To Serve and Protect
Zanjan, Iran
If there was one thing Roman Kostov found somewhat tolerable in this country, it was that it wasn't all desert. Cities were modernized and, aside from the heat, bearable. It was the outside deserts that made him feel very little outside of constant the irritation he held towards Iran. Although perhaps that was unfair to the country. After all, it wasn't like it had a choice in whether or not it was a desert.
Didn't mean he had to like it.
Anton and Elena took their positions beside the entrance, with Stanislav and Galina moving behind the house to protect against surprise exits. Maksim watched from afar, looking for stragglers and other unpleasant surprises. All of them were clad in the far superior ADVENT armor, although it had lost its black sheen after a single day in the Iranian deserts.
It was a purely cosmetic detail he appreciated about the Shieldbearer armor, that it was already white and he wasn't as visibly affected by the elements as the other variants. The extra protection was a bonus, but it made the current offensives on Iran nearly trivial. Roman had very little idea where this tech had actually come from, but he was able to easily see the results.
The armor was more or less bulletproof against most conventional small arms used by the Iranians, which had allowed them to easily take the border cities with almost no casualties, and had additionally demonstrated the now-massive tech gap between the two militaries even without mentioning the Gauss weapons that punched holes through regular body armor. Not even Iranian tanks could survive a constant barrage of simple gauss rifles for long.
Simply put, they were taking a country in weeks when it should have taken months. The defense around Zanjan had been foreboding initially, with the Iranians taking entrenched positions in the city and setting up their missile launchers. Unfortunately their firepower was negated with the deployment of the new THAAD defense system, and their defensive line was easily broken by the Russian ADVENT soldiers.
It appeared the Iranians still hadn't figured out that the best way to kill a Russian ADVENT soldier was to concentrate fire on him and exploit their dangerous sense of invincibility. That was an issue Roman was noticing. Soldiers were now taking risks they wouldn't otherwise simply because they believed the armor would protect them. Admittedly in most cases it would, but it was a dangerous mindset to get into especially since Roman knew they would be moving to the aliens after this.
In the meantime, they were focused on purging the city of the remaining Iranian soldiers. After breaking their lines, most had gone into hiding or just surrendered. Marshal Vladimir had no wish for guerilla campaigns to begin in captured cities, and so he was mobilizing all the forces to systematically sweep the entire city of Iranian hostiles.
The mandate was very simple: Neutralize all hostile soldiers, capture if possible, arrest if suspect, subdue if resist. Do not prioritize civilian life over Russian soldiers.
Roman was unsurprised by the last order. Marshal Vladimir knew what desperate soldiers did when cornered, and hostage situations were inevitable. While not explicitly ordering them to ignore the hostages, the implication was that a free Iranian soldier posed a threat to Russians, and that was simply not tolerable.
Roman didn't mind. He viewed this entire operation likely how President Savvin did. An opportunity to purge the region of dissent, corrupting influences and terrorism for decades to come. It would of course not stop the inevitable uprisings, but Roman had been rather pleased to find out that this time there would be nothing stopping them from crushing the resistances irreparably.
But that would come later, and that was the job of the Peacekeepers.
His job was to deal with the threats here and now.
Elena put away her scanner and nodded up at him. Good, no explosives near the doors. Even ADVENT armor didn't protect from mines or point-blank explosives. He slammed a fist on the door several times. "This is the ADVENT Russian Division! You are instructed to exit the building within thirty seconds and provide no resistance! Should you not comply we will enter and subdue any resistance. This is your only warning!"
He figured they didn't understand Russian, so English the probably the next best thing. But it was not guaranteed and he wasn't expecting them to actually come out since most soldiers weren't keen on surrendering, and the civilians were either too confused or terrified to follow instructions. Nevertheless he stepped back and raised his rifle at the door. "[Anything?]" He asked through his helmet comlink to his squad, another wonderful feature of the ADVENT armor.
"[Negative,]" Stanislav answered from the back. "[Nothing on our ends]"
"[Same,]" Maksim reported from his sniping position. "[I'd say go for it. Pretty sure thirty seconds is up.]"
"[Guess so,]" Roman sighed, and readied his shield. "[Prepare to breach everyone, on the normal signal. Copy]"
"[Copy, Shieldbearer,]" Stanislav confirmed.
"[Copy,]" Elena nodded and Anton echoed her words.
Roman walked up to the door, fired a single gauss round at the locking mechanism and kicked it in with one practiced motion. A second later he activated the unique aspect of his armor: the shield itself. It manifested as a faint red covering over the armor itself, and had the useful ability of being able to deflect several bursts of projectiles. It never lasted more than a few, but those few were crucial when doing breaches of this nature. That being said, he still tried to avoid being hit. The batteries charging the suit did recharge over time but that took longer than was acceptable, He did have several spares in that case, but only a few.
How it actually worked was somewhat fuzzier, though he knew there were two variations of the shield. One for conventional weapons and one for alien ones. It utilized magnetic fields for the ballistic variant, which appeared to have the effect of deflection. He hadn't had the opportunity to test the anti-alien weapon part, but figured it probably wouldn't be quite as effective.
He swung his weapon around as he quickly scanned the small, but open living room. Nothing so far-a soldier in the tan uniform of the Iranian military sprang up from behind a counter and began firing his rifle while shouting at him in Persian. Roman sidestepped, took a quick second to aim before the fire became more accurate, and fired several shots at the man.
He screamed and went spinning backwards, crashing into a nearby table and knocking all the dishes off, which fell to the ground with a crash. Roman grimaced, he'd taken a glancing blow. He took a brief second to look at the uniform, even as the man tried to right himself. Just a regular soldier, not worth trying to capture. Roman shot him several times in the head, turning it to mush and splattering the walls with red.
"[One hostile down,]" he reported as Anton and Elena came in behind him. Stanislav kicked in the back door and marched in, weapons raised with Galina close behind.
"[Exits are secured,]" Stanislav declared, motioning Galina to stay by the door.
"[Elena, with me,]" Roman ordered as they moved to the hallways. "[Anton, clear the rooms opposite mine.]"
"[Got it,]" Anton nodded and Roman and Elena walked into the segregated hallway from the rest of the living room. Roman motioned to the left and Elena followed as they reached the first door. He slowly reached over and turned the doorknob, pushing it open to reveal an empty bathroom. Just to be sure, he entered and pushed aside the shower curtains. Nothing.
"[Clear,]" he said and they proceeded to the next room. He repeated the same procedure and this time revealed what seemed to be a child's room. Toys were strewn about on the floor, and the colors were of a much younger child, maybe between six and ten. "[Be advised we may have civilians,]" Roman warned.
They reached the room at the end of the hallway. "[Roman, got a stairway leading to a basement,]" Anton said. "[Instructions?]"
"[Hold position until the first floor is clear,]" Roman ordered, reaching over and turning to doorknob of the last room. "[Almost done.]"
He pushed in the door and swept the larger bedroom with his rifle until it rested on a two people, huddling in a corner. A terrified woman and a young girl who started crying the moment his rifle rested on her. "[Two civilians,]" Roman reported as the woman began shouting at him angrily in Persian while half-sobbing. "[Elena, take them outside and turn them in to the Peacekeepers for screening.]"
"[On it,]" Elena said, holstering her rifle and motioning the woman to follow her. Roman left her to take care of the civilians and walked back to Anton who was dutifully standing in front of the door that had a stairway leading down.
"[Ready?]" Anton asked, looking over as he approached.
"[I'll take point,]" Roman said reaching over to the lightswitch. "[Killing the lights, switch to night-vision.]"
They made their way down, rifles raised as the stairs turned sharply a couple times until they were in what appeared to be a storage basement. Crates, barrels and boxes were stacked in ordered rows, which he didn't fail to note were arranged in a way that could also form a barricade. Not that it would help against concentrated gauss fire.
"This is your final chance to surrender!" Roman called out as Anton took a position beside him.
Silence.
Roman pursed his lips and nodded to Anton. "[Killzone.]"
At that command they began firing into the crates, splintering the cheap wood and shattering the more fragile cases apart. The constant sound of gauss rifles was only briefly punctuated by several brief screams of pain. Both of them continued firing. If anyone was there, they had passed up their chance to surrender.
They had no time for mercy now.
"[Cease fire,]" Roman ordered, raising a palm. "[Forward.]"
They walked through the now-ruined basement, wood cracking and splintering where their boots touched. Glass and plastic crunched with each step they took. Roman spotted a corpse thrown against two broken barrels. His body was leaking blood and ripped apart from gauss rounds. "[One hostile down,]" he reported.
"[Make that two,]" Anton corrected, nodding towards a female corpse that no longer had a head. Roman nodded and kept walking until they reached the end.
"[House clear,]" he reported. "[We're coming back up now.]"
"[Civilians are turned in to the Peacekeepers,]" Elena reported. "[Regroup outside. We've got a lot more houses to clear.]"
"[That we do,]" Roman grunted as they walked up the stairs, the sounds of more gunfire reaching his ears as more teams did their work purging the city of any resistance. That was just how it had to be. He looked down the street, at ordinary houses that nonetheless were all possible threats.
And it was their job to neutralize each one.
"[Come on,]" he ordered, reloading his gauss rifle. "[We've got work to do.]"
Zanjan ADVENT Command, Iran
"[I never thought my day would be spent raiding houses looking for isolated soldiers,]" Galina said as they strode into the temporary assigned barracks. It consisted of pretty much nothing but a few bunk beds and lockers, but it worked. Galina immediately plopped down on her bunk and pulled off her helmet and carefully set it at her side as she reached for her cloth she used for cleaning.
The rest of them did something similar. Roman pulled off his helmet and carefully set it down, then rested his head on the back of the wall and took a moment to breath. "[Look on the bright side,]" Anton said as he began taking off his armor. "[At least they couldn't hurt us.]"
"[Yet,]" Konstantin grumbled as he laid on the cot, too exhausted to even take off his armor. "[They have to figure it out eventually.]"
"[Maybe,]" Galina shrugged, as she cleaned the bloodstains off her helmet. "[But I doubt it. We don't leave enough alive to get something like that back to wherever their capital is.]"
"[Good point,]" Roman chuckled, straightening up again and appraising Galina. "[Question. Do you think we'd take more alive if any of us spoke Persian?]"
"[Doubt it,]" Stanislav said, rubbing his unkempt beard. "[People like this don't surrender. Saw it all the time during the War on Terror. Fanatics don't listen to reason or logic.]"
"[Bad example,]" Elena chided, coming to sit down by Roman, who lowered himself to also sit down by her. "[Those were terrorists, these are soldiers.]"
"[Still applies,]" Stanislav defended. "[They're defending their home and are under orders. One or both of those, along with being isolated with invincible soldiers coming at you, probably means they aren't thinking straight anymore.]"
He shrugged. "[But hey, I'm not here to psychoanalyze them. Just to put them down if they give us trouble.]"
"[Did that a little too well,]" Maksim commented, resting his sniper rifle on the wall and giving them disappointed looks. "[Do you have any idea just how boring today was?]"
Roman raised an eyebrow and they all chuckled. "[You would prefer getting shot at?]"
"[Yes, because you were so concerned about that,]" Maksim commented sarcastically. "[Seriously. Not fair if you have all the fun.]"
Konstantin took a sip from one of the water bottles he kept on him. "[Hey, I'd let one go to give you something to do, but I have no interest in getting chewed out, thank you very much. Trust me, I've never seen any operation like this run this tight.]"
"[I must have missed something,]" Elena said, looking to him. "[What do you mean?]"
Konstantin motioned outside. "[Out there I guarantee there are a couple hundred teams still working. This current operation is being run by Ivan, who you should know is extremely meticulous. He probably had everything mapped out before we even entered this region. Roman, help me out?]"
"[Can't disagree,]" Roman admitted. "[Ivan was very clear that he wanted those houses we cleared done by a specific time.]"
"[Anything to make him happy,]" Galina said, brushing some blonde strands out of her eyes. "[At least we know that's why you were in 'no taking prisoners' mode today.]"
Roman snorted. "[When am I not?]"
"[Eh, point taken,]" Galina conceded with a smile. "[But there have been times.]"
"[It's nice to not have to worry about that,]" Maksim said wistfully. "[I'd always be worried some overly-naïve journalist will interview some poor widow who saw her terrorist husband shot in front of her, which will then lead to a global outcry and me getting discharged for doing my damn job.]"
"[Don't need to worry about that anymore. Seriously,]" Roman said, pointing to his bunk where a file was poking from the edge. "[Read the ADVENT Rules of Engagement sometime. We're pretty much allowed to defend ourselves if it's justified. Someone pulls a gun on you, shoot them. They throw a punch, shoot them. And so on. Perfectly legal and justified, and if someone does complain….]" He tapped the armor. "[Why do you think we have body cameras?]"
"[Also explains why tampering gets you arrested,]" Anton noted. "[It's sort of refreshing how this is written. Like they actually had a soldier do it.]"
Roman was about to say something when his earpiece beeped and he clicked it. "[Sir?]"
"[Come to my office,]" Colonel General Ivan Frolov ordered. "[We need to discuss moving forward.]"
"[I'll be there,]" he said and clicked the link off. "[Reporting to Ivan now. Wish me luck.]"
"[We'll be ready to move if he needs us,]" Stanislav promised.
"[But I'll be sleeping until then,]" Konstantin added into his pillow.
Roman smirked at that, grabbed his helmet and began walking to the "office" of Ivan which in reality was what had been more or less the center of government, now converted for military use. Roman looked over to the processing areas which had been set up shortly after occupation began. There were still long lines of civilians out the doors, and a short distance further were where the captured or surrendered Iranian soldiers were being processed. Roman didn't know what they were doing to them, and frankly, didn't care.
It was a problem he was glad he wasn't in charge of solving. Because prisoners were a serious liability with no redeeming features whatsoever here. All they accomplished was filling up jail space and otherwise served no useful purpose. Eh, but again, that wasn't his problem, and he hadn't looked into the ADVENT rules on prisoners of war.
The two captains stepped aside as he walked up. Aside from the color, Shieldbearer armor was bulkier and the helmet was more angular than regular troopers or captains. It was a much easier way to recognize superior officers without peering at badges. Ivan had set up his office close to the entrance, so it only took a minute to find it and Roman just walked in because the Colonel General didn't like wasting time.
"[Shieldbearer,]" Ivan stated as he walked into the office. The aged man was looking over a holotable depicting Iran, color-coded to show territory captured by them so far. From his estimation it appeared that only a fifth of it was captured, which was admittedly more than it should have been at this point.
"[Colonel General,]" he returned, saluting and suddenly realizing that it was a hologram he was looking at. An actual hologram. They really were living in the future. "[You wanted to see me, sir?]" He asked, returning to the subject at hand.
"[Correct,]" Ivan said, his sharp eyes still on the map. "[I'm curious, what do you make of it?]"
"[We still have quite a bit to do,]" Roman said, not wanting to waste time wondering if this was some sort of test. Ivan didn't work like that.
"[Of course we do,]" Ivan said, looking up at the first time to the veteran Russian soldier. "[But fortunately, the situation is much better than it appears.]" He pointed at the map. "[The land mass is large, but mostly unimportant. Once we take Tehran, the Iranians are effectively destroyed. It is their capital and once it falls, so does Iran.]"
Roman saw it now. "[We're not far then.]"
Ivan gave a humorless smile. "[No, we are not. I have wanted to take the methodical approach to ensure that we push their army into Tehran, make it their final stand. But we are unfortunately going too slow.]"
"[I'm working my team as hard as possible, sir,]" Roman said. "[But work too fast-]"
"[That isn't a comment on your performance, Shieldbearer,]" Ivan interrupted, raising a hand. "[You and your team have performed commendably. The issue is that in the grand scheme, this war is nothing. A last gasp of an irrelevant and outdated culture, but one that will fight to the last breath.]"
"[The aliens.]" Roman nodded. "[We need to focus on them.]"
"[You understand quickly,]" Ivan said approvingly. "[Good. But we unfortunately cannot simply leave the Middle East alone. They do not care about the aliens and must be brought in line with ADVENT. I have spoken with the officers in ADVENT Command. They want this war ended before the aliens begin multiple offensives. Impossible to end a war on this scale in months, let alone weeks, but Marshal Vladimir had given the orders to bring this war to a swift end and I intend to accomplish that.]"
Roman waited. "[How, sir?]"
Ivan straightened and clasped his hands behind his back. "[ADVENT rules of engagement are more lenient than I'm used to, so I intend to utilize that. See if you can find Hamedan on the map." Roman complied and found the city south of where they were, and not far from Tehran itself. He pointed and Ivan nodded. "[That is our next target. And where I will test how far the Iranians are willing to go to protect their country.]"
"[Noted, sir,]" Roman said. "[I assume the engagement will be different?]"
"[Correct,]" Ivan said. "[I see no point wasting time in drawn out firefights that take a week for us to move into the city where it can be done far sooner. What will happen is this: I will issue an offer for the city to surrender for one day only. Should they refuse, I will let them know that if they do not comply, I will raze the city to the ground.]"
Roman blinked. He wasn't exactly an empathetic person, but even he knew that was somewhat extreme, even for a pragmatist like Ivan. "[Sir, the civilians-]"
"[Will be warned as well,]" Ivan said dismissively. "[ADVENT ROE specifically states that civilian deaths are allowed if every attempt was made to prevent them. I will make it as clear as possible the attack is coming and give them adequate time to leave. If they stay, they have knowingly ignored the warning and have no special protections under ADVENT.]"
Roman understood the logic, but still frowned. "[What if the Iranian Army doesn't let them leave?]"
Ivan looked at him with unflinching ice-cold eyes. "[This is not the way I want this war to go, Shieldbearer, but compared to the threat coming, this city is nothing, this war is irrelevant. If I must make an example of a city to end this war months earlier, then so be it.]"
Roman looked at the map. "[This is a message to Tehran.]"
"[Correct,]" Ivan stated, also looking at the map. "[I suspect Hamedan will not take my warning seriously. I do not expect them to comply and when their city is in ruins, it will send a message to Tehran that if they don't comply, the same will happen to them. We will take over all Iranian channels and broadcast the footage from this over and over to make them see what we will do to them. If they will not listen to reason, then I will make them respond to fear.]"
"[And what do you need from me, sir?]"
"[Your team will be one of those sweeping the ruins for survivors,]" Ivan stated coldly. "[You are to consider everything in that area hostile and remove them as such. We have enough prisoners as it is. Do you understand?]"
"[Yes, sir!]" Roman confirmed.
Ivan gave one nod. "[I understand what I am saying, but I also know you agree that we have little choice. Tell your team their assignment. The main bulk of our forces will move out in two days, and the Peacekeepers will keep order in the city. Prepare accordingly. Dismissed.]"
Roman saluted, and exited the office, a dark and grim cloud of responsibility hanging over him as he went to share the grisly details of their next assignment with his team. But Ivan was right. Their choices were limited and one war was more important than the other.
A few thousand lives were nothing compared to millions, after all.
Washington DC, United States of America
Traffic was always bad here, and today, of course, it was even worse. Had she not had larger things to worry about, Jaylin Tanika would be sufficiently irritated. Which wasn't to say she wasn't, but it was a more resigned irritation rather than something white-hot within her. It really was amazing how everything could change almost overnight.
At least it had seemed that way to her.
Not one day after the good Madame President had officially put the US into ADVENT, law enforcement had undergone major revisions. Ranks were being redone, laws were being changed to adopt the new rules of the ADVENT Peacekeepers of which she was now one, by virtue of previously being in Riot Control.
It had happened so quickly Jaylin still wasn't sure if she should be pleased or not by the sudden decisions. It was likely dulled by the fact that her job was only getting harder after Treduant had made the proclamation. Because whenever something controversial happened, she damn well knew that there would be a lot of protests.
Especially in DC where anyone with any sort of political power now had one target: President Nicole Treduant.
And today was the day when they were expecting the largest protest in American history, and she was going to help make sure it didn't devolve into rioting. In her experience though, that was exactly what she was expecting to happen. The projected demographics were all over the place, and over such a sensitive subject as independence, peaceful protest was not something she was expecting.
More importantly, for her it would be an interesting demonstration of how ADVENT wanted to run things. She doubted it would be too different, otherwise she doubted the chiefs would allow this Peacekeeper program to be integrated so smoothly. The good news for her was that it was at least looking like an upgrade.
When she'd seen the armor worn by the ADVENT soldiers, she had subconsciously wondered if they were due for a similar upgrade, and then dismissed it quickly. There was no way ADVENT would shell out that kind of money for their equivalent of a police force…but sure enough, they had and what she was wearing now was proof of it.
With the exception of the left arm, it was identical to the trooper armor with the addition of a white shoulder cape on whatever side the dominant arm was, which in her case was the right. The left arm was bulkier because it had a built-in transparent riot shield that could be activated with the press of a button. And today Chief Rais had sent out a memo that their crowd-control equipment was also being overhauled, though he hadn't been able to give out details.
Either way, Jaylin knew that there were going to be quite a few people upset. For some reason, there were people who had issues with police, and riot police in particular, and would no doubt try and discredit them in whatever way they could. It wasn't difficult to cause controversy these days, and Jaylin found it somewhat irritating to be worrying about public response when she did her job.
Serve and Protect. That was the motto, but for her it did not extend to criminals and lawbreakers. You serve and protect the people who deserve it, it wasn't an innate privilege and certainly not a right she was willing to afford to everyone. It wasn't high standard either. Follow the law and you had nothing to worry about.
A sentiment that a certain portion of the populace didn't seem to grasp.
Jaylin finally arrived at the station and quickly exited, nearly tripping over her boots as she still wasn't used to the much heavier armor. Yet. It also appeared that not everyone had received the upgrade since as she walked by, most officers were in their regular uniforms, whistling in surprise and giving envious looks at the armor itself.
It did make sense that they would want to protect the riot police first, but she figured it was only a matter of time before the rest of the department got upgraded as well. "So how is it?" Secretary Vale asked as she walked up to check in, a pen tapping idly in his fingers as his vibrant gray eyes looked over her armor with unbridled curiosity.
"Heavy," she answered, handing him her badge. "But actually pretty comfortable. I'm surprised they even gave it to us."
"Can't wait to get mine," he chuckled as he scanned her badge. "Although they'll probably only give them to patrol officers, not desk workers like me."
"Guess we'll see," Jaylin shrugged. "Did the Chief leave any place he wanted me to go?"
"Shooting range," Vale answered, handing her the badge back. "Got some new toys for you, I think."
"Thanks," she said, and began making her way to the shooting range. It only took a few minutes and she entered the packed shooting range with her colleagues all wearing the same black armor as her. Even unarmed they were an impressive sight. She spotted Rose and Troy chatting nearby and headed towards them.
Rose spotted her quickly and gave a wide smile. "Captain, glad you finally made it!"
"Have some faith," Jaylin smirked. "You really think I would be late today of all days?"
"Not by choice," Troy corrected, his neatly trimmed beard almost giving him a sinister appearance as he looked down at her. "It isn't pretty out there."
"That's DC traffic," Jaylin dismissed. "Tell me it isn't pretty in a few hours. And speaking of that, what are we waiting for?"
"The chief to get down here," Rose muttered, shooting an irritated look to the far exit. "He better hurry otherwise we'll actually be putting down a riot. You know how these people are."
"And they have a tendency to start early," Troy added grimly, crossing his arms. "I just can't wait. How many outlets do you think will be covering this? Six?"
"This is getting national attention," Jaylin grumbled, pushing a black strand of hair out of her face. "Every damn station will be covering this. No pressure on us, of course."
Rose looked ready to agree before they were interrupted by the door opening and Chief Rais strode out, also wearing the same armor as them except for his shoulder cape which was white and red. "Listen up!" He ordered, his booming voice immediately silencing the chatter. Rais had a gift for commanding attention which completely matched his gruff and serious persona and face. If anyone saw it, they would (correctly) assume him to be someone who'd never had a happy thought in his life.
Although that wasn't exactly fair, he just took his job way more seriously than was probably healthy.
"We have one mandate for today," he continued, pacing back and forth in front of them. "Keep the peace. Failing that, control the situation. They're expecting at least half a million people and we are not going to have DC turn into a warzone. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Right," he continued. "You've already got your armor, now the new tools ADVENT has provided. And no, don't ask me why, who or how. Either I don't know or am not at liberty to say. Just be happy. You'll have three main pieces of equipment." He raised a grayish rifle thing, with a very odd barrel and no bullet cartridge she could see.
"First piece," he bellowed. "The ARC Rifle, your main means of pacification and control. Fires bolts of electricity to stun or knock out troublemakers." He turned away, aimed the rifle at a nearby dummy and fired. Jaylin didn't see the bolt exit, but she heard the sharp static discharge and saw a blue flash hit the dummy. "Minimum setting is enough to knock out an adult," Rais warned, turning back to them. "Can adjust up to lethal, but you are not allowed to do so without permission. Short version: This thing hurts so don't use it unless you have to."
Jaylin still had her eyes fixed on the rifle. Well that was something she hadn't expected. That told her more about ADVENT's priorities than some document ever could. You didn't give that to your Peacekeepers unless you were expecting trouble, and you wanted that trouble gone. Regardless, she definitely wasn't going to complain.
"You've got a short-range countermeasure as well," Rais continued, pulling out what looked like a black stick an arm's length long. There were bumps along the side, but Jaylin had a good idea of what it was. "The new and improved stun baton," he continued. "Each blow delivers a shock when activated, and can be optimized to stun on impact." To emphasize his point, he flipped a switch on the baton and odd white discharges manifested on the baton and vanished in milliseconds with sharp snaps. "Hurts like hell so don't take these lightly. If we're dealing with an insurrection, switch it to lethal mode."
Jaylin blinked. Lethal mode? Rais shut off the electricity of the baton, turned the stick itself until she heard a click and when he pressed the button again, those bumps on the side snapped out into wicked-looking spikes, electricity arcing between the teeth. "These are just as sharp as they look," Rais warned. "And the output is enough to send a healthy adult into cardiac arrest. As such you are only to use lethal mode when authorized and better yet, isolated. You have better chance of killing your partners than hostiles when this is active. If your life is genuinely in danger, that's why you have this."
He pulled out a black pistol, finger off the trigger. "The new standard-issue Gauss pistol. Again, don't use this unless you fully intend to kill someone with it. This piece will tear any regular bulletproof vest to shreds and will pierce most cover. Packs a punch, so be careful with it. Questions? You."
"Not that I'm complaining," one black-haired officer said slowly-Robert, that was his name. "But this seems like a lot of…well, firepower. I thought there were restrictions on that for us."
"There were," Rais confirmed with a nod. "But the laws have changed thanks to ADVENT. Our job is to keep order and as long as it is done within the law, we are free to deal with criminals with appropriate prejudice." He raised a finger. "Which brings me to a very important point."
His gaze swept the room. "Just because you have to ability to neutralize someone, that does not mean you get to. You are only allowed to intervene if there is clear agitation. Someone throws bottles or rocks at you, knock them out and drag their ass to jail. That does not mean that you can shock someone who flips you off and calls you mean names."
He tapped his chest. "So in case you didn't know, we've got cameras in these now. You get someone killed? We'll know if it's justified. Someone tries to falsely accuse you of police brutality or whatnot? We can check and if they are lying, we punish them. Clear and simple. So the good news is that under ADVENT we have a lot more freedom to deal with criminals and deviants, so long as it is within the law. Bad news is that we're under their oversight and it's gonna be a lot more paperwork for everyone."
He paused his pacing and faced them intently. "ADVENT wanted this point stressed: They will not tolerate any systemic abuses of power. You do that, you're not getting a weeks-long review, you're going to jail if the footage matches up. If they find you tampered with your suits camera, you're going to jail. Cameras are always running on duty, and you are required to upload it weekly. Failure to do so will lead to prosecution. That clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Alright, that out of the way, let's get to work," Rais nodded. "There's a good chance we're going to have to stop the groups from fighting among themselves. Indications are that we've got the far-right militant groups marching with hippies, and so on, so don't be surprised if you end up breaking up fights between them. More information will be given on the way. But we're on a timetable, so let's move out! Crates containing your new weapons are on the way."
"This should be interesting," Rose said as they followed the Chief out, and Jaylin could only nod in agreement.
Today was going to be a very interesting day indeed.
Kochi, Japan
Everything was going at full speed here. Entire squads dashed past him and engineering teams were moving missiles and THAAD Defense systems into place. More workers were establishing barricades on the coast for the inevitable attack. Duri took a few minutes to see what exactly they were doing.
To a certain extent, it appeared that the plan was to allow some space for the aliens to deploy soldiers, and have a line almost immediately after that of soldiers to shoot them down. It was bait, without even counting the fact that Duri noted them setting mines on the ground. Kochi didn't really have conventional beaches, and was packed with as many buildings as possible. Impressive, but not exactly helpful for defending against an attack.
On the flipside, it would be easy to outflank and outmaneuver the alien forces who wouldn't be familiar with the territory. He supposed what he'd do would heavily depend on where he was stationed. But first he actually had to find where his team was supposed to be, which was-he unwrapped the paper in his hand-the converted barracks, region 42-not far from here.
Figuring it best not to waste time, he broke into a light jog and managed to hitch a ride on one of the carts going there and finally arrived at what had probably been a police station of sorts before being converted. It was highly disorganized, with unopened boxes and random scraps of metal and cloth strewn around as bunks were hastily erected and thin plastic walls were put up.
In any case, he finally found where his team was supposed to be, and sure enough they were all there. In fact they already seemed to be getting along. "Mutons," one was saying, who Duri assumed was the North Korean of the team. He seemed awfully young with a flawless face and neatly trimmed black hair. He had a finger raised as he spoke to two others, a man and woman. "Those are the ones you need to be careful of."
"The big ones," the woman nodded, definitely an American from the accent. "I saw them from the New York attacks."
The North Korean frowned. "I…no, those aren't the usual ones. Those are a bigger version. The regular ones have green armor and are much smaller."
"A relief, I guess," the man said, who interestingly enough had a full, but neat beard. Duri couldn't place the accent…Swedish, since he was pretty sure it wasn't Venezuelan.
"Got company," a Hispanic woman grunted from the corner, not pausing as she cleaned her sniper rifle. The rest of them looked at him, all standing at attention.
"At ease," he said, flicking his hand. "Didn't mean to interrupt," he looked at the young North Korean. "Although names would be nice."
"Captain Eun-Jung, correct?" The other man asked, approaching him and extending a hand. "Johan Eriksson, Swedish Army."
"Duri's fine," he answered, taking the offered hand. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Cara," the American woman said with a smile and a lazily lifted hand. "US Army. Actually spent some time in South Korea a few years ago. Beautiful country." She pointed at the woman cleaning her sniper rifle. "That's Miss Sanchez, she mostly likes keeping to herself."
"Shut up, Boreal," Sanchez muttered, rising. "I can speak for myself, thank you." Now that she stood, Duri noted that she was probably the tallest out of all of them, with her raven hair falling to just above her shoulders. "It's Beatriz Sanchez, Captain, Venezuela Army Sniper Corps."
Duri gave a slight smile. "Glad to have you here. Snipers are always useful."
Her lips twitched a little at that. "Yeah, I guess so Captain."
Hmm. There was definitely something with her he'd have to look into later. In the meantime, there was one final team member. "Kang Il Sim, Captain," the North Korean said, inclining his head. "I was updating Cara and Johan on the aliens we are likely to face."
"I heard," Duri nodded. "Where did you learn that? It's correct, but as far as I know only the Captains were given specific intel."
"Information on specific alien types was distributed to the entirety of the North Korean military," Kang explained without emotion. "It was initially gathered from our own encounters with the aliens, and I suspect XCOM updated our lists later on."
"You might have saved me some time," Duri said, pulling a roll of paper from a pouch in his armor. "Have experience with Andromedons?"
Kang furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm unfamiliar with that unit."
"Is that a code-word or are they actually called that?" Cara asked skeptically.
"Don't know," Duri admitted, handing her the information he'd received on it. "But that's what XCOM is calling it. Seems even worse than a muton, at least the green ones."
"Not a psion, though," Cara said after reading for a few minutes. "So that's something."
"As far as we're aware, the only psions are Sectoids and Ethereals," Duri confirmed. "And XCOM has their own."
"I wonder if we'll get our own too," Johan wondered thoughtfully. "In all of ADVENT, there have to be some who can do it."
Duri heard Beatriz snort in her corner. "Of course there are. Thing is that XCOM wants them all to themselves."
"C'mon," Cara said wearily. "You really believe that?"
"Call it a feeling," she muttered. "Besides, I've seen the Commander of XCOM before."
Duri looked at her in interest. "You know who he is?"
"Nope," Beatriz admitted slowly, looking up at him with weary eyes. "But he came to Venezuela once, official visit I think. Definitely American. I don't know what happened other than that all the command staff were really spooked for months afterwards." She shrugged. "That was fifteen years ago though, pre-War on Terror for you younger ones. But I don't trust him."
"Well, I have to say you're wrong," Kang stated boldly, casting a disapproving eye on Beatriz. "If not for the Commander and XCOM, we would likely be in a much worse position."
"You believe that?" Beatriz asked wearily, setting her sniper rifle on the wall. "Or do you just think that because your Supreme Leader said so?"
Oh dear, this was not what he wanted to deal with. "Enough," he ordered, raising a hand before Kang could give a righteously indignant response. "Insulting each other is not going to be allowed. You can have your opinion Beatriz, and Kang, you have to respect that."
Kang shut his mouth. "Yes, Captain."
"Whatever XCOM is, or is not, that isn't what we should focus on," Duri continued. "We're probably going to be under attack soon and we need to prepare for what we're facing." He set his pack down and pulled out the map he'd been given. "Break time's over, I've got the location of where we're going to be." He went over and pulled a table to the center and they gathered around it and he laid the map flat on it. "Time to get started. Beatriz, if you're our sniper, where do you think your best positions will be?"
Washington DC, United States of America
The ARC rifle was much lighter than any firearm she'd ever wielded in her life. It seemed to weight almost nothing as she held it in her hands, watching as the huge throng of people marched in front of the White House. Jaylin had wondered what presidents did when people protested outside what was essentially your house. If she were president, she'd probably not pay any attention and go about her day.
But Treduant had displayed some amount of cunning, and an intolerance for threats to her, so it was unlikely she was writing this off. Her loss, if this was any indication Treduant had nothing to worry about because these people had no unified message, they were only united in their belief that what was happening now was wrong, and Jaylin was certain that the solutions of the different factions would clash the moment they were proposed.
Echoes of chants and cheers were shouted every few minutes, repeated by the crowd jubilantly. Catchy in a way, but only served to keep up a crowd's energy and enthusiasm. As usual there were the vast array of signs and banners that of course had contradicting goals and motivations.
Take our country back!
Impeach Treduant!
Traitors will be punished!
Freedom before Tyranny!
Peace not War!
Jaylin had to shake her head at some of them. Peace? Impeachment? Tyranny? It was clear that some of these people didn't actually know what they were asking, nor what they were talking about. Did some want peace with the aliens? Why exactly should Treduant be impeached? What tyranny? Because Jaylin knew very well that if this was simply because they didn't approve…well, they didn't have any legal power to demand anything they were supposedly marching for.
But there was a very clear current of anger in the air. It was real and it was enough to unite complete opposite political ideologies into one controlled mob that would ultimately accomplish little except wasting all of their time. There were a dozen more important things Jaylin could be doing, but no, these people wanted to make a point and thus she was ordered to indulge them.
At least the armor was serving a secondary purpose beyond protection. It was fortunately intimidating to quite a few people, with many avoiding eye contact and keeping a healthy distance from the armored Riot Police. Or ADVENT Riot Control, as they were designated now. Although now that several hours had passed, they were getting bolder.
And angrier.
"See that one in back?" Troy asked through their helmet comlinks. "The one with the alien on the operating table?" Jaylin looked to where he was suggesting and saw the sign in question, it looked like a crudely drawn sectoid with red blood over it (She knew they actually bled yellow) and what looked like a knife stuck in it. How tragic, all underscored by the words "They are lying to you" on the top.
"What does that even mean?" Jaylin asked wearily. "I never thought I would see conspiracy nuts out in the open."
"I can answer that," Rose said, likely smiling if her voice was any indication. "So apparently, the aliens are actually benevolent and they are actually attacking the evil government as punishment for experimenting on them for years. All they truly want is peace."
Jaylin resisted the urge to facepalm. "Clearly these idiots didn't pay attention to New York. Or Hamburg. Or fucking Australia."
"Hey, I never said they were smart," Rose teased. "Just the deluded fantasies they believed. Like that guy over there."
Jaylin sighed and looked to where some guy was holding a sign that read "Treduant is a pawn of the New World Order!" It was of course complete with a badly photoshopped image of Treduant in the middle of a globe, and surrounding her were equally badly photoshopped world leaders, Savvin, Gwan and amusingly enough, the XCOM logo as well. To top off the ridiculous sign was that it rested on some kind of satanic symbol…implying that the New World Order was a satanic cult? She didn't know if she wanted an answer to that. So she summed up her feelings as best as possible.
"What an idiot."
"Technically, you could make the case that ADVENT is a New World Order," Troy pointed out coyly. "But the issue is if that's actually a bad thing."
"Not to mention it doesn't actually include the whole world?" Jaylin added. "Where do people get these ridiculous ideas?"
"Oh, you'll like this," Rose chuckled. "You know who Jonas Culbert is?"
"No."
"He is a…how do I put this?" Rose paused. "A conspiracy 'entertainer' and I use that term very loosely. Has a pretty large online show. And runs such logical stories such as that XCOM is a secret US organization born out of MKUltra, ADVENT is the New World Order, and get this, he also believed that there was a legitimate Illuminati organization that secretly ruled the world. Although I'm actually not sure he believes this stuff. I really hope he doesn't. But unfortunately, quite a few people buy that crap."
Jaylin looked over at her nonchalant friend casually holding her own ARC rifle as she observed the crowd. "Do I want to know how you know all this?" She asked.
Rose shrugged. "Eh, some people watch movies and play games for entertainment. I just get mine from the idiots of the world. It is both depressing, and comforting to know that no matter how stupid I act, there will always be someone who believes the world is run by lizard people."
"You know, maybe we're taking the wrong approach with the aliens," Troy joked. "Perhaps humanity had its chance and we deserve to face the consequences."
They all chuckled at that. "Utterly hilarious, guys," another officer said, Brandon, she believed. "Could we focus? They seem to be getting antsy."
"Alright," Jaylin said. "Game faces, everyone. Only a couple hours to go. We get out of here with no incidents and we don't end up on the news."
"Sufficient motivation for me," Rose said. "Hey, is that Senator Martain?"
Jaylin peered into the crowd and spotted the silver-haired man walking with a throng of enthusiastic people, with some Capitol Police officers close behind him. "Yep, it seems so."
"How truly a man of the people," someone commented dryly. "You know he's going to use this for whenever his presidential run is."
"Not for a while," Jaylin said as he walked past. "Not since Treduant postponed the elections."
"She'll have to open them eventually," Troy said. "I can see the ads now. 'I stood with the people who were brave enough to oppose the tyranny of ADVENT' or something like that."
Jaylin chuckled. "Man of the people, mind of a politician."
"Shield!" Rose called and Jaylin hit the button on her arm and the transparent shield on her left arm snapped into place and she held it over her head and looked to see a brick hit Troy's shield. She closed her own and raised her rifle.
"Lock down the area!" She ordered, adjusting the volume on her helmet projection system. "Attention citizens! Hold your positions until the area is swept! Do not attempt to leave." She scanned crowd and spotted a hooded figure pushing through the crowd. "One spotted," she informed, moving to follow. "Rose, with me, everyone else close ranks."
"Burn in hell, traitors!" A voice shouted and several more blocks and a flaming bottle were flung at the line of officers. More hooded figures sprang up in the crowd, yelling more nonsense and slogans and that was all Jaylin needed. The body cams had sufficient evidence now.
"Lock this block down!" She snarled, raising her ARC rifle at one of the hooded figures. The crowd melted before her weapon as it spat electricity and the figure went down with a shriek. "One down," she declared, moving onto the next target. "Do not attempt to leave this area!" She warned the crowd. "Unauthorized exits will lead to prosecution."
Everyone seemed metaphorically stunned that she'd actually used the weapon in her hands and shrank back fearfully as she pursued through the crowd following the initial figure who'd started this.
"Two more are down," Troy reported. "Three more a fleeing. In pursuit now."
"Antifa?" Rose asked as they rounded a corner. "Or someone else."
"We'll ask them later," Jaylin said, as she caught a glimpse of the black hood. "But it looks like it."
"Wonderful," Rose muttered.
Jaylin finally had a shot thanks to people moving out of the way. Her helmet projector at maximum, she shouted. "You in the hood! Put your hands in the air or I will shoot!"
He skidded to a stop, seeing more Riot Control closing the gap. He turned around and threw open his arms. "Go ahead!" He shouted. "Do it! Show what happens to people who dare defy the almighty ADVENT!"
"Just do it," Rose said. "We have evidence."
They did, but Jaylin wanted to make a point with this. If the little thug was determined to make a statement, she was more than willing to oblige once she discredited him. And if he showed some restraint? Well, good for him. Instead, she slung her ARC rifle over her shoulder into the neat holster in the back, and rested her hand on her stun baton.
"Come peacefully and I won't need to," she ordered the young man. "Get on the ground and put your hands up. You are under arrest for public disturbance and assault on multiple officers. We have footage of you, so the best thing you can do is-"
"Oh, go to hell!" He interrupted, eloquently flipping her off. She smirked and kept walking forward. She unfortunately knew exactly how this was going to end and did not feel any sympathy whatsoever.
She stopped right in front of the defiant thug. "Are you finished?" She asked, like a mother scolding a child. If there was anything that got these young anarchists riled up, it was being as patronizing as possible.
"You think this is a game?" He demanded. "At least I stand for something-"
"Yes, yes," Jaylin dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Do you want to give me your speech now or in the car to your comfortable cell?"
He finally did it and swung a fist at her, and she allowed the young idiot to hurt his hand as it hit her hardened helmet. He gasped, and instead of backing down, pulled out a small knife. Jaylin immediately reacted. Fists were one thing, but she wasn't going to risk getting stabbed to make a point. Besides, if he was dumb enough to try and hit an officer in public, he completely deserved this.
She pulled out the baton and jabbed the blunt end into him, causing him to shriek in pain as electricity pulsed through his body, freezing him up. He collapsed he fell to his knees, even as Jaylin kept the baton firmly on his body, only pulling it off when she was certain he was unconscious. That done, she shut off the baton, placed back on her belt and handcuffed the man and unceremoniously slung him over her shoulder.
At this point she realized there were at least a dozen cell phones and cameras pointed at her, no doubt capturing the entire event. Well, she no longer had to worry about footage being misconstrued. She had the whole event recorded, and had been completely justified in her response. "I've got one hostile secured," she reported. "Definitely seems to be Antifa."
"We've got ours as well," Troy reported. "Loading them into the van for processing. These stun weapons are so much better. Much easier without a resisting perp."
"Unlock the event now," Jaylin ordered. "Let them finish their protest. I think they'll be more behaved this time."
"You're the boss here. Doing it now."
Yes, today had indeed turned out interesting.
Washington DC, United States of America
Jaylin breathed a sigh of relief when she pulled into her garage. The day was over and it had gone…mostly according to plan. Luckily the rest of the protest had proceeded without incident, and the people had given every Riot Control Officer a wide berth and were much more…subdued, especially once word got around what had happened.
Although she was somewhat dreading going inside, turning on the TV and seeing herself.
But she might as well face the music now. Not that she had anything to worry about, since she'd turned everything over and informed Rais exactly what had happened. She'd followed the law and had nothing to worry about. However, Rais had warned that the major outlets were asking for the video and he was going to provide it.
It would be interesting to see how this was spun, but at least she wouldn't suffer beyond the realm of public opinion, which didn't mean much to her since her circle of friends didn't extend far outside the department.
Reaching her room, she quickly got out of the armor, which took her a longer time than she'd been expecting due to her unfamiliarity. But after actually testing it out…yeah, definitely a major improvement. Perfect 10/10, would arrest thugs again, as the kids would say. Or at least they had, popular phrases and that seemed to change pretty frequently.
Now in a regular T-shirt and jeans, Jaylin walked to her kitchen and was reminded that she needed to stock up. She really should have stopped somewhere on the way back, and she really didn't have the motivation to actually cook something tonight. Eh, a bag of chips would be sufficient for tonight. She'd deal with her woefully empty pantry tomorrow.
Her snack in hand, she walked over to her couch, which sat opposite her TV where she spent an hour or so a day in front of. It was really only useful for news, since she didn't watch entertainment, and it didn't take long for her to get irritated at the state of the world before she shut it off in disgust. Although it had become far more interesting recently, with the destruction of the UN and establishment of ADVENT.
She settled back and flipped on the news to some CNN anchors. She knew they had names, but they were really too boring for her to really bother to learn them, and as far as she was concerned, all of them were interchangeable. For the sake of it, today they were…Trevor and Rachael. Trevor was currently facing the camera and speaking in the 'breaking news' voice. "Now to provide an update on the situation that developed today during one of the largest protests ever to take place in DC. We have reached out to the department, and they have provided us both with the names of the officers involved, and the footage of the incident itself."
"The footage that initially sparked online controversy appears to have been altered, compared to the raw footage provided to us," Rachael added, shuffling some papers on her desk. "It appears to confirm that the young man in question attempted to attack the officer in question, Jaylin Tanika, and that was the reason for her swift response."
"And that he was ignoring an officer," Jaylin muttered, wincing as the picture of her appeared on the screen. It was probably the most unrepresentative picture of her that she could think of. They'd told her to smile and she'd given what now looked like a horribly fake parody of it. She looked like some suburban mom with that smile and loose black hair than an actual officer.
Although she did get some amusement knowing that, somewhere, there was some people who would be completely shocked at the knowledge that there was such a thing as a black female riot control officer. She smirked at the thought. At least this would dispel the accusations of racism that would have no doubt some up if she had literally had any other skin color.
"Nevertheless, this appears to raise some concerns about how ADVENT appears to conduct its law enforcement," Trevor continued in a monotone voice. "There have been swift condemnation of the force used to subdue the disrupters in question, which one senator has called 'disproportionate'. We have reached out to both the department and the Chief of the ADVENT Peacekeepers."
"Chief Amalda Stein replied with, quote: 'If they didn't want to get arrested, they shouldn't have attacked officers and attempted to flee,'" Rachael finished. Jaylin nodded in approval. She hadn't heard of the Chief of the Peacekeepers, but she was liking her already. It was really common sense. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes that landed you in jail.
The talking heads began droning on about legislature response and were calling in so-called 'experts' who Jaylin had seen before and were so irrelevant they only fooled people who had no idea of how things were run today. Her phone buzzed suddenly and she pulled it out and frowned at the number. Why was Rais calling now?
"Hello?" She asked, continuing to eat her chips.
"Watching the news?" He asked.
"Yep," she confirmed. "Not as bad as I was expecting."
"Tends to happen when the main controversy is dispelled," he grunted. "Didn't say it earlier, but good job."
She raised an eyebrow. "Thanks, Chief. Need me for something?" It was unheard of for him to call just to offer some support.
"I've got some good news for you actually," he said. "And some news you might or might not find good."
Well, now she was curious. "What is it?"
"ADVENT Peacekeeping command has decided to promote you to a mobile team captain," he said. "Essentially that means you can be moved around where they need you, and you get a larger command, better pay and benefits. All in all, a good deal."
That it was, even if she'd never heard of the position before. "I'm not complaining, but what's the catch?"
There was a pause on the other end. "Have you been following the situation in South America?"
"A bit," she admitted. "Not the most important news story to me at the moment."
"Well, Brazil just completely captured Paraguay," he said, making Jaylin think furiously. Where the hell was that? "The short version is that the population is not under control and they need Peacekeepers. In this case, that means you."
Ohh, now she understood. "I'm going to Brazil? Do I get a say in this?"
"No, you do not," Rais admitted. "Short of quitting, you're going where they send you, and that is where you're needed."
Well…she wasn't entirely opposed to the idea. It actually might be a good idea to get out of the country for a bit. Not forever, of course, but if she was better down in Brazil, eh, at least she'd be in the center of world-changing events. And if she got to help restore order there, all the better. "Ok," she said. "When do I leave?"
"Two days," he said. "There's some paperwork and stuff you need to fill out and look over, but we'll discuss that tomorrow. Get some rest, you deserve it."
"Thanks, Chief," she said. "You too."
She heard a chuckle. "I wish. But it's looking like a bunch of sleepless nights for me in the future."
He was probably right. If this was any indication, things were not going to improve in the next few months in the United States of America. Hopefully she'd be called back if it got too bad, but in the meantime, she was apparently going to be keeping order in a captured nation.
Never a dull moment, it seemed. But despite that, she was sort of excited to see what would come next.
Hamedan, Iran
There was something thoroughly incomparable about an assembled military bearing down on an opposing army. Roman felt nothing but patriotic pride at the sight of the army of Russian soldiers and vehicles preparing for the coming battle, for he now knew there would be one because the time that Colonel General Ivan had afforded Hamedan was over.
Missile launchers mounted on vehicles and entrenched in the ground itself were primed and aimed at the city of sand-blasted stone and metal. If the Iranians were preparing counter-attacks of their own, Ivan had not seen anything of it. The only indication that the military was doing anything was the soldiers on the perimeter and several small tanks rolling around. No doubt that they thought that Ivan wouldn't go through with his threat. If it was anyone other than Ivan, Roman would have probably thought it smart to call their bluff.
But Roman knew that Ivan was not bluffing…even if it seemed extreme. Even his own team was half-skeptical that Ivan would take such a risk to end the war quicker.
"[Anything different?]" Roman asked Maksim as he stood beside him on a sandy hill before the city. Maksim had his sniper rifle slung over his shoulder and was looking through some high-powered binoculars.
"[Negative,]" Maksim said, sweeping his enhanced gaze over the city. "[They don't seem to be worried about anything. Or maybe they just have orders. They haven't stopped anyone leaving.]"
Roman gave a grim nod. "[At least some are listening.]"
He could hear the frown in Maksim's voice. "[Not enough, though.]"
"[No,]" Roman agreed, looking down to see several of their tanks moving up. "[Not nearly enough.]"
"[All Shieldbearer teams report to your designated transports,]" Ivan commanded, an unusually grim undertone in his voice. "[Initial bombardment will commence in ten minutes.]"
"[Our cue,]" Roman said, tapping Maksim on the shoulder. "[Let's go.]"
Maksim tucked the binoculars away and both of them dashed through the mass of soldiers, vehicles, tanks and explosives to get to the rows of armored trucks which the Shieldbearer teams would ride in to take the city, with the heavier tanks and main bulk of soldiers following close behind. The Shieldbearer teams would eliminate and scatter what remained of any Iranian soldiers, and the main army would secure what would soon be a ruined city.
The rest of them were already by the transport, saluting as he walked up. "[Here we go,]" Elena said quietly as she looked to the city in the distance. Her helmet was removed, technically a breach of protocol in hostile territory, but considering the circumstances, Roman was willing to overlook it. Elena had clearly not been comfortable with the plan, going so far to question Ivan's sanity, though of course not where any superiors could hear them.
She had calmed down later, but she'd been quieter than usual over the past couple days. But in the end, she was a Russian soldier, and she would do her duty, even if she didn't like it. Roman saw Konstantin glance over to a clock set up in the camp.
"[Time's up.]"
Not one minute later, the whirring of the gears in the machines aiming the explosives at the city began moving, until there were audible clicks heard throughout the entire arsenal. The entirety of the assembled ADVENT-Russian military watched in silence as several dozen missiles were launched with earth-shaking roars and streaked towards the city and exploded in the distance.
Cascades of fire and shrapnel soon dotted the buildings in the distance, and the next volley was already being primed, and a few seconds later, were fired into the air, and like the first round, decimated another section of the city. In the lull between volleys, the shouts and screams of the Iranians in the city became audible.
A roar overhead shook the ground and Roman saw several heavy bombers flying over and released a payload of much smaller bombs onto what untouched parts of the city still remained. Now crumbling, burning and utterly in chaos, the time to strike was now. Roman rested a hand on an Elena that was completely expressionless. "[Time to do our job.]" He said softly, then louder to the rest of them. "[Load up! Time to go!]"
There was a chorus of affirmation as they climbed into the transport and were immediately sped towards the now-devastated city. Roman held his rifle at the ready as Ivan made their orders crystal clear. "[Shieldbearer teams, remove any resistance that remains. Captures are not necessary. Remove all threats in the area quickly. Good luck.]"
Several minutes later they pulled slammed to a stop and Roman leapt out the back of the transport, his team close behind him as the other transports also drove up. More Shieldbearers and their teams poured out and began entering the city which was consumed with smoke, dust and sand that obscured their approach.
Now that they were near, the screams and cries for help in Persian were clear, and those were their target. Remove all resistance, for that was their directive. Marching through the dust they simply followed the sound of people. "[Two ahead!]" Stanislav called, and Roman raised his rifle at the sight of two soldiers trying to help one of their wounded comrades.
Perfect for an arrest, if they didn't pose a threat. Regardless of what Ivan wanted, Roman would accept a surrender should they ask for it. But it wasn't to be as one of the soldiers spotted them, and pulled out a pistol, shouting to his friend. Roman blew his head off with a single well-placed gauss rifle shot, while Galina and Maksim executed his friends.
"[We move inward,]" Roman ordered, activating his shield as he heard sounds of desperate Persian calls likely trying to organize what remained of their army. "[We have a lot of ground to cover.]"
But once it was done, there would be one more city that had fallen before the soldiers of ADVENT.
Kochi, Japan
Duri stood with Beatriz in one of the skyscrapers that overlooked the area where they would be stationed. This was probably the dream defense for any army. The home field advantage was emphasized here, allowing friendly snipers an almost perfect view of the immediate battlefield. Beatriz had specifically chosen a building that wasn't the highest in the area, but more in the middle-range, and slightly closer to the action, which as she said, would "Let her take better shots at more targets."
Right now she had her sniper rifle resting on the balcony railing, her helmet off and peering through the scope into the ocean beyond. There was a light breeze and her hair whipped in it, though it didn't seem to bother her as she scanned the area, stone-faced. "Looking for anything in particular?" He asked after a couple moments of silence.
"Just waiting," she answered, lowering the rifle and glancing over at him. "Not much else to do until then, right?"
Duri raised an eyebrow. "Nervous?"
Her lips twitched. "Sure, aren't you?"
"Not as much as I probably should be," Duri admitted, resting his forearms on the balcony. "Maybe if we had no idea what we were facing. But we do, and I know they can be killed. It helps knowing that they bleed and die just like us."
"I'm curious," she said. "Have you actually fought?"
"No official wars, if that's what you're wondering," Duri said. "Have some combat experience, but not military. I was law enforcement before joining the military. North Korea seemed a bigger threat to me than petty crime."
"Hmm," she looked back over the ocean. "And what do you make of Kang?"
Duri was personally skeptical, but knew that wouldn't be in the best interests of the team. "It'll take some getting used to for me," was all he said. "But if he does his job, then all the better."
"A good attitude to have," Beatriz nodded. "Some people can't work with former enemies."
"There's a difference between enemies and those on an opposing side," Duri shrugged. "North Korea was an enemy, but Kang was just fighting for them. He'd been brought up in service to the state because he wasn't given a choice. If anything, I almost feel sorry for him."
Beatriz gave an unexpected light chuckle. "He likely won't see it that way."
"Probably not," Duri agreed, pushing himself up. "I'm heading down to our little tent. You still want to just watch?"
"For now," she said, returning to looking into the horizon. "It's quiet out here. Gives me time to think."
"Ok," he nodded. "Get some rest though. I don't want you tired when the fighting starts." She gave a brief nod and he descended the building and hitched a ride to where his tent was. Upon arriving he saw Cara and Kang were sitting at a table playing some kind of card game. Duri figured it was calm enough to unpack some of his own stuff.
He walked over to his locker and began unpacking everything properly, and storing his armor and weapons in order, as it should have been. He pulled out the picture of Sandara and affixed it to the inside of the locker door, a smile on his face as he looked upon the picture of his wife.
"Girlfriend?" A voice asked-Johan, he recognized.
"Wife," Duri corrected, turning to him while reaching down for the two other pictures. "And this is Mari and Nabi."
Johan whistled. "Daughters too? You are full of surprises," he took the pictures, looking at them almost enviously.
Duri chuckled at that. "Is it that much of a surprise?"
"Eh, probably not," Johan admitted, handing the pictures back. "I'm somewhat impressed. I'm not sure I'd want to marry in the military, let alone have kids."
"It wasn't too bad," Duri explained. "I was stationed in Seoul, so there wasn't much separation. This is really the first time we've been separated because of deployment."
"Are you worried?" Johan asked. "We're not that far from South Korea."
"I know," Duri said wearily. "It's good motivation for me. Stop the aliens here, and then South Korea and my family are safe."
"I think we'll do it," Johan said. "If that's any consolation. I've been watching the videos of XCOM fighting. All the aliens really have going for them is their tech. Take that away…"
And psionics. And numbers. But Duri could appreciate the attempt. "Thanks," he said, appraising the bearded man. "What about you, Johan? Got anyone special?"
"Sadly, no," he chuckled, leaning against the bunk. "But I plan to one day. Wanted to wait till I was out of the military before starting anything. Seemed smarter that way."
Duri smiled. "I can tell you from experience that love has a tendency to destroy our previous plans. But that's a different topic, got any family?"
"Parents in Sweden, and a sister, Mona," Johan said. "She and I were pretty close. We actually enlisted together."
"Oh, is she in ADVENT as well?" Duri asked curiously.
"Technically, but I'm pretty sure she's still in Sweden," Johan said. "She's a bit too reckless for front line fighting. Last I heard she was talking about some role in special forces. Trust me, she's real demon when she's angry." He smirked. "But she's the best sister I could hope for."
"That's good to hear," Duri said, closing his locker. "For better or worse, I grew up without any siblings. Sometimes wished I had one, but then again…"
"You could have gotten a really annoying one," Johan finished, smiling.
"Exactly," Duri said. "So, what are they doing?"
"Cara?" Johan asked, looking behind him at the table. "Got it in her head to teach Kang Poker." His voice lowered. "I'm pretty sure she's setting him up to take all the money he's stupid enough to bet. She's pretty damn good."
"And how would you know?" Duri asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Eh, practice," Johan said with a smile. "I was friends with several American soldiers in Sweden and that was something they did for fun. I personally suck at it, but I know how it works."
"More than me," Duri conceded. "Well, I'm getting some sleep now. See you in the morning."
"Sweet dreams, Captain," Johan nodded with a mock salute, and Duri climbed into the bunk and was asleep in mere minutes. It was a deep and dreamless sleep, undisturbed by anything…
Until the shriek of the alarm pulled him wide awake. Soldiers were shouting and the rest of his team was similarly startled awake by the commotion. "Alien forces approaching," the loudspeaker blared. "All forces report to their designated positions."
His heart began beating furiously. "Armor up and get ready to move out!" Duri ordered, immediately beginning to throw his own armor on. It was showtime now. Do or die. The direction of the war would be determined by this first battle.
And he was not going to break under the pressure. Too many were counting on him to fail now.
He placed his helmet over his head and waited for the HUD to materialize. "Move out!" He ordered at the rest of his armored team. "We have some aliens to kill."
The Praesidium, Barracks
They were here. It was time for the first actual battle against the Ethereal Collective and Patricia felt strangely calm. She pulled on her gauntlets and glanced down at her hands and concentrated. The air around them rippled and flashed purple and she smiled. While the time with Aegis had been short, he had given her some advice in case an Ethereal did show up.
But for everything else…
Well, they stood no chance against her. Perhaps she was overly optimistic, but Patricia believed that the aliens were going to get a sharp kick in the teeth with the combined power of XCOM and ADVENT. The Goliath was online, and the other MECs were going to be wreaking even more havoc on the alien forces.
She placed her helmet over her head, waiting for it to click into place before turning to the assembled soldiers behind her. They were the best humanity had to offer, and there was no finer force she wanted to lead into battle for Earth.
"Load up!" She shouted, turning and beginning her march to the hangar. "Time to give the aliens a proper welcome to Earth!" Emboldened by the swelling anger, pride and confidence, Patricia had a good feeling about the coming battle.
All she had to do was make it a reality.
Supplementary Material
The Advent Directive
SECTION 7: ADVENT Peacekeeping Division
Subsection 7.1: Introduction
Purpose: The role of the Peacekeeping Division is the enforcement of laws established by the ADVENT Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches of the government to the fullest extent. It is to enforce order and curb disobedience to the state by the rights afforded to the Peacekeepers. It is to provide protection to the citizens of ADVENT from the criminal and degenerate elements of society and stamp them out by the methods afforded in this document.
Subdivisions: Within the Peacekeepers there are several subdivisions to focus on different aspects which will be elaborated on further in this section. A general overview is this:
Subdivision 1: State Officers – These officers fulfill the traditional role of law enforcement and will embark on regular patrols in designated areas and have the authority to arrest criminals they encounter and issue tickets and citations to lawbreakers. Upon the observation of suspicious activity, they are permitted to intervene with appropriate cause.
Subdivision 2: Riot Control and Pacification – These officers are utilized to put down disruptive and dangerous riots and violent outbreaks that pose a threat to ADVENT citizens. They will also be utilized to subdue the civilian populations of hostile areas to remove the threat of revolt or uprising. Riot Control officers are authorized to subdue hostile populations by what means they deem appropriate.
Subdivision 3: State Special Response (SSR) – SSR Officers act as the militant arm of the Peacekeepers, primarily used as anti-terrorism and for operations against criminal organizations, rogue government or military personnel, and gangs. SSR Officers answer directly to the Chief of the Peacekeeping Division, and have complete domestic authority in all matters related to the Peacekeepers.
Brief Overview of Powers and Authority: All officers have the right to defend themselves should their life be in danger, and this right cannot be struck down or changed. The proportional response will vary from officer to officer, but no effort shall be made to infringe upon the right of an officer to defend themselves.
This protection is afforded with the understanding that it will not be abused to exercise undue power over civilians including as such; any officer abusing their power will be stripped of all rights and charged accordingly with reparations given to the opposing party in question. Altering or destroying armor cam footage carries the same penalties, and shall not be tolerated by the Judicial Branch or Peacekeeping Division.
Officers have the expectation of complete obedience in the event of an arrest, and resisting or fleeing will result in extended sentences and that being used in courts against them. Officers do not have to give a reason for stopping a citizen, and are to be obeyed at all times. However, all civilian encounters must be documented with the Peacekeeping Division, or the penalties listed above will apply.
SECTION 7 Index:
7.1: Introduction
7.2: Structure
7.3: Officer Qualifications
7.4: Directive
7.5: State Officers
7.6: Riot Control and Pacification
7.7: State Special Response (SSR)
7.8: Authority and Powers
7.9: Oversight
7.10: Limitations and Regulations