Fallout IOT: Back in the USSR

The Slain Saint George: A History of the City of Moscow by Zakhar I. Kaminski
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Ask any layman what the capital city of the Patriarchate is, and they shall tell you Moscow. Ask any priest where the Patriarch and Synod meet, and they shall tell you Moscow. Ask any foreigner, at least one who knows of the Patriarchate, where the Patriarch lives, and they shall tell you Moscow. Moscow has long been the center of this land we call Russia. The Tsars and Premiers of the Old World sat in this city, ruling from the grand palaces of Catherine and the citadel called the Kremlin, built by Ivan Terrible*. The grand Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the symbol of the power of the Old Church, loomed over the old city's skyline. To the Patriarchate, Moscow is much more than just a capital, it is a symbol of their power, their survival. The Tsars had once tried to kill the Patriarchate, as had the communist Soviets after them. But the Patriarch, unlike the Tsars and unlike the Soviets, still exists. Moscow is theirs.

Or so people are told. While Moscow is the official capital of the Patriarchate, no Patriarch has visited there since the death of Tikhon II. Moscow is not governed, it is occupied. Even then, the Patriarchate only occupies a part of the giant dead city. The real rulers of Moscow are the gangs of raiders and tribals who like to call the many palaces home, along with the giant Moscow Metro. These gangs, made up of lunatics, addicts, psychopaths, and Turkmen, pillage and destroy the once mighty Moscow. Whatever was left over from the bombs, whatever piece of the past that managed to survive, has been destroyed by these foul barbarians. Because of this, the Patriarchate refuses to report the existence of these groups for fear it would hurt their power and standing in the eyes of the layman.

Tikhon II was a naive, but holy, man. Even as a Patriarch he spent much of his time preaching and praying, leaving the day-to-day governing to the Synod. During several meetings with members of the Synod, he was said to have reported he "dreamt of [the] past." More specifically, he had said, "I have read the surviving writings of the Patriarchs and priests of the Old Church. They talk about the magnificent churches which tower above all else. They talk about the common man, and how he strictly adheres to the priest. They talk about how the rulers bend their knees to divine guidance. In my dreams I have dreamt of this past. And I wish to reclaim it."

Nearly sixty-two years ago, while before the Synod at the city of Klin, Patriarch Tikhon II announced his intention to visit the city of Moscow for the first time in years. He was to be accompanied with a small group of bodyguards as he made his way to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. When told about the danger of going there the Patriarch silenced the Synod and proclaimed he will be safe on his journey. Three weeks after this the Patriarch's mutilated body, along with those of several of his bodyguards, was dumped outside the Patriarchate garrison in Moscow. From then on the Holy Synod and the future Patriarchs have lived in fear in the city of Klin, not wanting to become another Tikhon II.

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OOC:

*Not a typo. Between the Great and War and now the "the" in Ivan the Terrible has been dropped, becoming just Ivan Terrible.

With a bottle in her hand, Sophia couldn't help but to cheerfully giggle as she paraded across the town. Just yesterday, she would've been burned at the stake for being a heathen just for showing up, and then fined a fee in the afterlife for illegal alcohol possession. However, the past sunset, the orange lambda flew over the tallest building, bringing with it freedom. Whether it was the sentimental value of being a freewoman, or all the booze she drank tonight, Sophia was encased in a warm, fuzzy feeling feeling. Unobstructed by the frigid wind blowing around her, Sophia saluted the flag before taking another swig of her liquor.

The toxotes could hardly believe what happened earlier today. Apparently, while the Queen was escorting her back to the camp, one of Alexandria's retinue discovered an ancient goat path in the ravine that directly led into the town. Instead of charging straight into the enemy's defenses, Alexandria led troops, Sophia included, along the goat path, into the settlement. Not expecting an attack from that direction, the town surrendered within minutes, and Alexandria solidified yet another conquest.

Now, the entire night had been one giant afterparty for the Queen's troops; they looted all the wine they could find stored in the cathedral's cellar and invited themselves to enjoy all the sights the community had to offer. Most of them were hanging out with their friends, telling stories about home or what they plan on doing once they settle down. Unfortunately for her, the few people Sophia even knew all died earlier this day, and thus she was forced to wander the streets alone.

Not like she cared. The bottle was the only friend Sophia ever needed right now. Taking another sip, the toxotes failed to notice that she was slowly veering towards the left, towards the other side of foot traffic. And unbeknownst to the drunken woman, there just so happened to be another woman walking on that path.

Dual grunts echoed across the town as both ladies landed on their rears. Sophia could hear the other woman then asking questions as she got up, but an annoying buzzing sound ringed through her ears, and she couldn't pay attention. It was much easier to lie down on the ground, and go to sleep...

---

When Sophia opened her eyes again, she found herself inside a tent. Obviously she was back at the army's camp, probably in the infirmary. Did she get a concussion from the fall last night? Sophia felt her forehead; the toxotes definitely had a hangover, but she didn't feel any bandages or anything else that implied serious head trauma. Brushing her brown hair to the side, Sophia sat up on the bed to get a better view of her surroundings.

If she was in an infirmary, this was certainly the weirdest one Sophia has ever been in. The tent was way too small; there were only two beds in the entire tent, including the one she was on. Instead of medical supplies, the room was littered with maps, clothes, a few weapons, and other trinkets and memorabilia strewn about. Most damning of all, there was only one other person in the tent; a woman who was sitting away at a small desk, furiously scribbling a letter.

Groaning, Sophia asked the lady, "Where am I?"

"You're finally awake," the woman responded. Turning around, Sophia once again saw the face of the Queen staring at her. "Fate must draw us together, it seems."

Sophia's face burned a bright pink as she looked down. "Did I," she stuttered, "Did I ran into you last night?"

Alexandria nodded. "I was just on my way after discussing with my Hetairoi who should govern this town, when you collided into me. When you weren't responding, I was worried that you blacked out, so I brought you back to my quarters so you could sleep it off."

Sophia buried herself in embarrassment. It was bad enough she drank to the point of blacking out, but to have the Queen save her yet again? It was too much to even think about. "I'msorryyourhighness," she flustered out.

"No, don't worry about it," Alexandria laughed, "I think Dionysus found his next priestess, though."

"Uh...," Sophia didn't know how to respond to that comment. Couldn't she tell from my necklace that I'm a Helixist?

Alexandria must've reached the same conclusion, for she apologized next, "Oh, how insensitive of me. I forgot we don't all pray to the same gods. Please forgive me"

Sophia shrugged, "I'm just glad you don't burn me at the stake like some people would've..."

"Someone told me about that story last night," the Queen interjected, "How they killed the merchants. If I knew about it beforehand, I would've known better than to send Ioanna out there to negotiate peaceful annexation. No matter why she was so afraid to go. If only she spoke up..."

"It's not our place to question your will-"

"Yes it is, er...," The Queen paused, obviously looking for her name. "I don't think I ever got your name, young toxotes."

"Sophia Floros-"

"Sophia, it is your place to question me. It is everyone's place to question me. One woman, even if she is the daughter of the gods, can't possibly bring peace to the wastelands by herself. I can't know every single minute detail about everything, and its not my will to even unintentionally send my followers to their death

No one should have to die, Sophia. No one."

The brown haired toxotes saw the desperation, half anger and half depression, in her Queen's eyes. "We're all willing to lay our lives for you. That's why we swore allegiance to you."

"I understand that," Alexandria retorted, almost brokenheartedly, "But no one should have to die at all, Sophia. I feel like I failed as a leader whenever anyone dies."

Sophia was very confused. This was completely unlike the stories of the Queen she heard about, the descendant of Alexander who by the gods' will, will conquer all of the world. "I'm sorry," Sophia asked perplexedly, "Why do you even go out and wage war, then? That only leads to death..."

"I know," Alexandria bemoaned, "I know. I fight not because I want to, but because I have to. It's not about glory, or riches, or power, Sophia. I do it for peace."

"Peace? You fight for.. peace?"

The queen nodded. "I know it sounds weird. But think about it. There are worse people out in the wastelands. Crazy zealots like those Christians we just fought, barbarian warlords who love killing, raping, and pillaging, crazy despots who want nothing less than for everyone to fear and worship them, and the mutants who wage war on humanity in general.

If I expand my rule across the wastelands, I can bring the people peace. They wouldn't have to fear death and persecution, because I would protect them from it. I'd fight to my last breath to keep them safe. Anything less, and I betray my ancestors' legacy. Some people just don't like the idea of me protecting them; they think "freedom" is more important. But how can they be free when they worry about not dying every single day? And is my society not free?

I wish there was another way to unite the world in eternal sisterhood, Sophia, but there isn't. All I can do is just be the best general I can be, even better than my ancestor, and try to make as few people die to keep the peace. Perhaps if I was in a less violent time..."

Suddenly, another woman, dressed in the combat armor of the Hetairoi, entered the tent. Noticing Sophia, she smirked, "Aww, is that the cute widdle toxotes who slammed into you? I bet she couldn't even hurt a child"

Alexandria joked back, "And the same one who held out against 13 zealots by herself until help arrived. But sure, couldn't hurt a child, Sara."

"Either way," Sara responded, not wanting to get into a fight over this, "Markos said that if you're still serious about making her a Hetairoi, he's ready-"

Sophia couldn't believe her ears. "Wait, what?"

Alexandria shot Sara a death glare. "Oh," the latter replied, "You didn't tell her yet? WhoopssorryI'llbeonmyway."

As Sara fled the tent, Alexandria turned her attention back to Sophia. "Things happen for a reason, Sophia. I know you don't believe in my gods, but me running into you like that, to me, had to be a message by them that I needed you as one of my retinue. You certainly proved your ability on the cliff, and from talking to you, I now know you'll be loyal until the end. Like your Helix says, though, you always have a choice, and-"

"I accept," Sophia gleeflly squealed, "Ohmyhelix I accept. I couldn't even dream of this offer"

"Good to hear, Sophia Floros. By the end of the day, I'll get you your horse."

VGL said:

so, can i post my nation?

Click to expand...

yes please post your nation, next time, Just explain your country before causing so much drama in the game please.

speaking of which, anyone who wants to join BEFORE the game starts, do so NOW!

Joining in Wallachia, claiming the long horizontal province immediately south of those carpathian mountains, as well as the coastal province (the one with a slight coastal peninsula) directly east, then the coastal province directly south of that. Original province is the capital. Not a nightmare if you get it wrong.

More to come.

Edit: Leader: Alucard the Impaler



A mysterious nation in the strategic Wallachian choke point on the black sea. Rumored to be inhabited by various groups of vampires with humans in captivity being used as food, the reality is that it is still a nation of humans, but ruled by a vampire elite. At least, that is what your sources tell you. Nobody can be quite sure.

The most powerful of whom is Alucard, rumored to be Count Dracula himself under a different name. Regardless, when a steppe raiding party numbered in the thousands swept south, there was no battle. Instead, one night the army was there, the next morning there were 10,000 impaled bodies, leaving a message for future invaders.

Stats:

Science - 3
Politics - 7
Economics - 9
Combat - 8
Intelligence - 8
Arts - 4
Luck - 1

Cabinet Council of Athens

​

The President Antonis Kanakis of the Republic of Athens has called the first Cabinet Council of his current term. The five Ministers of the Cabinet, Alexandros Karaiskakis (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Georgios Grivas (Minister of National Defense), Stelios Seitanidis (Minister of Economy), Christos Papanikolaou (Minister of Education, Internal and Ecclesiastical Affairs) and Manos Kazantzakis (Minister of Agriculture), have met in the Presidential Mansion of Athens in Korydallos.

The Council begun with President Antonis saying: "Gentlemen, our decisions today shall shape our political program for the rest of the year."

The first issue on which they talked was Social Welfare, one of the main goals of the Liberal Party due to their Socialist ideology. In the elections campaign, while the Orthodox Rally campaigned for less taxes and less social welfare, the Liberals campaigned for more taxes but also more social welfare. The citizens voted for the Liberal Party, thus showing their support for a rise in taxes as long as an efficient social welfare was offered to the citizens of Athens.

Of course, the first to be asked about the viability of such a social welfare program was the Minister of Economy, Stelios Seitanidis. He said: "I believe that with a 11% rise in direct taxes and a 3% rise in indirect taxes we could support financially such a program. This would, of course, cause some problems at first among the citizens, but on the long run the benefits from social welfare will overshadow the loss of money."

"Indeed.", President Antonis agreed. "Also, right now, we have popular support for such a measure. So, we should enact those reforms now before the rallying of the population diminishes and the criticism of the Orthodox Rally scares away the citizens. The weeks after the elections are the ones when a politician should enact large scale reforms, as he can cite popular support and the people are still rallied behind him."


"I agree", said the Minister of Education, Internal and Ecclesiastical Affairs, Christos Papanikolaou, the right hand man of President Antonis. "Those reforms shall better the lives of the people and so we shall soon regain whatever support we lose from the immediate loss of money. We should increase pensions, support the poor, equalize as much as possible income distribution, improve labor conditions and increase leisure time and production.

On Education, we should increase our focus on practical skills as those are more important than theoretical science in this post-nuclear world. Those who graduate from school should be come useful citizens who have the skills needed to survive in this world."

"Good!", President Antonis exclaimed. "Excellent analysis. Now, we need to discuss foreign policy. As Socialists, we support peaceful relations with our neighbors but we should also be prepared to defend our Republic."

This time, it was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexandros Karaiskakis, who spoke: "Our two most immediate neighbors are the Platonic Republic and Alexandria's Empire. The Platonic Republic is far away from us and should not cause us any problems. So, we should focus on our approach towards the Macedonians. They are essentially more of a warband than a state and they are known for their aggressive expansion, so we should come to an agreement with them that directs their expansion into the Balkans instead of Greece."

"How do our armies compare?", President Antonis asked.

"Well, they have a slight edge.", the Minister of National Defense, Georgios Grivas, replied. "However, as I said, their edge is slight. In terms of economics and politics, we surpass them by quite a lot. That means that while in terms of purely combat, we may not be able to inflict a decisive defeat on them, but our economy will be able to keep the war going for far more time than them and ensure the flow of materials to the front while our higher political stability will make sure that once the war drags on longer and longer, they will be the ones to face first the popular anger."

"Good.", President Antonis exclaimed. "But our main goal is not to go to war. Not only because of ideological reasons, but also because I want to focus on the welfare program and so I cannot wage any type of war right now."

"We should send an ambassador to ask them to not expand into Thessaly. In return, we shall demilitarize Northern Thessaly and sign a Non-Aggression Pact with them."

And so the first Cabinet council of Antonis' government ended.


From: Republic of Athens
To: Alexandria's Empire

President Antonis Kanakis and the Athenian Government wish that our two peoples can live in peace and prosper together. So, we have decided to offer you a proposal:

1. Thessaly shall be considered an Athenian area of expansion and the Empire shall not expand there.
   
2. In return, Northern Thessaly shall be demilitarized.
   
3. A NAP is signed between our two nations, allowing peaceful relations and a prosper of trade.

We hope that you shall consider our offer carefully.

Terran Emperor said:

yes please post your nation, next time, Just explain your country before causing so much drama in the game please.

speaking of which, anyone who wants to join BEFORE the game starts, do so NOW!

Click to expand...

I cause drama? You guys caused drama! You guys should've waited for me to post and explain my nation.

Grigor Stoyanovich had been on the run for years. Wanted for treason, assault and a host of other crimes in Novaya Rossiya he'd been on a trek through the wastelands intent on maybe one day finding his way to some form of civilization. He'd set off in the wrong direction.

The first place he'd run was south towards Georgia. But that hadn't been far enough so he kept moving through the cursed earth. He'd travelled through mountains and plains, through lush valleys and harsh deserts. Anatolia was barren - there was nothing here but the nomads and their flocks.

Nothing but the nomads, their flocks and a rumour they carried. It was said that there was civilization here if only you looked hard enough - deep in the hills and secluded valleys a community that lived together in harmony where all were equal and free - where no one could be harmed.

At first Grigor had dismissed it as but a rumour but the further he went the more real it seemed. Tales from people who had actually been there emerged. Though the tales painted it as less of a wonderland, they made it seem real.

They were following this rumour when Grigor and Mahzun - a companion he'd picked up a few months ago - were trekking through the mountains. The weather was harsh and windy and the sun shone brightly through the pale dead sky.

"Grigor!" Mahzun cried "Look Grigor, sheep!" He was pointing and looking through his binoculars, Grigor took up his own pair and peered through. It was true, there were sheep.

"We''l go down there, see who's flock it is."

They scrambled down the hillside into the area of short and hard looking grass. After a while of looking they found a shepherd who proceeded to lead them to a small settlement made of prefabricated shelters and tents. Grigor's heart sunk, it appeared he'd just found another bunch of nomads.

But then as he was walking into the village he noticed the group of men and women standing further up the side of the valley. They wore uniforms of some kind and carried rifles on their backs. He looked at the villagers, they were all wearing the same set of clothes.

He suddenly realised that these weren't just nomads.

VGL said:

I cause drama? You guys caused drama! You guys should've waited for me to post and explain my nation.

Click to expand...

Link to video.

"Yes, just a little more...there!"

The static that filled the room fizzled into a garbled, unintelligible few words in - Rea thought it to be pre-War Albanian, but the voice was too badly modulated to tell properly. In any case, the high pitched voice promptly dissipated back into static again. Rea groaned loudly and sat down.

"Honey, aren't you ever going to stop playing with that damned thing?" Ramiz popped up from his garden behind the little cottage and shouted at his daughter through the open window. "You've been doing this for days now, and it hasn't worked once. And I've had to put up with that Goddamned awful noise this entire time!" Even now, the loud electric tingling continued to fill the air, before Rea hurriedly turned the volume dial down to a less ear-destroying volume.

"I'm telling you, father, I've almost got it! Just give me another day or two and I'll have it completely working."

"You said that - two days ago," but Rea could detect a faint amusement in the man's voice. She shook her head. She would never understand old Ramiz.

Rea had obtained the little set almost a week ago, from a caravaneer on her way to Pella who had seemed all too happy to be rid of it. Her father hadn't cared much, completely engrossed in either his vegetable orchard - a quite beautiful one, Rea might add - or whatever drink he could get his hands on. The garden wasn't very large or very impressive, but they grew a few crops rare in this part of what had once been the borderlands between Albania and Yugoslavia, and that was enough for an existence she was content with. The years since her mother's death had been hard on both of them, but as Rea looked outside again, she saw a man entirely pleased with tending his garden.

Rea opened the back of the set and readjusted a few wires, just to make sure she hadn't screwed something up. And then, there came this sudden popping sound, a few bursts of some alien noises, causing Rea to hurriedly let go of the set, and as it settled on the floor, and then -

"Albanians, Albanians!" announced a tinny, excited voice in old Albanian. The words were quaint - this one sounded much like the locals' word for "eagle" - but she could nevertheless understand them. Rea quickly turned up the volume to hear more clearly.

"What the hell?" Ramiz popped in from the window again to listen.

"This is Colonel Alia speaking to you. At noon today, your glorious Albanian army took control of the eastern provinces. The old warlords have been overthrown. The hour of justice is at hand. The bourgeoisie is abolished. A new era of equality among all has begun! Albanians, wherever you may be, be assured that the army will defend you and your livelihoods. Long live Enver Hoxha! Long live the Revolution! Long live Albania!" [1]

Rea sighed, pleased that she had been able to understand all of that so well, and that her week's project finally worked. But her thoughts were interrupted by Ramiz's frantic expression as he rushed into the cottage. "Come, Rea, we've got to get out of here. The Hoxhaists are coming!"

"What?" It was just then that Rea was beginning to comprehend what she had just heard.

"Pack your things! There is no time. If the army is on its way already then they'll be here by nightfall. And bring that radio with you."

"Where are we going?" she asked as she stood up.

"East. To Macedonia. Anywhere to escape this Hoxha nonsense."

"But I thought that Enver Hoxha was just a legend?"

"He is very real. What else did you just hear? Or, well, he was real - he's been long dead. But there are those who still act in his his name, and in the name of his 'socialism.' Far too many of them to count. We all thought they were dead, but when Tirana fell to them last year, we learned how wrong they were. And now they're coming for us."

"But I thought you were a socialist? You've been pushing for this Maoist thing with the village council for months now." And she'd seen the half dozen worn pre-War books of Marx and Lenin and Mao in old Albanian that her mother had once treasured. Rea had tried reading one, but matters of labour costs and use-value never interested her. Ramiz couldn't read very well, but he still kept them around for some reason, and even now he shoved one of them in his pack.

"This is not socialism. This is madness."

[1] First person to correctly guess who I plagiarized this speech from gets a mysterious prize.

Of course, the stables had to be on the other side of the camp. It didn't take too long to reach the building, but urban planning was certainly not one of Alexandria's concerns whenever they struck new grounds. The bright noon sky glistened as soldiers milled about on their duties. They largely ignored Sophia outside of a wave or two as she escorted herself through the alleyways of tents. In some ways, the campfollowers seemed more busy than the actual soldiers; the days after a conquest but before the camp moves on have received a notorious reputation of having slacker regulations.

When the brown-haired girl finally arrived at the stables, she couldn't help but pause to look at the horses in their pens. This wasn't the first time time she ever saw the ungulates, but she only ever saw them in the middle of battle. With the chaos going on during war, it's hard to appreciate the beauty of these creatures, even when they're being paraded around. One horse in particular, a white horse covered in chestnut-colored spots, seemed to stare directly at Sophia.

Mesmerized, the newly-appointed Hetairoi walked towards the horse. Sophia rubbed her hand across the mane on the spotted horse's head, who softly neighed in response. Sophia grinned; these animals were so majestic, and she couldn't wait to finally get her own and ride into the sunset. Soon enough, she would be the one saving the poor toxotes stuck in the shed, and-

"Uh, ma'am, can I help you?"

Sophia quickly turned around. A man dressed in Hetairoi armor wore a bewildered look at her. However, the most striking thing about him was his skin; it was completely unnatural! It reminded her of the color of that pre-war treat her father gave her once as a child... was it chocolate? She took a step back in shock.

"Sir, there's something wrong with your skin!"

Now the man was even more puzzled than before. He looked down at his arm, but didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. "I don't see anything wrong, ma'am," he responded.

"Your skin," she protested, "it's all dark and discolored!"

The man became visibly angry. "You're telling me," he ranted, "That there's something wrong with being black!? And to think that racism was dead in this day and age, why-"

"Wait, what?," Sophia asked in confusion, "your skin is supposed to be black?"

"Oh my gods," the man exasperated, "You're telling me you never saw a black man before?"

Sophia shook her head, and the man groaned while burying his head in his hands while bemoaning, "Oh gods, am I really this rare in this day and age?" Afterwards, he turned to Sophia and continued, "My really distant ancestors are from Africa. Africans have black skin. If we were in Africa, you would be the minority. But we are in Europe, so I am. Does that clear things up?"

Nodding, Sophia replied, "Yeah, that does. Now, I'm looking for a man named Markos-"

"That's me," the man replied.

"Oh," Sophia continued, "I was told to report to you by Alexandria herself. My name is Sophia Floros, if that helps."

Markos nodded, "Yeah, you're that new Hetairoi prospect that the Queen likes. If you would please come inside, I can arrange you with a horse soon enough."

Sophia followed Markos inside, who led her to a small, wooden table. He motioned her to sit down, as he poured two glasses of beer. Not the kind that would get her drunk again; Helix knows she doesn't need to go through that experience again. Just the really diluted kind that was served because it was cleaner than "fresh" water.

With the two glasses in hand, Markos returned to the table, and gave one to Sophia. "These stables double as my personal quarters, so you ever need to talk to me, I'm probably here."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sophia replied as she took a sip, "So what do you want to talk about?"

Markos's eyes wandered down to Sophia's neck. "Well, you seemed curious about my skin, and I'm now curious about your faith. I satisfied yours, so it seems only fair to satisfy mine, don't you think?"

Sophia shrugged, "Everyone seems curious that I'm a Helixist. I didn't realize we're that rare?"

"In Alexandria's personal circle," Markos retorted, "You actually are. Alexandria is an extremely devout Olympian, so its obvious that she prefers to surround herself with other Olympians". He rolled his eyes, and continued, "Or, at least, people who pretend to be Olympians around her but really don't give a about what gods ruined this earth. Really, the only exception is Sara; if you ever see her in battle, she painted a cross on her armor for a reason. The two were childhood friends, which is probably the only reason why they're close today."

"Are you saying she doesn't like other faiths?," Sophia questioned, "I thought she was really into freedom of religion and all of that stuff..."

"That's not what I was trying to say, Sophia," Markos answered, "She really does believe in free religion. It's just that... she rather only personally associate herself with like-minded people if she can. In that regards, there's kind of an unwritten requirement that us Hetairoi have to be Olympian. So for you to grab her attention while following a completely different faith, that's really special."

Sophia protested, "I don't really get it, though. I didn't die when the rest of the squad did, and I ran into her drunk, and that makes me special? That doesn't make sense!"

"She thinks its the gods' will for your paths to cross. She doesn't always have drunks run into her, you know"

Sophia giggled, "Yeah, I guess that's true. Still weird."

"What I find weird," Markos countered, "Is that you even joined the army in the first place. You literally worship a god of anarchy; how do you accept being in a hierarchical organization?"

"Because anarchy isn't his only domain, nor even his most important one. Dionysus is the god of madness, along with wine and partying, but you don't have to be insane to worship him if you spend your life as a hedonist.

In the same way, Helix represents more than just anarchy. He represents freedom, choice, and progress; the idea that we can make our own destinies in life and are in bondage to no one. 'Anarchy' is just a metaphor for a society in which everyone is equal and free, I don't follow Alexandria out of fear or slavery; I do it as a freewoman, to have revenge against the slavers who destroyed my hometown."

"So," Markos continued the train of thought, "The Dome doesn't just represent 'democracy' in particular-"

"But any hierarchical organization that leads to servitude. He represents slavery, predestination, and stagnation. That is everything we fight against in this army, is it not?"

"That makes sense, but what about the nomads who take Helix's cry for anarchism literally? That any sort of political state is anathema that needs to be destroyed?"

"They're missing the point-"

"But are they? You said Helixism is about making your own choice, and that is their choice to raid and pillage. No one is forcing them to destroy society."

"True, but the point is that we can be good people on our own free will. We don't need laws or the threat of eternal punishment to be good people; our own moral compass. And for those who wish to be depraved, it is our duty to make sure they can't hurt anybody but themselves."

"Doesn't that deny them the choice to hurt others?"

"Doesn't letting them hurt others deny those they affect from living a decent life?"

"I.. guess.."

Sophia jokingly bowed. "Everything is logically sound".

"I guess," Markos conceded. He rubbed his fingers on his chin before continuing, "So, can you tell me your creation myth?"

"Certainly," Sophia affirmed, "It's simple. Billions of years ago, there was a explosion out of nothing-"

"Caused by Lord Helix?," asked Markos

"No... it just kind've happened," Sophia responded with a shrug, "No one really knows why. It just did. So there was this explosion, we call it the Big Bang, and then stuff cooled down, and that formed the Earth, and then the first life was so small that you couldn't see it, and then it evolved and evolved and evolved over millions of years and that made us."

"...that's it?," asked Markos, bewildered, "That sounds very... mundane. Where does Lord Helix and the Dome even fit in?"

Sophia smirked, "That's the best part. So in this region of Earth, Kanto I believe, wherever that is-"

"Japan," Markos interrupted, "It's in Japan. I own a prewar atlas if you want to look it up."

"Nah, it's OK," Sophia replied, "So its in Japan, but it involved everyone across the world. At some point, both Lord Helix and the Dome came to Earth, and died, for their remains are fossilized. Both are mortal enemies of each other; they killed each other in battle. Meanwhile, in prewar times, 2014 to be exact, there was a great awakening

Millions of people were thrown out of their lives and were trapped in the same body, a Kantoese child named Red. The millions of souls had to cooperate with each other to simply even move. It was chaotic, but Red was helped in his journies by magical creatures, including a dragon named Abby, a duck named Dux, a mouse named Digrat, a comedian named Jay Leno, and many more. I could go into depth of every single one, but for now I'll stick to the most important events.

The most important animal friend he met was this bird named Abajs, although he more properly known as his title Bird Jesus. Of all the animal companions, he was the strongest of them all, and many threats that killed the rest, he survived. He was the only one to survive the entire journey, you see.

When Red reached the mythical Mt. Moon, he had a choice to save one of the two fossils. After all the souls collectively argued with each other, with both deities communicating with the souls, the consensus was that we should save the Helix Fossil. We valued freedom over certainty. And thus, Lord Helix became our guardian.

Of course, then came the False Prophet. The false prophet, she was a fox that worked the Dome and claimed she could have the power to bring Red and his friends over water. None of the animals could swim, and the souls inhabiting Red knew they couldn't cooperate enough to swim. However, in order to transform into a form to swim, she demanded the lifeforce of Abby and Leno. They obliged, but she mutated not into water, but fire. She attempted to murder the rest of us, but the Gatekeeper, a otherwise nameless tapir, held her at bay with his psychic powers. Eventually, a fish prince known as Jordan was able to transport Red, and stayed with him for the rest of the journey.

Eventually, through constant fighting, Red realized that no one but Bird Jesus was strong enough, and death was imminent unless prevented. He braved an abandoned powerplant to find the Battery Jesus for assistance, and managed to convince him to join his quest. But many died to awaken him. Digrat, Dux, it was too many to count. The Battery Jesus only became stronger with their spilt blood, though, and in a way, they lived on as his immense power.

We had new allies, though. The Moon King, Fonz, joined Red, along with the all-terrain dragon slaying moth. However, the most miraculous of all, is that when they arrived on a new island, new life was breathed into the Helix Fossil, and the Lord was revived. He personally assisted the trapped souls in their endevour to free themselves, and soon enough, they managed to beat the Dome's champion, Blue, and restore peace to themselves. The souls drifted away, back into their bodies, and life went. The whole ordeal took only sixteen days. but they were perhaps the most important days humanity faced."

"And yet the world still was destroyed," Markos solemnly interjected.

Sophia nodded in concession. "The Dome ended up corrupting the world anyways. Even though the trapped souls saw the revelations first hand, those unaffected thought they were raving lunatics. And then the Dome corrupted them, made them value comfort over freedom as both were slowly taken away. The nukes fell, and the Dome laughed through it all."

"Just one last question," Markos inquisitively asked, "What does Helixsm say about the afterlife?"

Sophia shook her head. "There is none. The game of life simply ends. Only gods can live after death. Its up to us to make sure this life is as best it can be."

"I think that's enough from me, Sophia," Markos said in satisfaction, "Now, I saw you had a fascination with the white and brown horse outside. Her name is Nike, and I'd like you to have her. She's already trained; she just needed an owner. And I think you would be perfect for her.

"Ohmyhelix," Sophia shrieked, that's so kind of you, Markos"

"Welcome to the Hetairoi," Markos smirked.

---

Meanwhile, in Alexandria's camp

"I don't trust those Athenians"

There were many things Sara knew she didn't see eye to eye with Alexandria. Faith not withstanding, Sara never cared for the preachy philosophical books her Queen kept on reading. The world was already a ********, and reading should be about being able to escape from it rather than explore every detail about why it sucked. She didn't like the way Alexandria insisted to use a sword, so she could "see the eyes of those she kills", as part of her preachy-as-hell "No should have to die" routine. In 2277, you either used guns or you died.

But those Athenians? Yeah, she didn't trust them either.

"They want us," Alexandria reiterated to her friend, "to pledge not to move into a region, so they can move in, but promise to not put any soldiers there? How do they expect to even take in the first place?"

Sara sighed, "I don't like it either, Alexandria; you're preaching to the choir."

"Not to mention," Alexandria continued her rant, "what if there was some warlord or something that converged in that region and wanted to attack us? Do they just expect us to let them sit there, and attack us if we don't?"

"I feel like they think they're better than us because they have a fancy pre-war government," added Sara. "They think they can just boss us around."

Alexandria's face was fuming red. "And what do they think they have any special right to Thessaly? Just because they happened to live in the Athenian ruins? I /earned/ my land through steel and lead. I might be a hypocritical conqueror, but at least I'm not full of s***."

"I'll get the pen and paper," Sara said with a wink.

To: The inhabitants of the Athenian Ruins
From: Alexandria Alexandou

We are free men and women. We will not be told where we are welcomed and not welcomed by a bunch of pissy survivors of the old Greek capital miles away from wherever the location in question is disputed. If we want to move to Thessaly, we will. If we don't, we won't. That is the end of this discussion.

It's stuff like this that makes me worry that alien observers might accidentally interpret Internet culture as an actual, serious branch of human philosophy.

God damn, I need to think of a binding story.

Yesterday, the President of the Republic of Athens, Antonis Kanakis, the Minister of National Defense, Georgios Grivas, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexandros Karaiskakis, met in the Presidential Mansion to discuss about the "Macedonian Issue", as the diplomatic confrontation between Athens and Macedonia has been dubbed by the Athenian Media.

The reply by the Macedonians was anything but friendly. They did not even remain polite for diplomatic procedure, at least. Their reply was full of insults and thinly veiled threats.

"It is clear, sirs, that we have to deal with a bunch of warmongers.", President Antonis said. "Our goal is to maintain peace in order for us to focus on our welfare program. So, we shall keep up our efforts in trying to find a peaceful solution of the Macedonian Issue."

"The Orthodox Rally has already started criticizing our handling of the matter.", Alexandros said. "I say that we follow a policy of peaceful antagonism: We move fast to takeover Thessaly and stop there. At the same time, if the Macedonians invade Thessaly, we shall not face them directly but rather try to find a peaceful solution first and, if that fails, encircle them with alliances with Albania and the Platonic Republic."

"Indeed. Such encirclement shall force them to come to a compromise. But I am not too keen in starting a cold war with them. I want to focus on the welfare project and our funds cannot both keep up with a cold war and such an extensive welfare project. Also, as Socialists, we of the Liberal Party believe that wars, cold or hot, only serve to enrich the capitalists with the blood of the workers."

"But, President, we should also make sure that our national sovereignty and our national interests are being protected. This is not so much about Thessaly itself, as it is about creating a buffer zone between Macedonia and us. If they want to reach Athens, they would have to first conquer Athenian Thessaly and Central Greece. But if we let them takeover Thessaly, they will be one step away from our capital. That is why we need Thessaly. Also, they have a lot of space to expand in the entirety of the Balkans, while we have only Central Greece and Thessaly to expand to. If they take over Thessaly, then we would be limited to only Central Greece and the Peloponnese while they have the liberty to expand in the Balkans and enrich themselves."

"Indeed. General Grivas, what is your opinion?"

"My opinion is that we have the military force to blitz through Central Greece and takeover Thessaly before the Macedonians.", Grivas replied. "Once Thessaly is taken over, we can then turn our attention to the Peloponnese."

"Good. However, be warned that I do not want any full scale war with the Macedonians."


- Article written by Ioannis Varsamos

That sunny Sunday I went for a coffee in "Acropolis Cafe", a cafe just below the "Holy Rock", as Acropolis is being called. Athens was one of the cities hit least hard by the nuclear apocalypse and the efforts both of the Provincial Government (the seven years period of temporary dictatorship) and the Liberal Government have restored the center of Athens to it's former glory, making it the most warm and good looking city in all of the Athenian Republic.

I sat to a table in the far right corner of the shop, which gave me a magnificent view of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. What a great monument, what a testament to the glory of the Ancient Athenian democracy. Ancient Athens sure is not dead. It is the role model for our Republic. And it is even used to talk about current issues.

I overheard people from the table next to me talking about the "Macedonian Issue". The analogues between the Macedonian threat Ancient Athens faced and the one Modern Athens faces quickly entered the discussion and they started talking about Demosthenes, if his policies were right or wrong and how could the example of Demosthenes help shape the Athenian policy towards Macedonia.

In Athens, people can talk for hours in the Cafe shops. For hours those people mentioned above, and many others in nearby tables, sipped slowly their coffee and talked about all issues, ranging from politics to sports to history to personal relations. It makes one think that the Athenians are the most social people on the world and one thinks he has been transferred back to the Athenian Agora, where the Ancient Athenians talked about all those issues.

An other popular issue, except for Macedonia, was the new taxation introduced by the government. Most people complained a bit about it but supported it as long as the promised welfare came into reality and helped them. If the money paid are returned to the citizens via welfare, then why not pay some new taxes? Some people, a minority, called it a theft and a few of them complained that if the Orthodox Rally had come into power, none of this would have happened.

The discussions sometimes became passionate, as the Athenians are passionate about politics and talk about them more than other people. Some wanted peace with Macedonia, even at the cost of Thessaly. Some others, the majority, also wanted peace with Macedonia but without the loss of Thessaly. Finally, a minority, of mainly Orthodox Rally supporters, wanted a war against the 'Fascist warmongers that threaten democracy and peace', as they call the Macedonians.

It is certainly good that people are free to have and express different opinions without the fear of being arrested and that they, not some Queen claiming descendance from the 'Gods', can decide the future of their nation. And that is the main difference between Athens and almost all other states in the world. In other states, a King, a Queen, a Patriarch or some sort of oligarchy decide the course that their state will take. In Athens, the people are the ones who make the decisions. In all other states, the people are slaves to a monarch. In Athens, the people are active citizens who participate in politics and decide the future of their nation. That's why the Athenians are ready to give their life for their state. For when they fight a war, they do not fight it in the name of some Queen or for money, but because they want to protect their liberties and freedoms.

Claim:

States:

Density:


Religion: Secular. Its major religion is atheism (96%) and its largest minor religion is Orthodoxy (3.3%) and the rest is 0.7%. But some atheists believe in moral values claiming that religion has nothing to do with moral and traditional values.

Population: It has one of the lowest population by only having 198 thousand people and they say that it might get even lower than that, reaching around 50 thousand people. The reason was war, poor economy, poor service for children and ETC. The people are divided on how should they rise their population or should they even raise the population at all.

Capital: New Belgrade, largest community with 38 thousand people

Government: Federal republic. Each state has it's own Constitution which must be approved by 75% of the people in that state and can't be changed by state constitutions. It mustn't conflict with the federal constitution. The state constitution says how the state operates and passes laws. the The government has a senate which each state sends two. The state constitution decides on how a senator gets into the senate. The house of representative gets elected by the people. The country uses FPTP and the electrol collage vote system for the president. ANY gerrymandering is banned and the person who does that will never be able to get a political job, can't get a job in state owned places, can't visit state owned places, won't receive any welfare, pays double tax and ETC. Each 1 thousand people has a representative.

Constitution: More like america but grants the state to nationalize. Also a bit consumer rights, labor rights,children rights and no discrimination for people because of their sexual orientation. Also free education till collage where the state will not make collages free.

Political parties: There values must be the same as the federal constitution. Independents don't have this restriction. The country has the 2 party system. Here are the major political parties:

The Democrats party: A center left liberal party. Believes in more welfare and more subsidizing for children services and products for parents so they can have more children. Believe that's we should nationalize more industries and services. Believes to ban death penalty as it used for many crimes. 22 seats in the senate and 56 seats in house of representative.

The Republicans: A far right conservative party. Believes in tax cuts, social engineering and campaigning to have more children. Believes that they should keep the death penalty and keep it for current crimes. Anti nationalizing and believes in privatization of everything expect education. They have 2 seats in the senate and 142 seats in house of representatives.

History: Everything was going as usual. Every former Yugoslavian states was in EC and Kosovo was independent. everybody was happy till 2 events with many years distance occurred. 1: EC disbanded and caused an uproar 2: USA attacked all the former Yugoslavian states in the 2077. They where occupied till 2100 when they where annexed. North was for Germans and south was for Russia. They throw lots of riots till in in 2200, they where finally independent but very decentralized. They tried to create something like EU in order to protect themselves from future attacks but it didn't work. Finally, a guy named Serbians Van Helsti (i don't know any Serbian or Russian names) decided to spread the ideas of uniting under one and becoming a federal republic just like america. This ideas weren't actually appreciated anywhere except in Siberia. The Siberians were the weakest of them all and wanted to unite all Yugoslavian states to become more powerful. Finally, Siberia changed his country and became the United states of Yugoslavia and has the aspiration to unite all Yugoslavia, once again, under one. The current president is Serbians Van Helsti and he is independent and leans towards centrism.

Stats:
Science - 9
Politics - 3
Economics - 6
Combat - 10
Intelligence - 4
Arts - 3
Luck - 5

Your country's history makes no sense whatsoever given A.) Germany never reunified since the Cold War didn't end. B.) The Russians and Germany can't invade Yugoslavia in 2080 if the Great War was in 2077, and C.) the EU?

Please give the Fallout wiki at least a cursory glance.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Great_War

Scarlet_King said:

Your country's history makes no sense whatsoever given A.) Germany never reunified since the Cold War didn't end. B.) The Russians and Germany can't invade Yugoslavia in 2080 if the Great War was in 2077, and C.) the EU?

Please give the Fallout wiki at least a cursory glance.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Great_War

Click to expand...

A and B: Ok
B: The wiki says that EU didn't dsiband. So i can use that.

Not sure how the Wiki can say it didn't disband given it never existed, and Yugoslavia was behind the Iron Curtain.

It can't even change to a system of government "just like the Americas" because by 1969:

"By this year, the United States is divided into thirteen commonwealths; each of which encompasses several states. The national flag is changed to reflect this and depicts fourteen stars - thirteen in a circle to represent the commonwealths and one in the middle to represent the federal government and the nation as a whole.[7]"

Well, it's now EC. Happy?

Word of the Hoxhaists' invasion had, somehow, spread through the village rather quickly. Apparently Rea's hadn't been the only receiver working. About two dozen others had chosen to leave at the exact same time. In poor Ramiz's rush, he'd never even bothered explaining what the hell had been going on. He'd just quite literally dragged her out the door screaming "We have got to get away from the Hoxhaists!" and similar remarks. It hadn't occurred to her yet that she'd probably be seeing her home for the last time.

Within a few hours, any panic had settled into a calm acceptance of the fact that the pack was on the road again. Despite herself, Rea had really become quite bored. Ramiz had been off, consulting with an elder - Luçiano something or another was his name. "Poor Skandar," the elder was telling Rea's father somberly. "He chose to stay back with the others. Allah bless him."

"Oh hello there, Rea," a rather smug voice said from behind her. Pasha, sporting a thick mustache despite being shorter than her, strode up to her confidently and with an unbridled arrogance in his voice. Rea rolled her eyes. She just wanted the poor bastard to leave her alone, and so didn't bother responding to him, knowing it would only provoke him further.

"Stop it," a darker voice said. Rea turned to see Amalia, Pasha's older sister, starting daggers. And somehow, it was like nothing else in the world mattered.

Pasha was now very confused. "Whatever do you mean?" he asked, still carrying in spades that same arrogance.

"I mean go away. Now."

"Thank you," Rea said to her savior. Amalia just nodded and smiled slightly, and went off in another direction. But why was poor Rea's heart beating so fast now?

They kept walking.

Near twilight, another village came within sight. A cold, simple collection of a few deserted-looking hosted, but she could see people clearly milling about. Any sign of that was a good sign.

A badly scarred old man, carrying a wielding a shotgun, and bearing an eyepatch over the right eye, strode out to meet them. "Albania we kill the King," he hissed in horrifically broken old Albanian. "Albania return to your precious Mongolia. Shqipere sqhipare," was Rea's best guess at what the next words that came out of his mouth were.

As the party stood there, confused, wondering what to do with this specimen, another man, a middle-aged man, with cropped grey black hair, stepped from a house. "Alright, Nadim, you don't need to be here. Get lost."

"But the kebab!"

"Eat some at home if you like." Nadim looked disappointed, but relaxed his shotgun and sauntered off. The other man turned to the party, and spoke in perfect Albanian. "I'm terribly sorry about poor Nadim, he is my father-in-law, but his mind is...not what it once was. And I'm so sorry about all this Hoxha nonsense! You may call me Antonovic. I presume you are Albanians, yes?"

Luçiano stepped forward to speak. "Yes, we are. You have heard already?"

"Radio Albania extends all the way out here. And it has followers. We've already had to remove two this week alone."

Despite herself, the nonchalant tone he used made Rea strangely uncomfortable.

"Right," Luçiano said. "Are you the leader of this village?"

"Yes, or, well, I'm one of them. There are five of us."

"Can we meet with you after some time? There are urgent matters to discuss."

"Indeed, we thought much the same thing. We should meet now. Follow me."

"Come with us, all. Do you want to sit with us, Rea?" asked Ramiz.

"Sure, I guess?"

The meeting began inside a building that had once been an Orthodox church. The ornate idols that once adorned the altar had long ago been stolen, and now there was just dusty woot. There was, however, a shipment of quite fresh beer that someone had been kind enough to provide, easing the entire task somewhat. Rea popped a bottle for herself, helped herself to a seat in the back, and started to take swigs from it. It was a little fruity, and also too bitter, but for now it was the best thing in the world. The others thought much the same.

Meanwhile, the meeting dragged on. She hesitated to call it boring, since it was very necessary - of the story of the Hoxhaists' attack, and where they might be going next. "They're coming here next!" another of this village's elders said on this point.

"No, they only want Albania," responded another elder. "We're across the mountains from them, there's no way they can get here."

"No, they want Kosovo, too, and we happen to be in Kosovo. They'll do doubt want to, er, 'liberate' the Albanians here, if that is indeed their goal. Mountains have never stood in the way of insanity."

This argument continued for another few minutes, to no consensus and few results save for a lot of shouting.

"Tell me, do you know of a thing called Hades?" asked Antonovic, fiddling with his bottle, in an effort to change the subject.

Ramiz looked up from a very empty bottle, now interested. "I know of it, yes," he said. "It is strange that you should ask that. What do you know?"

Rea frowned. What was this now? She had never heard of such a thing before. What was this her father knew?

"I have heard of it, multiple times now, but I don't know what it is. So tell me more of Hades. I mean, I've come across Olympians before, I know that. But this isn't Hades the god, I hope?"

Ramiz breathed in, deeply. "Hades, right. It is, according to the information I knew, a book, or something of the sort, holding some very dangerous and very powerful pre-War knowledge. Perhaps the details for building some great weapon. My wife knew about it before she died, and spent quite some time searching for it. But she never found anything much about it."

Rea's frown deepened.

Ramiz continued. "There is word, of course. According to rumors from some of the traders who passed through this country coming down the road from Pella, one of that Macedonian nomad-queen's forward raiding parties found Hades somewhere in Kosovo and took it back to Pella with them. But these are only rumors, and it wouldn't know better."

At that moment, the doors at the back crashed open with a resounding pair of thuds.

"Long live the revolution!" Pasha cried, running into the room. Behind him ran in a pair of others, both young men holding rifles.

Antonovic quickly pressed his hand into the back of the elder next to him. The poor elder gasped for breath, before collapsing down from his chair and crumbling onto the floor. There was a distinctive crunch as Antonovic pulled his knife from the man's back. A cacophony of shouts and screams and gunfire began. Some of the others started shooting back, and after a few seconds of chaos, silence was restored.

"Hoxha will get Hades!" Pasha shouted from the floor with all the energy he had left. "I assure you this." Two more shots from someone else's rifle later, Pasha's head swung down and hit the ground. Next to him, Antonovic's bullet-riddled corpse lay completely limp.

"Oh Allah," someone muttered. "Is it safe now?"

"I think it is."

Rea had ducked from her seat and made it to the floor under a bench, her ears ringing, but her body completely unharmed.

Ramiz wasn't so lucky. Two bullets had caught him, one in the stomach, one straight in the chest. Rea's eyes went wide as she rushed over to his slumped form.

"Rea," her father gasped. "I didn't want you...to have to do this, but...you must. You must stop the Hoxhaists...or anyone else from getting this Hades. Get it back, keep it safe, and remember: Allah will love you and protect you, always." And with that, he laid his head back on the ground, breathed his last few, dying breaths, and let paradise take him.

It was then that a flood of emotions chose to rush over her. She'd lost her home. She'd never see that again, for sure. She'd lost her father, too. And Luçiano. She had barely known him, but surely he deserved better than to lead this people to safety and then die like this?

But one thing was for sure. She had to do as her father wished in his dying breath. She didn't know how, but she knew she had to get this Hades. If the Hoxhaists had managed to get this far...

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Amalia was looking down at her with a gentle smile. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Rea was shaking slightly, but otherwise, "Yeah, I think I'll be fine. Just...I think I need a moment."

Amalia nodded. As the others continued to clean up, Rea stared down at her father's body. "I'll do it, papa," she said softly, and gently closed his eyelids, before standing up. A single tear fell down her cheek as two men carried the body away.

"They were Hoxhaists. All of them, even Antonovic. We've got to do something about this," that one elders said. "I told you!"

"What are you going to do now?" Amalia asked.

"Amalia, there's this one thing called Hades. A book of hidden knowledge."

She nodded. "I know. Luçiano told me the whole story, what he knew anyway, a few days ago. What about it?"

"Before he died, my father told me it was in Macedon, and he told me to find it. That's what I'm doing now."

"Then I'm coming with you. I don't know what my brother was doing, but maybe I can find out."

Rea turned on the receiver again. She hadn't adjusted the frequency, so that same static-embedded voice on spoke on Hoxha's channel. "This is Colonel Alia signing out. Remember, comrades: Long live Enver Hoxha! Long live the Revolution! Long live Albania!"

"I swear to you Hoxha," Rea said silently to the receiver. "I'm not sure if we can being you down, but we can damn well try to stop you from getting this."

Amalia nodded.

"Come, Amalia, let us go." Rea picked up her father's knife, clipped it onto her belt, and then slung the shotgun her father had been carrying over her back. She looked to Amalia.

"Oh, don't worry about me." She opened her coat to reveal a little energy weapon tucked into the inseam, plus a pair of knives next to it. Rea nodded, almost chuckling.

"Where are we going?" Amalia asked. "Macedonia?"

"Indeed." Rea almost smiled, knowing that there was something delightfully ironic about the whole mess. "We're going to Pella."

---

"This is Colonel Alia signing out. Remember, comrades: Long live Enver Hoxha! Long live the Revolution! Long live Albania!"

Alia looked down at the transmitter - now, it had been shut off, and the little red light no longer on. And then he looked up, wide-eyed, at the pair of guns still being pointed at him, in front of a pair of faces in black gas masks.

"You did well," said one voice.

"Like I had a choice," Alia tried to infuse his tone with light sarcasm.

"Well, you did have a choice. You could choose to serve the Revolution or you could choose to serve Hades."

Hades...now that clicked something. "Well, now what?" Alia asked.

"You await further instructions. You are not to leave this compound."

Alia sighed and went back to thinking how we was to get out of this mess. Once he'd been a proud officer in Hoxha's intelligence apparatus. And now - well, this. He wanted out, but he wasn't desperate enough to wish for death. Yet.

He hadn't come up with anything so far. Maybe today would be his lucky day?

Half a meter of powder on the ground, inky dark clouds overhead, blinding snowfall in between, all mixed together with bitterly cold subzero temperatures. Just another day in paradise, Hans Norup griped as he trudged through the snow. Wiping sleet off of his goggles, he spotted a signpost among the hazy outlines of shacks. Marked with glowing radioactive paint (the only thing that was visible in weather like this, and even then only just), the lettering proudly proclaimed he was in "St. Peter". So he wasn't too off course, then. One day he'd have to find a compass that he could actually read in this weather.

Tucking the heavy package under his shoulder, he glanced towards the nearest building, the sign flailing around on a metal signpost proudly proclaiming "St. Peter's Rock" in both Finnish and Sami. He wasn't entirely sure if it was a bar, a store, or even a church, but it looked sturdy and somewhat maintained, which meant shelter from this kirottu storm. Judging by the quickening footfalls of Artemis and Apollo behind him, they made the same judgment he had. The three of them carved a path to the door and Hans took a look through the frosted window.

It was definitely a bar, and a seedy one at that. Relieved, Hans shouldered the door open, prompting more then a few threats against his mother by the hungover patrons if he didn't close it again. He conceded, but not before a pair of gray and white huskies slipped in behind him, shaking matted snow off of their pelts before making a beeline to a nice warm fireplace. The bartender, an older man with a snowy white beard and drooping mustache, didn't seem too perturbed at the fluffy intrusion, so Hans took a seat at the bar, peeling back a few layers of winter-wear, revealing a head of dirty blond locks. Most of the patrons who weren't already in a drunken stupor (was it even noon yet?) were crowded around an old radio set, changing stations between jaunty polkas and Bolshevik operas before settling on what sounded like a news channel.

"What's your poison?" the bartender asked him in Sami.

"White Russian," Hans said slowly. His Sami was mediocre at best, but he knew enough to help him get wasted after three days slogging through the worst blizzard mother nature could throw at him. If he gave a damn he would have headed out immediately to make it to Helsinki in time, but three years as a courier in the frozen wastelands did a great job reminding you that it wasn't worth breaking your back over. Good couriers learned that it was much more desirable to spend the night getting plastered and risk running a day late then to skip on what little rest they got and die of exhaustion on the way there. Beter laat dan noit.

The door banged open again. "Proklyatiye, it's cold out there!" a boisterous voice in a Russian accent shouted over the storm.

"It's always cold you dumb bastard, stop reminding the rest of us and shut that door!" one of the drunks shouted back. Hans turned around to watch a tall woman in a long overcoat rubbing her gloved hands together, a rather large rifle slung across his back. Humming a happy little tune, she traipsed over to the bar in her over-sized boots scratching each of the huskies behind the ears as she meandered over, and taking a seat next to Hans. Removing a dented helmet to reveal a crop of short brown hair, she waved at the barman, who brought over a tall glass of malt whiskey without asking. Knocking half of it back with one gulp, she took a look around the bar before focusing on Hans, who for the last moment was focusing on her too.

"Something on your mind, comrade?" the woman said with a friendly nod.

"Oh, nothing," Hans said, not willing to admit he was still trying to comprehend how she was a head taller then he was. He tried to change the subject. "Er, having a good day?"

"Da, a very good day!" the woman boasted, flailing her arms and threatening to soak some of the other patrons with malt whiskey "Cleared out a band of robbers and siezed a pretty stack of tokens. Payday for the Vartija!"

"I see..." Hans trailed off. These 'Vartija' must have been some freelance mercenaries or vigilantes in the area. If the women in the group were this large, he was afraid of what the men looked like.

"Nadya Markov," the woman proclaimed, thrusting a hand in his direction.

"Hans Norup," he replied, tentatively offering his own hand, which she nearly shook out of its socket, forcing him to drop the box shoved under his arm. "Sorry, it's a delivery," Norup apologized, noticing her curious observation of the box.

"Ah, a courier!" Nadya exclaimed with great interest. "Braving the harsh elements and the roving packs of cutthroat bandits and mutant beasts to provide an essential service!"

"Yeah, something like that," Norup muttered, feeling that Nadya's boisterous description of his 'essential service' was a bit of an exaggeration. Yes, couriers were a necessity in this day and age, but there wasn't a lot of nobility to be found when the only thing you had to worry about was not freezing to death. He might as well be congratulated for relieving himself without getting frostbite on his rifle, so to say.

"Headed for warmer shores, I hope?" Nadya interjected, choking back the rest of her liquor.

"No, just down to Helsinki," Hans griped. "Got something for a 'Viktor K', whoever that is."

"Could be Viktor Kauppi," inserted a voice from the back of the bar. "One of the Chairmen. Spineless Bolshevik pansy." Nadya shouted something back in Russian which made half the patrons falling out of their chairs from laughing so hard. From what little Russian Hans knew, the retort had something to do with the man's mother.

"Seriously, that could be him," Nadya returned in Finnish. "Considering it has that seal on it." Hans glanced at the seal, a blue and silver eagle partially obscured with melted ice from the storm. He had assumed it was just part of the box and never gave it a second thought.

"It doesn't look communist," Hans said plaintively.

"I should hope not, that's a Dominion insignia."

The whole bar became dead silent, much to Hans' surprise. He didn't spend a lot of time around the living (an unfortunate side effect of the job), but he knew enough that when something prompted this much silence, it was a touchy subject. That being said, another unfortunate side effect of the job was not knowing when it was best to join that silence.

"I never heard of the Dominion," Hans said honestly. Nadya opened her mouth to reply, but almost on cue, the door slammed open again. Several tall figures came into the bar, covered head to foot in blue and silver body armor and draped with various bits of winter wear. If it was even possible, the bar became even more deathly quiet at the sight of these newcomers. Nadya closed her mouth again, turning to stare at her empty glass.

"We're looking for someone," the leader of the pack said in a feminine voice. The group immediately began fanning out to search the room. One of them flinched slightly as Han's dogs ran back to him and sat there whimpering, trying to look as small as possible. Hans was relieved to see the armored woman ignore the pair of them. The armored figures took their time, pacing around the room, their heavy footfalls echoing on the rotting wood floor. They seemed to tower over everyone physically and mentally, even Nadya, who seemed to be as scared of them as the dogs were. As one strode past him, Hans eyed the expensive looking rifle slung across ones back. Finally, one of them settled in front of the drunk that Nadya had cussed out earlier.

"Tahvo Pekkanen?" the soldier (another female) asked him? The drunk seemed too scared to respond. The soldier looked back to what seemed to be her superior, who barked out an order.

"Tapa hänet!"

The drunk jumped to his feet, but not before the soldier drew a sidearm and fired once into his chest with a large bulky sidearm that fired off with an electronic warble instead of a bang. The man screamed in agony as he clutched at his chest, which looked like it was melting before everyone's eyes. The soldiers watched stoically until the man's body fell to pieces, his flesh glowing like a bonfire before dissolving into a pile of ash on the floor.

"We're done here, let's go." The soldiers began filing out of the bar, but not before one stopped to look directly at Hans.

"What are you starting at?" she demanded angrily. Hans, who didn't even realize he was starting, tried to hammer out an apology. The last thing he remembered was the soldier swinging back her fist. By the time he came around, the soldiers were long gone, and he was sprawled across the floor, feeling as though twelve people had worked over him with sledgehammers.

"...the hell was that," Hans sputtered to no one in particular as Artemis and Apollo rushed over to lick his face affectionately. Nadya appeared overhead, barely visible through the mass of dog on top of him.

"That was the Zorya," she revealed, holding a fresh malt whiskey aloft. "Welcome to the Dominion, comrade!"

Update has been delayed to Thursday I have some real life stuff I have to take care of first and trying to get it up when I want to have it up tonight will be a nightmare for my sleep/early class tomorrow.


However that gives everyone plenty of time to finish up their nations or for someone else to join if they wish.

So please do so if that has been something you have been meaning to do.