest and create our fortress. We shall make our home and keep our way of life for as long as possible. We shall face your rolling steels with our own, as we have enough weapons now to make our stand. We shall try our best to preserve our way of life, our culture. If we must disappear we will give our descendants something to feel proud about, that their fathers and mother fought against countless world powers for what they believed in. Our children will venture without us to the future. We shall stay and preserve our culture… our way of life.

With that, the media was returned to its normal broadcast. The hostages have indeed all returned without fatal injury, although some were scratched and wounded from when they were initially captured. The people that escorted the hostages out were all in their twenties below. Some were even carrying babies, obviously not of their own. They have come to ask refuge by the Gracealona government.

Meanwhile, Mr. Koh’s projects were finishing up. All the debts that Malabians made were being paid back, as LexCo was able to make enough money from the raw resources by selling these goods legally to Nexus Incorporated.

Corporate Army was now busier than ever. They have all but pacified Mr. Koh, and they have started to help create defense around the Malabian stronghold, which was not in the caves as the UAVs have been spotting, but in the most symbolic mountain… well, more of a hill… in Malabian culture, the Mount EverLast, the mountain that has been said to have been the final struggle area between the war against mortal gods and men, in which the men have broken the siege of the mortal gods’ final stronghold and have taken over as the dominant race in the world.

Corporate Army has also phoned home to Oscalantine, stating that they needed supplies and goods for the area through their most encrypted and completely cryptic code of Next Nexus Network, the TriN. Because TriN was a code that consisted of trinary number system of 0, 1, and 2, it was impossible to be decoded by any country without the transistor, which converted TriN back into binary system which it could be read in. Transistor was, however, currently bought and sold only within Oscalantine, although there were plans to sell the goods to its economic allies, which there was none of.

---

Oscalantine’s response was swift. Using ARXX’s high-altitude drop-offs, they have dropped goods from extremely high altitude, although through process destroying fifteen of their precious recon machines. However, the process has been fruitful, as Oscalantine has dropped supplies that are advanced weaponries, such as laser-guided missile launchers. They have also sent down some of the secret Oscalantine prototypes, which are going to be field tested in Malabian’s wars. These five units of prototypes have been installed around the sacred mountain with an automated charge that will detonate when the war is lost.

Oscalantine, however, has not made any public claims. They were much, much busy with thoughts in the west, where they were about to start into conflicts that they would need to fight in.

The defecting Malabians and hostages were picked up by buses on the road that had been constructed furthest into the new lands. The former Malabians were than driven to an area that had been set up where they would go through the process of becoming citizens of Gracealona while the former hostages were sent to a hospital to be checked out. After that they would be taken to Gracemaria where their statements on being captured would be recorded. The Gracealonian government had quickly established a fund to provide loans to the new citizens as they were starting off with nothing. It wasn’t much but it would be enough for food and a place to live while they got a job and established a life in Gracealona.

---

The Malabians would no doubt notice the sudden disappearance of the UAVs from the skies. A decision had been made by the president. In order to insure Gracealona’s new territory, the remaining Malabians would have to be captured or, regrettably, killed. He decided this because he knew the only way to expel the still unknown corporation from Oscalantine and end the attacks was to destroy those who had intiated it all. Military action would have to be taken. It was known that the Malabians had secured advanced weapons that matched those of Gracealona but there was no way that they could stand up to the numbers and resources available to the military of an entire nation. The UAVs were soon replaced with fighters patrolling the skies, missiles mounted on their wings. They were under orders to shoot down any aircraft not cleared to fly in Gracealonian airspace in hopes of preventing any more supplies or weapons from being dropped to the MLF.

---

Oscalantine had made a mistake. In dropping weapons to the Malabians they had given away the location of the their stronghold. Although the planes had been flying at high altitude and couldn’t be engaged they had still been tracked by Gracealonian satellites. As soon as the location had been confirmed by a flyover by a recon aircraft strike was ordered. The following day IRBMs began impacting the Malabian location as well as the mines and port facilities constructed by the Oscalantine corporation. It was unknown how long the strike would last but for now they continued to rain down wave after wave while bombers and grond troops were prepared.

“We got the message, A-055.” One of the black figurines stated, “Corporation orders us to retreat. We cannot stay here anymore.”

“I must stay. I cannot abandon the people of Malabia.” A-055, who went by Mr. Kim with Honna, answered back.

“You are an idiot if you wish to stay here. I cannot emphasize enough that what you are doing is just inefficient. Corporation can have your head.”

“I…”

“Enough nonsense, A-055. Your mission was accomplished, and you have been rewarded by staying here and fortifying the fortress. Let us leave them to fate’s hands.”

“Are we this weak, A-005?” A-055 asked, “Are we this weak as to not be able to prevents power to just watch this country be taken?”

“Corporation cannot exist everywhere, my friend. The war is brewing in our homeland. Lives of our family… and more importantly, lives of our boss is at state.”

“I… I do not know, A-005. We have gone through plenty of missions, but I do not wish to leave this place. I want to stay with them. I… I have never felt so attached to one group like this before.”

“It shall all go away, A-055. I have the same. Do you remember that joint operation in the rainforest about three years ago… when we were not employed by the boss? You will get over it.”

“Not when there is impending doom.”

Just then, a phone rang towards A-055. He answered the call.

“You are very bad boy,” a female voice, exactly same as the one that assaulted the ship with the rocket, answered.

“A-001, what are you –“

“A-055. You are to return to the base immediately, the war in the Hijima Island is going to start, and we need all our Corporate Army ready to be deployed.”

“A-001,” A-055 said, “I have one thing to say: Tick for Tack.”

A-001 sighed. She knew what that meant.

“I knew you would say that. Now get out of there before I decide not to support Malabians.”

“Thank you, Sicilia.” A-055 concluded.

“You are insane for calling me by my first name in the mission. But you are very welcome.” A-001 said as he disconnected.

---

“Madam Alpha, your request have been confirmed,” Executor Nate said over his TriN account, “We have dispatched Dracolia Cyber Division. I cannot believe you are using one of your Corporate Favors for this, Madam.”

“It is necessary for all seven members of Corporate Army to arrive back home safely. If this will help him, then I shall.”

“You are asking for Oscalantine to go two-pronged wars if this is figured out, Madam, I hope you know what you are doing.”

“Dracolia is THE BEST government hacking and cracking division known. Our country has the only documented cyber division. I doubt that people will notice this happen.”

“They shall when over 50% of all their missile miss their targets. Enough, I have discussed enough. We shall break conversation here. I expect you to be back to homeworld by nightfall, Madam.” Executor concluded as he disconnected.

---

The javelins from heaven fell from the sky. The Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles, or IBRM, were flying from the sky, seeing as the nuclear warhead couldn’t possibly be nuclear. Honna evacuated the people to the underground shelter in the mountain. The underground shelter that was dug by their ancestors’ invaders were now used as their own.

“Evacuate everyone to the mountain’s ruins. We shall make our stand there.” Honna said.

“Sir, we cannot outrun these ‘missiles.’ They are too fast and we cannot evacuate in time.”

“May gods help us all.” Honna said, closing his eyes to pray.

The missiles were now approaching the mountains. Malabians waited for the right moment to fire countermeasure missiles. However, they were getting weird messages:


They did not know what was going on, but they did halt their interceptor missiles. Indeed, miracles happened in three seconds. From the skies, five of the barrage of missiles suddenly blew up from the sky, whether due to premature detonation or from some unknown force was alone. Some of the other missiles… in fact half of the masses, diverted ways and in Malabian’s computers, it showed that their projective impact area will not detriment the evacuees. Malabians shot at the rest of the IBRMS left flying toward them with their interceptor missiles, and they were shot down from the sky.

Malabians cheered at the prospect. Only two hundred died from the countless missiles that fell from the sky. This bought them precious time to evacuate into the inner part of the cave, which was easier to defend against the missile barrages and will force Gracealonas to charge into the cave.


“Sir, “ one of the Tribesman addressed Honna, “The thermal lasers that the Oscalantine has given has ceased all function. The batteries must have run out.”

“Evacuate people from that area. They will detonate soon.” Honna said, “And focus your defense in the area where the cave opens. That is the most fragile area of the ruin, and if missile hits there, it is all over.”

“I have to ask, sir, the miracles have occurred. About a half of the missiles falling from the sky have been defected, either falling down without detonation or their targeting was off. We have been having easier time with our defenses.”

“Mr. Kim is aiding us even as we speak. However, it shall not last long. Soon, the ground troops as well as bombers will arrive. They shall swamp up with numbers. But we have not fallen by the most advanced technology that the world has to offer. We have survived the initial fight.” Honna said, “We shall lure them into our turf, and we shall fight face to face, where we have a chance to kill one more before dying. Let us die gloriously.”

---

In some miracle… or rather, due to immense power of entire Corporate Cyber Division, the Dracolia, nearly half of all missile barrages have been either pacified and landed on the ground with a thud or hitting the rims of the mountain. However, the mine and port wasn’t as lucky. Although these were no longer operational, the missiles hit the landscape, destroying everything. The mines and ports established by Mr. Koh was completely gone.

The seven… no, eight Corporate Army personals have escaped from the plot 02 through various routes. They knew exactly what to do to blend into the masses and escape back to Oscalantine. They were trained to the utmost degree since their creation. Some were even born and trained to be soldiers. The escape mission was by far the easiest out of the entire mission that they have been accomplishing in Plot 02. They have escaped and through various civilian roots, they were headed towards Oscalantine, where they will be debriefed and entering the war that is about to stage in the Plot 04.

---

“Missile ABBEDD aborted.”

“Missile ABBEEE failed.”

“Missile ABBEEF failed.”

“Missile ABBEEY failed.”

“Missile ABBEEZ failed.”

“Missile ABBEEB aborted,”

“We got a live on at ABBEEC. T minus 5.”

“Aborted. Saved.”

The Dracolia Cyber Division was on top duty. They were trying their best to disable all the missiles that were targeting the sacred mountain. Even with the entire might of Dracolia. Only half of the missiles hitting the mountain were averted. They have been in high alert for several hours now, their aims slipping, and were slowly getting tired of creating miracles for the Malabians. The firewalls of Gracealona, one of the more well-equipped nations in terms of cyber security, were difficult. And soon, their attacks will be known, and hacks from all over Gracealona and the entire EU will arrive and add to that firewall. And despite being born and raised to be hacks and crackers, Dracolia cannot break all the codex of tens of thousands of individuals that will be gathered by the government to fight against them.

So they worked their best to prevent missiles from hitting the mountain now. When they were disabled, Malabians will be on their own, but Dracolia’s hope is that they will avert enough missiles to discourage Gracealona from firing any more of their muti-million dollar missiles and focus on military rush, which, although will seal the doom of Malabains, will be outside their jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, LexCo, a corporation stationed at Hijima, was diverting their attention elsewhere. The fights were being brought to their own hands. The war was being fought in the different front, and neither the Oscalantine or LexCo will be able to provide Malabians soon.

[This will be a short post only because what I am going to do is relatively simple and there isn't much in your last post I need to respond to.]

The Gracealonian generals and officers were first surprised when some of their missiles had failed but it didn't take long to deduct that Oscalantine must have been interfering. Firewalls were stepped up but it was also decided that no more IRBMs would be used. 

The commanders knew that a ground war with Malabia in their caves would be a relatively even fight. Although winnable, causalities would be high and it was decided that there was a better alternative. The Malabians could only have enough food and water to survive in the caves for so long, so the answer was simple. Soldiers established a perimeter around the entire mountain including tanks, artillery and heavy machine guns. Their orders were simple surround: the mountain for as long as it took for the Malabians to run out of food and surrender or die of starvation in their caves. If anyone emerged they were to be captured.

[[Okay, my last post… you wrap it up Grace =) ]]

One last charge… one last glorious charge…

Honna was readying himself. He strapped off of his bullet-proof vest. He threw down his guns, he threw down his camo uniform. His military hat, his belt, his boots… he removed all the foreign technology.

He then wore his tribal military uniform. His garments made with plant fibers and animal hides… decorated with precious stones. He puts on hard leather armor first before putting on the ceremonial decorations. He puts on the leather boots, and leather gloves that gives you good grip. He puts on at ridiculous necklace that his mother once said will bring good luck. Honna then walked towards the desk, where he reached out for that horribly large and spotty hat that was supposed to be a helmet. Honna always hated customs. He hated culture of Malabia. They were so… old. They were not really effective. Remembering back, he remembered reading about gunpower and how he wished that he had it. However, once he got promoted to leader… inherited the sacred name “Honna,” he was so preoccupied with politics that he forgot technology. Maybe that’s why he is here. Honna was, to be honest, excited about new technology. He was thinking that adapting these technologies will make Malabia autonomous… and yet…

He made a fool out of his nation. Nothing changed. The inevitable happened. Malabia was no more.

Outside, there were plenty of festivities. The last feast… Honna did not want to partake in that. Soon, the morning will rise, and soon… soon Malabia will end.

Just then, his communicator started to ring. Mr. Kim left the communicator there for the sake of Honna. Honna picked the communicator into right frequency and answered it.

“Hello?” Honna greeted.

“Mr.Honna, this is Executor Nate of Oscalantine.” The person on the other line responded, “This is a recorded message… I am afraid that Oscalantine is under big happenings as well. I wonder when will Dracolia get this message to you. Regardless, I wanted to show you my respect for your culture. Oscalantine has no such culture… we do not have our roots. Therefore, I, without your consent, have adapted your culture as our own. We have decided to set up museums preserving your culture. ARXX has been around your plot for the entirety of your rebellion… and Mr. Kim has given us much needed information. You have taught him well of your ways. We have set the day of your fall as national holiday. Your culture was lost… but we shall make it immortal. I wanted you to know that. Your efforts have been destroying my media… our people voted and won. We are adopting your culture as one of the cultures to remember… and I wanted you to know that. Good day to you, Aelio Masquar the First, son of Mazmael Neroria the Second, Tribal head of village of Honna of the Tribal States of Malabia. You will be lost, but we will remember you.”

The communicator clicked shut. Tears ran through Honna’s cheek.

we will remember you

Honna was now ready to face the one last charge.

---

The Malabians have armed themselves with traditional weapons that were made by them. Spears, swords, bows and arrows, rock launchers, slings, and clubs. They wore their traditional vests. Not a single “modern” technology was seen in sight. The forty thousand Malabians all readied themselves. They have given the last prayer… sacrificed their last lamb. Everyone, man and woman, were ready for battle.

They surfaced from the cave ruin which was their homes for a few days. They massed out and ranked into one point, forming a block. They showed fear, but more importantly, they showed pride for their culture. They were fearful, but they knew that surrender wasn’t their option. They had too much pride for that.

Honna looked up to the sky and remembered the communicator. He shouted to the sky, where he hopped some UAVS was looking at the battle.

“Remember us, our cousins across the land! Remember what we did! Remember us, our descendants! Remember who we are!”

With that, the Malabaians charged downward from their sacred mountain to the range of bullets. They were as good as dead… but they were content. Malabia will vanish, but they will be remembered. They knew that the cousins from afar must be watching over them… from that great sky above.