Some time Later...
20190905_231437 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
The Bratva Base has been cleaned up, but not fully reparied. The base is still understaffed and a small team prepares for a raid of their own in the courtyard.
20190905_231602 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrBratva Loudspeaker: Code blue! OSKOM reports an attack on civilians in the Nelson region, Alpha Plates.. First Echelon is going on the offensive, deploy forces immediatley!
Squad Leader: Hear that!? We've got some blueballs to kill! to the gate! To Nelson!
The platoon eagerly marches to the gate
20190905_231650 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
One by one they pass the meagre defenses at the gate, by now they've all been torn down and a few sentries stand guard to intercept civilians.. The sentries wish them luck on the way by
20190905_231734 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
Just after the last one goes through... Kast appears through the gate.. an automated alarm immediately goes off and a computer starts blaring warnings
20190905_231820 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrComputer: Attention!, you have been designated as Kill-on-Sight by the Stroiteliga Bratva. Have a nice day!
The gung ho guards immediately point their weapons at him but hesitate to fire, he raises a hand and lays his machinegun on the ground
20190905_231934 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrKast: Are we really going to do this?.... Look. I mean no harm.... I know Vaclav is here. Take me to him It's important..
Nearby patrols escort him to the base
20190905_232141 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrBratva Soldier: Who's this guy, and why is he KOS?
Bratva Soldier 2: No clue... Legion?
Moskal: THAT.. Is Former Lieutenant Renzer... a no good turncoat and traitor
Kast: Moskal.... that isn't fair.. I didn't defect... I just left.. and then your guys started shooting at me at that place.. Is the bar really that low these days? Come on... You know if I came here to cause shit, I wouldn't have used the gate... Go ahead, check me, I havent got any bombs or hidden weapons on me.. I need to talk to Vaclav.
Moskal: HMPH!..
Moskal agrees.. and takes Kast to Vaclav
20190905_232147 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
20190905_232733 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrVaclav: Alright... You're lucky Lenskiy isn't here, he'd skin you right here
Kast: Are you just going to screw around and insult me? Seriously, just drop it and listen to me for 30 seconds.
Vaclav: you've got 10...
He puts a radio on the table and turns it on.. it immediately squeals with chatter
20190905_232740 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
Monolith Imperiya COM-NET: .... Repeat.. Major offensive on Civilian targets by Echelon units... Bratva moving to engage...... Break..... Confirmed sighting of Black Legion offensive in 5 different regions... All forces in Gamma sector brace for assault... over!
Vaclav: You came all this way just to give us low level Imperiya comms? we already have spies to do that for us... What a waste of time, I knew this would be rubbish
Kast: Quiet!... Take the frequency and drop it to single digits... the signals weak but there's a hidden message. We need your comms to intercept it
20190905_232757 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrMonolith Imperiya STAVKA: ..... Flash........Voz......Down .... Major malfunction.......Code........Sergachev...
20190905_232946 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrVaclav: What the fuck is that?
Kast: Only the closed emergency channel of the Imperiya high command... You're welcome by the way
Vaclav: Well that's vague and cryptic as shit...
Kast: Because it's weak! I told you we need more amp power... use your computers here..
Vaclav agrees to take Kast and go use a comm station with more power.
20190905_233028 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrKast: I hope it goes without saying... but you probably want this to be your ears only for now..
Vaclav shoos his men away
20190905_233047 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrVaclav: Soldier, I need this station, I need you all to clear out for a minute... Go get something from the canteen, it's on me.
Kast punches in some buttons, setting an odd frequency and turning the gain up very high
20190905_233055 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
Monolith Imperiya STAVKA:Flash! Flash! Flash! Vozrozhdeniya Devices are down, Cause unknown! Major malfunction in reutilization procedure! Code Brown! All forces are to retreat to nearest hardpoints and wait for further orders. Do NOT attempt to transit! By the order of Marshal Sergachev!. This is not a drill!
20190905_233130 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrVaclav: What the fk is a Voz... Vozrozh.... Reutilization.. what the hell is all this?
Kast: Some code word they have, it means rebirth device.. they're talking about the L-Gates.. And what they're saying is that they're not working..
Vaclav: Theirs? Pfft.. Tough shit..
Kast: ALL OF THEM. Teleports are still working, but people aren't coming back, I was at a place where a bunch of people got shot at a bar.. and like, two of them came back after like 3 hours... But the rest still haven't surfaced.. it's like the system is lagging..
An officer bursts into the base
20190905_233250 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrBratva officer: Sir! Problem!
They go to the local gate.. and an incoming force teleports..
20190905_233318 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrOfficer: The mission to Nelson didn't go well. We took massive casualties..
A lone soldier bursts through, freaked out and without his weapon or helmet
20190905_233338 by Kastrenzo, on FlickrBratva Soldier: It's no good! It's all fucked up.. We aren't getting reinforcements.. no one's coming back!...
LaterVaclav: What happened? How strong were they?
Bratva Soldier: No.. No , you don't get it... First Echelon, OSKOM, they're all freaking out.. We kicked Echelon's ass!... but only a couple of guys showed back up on either side, and when they died again... they still havent come back! Echelon fked off.. OSKOM is just wiped out. no one else showed.
Vaclav: My god..
20190905_233740 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
Armata troops have shown up at the base, Pracka is visiting.
20190905_233612 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
*The vidscreen beeps with an incoming callKast: ... Imperiya is hunkering down.. Echelon and Vaclav's guys just beat the shit out of each other and then no one respawned... The L-Gates, They aren't working. It's almost as if everyone's got like a 5% chance of it actually working...
Pracka: What could have caused this? Do you think it's an attack? Who would do something like this?
Vaclav: If it is, the only groups I could think of perputrating it would be Vorhut.. and obviously the Black Legion.. It doesn't add up though. It's not like what happened at Anwar caused this... the Council... those Demigods.. they don't actually control the gates either. They're just as much at the mercy of them as we are.
48686389702_b868df83a9_k by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
Literally seconds later...Vaclav: Who the hell is this, how did you get this number?
Ludd: General Vaclav?.... Admiral Ludd.. Coalition Navy....
Admiral Ludd: By now you're aware of the situation with the gates.... and the multiple Black Legion offensives?
Vaclav: How do you know about them?
Ludd: Come on... Renzer isn't the only informant out there to break Imperiya comms.. But we have some information that you aren't privy to... although it comes with great hesitation on my part to share it with our enemies.. But the stability of the realm is more important to us..
Vaclav: What is it?
Ludd: You're aware of the Legion offensives.... One of them is coming for you...
Vaclav: Ok.... we'll prepare defenses
Ludd: Wait... there's more... Executor Kain is leading it... Pracka!.. you should have stayed home... He's coming to kill you,
both of you... They'll be there within the hour!. You need to evacuate!....I'll send a task force to your base at Isere.. You have my word that all Coalition forces will honor a ceasefire. We can't let those murderous fucks gain an inch!
20190905_234414 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
Advance guard of the Black Legion is already at Isere!
20190905_234440 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
...
20190905_234500 by Kastrenzo, on Flickr
Kain: What a wonderful day to kill...