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I almost misread your name as Moscow.
As if I would do that.
*Imperial Commander Talbots and several other Imperial officers await to negotiate terms for the Deathfallian surrender*
It would be welcomed here as well.
The northern cresent and Riveti
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/soft-targets/
"If the last few decades prove anything about America’s strategy in fighting Islamic terrorism, it’s that no matter what the other side throws our way, America will respond in the most counterintuitive and self-destructive manner imaginable.
The routine goes something like this: if America is attacked by terrorists from Country A, then our response will be to bomb the hell out of Country Z, in which Z equals a doormat of a country whose sole purpose is to provide an easy, morale-boosting win. This strategy has produced mixed results, from total failure to complete catastrophe, depending on variable Z. The doormats have turned out to be booby-trapped.
Take our most recent example of this counterterror formula: a terrorist from Country A (Nigeria) tries and fails to down an American plane. According to the warped logic of the U.S. foreign-policy establishment, we must naturally attack Country Z—Yemen.
[...]There’s Saudi Arabia, where al-Qaeda’s founder, its sponsors, and its ideological support all come from—that would be a logical Country A to bomb. But the Saudis sponsor the American foreign-policy establishment at least as much as they sponsor anti-American terrorism, so bombing them would be tantamount to suicide for our policymakers. "
Ancient:
It's hard to do that when someone won't obey the rules, but you do make an fair point, I am sorry.
Sith:
I am not going to start an argument, but I will say that you are preventing my nation to move forward, therefore I am ignoring you and if I need to make changes to the past, I will do that, otherwise, please take it up with an RP Moderator. Thanks.
Avastas City, ArcticOne
The airship roared as it slowly guided itself into the rusted old hangar of the smugglers' den. As the last of the turbines stopped spinning and as the dust settled, Karla jumped out of a low hatch, carrying a cash-stuffed suitcase. A trio of other vagabonds, the other members of their gang, watched.
"Guess who just brought home the bread! You all owe me a drink!"
Jet walked from the cockpit onto the top of the ship and folded his arms on the railings.
"Actually, you all owe me a drink. I did most of the piloting, after all."
One of the trio, a grease-stained mechanic, stepped forward. "I think you owe us, Karla. You know, Sarah over there for making sure we're not arrested on the ground, me for making sure you don't fall out of the sky in that bucket of bolts and that Jet doesn't get shot down, and Ryu for..." He blinked. "What exactly do you do around here anyways, Ryu?"
"Shoot stuff," Ryu responded absentmindedly, playing with the wheel of his armor-piercing revolver. "Help Sarah intimidate the police. Remove all the excess blood from corporatee investigators, thieves, backstabbers..." He looked up and half-jokingly pointed the barrel at the mechanic. "And two-bit fugee engine-workers who think they're funny."
He grimaced and slowly stepped behind a thick steel pillar for cover. "Right. For that."
"I know, Jake. I'm getting to it. Jeez, you all never let me have any fun..."
Karla opened the briefcase and started counting cash. As Jet stepped down from the airship, Sarah approached him.
"So, I heard you got along pretty well with the boys in Kzaria."
"You could say that," said Jet, taking a drag of medicine. "They were happy to see us, and were very willing to give us the cash. Didn't even haggle or try to screw us over, as far as I could tell. Did Karla tell you that they handed us the money before we even finished the shipment?"
"Yeah, I heard." Sarah shook her head dismissively. "They're amateurs. The greenest of the green. The organized crime in Kzaria is hardcore, but the guys they send on their alcohol run missions are young and cocky. Like us, if we weren't too poor to be reckless. You need to be careful."
Jet frowned. "What's with the concern? You don't think I can handle this?"
"We aren't the military, Jet. Stealth and flying low only takes you so far. These people are liable to be caught on the ground." She watched a cloud of vapor come off of Jet's fake cigarette. "They were intercepted by police on their way out."
Jet was stunned. "What? No kidding. I guess that means we're done with them?"
"No. They somehow were carrying enough extra cash on them to buy the cops off. Kzaria looks like a goldmine to you, and it very well may be, but you have to remember what kind of people you are dealing with. You know what they do to western smugglers down there, when they get caught."
"I can guess. The local preacher riles a mob up, and they go out and lynches 'em. Hanging from the neck, with a healthy dose of beatings?"
"Yeah, you got it right. Although I've heard in the sticks they're also big fans of stoning, beheading, and in one case, they beat up on a pilot and forced smuggled alcohol down her throat until she suffocated or died of alcohol poisoning. When the military finally arrived to send her home in a casket, her body was so beat up that the NPF coroners couldn't decide what had happened first."
Jet raised his eyebrows. "Yikes."
"Yikes is right," Sarah said with a faint smile. "That's why, next time, you're taking Ryu and a nice assault rifle with you. That way, you have a better gun in your hands and an extra gunslinger at your side if something goes wrong."
"I don't know... Shouldn't Ryu stay behind and guard the goods?"
"What goods?" Sarah opened her arms, highlighting all the empty space of the hangar. "I don't know if you can see, Jet, but we ain't running a warehouse. The goods come in, and they go out a few hours later with the ship. This is just a transit point, and everyone's here when the goods are in transit anyways."
"And the guns, the money?"
"We keep all the big guns in the ship, and everyone is in charge of taking care of their own stash. You know that." She blinked. "You didn't hide your weapons and money in the hangar, did you?"
Jet paled. "W-What? No, of course I didn't! Nobody would be that stupid! Heh..."
Sarah smiled. "Well, that's your problem, then. It's certainly not mine, and it's definitely not enough for it to be the APD's or the Militia's. Messing with all your stuff will give me something fun to do while I'm waiting for you all to finish the next mission."
"'You all'? You're going to be here alone?"
"Well, me and my computer. I'm sending Jake along with Karla and the ship. We can't risk a breakdown in either your fighter or the ship. Don't worry, though. That 'two-bit fugee engine-worker', as Ryu eloquently put it, is too valuable to my operations to send with you over Kzaria."
"Well, its a two-seater anyways, so..."
"Yeah, that's another good reason."
Jet scratched his head. "I mean, alright. Whatever works for you, I guess."
"And for me," Karla said, butting in and handing Jet and Sarah large wads of cash. "This is for you, this is for you, and this is for me! Alright, mission accomplished!"
"Next shipment arrives in a few days," Sarah said, grinning. "In the meantime, lets do whatever shopping we need to and get a little bit of R&R. I think I'm gonna do a little staycation in Avastas, maybe take a visit to that big ancient temple they're rebuilding."
"You mean the Theoficia? That sounds like fun. I might just join you!"
"YO! JET!" Jake ran up with his money, holding a flight helmet and looking as excited as a little kid with a new puppy. "Let's go get that fuel atomizer and those servo upgrades we saw earlier! I think they're still for sale at the airport!"
Jet laughed. "Alright, let's take the Yakolev. I wanna make this quick, so no window shopping!" He gave Sarah a mock salute and walked away with Jake. Sarah and Karla left shortly after, leaving Ryu and a book in the hangar. Another day, another good trade.
Anarchy Air Force Base
Alternate Government Center
I am now in command of the Deathfallian Federal Government until the Minister of Foreign Affairs is sworn in. I need to get him here.
The Commandant of the National Guard uses the Alternate Government Center to call President Lane (Arcticone) to tell him to get the Designated Survivor, codenamed Friendly to Deathfall to Anarchy Air Force Base.
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