New Berlin, Germany
Tomoko Hisakawa audibly sighed as she sat in the uncomfortable chair, idly twirling her long black hair around her fingers while watching the ministers and politicians file into the spacious congressional hall of the New Berlin capital. The dull murmur in the crowd of reporters and journalists watching the affair grew just a little bit louder at the sight of them, as their appearance meant the actual presentation would begin fairly soon. Bored out of her skull, she began fishing in her pocket for her cell phone, thinking about texting Tracey about how extremely boring this whole thing was.
"We probably should be paying attention instead of texting Overclock," sounded an unnatural yet soothing voice inside of her head.
"No doubt this will be of some importance, and it is vital for us to remain knowledgeable of the politics of this world."
"What are you, my mother?" Tomo snapped back, unaware that she said this out loud, prompting many of the surrounding reporters to stare at her in alarm.
"Are you talking to Nehyli again?" the brown-haired girl sitting next to her said, peering through a camera lens to get a shot of two of the ministers having a conversation. "You really need to nix that habit, people are gonna think you're nuttier then you already are."
"I spent most of the last five years as Rocket Angel instead of Tomoko, forgive me if I still tend to think aloud when I'm talking to her." Tomo hissed back before returning to sulking in her chair. "If I didn't need to babysit Jackie Emmet, ace reporter, I wouldn't have to talk to myself for what little amusement I can get anyway."
"You know how my mom is after what happened," Jackie explained. "Ever since my dad died fighting the invasion she won't even let me leave the state without a bodyguard, let alone travel all the way to Germany to see this. And just because something isn't trying to blow up Tokyo doesn't mean it's not important."
"But you're twenty-two years old," Tomo retorted, conveniently ignoring her friend's second point. "I think at that age the Automatic Man's daughter can handle herself. I was fighting giant city-destroying lizards when I was thirteen years old."
"Well if helping out your best friend bothers you so much, next time I'll just ask a regular-sized city-saving Gazardiel to come with me," Jackie huffed before returning her attention to the congregating ministers.
"Yeah, just make sure he doesn't see what websites you go on," Tomo murmured.
"I SPELLED THE ADDRESS WRONG ," Jackie sputtered, nearly dropping her camera in the process.
"Whatever you say, 'passionscales226'," Tomo said with emphasis, giving her friend an evil little smirk. Jackie merely scowled in retaliation and returned to snapping pictures of the officials as they continued to file in. Watching them grow in number and continue to fill the seats down below, it only just occurred to Tomo that as a de facto military dictatorship, Egon Shuller really didn't need all of these people on the government payroll. She guessed that he had to look like he really didn't have the unmitigated control that everyone said he did, though she was sure Jackie would give a long and complicated reason for why these fancy suits were milling around. Nowadays the average German was pretty self-conscious about having a dictator stomping around, and anyone who wanted to stay in power for long needed to look as little like an Adolf Hitler or a Von Fertig as possible.
Finally, at long last, one of the ministers stood up and strode confidentially to the raised podium, earning a smattering of polite applause from the gathered onlookers and a flurry of camera flashes from the news teams overhead. Tomo leaned back in her chair, attempting to at least get a nice nap from this presentation.
"Something is wrong,"
"What?"
"Quiet Tomo, he's talking," Jackie whispered fervently, hanging on the boring politician's every word.
"Something is wrong. A wicked force approaches. We must leave," the voice in Tomo's head echoed. Then almost at the exact same moment, a door slammed open and a young man in camouflaged military garb jogged up the aisle to the speaker's side. He whispered something in the older man's ear, which even from all the way up here Tomo could see, drained the color from the man's face.
"L-ladies and gentlemen," the nameless politician said, his voice cracking from fear. "I regret to inform you that there has been an attack on our nation. For everyone's safety I would like to immediately declare this meeting adjourned and begin evacuations."
And then she heard it. The low, sliding whistle. Tomo's felt the bottom drop out of her stomach at the all too familiar sound. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, as though the world held its breath in anticipation for what was to come. And then, the roof exploded in a shower of splinters and fire, and the world turned a blinding shade of white. Someone screamed, but she wasn't sure if it was her or something else. The only thing telling her that she was still alive was the unnatural yet soothing voice inside her head.
"We are needed."
Jackie Emmet, meanwhile, had thrown herself to the ground at the sound of the incoming artillery shells. Scrambling to her feet after the brilliant white flash, she looked down only to see the lower balcony engulfed in a sparkling white cloud. With a pang of recognition and horror, she watched the man in camouflage stagger out of the deadly cloud, clawing at his face as the skin was seared from his bones.
"This is not a mere artillery assault," Rocket Angel announced in her booming voice. Jackie turned around in surprise, almost forgetting that her best friend had transformed into the eight-foot-tall Rocket Angel, clad in white and red armor with biomechanical wings outstretched.
"It sure isn't, I've seen this stuff used against the Other," Jackie remarked with horror. "White phosphorous."
"We'll save them," Rocket Angel announced, launching into the air and preparing to dive.
"You can't, it's too late for them," Jackie shouted as another shell exploded overhead, spreading another burning white cloud. "We have to get these people out of here!"
At that moment, the doors behind them were kicked open. A lone figure stepped into the light, clad in heavy black armor, a blazing red insignia unseen since the days of Von Fertig proudly emblazoned across his chest, and heavy flamethrower clutched in his hands. Rocket Angel was just too far away to act before the man made his move.
"The new Reich will be born in flame!" the man screamed in a violent passion, releasing a burst of burning white fire, engulfing the room.
-----
Miles away, Egon Schuller, sat in a hidden bunker, clutching a note in his hand so tightly that his knuckles whitened.
"Herr Schuller," his bodyguard reported in. "The rebels are fast approaching. We need to head to Westfallen before we get encircled."
"Of course," Schuller said, sounding distant. "Make the preparations immediately." The guard saluted obediently before departing, leaving Schuller temporarily alone in his thoughts. Wracked with anxiety and despair at being outplayed so thoroughly, he clapped his hands to his head, letting the note flutter onto the table, its red ink dancing in the lone light bulb shaking from distant artillery strikes.
Herr Schuller,
This is my nation. I will have my vengeance, and your pathetic excuse for a police force will not stand in my way.
-Feldmarschall Osterkamp
------
Turn 2 - Winter of 2022
Map:
Stats:
Numbers, ah, so scary!
New Crossover Event: Achtung, Panzer!
In a stunning turn of events, the GSND government has been violently overthrown by a previously unseen force, which has quickly moved to take over much of Germany. Driving the GSG9 remnants to the borders of GSND territory, cursory reports have shown that the terrorists are well-equipped with heavy armor and weapons, a large stockpile of chemical and fire-based weaponry, and most notably a vast amount of battle tanks. The uprising has thus far refused to make a public statement about their motivations, but the superhero Sergeant Commando has made a chilling suggestion that the unknown force might be lead by Eckhart Osterkamp, a German Generalfeldmarschall who served as second in command under the infamous Rennard Von Fertig. Infamous for his effective yet needlessly brutal tactics against the Allied forces in World War II, the "Butcher of Lorraine" was famously defeated in battle by the hero Sergeant Commando and later executed by Ostlandish Brandenburgers at Nuremburg in 1946. At this time it is unknown if Osterkamp or someone masquerading as the sadistic commander is actually behind the uprising in Germany, but until a more likely culprit is found, the terrorists have been labeled the
Osterkamp Insurrection. The former GSND government has been driven back to four pockets within the borders of Germany.
-The
Rhineland Pocket contains a sizeable industrial sector untouched by the Insurrection, allowing for more production of vehicles and weapons.
-The
Westfalen Pocket possesses a core of elite infantry soldiers, owing to the fact that Egon Schuller fled here with the remnants of his government and his personal guard.
-The
Mecklenburg Pocket retains access to the major airfields of the GSND government and still contains a sizeable portion of the German air force.
-The
Holstein Pocket has numerous defensive encampments as well as control over the major port cities of the GSND
The GSND remnant forces have made a desperate plea on the world stage, asking for support against the Osterkamp Insurrection from the nations and the superheroes. This can be done by contributing military forces in the form of MIL or Agents to assist the Remnant Forces in their fight against the mysterious Osterkamp Insurrection
In Other News...
In spite of the violence in Germany, much of the world continues to experience a sudden outbreak of peace. This is certainly true of North America, where international cooperation seems to be the norm, or at least violence directed at places besides the other major powers. The New England Commonwealth has worked tirelessly to rebuild from the Other's destructive crusade against humanity, improving their industrial capabilities as well as rebuilding their fleet and cementing their status as a significant naval power. The Consensus has also scored victories on a political and social front, creating stronger ties with their neighbors and their allies and impressing those who previously condemned a government led by an artificial intelligence by establishing strong ties within the scientific community and establishing themselves as a technological force to be reckoned with. That's not to say that the area is without its troubles, of course. Vinsin Vancore's forces are cutting deep into Mexico and Columbia in search of enemies of the state, and is quickly building up the Gethic Hand as a trade power, thanks in part to his strategic control of the important Panama Canal zone. Fellow megalomaniac and mad scientist Elon Musk has continued to expand his base of power in preparation for his nefarious future misdeeds, and is very interested in looking into more of the technology left behind by the Other.
Meanwhile in the Old World, the United Kingdom has cemented its control of the British Islands and has begun to establish strong ties to the Americas, coordinating with the Consensus to found a communications network and making a well-received statement in support of Haitian independence. As a close neighbor to the turmoil in Germany, however, they are expected to take a vested interest in the fate of the old GSND and perhaps even Nova Italia, which has begun to teeter following several uprisings by a nationalist group calling themselves the Risorgimento. Germany's distant cousin, however, has fared significantly better on the world stage. Elsa Pott's leadership has overseen the transformation of what was once considered something of a joke into a significant power on the world stage both militarily and culturally, the latter of which occurred thanks to the success of the video game Wonder Versus, which became a smash hit and a cultural phenomenon worldwide. Meanwhile in Asia, the good times are continuing as usual in Australia as they expand their influence over New Zealand and continue their highly successful superhero registration program, which has been adopted by several other nations to classify superhumans worldwide. The United Korea, meanwhile, looks on quietly as it slowly builds its base of power...
Elsewhere, the trend of peace and international cooperation is kept alive by Thessaly, which despite its small stature has worked tirelessly to promote free trade, international cooperation, and internal reforms, an effort which has not gone unrewarded. That all may be undone by their contentious neighbors, as Bulgaria eyes the Brotherhood suspiciously, searching for the secrets of the Other technology in preparation for what is to come. The Brotherhood, however, chose to focus on more humanitarian efforts this time around, garnering a smattering of public approval for their relief efforts in Yemen, which was ravaged for years by internal strife long before the Other Invasion. And on their Southern flank lies the SRMLKK, their rhetoric dampened but bristling with revolutionary fervor following the coup and the new government spearheaded by the appropriately allusive Mystery Babylon. Meanwhile, the radioactive bogeymen of the New Zhetysu stand in the shadows, biding their time and sharpening their spears in preparation of the days to come.
Notes:
-Apologies for the update being a bit sparse this turn, only because a lot of the juicy stuff happened behind the scenes, can't really be helped.
-Because of the above happening, there will be a bunch of PMs going out within the next 24 hours, so keep your eyes on your inboxes.
-Additional apologies for the lateness of the update, I promise faster updates in the future <3
-FIVE claims this turn.
