A Battle Unseen

[hyraemous]

Somewhere in Jildrath January 5633

Explosions rocked the Presidential Office Building in Jildrati City. A President was almost killed. Members of the Cabinet wiped out. Gore, guts, and more all on TV screens throughout Etxea. Rioting, many dead, fear... Etxea was on fire.

Many wanted blood.

The President wanted blood.

And so it was.

It was clear Etxea had been infiltrated. In fact, it was more than clear. All you had to do was watch what almost happened to President Tiberius Claudius Nero.

And so it was.

President Tiberius Claudius Nero, for a while now, wasn't able to sleep. Sometimes he cried. He'd always cry away from prying eyes, after all only his wife of many years knew the full extent that attack wracked his brain and his muscles. Many of his colleagues dead, he almost joining them, and all he had to show for it was a ruined building. For now the President's Office was renting space throughout the city pending a new office building for the President.

But this attack had to be responded to.

One night, the President couldn't sleep. So he made a call to his intelligence attache. The attache woke up from her slumber and listened. The President wanted revenge. He called on her to order the intelligence service to whip up a response. If they wanted to strike at the heart of Etxea, so be it. They'd strike back at the heart of the mainland. Kasaema, illegally renamed Legionaria, would be the target. However, it would be a major use of resources. Kasaema was deep inside the mainland, they'd had to infiltrate Jildrath thoroughly and then infiltrate Pilgon too. That would be a major problem.

The attache had another idea. Ecoterrorism.

The forests of Jildrath would help with this. The forests, of course, hide everything from oil drums to Legionary work camps to more. An attack on the forests, she said, could cause major chaos throughout the state. And it would divert resources from Etxea to deal with the chaos in Jildrath. Jump to Celania and stoke chaos there. Then to Lirnak. Then to Pilgon and Peghonai. Maybe kill some Davostagers in Peghonai if the negotiations didn't go well there.

The President saw the genius of the idea and agreed to it. 

Then he tried to go to sleep.

The plan was moved into motion. There were still some people in Jildrath, the main hideout wasn't discovered yet, so the plan was moved into action. Buckets upon buckets of dynamite, explosive material, BBQ equipment, oil and more were prepared throughout the island, snatched away from some civilians sure, but they would assemble. And, a couple of weeks later, they would be sent off with more agents on small and medium sized boats, all throughout the following four nights and under radio darkness, headed straight north to Jildrath.

The boats landed. Some took off with their equipment.

But the Legion was there for the others.

Legionary naval patrols caught some of the boats in time. Searches revealed some of the equipment hidden in various ways. The crew was obviously arrested.

Legionary military patrols caught some that landed. Some of the boats were seized and searched and they didn't find much. However, in a couple of cases, the boats were caught as crew were unloading their equipment. They were arrested and the cargo was seized. The Legion would hold on to them and do what they'd do best to the unfortunate crew on land and sea that were caught. 

But some made it through.

In the main hideout and in various other smaller hideouts, the equipment was tallied, the agents begun some training and recon patrols, and a detailed plan was being worked on. On New Years' Day 5633 they'd move out and plant explosives and set up BBQ equipment and oil in many areas throughout Jildrath. There was one major objective that the agents planted many explosives on - an oil storage facility in western Jildrath. That facility held a ton of oil and their crew would be out enjoying toasts to their Supreme Leader Lazar for granting them the wish of going through another year with his glory behind them. Enough distraction for the Etxean boys and girls to move in.

The time between landing and New Years' Eve would be a month, maybe two, as work continued on preparing fictional identities and scouting locations. They'd make up excuses and hold on to their ID cards and passports tight. Some classes were also taught on dictation and how to mimic the accent of a mainlander to help fit in better using some of the people the Etxeans already recruited.

But that was something else.

The big day came. 

All at once, agents began to move out and rushed to their positions. Some food was brought along as well for the agents to grill and eat. They would tip over the grill or drop a match or few on the grass. All accidential. Some would plant the bombs and explosives on forest trees to cause fires to expand. Oil was poured in many areas to encourage a swift flame.

The agents for the oil storage facility moved in too. They surrounded the facility and, with silencers, bombs and more on hand, begun to fire at the workers and guards there. More agents then infiltrated the facility and begun to overload the computer equipment, overheat engines, turn off backup generators and plant bombs on them and, most importantly, plant bombs on the oil drums and on buildings in the area alongside the surrounding trees and landscape.

The guards put up a good fight, so did some of the workers, but the agents were able to overwhelm them.

Then the agents left.

Local police was called. They would start to arrive and some officers found the explosives and damaged equipment.

But it was too late.

The local police tried to call the bomb squad. A squad was sent.

Then a tree fell up ahead.

Then a tree fell behind them.

...

Then loud explosions and huge fireballs.

And the agents managed to run away, though not before setting off their own explosives on the nearby landscape.

Within minutes, the area was on fire. The trees and grass were on fire. Some people were burning. The explosions rocked the oil facility, destroyed the drums, and destroyed whatever was nearby if they hadn't been set on fire already. Buildings near the drums collapsed or were severely damaged.

Then came more fires. Within minutes, fire department reports were streaming in like a waterfall. Another fire in the forest here, a burning grill there, more forest fires everywhere. 

Fires continued to be set off throughout the forests of the state. So did the bomb explosions. 

And the agents that were responsible? All gone.

Jildrath was burning tonight. The agents were safe in their safehouses, some of them needed for the next mission, and some of them beginning their training again.