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Prelude

04.04.2024

In the City of Illumination, there were groups of men in various warehouses and apartment buildings. They sorted through improvised explosives, smuggled firearms, as well as various vehicles with some being modified to be armored, have mounted weaponry, or even have both. Their leader, who went by the moniker of the “Red Lion of Orleaux”, put on a balaclava and some body armor. He stood on top of one of the pickup trucks.
“Comrades! Rally around!” he yelled, his deep voice carrying throughout the warehouse. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. “Today, we strike. We strike against our capitalist oppressors. We strike against those who have made our lives hell. Those who have forced us into cramped apartment buildings giving us nothing more but scraps. Today, we show them that the workers of Orleaux will not stand for oppression. We will seize the assets of the bourgeoisie. We will liberate the factories. Today, we begin the road to freedom! Vive la revolution!”
The militants all threw their firsts up or raised their guns and repeatedly shouted back, “vive la revolution!” Before they calmed down and got into various vehicles.

A couple hours later, a few of the men were at a checkpoint into the refinery district of Illumination.
“Papers, please,” the security requested. The security were ForteGuard contractors; the telltale sign being the rook on their vests.
“Aye, I think I got them somewhere,” the man driving would say. He would look around the car before handing the security a fake ID, “here ya go.”
When handing the ID, the man would purposely drop it. The guard would reach down and grab it. As soon as he stood up though, the man in the car had a Lavi (Uzi) submachine gun pointed right at him. The man opened fire and as soon as he did multiple militants jumped out of various cars in line. The security was quickly overwhelmed as the militant leading the assault lowered the barriers. Cars full of militants would drive in.
The ForteGuard security center in the district was now on high alert. Multiple APCs, IFVs, and armored trucks full of contractors were leaving the center and being dispatched as every entrance reported some form of security breach.
Meanwhile, in downtown Illumination there was a semi-truck and multiple vans in traffic. As soon as they got the signal, over a hundred militants would exit the semi-truck and vans in front of the Actualites Orleaux broadcasting building in downtown Illumination. As soon as the gunfire erupted between the company’s security and the militants, the busy heart of the city and country was a scene of chaos and panic. Civilians were running into traffic as everyone scrambled to get away with many getting caught in the crossfire. Within ten minutes, the overwhelming force had led to the militants seizing a majority of the building as security was overwhelmed.

At the National Magistrate Building, an armored truck drove through the main doors and blew up. The various magistrates, contractors, and others were in disarray as multiple were killed and injured. Militants seized the building in front and began firing at the Magistrate building as technicals were quickly prepped and brought to it. The fight for the building was a lot harder than others, and the militants had to withdraw after an hour of hard fighting. They quickly holed up in a hospital; using the beds and whatever they could find to barricade the main entrance. The firefight was intense, and there was little sign of it stopping.

Meanwhile in the Actualites headquarters, the Red Lion was prepping the broadcast room. After a few minutes, every Actualites Orleaux channel, in Orleaux and overseas, was playing the same broadcast.

“My fellow Orleauxans, my comrades. Today, the People’s Liberation Army has striked against the heart of the bourgeoisie,” videos taken by the militants actively fighting would play, “and we will not rest. This was just the beginning. The refineries are actively being liberated by the workers,” CCTV footage of the initial strike would then play before flicking back to the Red Lion with his balaclava and aviators, “soon, the first workers of Orleaux shall be freed in what will be a long struggle. The bourgeois shall fear us. The Red Lion will reign supreme. Vive la revolution!”

While the footage was playing, the militant leaders holed up in the hospital were meeting.
“What do we do? We failed to take the Magistrate. The damn ODD was there! They’re special forces!” The Tussian, Fotis Reier, would say.
“Calm down, Reier. The hospital will still be easy to defend. We have a stockpile in the basement already prepared. We will hold here for as long as possible,” Orleauxan native and the leader of the attack Regis Bourreau would reply, “the longer we hold, the more likely the revolution will spread. We have more than enough to fight.”
Fotis would sigh, “alright, then what do we do?”
Bourreau would pull out some blueprints of the hospital, “have machine guns and other rifles on every floor up to the fifth. Get men covering the roof and patrols around the hospital. How many do we have?”
Vincent Coste would be the next to speak, “it’s hard to tell. We lost a lot and have many wounded. Combat ready, I’d say about a hundred-fifty to two hundred. Most are untrained though; most of the veterans are dead.”
Bourreau would speak, “damn. How many are from the FWZ?”
“The three of us, and about fifteen or twenty. The rest are native Orleauxan,” would reply Coste.
“Well, we’ll have to work with what we got. Any FWZ are to be in charge of the Orleauxans.”
“Alright, comrades, let's go and do this. Time to show them contractors what’s up. First Tussia, now Orleaux!”

In the capitol building, everything was locked down within minutes of the first sign of gunfire. The Premier, Jean-Baptiste Paget, was meeting with the FDO General Gustave Guillory and the leader of every major contractor.
Jean-Baptiste was sitting in his office when they entered with ODD guards.
“What happened? You guys are hired to do one job. One job! And NONE OF YOU CAN DO THAT!” the Premier said.
General Guillory was the first to speak, “we had no idea of this. We had no idea of the magnitude of this! What do you expect us to do?”
“More than what happened! There’s thousands of them across the city. They overtook the refinery district, attacked the Magistrate. Now we’ve lost the entire refinery and they took a whole hospital. A whole hospital! It’s a disaster!”
Jean-Baptiste looked at Marc Vallier, the leader of ForteGuard, and Eric Dubois of Orleaux Defense Dynamics when a contractor burst through the door.
“Sirs,” he looked at the room and gulped, “there’s been an, er, incident in the Hansan embassy. Militants have, er, taken it over.”
The Premier would slam his fist on the desk, “that’s it! Inform Parliament that Order 293 is active. No one enters or leaves the country. Ground all flights,” he pointed at Dubois and Vallier, “you know what this means? By whatever means necessary, get control of this damn country or I will have your heads.”
The men nodded and left for the war room where the other leaders of the companies, FDO, and National Magistrate were discussing what to do with the situation.

News of País-Sukoku, freely reporting since 1911
05/04/2024

The first exit polls of the long awaited 2024 País-Sukoki election have come in, and they predict a sweeping victory for the Liberal party, granting them a majority in the National Assembly for the first time since 2011 when they were unseated by the now hugely unpopular 3-party coalition. Gabriel Akemi, the current parliamentary leader of the Liberal party, has said that this is a 'very positive' development and said that it highlights both the growing frustration with the Social Democrat and Green policies (although he did not frontally attack the Progressive Party) as well as a clear appetite for the Liberal's commitment to free trade and reliable economic policies. He was particularly excited about the seeming swing of western País-Sukoku away from the Social Democrats, with some estimates saying nearly 35% of the western votes were cast for Liberals- their biggest vote share in history. He said that it demonstrates "a wish for change- the Social Democrats took the west for granted for far too long. But our new scheme promises investment and a removal of red tape for the west of País-Sukoku, sparking enterprise in the long-deprived region."

At the same time though, Akemi wished to temper expectations. He said that with the new proportional voting system, it is easy for experienced analysts to fall into the trap of a two party model. Additionally, he stressed that many demographics- like the Biggonians- have only recently become more politically engaged following the recent racial violence. He therefore warned voters that "although they have put their trust in myself, my party, and our manifesto", they should be prepared for compromise and he would try his best to form a compromise with whichever party would grant him a parliamentary majority without opposing too many policies.

In other news, Order 293 has been activated in Orleaux, putting the country into lockdown. All travel is cancelled.

Glossapolis wrote:

PROLETARIATES FROM LANDS END, UNITE!

Indeed comrade. (I am Okahio's alt because my main account was hacked)

You all communists!? Everyone knows socialism is better, and that’s coming from a real life socialist supporter.

Haela wrote:

I just join my flag is bad

UR FLAG IS AMAZING, BEATIFUL, WHEN U SAI "MY FLAG IS BAD" IZ A FAEK NIUS, IOR FLAG IZ INCREDIBLE

04.05.2024, 0100 hrs

The war room was absolute chaos. Screens portrayed maps of Illumination, live camera footage from CCTV and drones, as well as locations of currently deployed units.
Dubois met with Vallier and two Chief Magistrates; Ludovic Paget and Aubin Tallier.
Dubois would speak first, “so, I think we should contact the Hansans. The reclamation of the Hansan embassy should be our first priority before anything else. After all, this is both the reputation of Orleaux and our companies on the line.”
Paget would quickly reply, “of course it’s already about your companies and your damned reputation! Always looking to make a profit!” Paget would spit to the side.
Tallier yelled at Paget, “don’t look for a fight with them! We are on the Premier’s orders to cooperate with the contractors. There’s already a high casualty count.”
Dubois replied, “that is very much so correct. I’m not the happiest working with Magistrates so the feeling is mutual. But, for once, we are on the same side. That’s besides the point though, do we have a map or blueprint of the embassy?”
Paget pulled out his secure phone, “we should have one in the legislative archives. We have blueprints of every important building there, let me see if any of my men can grab it.”
The men spent an hour briefing a plan. Eventually, a blitz assault was planned to be launched just hours before dawn.

At about 0530, the Orleauxan contractors and ODF were stationed around the refinery district. Gunfire was exchanged regularly between the occupying Sturmists, who went by the name of the Orleauxan Workers’ Alliance (OWA). Radios began to buzz within the governmental forces as loudspeakers were set up by the contactors. As the sun began to rise, rock music would blair from the loudspeakers. This led to confusion amongst the OWA militants. After fifteen minutes, just as the sun began to peak over the horizon, a fleet of attack helicopters flew towards the district. The helicopters began to fire their cannons and missiles towards OWA positions leaving destruction in their wake. After the strikes subsided, smoke rose above the city as contractors and ODF began to flood into the refinery; overwhelming whatever militants there were. The government’s campaign to retake lost districts has begun.

IC-Water wrote:

Hello! I am from Infinite Crafts.

region=infinite_crafts#pollid_212583

Please answer!

Hello! Welcome to Lands End, I where the money flows and the lands. End?

IBBTC News
08/04/2024

Privatisation commission published
The first part of the long awaited privatisation commission has finally been published, with it discussing how best to privatise the farms which have for a long time made up the backbone of Grenzland's economy. As top-down state ownership and protectionism gives way to free trade and enterprise, the massive collective farms which have for a long time made up the backbone of Grenzland's economy are to be privatised, along with the homes and surrounding businesses which accompanied the complexes. Whilst the news of the Sturmist uprising in Orleaux's capital has shocked some proponents of privatisation, the commission included a short disclaimer that whilst radical by Grenzland standards, this new privatisation scheme is simply expected to bring Grenzland to a similar level of privatisation as other developed economies, in contrast to the ultra-right wing economic system present in Orleaux.

This is first shown in how only 65% of shares of each business will be put up for sale, with the government still retaining 35% of the shares, giving them a powerful stake in the companies if it is necessary to launch a hostile takeover. The commission recommends that each farm be privatised independently, rather than forming monolithic corporations spanning entire prefectures. This is generally agreed to be the best way to privatise such businesses, as otherwise it could lead to monopolistic behaviour and a lack of competition. To ensure competition continues, a province-wide agriculture regulator will be created. There is a slight concern amongst the rest of Biggonia that rice, a staple crop in Biggonia with small profit margins, would be phased out by private businesses and cause a rise in food prices for the poorest. As such, subsidies will be given to existing rice farms to encourage them to maintain production of rice.

Compared to the largely popular privatisation scheme of the actual farms, the privatisation of the houses and services which accompany the farms is much more controversial. Up until now, the workers within the collective farms have largely lived on site, in huge apartment blocks colloquially known as 'Commie Blocks' due to the communal nature of living in the buildings. Individuals who worked on the farm were granted free housing, as well as for their first two children. This meant that aside from spouses and third children, it was very easy to maintain a living in these apartment blocks, especially since the rents for spouses and other children were normally offered at incredibly low prices. Even for residents who simply lived in the local area to work in supporting businesses were able to take advantage of the state's lack of a profit motive for their apartments, and could live there very cheaply.

However, sadly due to the new motto of progress in Grenzland "we have nothing to fear but fear itself"; privatisation must take place. Ownership of specific units will first be offered to tenants at low prices, however if they cannot afford to purchase it or simply don't want to, then the units will be sold on to landlords and investors. For their party, the commission has recommended an 'adjustment period' of one year, where rent cannot be raised above 1,300 Krone per month, and tenants may only be ejected if approved by the local council. However, residents may leave their accommodations at any time if they wish, if the burden becomes too much or they have been laid off by their employer.

04.06.2024, 2010 hrs

A humvee with a .50 caliber machine gun was driving around the street of the southern crime ridden district of Illumination. It was flanked by six contractors on either side. The humvee was also equipped with a loudspeaker that would repeat a message that said “Illumination is currently under total lockdown until further notice. All citizens are required to abide by the 8PM-6AM curfew. Anyone found outside during the curfew is subject to detention by contractors and/or the Orleauxan Defense Force.”

The message would repeat as civilians outside were given warnings by the contractors to go indoors as the curfew had just begun. As they moved though, there were figures watching ahead in a few apartments. Suddenly, rocks were thrown at the contractors who took cover around the humvee before pistol fire began raining down on them. One contractor was struck by a bullet before the machine gun began opening fire at the windows of the apartment building. Quickly, the gunfire began to dissipate from the apartments before multiple armored personnel carriers and cars carrying contractors began to pull into the street. Within minutes each building on the street was being meticulously cleared by the contractors, detaining any suspicious individuals which were many apparently single military age men in the buildings. The detained individuals numbered about ninety and they were brought to the local Magistrate building for interrogation and processing.

Kaitosland wrote:

Bread

what type of bread do they eat in your nation

The Battle of Sitō - Part I

4/2-4/3

Sitō, the temporary capital of the TM territory, was a holding ground for Kupatē and his troops. Kupatē needed Plan Z to work or else he was gonna lose this war. He already lost so many battles during these past two months. The plan was to flood the DPTC with refugees that wanted out of the TM. A barrier would be made by the refugees creating a greater chance to win.

The gates would open up when the southern force was closer. Meanwhile in the north, the slow retreat was happening. The TM had hoped to slow down the DPTC troops in time for Plan Z to work. The TM had started their own bombing brigade on the committee in the north to slow them down further. They had one shot at this succeeding and they would not mess up.

"help"-hansan ambassador to orleaux