Operation Black Dawn
Mission 18 - Quell the Reunion Uprising
October 2 - 1995/December 1096
Reunion Uprising in Lungmen
"Out, out! Sadness, hate, and the reign of arbitrary, out, out! Destruction, jealousy; there is no trust left!"
- Barra Barra, by Rachid Taha [English Translation]
Private Second Class Ebrahim Gholem-Hossein [Islamic Revolutionary Treaty Pact - Persian Artesh] - Lungmen Slums - Dated December, 1096.
"Fucking hell!" Gunfire rang out as I shot from cover. The fighting in the city had only intensified as we awaited Reinforcements from Camp Tiber. They were supposed to sneak in an airlift of light tanks and flame tanks. However given that the initial recon craft reported AA fire the moment they lowered their altitude, I really doubted they could make any meaningful airlift into the city.
"Where the hell is the Bradley when you need it?!" Another soldier in cover exclaimed as he lit a molotov cocktail and threw it from beyond cover. "You shit-talk them when they're in combat with GDI's Abrams tanks, but now when we're in deep shit you want them?!" Another soldier shouted from cover, ducking as a bullet whizzed past the top of his helmet.
"That's when they're against medium tanks, you idiot!" The Molotov infantryman shouted back as he peeked around the corner to rapidly put bullets into the air as he sprayed in fully automatic. "When we're against infantry they're a godsend! Did you serve exclusively in peacetime?!" He ran back to cover as arrows pelted the road.
"I was in reserve, thank you very much!" The nearly-died-from-headshot soldier responded, before lifting his rifle beyond cover and spray-firing it without expecting to hit anything at all. The bullets, as expected, hit jack-shit. But the guy had the spirit. He was far braver than most Nod-affiliated fanatics.
I broke cover and moved behind a car wreck to get a better shot at Reunion. Firing the weapon several times, the smell of lead and gunpowder overwhelmed all my other senses as I took lots of care into making sure that my gun didn't explode on my face. The horde of Reunion pouring in from the alleyways made that effort a considerably hard one though.
"Incoming! Drones at 11 O'clock!" I heard from behind me as more gunfire rang out in the streets.
"They've fucking brought in shitty drones now?" I asked as some narrowly avoided my head.
"Apparently so!"
"FUCK!"
I let out a huge sigh. "Allah Akbar." I let out three more shots before I heard the whizzing of a Rocket hitting a drone. The Rocketeers broke loose, and they're having a lot of fun with their M72 LAWs. The fact that they could carry them and not run out of LAWs to toss at enemies was a testament to the sheer bullshit that Rocketeers carried. Of course, it was on my side so why complain about it?
"Rocketeers!" The man shouted, tossing another M72 LAW aside. "The Brotherhood has sent us to cleanse this city of the terrorist threat known as Reunion! I ask of you, go with Kane! We shall die clearing this city, just so other men may live!"
"FOR KANE!"
A barrage of rockets followed those statements. Some hit nothing but most of them hit either drones or a poor Reunion Grunt square in the chest. I didn't speak Mandarin but hearing the words uttered by Reunion made me wish I wasn't in China. Oh well, at least it's a hell of a lot better than fighting the Pakistanis. Those bastards had GDI's top-of-the-line.
We kept shooting at a Reunion position that basically had us pinned down. The Drones were completely gone, but the guys firing Arrows at us were not. The swordsmen, though? Completely stopped coming. Maybe they realized that fighting gunmen with swords was still a bad idea. But we couldn't move or risk getting pelted by arrows. Internally, I prayed to God that there could be a chance to hit them.
The sight of a grenade being launched into the position was my answer as I turned around to see the source.
"Push forward! For Kane!" The source was an Officer that popped out of nowhere, before brandishing his machine pistol and firing at Reunion. Well, this presented an opportunity when I needed it, so...
"CHARGE!" I affixed a bayonet onto the rifle and sprinted at full speed. The guys behind me must have understood the opportunity too because I heard mass shouting when I rushed forward.
The yelling must have frightened them because the moment I made it there I saw a guy with his eyes wide open trying to fumble with his sword. I plunged a knife into his neck, instantly killing him as he tried to get his sword up. I turned my head and I saw the Officer snap someone's neck, before raising his pistol in triumph. The guys who charged behind me, meanwhile, joined in on the fun.
I saw someone getting disemboweled by a bayonet, and another one got bashed into the wall by an Artesh rifleman. I also saw a Flame Trooper burn someone alive with their face going first. These shocked Reunion, pretty much because they didn't expect such barbarity. Based on what I saw happening to civilians the moment they had their hands on them...
"KILL THESE HEATHENS!" The Officer shouted, before executing a white-hooded man who attempted to ambush him. "THEY HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DEFILE THE NONCOMBATANT! THAT IS PUNISHABLE... BY DEATH!" He shouted, before kicking a Reunion corpse into the concrete.
"FOR KANE!"
I sighed as my compatriots praised a false prophet, but what could I do? It was their prophet and their religion. And besides, I'd be dead if I attempted to rectify their errors.
I just went back to shooting. And after shooting, it seemed that the Reunion around the area was dead. Many of them through stab wounds.
Though, I cynically remembered the briefing from command about the capabilities of the locals, and their... Arts thing. Turns out an APC got ganked by that, and at least one soldier had himself scarred by the heat sources from the leader of Reunion.
The officer called for regrouping, and, well, I had to join them.
"Alhamdulillah." I muttered, before picking up my G3 and rallying around the Officer.
He crouched down and spoke to the troops.
"We've destroyed these heathens, but we're still not grouped up with other forces that were supposed to be sent in," He said. "I was able to re-establish contact with other forces here though," He put his gun down. "They've been fighting, and we're plotting to regroup," He took a cigarette out to light it, and then continued speaking. "I've sent GPS coordinates to Command, and they're finding a way to link up with our friendlies. We'll be reunited in... give or take thirty minutes."
"What about our reinforcements, sir?" I asked, crouching down as he scowled and took the cigarette off his face for a moment.
"We're working on that. Still, AA Guns are making our life hell."
I shook my head. Goddamnit. This operation was hilariously dependent on air support, and it was taking them a long time for them to get to it
"Inshallah, we will get those reinforcements in." Someone in the squad declared.
"Inshallah." I muttered.
"Alright, here's the situation," The officer noted. "In about thirty minutes, Command will relink us with the missing infantry units. Until then, we have to..." He clenched his fist for a minute. "Purge the heathens, them being Reunion. They've defiled noncombatants already with their antics. And it is our duty as Soldiers of Nod to put an end to that. You got it, Artesh?"
A resounding cry that either sounded like "Ura!" or "Oorah!" from either the Russians or Americans were his response. Thankfully, the language was universal.
"Alright. Let's move on."
I stared at the sky as they continued the men readied for patrolling the streets with rifles.
Maybe, someday we could control the skies. Maybe we can finally get the damn Air Force here.
Maybe, today.
I took a minute to look at one of the tall city walls that evoked its authority. And the sight of AA Tracers shattered that thought to a million pieces.
Or not.
Rhodes Island Operator Franka [Rhodes Island - BPRS] - Lungmen Slums - Dated December, 1096.
When Franka was informed that the Doctor would be taking a rest and not come with the operation, she was slightly disappointed, but it had been two days, so it was understandable. When she actually boarded the helicopter, she expected a simple operation to extract a VIP from Lungmen and get out of dodge. The concept was so simple when Dobermann explained it.
When they met with the LGD, things seemed to be going well. Even if it was raining. Which was odd. Normally there wouldn't be rain, but Franka guessed this would be a weird day.
Now, however, when they actually entered Lungmen itself, they were greeted with Ch'en ordering the Infected detained just because they didn't comply with the rules. That made Franka sick to her stomach.
However, give or take ten minutes later...
The sight of a burning city just after hearing multiple explosions go off shook the RI operators. Franka included. And to think that it occurred just when they made it past the initial checkpoints.
Damn the Doctor for choosing to negotiate with Lungmen's chief through a virtual conference, due to his injuries.
"What the hell is going on?! PC97213, give me a situation report!" Ch'en ordered an LGD Guardsman. Franka stared at the city of Lungmen and was... frightened, yet amazed. Who the hell would subject the World's financial capital to such atrocities?
None other than Reunion, sadly.
Liskarm's scowl gave Franka the impression that she agreed. She'd poke fun at it but now was not the time.
"We've got backup requests everywhere, the city's on fire and there are reports that Reunion is pouring into the streets from the slums!" The guardsman yelled. "It's an uprising!"
"Damnit! I thought there wouldn't be anything happening before I left this city!"
"Ma'am, we're being swarmed by Reunion and they're pouring out into the streets by the hundreds! There's no way we could have guaranteed safety when they were everywhere we went!"
Ch'en's face twisted into extreme irritation, before conceding. "Alright, what's the situation in this sector then?" She asked. The Rhodes Island congregation was led to follow an LGD Officer into a hastily set up briefing center. Franka could guess that either the LGD's main HQ was burning, or that the LGD response was poorly coordinated.
So much for the 'financial capital of the world', Franka scoffed.
The congregation huddled around a briefing table. Among them were operators like Hibiscus, Orchid, Fang, Jessica, Liskarm, and other operators that Franka hadn't gotten to meet yet. The Doctor picked them personally, so Franka had to put her trust in the Doctor's choice in picking squadmates. Especially after he fought through Chernobog, albeit aided by a mysterious organization that crossed paths with RI.
She only got a brief story of it from Hibiscus, who had to use Arts to treat massive hearing damage that she sustained from, quote, "staying around massed machine gun fire" in Chernobog. One question that got to her was how they managed to get machine guns in the first place, but that was another question.
The current question was what the hell happened in Lungmen to end with it burning even from a distance.
"Sector 10, keep holding on. We'll get reinforcements, just hang on-"
"Sector 4, report status. Sector 4, I repeat, report status-"
"Damnit, we lost Sector 6-"
A Cacophony of radio dispatches and status reports made themselves apparent as Lungmen descended into chaos. Turns out that leaving the Infected in Slums to rot wasn't a good idea when they could be radicalized. Who would have thought?
"Here's the situation," the LGD Guardsman who met with Ch'en brought up a map with marker writing all over it. "This is our sector," He pointed to an area marked 'Sector 12'. "As of now, it's under siege by a mix of Reunion and an unidentified militant group." He sighed. "Fuck, fuck. There wasn't supposed to be an uprising on Lungmen, damnit!"
Ch'en could do nothing but shake her head. Franka, meanwhile? She bit her tongue, as the mention of an unknown militant group could only have meant nasty things. Either agent provocateurs or something else.
"As of now, we're trying to lock down Sector 12, but it's..."
The sound of an explosion in the distance answered that question.
"Yeah, it's currently a warzone right now."
"And how the hell were you taken by surprise? Aren't you the sector with the best security?" Ch'en asked, befuddled.
"Yes, but right now that doesn't apply." His answer was helped by the sound of another massive explosion.
Ch'en sighed. "Nevermind that. What's the situation?"
"Reunion's hitting us from Sector 11, right here." He pointed towards a sector eastwards of Sector 12. "We've got enemy Casters, Drones, and whatever they can pull straight out of their arsenal. Snipers are preventing us from making a move, but we've been able to hold off their soldiers. The problem is, again, their snipers and casters. Those blokes are still clogging the buildings."
Franka watched as the LGD Officer stopped for a second, before procuring photographs from his pocket, and putting them on the table. What they contained had surprised her more than a fair bit. It depicted men - who blended in well against the gray concrete - moving in cover, with many scattered around in cover.
"We've got a bird's eye view of the second militant group harassing our forces." He passed more onto the ground. "They appear to be wearing gray uniforms, and they're equipped with firearms. A load of them."
He didn't procure anything else, but the fact remained that they were facing a militant group with firearms worried Franka. That was going to be a problem that they needed to flush out.
Hilarious.
"Alright." Ch'en said. "Change of plans," she muttered. "We're expediting. Get Misha the hell out of here as fast as we can."She turned to the Rhodes Island staff in the briefing. Hibiscus nodded. Liskarm replied with "Roger" and Franka... Franka just responded with a simple "Ready." The rest all just responded with an 'Alright'.
"Right. What's the situation on Sector 11?"
The LGD Guardsman moved the map and pointed at Sector 11. "The main entrance is still sealed, and we haven't been able to punch through it. Not to mention that there's been gunfire around Sector 11, which brings attention to the militant group that we've got eyes on."
"Right. Any holes we can punch through?"
"Yes. There's a part of the area from Sector 12 to Sector 11 that's unblocked, but you've got a problem."
Franka had a feeling she knew what it was, so she brought it up almost immediately.
"Is it the sewers?" She asked, hoping that it wouldn't be.
Unfortunately, the Guardsman nodded. Franka let out a long groan in her head, but she expected it.
"We tried assaulting it ourselves, but our units got overwhelmed. We're thinking you Rhodes Island lads can do what we can't do, so here's the plan. Get in through the sewers. make a turn left, and unseal the bottleneck."
Ch'en nodded.
"Alright."
The Rhodes Island operators all turned towards Ch'en before Franka spoke up first.
"Let's do this. The Doctor isn't going to appreciate it if we come back empty-handed." Franka muttered.
"Advance."
Rhodes Island Operator Franka [Rhodes Island - BPRS] - Lungmen Sewers - Dated December, 1096.
Franka regretted everything.
There was no justification for keeping herself alive. She regretted a thousand things, but this was just among them.
She wished that she never became a mercenary.
She wished that bad things never happen.
She wished for Originium to cut its tail and disappear.
She wished for a lot of things.
But nothing could make her regret coming to Blacksteel more than fighting in the Sewers.
Franka shuddered as the cold splash of dirty water touched her leg. Oh, she wished a thousand times that this nightmare could end.
Not even being accompanied by fellow operators and even a Medic could temper her rage at wading through water full of urine and feces.
Eugh.
At least they just have to make it to the bottlenecked area, where Penguin Logistics would meet them.
She moaned and groaned. If it weren't for the fact that the Doctor was still recovering from the exfiltration operation, she'd have complained straight to him.
"Franka, knock it off. I know you're BPRS, but this isn't the end of the world." Liskarm finally got her chance to shoot back at Franka. "It's just sewer water, Franka."
Or Liskarm.
"Exactly!" She answered. "God, this is so unclean... I think I'm going to puke when I get back to Rhodes Island."
"Hey now," Hibiscus interjected. "As long as you don't have injuries, the sewer water's just fine! ...If you don't count the multitude of parasites in the dirty waters, but still!"
Franka shivered and cringed.
"What, you afraid of some murky water?"
"It's full of gunk!"
"Well get used to it then," Liskarm smirked.
"Can it, you two. We're near the sewer exit."
"Well, there it is," Franka muttered. "Let's go." She went up first, with Hibiscus, Liskarm, and the rest of the operators staying back. She pushed the manhole away, and climbed up onto the sector.
Climbing up, Franka poked her head out of the Sewers into Sector 11. Not being faced with an army of Reunion meant that yes, the area was safe. Comparatively, but still.
"It's clear," She shouted down to the sewer, putting the manhole away, and taking cover behind a stack of crates. Liskarm got up second, and crouched down, moving forward with her pistol in hand. Hibiscus followed her, as did the rest of the operators and attached staff.
Liskarm moved forward, shield in hand. Franka followed closely. They turned a corner and stumbled across a dead body. Franka didn't comment on it. Liskarm didn't comment on it, but Hibiscus went forward to take a look at what killed him. She turned his body over and found that he was from Reunion. But the part that caught her off guard was the presence of bullet holes.
"Death by gunshot," She procured a set of tongs and stuck them into one of the bullet holes. She felt a bullet when she dug deep and plucked it out. She put it in her hand. "I..." She sighed. "Jessica, help me with this."
Jessica ran over and nodded. She took a look at the bullet, inspecting it closely. Her eyes widened slightly.
"Battle rifle caliber."
"Battle rifle caliber?"
Jessica nodded. "Bullets used by heavy rifles."
Franka took a moment to comprehend that, and what she concluded did not make the situation any better. If anything it just meant that they were at risk of getting blasted with rifles with more power behind them than regular Blacksteel weapons.
Hell, the fact that they seem to have battle rifles only made the prospect of facing this militant group worse.
"So... we're going to be facing soldiers with rifles that are heavier than most of the weapons we carry?" Orchid asked, dumbfounded. "The fact that they have guns was concerning as-is. Now they have heavy rifles. Damnit."
"Even so, we keep moving," Ch'en spoke. "We ought to unseal the bottleneck. We'll be late otherwise."
A beat occurred before Franka responded sheepishly. "Uh... right to it then."
"Took you long enough," Liskarm sniped at her. "Don't take a year to respond to an order next time."
"Shut up, Liskarm." Franka deadpanned.
The advance further was not filled with the bickering of Franka and Liskarm however, as they had far more things to worry about. When they turned the corner, they spotted their enemies, crouched behind a massive barricade of cars, debris, crates, hell - Franka even spotted a bench being used.
"I see twelve snipers," Liskarm pointed out.
"Six drones," Jessica added.
"Nine casters," Hibiscus shakily noted.
"And two heavy defenders." Franka concluded.
"How the hell are we going to get past that?" Liskarm asked.
Orchid scoffed. "This isn't anything new to us."
"We're still out-castered, jackass," Fang replied. "And out-snipered too."
Orchid groaned. Fuck.
"Got any ideas?" Franka asked. "If so, send 'em."
Ch'en unsheathed her sword. "Attack from the rear." She crouched down behind some crates, with the rest of the Operators following them.
"Are you insane?!" Jessica asked. "We're going to die!"
"We will overwhelm them with durability. They'll die without healers."
Jessica cringed hearing that. Great. She was going to die being a disappointment to the Doctor.
What a way to go.
"Orchid, Jessica, and Fang. Cover this area," Ch'en ordered. "Franka, come with me," she added. "And Hibiscus, cover us." She finished.
Franka took a stance near a lamppost.
"On my mark," Ch'en ordered. "Attack on three."
"One," Hibiscus prepared herself.
"Two," Orchid and Fang prepared their Arts for the attack that was coming.
There was a beat as Franka prepared her weapon. And finally, Ch'en took a stance.
Now was the time to attack.
"Three."
Ch'en took a whistle and blew it, calling out to Reunion and causing heads to turn our way.
"LUNGMEN GUARD DEPARTMENT! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" Ch'en barked, drawing them away from suppressing the bottleneck. They turned their attention rearwards. Franka knew that they didn't intend on surrendering anyway. Ch'en was probably following the book.
"SCUM!" A Reunion grunt cried out. "GET THEM! I WANT TO SEE THEM HANGED!"
Franka just wanted to say 'I knew it'.
"SUPPORTERS, READY!" Ch'en shouted. "ATTACK!"
Orchid and Fang opening up with Arts attacks and causing them no end of pain made Franka smile. Sadly though the sight of seeing a Reunion taking aim at you was a poor idea.
The two Heavy Defenders advanced forwards, carrying their weight and banging on their shields as if they were in a tribal fight. Franka gripped her blades tighter. It was time to shine.
One Heavy Defender managed to get close enough to Ch'en, which was a terrible idea. Ch'en launched a vertical slash against the heavy defender, which pushed him back across the street. The other one stood back. "Damn... Fucking LGD!"
"Surrender now, and you will be unharmed!" Ch'en retorted. In response, one of the snipers raised his Crossbow forward. "DEATH TO THE OPPRESSORS! THE LGD MUST DIE!"
Franka, of course, sighed.
The fact of Reunion stubbornness was going to be hard to drill into Ch'en. Still, she had the spiteful spirit that they needed. Even if she was by-the-book and obstructive.
Jessica opened fire first, shooting a Reunion sniper square in the mask several times. She stopped to reload, and while she did so, several snipers prepared to take shots at them.
Well, Jessica did protest but got shut down. If only she wasn't such a scaredy cat, then maybe they'd have a better time.
"Attack-"
The sound of gunshots ringing out from the left of Reunion drew their attention away from the operatives on hand. In response, the Arts operatives took the opportunity to return fire by hitting them with Arts attacks at the same time they were getting shot at. And Jessica took the time to keep firing.
"WHAT THE HELL-"
"FUCKING-"
"GODDAMNI-"
The sounds of the Reunion soldiers getting surprised by the gunfire to their left was unexpected help for Franka's team. Some turned back to attacking the LGD-affiliated operatives, but they were quickly gunned down by the gunfire to the right. Some saw it as an opportunity to divert attention and assault Reunion. And they were absolutely right.
"Attack!" Liskarm shouted, moving forward, pistol in hand. Franka took one look at her, and thought this.
"I could do better."
And thus, she took one look at her own rapier, and superheated it.
"May the thermite blade penetrate all defenses," She muttered, raising the hilt of her rapier, and preparing to charge.
She immediately sprinted, arts channeled through the blade to smite any enemy of Rhodes Island or the Lungmen Guard Department.
"CHARGE!"
The opportunity to get them while they were distracted was attractive to the rest as well.
At least they get some stories to tell Penguin Logistics.
"WHAT THE-"
"WATCH OUT! THEY'RE CHARGING- GAK!"
The two drones that guarded the entrance to the bottleneck area turned around to attempt shooting at the operatives, only to be hit with two rockets.
And unfortunately, that got Reunion's attention.
But not RI's.
Franka stabbed someone with her heated blade, and that someone was a Heavy Defender. The searing hot blade melted through whatever composite armor he had on his blast suit.
He screamed.
"GAH- FUCK-" He repeated, as Franka pulled the Rapier out and inserted it into the man's eyes. He slumped over dead quickly, without any response coming out. Elsewhere, Jessica shot three Reunion rebels dead, Fang and Orchid murdered several more, but as for Ch'en and Liskarm...?
"Die!" Liskarm shouted, bashing a Reunion Caster with her shield. The man tried as hard as he could to make it out, but unfortunately a car battery has more volts to kill a man when overclocked. They had to learn that the hard way.
Ch'en, meanwhile, bisected a man. And another. And a third one. She stopped counting after the fifth one.
"Damn Reunion..." Ch'en muttered. She had to give herself a break for a minute, and speak inappropriately. Given the situation, they needed it.
The fighting died, and it was when Franka realized the following: The casters not even firing off arts, the defenders not acting as the vanguard, the snipers barely hitting anybody, and the drones immediately getting destroyed the moment they appeared. The men who must have distracted Reunion with their gunfire were a blessing in disguise, otherwise, this operation would have been a complete bust.
Though, Franka wondered where Penguin Logistics was.
A tap to her shoulder immediately after the last Reunion soldier was killed told her that they were here already.
"Hello!" Franka turned around and saw Exusiai wave at her, with Texas following behind.
"Hey." Franka muttered.
"Man, what happened here?" Exusiai asked, taking a moment to revel in the carnage that they had caused.
"They got distracted by gunfire, and we took our time to take them down."
"Alright then!" She noted. "At least it did you some good!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now let's-"
Franka stopped herself to ask a question.
"Actually, hey, uh... Exusiai."
"Yes?"
"Does... anyone else working with Penguin Logistics have firearms?"
Exusiai stopped and thought for a moment. She realized that the question eliminated her as an answer.
"...No?"
Franka stopped to think.
"Wait a minute..."
The sound of Ch'en barking immediately answered her.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"
Franka spun around and saw Liskarm, Jessica, and Orchid facing off against ten men... all with guns aimed at them. Franka's eyes went wide when she noticed that detail.
One of the men responded by stepping forwards and barking a language that Franka didn't understand. In response, Ch'en barked back. "LGD! DROP YOUR WEAPONS THIS INSTANT!"
Another man stepped forwards, pointing at Franka a weapon that wasn't a gun, but connected to a backpack.
"These were the militant groups they warned us about!"
"I SAID DROP IT!" Ch'en barked.
The situation looked like it was destabilizing as she said that however, with the men backing off. Hell, one of them seemed to have been dragged back into the lines by their friends. They slowly walked backwards, keeping their guns trained.
It was here Franka hoped that they'd turn a corner and go away. They didn't know whether or not to shoot them after all. They just appeared.
Hell, they didn't even attack.
"Looks like they're retreating." Orchid muttered.
"Hope so." Liskarm added.
Ch'en grit her teeth as the men retreated.
They nearly backed the corner, and were about to turn back.
The distant sound of an explosion drew Franka's attention away, and it took her a second to find the source.
When she saw it, though...
Her heart sank as she saw the AA guns keeping Lungmen safe suddenly detonate from afar.
Ch'en looked at them too.
Her expression shifted as she took a look at them, and readied her sword.
"No! Don't tell me she's about to-"
She raised her sword, and was ready to charge and slash.
She contemplated getting her down, and was about to act on it.
But a gunshot rang.
And the screaming started.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Here's a mediocre and rushed chapter for the REALLY belated new years. Because of the butterfly effect, the Doctor was bedridden and thus has to do a virtual conference with Chief Wei instead, which means that RI has to connect to the city network and do negotiations there.
However, at the same time, the Reunion presence in Lungmen was empowered by the news from their comrades at Chernobog. With stories of getting annihilated by Rhodes Island attack craft, there being massive casualties, and only one shot down. In response, the uprising is scheduled to be much more intense. And with the Black Hand poking at it and causing it to spawn early... Massive chaos ensues, with Lungmen turning into a warzone.
Also, I actually watched the Anime and... wow, I have a lot that I missed and a lot of inconsistency errors. I feel stupid, but I can work around those. I'm an adaptive writer, even if I hold my writing with duct tape and welding.
Here's a little fun question: What happens to the world's economy when you turn Wall Street into a warzone?
Because Lungmen's Dollar is about to get the Reichsmark treatment...
After this, I might have them get Misha out without her ever encountering skullshatterer, but with a twist, as they also bring someone else with them... Someone out of this world.
And then when Lungmen ends, it's time I focus on the carcass of Chernobog. I wonder. What's Mojo 2 up to now?
See you guys later, and here's to me hoping I manage to get the next chapter out ASAP.