Somewhere in the North Diessenian Government Quarter
Het Goor, North Diessen
24th October 2021, 0350hrs
Members of the Imperial Defence Council (IDC), including Imperial Councillor Basil Lawson and Chief of the General Staff Vice-Admiral Bauer, are listening in live to operation reports during the commencement of Phase Two of Operation Takedown. The IDC is currently viewing operations in the Diessenian Capital, Het Goor, where Imperial Guard units are commanded by Major-General Ettore Stuart.
Major-General Ettore STUART, Officer Commanding: [Over radio]: "Chalks, status report, over?"
Lieutenant Dale REMUERE: "Chalk 1, ready and waiting."
Lieutenant Lunduc JOHANSCH: "Chalk 2, ready and waiting."
Lieutenant Dante EMILIS: "Chalk 3, ready and waiting."
Lieutenant Lambert DUNKINE: "Chalk 4, ready and waiting."
M-Gen. STUART: "Command, ETA on go?"
Chief of the General Staff BAUER: "Viper, this is Command; ETA is 7 minutes, over."
Bauer had planned for months for this moment. The convolution of hundreds if not thousands of minds working on a single aim: to bring the government of North Diessen under the control of someone the Empire, and the Imperial Armed Forces more generally, could sway whenever it wanted. To use North Diessen's position on the Caspian Coast, its resources and airstrips. To prepare for the digging of a second canal binding the Caspian and Persian Gulf together. Today, it all came together. Bauer had promised the Emperor that Phase Two, the most critical and diplomatically sensitive phase of the entire operation, would be a resounding success. Formenting civil war in North Diessen was but the pretext for a much larger aim: the Imperial Armed Forces could not simply march into Het Goor and depose President Pekcan. Well, they could; but it would raise eyebrows in Europe. This way, there was a cover of legitimacy. The Inimicians would withdraw as soon as possible after tonight, and declare the ending of civil strife in North Diessen a success. In fact, they ended the Confederacy's independence. The clock struck 4am.
BAUER: "Viper, this is Command. Takedown Two is go. I repeat, Takedown Two is go."
Immediately, the figures on the great plasma screens in the Imperial Situation Room began to move. Bauer's nerves were on edge. The next few moments could decide the fate of the entire operation, the fate of months' planning, the fate of the Empire's standing abroad, and most importantly, the fate of his career.
STUART: "Chalk 1, Chalk 2, commence bombing."
REMUERE (Chalk 1): "Roger. Commencing bombing."
An explosion went off in the deserted streets. Car alarms blared as Chalk 1 began to make as much noise as possible. At the other end of the road leading to the Presidential Palace, Chalk 2 began to fire at the building, dressed all in black.
STUART: "Command, switching to local channels. Will advise."
Stuart switched his set to a local Diessenian military channel rather than the encoded and encrypted secret Inimician wavelength. "Attention to all units in Het Goor, this is Stuart, Officer Commanding. We have a potential assault on the Presidential Palace. We are 10-31. I repeat, we are 10-31." By calling out 10-31, Stuart activated the emergency plan for Imperial Guard Troops to collect all key Diessenian personnel present in the Palace complex. The scene was now set.
EMILIS (Chalk 3): "Viper Command, this is Chalk 3. Proceeding to extraction, Irene."
STUART: "Copy that, advise accordingly. Chalk 4, status report?"
DUNKINE (Chalk 4): "Chalk 4, proceeding to extraction, Ambrose."
Chalk 3 approached the Presidential Palace, with the aim of taking President Inge Pekcan (codenamed Irene) to safety, while Chalk 4 would bring Ekrem Mueller (Ambrose) to the Palace's underground situation room instead. As Chalk 3 approached Pekcan's chambers, the President became aware of the Inimicians' intentions.
EMILIS (Chalk 3): "Madam President, we have a situation outside and are evacuating the area. You will have to come with us." He knocks on the heavy door to Pekcan's chambers. No response. "Madam President, this is Lieutenant Emilis of the Inimician Imperial Guard, you must come with us at once."
Confederal President Inge PEKCAN [Through the door]: "I've seen this coming, Lieutenant Emilis. You go back to Telum and tell your Emperor he can come get me himself, or not at all."
EMILIS (Chalk 3): "Stand away from the door, Madam President."
Emilis orders his designated breacher to obliterate the door's lock with a specially designed breaching shotgun, sending sparks flying across the President's room. As the Guard enter, they find Pekcan hastily recording a video of herself.
PEKCAN: "This is President Pekcan. The Imperial Guard are coming for me. They're trying to take ov--" A cry of pain as her phone is beaten out of her hand with a rifle butt. Emilis secures the phone and ensures deletion of the footage.
EMILIS (Chalk 3): "You're coming with us." A bullet from Emilis's rifle shoots through the President's left leg, sending a high-pitched wail through the empty streets. The President is carried off, into the dark, never to be seen again.
TBC
