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>>5940975
The rush of the crisp winter air makes a steady hiss as the military jeep rushes south. The suspension bucks and dips with every rut in the country road. The movement jostles you against the three personal guards assigned you and with whom you are crammed in the back of the UAZ-469. The view out of the side windows is of tall straight trees on either side of the road, their trunks painted white up to the level of a man's chest. They condense into a blur, a white streak above the ground and below the grey sky. Beyond them are high plateaus, a landscape characteristic of southern Antegria.

Sitting in your lap is a leather briefcase. On top of the briefcase rests a sealed Manila folder marked with a dark red 'Classified' stamp. It contains all of the information that the Ministry of Defense has regarding Gordon District. The men around you are, by nature and disposition, grim, silent, and unsmiling. By your reckoning, it will be another three hours until your arrival in Gordon.

Nothing has been said of you, Gennady Nasirovich, what quality of man are you? What quality of officer?


>You are a Political Appointee. You have no combat experience and are unknown among the general staff, but you are very well known by the careerists and social climbers of the ministry. You got this job because of your connections back in the homeland and knowing how to pull the right strings.

>You are Decorated Combat Veteran. From your enlistment at 16 to the present, you are an army man, through and through. You have served in every theater of combat in which Antegria has been present during your lifetime, collecting decorations along the way. Recognized as an exceptional leader of men, you have been plucked from your frontline unit to administer this conquered land.

>You are a Desk Officer. Your deployments have been few and you have not seen active combat in over a decade. You are nonetheless one of the most valued cogs in the war machine. Your behind-the-scenes contributions as one of the most competent officers of the general staff have been recognized and this new role has been awarded to you.

>WRITE IN

(Choose only one, write ins welcome. This vote is important, so I'll leave it up for a day or so).

>>5940976
Oh boy, I hope we don't get executed for incompetence. Or wait, this isn't Kolechia, so maybe we'll be fine?

>You are Decorated Combat Veteran. From your enlistment at 16 to the present, you are an army man, through and through. You have served in every theater of combat in which Antegria has been present during your lifetime, collecting decorations along the way. Recognized as an exceptional leader of men, you have been plucked from your frontline unit to administer this conquered land.
I like being halfway competent and with a military background. Assuming it won't make the locals like us much though, but we're not here to be their friend.

>>5940976
>Decorated Combat Veteran
Former enlisted make for the best officers.
We should get to know our bodyguards and ensure they are loyal to us, rather than some spook aperatus. Otherwise, we can send them up for promotion & replace them with hand-picked appointees so there is no retaliation.
Make sure our SOPs include wearing armor, helmets, & balaclavas at all times, firing warning shots first when possible, maintaining discipline, & summary execution for brutalizing women should it happen.
We can hire & train local militia to get the fighting age men on our side, giving them outdated/non-threatening weaponry, such as Pistol Caliber Carbines (PCCs) & batons, then have them act as a gendarmarie beholden to our administration.

>>5940975
>WRITE IN

>You are Decorated Combat Veteran. From your enlistment at 16 to the present, you are an army man, through and through. You have served in every theater of combat in which Antegria has been present during your lifetime, collecting decorations along the way. Recognized as an exceptional leader of men, you have been plucked from your frontline unit to administer this conquered land. Back when you were a child and your parents lived in the Republia as citizens, until one day your parents decided to immigrate, flee, or for other reasons to the Republic of Antegria for economic, asylum, or other reasons.

>>5940976
>>WRITE IN
You are a traitor of Republia - that's how your old government would describe you, anyway. But you define yourself as an intelligent and benevolent man, bringing northern Republia into the modern era, with all the luxury and security that being part of Antegria brings. Your previous Republian benefactors knew your father was Antegrian, but their society still allowed you to rise through the ranks of power and win the hearts and minds of their districts anyway, as well as make close connections with some big wigs back in the capital. It was a stab in the back to many, but for your devotion to Antegria, you have become an extremely wealthy and powerful man, able to enact your will more freely than ever before. It's time to show north Republia what liberation looks like.

>>5940990
>>5940996
>>5941023
>>5942020

Okay, there seems to be a consensus that Liptsov G. N. is a Decorated Combat Veteran. There is also a good amount of interest in having him be originally from Republia, so I will also incorporate that.

Closed and writing.

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>You are Decorated Combat Veteran. From your enlistment at 16 to the present, you are an army man, through and through. You have served in every theater of combat in which Antegria has been present during your lifetime, collecting decorations along the way. Recognized as an exceptional leader of men, you have been plucked from your frontline unit to administer this conquered land.

They plucked you out of the trenches just for the ceremony. Absolutely ridiculous. The front was the real army, covered in mud, half-deaf from the artillery, and willing to do the impossible for their country and their brothers-in-arms. But that’s not what the politicians and the cameras like to see, so they drove you all the way back to True Glorian so that the Abumarov and Gregoriev could appear on TV shaking hands with a clean-cut and close-shaved General Liptsov gleaming with a thousand medals on his fresh-pressed suit. And now that the charade is over, they put you in a car and sent you back into the war.

You were born in Republia. When you were a child this was a cause for shame. It is different now, many recognize the wide extent of the Antegrian Patrimony, but in the 50s it was a mark upon you and upon your parents. It affected you, made you tougher, gave you something to prove. It was a large part of why you joined up, to show that you were a ‘true Antegrian’.

You killed your first man in the spring of 1962 during the Battle of Shchysky’s Peak. Your company was awarded the Order for Military Valor for its bravery attacking Republian mortar positions. Unconsciously, you reach to your breast and feel the slim bar covered with its smooth red fabric. It is one ribbon among dozens, each testifying to dedicated service in the defense of the Patrimony.

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The sealed Manila folder remains in your lap, unopened. The irregular jostling of the vehicle would make it uncomfortable, but not overly difficult for you to read. You are expected to read the brief; they, your superiors, the others, want you to do so.

>Would you like to read the brief prepared for you?

>>5942180
>Yes

>>5942180

Sure, let’s read on!

Not much of a choice, go ahead.

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>>5942203
>>5942204
>>5942331

Flipping the folder over so that its opening faces up, you thread your finger between the flap and the main body of the envelope. Feeling resistance from the adhesive strip, you jam your finger forwards, roughly opening the flap. Inside the folder you find a scant 5 pages of documents and a single color photo. The first two pages are standard forms designating the folder’s content as classified. Which leaves a three-page report and the photo.

The photograph is an aerial shot of a landscape, based on the altitude it is probably an image from a military satellite. Annotation on the photo’s margin identifies it as a picture of Gordon District and its surroundings. Someone has been helpful enough to circle an area on the map in red marker and label it “216th”. Other than this, the map is bare.

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>>5942405

DESIGNATION: CLASSIFIED
AUTHORIZED FOR RELEASE BY ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ANTEGRIA

15.02.1991
CPT. XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX

INFORMATIONAL BRIEF: GORDON DISTRICT

GORDON DISTRICT IS A TERRITORIAL DIVISION OF THE CONTIGUOUS ANTEGRIAN PATRIMONY AND AN ANCESTRAL PART OF THE ANTEGRIAN STATE FROM ITS FOUNDATION. ITS SEAT OF ADMINISTRATION IS GORDON. POPULATION OF DISTRICT IS 22,000 AT LAST CENSUS.

TOPOGRAPHY OF DISTRICT IS VARIABLE. CENTRAL REGION OF DISTRICT IS FLAT, WHEREAS PERIPHERY OF DISTRICT IS STEEP HILLS. LANDSCAPE OF DISTRICT DOMINATED BY LARGE HILL IN WESTERN REGION OF PLAINS. IT IS DENOMINATED ‘VADIM TEPE’. MAJOR POPULATION CENTERS LOCATED IN EASTERN PLAINS.

LIBERATED FROM REPUBLIAN OCCUPATION DUE TO THE HEROIC ACTIONS OF THE EVER-VICTORIOUS ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ANTEGRIA IN JANUARY 1991. POPULATION JOYOUS AT LIBERATION FROM CRUEL AND UNNATURAL REPUBLIAN TYRANY. FULL DEDICATION TO THE HOMELAND AND LOYAL SERVICE CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THANKFUL POPULATION OF ANTEGRIANS REUNITED WITHIN THE CONTIGUOUS PATRIMONY OF THE RACE.

DISTRICT IS LARGELY RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL. THERE ARE NO KNOWN OIL OR NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS. NO KNOWN LARGE DEPOSITS OF OTHER VALUABLE SUBSTRATA RESOURCES. TWO FACTORIES PRESENT; NEITHER FACTORY SUITABLE FOR CONVERSION TO MILITARY PURPOSES.

DISTRICT HOST TO LARGE POPULATION OF RESIDENT ALIENS DATING FROM PERIOD OF REPUBLIAN OCCUPATION. AS PART OF DELIBERATE POLICY OF ETHNIC CLEANSING BY GENOCIDAL REPUBLIAN REGIME, REPUBLIAN ETHNICS HAVE BEEN SETTLED IN THIS DISTRICT. SAID POPULATION OF RESIDENT ALIENS LIKELY TO CONTAIN SPIES, SABOTEURS, OR WRECKERS. SAID POPULATION PRESENTS SIGNIFICANT SECURITY THREAT.

DISTRICT CONTAINS FORMER MILITARY FACILITY OF OCCUPYING ARMY OF REPUBLIA DESIGNATED 34TH BATTALION OF ARMY GROUP NORTH. MILITARY FACILITY CAPTURED WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE. CURRENTLY UNDER CONTROL OF 216TH INDEPENDENT MOTORIZED RIFLE BATTALION OF THE EVER-VICTORIOUS ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ANTEGRIA. THIS UNIT OF THE EVER-VICTORIOUS LIBERATING ARMY ASSISTED IN SECURITY DUTIES BY 7TH GLORIAN INTERNAL MINISTRY COMPANY.

PRIOR TO EXPULSION FROM THE CONTIGUOUS ANTEGRIAN PATRIMONY, THE OCCUPYING FORCES OF REPUBLIA MINED AN AREA OF MILITARY SIGNIFICANCE IN THE SOUTHEAST OF GORDON DISTRICT. AREA HAS BEEN MARKED AS HAZARDOUS WITH APPROPRIATE SIGNAGE. EXERCISE CAUTION IN APPROACHING AREA!

ANTEGRIA, EVER VICTORIOUS!

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You slowly and methodically go through the report and then re-read it, absorbing the information contained in the three pages of terse writing. When you are satisfied you have extracting what utility you can from the document and the unlabeled map, you return them both to the Manila folder.

You read the brief, just like they wanted you to, Genya. The question now is: Did you believe it? Do you believe them?


>Antegrians are constitutionally incapable of lying. The report is guaranteed to be true because the government would not lie, certainly not to its own men.

>You are not a political beast by nature, but one does not reach lieutenant general without some guile. The report is certain to contain some falsehoods, but it is important – politically important – that you act as though every word of it is true.

>Like men, the brief contains a measure of truth and a measure of falsity. It has been your great gift to take what is good in a man and make use of it. You will do the same with this report, making use of what you can.

>All governments lie and Antegria more than most. The brief bears all the hallmarks of government propaganda riddled with falsehood and exaggeration. Still, they probably didn’t invent all the facts… probably.

>Like everything out of a politician’s mouth, the brief is composed solely of lies and fantastical propaganda bearing no connection to reality. You wouldn’t be surprised if they faked the map too.

>WRITE IN

>>5942409
>You are not a political beast by nature, but one does not reach lieutenant general without some guile. The report is certain to contain some falsehoods, but it is important – politically important – that you act as though every word of it is true.

>>5942409
>>Like men, the brief contains a measure of truth and a measure of falsity. It has been your great gift to take what is good in a man and make use of it. You will do the same with this report, making use of what you can.

>>5942409
>Like men, the brief contains a measure of truth and a measure of falsity. It has been your great gift to take what is good in a man and make use of it. You will do the same with this report, making use of what you can.

>>5942409
>You are not a political beast....
Interesting, so the bodyguards are here to gauge our reactions, our loyalty, etc., & the briefings we receive will be shit-tests.

>You are not a political beast by nature, but one does not reach lieutenant general without some guile. The report is certain to contain some falsehoods, but it is important – politically important – that you act as though every word of it is true.

>>5942409
>You are not a political beast by nature, but one does not reach lieutenant general without some guile. The report is certain to contain some falsehoods, but it is important – politically important – that you act as though every word of it is true.
I love doing what I'm told to and listening to my superiors

>>5942409
>You are not a political beast by nature, but one does not reach lieutenant general without some guile. The report is certain to contain some falsehoods, but it is important – politically important – that you act as though every word of it is true.
Don't you love the motherland? I do, comrade! And I hope for you sake you love it as much as I do!

>>5942409
>You are not a political beast by nature, but one does not reach lieutenant general without some guile. The report is certain to contain some falsehoods, but it is important – politically important – that you act as though every word of it is true.

>>5942409
>You are not a political beast by nature, but one does not reach lieutenant general without some guile. The report is certain to contain some falsehoods, but it is important – politically important – that you act as though every word of it is true.

>>5942409
>>Like men, the brief contains a measure of truth and a measure of falsity. It has been your great gift to take what is good in a man and make use of it. You will do the same with this report, making use of what you can.

>>5942418
>>5942421
>>5942423
>>5942547
>>5942575
>>5942596
>>5942659
>>5942695
>>5942814
>>5942844

Okay, I’m closing it in favor of:
>You are not a political beast by nature, but one does not reach lieutenant general without some guile. The report is certain to contain some falsehoods, but it is important – politically important – that you act as though every word of it is true.

That was the last orientation question I had for you. From this point on, things will get a lot more practical.

I had intended to have the next scene open in Gordon, having arrived in the city. However, there are still over 2 hours left in the car ride, so if you have any suggestions of things you’d like to do before we get to Gordon, please suggest them

>WRITE IN

>>5943387
>Check personal inventory
>Go over personal contacts
>Review known factions & units in the region
>Talk to bodyguards & get their angles; offer smokes/drinks if need be to get them to loosen up/gain favor

>>5943387
>Pray

>>5943410
Support.

>>5943410
+1

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>You are not a political beast by nature, but one does not reach lieutenant general without some guile. The report is certain to contain some falsehoods, but it is important - politically important - that you act as though every word of it is true.


If you have learned one thing in the army, in school, in life, it is to tell authority what it wants to hear. You don't have to believe it - nobody concerns themselves with the interior machinations of a soldier's mind - but then when the ministers say black is white and 2+2=5, they expect you to agree.

That is the fundamental role of a soldier and the underpinning of military life. Your superior officer determines reality and establishes fact, sets directives and orders, a soldier carries out tasks within the situation thus established. The alternative is unthinkable; it means the collapse of chain of command, the disintegration of order, the lapse of discipline, and the unmooring of the entire ethos of army life.

That is what you think to yourself, Gennady. The horrors and phantoms you conjure up if you were to disobey.

And they love you for it, Genya. You are a good dog, you serve your masters well. You sit, you stay, you roll over. Woof, woof, Genya, who loves the republic? Who's a good soldier?

>Decision path unlocked: REJECT REALITY

>>5943410
>>5943478
>>5943710

Okay, so you requested information about:
>Personal inventory
>Personal contacts
>Known factions & units in the region


Your personal inventory, on your person or in bags, includes:
>Dress uniform (2)
>Military decorations
>Combat fatigues
>Rain coat
>Winter coat
>Winter gloves
>Watch
>Manila folder containing informational brief
>Boots (2 pair)
>Undergarments (10 sets)
>Toiletries
>Metal tag with identifying information
>Service weapon (Makarov pistol)
>Shoulder holster
>Belt (2)
>Ammunition pouch attached to belt
>Magazine containing 8 rounds (9 clips / 72 bullets)
>Combat knife
>Canteen (2)
>Mess kit
>First aid kit
>SSh-68 Helmet
>6B3 flak jacket
>Pens (3)
>Lighter
>Cigarette (2 packs / 40 cigarettes)
>Sunglasses
>Binoculars
>Reading glasses
>Identification papers
>Military orders
>Suitcases (2)


>Personal contacts:
You have no personal contacts in Gordon District that you know of. You are not acquainted with any of the three bodyguards assigned you nor with the driver.

You know that your immediate military superior is Army General Hassan Polkovnikov and that you are under the direct control of Pyotr Gregoriev, Deputy Minister for the Administration of Special Military Districts under the Ministry of Defense. You can assume that you will have contact with both of these men.


>Here is what is known to your character:
Both Republian and Antegrian ethics are present in Gordon District. It should be assumed that ethnic Antegrians are supportive of your administration, whereas ethnic Republians should be considered hostile and treated as potentially dangerous and seditious elements.

There are two units assigned to you in Gordon District: the 216th Independent Motorized Rifle Battalion, composed of approximately 500 army soldiers; and the 7th Glorian Internal Ministry Company, composed of approximately 100 Internal Ministry soldiers. The 216th Independent Motorized Rifle Battalion is encamped at the military base indicated on the map

>>5944567
>Smoke a cigarette as we drive

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>Talk to bodyguards & get their angles; offer smokes/drinks if need be to get them to loosen up/gain favor

You reach into the interior pocket of your jacket, extract a pack of Marlboro Red cigarettes, and break the seal, and gently slide out a stick and place it to your lips. Transferring the pack to your other hand, you reach into the same pocket and pull out your lighter, ignite the cigarette, and enjoy the first cloy of smoke slowing expanding to fill your whole mouth with rich tobacco taste.

You extend the arm containing the Marlboros and give it a firm upward shake so that the ends of the cigarettes stick out and are made easy to grab. The gift thus proffered, it is gladly accepted by all three men sharing the rear seats with you. The driver does not turn around nor seem aware of the goings-on in the back.

Anywhere and at any time in history, the simple and excellent formula for ingratiating yourself with soldiers has always been to offer food, drink, and smokes. Each time your lit cigarette is passed and used to light those of the others, it joins you in a covenant with these men. They talk easily, albeit joltingly, stopping themselves when they fear they have become too easy in the presence of you, their superior officer. They talk mainly of rations, past details, their hopes of victory, the villages and towns from which they came. The reflections on topics of interest to you are limited, it is clear they know less than you about their mission and are more satisfied with this state of affairs:

-“Don’t know where Gordon is. Couldn’t find it on the map”

-“We’re attached to you, sir, that’s what I know. An honor too, guarding a war hero. The Republians are bastards and they’d be just the kind to do it unfair. Can’t win on the front, so they sneak behind the lines. It’s cause they’re cowards. Bastard cowards”

-“My brother-in-law is an Internal Ministry soldier. He’s a bastard, thinks he can do whatever. Not real soldiers. Put them on the front and they couldn’t take it. Easy to be tough when the other side doesn’t have guns”

-“Never heard of the 216th Battalion. They must not have been where I was.”

You already know their names, it is right there on their uniforms: Matsukov B., Slavorenko I., Rashidaliev F. From the conversation, you gather than Slavorenko is quicker than the other two, some of his responses show some real thought. Feliks Rashidaliev is talkative, it is how you know what the ‘F.’ on his uniform stands for. You seem to excite him, he likes being on detail with a war hero. It is hard to get a read on Matsukov, he is not overly quiet but what he says doesn’t give out much.

>Any other questions Gennady? Things you would like to ask the men before you all arrive in Gordon?

>>5945004
>Any other questions Gennady? Things you would like to ask the men before you all arrive in Gordon?
Past service? Expertise?

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The sun reaches towards its apex as the jeep continues its steady journey southeast. The landscape begins to open up, the forest recedes and farms become visible along the sides of the road. The plateaus still hover in the background, but they have moved farther away, affording you a clear view of pastures, farmland, and, occasionally, villages.

It is going through this valley between the uplands that you see the first sign of having crossed into the liberated territories. On your right is a metal sign with directions in both Republian and Antegrian and riddled with bullet holes. You look around at the land once more, with greater and renewed focus. You don't know when you crossed over - you could have been driving through your new demesne for more than 30 minutes for all you know - but this must be near the northern section of the district for how close the plateaus rest on either side.

You keep a keen eye on the changing landscape outside and especially on the dun-colored villages visible amidst the low and rolling hills. Whose are these? And they ancient towns? Republian settlements planted during the long occupation? Who lives there, Gennady? Friend or foe?

The vista continues to broaden as you continue south deeper into the district. On the left side you pass the blackened and charred hull of a tank, a legacy of the fight to take this region. Leaning over to that window, you can make out more black dots on roadside - other vehicle casualties? - and, more visibly, shallow craters in the earth from mortar fire and light artillery.

The vehicle slows to cross a bridge before making a hard turn east and following the river upstream. From the right-side window, you can now make out a large hill sprouting from the plains. Recalling the satellite map, this must be Vadim-Tepe. Your desire for a closer look at the outcropping is answered as the road dips closer and closer to the edge of the massive promontory. You can make out small figures crossing the slope followed by flocks of white and black goats. You make occasionally glances away from the hill as well, to see if you can make out the army base labeled on the map. It is to no avail, however. There are some buildings on hills to the north, but at this distance it is not clear if they are part of a base or just farm houses. It makes you sorely wish you were in field kit, with binoculars hanging from your neck, and not dress uniform. Unfortunately, your binoculars are banging around in your luggage, along with everything else of utility.

>>5946286
After around an hour of driving, the mountain begins to recede and your view from the right is replaced by open plains, crisscrossed by irrigation ditches and small fences and dotted with towns. Several minutes after you have firmly transitioned to the plains, the jeep slows and your driver calls out, "Town ahead!" You ask him if it is Gordon, he responds that it is not. This town isn't on his roadmap. He says Gordon should be another 100 or 150 kilometers to the south. You don't see any road signs indicating the name of the town nor allowing you to confirm how far to Gordon. The road remains broad as you enter the town, allowing the driver to keep a good pace even as it curves to the south. The streets are curiously absent of traffic. You see several parked cars, all look to be at least from the early 1980s if not older, and one old farm truck passes you going north. You manage to get a few glances of people along the side streets, but that is all. The construction is dun-colored, like sand, or painted an off-white.

The road leaves the town and returns to the plains. Settlement is denser here, east of Vadim-Tepe. Within ten minutes, you pass another town of similar size on your left - the road does not run through this one. The driver speaks again, sounding out an obviously foreign, Republian word: Elmsford. Out of the left side you see what he is reading from, a garish concrete arch by the side of the road, supported by two columns, with the town's name written in white paint. The driver slows again as the farmhouses cluster together and transform into a small city. The streets are also quiet here. You see a group of children playing in an alley stop to stare at the passing jeep. You count the houses; you pass by around four dozen before the line of housing breaks and you see another field. Two more farm houses are on the road close to the town before the landscape returns to being strictly rural.

This section of the road south of Elmsford has signage, a welcome change from the part you've been on. It tells you Gordon is 85 kilometers south and you count down the kilometer markers in your head. Around 10 kilometers outside of Gordon, by your estimate, you see a small hill rise from the planted flatlands and upon it a beautiful old stone manor house with a commanding view of the countryside; it makes an impression among the small houses of the villages that surround it.

>>5946287
The jeep slows again, much more than when passing through the other towns. You would hazard a guess that the driver is not familiar with the street layout and needs time to determine where he is meant to go. He keeps you on the main road until the final turn and here you see people moving about their business on the sides of the streets. The car slows to a crawl whenever you pass by a larger important-looking building and you can see the driver squint for some kind of sign. Asked what he is looking for, he answers his orders are to transport yourself and your escort to the Gordon courthouse. He slows in front of a hotel and a police station before coming to an open square at the far end of which is a large blocky building with the gilded letters 'COURT OF JUSTICE' affixed to its face; on the right side of the square is another multistory building with a bronze plaque. The driver pulls the jeep up alongside the building and brings it to a gentle stop.

Matsukov opens the door and steps out into the harsh sunlight. He scans the square before giving a small nod for Slavenko and yourself to join him; Feliks follows you both and then goes to unloading the baggage. You hold up a hand to shield your eyes from the bright light in the square. When you breath in the air, it is hot and dusty. Slavenko looks to you, waiting. From this point on, there is no more outside direction. You have reached Gordon, the rest is up to you.

>>5946287
Where you would like to go, Gennady? You need a headquarters, even if temporary. You can't just stand here in a sandy lot with your bags and bodyguards, can you?


>The courthouse was where the driver was instructed to take you. Presumably, whatever unit last passed through the city determined that this was the center of administration. It is only logically for you to set up your base of operations here.

>You can't sleep in a courthouse. A proper military headquarters needs to host a full time staff, including sleeping quarters. The hotel seems most appropriate. It is bound to be mostly empty after the war.

>A courthouse may be an appropriate venue for civilian affairs during peacetime, but you are here on a military mission. Security is paramount, which means the police station would be the best headquarters. It is bound to be fortified in some manner.

>This was a mistake. It is embarrassing to admit, but you would rather lose face than hobble yourself now. Gordon is still a hostile city in which you are a stranger. Better to start off among friends. Ask the driver to take you to the military base where you can camp with the 216th Battalion.

>That manor house you passed by entering the city had impressive command of the surrounding plains. It is solidly built and set off from the rest of the population center. Of course, it is clearly owned and whoever owns it will not be happy about their mansion being requisitioned.

>You don't know enough to make an informed choice. Fortunately, the day is young and thus there is no pressing reason to decide now. Gather more information; in the meantime, your guards can carry the packs. [Prompt vote: Where *do* you want to go, Gennady?]

>WRITE IN

>>5946291
>>The courthouse was where the driver was instructed to take you. Presumably, whatever unit last passed through the city determined that this was the center of administration. It is only logically for you to set up your base of operations here.

>>5946291
>>The courthouse was where the driver was instructed to take you. Presumably, whatever unit last passed through the city determined that this was the center of administration. It is only logically for you to set up your base of operations here.
>write in: But do put some guard posts next to the courthouse.

>>5946291
>Police Station

>>5946308
>>5946420
>>5946430

Okay, closed in favor of setting up a base in the courthouse. I'll try to have something up tomorrow the 9th

>>5946291
>A courthouse may be an appropriate venue for civilian affairs during peacetime, but you are here on a military mission. Security is paramount, which means the police station would be the best headquarters. It is bound to be fortified in some manner.

I’m surprised high command gave us no escort in newly captured territory other than 3 soldiers

Surely we rated at least 2 squads in some APCs.

>>5945054
>Past service? Expertise?

All three bodyguards have been taken from front-line units. Matsukov is a sergeant in the artillery corps. Slavorenko and Rashidaliev are both privates in infantry units. Rashidaliev has spent most of the war assigned as a courier. Matsukov has been in the army for five years, while Slavorenko and Rashidaliev are part way through their third year of service. The only commonality – and why you suspect they were chosen for this task – is that they were all on leave back in the homefront at the time you were awarded your position.


>>5947513
> I’m surprised high command gave us no escort in newly captured territory other than 3 soldiers. Surely we rated at least 2 squads in some APCs.

But you did warrant that Gennady. More than just a few squads, you’ve been given an entire Motorized Rifle Battalion and a company of Internal Ministry soldiers. You just have to find out where they are.

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Meeting Slavenko's gaze, you give a curt nod towards the courthouse and then begin to ascend the steps towards the building's broad stone front. You hear dry soft thuds and the scratching of fabric against grit as your staff maneuver the bags between them before following you into the courthouse. There is another sound too, unsuspected and unwelcome: the engine of the UAZ-469 turning over.

You halt your progress up the stairs, spin around, and hail the driver and call out to him to stop. He catches your eye and waits in the idling vehicle as you hustle back down the stairs and across the square towards him - your guards wait off to the side, loaded with baggage. The driver unlatches the top of his window and, holding onto a strip of dull-green synthetic fabric attached to the window frame, carefully lowers the frame so it rests against the outside of the driver's door. Not waiting to get to a comfortable conversational difference, you call out to the driver: "Why have you started your vehicle? Who has given you orders to start this vehicle?"

The driver stiffens at your clipped tones. He calls out, a bit too loud and almost shrill, "Southern Military District Headquarters Group!"

"What."

"Orders come from Southern Military District Headquarters Group, sir! Orders are to deliver Lieutenant General Liptsov G. N. and his staff to Gordon city courthouse, then return to Southern Military District HQ, sir! I was ordered to return this vehicle to motorpool, sir!" He has managed to correct his tone, this response is at an appropriate volume.

Hmm. An unexpected development. You do not immediately reply, but no one could know you are still formulating your response with how steady and resolute you keep your march towards the jeep. Your march brings you right up against the door and your intense stare radiates frustration at this previously-unknown decision of command. You take a breath in through your nose and release it in a short, violent burst. The driver is clearly uncomfortable meeting your eye contact but unwilling to be so defiant as to look away. You ask for the order and he rushes to retrieve it from an interior compartment. Sure enough, it orders the vehicle returned to the district. Nothing to do; the final word has already been pronounced. You hand the paper back to the driver and say, in a voice loud enough for your guards to hear: "Very good. Return to district headquarters."

Without another glance, you turn again and resume your brisk walk towards the courthouse. You can hear the jeep rumble away behind you and the dull echo of three pairs of footsteps hurrying to match yours up the staircase. You reach the wooden double-door to the courthouse and push inward on the handle. The door buckles slightly and makes a noise indicated mechanical resistance. Stepping back, you pull the door handle and this time it swings wide.

>>5948477
The room is broader than it is deep and covered in white tile that shines underneath a series of shaded incandescent lights. Directly in front of the entrance is a metal desk stacked with papers and files onto which a desktop fan has also been smooshed. The fan is not spinning. The walls are lined with a highly-polished wood and there is a photo of Republia's "Great and Honorable Leader" hanging above a door on the opposite wall. On a wooden chair between the desk and wall panelling sits a thin man with a receding hairline and a neat mustache, likely in his early 40s and dressed in a cheap brown suit. You do not appear to have interrupted any activity by coming in.

The man opens his mouth as if to speak and closes it again. His eyes move furiously as if in intense thought. You take the initiative: "Lieutenant General Liptsov of the Army of the Republic of Antegria. By the authority of the Ministry of Defense, I am now the supreme military and civilian authority of Gordon District. This building is being requisitioned for military purposes and I am hereby ordering you to assist by granting us access."

The balding man - who has been nervously watching your bodyguards come through the door behind you, automatic rifles slung on their backs - nods along to what you have been saying and then quickly shifts to lightly shaking his head. In broken and heavily-accented Antegrian, he responds: "No, no, sorry. Much sorry, General. Court close. Judge not here. Today, court close."

Hmm, it appears the man got very little of your speech. Quite possibly only your rank and that you want something. Language is going to be a barrier here, if this encounter is anything to go by. Of course, it need not be a barrier for you, Gennady Nasirovich. Your parents, expecting a peaceful life in the land of your birth, taught you Republian as a child. While you aren't comfortable in the language, you certainly know enough to communicate with this clerk. On the other hand, it isn't hard to imagine a situation where a hidden and secret knowledge of Republian would be valuable to you.

The clerk is smiling meekly, obsequiously, in front of you. Do you address him in his own native tongue or keep that knowledge hidden for now?


>You speak Republian. This clerk also speaks Republian. It isn't hard to figure out what to do here. (Unless you indicate otherwise, Gennady will now speak Republian to Republian monolinguals)

>It sounds like something out of a paperback spy novel, but, in your new role, there will be times when could be beneficial to have people believe you don't understand what they are saying. For now you will speak Antegrian and, for those who don't understand, you will speak Antegrian but louder. (Unless you indicate otherwise, Gennady will pretend he doesn't know the Republian language)

>>5948479
>It sounds like something out of a paperback spy novel, but, in your new role, there will be times when could be beneficial to have people believe you don't understand what they are saying. For now you will speak Antegrian and, for those who don't understand, you will speak Antegrian but louder. (Unless you indicate otherwise, Gennady will pretend he doesn't know the Republian language)

Never give people free knowledge - especially in hostile territory.

Putin knows English, but never speaks it.

>>5948479
>It sounds like something out of a paperback spy novel, but, in your new role, there will be times when could be beneficial to have people believe you don't understand what they are saying. For now you will speak Antegrian and, for those who don't understand, you will speak Antegrian but louder. (Unless you indicate otherwise, Gennady will pretend he doesn't know the Republian language)
But at one point we do have to speak the language to get trust with the locals.

+1, pull out a cellphone to translate with, or if this is the 90s just gesticulate our way through.

>>5948479
>>It sounds like something out of a paperback spy novel, but, in your new role, there will be times when could be beneficial to have people believe you don't understand what they are saying. For now you will speak Antegrian and, for those who don't understand, you will speak Antegrian but louder. (Unless you indicate otherwise, Gennady will pretend he doesn't know the Republian language)

>>5948479
>It sounds like something out of a paperback spy novel, but, in your new role, there will be times when could be beneficial to have people believe you don't understand what they are saying. For now you will speak Antegrian and, for those who don't understand, you will speak Antegrian but louder. (Unless you indicate otherwise, Gennady will pretend he doesn't know the Republian language)

>>5948497
>>5948516
>>5948537
>>5948683
>>5948921
Closed for pretending we don't seek Republian, for now at least...

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It may seem kind of melodramatic, like something out of a paperback spy novel – and it certainly cuts against your straightforward and upfront demeanor, Gennady – but speaking Republian is an asset here and more valuable for being a hidden asset. There may be a time to reveal your knowledge, but you aren’t just going to give it away, especially not to an unknown presumed-hostile almost certain to be loyal to the occupational regime.

So, you behave as you would – as you think you would – were your ignorance true and not pretend. Looking over your shoulder, you call out: “Matsukov, Slavenko, Rashidaliev! Any of you speak Republian?”

Feliks and Slavenko gently shake their heads no, but Matsukov takes a minute step forward and responds, “Yes, a little, sir. They had us NCOs take a day course in the language.”

My goodness, only a day. What could they have taught this man in one day?

Nevertheless, you mention for Matsukov to come over and ask him to inform the court clerk that you will be taking possession of the building.

Matsukov takes a long moment to collect himself and says: “Us Antegria Army. The building: us. The building is us. All Antegria Army today,” in stumbling and monotone Republian. The clerk looks confused, but lightly nods along to the armed man. Hmmm… if you are to persist in the charade that you do not speak Republian, you are going to have to acquire a translator of greater competence than Cpl. Matsukov.

Your message thus “conveyed”, you proceed to searching the premises. The door opposite the entrance is unlocked and leads into a wood-lined hallway. The opposite wall of this hallway has two handsomely polished wooden doors inset, leading into a large room with a raised platform – presumably the judge’s bench – and chairs and desks on either side for the petitioners and staff. Republian flags still hang on either side of the chamber’s back wall, as does another framed portrait of Republia’s “Great Leader” on the north wall. There is another small door at the back of the chamber, presumably for the use of the judge. It is locked. You step back to kick it down and stop when you hear the rushed footsteps of the clerk and a shrill cry in Antegrian of, “Key! Key! Please, general, key!” You allow the clerk to move past you and open the locked door – he promptly rushes inside, presumably to open more doors and thus save the integrity of the building.

>>5950209

The judge’s chambers are well furnished: there are two antique rugs on the floor, the south wall is occupied by a bookshelf filled with legal manuscripts, and the furniture is of a sleek dark wood with chrome inlays. The desk has multiple drawers, all of which are locked. You gesture to the clerk, but he shrugs his shoulders: “No key.” There are three more doors off the room: one leads back to the corridor, one to a private restroom, and the third to a short hallway taking you back to the entrance hall. You flick the lights to the restroom – they do not work.

On the far side of the entrance hall is another door, this one with a glass window set in its upper portion, allowing someone from the outside to see in. The room has a desk, six chairs, and a potted plant, but is otherwise empty.

Going back to the long corridor, you take a right and follow the hallway as it turns left. There are two doors at the end of the corridor: the far door leads to a small restroom, the near door to a dark room bursting with paper and files. There are two desks set up at its far end, both stacked with paper. More file folders, tied together with twine, are on the floor. The lights do not work here either. There is another door opposite the entrance to this room; the clerk has managed to open it as you walked the length of the room. This new room is even darker, depending entirely on ambient light from a window in the corridor. From what you *can* make out, this room contains a large number of file cabinets and, stacked on top of and around them, even more files tied up with twine.

You now have the layout of your new headquarters, Gennady. It could be better: you wish it had power, you wish it had accommodations for long-term occupation, but it will do for now. This last room, filled with files and devoid of light, seems the most secure – only one entrance behind two locked doors – so it is where you instruct your men to dump the bags.

>>5950210
Your base is secure, or secure enough, what will you do now Gennady?

>Further inspect part of the courthouse
>Interview/interrogate the court clerk
>Proceed to one of the other locations you know about [Where?]
>Walk through the city of Gordon and get a sense of the layout
>WRITE IN


If you choose to leave the courthouse, there is another issue to confront: what about your bags. While some items, like your service weapon, are on your person, others are in the bags and would be sorely missed if they were to be stolen. You can assume the same is true for the kit of your bodyguards. Are two locked doors really enough security? If you leave the building, you will:

>Take the bags with you or, rather, have your staff take the bags with you. It will encumber them, but the bags are safest kept within your sight
>Lock the bags in the file room and take the key from the clerk. Without a key, no one can get in there and, besides, who would even be looking?
>Leave one of your guards behind to look after the baggage [Which one?]
>Leave two of the guards behind to look after the baggage [Which two?]
>Go it alone and leave all the guards behind with the baggage. Perhaps you will have different experiences without your armed guard

>>5950213
>Leave the lowest ranking soldier besides Matsukov, whom we "need" to translate. First order of business is getting power restored to the building & city more broadly, so we'll call up the base & set them to it.

>>5950213
>>Further inspect part of the courthouse

>>5950213
>>Further inspect part of the courthouse

>>5950958
>>5951210
Okay, I'm closing this is favor of further inspecting the courthouse. I hope to get something up Friday night

This anon, >>5950907 has a very good point in that you need to establish objectives here. Two possible ones are 1) There is no power. Where is the power? How do we get it back on, and 2) establishing contact with the base: what is their number? How do you contact them without power?

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>Further inspect part of the courthouse

The first look around was merely cursory, you likely missed things. So you make another round of the courthouse, taking a bit longer this time. You also use the opportunity to take down the pictures of Republia's "Great and Honorable Leader" and pull down the flags hanging on the back wall of the courtroom. The first new thing you notice is that, in addition to the one for the non-functional lights, there is a second raceway running along the top edge of one wall in the courtroom. It terminates in an off-grey metal or plastic box with a circle of small perforations facing outward - this is almost certainly an intercom. You follow the raceway north into the judge's chambers and, sure enough, you find the central component of an intercom system. Following the wiring turns up two more speakers: one in the front hall and another in the clerk's chambers.

While scoping out the intercom box in the dim half-light of the clerk's office, you notice two more machines you had missed during your initial inspection. Standing against the far wall is an old Xerox copier and, next to it, a fax machine. There is a print-out left behind in the fax machine, which you take into the hallway and read. It is absolute gibberish. Well, you are sure it makes sense to a lawyer and possibly to some lay-person fully fluent in Republian, but to you it might as well be written in Ancient Greek. The caption has two names: "Rutherford Anez" and "Lucky Lots Company" and is addressed to the Civil Court of Gordon District. Outside of the caption, you can make out *maybe* every 1 in 30 words and even the words you do recognize are conjugated in ways you do not understand. You make a perfunctory effort to leaf through some more files left out on one of the desks, but your labor is not rewarded; you cannot derive any meaning or substance from the court records.

Bringing your men with you, you return to the judge's chambers and make an attempt to open the locked drawers of the desk. Unfortunately, the tools at your disposal are limited. You wedge your combat knife into the top portion of the drawer, but it's too thick, or the wood too well-fitted, to make contact with any part of the lock. On his own initiative, Rashidaliev tries smacking one of the drawers with the butt of his rifle, but to no noticeable effect. The sound from the desk would, however, indicate that it is too study to bust through absent an axe or some similar tool.

Overall, you are satisfied with your search. The building is of solid construction and you have a good sense of its layout and passages. But you were not sent here to govern one building, Gennady Nasirovich. The entirety of Gordon District - of which you have seen only a small portion - is your responsibility and command expects results. Already, in the short number of hours here, you have noticed a number of problems worthy of your attentions. You should choose one and puzzle out your approach to it.

>>5952496
>Please select ONE option (subsequent posts will be dedicated to coming up with an initial plan of approach)


>The power is out at the courthouse - and likely the whole city. You should immediately begin investigating how to get it restored

>Four men, however capable, cannot govern a district of 22,000 people. It is time to meet with the main force under your command: the 216th Independent Motorized Rifle Battalion, currently stationed at an army base to the north

>Something has been bugging you since you first read the brief. The location of the army soldiers has been given and marked on the map, but no mention is made of the Internal Ministry soldiers. Where are they?

>The encounter with the court clerk has shown that - so long as you pretend to not know the language - you are going to need a translator more capable than Corporal Matsukov. You should set about finding one, but where and how?

>>5952497
>SINGLE MOTORIZED RIFLE VATNIKS IN YOUR AREA

>>5952497
>Four men, however capable, cannot govern a district of 22,000 people. It is time to meet with the main force under your command: the 216th Independent Motorized Rifle Battalion, currently stationed at an army base to the north

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>>5952523
>>5952810
Four men, however capable, cannot govern a district of 22,000 people. It is time to meet with the main force under your command: the 216th Independent Motorized Rifle Battalion, currently stationed at an army base to the north.

There are obstacles to this, of course, the primary one being distance. Based on the location circled on the satellite map and where you know you are relative to Vadim-Tepe, the 216th is stationed around a two-hour car trip to the northwest. Walking would take an extremely long time, long enough that you wouldn't consider it. No, you are going to need a car. You're now wishing you hadn't let the driver return to headquarters - not that you can admit this regret aloud. Not that you could have done anything that wouldn't have been insubordination.

The easiest and most direct option is to simply confiscate a vehicle from a civilian. Of course, the downsides are also obvious. Whatever civilian you take a car from is going to be unhappy, which, depending on the owner, could be bad for your future administration.

So, Gennady, where do you obtain a car? Do you just commandeer one off the street?

>Yes, there is no other option. You are going to have to confiscate a civilian vehicle [Move on to selecting a car off the street]

>No, there is another way [WRITE IN]


The next problem hasn't shown up yet, but you know it will raise its head in the near future. You only have a rough idea of the location of the military base and, indeed, of your own location or that of the main road.

>Once you get to the north face of Vadim-Tepe, how to you plan to find the 216th?

>Surely there are patrols maintaining the security of this liberated city. Or visits by men on leave or supply duties. Look for these, and take measure of the city while you do.

>>5955295
>>5954243
+1

>>5955295
>>5955542
Alright, closed and writing

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No, just commandeering a civilian vehicle and driving off to an unknown location in potentially-hostile territory is foolhardy, a course of action only to be considered if other options run dry. You could be ambushed. The car could run out of fuel. You could become stranded. No… there has to be another way to make contact with the Battalion. You think, pushing your brain, considering the scenario from new angles, and hearing the minute gears grind within until - Click! - that other way comes to you.

The 216th Independent Battalion may be based at this facility in the north, but they must have a presence elsewhere in the district. You may not be privy to the orders issued to the 216th, but they must include something about "establishing security in the district" and doing so would necessitate having a presence in the city - patrols, maybe a roadblock or checkpoint, something of that nature. If you can find these Antegrian soldiers, you can make contact with their CO and having these men under your command is the first step to establishing a real government here.

And you aren't going to be finding any soldiers if you aren't looking for them, Gennady, so get out there and hustle!

Of course, Genya, if you are out looking for an Antegrian presence in the city, then you won't be here with the baggage. Is it worth leaving someone behind to safeguard the bags?


>Take the bags with you or, rather, have your staff take the bags with you. It will encumber them, but the bags are safest kept within your sight

>Lock the bags in the file room and take the key from the clerk. Without a key, no one can get in there and, besides, who would even be looking?

>Leave one of your guards behind to look after the baggage [Which one?]

>Leave two of the guards behind to look after the baggage [Which two?]

>Go it alone and leave all the guards behind with the baggage. Perhaps you will have different experiences without your armed guard

>WRITE IN

>>5956054
>>Leave two of the guards behind to look after the baggage [Which two?]
everyone but the "translator"

>>5956220
Second

>>5956220
>>5956337
I thought I'd have something up today, but I don't. I will have a post up tomorrow night.

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You should split up. Even in the relative safety of the courthouse, with the balding clerk the only possible hostile, you should never leave someone alone in unknown territory. You turn and instruct Rashidaliev and Slavenko to remain in the courthouse, Matsukov is to accompany you on patrol as your translator, in case you should encounter another Republian monolingual. The men salute as you navigate the corridors back to the building's entrance, Matsukov at your heel.

You push open the broad wooden doors and stand at the top of the short staircase, surveying again the dusty square. There are only two buildings on either side before this alcove reconnects to the main road. Now, unless the commander of the 216th is very stupid or knows something you do not, any patrols or roadblocks or checkpoints or what-have-you would be along the main north-south road through the city. You already drove in along that road from the northern edge of Gordon, so you resolve to begin your search heading south on the same road.

Exiting the square, you notice again the bronze plaque on the outside of one of the other buildings. Close enough to read it - unlike before - you make out "Gordon District Administration". This building must have been the seat of the old occupational government; it is certainly worth checking out once you've located the missing battalion.

You turn left onto the main street, which is fortunately broad enough to leave space between the parked cars and the storefronts for you to walk. There are few people on the street, but more than you have seen elsewhere. Mostly women with young children - the children gawk at your uniform and glistening metals, their mothers pulling them back into shops or behind cars to let you and Matsukov pass. A few cars lazily pass by on the road. You consider stopping to speak with some of the locals - they might even know where the soldiers are stationed - but you decide against it, Matsukov's Republian is too rough for the conversations to be of use and, besides, you are sure to encounter them on your own.

The buildings you pass by seem mostly commercial, with colored, handpainted signs and gaudy prints hanging outside to advertise their wares, although there are what appear to be residential buildings as well, unadorned and with heavy metal gates. If you had to guess, the commercial buildings are likely local - they just have that feel, that the decisions made here were individual, not some professional committee. The exception is a supermarket, a real modern one like you would see in a big city, with fluorescent lights and rows of shelves and a cardboard display advertising Coca Cola by the front window. The lights are dead, confirming your suspicions at the courthouse; power must be out for the whole city.

>>5957707
The road veers slightly left as you walk south. Two other buildings stand out from the regular storefronts and homes: a mosque, with a minaret of obviously new construction; and an unidentified public building which, like the courthouse, is perched at the far end of a cul-de-sac off of the main road. There do not appear to be any soldiers, or anyone else for that matter, around the building.

A few minutes after passing the supermarket, the composition of the street changes. There are more residential buildings and fewer signs, you have become the only pedestrians. You have been walking around 15 minutes when the limits of the city become apparent, you can now see a space ahead with open fields and planted farmland. There is no roadblock ahead, but you press on to the end. You are glad you did because, on your left side, you pass a large square building of solid red brick construction placed back several dozen feet from the street and standing outside of its entrance is a uniformed Antegrian soldier.

>>5957709
You hail the man and make a beeline towards him. His stance is slumped and he is leaning back against the building's wall. It is clear he did not see you from the street. After a moment's hesitation - perhaps time to recognize your uniform? - he snaps to attention and salutes. You stand and inspect him; this isn't what you were expecting at all. You have not found the 216th Independent Battalion: this man is a soldier of the Internal Ministry. He drops the salute. "Have I ordered you at ease, soldier?"

"Excuse me, sir?" The man looks at you with genuine befuddlement. Beamed in the harsh contour of your face and the focus of your eyes, he self-consciously straights his posture.

"I said, have I ordered you at ease? Because," you take in a deep breath here, all the better to project the next part into the soldier's face, "you are at ease and the only reason for you to be at ease and not saluting your superior officer is if I have ordered you at ease! Is that clear, soldier?!"

Eyes wide from your attack, the soldier with a now perfectly-straightened posture draws his hand back into a salute and responds, "Yes, sir!"

"Good. Now where is your commanding officer?" You make a point of looking down at the nametag: Uthman, A., this incident will be mentioned to the unit's commander.

"Inside, sir! In the principal's office. He and Senior Lieutenant Shcherbin are both there." Hmmm… so this place is a school. The size of the building makes sense now.

"Is the 216th Army Battalion also stationed here?"

Soldier Uthman pauses a moment, confused: "No sir. We are the only outfit stationed here in the district. 7th Glorian Company of the Internal Ministry, sir."

Troubling. Different from what the brief said too. The soldier is certainly wrong, the 216th Battalion is stationed in Gordon District, but the fact that he is unawares is concerning. You hope A. Uthman is out-of-the-loop for some reason. If the Army and Internal Ministry soldiers are not in contact with each other, well, it raises a lot of concerns about operational readiness. All the more reason to ascertain what the officers here know: "Take us to the principal's office, soldier. I need to meet with Senior Lieutenant Shcherbin and Captain…"

You leave a hanging pause at the end of your statement, allowing Soldier Uthman to fill in the missing name: "Hasanaliev, sir. Captain Hasanaliev is our CO." He throws in another "sir" a second later for good measure. Another moment passes before he seems to remember the order given him and he leads you into the former school.

>>5957711
It is dark in here. You saw windows from the outside, but they do not face into this dismal linoleum-tiled hallway. There is some kind of bulletin board near the entrance resting on the ground. The walls are bare. What lights exists comes from underneath and the sides of cheap wooden doors. Uthman stops at one of these doors, knocking on it to announce his presence. There is a large clock above the door, it reads 3:31 PM.

"What," comes from behind the door. The voice sounds fat.

Uthman opens the door for you, revealing a large office dominated by an appropriately large desk. Behind the desk is a thin dark-skinned man with a finely-sculped and brightly shining beard. From the rank on his collar, this must be Captain Hasanaliev. Opposite him, on a plush cushioned chair, is a rotund man with thinning reddish hair. This must be Senior Lieutenant Shcherbin and, unmistakably, the author of the voice. Uthman begins to explain your presence, "Captain, sir, this is Army Lieutenant Colonel…" He slows as he realizes that he does not know your name.

You step in for him, breaching the barrier into the principal's office and standing before the captain and his lieutenant. "I am Lieutenant Colonel Liptsov, supreme military and civil authority in Gordon District by order of the Ministry of Defense. I am your commander officer in the district and am assuming command of this unit, effective immediately." Immediately, the atmosphere in the room changes. Both men rise and salute, you place them at ease.

>>5957712
It may not be the unit you were looking for, but you have managed to make contact with the 7th Company. It and its officers are now at your disposal, Lt. Col. Liptsov. How do you decide to use them?

>You may pick as many options as you like (I will count each vote as being 'for' an option; if you want to vote against a dialogue option, please indicate as such)

>The first order of business is the discipline problem you observed in the unit. A soldier's mistakes are the responsibility of his commander and Private Uthman has reflected poorly upon the command of the 7th Internal Company

>It is good luck to have come upon these soldiers, but you should still make contact with the 216th Battalion. Ask the officers here if they are in touch with the Army

>There are some fundaments you do not yet know. How long has the 7th been stationed here and what have they been doing during that time?

>You should get a handle on what exactly the 7th Company can offer to your administration. Ask for a basic schedule of their equipment and personnel. Particularly any vehicles.

>Ask if anyone in this unit speaks Republian. With luck, someone has a bit more fluency than that offered by Matsukov's one-day course

>It is abundantly clear at this point that the power is out for at least Gordon City, if not the entire district - that is, assuming the rural areas are even electrified. Perhaps Captain Hasanaliev and Senior Lieutenant Shcherbin know something about the power situation.

>WRITE IN

>>5957713
>You should get a handle on what exactly the 7th Company can offer to your administration. Ask for a basic schedule of their equipment and personnel. Particularly any vehicles.
>Ask if anyone in this unit speaks Republian. With luck, someone has a bit more fluency than that offered by Matsukov's one-day course
>It is good luck to have come upon these soldiers, but you should still make contact with the 216th Battalion. Ask the officers here if they are in touch with the Army
>It is abundantly clear at this point that the power is out for at least Gordon City, if not the entire district - that is, assuming the rural areas are even electrified. Perhaps Captain Hasanaliev and Senior Lieutenant Shcherbin know something about the power situation.
>There are some fundamentals you do not yet know. How long has the 7th been stationed here and what have they been doing during that time?
In that order

>>5957713
>>There are some fundaments you do not yet know. How long has the 7th been stationed here and what have they been doing during that time?
>>You should get a handle on what exactly the 7th Company can offer to your administration. Ask for a basic schedule of their equipment and personnel. Particularly any vehicles.
>>Ask if anyone in this unit speaks Republian. With luck, someone has a bit more fluency than that offered by Matsukov's one-day course

>>5957768
>>5959358
Okay, closed. I'm writing the next part now

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“Captain Hasanaliev, I would like a clear understanding of your unit and its present disposition. How many men and vehicles does the 7th Company have at its disposal?”

Captain Hasanaliev hesitates a bit before beginning his answer, “I would have to check, sir. I have our papers here. But I would want to check them to make sure I am giving you an accurate account.”

As you are about to grant him permission to do so, Shcherbin speaks: “I believe I can answer that question. Permission to speak, sir?” You nod your affirmation. “The 7th Company consists of 110 men and is equipped with 10 APCs, 4 trucks, and 2 jeeps at the present time, sir.”

Good, it sounds like the 7th is a fully staffed and equipped unit. Many units have had their resources scavenged and cannibalized for the war effort, so it is a blessing that this is not true here. And, hopefully, some of the men speak better Republian than Corporal Matsukov.

“Does anyone in the Company speak Republian?” You address this question to both officers. Again it is Shcherbin who answers: “Yes, I think we do. I believe that Krasvyov speaks Republian. He is one of the company’s machine gunners. I can have him fetched for you, if you would like, sir.”

Try not to get your hopes up, Gennady, there is every chance that this Soldier Krasvyov ‘speaks’ Republian as well as Mastukov does, although that the fact that only he was mentioned is promising; at the very least, it is a different situation than Matsukov’s old unit giving every officer a day intensive.

“Yes, I would like to meet with this Krasvyov. Show me to him once this meeting is concluded. Before that, I still have some other matters for discussion. Are you in contact with the army unit in the district, the 216th Independent Motorized Rifle Battalion?”

Captain Hasanaliev and you both turn to Senior Lieutenant Shcherbin, who has been forthcoming with the last two matters, but he just crosses his arms and inclines his head. Hasanaliev responds: “No sir, we were not aware that an army unit had been assigned to Gordon district. If we had known, we would be in contact, of course, sir.”

It is just as you feared. Absolutely no communication between the Army and Internal Ministry. Chances are the 216th is equally unaware of the presence of the 7th Company in Gordon. Without any coordination, the units may have been acting at cross purposes. Establishing a unity of command is going to have to be a priority and the first step towards that is contacting the 216th.

“Hm. Alright then, moving on: how long has the power been out?”

Hasanaliev again looks down, scanning his desk for some piece of information: “I don’t know, sir. That is to say, there was no power when we arrived in Gordon last week. It may have been out before then, but we only arrived last week so I can only speak to it being out when we arrived last week, a week ago.”

>>5960142

You nod, “Understood. And what progress have you made towards restoring power?”

“We have… That is to say… Sir, orders are to provide security and public order enforcement for Gordon District, not to provide electricity. We do not have the capabilities to—"

You cut off the Captain: “Captain Hasanaliev N.,” you address the senior officer singularly now and look him dead in the eye, “if the 7th Company has not been in contact with the army and has not been restoring electrical power to the district, what has it been doing since arrival in Gordon?”

Hasanaliev swallows, a very noticeable motion thanks his large and angular adam’s apple: “We have been securing Gordon City, sir. Establishing a presence and preserving public order.” He takes another pause, waiting for you to speak; you remain silent. “Policing duties, the regular force fled with the occupying army, so we have patrolling and acting as criminal police. We are preventing looting. Before we got here someone torched the party offices; we have made sure no more disturbances have happened, sir.” He again looks at you to say something, but, despite your silence, he does not resume his explanation.

All of your questions have been answered Gennady, although perhaps not to your liking. Hasanaliev is shifting uncomfortable on the balls of his feet; they want to move and he is keeping them still. He wants to show you Krasvyov, maybe it will make you happy with him, it is clear he wants that. And it *would* make you happy, to have a translator with a functional understanding of Republian.

>So, do you let him lead the way to Krasvyov, Gennady, or is there something else you’d like to address first?

This vote is going to have a short time frame. I just wanted to give another chance to follow-up on these answers before we meet Krasvyov. I’ll close it after 24 hours and post the next interaction.

>>5960143
Tell him to put together a report of all of the 7th Company's activities and all notable events that occurred during the past week, and have him continue to do so on a weekly basis. Also, have someone fetch a jeep and a map of the region.

>>5960143
>>5960281
+1
Would like to add: What were both of their units before being stationed here?

>>5960281
>>5960424
Okay, I'm writing this up now. I should be out -- with another decision -- later today

>>5960424
I am going to include this in the actual post, but I wanted to clarify a point first.

Your bodyguards are kind of special as far as military organization goes. They are essentially individuals separated from their unit and put under your direct control -- they had old units and were then stationed here.

The other soldiers you are going to be meeting -- with rare exception -- are parts of whole units that have been stationed in Gordon District. So it is safe to assume that everyone in the 7th Glorian Internal Ministry Company was also a member of the unit when it was stationed in Glorian, Antegria. While transfers between units do occur, like in the real world, it would be odd for the CO of the unit to have transferred in at the time of redeployment.

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“Very well.” You give a curt nod to the captain. “I would like to speak to this soldier, Krasvyov.” You interrupt the captain’s incipient movement away from the desk: “While I am doing so, have a jeep brought up from the motor pool and bring me a map of the region. In addition, I would like a report of all of the 7th Company’s activities and actions during the past week, as well as any notable events in the district. In the future, I will be expecting a similar report every week going forward.”

Hasanaliev nods. Out of the edge of your vision, you can see Lieutenant Shcherbin making notes on a piece of paper. Stepping out from behind the desk, Hasanaliev says: “Boris, get Lieutenant Colonel Lipstov everything he requested.” He turns to face you, his eyes are large and watery, “If you will follow me, Lieutenant Colonel.” He continues talking as you leave the office and make your way down one of the twilit halls, “Krasvyov will be with the other enlisted, they are being billeted in the gymnasium building.” You ask him if he has been with the 7th Company for a while, he responds that he has, although Shcherbin has been with the unit longer. As you walk, he feels the needs to occasionally interject that this is the way or that you are getting close. You do not respond.

You exit the school through a metal double-door. Coming from the dimness of the interior halls, the daylight is blinding and your vision swims slightly as you follow Hasanaliev across a flat field with interspersed patches of grass and bare earth and towards a red brick building with a high roof. There are two men at guard outside of the door to the gymnasium; in marked contrast to Uthman, they both salute you and remain at attention until Captain Hasanaliev relieves them.

>>5961370
You pass through another set of metal double-doors and enter a large open gymnasium. The floor is of a heavily polished light wood and the walls are painted two different shades of white; a bright white near the ground, becoming suddenly duller and faded around 3 meters up the walls. The entire floor of the gym is covered with sleeping bags, pillows, and backpacks, arranged in a rough grid pattern with gaps allowing you to walk between them. In front of their bedding, the soldiers of the 7th Company stand at attention in crisp rows and salute you and Hasanaliev.

The impression given off at the gym is outstanding. The unit looks polished and professional, a great reflection on its leadership.

It also looks like a complete farce. The perfect lines, the hundred-something soldiers at attention in unison, it all is so obviously staged. As if you – YOU! – Gennady Liptsov, veteran of 30 years, don’t know what a well-run camp looks like and doesn’t know what it looks like when someone fakes it. You aren’t sure what emotion it is that is bubbling up inside you; it wants you to express yourself, but you aren’t sure if you are meant to rage at the attempt to fool you or laugh at the fact that *this* was the attempt. As it is, you hold in whatever that particular emotion is and let Hasanaliev show you his ‘perfect’ unit. He calls out, “Private Krasvyov!”

“Yes sir!” echoes back from a third or fourth row and a pale slenderly-built boy – he cannot be more than nineteen – begins a parade-style march towards you, his long limbs making the already-exaggerated motions of the march comical.

You are getting tired of this display; the emotion in your stomach is shifting more towards disgust. You cut short Hasanaliev’s miniature parade: “Private Krasvyov! Meet me outside on the field. And hustle!” With that, you turn on your heel and push open the doors leading back outside.

You see Private Krasvyov come through the metal doors a few seconds later and approach you at a fast jog. He stops short of you and comes to attention again, from which you dismiss him. “Do you speak Republian, soldier?”

He nods, a slight motion that keeps his head mostly still, “Yes, sir, Lieutenant Colonel, sir. My family fled the United Federation, the part occupied by Republia, sir, they spoke both.” Good, this is very promising. A native speaker. His background is not dissimilar to your own.

>>5961372
Of course, there is no way to know for certain before he actually has to speak it. Maybe you could test his knowledge a little first?

>No need. You need a translator who speaks Republian and he says he speaks Republian. Any test would reveal your own knowledge of the language. At any rate, he is bound to speak it better than Matsukov.

>With the carnival that Hasanaliev orchestrated in the gym, can you be certain of what this boy is telling you? He might be exaggerating his abilities. You should test his knowledge of Republian. [This action will inform Krasvyov that you speak at least some Republian]

>WRITE IN

>>5961373
>>No need. You need a translator who speaks Republian and he says he speaks Republian. Any test would reveal your own knowledge of the language. At any rate, he is bound to speak it better than Matsukov.
We can just listen in when the other person is speaking to him. Say it's because even if we can't speak the language, we can hear their tone and whatnot.
also
>captcha is "ARMYTH"

>>5961373
>No need.
We will find out his degree of proficiency soon enough.
Still, we can press him a bit. He said his family spoke both, but does he? Have him list all of his spoken languages, with a self-assessment of proficiency. When was the last time he spoke Republian with any frequency; is he in practice?
>WRITE IN
Have a word with Hasanaliev. Something to the effect of "Impressive work to get your company presentable so quickly, for a captain. If you have any dreams of promotion, you will learn a better distribution of resources than to use 100 men to occupy a gymnasium. I appreciate the respect you have shown me, but you will find it difficult and dangerous if you attempt to fool me."
Then continue to the jeep. I'm thinking of taking Hasanaliev (to ensure the proper introductions are made), Krasvyov (In case we need to ask for directions or interact with locals for any other reason), and Matsukov.
I think we should stop by the courthouse before we leave Gordon as well, to inform our guard of the situation, and swap Matsukov for Slavenko. Perhaps between the chatty Rashidaliev, the courthouse clerk's poor Antegrian, and Matsukov's Poor Republian, they may be able to glean some information about this town.

>>5961373
>>No need. You need a translator who speaks Republian and he says he speaks Republian. Any test would reveal your own knowledge of the language. At any rate, he is bound to speak it better than Matsukov.

>>5961376
>>5961394
>>5961427
Okay, closed and writing.

I will have a vote a little later on our next course of action as well as whether to endorse this anon's >>5961394 plan to take Hasanaliev with us

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No need. You need a translator who speaks Republian and he says he speaks Republian. Any test would reveal your own knowledge of the language. At any rate, he is bound to speak it better than Matsukov. You tell him as much:

“I am in need of a translator and you speak Republian. You will be placed on my staff and travel with me, although, of course, your wages and mail will still be processed by the 7th.” A brief pause. “Would you say you are fluent in Republian?”

“Yes sir, I think. It is what everyone else spoke, so anywhere we went, I had to speak Republian. Except in school, sir, they used English there, the teachers did, sir.”

“And you also speak English fluently?”

“No sir, I only used it in school and that was before my family left for Antegria.”

He’s young, so there probably wasn’t much schooling with the war breaking out in ‘85. Not that is matters much, either, you doubt that anyone else in the entire district speaks English. Maybe some of the young kids, they seem to like American movies nowadays and so they’d have to speak English, or maybe its dubbed, you don’t know, you’re old, Gennady.

“That’s good, Republian and English.” You clear your throat, “Effective immediately, you are attached to my staff, Private Krasvyov. Go gather your personal effects and I will inform your CO.”

Krasvyov salutes and hustles back to the gym, passing by on the way Matsukov, who is making his way towards you, and Hasanaliev, who has just emerged from the gym doors.

>>5962125
Matsukov, when he reaches your spot of grass, says nothing. You both stand there, saying nothing together, while you watch Hasanaliev make his way across the field. As soon as he is within the furthest reasonable earshot, he calls out: “Did young Krasvyov meet your expectations, sir? I hope he will prove useful to you!” You wait for him to get considerably closer so you do not have to raise your voice.

“Yes, Krasvyov speaks the language. He will now be serving as my translator, attached to my staff.” Hasanaliev nods gleefully along; he is evidently glad this has all gone so well. You can see into his brain, your acceptance of Krasvyov is a crowning achievement to his little display in the gym. Speaking of that…

“Captain Hasanaliev, do not try to fool me. I am not a man to be trifled with.”

The grin is instantly gone from his face; his large eyes have gone wide, the joy once there has been replaced by a void of feeling. He begins to stammer, “Sir, I would never think of…”

“I have been in this army my entire life, Hasanaliev, I know what a regimental camp looks like and what it doesn’t and I know when someone tries to fake it.” Some of the color has drained from his face and his eyes have been refilled by a doleful anxious look. “I do not care how your soldiers camp, I care how they fight. If you want to impress me, conduct yourself and your unit with professional excellence. And,” You pause and stare into his eyes here, “don’t ever try to lie to me or I will make you a motherfucker. Understood?”

Hasanaliev rapidly nods and salutes you, “Yes sir.” He motions to say something else, but nothing comes out and he resolves to remain silent.

You hear a door swing open across the grass and see Krasvyov jogging across the field with his full kit and backpack. Hasanaliev hears it to and rapidly swallows – his large adam’s apple bobbing back and forth – trying to regain his former composure. The sound repeats and you look behind you to see another soldier approaching from the main school building clutching a roll of paper maybe a meter-and-a-half long.
Hasanaliev perks up a bit on seeing the other soldier carrying what is, presumably, the requested map, but not enough to say anything until the soldier actually arrives and hands the map over to him. “The map that Lieutenant Colonel Liptsov requested, yes?”

>>5962127
The soldier, a sergeant, nods and clarifies, “Yes, this is the best map we could find, sir.” Hasanaliev unfurls the map on the ground before you to reveal a mixed physical-political map of the entirety of Republia. In the northeast fringe, you can make out Gordon district. What to say about the map, Gennady – it is a map, so that is something. You are uncertain of its utility, however, the focus is so broad that the only features in Gordon district are the eponymous city, the old line-of-control with Antegria, and a road running between the two. Well, you suppose you at least have a better idea of the course of the highway. You roll up the map again and hand it to Matsukov.

You turn to address the sergeant who handed Hasanaliev the map, his name tag reads Alekseev, “Is the jeep ready?”

“Yes sir. It is waiting in front of the school, sir.”

Good. Good. Things are coming together nicely. Your chariot awaits Gennady, but first you should have a plan. And a goal. A plan and goal. What issue will you try to tackle first?

>Bringing the power for the city back on line is a priority for a number of reasons. You should try to identify what caused it to be cut off and start looking for a solution.

>Contacting the 216th Battalion is still your priority. One of the essential principles of an effective organizational structure is unity of command and you have yet to establish even a semblance of that over the district.

>WRITE IN

>>5962129
>Contacting the 216th Battalion is still your priority. One of the essential principles of an effective organizational structure is unity of command and you have yet to establish even a semblance of that over the district.
Gather tools before making repairs

>>5962129
>Contacting the 216th Battalion is still your priority. One of the essential principles of an effective organizational structure is unity of command and you have yet to establish even a semblance of that over the district.
So we know all our resources

>>5962129
>>Contacting the 216th Battalion is still your priority. One of the essential principles of an effective organizational structure is unity of command and you have yet to establish even a semblance of that over the district.

>>5962134
>>5962238
>>5962417
Okay, this is clear. I'm going to write up the next question

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Contacting the 216th Battalion is still your priority. One of the essential principles of an effective organizational structure is unity of command and you have yet to establish even a semblance of that over the district.

The question then becomes how exactly you do that. You know that the 216th is stationed at an army base north of Vadim-Tepe, a distance of what must be more than 2 hours by car. You aren’t going to be able to stumble upon them like you did the 7th. And, if the 7th is totally unaware of the presence of any other units, that means the army unit likely isn’t conducting patrols or at least not into Gordon City, so you are definitely going to have to be the one making contact with them.

You have a vehicle now, so you can drive up there, but there is still the remaining problem of how to actually find the base – all you have to go on is its rough location on the satellite map, which really just tells you it is north of Vadim-Tepe and north of the road that runs north of Vadim-Tepe. It’s better than nothing, but that is still a large area of ground to cover.

>So, Lieutenant Colonel Liptsov, any ideas?

This is where the problem-solving aspect comes in! I’m not going to be suggesting any solutions, although I will be watching the threat to answer questions that anyone may have. I have also reposted the map for reference. Good luck!

>>5963273
Ehh, not an enormous problem in my books. Now that we have someone who can ostensibly read Republian, we can have them keep an eye out for roadsigns that mention anything military/security related north of Vadim Tepe. I suppose we could try and find some documentation on it or Republian AGN Bat. 34 in town before we leave, but that would take a while as we don't know where to start looking. I find it unlikely an established military base wouldn't have a road connecting to the major transport line out of the area.

Still, if we are going back to the courthouse we can have Krasvyov grill the clerk for info before we set off.

Man, what is the 216th's situation if the 7th hasn't seen them at all in a week? The lack of supply runs is possible if Republian supplies were captured as whole as our report suggests, but what's holding them up from patrolling around here? Are they even present? I would have voted to contact the 216th as well, but that was without understanding how inexact our intel is.

Yes, we can simply drive out to where the 216th is supposed to be, with the best additional intel we can gather on how to find them. Take a few signal flares from the 7th if there are any, to be used as a last resort. This plan is rendered somewhat sketchy by the apparent lack of activity by the 216th. If they don't travel to Gordon, why should we trust the roads?

There's a chance of calling ahead, given a slight detour that verges a bit on the restore-power choice. Investigate establishments that might have had radio/wire contact with the occupying 34th, such as law enforcement, bars, warehouses, grocers, then power their devices using batteries of our own. Maybe we can communicate with the 216th if the power outage is city-side, not district-wide.

An update: There will not be an update this weekend, as I have too much work. I wish a very happy Easter to all and will have something up on Monday, probably in the evening US Central Time.

There are a couple ideas running through your head, alongside a lingering concern about what the lack of the 216th‘s presence in Gordon City might mean. However, you can only execute ONE plan, so which will it be?

>Without any known obstacles, the simplest approach is best. You know the general area of the base and there are posted roadsigns, potentially including signs that mention a nearby military facility, so just try to drive out there. Worst case scenario, bring some signal flares so that the 216th can find you.

>You don’t like the idea of just driving out there without proper intel. Try to find out some information about the location of the old Republian base first, surely some papers of a military nature were left behind. [Vote on where to search]

>The 216th may not have had a physical presence in Gordon City, but there are still ways to contact them on the RF band. Power might be out, but – at least in Antegria – many businesses keep their own generators. If you can find one with a radio and a generator, you should be able to contact the 216th.

>WRITE IN

>>5968119
>>The 216th may not have had a physical presence in Gordon City, but there are still ways to contact them on the RF band. Power might be out, but – at least in Antegria – many businesses keep their own generators. If you can find one with a radio and a generator, you should be able to contact the 216th.

>>5968119
>The 216th may not have had a physical presence in Gordon City, but there are still ways to contact them on the RF band. Power might be out, but – at least in Antegria – many businesses keep their own generators. If you can find one with a radio and a generator, you should be able to contact the 216th.
Didn't even occur to me, best course of action by far though.

>>5968152
>>5968174

Okay, you will now try to find radio equipment and a generator. I will try to write up the next section tomorrow, God willing

It would be good (as a background fact, perhaps) for the good Colonel to log his actions and reasoning. Some minister or brass with the power of Reality over us might get a bit snippy about us apparently acting in doubt of the reach and success of the Glorious Omnipresent 216th as detailed in our Gospel Brief.

Something something 7th Glorian IMC occupied within Gordon city, unaware of 216th IMRB's assignment to district, something something no contact with patrols, something something road security not assured.

More paper, more ass coverage.

>>5969347
I have to delay writing up the next post. I have had time to write, but I need to look up some stuff on military radio coms. Instead I will post a decision without narrative then come back and write the narrative later.

>>5970097
I will incorporate this plan

While driving out there is a possibility, the lack of any presence in Gordon City is concerning. It could be a number of factors, but one of those is that the roads are not safe – saboteurs and lingering munitions are both possibilities here. If possible you should to establish contact with the 216th before driving out there. The best chance to do so is radio communication, which will require a transmitter/receiver and a power source.

You are obviously going to ask the 7th if they have either of these on hand, but is there anywhere else to look if one of these is missing?

>For this, please come up with a list of possible locations that may have either generators or radio equipment AND that you would like to search if need be

So far, I have: police stations, bars, warehouses, and the grocery store

>>5970108
Post office, anywhere with a visible antenna/tower

Nothing to add, let's get shit done.

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"Have you attempted radio communication with the 216th Independent Battalion?"

It takes Hasanaliev a moment to realize, after your considerable period of quiet reflection, that the question is directed toward him.

"No sir. We were not even aware that there was an Army unit in the district until your arrival here, sir."

You knew the answer before asking. You move on from his response and continue your thought: "We should attempt establishing radio contact with the Battalion before moving out into the field. What radio and communications equipment do you have?"

Hasanaliev's gaze slips downward, it is clear he has news that - to his mind at least - you will not like hearing. "Not very much, sir. The Internal Ministry does not have the same signals corps as you would be used to in the Army. There is one radio for the unit, sir, a command radio. And the vehicles all have radios installed."

Hasanaliev was half right: right that you did not like what you've just heard, but wrong that you would be displeased with him. You are not a bully, Gennady Liptsov, just direct. It's what has gotten you through the ranks, kept you alive. You only berate someone when necessary, like with Uthman. That has very necessary, the shouting was necessary, Gennady, it is the core of discipline. Without all those scourings and beatings as a private, you would have been a different man; never would have developed a warrior's spirit. But you would never punish the bearer of bad news, for the truth is so often bad news.

The limited array of available transmitters does present a very real problem in establishing radio contact. You don't know about this command radio, but you know that the radios installed in BMP-1 vehicles start to lose transmissions when operating more than 15km distant. You could push for more than that, but at your own risk - and you never pushed for more, Gennady, you kept your boys close and brought them home, you have the shining metal to prove it. Knowing that the base is north of Vadim-Tepe puts it at least an hour away, likely more, and travelling at, what, maybe 100 km/h, means you were… well, it puts you far outside the transmission range of the vehicle-based equipment. Your numbers could be greatly off and you'd still be out of range by an incredible distance.

"I'd like to see the command radio. What range does it possess?"

Hasanaliev responds that he does not know, but that he will summon the technician responsible for the radio immediately. Alekseev goes scurrying off into the school. Not being the type of lounge in a field, you follow the private towards the location of this radio, leaving Matsukov, Hasanaliev, and Krasvyov to follow in your wake.

>>5970825
You follow Alekseev through the dim hallways - almost impenetrably dark after your time outside - and up a flight of stairs to the building's second floor; this, unlike the first, is lit by sunlight from high windows. Alekseev knocks politely on a classroom door and, noticing your footsteps on the staircase behind him, holds the door open for you to pass. Once you are through the portal, Alekseev snaps to attention - an action that an older man inside the room with small glasses and a baggy face of excess loose skin mimics - and announces: "Specialist Officer Kolovokov, Lieutenant Colonel Liptsov, sir!"

You put both men at ease and scan the room for the radio, not easily found among a cluster of boxes taking up part of the room's floorspace. You turn to the address the newly-introduced Kolovokov, "Specialist Officer, I have need of the command radio. What range does it possess for transmission?"

Placing his glasses down on the paper-covered teacher's desk in front of him, Kolovokov selects a particular wooden case from the floor and opens it, taking out a small green-painted radio the size of a large book - too bulky to hold comfortable in one's hand, but easy enough to carry. "The command radio is a model R-148, uses frequency modulation, battery power source…" He breaks off the slow stream of information to flip through a worn paper manual from the same crate, "The manual says it can transmit up to 50 kilometers at any set frequency, but," he gestures to manual, "that information comes from the manufacturer, so I would expect that to be an exaggeration."

Even if the manufacturer were being truthful, that range would still be insufficient to contact a base from at least twice that distance.

"Specialist Officer Kolovokov, I have to transmit a radio message at least 100 kilometers to the north, possibly more. Is there any radio equipment here capable of doing so?"

The man frowns slightly, an expression that exaggerates the size of his flaccid and pox-marked cheeks: "No, sir. None here. The radio equipment here, even the command radio, is meant for short-range transmission." He thinks for a moment, "To transmit that far, you would need to use a far lower frequency, I'm sure the army has the equipment to transmit and receive at those frequencies, but we don't have that equipment here, sir."

You run through other alternatives, other persons in the city who might have radio equipment, "Would the police or commercial entities have such equipment?"

"Umm…" He takes his time answering, "I don't think so. I don't know, but transmitting on a low frequency consumes an enormous amount of energy and there isn't usually a reason to… look *our* equipment doesn't transmit on that band, so I don't see, I don't know, but I don't see why the police would have that sort of equipment. I don't know what businessmen do; you'd have to ask a civilian."

>>5970828
A discouraging answer, Gennady. Of course, this man, for all his technical "bands" and "frequencies", does not know everything, maybe there is still a way you haven't thought of yet?

>Search for commercial radios that can transmit at the appropriate frequency and range [chose the locations to search]

>A good leader changes plans when circumstances change. If radios are not an option, then you will find another way to contact the 216th [select another plan]

>WRITE IN


I did a lot of research on RF transmissions to write this. I am sorry that this makes the radio idea seem hard; I really liked the idea, but I also did the math and it came back like this

>>5970830
No worries, this is neat to consider. Having only ever received radio, I had no idea of these sort of complications.

>>5970830
>>Search for commercial radios that can transmit at the appropriate frequency and range [chose the locations to search]
Police station, post office. Have Krasvyov ask passers-by if there is a news station in the town, they are likely to have some form of long-range communications too.

>>5970974
+1

There's also the admin building we passed earlier >>5957707.

>>5970974
>>5971149
>>5971164

Unlikely that police or civilians would have radios that transmit on the necessary frequencies, he says. Unlikely perhaps, but still worth looking into. Even beyond establishing initial and preliminary contact with the 216th, you are going to need to maintain radio communications with them and that requires have a transmitter on your end powerful enough to be received on theirs. With the power out, you are also going to need a generator to power the thing, but that is secondary and dependent upon finding the necessary radio equipment. You run through a short list of possible non-military entities that might have radio communications equipment: the police certainly would, the post office might, as might the district administration office, a broadcast TV station would be another safe bet.

Going through that list in your head a second time leads you to another issue. While you may safely assume that the district seat has a post office, you do not know its location. You know where is the district administration building and have a rough idea of where you passed by a police station. The TV station is more of an open question; if one exists, you certainly do not know where it is.

The hunt for more radio equipment begins, Gennady, and, in some instances, you know where is neither your prey nor its warren. To where will you stalk first?

Pick ONE of these choices or arrange them in an order of preference

>Of the multiple locations to be searched, the district administration building is the only one that you know the definite location of. Accordingly, you should start there.

>You passed by a police station on your drive into the city. You are reasonably certain that you can make your way back to it again. After all, the course taken by the driver was none too complex. Moreover, the police are as certain as the army to be using some kind of RF communication

>You will search out the post office in the town. The entire purpose of the office is to facilitate communication, so it follows they it would be equipped with communications equipment

>You do not know where it is nor even if one exists, but a TV station would be the single best bet for attaining a signal of sufficient strength and appropriate frequency to contact the 216th. You should try to find it.

There is another matter here as well:

>Do you want Krasvyov to question the townsfolk?

>About what subjects (like the location of certain buildings) do you want him to question them?

>>5971714
>Of the multiple locations to be searched, the district administration building is the only one that you know the definite location of. Accordingly, you should start there.
Need to make contact with our guard in any case, and hopefully Matsukov knows enough Republian to say "give radio access" If things aren't productive, we should head to
>the police station
before the end of the day.

We can leave Krasvyov with Hasanaliev to find information regarding the post office or a TV station, it will be a good test of the Captain's operational competence to see if he can gather basic information on a town in a day. Have him report to the courthouse tomorrow morning with the results.

>>5971714
>police station

>>5971714
>Of the multiple locations to be searched, the district administration building is the only one that you know the definite location of. Accordingly, you should start there.
Look for a better map there too, something more detailed than the political one we were given.

>Have Krasvyov questions the townsfolk about the post office and if there's a TV station

>>5972485
>>5971835
>>5971806
Okay, we will search the district administration building and the police station.

We will also DELEGATE a task to Hasanaliev and Krasvyov. This is a good idea and something you will want to continue doing for some tasks going forward -- but it means you have to trust your subordinates...

>>5973159
hell yeah new mechanic

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"Thank you, Specialist Officer Kolovokov. I may consult your technical knowledge again on this issue at a later date."

The man rather demurely nods and says something nondescript about it being an honor to be of service. For now you are done with this man, his technical advice was valuable but you have gotten what of that you require, at least until you lay your hands on the sought-after radio equipment.

Running through a number of possible locations, you decide to stick with places you know and avoid this mission bleeding into a general exploration of the town. You will first search the district administration building and then head to the police station you saw on the drive into town.

Leaving the repurposed classroom and going back into the lighted hallway, you find Hasanaliev, Krasvyov, Alekseev, and Matsukov standing by the stairwell, having evidently followed you into the building. This is good fortune, you had something to discuss with Hasanaliev. Brushing past him and the others, who make way around you, you lead the group back down the staircase and into the twilight of the ground floor. You talk as you make your way back outside, not looking behind to confirm your listener's presence or attention:

"Captain Hasanaliev, we will be canvasing the town for RF transmission equipment. You will go with Private Krasvyov and interview residents of Gordon to ascertain the locations of the town's post office and the existence of a TV station. Once you find them, search them for radio equipment. Report back to me here at…" you check your watch; its face is not visible in the dim light. No matter, you are close to the exit anyway. You hold the thought for an uncomfortable length of time until emerging back out in front of the school, re-checking your now-visible watch, and finishing your sentence, "18:30 hours." The current time is 16:14

You can see Hasanaliev's anxious face twist and his mouth begin to open with some type of query, but it never does open and, after a moment of pause, he says only, "Yes sir. We will leave immediately." In a quieter voice, he addresses one of the men beside him, "Alekseev, have motor pool bring another jeep around. Oh! And tell Shcherbin he will be in command until my return." At this point, you have outpaced them in your own resolute march towards the jeep parked on the street out front.

>>5973787
You climb into the back of the waiting UAZ-469 and Matsukov sidles in after you. You instruct the driver to take you to the district administration headquarters, a phrase which elicits a blank stare and an apology. You then request the courthouse, which produces the same response. You accept defeat and act as navigator, guiding your driver towards the dusty square of the courthouse and the district administration. As you approach, you are pleased to see a slim figure recognizable as Rashidaliev standing a watchful guard outside the court building.

The bronze plaque on the district administration building glimmers darkly in the sun, within view of the courthouse.

>Before you go in, would you like to speak to Rashidaliev or Slavenko? Do you have any business at the courthouse?

>>5973789
>Before you go in, would you like to speak to Rashidaliev or Slavenko? Do you have any business at the courthouse?
Ask them if they have uncovered anything or further inspected the courthouse, ask for an estimation of how many men it would take to completely secure the building from assault or surveillance, and if either of them are trained as a driver.
Also quickly update them on the situation with the 7th and our search for a radio to contact the 216th.

Hopefully we can assign the 7th to static defense to free up our personal guard to attend us on our duties.

>>5973883
Support.

>>5973789
Also tell Rashidaliev to keep a lookout for the judge. We'll need his cooperation if we want to set things in order, plus he'll probably know more about the town.

>>5973883
>>5973948
Okay, we will briefly talk to the bodyguards for this information and then continue to the District Administration Building.

Also, since you asked, I will tell you about the defensive possibilities of the courthouse, but you will not ask the bodyguards. Gennady would not ask them, it would be odd when he has ten times the combat experience of them all put together -- remember, Matsukov is the senior officer and he is only a corporal!

>>5974529
>Gennady would not ask them
That makes sense, I put that in if they had discovered any additional points of entry or areas of concern

Slavic Military Bureaucracy: The Qst

I had meant to write a post after work today, but I ended up spending that time sketching out the District Administration Building instead.

There will be a post on Friday

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Stepping out of the back of the jeep and into the harsh sun, you hail Feliks, who snaps to attention. Waving him at ease, you call out: “Any news?”

“Nothing to report, sir! No one has approached the courthouse since you’ve left sir!”

“Any more uncovered in the building? Files? Relevant information?” You are halfway up the courthouse steps by now.

“No, sir. The court guy has just been sitting there at his desk and all of the papers we’ve found have been in Republian. Slavenko is in the back digging through some files now, I think, sir.”

Hmmm, well you do like the initiative, but being that far apart is not a good idea, it’s hard to imagine that Slavenko and Rashidaliev can hear each other where they are currently positioned. Ideally, you would have a platoon or two controlling the building; something to consider once you regroup with the 7th Company. You stop your progress just short of surmounting the stairs, “Rashidaliev, go inside and tell Slavenko to also stand watch in the inside of the front hall. Pulling up Republian documents isn’t doing any good if we can’t read them and I want you to be within shouting distance until we have secure comms.” Rashidaliev affirms your order and turns to grab Slavenko from the building.

You turn to leave yourself, then a thought stops you, you turn and shout back: “Rashidaliev! I would like to speak to the judge. If he arrives, keep him here until I can return to question him!”

“Yes sir!” You see Rashidaliev disappear back inside the courthouse, then continue back down the stairs and towards the tall brick building with the dark bronze plaque. The driver makes awkward eye contact as you pass by him, clearly uncertain about whether or not he is meant to stay in the vehicle – you say nothing, which he seems to interpret as a signal to remain with the vehicle.

The double-door to the building opens directly onto the cobbled street. The material is a hard wood, but has clearly suffered for exposure to the elements. It is closed, but not locked or barred. Matsukov mutely stops you from entering, a request to which you begrudgingly submit, allowing him to enter the building first and perform a quick sweep of the entrance area. You here the banging of doors being thrown open within. You wait. Matsukov hollers, “All clear, sir!” and you are granted your first look at the headquarters of the occupiers.

>>5976470
The floor is of a light wood, burnished by footsteps in this front entrance area. A hallway leads out from the door to another double-door in the back of the building, with office entrances on either side. To your immediate left, a staircase climbs up to the building’s upper floors. Poking your head over the railing, you can see that it continues up multiple stories. You can hear Matsukov somewhere on the second floor. There are a few old chairs along the wall opposite you and, in front of them, a large rug, worn but thick. The entrance door is swinging closed of its own volition, allowing you to make out a small closet you originally missed. It contains a chair, some hooks for coats, and a small counter on which rests a paperbound book and a small pamphlet. Both are in Republian: the book has rocketships on the cover and appears to be an outlandish sci-fi novel, the pamphlet is an official publication of the Republian Ministry of Internal Defense and contains instructions on proper forms of ID and how to recognize counterfeits.

Exiting the closet, you move down the main hallway, noticing that each office is labeled: Agriculture and Irrigation, Transportation, Energy and Electricity. What you had taken to be two offices on the left-hand side are in fact men’s and women’s restrooms. Each of the offices is substantially the same; they are all filled with desks, which are all covered with forms, reports, and carbon paper, and filing cabinets of various shapes and sizes. A brief search reveals no equipment or electronics. The doors at the end of the hallway lead into a walled courtyard inside which is nestled a lush and well-cared-for garden.

Whereas Matsukov has gone up the stairs, you head down into the building’s basement. The floor and walls are both painted concrete, with metal pipes and ventilation ducts visible along the ceiling and the west wall. The contents of the front room can be made out by a half-window embedded above ground in the north wall. Below it is a rack with cleaning supplies and a metal cabinet, which, when opened, contains basic maintenance supplies and tools. Against the west wall is a large black furnace, still giving off a faint heat. There are four metal doors on the east wall, only one of which is labeled. This office of “Sports and Culture” is small, almost entirely taken up by a single desk. The two rooms to the south of it appear to be used for storage, as indicated by a large number of boxes, but you cannot see well enough to make out anything more. The door all the way by the north wall is also unlabeled, but leads to a much larger room. You cannot see well enough to make out anything beyond the general area, but that is enough to tell that this room has been trashed. Several pieces of furniture are tipped over and there are shards of glass and some other kind of debris on the floor. Moving through the dark room, you find a door at the back, which when tried appears locked.

>>5976472
On the way out, your eyes are drawn to a strange-looking object on the floor, but closer inspection reveals it only as the source of the glass debris. It appears to be a monitor for a computer of some type, but has been badly smashed. The metal frame is dented – somebody evidently put a lot of effort into destroyed this machine, as, indeed, they have for this whole room.

On the stairs, you pass the first floor and continue onto the second. The main body of this room is open and occupied by perhaps two dozen desks, each with small stacks of papers, office supplies, and stamp pads. Against the far wall is a framed portrait of the “Great and Honorable Leader” George Margeret and beneath it a standing flagpost with the Republian national flag. On the right side of the wall is a handsome wooden door with a silvery plaque next to it reading “Gordon District Governor”. Pushing inside, you come to an office that is surprisingly small – containing only a desk, a swivel chair behind it, two chairs facing it, some filing cabinets, and an elaborate rug – before you see the door in the left-hand wall and surmise that this is merely the secretary’s office.

Behind this door is the office you would expect of a Republian district governor. The office is large and has not one but two beautiful old-style rugs. On the far side of the room is a large elaborately carved desk devoid of the papers that clutter those outside. Behind it is a plush chair of dark wood and leather upholstery and behind that a book shelf that has been cleared of all its articles. Nearer you, on the smaller of the two rugs, is a round glass table of a modern design and two comfortable-looking arm chairs. The walls have exposed nails from where pictures clearly used to hang. Another door leads to a private washroom.

Leaving the governor’s office, you notice another door on the south side of the main second floor area. It is filled with filing cabinets and, in some places, piles of papers tied together with twine rest on the floor or the tops of cabinets. The only other contents are a cheap wooden cabinet with office supplies and three brown leather bags, which, on inspection, contain electronic typewriters.

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>>5976473
Continuing to the next floor, you encounter Matsukov, who is returning to the ground floor – he reports he has not found anything that looks like a radio; you instruct him to stand guard at the entrance while you conduct your own search. The third floor landing opens directly onto a room with a wide double-door and a large desk. A wheeled stand with an overhead projector is parked in a corner of the room. Expecting some chairs along the edge of the table and the perimeter of the room, it is bare.

The rest of the floor is divided up into offices, each has someone’s name written out front, but without their title. Each office has a single desk and multiple filing cabinets overflowing with paper. The first door on the right leads into another filing room, this one without windows and, accordingly, difficult to clearly perceive. From what you can make out, it is packed, possibly even more than the one at the courthouse. At the end of the hallway, two corridors split off, one leading into a large bathroom that also functions as a storage space for cleaning supplies, and the other into a large office: the sign outside the door reads “Ernest Fishborne” and has his title “District Director of Education”. This office is larger than the others, although not lavishly furnished like the governor’s. It has a large desk, which still manages to be covered with paper, and bookshelves against most of the walls, which are filled with a mixture of books and plastic-bound sheaths of papers. Gaps in the wall have pictures of Republian leadership and illustrations of prominent historical figures. In the far wall is a large window with a pleasant view of the courtyard garden below and, in the right-hand corner, is a large color TV set resting on a wooden cabinet. Inside the cabinet is a VHS machine, several video cassette tapes, and another electronic device with the manufacturer’s mark “Nintendo” – you don’t know the device or the manufacturer, but, considering the articles surrounding it, it seems likely that it is an entertainment device.

The stairs stop at the fourth floor, which you quickly discover is a maze of offices and hallways. Of the dozen doors, only two are labeled: one in the back as “Filing” and one at the very front of the building, only accessible through a closed-off hallway, as “District Tax Administrator”. Adding to the labyrinthine nature of the floor layout is the fact that each of the smaller offices is nearly identical; all have one or two desks, several filing cabinets, and are crammed with paper, especially green or yellow-tinted worksheets. The documents you can see have almost no writing, only tightly-spaced columns and rows of numbers. The district administrator’s office has natural light from a window, significantly less paper, and a phone on the desk, but is otherwise unremarkably similar to those of his staff.

>>5976474
The filing room takes up a chunk of space in the back of the floor and is the largest you have seen so far. It seems well kept and there are no loose papers here, only endless rows of metal filing cabinets packed together. Another room seems to have been built into this one, with its door on the far side from the entrance. The door into this smaller room is reinforced with metal struts and, although fully open now, locks through a wheel mechanism, like those on naval ships. The room is bare except for a large safe in the center, which has been bolted to the floor. Like the door to this vault, the door to the safe is wide open. The safe itself is bare.


From top to bottom Gennady, you have searched this building, or at least the parts you can see. There is no sign of radio equipment here. Or perhaps it is just lurking out of sight? You have close to two hours before you wanted to meet with Hasanaliev again. That is a lot of time to search – or, with the police station too, is it actually precious little? How would you like to use your time, Gennady?

>There is no radio equipment here, move onto searching the police station, where you will hopefully have better luck

>There is no radio equipment here, but that does not mean nothing here is valuable. Take something you want and then move on to the police station [Select items to take with you]

>Radio equipment or not, this building represents the headquarters of the hostile occupational government. It is surely full of valuable information and supplies. You should spend more time here [Select what room or area to search]

>WRITE IN

>>5976476
>There is no radio equipment here, move onto searching the police station, where you will hopefully have better luck
Need to get some staff that can make sense of this from HQ when we next make contact. Obviously a lot goes into administering this district.

Oh boy, more bureaucracy we can barely utilize without the manpower we're trying to contact.

The district was liberated at least two weeks ago, and the power outage is at least a week old. Whether the furnace here >>5976472 is combustion or electric, I find it odd that it still gives off any heat at all. But I'm no handyman. Maybe there's a simple explanation.

Two further points of potential interest: The energy office, which may inform on how to restore power to the city or where much power is sent in the district, such as to power a radio station. And the locked door beyond the trashed computer room, because it seems reasonable that radio and digital info tech would be grouped.

>>5976608
Not that I expect any documents to point directly to radio, but knowing where power is going could flesh out our brief. Population centers, factories or bases must draw a lot of power.

>>5976476
>Radio equipment or not, this building represents the headquarters of the hostile occupational government. It is surely full of valuable information and supplies. You should spend more time here [Energy office]
what powersource(s) in the area? What may have caused the blackout.