Peace Through Infamy [Solaren Theatre]

[Free Provinces]

Papal Palace,
Torrence
Sacred Kingdom of Solaren

An excited wind carried the loud hymns of the marching soldiers and the fanatical screaming of loyal subjects into the sleeping quarters of Pope Urban IV, who stood in the middle of the room, his eyes fixated on the ageing painting that dominated the ceiling. It was the scene when God revealed himself in Pope Urban I's dreams and instructed him to burn Tibur's extravagant temples, behead its corrupt clerics and found a new Church in Torrence. The strength of most of the colours had been diminished by time, but the reds of the fire and blood still burned the eyes, branding a painful picture of divine revelation and justice on the imagination and memory.

An entourage of half-clad, young virgins surrounded the Pope, carefully adorning him with pieces of cloth and armour. Only the purest could be in the presence of God's One True Representative on Earth. All had been selected by Urban personally for their virtuousness. Under his guidance and protection, their slender, nubile bodies could not be corrupted or manipulated for malign purposes.

As the last pieces of his magisterial attire were fitted to his own body, Urban began to focus on his mask. This silver mask, with its subtle etchings of the End of Days and unusually perfect features, haunted Europe. He had worn it when he announced the mercy killings of the Nicosian wretches, and he would wear it now when declaring war on the European Defence Federation. The mask was placed delicately into his hands, and he slowly raised it against his face. He then pressed the cold metal down hard, a slight smile creeping across his face as he heard the beads of sweat that had scurried down his face boil atop of his burning flesh.

“Your Incredible Holiness, the faithful await.”

The feeble, quivering female voice was quickly blown away by the wind, which was now howling madly, disturbing the long blue-and-white banners that flowed down the walls of the palace. Saying nothing, the Pope only moved forward, the group of women parting immediately like the seas before Moses, as he stepped towards the balcony outside his room, which faced the Quadrilatero, the largest square in Solaren. Beneath him stood hundreds of soldiers assembled in crucifix-style formations, still singing the battle hymns of the Sacred Kingdom. A slight move of his hand silenced them all.

“Faithful of Europe, as I stand before you, my people, my loyal subjects, thousands more agents of Satan stand across our border, hungering for the flesh of our fair young maidens, desperate for the wealth of our land, yearning for the destruction of our Churches and the murder of our holy men.”

The Pope paused, allowing his heavy words to weigh down on those before him. Behind his mask, he could see the shadowy officers of the Inquisition guiding selected journalists and cameramen from various foreign media outlets. The whole world would learn of the European Defence Federation's evils.

“But I will not allow them to. Just as the brave knights rode out to the desert to combat the dark Mohammedan savages that threatened most holy Jerusalem, so shall you, young Christian men, march to fight the infernal forces of darkness. With lead and steel, you shall do God’s work and send each heretic to the hellfire from whence they came and I shall summon all manner of substance and plague to haunt their families, lest they surrender and repent, and accept me as God’s One True Representative on Earth, Solaris Christianity as the One True Faith, and the Tiburan false Pope as the One Greatest Evil! The despots in Metz, Nurnberg and Syracuse are all puppets of the anti-Pope, and are aligned with the godless Communists of the South!”

Border Outpost,
Sacred Kingdom of Solaren

The ground shook as the artillery spat with full vitriol God's fury. Pages of scripture that had been tenderly attached to the artillery pieces were torn off angrily and cast into the wind, while verses from the Solaris Bible that had been crudely painted on the salamandrine barrels, ran quickly and loosely down, unable to escape the vengeful heat of God's wrath. Amid this glorious chaos stood Lord-Inquistor Belzoni, who prayed furiously as he clutched his cross and keys in his blood-soaked hands. He had already had to execute several cowardly wretches, who had failed in their duty to undertake God's work on the battlefield. Some had shown evidence of demonic possession, no doubt corrupted by Franconian spies, with foul urine staining their uniform as they faced divine justice.

“Onward Christian soldiers, only the gates of Heaven await true martyrs!” The Lord-Inquisitor bellowed, feeling the soldiers currently scurrying around, reloading the guns while desperately trying to avoid retaliatory fire, were slacking. As the gates of Heaven were mentioned, he saw several soldiers look to their own keys, taking comfort in the fact, should their earthly existence end, God’s arms would hold them in an eternal afterlife.

 

[Lorraine]

Lorraine-Solaren Border
5km South of Briançon

Capitaine Pierre Maritan stared out of the CP bunker across the frontier into Solaren, just as he has done every morning since his tour of duty on the border started more than a month ago, and just like every morning, there is very little change. That is until he was about to turn away from the view, and to take a sip from his cup of morning coffee and to go over the with his XO, Lt. Michel Jarre. Something catches his eye. Was it a morning sun glinting off something, something that wasn't there any other morning, but before he could figure out it was, the distict sound of inbound artillery shell was heard.

"INCOMING!!!!!"

Though in a bunker, the officers and men inside instinctively ducked as the artillery shell exploded a dozen yards away. Immediately Capt. Maritan knew it was not an ordinary HE shell, which was soon confirmed when alarms for the outside chemical detectors began going off. Though the detectors indicating a chemical presence inside the bunker were still silent, Maritan's staff began put on their gas masks and chem suits knowing those too might going off at any moment, while Maritan himself got on the comm to battalion HQ to not only warn them, though it is likely they already know, but also get orders

Though Maritan and his staff were relatively safe for the time being, he knew there were troops of his outside, exposed to whatever chemical the Solarens had fired, and knowing Urban, Maritan expected the worst. Though all his men had been train for the probability of a chemical, or even worse, attack and that they would follow procedures, he feared the worse for some. All he could do now was prepare for the ground attack that was sure to follow and hope that the chems hadn't decimated his company before they even have a chance to shoot back.

Laroche Line

The defensive line along Lorraine's border with Solaren was orginally designed by a man who's name fit his profession Gen. Henri Laroche, Capitaine-General of the Royal Engineers, though over time stone and earthen fortresses were replaced by concrete bunkers and underground tunnels, it still retains the name of its creator. Though it is not necessarily the actual line that is the target of the Solaren attack but instead the troop and armor formations behind it, a great deal of the attack are on the forward artillery and SAM positions of the line itself. The fact that it is chemical weapons that the Solarens have dicided to open with may actually be a blessing as the mobile batteries which have long ago replaced those fixed batteries of bygone days, though many of the personnel are effected, the positions and equipment is still operational, though in many cases there is delay due to the chemical exposure, counterbattery radars have detected the incoming rounds and trajectories have been calculated and target coordinates fed to those batteries ready to fire, so when the orders were given to return fire, artillery and rockets, all along the line replied to Urban's call to war with fire and destruction.

 

[Großlausitz]

Aboard KMS Ludwig Erhard

Whereas it was very unlikely the Royal Army brigades deployed to Lorraine would see any action beyond the border of Lorraine, the men and women on duty aboard the carrier taskforce KMS Ludwig Erhard's various ships and submarines could see some more action. In this morning's briefing with the mission's commander-in-chief, the Eiffellander RAF General, Kommodore Peter Glück had been instructed to proactively defend the waters of Lorraine and Nicosia. The carrier's attack aircraft capacities were to be held in reserve for expanded air strikes. Backed up by live satellite image footage fed by the Lagezentrum der Geheim- und Sicherheitsdienste or Joint Secret and Security Service Centre of Franken, the taskforce would fire two salvos of cruise missiles on Torrence amidst the night.

Thanks to Pope Urban conveniently claiming to endanger the lives of many a Lorraine, i.e. EDF civilians, and generally fearmongering the public in the EDF states could be easily told Solaren would get its just desserts for ruining the lives of many perfectly innocent people. Apart from the usual suspects the common people would eagerly support bloody revenge. Furthermore, a house as dirty and spoiled as Solaren required some good and thorough cleansweeping, didn't it?

 

[Rheinbund]

Submarine U-10

"Captain, this message just came in. Urban declared war on the EDF. The order to attack has been given," Lieutenant Schneider said to Captain Böck.
"Thank you Lieutenant," the Captain said. "Are the torpedos ready?"
"Yes, Captain."
"Good. That Solaris submarine that we have been following for days. Send it to the bottom."

Shortly afterwards, a torpedo left the U-10 with the Solaris submarine as target.


Navy headquarters
Trier, Eiffelland

Großadmiral Tobias Fischer looked at the large screen in the table that showed the waters between Eiffelland and Solaren. Meanwhile, all Solaris navy vessels had withdrawn inside Solaren’s territorial waters, in such a way that they were all under aerial defence. But he counted on it that there were quite some Solaris submarines floating around, and he counted on it that they would not only shoot at military targets.
At the moment, one carrier fleet was present in the sea between Solaren and Eiffelland. Admiral Fischer considered it best to keep that fleet there to make sure that the Solaris fleet would stay where it was. But the carrier would be a very thankful target. An Eiffellandian carrier fleet consisted of one carrier, one air-defence destroyer, one anti-aircraft destroyer, one anti-submarine destroyer, three multirole destroyers, some ships with stores and three attack submarines.
Furthermore, one combination of an air-defence destroyer, anti-aircraft destroyer and anti-submarine destroyer was present in those waters as well. And apart from that, there were three multirole destroyers and four submarines in those waters. All with one task: Hunting Solaris submarines and keeping them away from the carrier fleet, although it would be capable to defend itself.

“Have all the ships confirmed my orders?” Fischer asked the Admiral next to him.
“Yes, Herr Großadmiral,” the admiral answered.
“Good. Thank you. Like I said, it is crucial to shoot down all the Solaris submarines, so all vessels must focus on that.”


Air force base Lorraine

It was a risk, but it had to be taken. Four Typhoons took off to attack the Solaris radar installations on the other side of the border. They would spread along the border.


Schloss Bellevue
Trier, Eiffelland

"Central Eiffellland cannot be reached by Solaren's missiles, but the coast can. And the coast is completely filled with tourists. This war couldn't start at a worse moment with respect to that," Defence Minister Wolzow said.
"Indeed. We've never thought of that. Scheisse," Chancellor Von Seydewitz said.
"We don't have enough gas masks for all the tourists. And not enough antibiotics, either. So what do we do?" Minister for Internal Affairs Neubauer asked.
"If we are attacked with biological weapons, we need to wall off the site immediately before we can start treating people. At least all the people involved must be quarantained. Strictly. We must take precautions so that we can do so immediately after the impact. In case of a chemical attack, we go in and see whom we can save. In case of a biological attack, we wall the site off and then go in. Meanwhile, we give our biomedical industries the order to produce as many antibiotics and antidotes as possible, and we make sure that all our microbiological labs are ready to investigate the bacteria, viruses and whatever else in infective that we receive from Solaren," Von Seydewitz said. "And we must prepare for possible terrorist attacks. So everything will be focused on that. Good that we got some experience with the so-called NRBA."

OOC: Change control:
Changed on 16 July 2011. Reasons in Posts 64 and 70 of the OOC-thread. Original post in Post 71 of the OOC thread.

 

[Anglyn]

Aboard the fleet carrier, King Cedrick VIII
Southeast of Nicosia

The KC8 battle group had moved into position, and though ASW operations were already in high gear with surface, air and underwater operations detecting and tracking Solaren subs, offensive operations have yet to begin, but that soon would change. In the Combat Command Center of the King Cedrick VIII, Rear Admiral Harald Camden reads the urgent communique from the Admiralty.

"Officers, men and women of His Most Anglyc Majesty's Navy, they have let slip the dogs of war...Contact all commands, Operation Urban Renewal is underway. commence phase one, fire when ready...Captain Ashford, you may now begin air operations."

From his place in the CCC, Adm. Camden watches as the men and women in the room go about their duties in a effecient and orderly way as they relay orders and information as His Majesty's Navy brings war to Solaren.

 

[Rheinbund]

Capitoline City, Tibur.

"Your Holiness, Your Eminence, it will depend on the events to come how Urban will be deposed. The stance of the Eiffellandian government is that the Solaris cult needs to be dismantled one way or another, because this cult itself is a threat to world peace and stability. I clearly see a role for the True Church in the aftermath of this war. The Solaris people will need spiritual guidance after the Solaris cult has been dismantled, but you will have to consider your actions wisely. Please take into account that the Solaris people have been indoctrinated with very negative opinions about the True Church for centuries. That is difficult to undo. But not impossible," the ambassador said. He took a sip of his water and then continued.

"For the future of Solaren, we have to carefully consider all possible options and choose the one with the highest chance on long-term peace and stability. We are going into this war with a regime change in Torrance as aim. We more or less have the approval of the international community for that, but we are not completely free in choosing what will happen afterwards. We will have to work towards a democratic regime in Solaren in whichever form. Making the True Bishop of Torrance Head of State is an option, but only in the setting of a constitutional monarchy. And then I'm thinking of an Eiffellandian-type constitutional monarchy in which the Head of State is part of the Government, steers the formation of new cabinets, appoints and fires ministers, and approves laws. In this system, the function of Head of State is not completely ceremonial. But like I said, this is an option.
You must realise that the EDF is viewed upon with suspicion, no matter how moderate we are. I sometimes have the impression that each and every action by the EDF is interpreted negatively by the international community, no matter what that action is. With that in mind, we must consider our steps carefully."

 

[Socialist Commonwealth]

Rijeka, Carentania

It was a slightly rainy day, the streets covered in a thin veil of water. Cars rushed by, headed for the various suburbs and living districts of Rijeka, as the evening approached and the sun was slowly setting. For almost an hour now, dozens of shady individuals had arrived at the building of the Commissars Assembly. Finally, after a last vehicle had pulled up, carrying the Commissar for Defence with him and releasing him into the inside of the large old mansion at the side of the Dunay river, the doors were closed by two unimpressively looking guards and locked from the inside, the cars meanwhile rushing off to unknown destinations.

"Comrades, we welcome you," Matija Dracar, Commissar for Defence, adressed the assembled beuraucratc, diplomats and generals on behalf of the entire Commissars Assembly. "As you are well aware, the war over Solaren is threatening our position in the Long Sea, the balance of power in the region and the future security of our nations economy. It is unavoidable that Carentania takes action, or it will inevitably fall behind in the global race, facing an ever stronger EDF, a bourgeoise power that may well move to our disadvantage if it feels it can safely tackle the threat Socialism poses to the violent rule of capitalism."

"A bit less pathos," whispered an old woman, chubby and gray-haired, who had given him a small kick to his left foot. It was the Commissar for Education, a woman well known for her very direct and uncomplicated personality.

"We have already sent a secret communique to the government of Solaren, explaining our recent military moves as merely a distraction to give the EDF a false sense of security while we prepare a strike on Nicosia," the Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Dusan Mejic, stepped in. "The memo was rather blunt in expressing that we have no sympathetic feelings for the arch-reactionary pope and his followers, but that we feel the EDF poses a bigger threat. I am unsure how this message was received in Torrence, but we hope that this leads to Pope Urban paying less attention to our moves and using troops against the EDF he'd have usually held back for the eventuality of a Carentanian intervention." He looked at the high-ranking diplomats in the room, colleagues from the Commissariate working directly with him, but they just shrugged, not holding any more information than him.

"The first steps of operation summer rain have meanwhile begun," a military official from the general staff began to speak. "A number of our destroyers and fregates have positioned themselves in proximity of Solaren's south-east, firing a number of UAV's -unmanned reconaissance drones- into Solaren territory. The ships have orders to avoid detection and the UAV's should not bear any sign of Carentanian origin, so we can reasonably assume that they will be treated as part of the EDF military effort by Solaren. The data gathered by these vehicles should provide valuable in the upcoming invasion."

"Furthermore, the 'Samobor' is having its maiden voyage today. I am feeling a bit uneasy about the participation of our first amphibious assault ship in a full-blown military conflict so shortly after it enters service, but we have little other choice," Matija Dracar added.

"This leaves us with the threat of ABC attacks..." one of the beuraucrats from the Commissariate for Health noted, seemingly worried.

"Hopefully," Matija Dracar replied, a notable dose of uncertainty in his voice, "The initial phase of the operation will go smoothly and overhwelm the enemy, stripping it of any missile sites within range of the Carentanian north."

"Sounds like the decision to go to war has already been made," the beauraucrat noted.

"Unless anyone of you can present a feasible alternative that solves the strategical and political dilemma the Workers' Republic is facing right now..."

 

[Gunnland]

Capitoline City, Tibur. The frail pope had fallen asleep and was carried out by a priest and a Syracanthian Guard, but Puopolo hardly seemed to notice as he spoke in an even voice. His words would have been recognized as lunacy months previously, but in a region of Europe that had gone stir-crazy, he managed to come across as serious. "The Solaris question is one of a legitimate government, and there is nothing illegitimate about the legal claim that the Archbishops of Torrence rule Solaren per se, only that the self-styled Urban is the archbishop. He is not, of course! Urban has usurped the episcopal see of Luc Cardinal Dubois, and you must, by law, reinstate the rightful ruler."

He stood up and walked over to the windows, where the sparkling Long Sea glistened over the deep red hydrangeas that crowned the cliff face. On a clear day you could see Eiffelland, and if there was no moon the luminous skyline of Danzig, but it had to be a halcyon day to see as far as Solaren, even with a telescope.

Looking behind him to verify that the pope had been carried through the brazen doors at the far end of the audience chamber, Cardinal Puopolo visibly relaxed, even lazy. He sprawled upon the divan by the window, his own addition to the room, and extended his arms, stretching the cloth of his scarlet robes enough to reveal a pot-belly underneath them. Then he took his zuchetto off his curly black head and spun it on one finger.

"The Federation bores me, you know. Wiese and Aquitania were once brave courts. Now barbaric peoples threaten our Christian civilization and yet your peoples do not awake, they do not demand the sovereign God anointed to take to the ramparts and march-countries and fight back barbarism - Kryobaijan, captive Coronado, Carentania, Bantyr, Hajr. Enemies on all sides with no respect for the dignity of Christian men. I hope Solaren is a turning point in the sad affair that the Federation has proved to be. The Church has always been the conscience of Meridian Europe, and if the Federation does not take up the mantle of empire in these dire times and defend Germania, the Church must make the secular magistrates see their duty."

 

[Socialist Commonwealth]

RNS Samobor, Long Sea

A loud, buzzing noise emitted from the projector on top of the ceiling. The little machine had obviously seen better days, but was for some reason put into the meeting hall of Carentania's newest ship. In between walls where the paint had barely dried up by now, the sturdy little piece of metal casing and wires was tirelessly, but with protesting sounds, throwing a projection onto the board at the end of the room. Several dozens of officers had gathered in the room, with guards positioned on the outside, and their eyes were fixated on what was essentially a map of south-eastern Solaren with numerous symbols placed above them, cryptic to all those outside of the military.

"This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is Capraria," without introduction, Commander Milena Hafner began explaining. "By now, you should be aware we are at the eve of war. Urban must be defeated, but the EDF must be barred from vassalizing Solaren. We are the only ones who can do this and we are about to embark upon a task which some of us may not survive. All of us knew such a day may come, when, for the freedom of the people in Carentania as well as the freedom of people abroad, we must fight and risk our lives."

Everyone in the room remained silent, trying his best to look determined.

"As the first amphibious assault division, it will become your task to conduct operation stormwind. Together with operation thunderstorm it is the crucial and decisive point of the entire mission. Thunderstorm involves the landing of large parts of the first airborne along southern Capraria, where they will seek out and eliminate enemy positions, lay ambushes, conduct disruptive missions and prepare the actual invasion. They will furthermore serve to confuse the entire frontline, hopefully disrupting enemy intelligence to the point that it can't safely tell anymore, which parts of Capraria are at any given point held by our forces and which by the Solaren army. If we succeed with this, it will discourage and prevent the effective use of weapons of mass destruction by the enemy."

A silent sigh of relief filled the room for the fraction of a second. At least, many thought, high command had taken this factor into its plans, as terrible as the prospect still seemed.

"As for operation stormwind, it will begin a few hours after the airborne has reached its dropzones, at about 4am. By that time, sufficient confusion should be present within Solaren ranks and the first assault groups of your division will approach the coastline at freedom beach and equality beach. They are located to the east and west of this port city," Commander Hafner began to outline the entire operational zone on the map with the help of a laserpointer, "and the respective assault groups will clear the beaches of enemy presence, with emphasis on anti-air presence. Once the security of the landing zone if confirmed, we will use Firefly helicopters to bring in additional combat groups and expand the operations towards the suburbs. By 6:30 the gamma company of the first airborne brigade will have assembled north of the town and begin a concentrated assault with heavy air support, aiming to seize a number of important roads into the city.

Mentioning air support, I should note that, for the course of the entire operation, requesting aerial fire is heavily encouraged, but that, due to the nature of the operation, there will be several limitations that have to be taken into account. Air support is provided by our Magpie Multirole Fighters and they will be outfitted for long distance missions, meaning that no dedicated CAS model can be in operation at the point. This limits strikes to assaults on fixed positions with glided bombs and cruise missiles - those also include missiles fired from ships, as well as direct fire from their guns. Every soldier will receive a priority coding card, allowing for a quick description of the designated target on the radio communication. Anti-air positions will be prioritized, followed by artillery positions. Note that we will be flying non-stop assaults on Capraria, meaning that, if you don't designate enough targets, planes will have to return without using their payload. If in doubt, set a target for attack and let the airforce command decide, whether its priority is high enough to warrant an assault.

There is a notable exception to this rule, though. As the assault of the paratroopers on the northern edge of the city begins, aerial support will be directed to mainly assist them. Troops on both freedom and equality beach will join the assault from their respective directions. We will redesignate several Fireflies to provide firepower for the attack. Meanwhile, our limited number of Dragonfly heavy transport helicopters will begin to ferry in the first armored vehicles. They will be available for the assault, but please note that those are not main battle tanks and at that point of the operation, only available in limited number. Their mission will be to assist assaults on enemy infantry in fortified positions and to allow for quick flanking manouvers. The presence of enemy armor or anti-armor weaponry should be adressed by the air support from the Fireflies."

As the commander finished her sentence, the picture of the entire island was replaced with a picture of the city on its southern coast. Several arrows outlined assault routes to be used by different units.

"Intelligence suggests the presence of a garrison and resistance from fanatical Urban loyalists is likely. But we expect a victory by 12:00 am. Your mission at that point will be to secure the city and allow for a use of its port facilities to ship in new troops, equipment and supplies at a faster rate. Prepare defensive positions to prevent an enemy reconquest. Units of the first paratroopers brigade will have set up several ambush points at routes leading to the city by that time, hopefully obstructing any attack attempt in the first place. Soldiers of the third defensive will be shipped in and replace you in your defensive positions, giving you some hours to relax and recover. By midnight, we will have new orders ready for you and they will likely consist of assaults on smaller communities on key points to inland routes. By that time, several armors will be available to assist you in this assault. This push forward on day two will serve to secure our bridgehead and enable us to establish a secure position on Capraria.

By the end of day two, you will be withdrawn from the frontline and units from the sixth offensive will take your positions, continuing the invasion in your stead."

 

[Free Provinces]

Solaren-Lorraine Border

Belzoni muttered a few words of prayer as he knelt over the mangled corpse of the young soldier, before closing his eyes and crossing his arms, one of his hands still desperately clutching the set of keys given to him before battle. Cruel pieces of shrapnel had pierced and torn his flesh, while the force of exploding artillery shells had twisted his limbs horribly. Dried streams of blood, swollen bruises and patches of dirt coloured his pale skin slightly, and the uniform he had once worn proudly clung to his body in shreds, giving what remained only some dignity and modesty.

Several artillery positions along the border had been decimated by a hateful barrage of retaliatory fire from the forces of the false Pope in Lorraine. The ageing, fixed batteries were the first to be destroyed, much like how the elderly were the first to succumb to disease.

In the distance, the thunder of war rumbled on, the undefined land between Solaren and Lorraine now devastated by a days-long storm of shells. Now standing, Belzoni uttered a few more words of prayer as he stared into the brilliance of the Sun. This time however, the prayer was not for the dead soldier and his family, but for the soldiers still alive on the battlefield, resisting the tyranny of Tibur and struggling to save the Solaris faith from being extinguished.

Il Salvatore Airbase,
Sacred Kingdom of Solaren

Saverio kissed the portrait of Pope Urban IV once more, before carefully wrapping the holy beads around the frame and placing it with his personal copy of the Solaris Bible. In the other fighter-planes of the squadron, Saverio was confident his fellow pilots were undertaking a similar ritual, asking His Incredible Holiness and the Heavenly Father to grant them the virtues necessary to successfully complete their mission.

Enemy planes had been detected flying towards the air defence and RADAR installations. Local anti-aircraft would initially attempt to engage with the enemy, although everyone knew only true soldiers of God could be relied upon to defend the Sacred Kingdom, and not simple, man-made machines.

Their plan was divinely inspired, and it was rumoured Pope Urban IV was personally involved, helping to ensure the defence of his flock and land, like a good shepherd. A few aircraft would directly engage the enemy and duel in the skies until one of them fled or died. More would head towards the enemy positions along the border and strike them with full fury. Several would then continue to nearby enemy airbases, providing a distraction and allowing another wave to deliver a decisive blow. Some would be martyred in the process, but better a martyr than a coward.

With the final alarms sounding, and Saverio confident of God's blessing and grace, he prepared for flight.

 

[Coronado]

RCB Veinte de Julio
Off the Coast of Carentania

Contraalmirante Juan Hernando Roderiguez paces the flag bridge of the Coronado's lone aircraft carrier. He had been witness to the Carentanian fleet sailing northwest towards Solaren, but he has not received order to do anything except wait for those orders. He has heard the Solarens had attacked Lorraine, even though the fleet has been kept at sea so as not to attract attention to what the Carentanian were doing. Command thought that as Carentania had no carriers, whatever naval force the Veinte de Julio was part and went would be where the strike would come. If it worked, then the EDF and the Solarens would be watching him and not the Carentanians as closely. If it didn't work, the carrier and surface ships would have to do a double quick time to be of any assistance. At least Solaren id within striking distance of land based planes in Coronado.

Base Aérea de Valladolid
Eastern Coronado

As soon as the first report of the Solari attacking Lorraine, air bases across Coronasdo went on alert and Valladolid was not an except. Valladolid was not a fight or bomber base, it was the home of Coronado eastern AEW aircraft and reconnaissance squadrons. And while those fighters and bombers have yet to be called on to do the jobs they are designed for, the AWAC planes have been busy getting a bird's eye view of the happenings in the skies above western and southern Solaren, and with long range patrol and surveillance aircraft have been monitoring EDF and Solari ship movements and gathering intel on possible targets for the Fuerza Aérea Coronado.

There is one place that is being particularly watched closely and intelligence gathered constantly being funneled to not only Toledo, but also Rijeka as the Carentanians seem to be especially interested in that spot.

Long Sea

The Long Sea was becoming crowded especially beneath the waves as the subs of at least a half dozen nations search for and are search for by subs of Solaren, this along those that are on neither side but keeps an eye on both, these sub include those of Coronado. Tracking foreign subs and surface is a game the submariners of the Armada Coronado have become quite adept in, and though Solari subs have long been their primary quarry, they have gain much pratice and insight wiyh tracking those ship and subs of the EDF.

 

[Rheinbund]

Capitolline City
Tibur

Ambassador Bergmann looked a bit puzzled into the direction where the Pope had been taken to. He had heard that the Pope was ill, but was it that bad? He had the impression that the Pope was de facto not in charge any more but Puopolo was. It was not clear whether this came from the Pope himself or from Puopolo.

He also asked himself if Puopolo understood the international political situation. To be honest, he was afraid that Puopolo did not. But how to make him clear that it is 2011 and not 1611? How to make him clear that one of the most important allies against Solaren was a Lutheran nation?

It remained to be seen how the EDF-troops would be received by the Solaris. As liberators or as occupiers? If as liberators, the Solaris would at least be disappointed if Urban’s absolute theocracy would be replaced with a new absolute theocracy, even if that new absolute theocracy would be a good theocracy. If as occupiers, the EDF would have to act very carefully.

“Like I said, Your Eminence, you will have to discuss the matter of who will become the Tiburan Emperor with King Armand and Emperor Friedrich Wilhelm. It would be a bit strange if you suddenly appear on the television with the announcement that you made the Wieser Emperor the Tiburan Emperor without him knowing. Please contact Valmy or Augsburg for that. We cannot be part of the crowning process. By the way, what exactly do you have in mind with instating the Tiburan Emperor? I don’t know if Germanic or Gallian countries would be willing to hand over their sovereignty to him,” Bergmann said. “Furthermore, I don’t want the aftermath of this war to become another war about how Solaren should be ruled. Solaren should not become a new dictatorship. It has to become a democracy, in whichever form. We can make the Bishop of Torrance Head of State again, but he won’t become an absolute ruler. Let that be clear.”


Lorraine

“I don’t care if it costs a lot of fuel. I want to have at least 10 planes in the air continuously patrolling the skies in the front line, and I want to have at least 10 planes in the air in the background. Furthermore, I want all other planes ready for start 24 hours a day, except for the planes undergoing post-flight-maintenance,” Oberst Kesselbach said. “I don’t want to get a surprise from the Solaris. We should have done so earlier. Now we’re probably too late,” he continued while referring to the message that a group of Solaris fighters had been spotted near the Typhoons flying to the radar installations and another group flying to Lorraine.

“Finally some action,” Prince Johann said to one of his colleagues. They had just received orders to patrol the skies above Lorraine and shoot down every enemy fighter that would appear.
“Finally some other action, you mean,” one of the other pilots said to Johann.
“What are you referring at?” Prince Johann said.
“Let’s call it your diplomatic mission with that Montelimarian pilot.”
“Well, at least I accomplished that mission,” Johann grinned. “Contrary to you, as I heard,” he continued, referring to the other pilot being bashed off in public the night before.

Johann was a bit surprised about himself. He felt more for that Montelimarian pilot Valérie Hainaut than he normally felt for a woman. He was worried whether she would survive this war. Normally he never thought about the fates of the women he slept with, but now he did. This was something he didn’t know about himself.

But now he would not worry about that. Now he would go into the air and shoot down some Solaris planes.

Minutes later, 20 Tornados went into the air. 10 would engage the incoming Solaris planes in the front and 10 would stay in the background.


Skies above Solaren

“Incoming enemies! Gottverdammte Scheisse!!” one of the pilots of the Typhoons yelled into the microphone. He fired his radar seeking missiles to the radar installation he had to target and readied himself for the dogfight to come. The other three pilots did the same.

 

[Gunnland]

Capitoline City, Tibur. Gaspar sat doubled over at the bathhouse. His hairy legs had the avian quality of being too small for his rather large midsection, which spilled over the waist of his tight-fitting scarlet swim briefs. It had been a long day with the stubborn ambassador from Eiffelland. The envoys of the Federation always acted as if the Long Sea region was a collection of affluent liberal Arendäls, even if the shrewder ones knew otherwise. The cardinal's voluptuous cousin, a tall and silken blackhaired girl who was fiercely devoted to him either from an addiction to power or her mistaken impression he had bought her freedom from a ring of Solaris slavers when she was fifteen, fitted a swim cap over his curly black hair. She listened with rapt attention to the details of his meeting, which he recounted in the brutal Talemantine dialect tortured by a Montelimarine French accent that was typical to Tibur.

"I told that testa di cazzo it's a matter of international law. The Federazione can't install the government they'd like, they must accept the legal claim of the Arcivescovo of Torrance to rule Solaren. We are a civilization of peace and laws."

"Snap" went the latex swim cap on his oversized head, and the corpulent cardinal toppled into the water with a splash. Lucrezia Puopolo slipped into the water gracefully after him, laughing, and when he surfaced she said, "Eminence, where is Hippolyte?"

Torrence, Solaren. Where the hell am I? wondered Monsignor Hippolyte Frison. He had expected to retire, perhaps to a luxurious villa on the Long Sea, after poisoning Marcus Clemens II the year previous. But the plan had backfired and the College of Cardinals had elected another liberal pro-democracy pope, and Frison had to flee the Capitoline City. To Solaren. He wondered if he had fled to an even more dangerous place.

Frison's one professional regret was staging the kidnapping of Gaspar's beautiful young cousin, Lucrezia, using some Tiburian street thugs, who were subsequently cut down by Syracanthian Guards with automatic weapons in a shipping warehouse in Tibur. Every night he went to bed fantasizing about leaving the priesthood and taking Lucrezia to some distant exotic place beyond her diabolical cousin's influence: Cantigny, Far Implaria, Olmolungring.

But he knew, for now, that in the space of seconds, Puopolo could give the SG evidence that Frison had murdered the beloved former pope. And so he did as he was told, and despaired for his life.

Coming down out of his thoughts, he realized he was mindlessly saying the words of consecration, the living body of Jesus Christ raised high above his mumbling head, in front of a dozen or so Solaris subjects in a basement under the shuttered mission of the Holy See to Solaren. It was part of his mission to make contact with the underground Catholic Church in Solaris, the Catholic faithful who could blend in quite well in the similar rites and offices of the Solaris Church. A few were political dissidents, most were quiet women who feared the true God as much as they feared Urban, and sought out His true ministers. "God's true ministers," thought Frison as he placed a host in the mouth of a veiled and trembling old woman. God's true ministers. A tear came to his eye, a clear glistening trace of guilt that the woman would mistake, or perhaps recognize, as pious devotion.

 

[Großlausitz]

Aboard KMS Ludwig Erhard

The evaluation and analysis of the recent data on the attacks had led to the identification of a rough pattern in the Solaris air force’s assaults. There were only relatively few aircrafts actually engaging in air combat with the Eiffellander air force.

The analysts at EDF’s Camp Alpha had found out after comparing the available information on the military strength of the Solaris air force with the actual activity. “Ladies and Gentlemen, there’s some reason to believe the current wave is but a smoke screen trying to make way for a large excursion”, Kommodore Peter Glück briefed his command staff and senior officers aboard the aircraft carrier KMS Ludwig Erhard, “Of our thirty multirole naval fighters we will add five to the Eiffellander air force with an additional five staying in the background alongside with the other fighters of the Eiffellander armed forces. The rest will be held in reserve in anticipation of that Solaris excursion, in a scheme similar to the Eiffellanders, ten on duty, ten in the background.”

To his utmost relief the Kommodore had been informed by the Defence Ministry that they would send five reserve aircraft to Lorraine to provide immediate substitution of any total damage in the course of the next week. By then, Glück knew from today’s video conference with the EDF high command, Carentania was very likely to show its true intentions, which could range from attacking Nicosia to carving out a piece from Solaren’s dying body for their own purposes, i.e. creating a wee council republic neighbouring a possibly EDF client state. Unfortunately the EDF had to set some priorities to allow for efficient warfare.
​

 

[Holy Frankish Empire]

Royal Residence, Syracuse

The sand colored phone hit the ground with a crash after being knocked over by none other than the Kingdom's patriarch. While he rarely showed his temper outside the chambers of the Royal Residence itself, those in attendance knew far too well the anger that brewed inside the stocky King. "I dont care if you have to tell those fuckers in command that Jesus himself showed up at your doorstep and told you to tell them to attack but make it happen" roared the King as he pointed to the office phone that had just clattered its way onto the worn marble floor. "A pack of boy scouts could make more progress than these people" the King continued.

At the center of the tirade was the King's right hand man, Chancellor Valdez. Fairly well respected in diplomatic circles, Valdez had a flair for getting the attention of various ministers rather than the world leaders. Despite his lengthy public service, he was rather unaccustomed to such outbreaks. Like the rest of those in attendance, all he could do was shrug. He then realized he could at least make a joke and hopefully the King would laugh. "Well why don't we send an army of midgets?" he said with the straightest face possible. Everyone turned baffled at the Chancellor. "This town........is crawling with midgets" said the Chancellor as a smirk went across his face. The entire room burst into laughter and they returned to war planning.

 

[Lorraine]

Southern Lorraine

The southern defences has been design to bring maximum firepower onto key locations along the border, location where Solaren forces would likely attack from, while at the sametime absorb fire from the Solarens as they attempted to penetrated those defences. The Solarens too knew the likely places counter-attacks would come and had those places targeted, so the matter now was 'who would flinch first'. All along the front Lorrainian artillery batteries dueled it out with those of Solarens. Using the Anglysh made AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder Weapon Locating System have given the big guns of the Third Army an edge as they are able to accurately identify, locate and bring counter-battery fire on the Solarens, either forcing those batteries to move or be destroyed. This along with Lorrainian air force and coalition planes and army helicopters pounding Solaren positions, and though friendly loses have been recorded, it has been estimated that at least some of the Solaren batteries have been silenced either though destruction or forced to retreat.

Bay of Venetia

The army and air force were not the only branches of the armed forces of Lorraine that were taking the war to the Solarens, the navy, especially the submarine force, were doing their duty as cruise missiles are launched at targets in eastern Solaren as well as locating Solaren subs operating there. But it is the Island of Iscla that is the primary focus of the Lorrainian navy as well as several squadrons of the air force. Iscla has always been a threat to merchant traffic in and out of the Gulf of Lorraine through the Bay of Venetia and it had to become a subject of Lorrainian High Command.

Iscla, in the hands of Solaren, has always been a threat to Lorraine's free passage through to the open seas, and now in wartime, it controls the northern part of the bay making it a target for strikes as its defences needs to be worn down, worn down to a point where invasion is possible, though the island is a danger to Lorraine in Solaren hands, its location and with coalition bases makes it far more dangerous to Solaren.

 

[Anglyn]

HMS King Cedrick VIII
Long Sea

The KC8 Battle Group continues to launch cruise missiles at targets in southern Solaren and though its air group has conducted several sorties against coastal defences, but as long as the Carentanian fleet and the Coronadan carrier continue to be unknown factors, the planes of the group has mainly provided AEW and fighter cover for the alliance fleet.

HMS Intrepid (S105)
Great Sea, West of Hammersmith

This is the nuclear attack submarine Intrepid's second tour in these waters, its first was during the early days of the Solaren Crisis and was actually on its way back when Solaren attacked Lorraine and declared war on the EDF. During this time the Royal Navy subs stationed in these waters have been keeping taps on the coming and goings of not only allaince shipping but also all others especially those of Engellex. This was for two reason to keep track of them for the Alliance but also so the Admiralty would know what of the Engellex fleet is in home waters and what wasn't and though, along with her sister boats was to protect alliance shipping from attack from Solaren, Engellex having such close ties with Cantigny as well as Solaren, the Admiralty is doubly interested in what its navy is up to.

 

[Holy Frankish Empire]

Torrance

Joseph Cardonna blew into his cup op tea as he glanced out from under the cafe's canopy. It was an unusually rainy day in Torrance but Cardonna appreciated the smell of a fresh rain. He had been to Solaren a few times but mostly spent his time elsewhere. Nicosia's intelligence service was relatively tiny compared to other nations. In total there were fewer than 10 covert operatives. However, this played to Nicosia's advantage as their operatives were even more obscure than those of other nations. Cardonna looked at his watch before looking out at the hustle and bustle of Torrance again. Unlike the rest of Solaren, the city was somewhat modern and cosmopolitan. While the ramshackle cities of the north lacked many amenities, Torrance made Cardonna feel like he was in any other Gallian city. He took another gulp as out of the corner of his eye, Cardonna and his companion spotted the two cars pull in across the street.

The two black cars came to a halt in front of Solaren's foreign ministry and two security men stepped out of the first vehicle. Out of the second stepped Paul Calesteno and an aid. Cardonna glanced at his counterpart who was writing the time into the crossword of the paper. Cardonna tossed a few bills on the table and the two walked away from the cafe and ministry as casually as could be.

 

[Free Provinces]

Papal Retreat,
La Spina Mountains,
Sacred Kingdom of Solaren

The mountains that ran down the length of Solaren had long been used as a refuge, beginning with the founding days of the Solaris Catholic Church, when the faithful fled into the caves and mountains to escape the swords and stakes of the Tiburan Inquisition. Pope Urban IV was now following their footsteps after the audacious attack on the holy city of Torrence by the forces of the false Pope. In a cowardly attempt to assassinate His Incredible Holiness, several missiles were fired at the seat of the Solaris Catholic Church, wreaking much havoc and destruction. Divine intervention had spared Pope Urban IV from a grisly death, but unfortunately many of his loyal subjects could not be saved, and now dozens of innocents lay rotting in early graves just outside the city walls, callously murdered by the anti-Pope's armies.

The Pope’s new sanctuary was a small villa built on a mountainside by one of the old Lords of Bargia. Ancient rock formations and the twisted trunks of long-dead trees formed an imposing surrounding circle, obscuring the building from the farming village in the valley below. The Lords of Bargia, separated from Torrence and the other great cities of the Sacred Kingdom by the mountains, were infamous for their eccentricity and rebelliousness, and this villa was rumoured to be the site of occult activities. As the Pope stared at the faint blood stains on the cold stone tile floor, he hoped it was from the severed neck of the heretics as they were executed, and not from the animals sacrificed in their perverse ceremonies.

“This place disturbs me.”

It was Grand Inquisitor Jamal, closest confidant of the Pope. Of Negro ancestry and Mohammedan upbringing, he had been personally saved by Pope Urban IV, then Adrian Verga, when found wandering the streets of Panetelleria, the port capital of Capraria, scavenging for food. After being caught trying to steal from the banquet being prepared in Bishop Verga’s honour, he was condemned to be cast into the Long Sea for a slow death by drowning. The young Bishop intervened and secured Jamal’s life. Jamal was then placed under Verga’s tutelage and over the years, slowly learnt the truth, that his barbaric desert religion reveres a warlord and a paedophile, that the false Pope in Tibur sleeps with whores and worships gold and most importantly, that the Pope in Torrence is God’s One True Representative on Earth and Solaris Catholicism the One True Creed.

Pope Urban smiled. Even though the evils had occurred here long ago, the Grand Inquisitor could still feel their presence. It was no surprise thousands of heretics and deviants now languished in prison cells, fearfully awaiting punishment for their sins.

“Come, we have far more important matters to discuss than the past crimes of a few mad Lords.”

The Grand Inquisitor only nodded and followed the Pope into the bedchambers. Compared to those of the Papal Palace, these were only modest, with the bed simple in its design and the walls bare, absent of epic murals, only a crucifix and portraits of past Popes hanging. The Pope eased himself onto his bed, while the Grand Inquisitor remained obediently standing, waiting for his master to speak.

“The barbarians in Carentania wrote to me, declaring their intentions.”

Jamal cared little for the lands beyond the shores of the Sacred Kingdom. They were inhabited by pagans, heretics, deviants – enemies of God. Yet from time to time, the Pope insisted on concerning him with their affairs.

“They offered me assurances of peace. They promise me their ships mean no harm. They tell me they oppose EDF imperialism.”

The Pope sounded unsatisfied. Jamal moved his head slightly inquisitively, revealing the tattoos of devotion that adorned his face in the few beams of sunlight that crept into the room.

“They continue to defame our faith. They refuse to recognise me as God’s One True Representative. They seek to continue with their godless ways.”

Urban’s words were heavy with disappointment. Although the response was unsurprising, Urban had hoped the evils committed by the European Defence Federation under the watchful eye of the Tiburan false Pope would have convinced the world of the righteousness of his message and the need for action. Yet the world remained silent and unmoving, only watching on as the Solaris faithful were massacred.

“I would not believe in men who hold no beliefs themselves, Your Incredible Holiness.”

There was strength in the words of the Grand Inquisitor; you could almost hear the clang of swords and the roar of holy fire as he spoke.

“You think with the mind of an Inquisitor, not a diplomat or a King. The word of a man of no faith means little to me, yet I am content in believing these simple barbarians will not stir if they continue to have their whores, little boys and poisons. They saw the King of Nicosia beg for his people, they would not risk incurring my wrath.”

Galara,
Sacred Kingdom of Solaren

The aerial assault on Lorraine had ended in martyrdom for many pilots. Shrines had appeared in the main square of Galara, the city closest to the fighting. Wailing mothers and wives stood with orphaned children at small military portraits surrounded by candles, flowers and talismans. Local churches rang bells for the dead and priests praised their bravery. Belzoni had heard rumours of the devoted marching close to the battlefields hoping to find pieces from the destroyed warplanes, from which they could receive inspiration to do God’s works.

The wounded borderlands, marred by giant craters and ravaged forests, had also witnessed much destruction. Most of the fixed artillery pieces had been eliminated by retaliatory fire from the enemy positions, with superior technology allowing them to easily discover the artillery batteries’ locations. Following harsh words from Imperial to the European Defence Federation over their unabashed aggression towards Solaren, Torrence had judged it safe and wise to reinforce the frontline with forces from along the border with the Platte Confederation.

Yet the war effort was not making the progress as ordered by Pope Urban IV. He had expected Lorraine to be overrun as quickly as the Holy Land was liberated by the Crusaders. Belzoni had seen too many men fall prey to their weaknesses in the time their Lord needed them most, and cower behind rocks or attempt to flee. An army of rats and insects would be crushed. Thus Belzoni was in Galara at the behest of the Grand Inquisitor not to commend the commanders for their victories, but condemn them for their failures. The Pope could not tolerate mediocrity in the highest places.

 

[Rheinbund]

Lorraine

All in all, Oberst Kesselbach was satisfied. He lost quite some planes, and the landing strips of some air force bases were unusable, but in general the Solaris attack had been repulsed. The Solaris losses seemed to be high. That was good news. Two of the four Typhoons sent to destroy the radar posts had been shot down. That was bad news.

Meanwhile, the bombed landing strips were repaired. Kesselbach still kept 20 planes in the air above Lorraine with 10 in the front and 10 in the back. But he also ordered 20 planes to fly above the border region of Northern Solaren, both to bomb the Solaris side of the front line and to prevent reinforcements from arriving at the front. The orders of those planes were simple: Destroy every Solaris asset that at least seems to have the capability of moving. “Well at least after this we have a nice landscape where we can make movies about life at the moon,” he said to a subordinate with a grim tone in his voice.
Somewhere he felt that the Solaris would not give up that easily, and would go on fighting even an already lost battle. They would fight until death. When you looked at it rationally, why fighting for a dictator? But what is ratio? Kesselbach was prepared to die for his country, or for the EDF. Why? Because he knew that 99.9% of the people had a good life in the EDF-system. Or better said, a life he and most EDF-citizens considered to be good. In Solaren, most people probably had a life they considered to be good as well. Add a portion of good indoctrination, and they do everything for the system they live in. With that in mind, Kesselbach realised that the EDF would not be celebrated as liberators after the war.
But on the other hand, Urban IV had already shown to be a lunatic. A lunatic that was a danger to the stability of the region. What he did to those Nicosian citizens was a clear sign of his madness. War had already been inevitable.
But what in general was it that people had against the EDF? The only thing it did was making it as comfortable as possible to its citizens. Indeed, it was an important military power in the world, but the EDF imposed nothing to the rest of the world. What was it then? Kesselbach would never understand.

Meanwhile, the damaged landing strips were repaired.

General Modersohn also overlooked the battlefield, or better said the border regions. He was satisfied with the efforts of the air forces. The Solaris air force had suffered a major blow. That was good news. As soon as the EDF-forces would have got air superiority, the ground invasion would begin.


Navy headquarters
Trier, Eiffelland

Großadmiral Tobias Fischer looked at the screen showing the waters between Eiffelland and Solaren. The Eiffellandian navy had chased Solaris submarines in those waters. In fact that chase was still going on. Both sides had already lost some vessels. At a certain moment, a telephone call came in.

“Fischer.”
“Good morning, Herr Großadmiral, Von Seydewitz here on the speaker phone. All cabinet members are here as well, and we have Großadmiral Rötschke and the generals Schenke, Schablonski and Rädemacher in conference as well.”
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Fischer said.
“There is an important matter we have to discuss. Engellex just attacked our ally Montelimar. This means that formally we are at war with Engellex. To make the story a bit smelly, Queen Charlotte had invited all Crown-Princes of the EDF to visit her and celebrate her engagement with Crown-Prince Sören of Arendaal. I don’t know exactly what she was planning to do with all the Crown-Princes, but it is certain that it would be something nasty. None of the Crown-Princes went there, by the way. In any case, the fact that Engellex attacked Montelimar makes all Engellexic army properties a target. This means, that apart from your orders concerning the Solaris armed forces, you also have orders to sink any Engellexic military vessel you find, and to shoot down any Engellexic military plane you find. The same order is applicable to any Engellexic soldier and vehicle. We won’t issue a declaration of war. Queen Charlotte could have known that we would react. Our first shot will be our declaration of war,” Chancellor Von Seydewitz said.

Fischer knew that some time in the past Engellexic submarines had been found in the waters around Solaren. This meant that those submarines had become targets as well. So he sent a message to all the Eiffellandian military vessels.

TO: All Eiffellandian military vessels
FROM: Navy Headquarters

Engellex attacked Montelimar tonight. This means that the EDF is formally at war with Engellex. From now on until further notice, you have orders to sink any Engellexic vessels you encounter. For the ships in the seas around Solaren, Solaris vessels have priority over Engellexic vessels.

Signed: Großadmiral Tobias Fischer.

Submarine U-10

The captain of this submarine knew that some Engellexic vessels were here in the past. It remained to be seen if they were still there. But if they were, they would be sunk.


Staatsschutz headquarters
Trier, Eiffelland

In general, smoking was prohibited in Eiffellandian governmental buildings. Exceptions to that rule were officially designated smoking rooms. The office of the Staatsschutz agents Ralf Strauss and Horst Krämer was an unofficially designated smoking room. Both agents lived on a cocktail of strong coffee and cigarettes that was lethal to normal human beings. And both agents were the master hackers of the Eiffellandian secret service.

“So now we have orders to hack the servers of the Solaris armed forces,” Krämer said.
“It remains to be seen if Solaren has Internet anyway,” Strauss said while wheeling from the coffee machine to his desk. A couple of years ago, he had lost the ability to walk when he was hit by a car shortly after he had helped with uncovering a hackers network. The driver of the car that had hit him had never been arrested; directly after he had hit Strauss, he speeded away. It was unclear up to now whether this was an assault or simply an accident. But the fact that he was sticked to a wheelchair did not change the fact that he was a brilliant computer programmer who cracked the best firewalls.
“Well, they probably will. And then something must be connected to it. Maybe we even find the porn collection of Urban III,” Krämer said while lighting up a cigarette. “Now let’s crack the bastard.”