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Unity Day Aftermath and the Drax Elections
Topic Started: May 12 2007, 04:03 AM (1,334 Views)
NRE
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The Kremlin, Moscow...

It was a beautiful day in the Russian capital and there was much to talk about when it came to the political elite. The mess in the West Indies was finally over although many believed the deal worked out by the Tsar's brother was only temporary and that more trouble would eventually ensue. Still, the agreement did overt war with the American powers which was good for Russia because she was not yet ready for such war. That being said many saw good things in the war in Ireland. The Irish would make a powerful ally once their hybrid democratic-monarchy was reworked and a Constitutional Monarchy was established, one that ensured the supremacy of the royal family over any legislative body that was established. Perhaps the most talked about subject was the impending arrival of the Duke of Draxis.

Russian and Draxis is the last years of the reign of Tsar Paul had become two very close countries. Since the wedding of the royal families, the two were now even closer. For sometime in his last few years as Tsar, Paul worked diligently with the Duke of Draxis Alexander Drax in creating a pact between the two nations. Both nations, the two leader found in their various chats, both looked to the future with similar goals. That was what prompted the two leaders to begin creating for themselves an alliance which would finally cement relations as well as their power in Eastern Europe. Finally the time came to enact such an agreement and certainly for the elite of Moscow, this create much tea time discussions. For the Romanov family, Alexei believed this agreement was just the first step in a much large plan for Russo-Drax power. He even request his parents, specially Paul, be present as it was much more his own work than Alexei's. Paul eagerly accepted the invitation and was now back in Moscow, the first time since abdicating the throne to his son, and looked forward to seeing his dear friend Alexander.
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The Grand Duke was happy to be back in Russia, he had been informed that he would get to see his old friend Paul one last time so they could both sign the treaty they had spent a considerable amount of time crafting, and setting the right political climate to sign. It took a great deal of work to get this far and a great deal of intermarrying on both sides, both nations now had a reason to take the long view of their shared future. This alliance would cement the relationship between the two powers as well as turning the two nations into the largest Eastern European power block. It was also good for the Duke to leave the politics of Draxis back there for the time being as thing had become messy as all the political elites and power holders of Draxis were eyeing his reforms in the Senate warily. Many Senators had become enemies of the Duke, many in the lower houses of the tri-federal system were not pleased with one of his largest reforms, that of removing the (long since) defunct congress of towns and cities. That level of governmental decision making had long since ceased having any real power. All it did was rubberstamp anything the senate sent its way. But removing it had of course not made those who held positions there any closer to the Royal family. The Harkon were beginning to be rejuvenated for the first time in many years following the events of Unity Day, careful public relations had softened the image of what occurred that day greatly. And now they might become a political threat within the next election cycle, which was mercifully just over a year and a half away. Alexander felt though that he had spent far too long as Consul of the Senate, he was of course the default choice, but one that seemed to be losing political capital at every turn. And in his many years as consul there had not been another watershed moment that could pave the way for the fulfillment of what he and every Grand Duke since Vychas Drax during their indoctrination, to avenge that wrong and to resume their rightful place in Draxis.

At least here in Russia the Duke could take a few moments to breathe with ease knowing that for a few blessed hours he would achieve a lasting impact. It allowed him to feel safe and secure in his place in history as the longest reigning Grand Duke of Draxis, the first Grand Duke to gain international recognition of Draxis and the list went on and on with his many international actions, the problem for him lay domestically. With each successive loss of political capital he could count his list of enemies growing, though most gave him loyalty only in lip service as he was unfortunately for them popular with the people. This was his greatest advancement of his oath he made to his father during his indoctrination, he had firmly set the people of Draxis on the side of the Royal family with the exceptions of those living under a few other minor houses and the Harkon. This treaty would be a success that both he and the people would be able to celebrate for a long time and it might just give him the small push he needed to finish with the main thrust of his reforms in the Senate.

As the Ducal plane touched down in Moscow he could already see the Security formation around the private hanger where the Plane would shortly be parked. The hangar had to be able to hold several separate planes as soon enough Octavian and Tatiana would be arriving, depending on the time that it would take in getting them to the Ducal hangar at the airport. Their bags and belongings would be sent over as soon as it had been packed by their servants would would travel with said baggage.

When the Duke exited the plane he saw his old friend Paul there to greet him. The sight of Paul was not only reassuring to the old duke but gave him a smile, one that he knew would be appropriate in the company of non-family. The Duke was wearing full Ducal Winter Regalia when he finally was at the bottom of the stairs he embraced Paul.

"Ah Paul, it is great to finally see you again. It has been far, far too long, but we have put in so much work to get to this day. And while my time is unfortunately limited due to domestic matters I do believe we will have just enough time to catch up and finish our long awaited treaty." The Duke said.

"It is great to see you again old friend, though sad that your visit must be so short." The Tsar replied.

"Ah, yes that is indeed unfortunate, but as a consolation both Tatiana and Octavian will be ariving shortly for an extended visit. I do hope that this will make up for for the quickness of this visit." The Duke added.

The Duke and Tsar continued chatting for a little longer before realizing that there was in fact a schedule they should keep. The Tsar then directed the Duke to the waiting cars so they could make their way towards that inevitable moment when the treaty was signed.But before that they would catch up and have a pleasant chat over breakfast while also hoping to sign the treaty sometime just before lunch.
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The Romanov government had taken every precaution to ensure that only a select few understood the full scope of what exactly was going on with the Grand Duke's visit. Most common people in Russia knew that the Grand Duke of Draxis was in the nation but as far as the media spun the story, they believe it to be a simple conference between Russia and Draxis over the fluidity of their border, Russia commitment to helping Draxis build a navy, and trade. Even most of the elected and appointed officials in Russia did not understand the visit of the Grand Duke of Draxis. The mystery was certainly intriguing but understanding the nature of the two nation's relationship, a visit such as this was not uncommon. Most decided to write off the visit as nothing more than two interwoven families coming together for a long awaited visit.

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The cars that had left the airport drove quickly through the morning streets of Moscow, just missing the busiest time for traffic to reached the Kremlin, the inner sanctum of Russia's political power. The few streets within the Kremlin were always very pleasant to drive through as traffic was kept to a minimum, almost not existent really. Seeing sights that both men had seen many times before they eventually arrived at the Great Kremlin Palace. The two men entered the grand palace to find Tsar Alexei there to great them. Alexei embraced both his father Paul as well as Alexander, a man he viewed as his second father. He told Alexander that Atia would be with them for lunch after the signing. After a warm conversation to see how the comfortable Alexander's trip had been, the three then made their way to the dinning hall of the palace where a hot breakfast awaited them.

All three were seated and servants served the family the most delicious of breakfast meals. Some of the finest food from across the Russian Empire had been brought to the palace for this meal and the chef did not disappoint. The three men began enjoying their meals with little said between them aside from a very light conversation about politics, the weather, and how the extended family was doing. Finally, Paul turned to Alexander who was seat just beside him at the table "It certainly seems as if we have waited a lifetime for this has it not Alexander?" The Grand Duke agreed "Yes it does seem as if we've had to go through a lot to get here. But that has only made this day that much more special has it not?"

"Yes that is has" said Paul "that it has. We received your last revisions of the treaty and I an Alexei have reviewed them extensively and agreed to them. Finally we will secure for Eastern Europe a power bloc they can be proud of, a power bloc the Slavic people can turn to. Eastern Europe is fractured especially now in after the wake of the Dominion Wars. Most of its people are like lost lambs, wondering aimlessly and hopelessly in a world they neither recognize nor feel comfortable in. This treaty will not only create a beacon for those people to migrate to but will also finally bring those people under a dual crown which will forever ensure a peaceful and prosperous future for them. "

Paul paused as his mouth had grown dry and went for his glass of orange juice. The oranges from the West Indies were most delicious.

"Alexander I see our boys, these new kings of the new age, leading our people forward to a more prosperous future don't you agree?"
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"Yes, I would have to agree that with our sons comes a bright future for eastern europe, and with this treaty in place it will be a stable and prosperous one at that." Alexander said.

The two continued to discuss the terms of the agreement, from giving member states zones of influence and exclusive control, to economic integration and creating open borders between member states, as well as the parts of the treaty regarding the granting of ports to landlocked eastern nations if so required, though of course this would be done at the host nation's discretion. Of course that was more cover to give the Drax a port in the Baltic more than anything as well as sounding enticing to any landlocked nations in Eastern Europe as well as within 'Greater Russia.' But to the two leaders the most important part of the treaty is that it would be limited to nations within or with significant interests within Eastern Europe or lands that have been heavily influenced by Slavs traditionally. Until it was mad public though, there would be only two signatories, Draxis and Russia. With this the Grand Duke and Tsar were happy.

After a few more drinks were brought out, as well as some more talk and disucssion in regards to the treaty copies were brought out and placed in front of the leaders.

The first copy was set in front of Paul.

The second was placed in front of the current Tsar Alexei.

And finally the third was placed in front of the Grand Duke who as acting Consul as well as Duke of Draxis was able to ratify the treaty without having to bring it back to Draxis. Though it would eventually have to go up in front of the senate.

The copies were handed to another leader in turn until all three had signed each copy.

With this the treaty had been signed and the future of the slavic people had been altered forever. A great new power now stood in Europe, just as soon as they felt like announcing it to the world.

The whole process had been finished before lunch and as new of the arrival of Octavian and Tatiana.

The Grand Duke turned to Paul, "If you and Alexei, though I feel he must get to the business of governing this great nation, would like to join me I feel that we should greet our family and provide them a tour of the great and mighty Kremlin. I believe Octavian has never seen it with his own eyes. Which is a shame that must be corrected."
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It was true that Alexei was most likely desired somewhere with one or more of his ministers of state but as Tsar he had the luxury of timing his business of state and business of pleasure on his own whims. He hadn't had time with his father in months and he hadn't seen his sister in about the same time if not longer. Spending time with the family would allow a welcome relief to the hustle of Moscow and of the Russian Empire.

"Yes, a tour of the Kremlin is a splendid suggestion" said Alexei.

The group moved from the room down towards the entrance of the palace. Octavian and Tatiana were just getting out of their car when the group emerged from the palace to greet them. Hugs, shakes, and the usually well wishes that their trip was a comfortable one was exchanged. Their personal belongings where seen to my aids of the Palace and the two join Alexander, Alexei, and Paul. The group decided to first start with a tour of the various churches of the Kremlin grounds. Beautiful in their architecture and important in their religious significance to the Russia Empire, the various old yet majestic cathedrals were structures no sightseer should miss.

Walking into each of the various cathedrals, the group maintained silence especially in those cathedrals where monks were busy praying and choirs were rehearsing. After seeing the last of the great cathedrals, the group headed to the Tsar Bell. By the time they reached the bell Tsaritsa Atia had joined them, greeting both her father and brother as well as the rest of the group. Standing around the bell, Paul came beside his dear old friend to speak with him.

"I think we've done well Alexander" he said looking over to both royal couples. "The treaty will ensure peace and security between our two peoples for years t come. Furthermore we'll be leaving this world with the knowledge that we've left competent rulers to carry on our legacy. Would you not agree my old friend?"
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OOC: Regrettably while I was hoping to finish up this RP this month, and this summer, I will have to place it on an indefinite hold due to certain factors which were a part of the later RP, which I had previously thought were agreed upon and locked down apparently were not. This means I have to wait on a few things, so Atticus and NH, take your time with the faroes, that is going to have to occur at a much later date now, hopefully this summer, but I'm just going to have to be patient and wait it out until things can go down as planned.

I will not discuss anything more than this publicly, the rest will be handled in private as I would rather not go all "Sed and Att" about this.

Until I next post in this thread consider Draxis to be essentially in a timeless stasis. There will be no new developments until then.

My apologies to anyone who may have been enjoying this RP, but given that my later stages of it are currently impossible to RP and do I see no point of writing towards that point. Even if I may have been looking forward to that point as it was near finally.
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OOC: Drax, if you need any help with anything, feel free to let me know.
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OOC: The problem that arose has been rectified as such I can continue my RP... below.
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IC:

It was great to have the family together in Russia, if the present security issues had not cropped up Anton and his family would have been called to join the families in Russia. But seeing them all together was special as he could see that the next generations had coalesced, if it wasn't Drax tradition to rule until death he would have stepped down by now.

"Yes, it is good to know that stability has been entrenched in the Slavic lands, and that the next generation will be the ones to enjoy the fruits of this treaty." Alexander said.

Alexander was about to add something else when an aide rushed over and informed him that he would have to leave as their time in Russia was almost up if he was to make it back to Draxis in time for the Senate vote.

"My apologies, but it seems that I must leave your delightful company. But I do not leave an empty space for I believe that Octavian and Tatiana will more than make up for my absence. So I must leave you in their company until the next time I may visit. One day we will have to arrange a time where both families and extended families may meet and enjoy each others company." Alexander said as he had to leave.

He said his goodbyes to both the old Tsar Paul and the current reigning Tsar Alexei first then Octavian and Tatiana.

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Back in Arrakan Niko stood over the body of his former patron, his patron could only be described as broken now. He had got almost nothing of use since he went to work torturing the man. Then at some point he had made the conscious decision to stop caring just how much information he got as at this point he had heard so much nonsense to sort through. But still he continued, not that there was much to his victim anymore, mostly a whimpering mass of flesh and bone that just happened to be in the shape of a man. Now the man was curled up in a corner whimpering softly to himself now lacking the strength to ask him to stop. Worst of all Niko was running out of ideas of what he could do. And still he had not gotten any new orders, so all he could do was wait for the next orders and keep doing exactly what he was doing, trying to find new ways that would get some form of result.

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In the Citadel Anton was still dealing with all the bureaucrats the Senate could throw his way. While unarmed visitation by Anton, or a cadre of unarmed guards who submitted to extensive security searches were allowed, they seemed adamant to not allow even a single armed security guard. Usually at most he and his cadre would arrive at the Senate to observe and record all the motions, actions, reactions and subtle body language. But now while that room would be fully staffed as usual, now he needed several guards to ensure his father's safety. The entire city had been placed on high alert and forces were fully mobilized. The order had gone out across the nation and this had caused somewhat of a crisis as the orders were issued to all Drax forces, the Senate and Harkon forces moved to full mobilization to counter those of House Drax. While the media had started its reactions being quite angry and incredulous several well placed calls to his and his father's contacts in the media sorted that out quickly. Now the media was merely trying to understand why everything was on high alert rather than criticizing the move. Which eased some pressure, right now all he had done was issued a statement that was loosely worded and said nothing really that information had come to light which warranted this response.

His phone rang, it was the representative that he had to deal with from the senate, "Yes?" Anton answered.

"Given security concerns we can offer guards from the Senate to guard the Consul." He said in a crisp businesslike manner, obviously not enjoying having to deal with yet another distraction from his apparently busy day.

"That just will not do, we can only accept guards from Drax forces, as the threat as I have mentioned beofre may be form within the Senate itself." Anton replied, and the debate began again where the representative would deny that it was possible that there was any threat posed by or within the Senate and that it was just prejudice from the Aristocrats.

This debate continued for further twenty minutes when finally the senate representative finally allowed for one armed guard. Anton thanked him tersely and hung up. He then dialed another number.

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Niko was still stumped about what to do to his former patron and was now just sitting on the desk staring at the crumpled lump on the floor. His phone began to ring on the other side, with a slight stretch he picked it up and answered.

"Sir?" Niko said.

"Niko, you are needed elsewhere, I will send an order shortly to close up our activity on this as we will probably learn nothing new at this point. You are needed as an escort for the Duke." Anton said.

"What do I do with our captive?" Niko asked.

"Kill him, the men will take care of the rest." Anton ordered.

"Yes, sir." Niko replied as Anton hung up.

Looking over at the crumpled mass Niko slowly walked over to his torturers bag and picked up a hammer.

Looking at his former patron he asked, "Any last requests?"

In a weak and trembling voice his response came, "S-s-s-so this is i-i-i-it th-then?"

"Yes, of course. Any last requests?" Niko asked again.

His patron turned his head so that it faced in Niko's general direction, or at least Niko's voice given that his patron was now blind. His patron summoned his last remnants of strength and will and put it all into a single sentence, "Yes, I want you to recognize that you and I... we are the same. Vile and dirty tools of the Drax, and ultimately disposable."

Niko smirked, "You and I are nothing alike."

Before his patron could respond he raised his hammer and then flipped it over as the blunt part would not do for what he was about to do, and brought it down.

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The Duke watched as the plane touched down on a closed of runway, it was at least another fifteen minutes before he was in the Ducal Train speeding towards the Citadel. As he exited he saw Anton and Niko standing before him.

"No cadre of guards Anton?" Alexander asked.

"Sadly no, but we were allowed one armed guard, I believe that Niko here is perfect for that role." Anton replied.

"Alright, are you going to stay here?" Alexander asked Anton.

"No. I will be observing the Senate building as well as reviewing intelligence on activities within the city."

"Understood, shall we get underway then?" Alexander asked both.

Niko and Anton nodded and Alexander led the way. There was no conversation as the rest of Alexander's political entourage joined them. Conversation started as they got in the limousine. Most of the entourage though were in separate cars in a convoy that was three cars deep. Niko realized that this was the first time he had seen Alexander in the robes of a Consul of Draxis in person. He had always seen them on television or in pictures, but somehow they seemed much more regal and impressive in person.

Alexander and his entourage went over the likely voting patters they would face. So far it was looking like a narrow victory, though with the percentage of error in the predictions it was an uneasy margin. This was unsettling, but it was an important step, one less state structure in the way of the Drax family. Maybe within a generation or two it could be taken down into a single entity, and then its corruption, and complacency would allow it to destroy itself, or allow the Drax family an attempt to crush it under their heels.

The streets of Arrakan were emptied along the way from the Citadel to the Senate. Upon arrival there was the representative of the Senate with a small cadre of guards standing to greet the arriving Consul. The Senate guards searched each and every member of the entourage, and with great hesitance they allowed Niko to pass lightly armed.

Great crowds surrounded the Senate building, Senators, Citizens, the Media, and interest groups of all sorts. There was almost no separation of any of these groups. It was only at the doors that separation was enforced, only Senators and their staff were allowed inside the building.

They moved in a tight group, the temperature in Arrakan had dropped and it had been softly snowing all morning, with each step there was a muted crunch. As they drew closer to the massing throng of people near the Senate doors as the Senate building rose imposingly into the Arrakan skyline before them the sound of crunching grew until they were almost in the center and then there was no sound except from the chattering around them.

The media was by far the loudest, they somehow knew to keep a certain distance possibly because if they obstructed the Duke and the Consul there would be grave legal consequences. All were seeking quotes and the Duke refused to give one until after the vote.

Niko was not sure entirely what was going on, it was hard to focus, flashes form cameras, almost everything the Duke did or said being recorded, he was strangely invisible to the crowd. He could see some Senators giving interviews, others refused to give quotes. It was hard to keep focused, so much noise and activity. And unfortunately even though the laws of Draxis prohibited the media or any other citizen from physically obstructing a Senator, or Consul, or Duke of Draxis this did not apply to him. With each and every step he was being bumped into, others tried to grab at him so they could get closer to the Duke. They finally passed the greatest part of the crowd as they passed through the main doors of the Senate, though the crowd inside the building was also very thick. At least here it was easier to stay focused, less media babbling, less flashbulbs. The inside of the building could easily be described as ornate. The ceilings held vast murals that cataloged important events in the Senate's history. On the walls were photographs and paintings of every Senate since the near destruction of the Drax Royal family and the lowering of royal authority. Right now the crowd was all moving through the arches into the tunnel that led to the central Senate floor. Niko began to notice that many of the Senators were paying attention to the Duke, some passing, others with more interest. He was not sure if this was because they had business with the Duke or... The back of Niko's head began to throb as he fell to the floor. Everything in the world seemed to drain of color as time just stopped... briefly.

The Duke continued into the central Senate chamber. Row upon row of Senate benches almost covered the circular room, except for a small gap on either side of the Consul's chair. On the ceiling was yet another mural depicting some atrocity against his family, it was not as bad as the one in the Senatorial Inquiry Room of the execution of Vychas Drax. Here instead was a mural of Vychas's successor kneeling before the first Consul of Draxis as the Senate and people of Draxis celebrated. There were allusions to the Senate being appointed by and with the approval of god as well, but that was mainly for the debate of art scholars. The rest of the room was designed off of Roman styles, pillars, columns, everything seemed to try and channel either Imperial Rome of ages old or the Roman Republic. The columns were colored to the current layout of the parties within the Senate. Red with Golden Stripes for the Drax party, Green with a single Blue stripe for the Harkon Party. Only Blue for the Atrii Party, based off of a collection of towns that used the name of a long faded aristocratic family, Silver for the Industrial-Socialist Union Party of Draxis which held three seats mostly in the western areas recently given full political powers and rights within Draxis, Other colors included Purple, Black and Red, and really any color that can be found under the rainbow as the current Senate was made up of 61% Drax, 15% Harkon, and the rest was a hodgepodge of smaller parties. The vote would be close as he needed 65% of the votes to pass the constitutional changes.

The Duke looked around and noticed that Niko was no longer with them. "Where is Niko?" Alexander asked.

One of his lead staffers replied, "He was with us a moment ago..."

"Ah never mind then." The Duke said as he began to ascend the steps to the Consul's seat.

There was one who was walking past the Duke who was looking intently in his direction. "Now, now Vaga, I know, I know, we will handle your proposal after this vote is carried through, and if you threaten to vote against this then I will have to remind you that we already covered what would happen if this happened." The Duke said, stopping only briefly on his way to his chair.

A Senator approached the Duke, it took him a second to remember that it was Anatoly Gerlukovich.

Anatoly spoke, "Consul, I was wondering if we could have a moment to speak of my brother's exile, as you know I contacted you a while back and we discussed revoking his exile, and as I mentioned then he has had some substantial business opportunities in the Russian Carribean and Russian Panama. And exile prevents him from doing business with Drax allies."

"I am still considering it Anatoly." The Duke said as he began to ascend the last few steps.

Anatoly grabbed his robes, hands digging tightly into the cloth.

The Duke knocked his hand away.

"Get your hands off me, pleb. This does not help your case for your brother's exile." Alexander said.

Anatoly tried to grab again but had his hand knocked away in mid-air. Shocked Anatoly backed away as panic seemed to settle in, his voice peaked as he yelled, "What are you waiting for you fools. Now! Now!"

It was then that the Duke noticed three men close by holding daggers lunging towards him. His first reaction was to try and grab one of their hands, but his own hand only met the blade of the dagger cutting into his fingers as they tried to close around the blade. His hand recoiled in horror as he felt another one plunge into his stomach. Looking around panicked now he could see that it was not just three people but now maybe ten. He couldn't see if more were around as the entire Senate began to panic and flee. More men with daggers descended upon him. He turned around only to see another man ready to slash at his face, he continued spinning only to find that they had him surrounded. He could see that they were fighting each other to try and get a stab or two in on the Duke. By the time blood hit his eyes, almost removing his sight from him completely he could see fifteen to twenty men surrounding him with daggers. Then he felt himself lose his footing, probably from his own blood pooling in the floor. Once he was on the ground the group descended again, more stabs as he bled out slowly on the ground. The loud cacophony of noise around him, screams from bystanders, struggles amongst his assailants, the screams of others as they were stabbed, possibly while trying to save the Duke. One of the last sounds he heard was a gunshot, maybe into the other senators, maybe as a warning, maybe it was Niko finally arriving to do his job. All the Duke knew as life drained from his body was that it was too late... far, far too late... he knew he maybe had one last time for possibly a single thought as he could feel more daggers dive into his flesh.

Only one thought came to mind, How will history judge me... who will judge me... shame that history is Manichean, hero or villain... perhaps god will know.
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OOC: Just realized I should probably say this, but please save reactions until official press announcement of this in the next post.
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Darkness... well not complete as eventually a tiny dot of light began to form, then sound, mostly screaming, running... feeling returned, but Niko only became aware of it with each bump, and trip as people either stepped on him while running, or tripped. They were all moving away from something. Niko did not know what exactly. The dot became larger, large enough to notice that he was on an intricately designed marble mosaic floor. Though each piece of marble was colored differently and in some pattern he could not yet understand as there was this intense pain on the back of his head that he couldn't explain. Much less where in the world he was. Last memory was ending torture, then new orders and something fluidly happened involving... the Duke? Yes, yes something involving the Duke. So that must mean he was in the citadel. But the tiling was something he did not recognize... and then why were there people in robes and... schoolchildren? Was he in the Grand Atrium... but the robes were not the finery of the usual state dinners and there were never school children involved anywhere near state dinners, or outside of a few visiting hours out of a few visiting days a year.

He almost had full vision now, and with another knock he felt blood and strength returning to the rest of his body. He began to look around and it slowly dawned on him that this was not the Citadel at all, the floors were all wrong, the walls, and murals... Niko's brain was working slowly, but he finally pieced it together he was in the Senate Building, somewhere just in the doors. He was here with the Grand Duke... here to protect the Grand Duke. So he had to find the Duke.

First though was the challenge of standing up, balance was trouble and everything he heard did not make sense... did he forget Russian. Or English?

Wait...

No, he didn't forget either they were screaming in Latin mostly. And Niko never learned Latin.

Then he heard gunshots, not just one, but another and another. Semi-Automatic pistol of some sort. More Gunshots but from somewhere else. There were more and people around Niko began getting shot. Pulling out the pistol he was allowed while being the Dukes guard Niko rushed out into the main Senate chambers, the last few were clearing out except for maybe thirty Senators. Four were moving around the upper benches with pistols, while several of the thirtyish in the center of the room were shouting. It was in Latin but he heard key words, 'why', 'running', a few uses of 'you' and 'celebrate.' He saw one raise a gun towards him, but it was a miss, and Niko did not take long to put that Senator down. His shot seemed to get the rest's attention as he brought the other three down. It was then that the group scattered, Niko kept firing but only in areas that would stop them but not kill them and minimize any hospitalization. He wasn't sure what was going on but its always a good idea to leave a few for interrogation.

It was then that he saw the Dukes bloody body, laying still and dead in a large pool of blood that had many streaks from various people slipping. Niko rushed over to the body to inspect, he couldn't tell the exact number of stabs but they were numerous, covered many parts of his body and several large slashes across the Grand Duke's face. One of them blinded the Duke which led to his last moments being one of blindness.

It was now that the Senatorial guards decided to arrive. And that was when he heard several loud booms from outside.

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Niko was standing with a full cadre of Black Hand soldiers, he had a small portable screen that was feeding live images from the observation room and surveillance equipment throughout the Senatorial complex.

"Why don't I have any audio?" Anton demanded to the crew in the observation room.

They apologized but they were battling massive system failures throughout most of the complex as someone in the security room issued a full system sweep about an hour previous and they were having trouble trying to keep their equipment hidden.

Anton saw the Duke enter.

"Where the fuck is Anton? Did security detain him in violation or something." Anton yelled to the people in observation as he gave the signal for the Black hand to mount in the Ox Dropship. Engines started up all around, Anton could not hear what the reply was until they were inside the Ox, apparently Niko had disappeared sometime after entering the building. No one was sure where he was. Anton looked at the screen, his father was saying something to Vaga, another corrupt Senator, but he was sure they had him under their thumb.

As the dropship lifted into the air Anton was thankful that there had been as much research into VTOL technology, managed to give the Airforce and the Blackhand new tactical options. This also helped him mobilize quickly as now he had four dropships taking off. Worst case they would circle the Senate like vultures. He looked back at the screen. His father was now talking to Anatoly Gerlukovich, Anton thought they may have just enough on him that they could bend him if needed, but in general he played by the rules and never tried to bend them, so it would be more likely a bribe that may bend him. Then Anatoly grabbed at the Grand Duke, he looked somewhat desperate. After his hand was knocked back again Anatoly backed away shocked yelling. Then the knives came out amongst many Senators.

Anton screamed, he didn't know what exactly, but it was definitely enough to have the pilot push the dropship as fast as it could go.

He kept screaming but it was orders now, calling on any mobilized Drax forces to make their way to the Citadel. It was going to be at least fifteen minutes before any jets were going to be in the Arrakan airspace.

Over his earpiece he heard his wife Nadia, and head of the Drax Intelligence Agency, "Anton, we've just picked up a load of communications from the Senate and we intercepted one coming for you, we can patch it in if you want."

"Fine." He growled through gritted teeth.

Anton heard the line switch, but he knew that Nadia was still listening, the Senate representative was obviously agitated, perhaps he had just got news of the murder, perhaps just of the mobilization and orders to converge on the Senate.

"I've just heard that we have a situation, you are ordered to stand down, this is a Senatorial matter, we will handle all necessary investigations and any security situation. House Drax is not allowed by the constitution of Draxis to be involved in this matter." He ordered.

"Listen here and listen well. You. Will. Not. Order. ME. You. Fucking. Pleb. My father is dead because of your Senate, and for all I know you and your entire security force is as well. How else would a group of Senators bring weapons into the building. I played by your rules, and my father, your consul, is dead." Anton growled.

The representative grew angrier, "We have all rights to do what we will do, you and your forces will stand down or you will be removed as you should have been a long time ago. This conversation is over." With that he hung up.

"Anton-"

"Nadia, I knew you were listening, I will find my fathers murderers and that representative even if I have to bomb the entire building to the ground." Anton said. Nadia knew that now was not the time to stand in Anton's way, as there were two options, stand by his side or be crushed under his boot.

A pilot looked back and yelled into the back, "60 seconds to target!"

They had crossed over into the airspace reserved for the Senate. Instruments in the cockpit warned them of this, and quickly warned them of incoming anti-aircraft missiles.

It was not too hard for the Ox to dodge them as they were meant for fixed wing aircraft the Drax used such as the Su-47. Anton could see Niko emerge onto the screen, firing. All Anton could wonder was where in the hell Niko had been as his father had been killed.

The dropship touched down outside, he could see Senators fleeing the building the media obviously smelled blood and did not quite know what had happened, but they knew they had just found the story of the decade, possibly longer.

With Anton were twenty four Black Hand Soldiers in their alternate Thirteenth Royal Regiment uniforms. On exciting the dropships they could see the Senatorial guards changing to new positions and came under fire. This only caused the Senators and Media caught in between the two groups to try and find what cover they could. It did not take too long for the Black Hand to finish off the first wave of guards, at that sign Anton led a sizeable group leaving maybe five behind to ensure the last few were kept under cover.

The interior of the Senate building was quite for all but the Senate Chambers. There was shouting from the guards as Anton could see they were about to arrest him. At least that was until the Black Hand killed all of the guards.

Anton knew he could never trust Niko again, but at least Niko was good at what he did. He may still prove useful temporarily, at least before Anton would personally see him dealt with.

But then when he saw his father's corpse. And everything else went out of his mind.

"Niko, did you see how many did this or who?" Anton said as he knelt down next to his father's corpse.

"No, sir. I believe I was crudely knocked out prior to the murder." Niko replied.

"Alright, help the Black hand grab as many of the Senators, that seem to still be alive and get them on the transports. We don't have much time before we are forced out of here." Anton ordered.

Anton noticed the Ducal Signit Ring was missing, as well as the finger it was on. "Niko where is the ring?"

"I believe his murders stole it. They were crowded around the corpse when entered." He replied.

Anton just nodded, he had to think of what to do, they had only a few more minutes left before the Senatorial guards received reinforcements form the 500,000 strong Senatorial military garrison in the city. House Drax and the Senate were now at war. And now he had to find a way to get his father's corpse out of the building and giving it the respect it deserves. He just needed a few minutes to think. Though the noisy senators were not helping at all.

Anton stood up and walked over to the nearest one. He knew the Senator, he was from Party Harkon, there was no emotion in his voice, "Do you know anything I need to know, Senator."

The Harkon Senator referenced him as Aristocratic scum and something about never, and torture.

Anton did not care, he replied simply. "I don't care, I just wanted to know if you were talking for any reason." Then Anton shot the Senator in the head and went back to his father's corpse's side.

---
---
Collected headlines from the Drax Observer and the Drax News Agency's website...

Grand Duke Alexander Drax Assassinated in Senate Chamers by Conspiracy of Senators



Grand Duke Assassinated as Drax Forces and Senatorial Forces Clash Throughout Arrakan


Nation Mourns Duke as House Drax and Senate go to War

House Harkon Denies Involvement in Assassination as Sectarian Tensions Boil Over in Draxis
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Filo
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General
"That unfortunate situation," said Philip read the headlines on his desk.
The Suddoicher Zeitung headlined in big letters "Dead, Grand Duke of Draxis.
The Berliner Morgenpost was more explicit "Draxis murdered!"
Embassy in the country came not new.
"What do we do?" Asked Boka.
Philip looked again at the newspapers "We send condolences," he said "there's nothing else to do and it affects us."

To the Senate and people of Draxis.
To the family

Emperor Philip and the people of Germany, Tuscany and Bohemia, the Holy Roman Empire, sent his condolences for the death of your Grand Duke Alexander.
Blessed God welcome him as a son in the heavenly hosts.
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NRE
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Map Tsar and Southern Gentleman

The Kremlin, Moscow...

The tour had continued on in earnest even without the Grand Duke's presence. Tatiana seemed to take real delight in showing Octavian her favorite places within the Kremlin, especially those she had enjoyed as a royal youth. It was getting late however and soon the party would retire to rooms made for the Tsar's family and guests, it was scheduled that Tatiana and Octavian would leave in the morning. They had just rounded a street corner within the Kremlin, heading towards their escort cars that would take them to the palace on the other end of the Kremlin when an aid silently approached Alexei. At first no one noticed that the Tsar's ear had been taken and they continued on towards the cars until Tatiana went to make a comment to her brother. It was then that they noticed had was being given a message, the expression on his face was all too grim. When finished the Tsar excused the aid and walked briskly towards the group. "We must get in the cars now" he said without warning, no one questioned him and the entire party entered their respected cars.

Once inside the drives were ordered to make great haste to the palace. Once on their way, Alexei to a brief moment to explain himself. "Octavian, I have received word that there has been an assassination in Draxis, if my sources are right your father is dead. Information coming out of Draxis is chaotic so I do not have all the details. However, I am going to assume the worst and put the Empire on high alert. I assure you, the Russian Empire will do everything in its power to bring these murders to justice even if we must hunt them down ourselves." Octavian said nothing, not that Alexei expected to hear much from him. After all, he had just lost his father and such news is rarely taken well. When they arrived at the palace, Alexei put his guard on high alert as he was going to take no chance at a possible assassination attempt against Octavian. After such arrangements were made, he phoned the Moscow Military District and brought the whole of its might to active service. The 6th army was the first to come to life as it was stationed in a town straddling the border with Draxis. If the Tsar moved into Draxis, the 6th would be the first to go.

Official Statement of the Tsar of Russia

The News from the Draxis is most disturbing as the Grand Duke was a faithful ally, friend, and family to the Tsars of Russia. If news of his death is found to be true, then the Russian Empire will do everything within its power to bring the murders to justice even if it means using the fully might of the Russia Imperial Military to hunt them down. We ask that violence within the cities and countries sides come to an end and that Russia be allowed to enter peacefully so that order can be restored to the Drax people.
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Rhadamanthus
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The mood in Constantinople was solemn. The murder of the Grand Duke was an event of terrible portent as well as a terrible crime against a man loved and respected by the Roman Empire. While the empire was somewhat aloof, and not eager to involve themselves in other matters, this was too important a matter to ignore. The very thought that the senatorial murderers of the Grand Duke might escape justice, or take the country away from House Drax, was too much to bear for the lords and ladies in the City of the World's Desire,

Constantinople was spiritually and poetically the center of all the world, and the imperial court with its etiquette and ceremony, as precise as the most finely choreographed ballet, was the spiritual and poetic center of the City. From there, the emperor's Acts would spread throughout the City, to all parts of the Empire, and around the World. But today the court was sombre. The uniformed lords and veiled ladies adorned the colors of mourning. Throughout the streets, even the bustle of the markets and the activities of the ports were tinged with weeping. The emperor had decreed mourning for the regicide of Alexander Drax.

In the cathedral, the great Temple of Divine Wisdom, a service was offered on behalf of the deceased. Memory Eternal.

And the Logothete of the Course dispatched a message announcing the imperial position to all the world.

"Official Statement

The god-loving polity the Empire of the Romans formally and solemnly condemns the murder of Grand Duke Alexander Drax and calls for his murderers to be brought to justice. The Roman Empire promises to provide aid to House Drax as well as Russia in whatever measures are necessary to avenge this terrible crime."
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Draxis
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Around them a great air battle was raging as the house Drax air force had arrived, only to be countered by the air force belonging to the Senate of Draxis. The air was chaotic, all flights into Arrakan had been canceled due to the danger, all flights that had been preparing to take off were indefinitely grounded, reinforcements form outside the city were still between twenty minutes to an hour away. But Anton did not notice the battle surrounding him, his attention was focused ahead of him on the corpse of his father, they would shortly be landing at the Citadel, going over the numbers of House Drax in and around the city and in and around the Citadel he realized that soon enough he would probably have to order his forces to retreat to some of the stronger areas of Drax support. He knew that even though most of the House Drax soldiers were better trained and better armed and currently fighting around the city that could hold out at least until reinforcements arrived and two days if all House forces were pulled into the Citadel complex. Over those two days he would be able to move most of the house forces into the military tunnel and transportation complex that honeycombed the countryside of Draxis. House Drax had exclusive access to that complex given they had build all of it with house funding, with separate house funded construction crews, and much in secret. Thankfully this meant they had the only copy of the codes that could access the tunnels and once they closed the blast doors behind them they could disappear and pick their battles and strongholds. As such his only option was to move his forces into the tunnel complex and trigger the blast doors to stop the Senate from chasing their forces across the country until House Drax reached their strongholds. It was either that or risk having the entirety of his forces surrounded, possibly routed, captured or destroyed.

With a skeleton crew in the Citadel they could back up most of their sensitive information, then purge all of the Citadel systems leaving nothing for Senate security forces to find. Whatever happened he knew house Drax would lose the battle of Arrakan, before he could oversee it he had to make sure that his father's corpse was placed on the Ducal train in full regalia and sent as fast as it could travel to Russia. He would follow shortly with the remainder of the skeletal Drax forces remaining in the Citadel to ensure that his father's corpse was safe and then to find a safe location in Draxis to set up the headquarters of House Drax. There, for the time being, his father would be buried until he was sure that the traditional Drax burial grounds were safe.

At most he knew that they could hold the Citadel for two days, enough anti-air defenses would ensure that if the Senate gained air-control over the city they could fend them off, though that was unlikely, and holding off ground forces would be a fairly simple task for two days. That was more than enough time to do what was needed to be done and activate all of the needed decentralized command structures and protocols that could be needed over the following days.

Anton barely noticed the Ox transport landing in the plaza that lay out front of the citadel. Now was the time to act and stop contemplating their situation. As he jumped onto the plaza he quickly ordered a few of his cadre to find a stretcher so they could transport his father to the Ducal train. Then looking to Niko who was next to him, probably from following the orders of 'Protecting and Escorting the Grand Duke' now that that was Anton, "Niko, get back in the Ox, I will be giving you special orders shortly, take a small cadre with you, but only enough to establish a safe house."

"Understood sire." Niko replied.

---
---

In Corrin city Sigmund was still in shock, he had ordered the Harkon headquarters to be reinforced in case the Senate tried to destroy House Harkon next. Or if the Drax tried to find a way to blame the Harkon for the assassination. He was busy recalling all of the Harkon operatives and political liaisons form all of the various offices with the Senate and House Drax. But the busy work did not ease the shock, his political enemy Alexander Drax was dead, his brother in law Alexander Drax was dead, his closest childhood friend Alexander Drax was dead, while he had been prepared to kill him himself or by his order and to purge his family and take the Ducal Signet ring all that was politics and business, the Senate had no right to involve themselves in such business. Granted it was inevitable they would become enemies, that is how the aristocratic game is played in Draxis. And Granted many believed that when they had been children that their friendship would end the blood feud, and when he married Alexander's sister that the two families would become one... but politics are of course politics. And eventually the friendship faded... but that was mostly because he had been over eager to have the Drax and Harkon enter into a new era of relations after he had become head of house Harkon and married Alexander's sister because patience is not the virtue of young men. When the entire world and time itself stretches before you with death far off in the distance nothing can wait, everything is the end of life or the beginning of a new life. Until one year the realization is that no matter what happens life goes on, life finds a way... well not always life, usually evil. Evil always finds a way to creep in, jealousy, greed, the feelings do not exist except in hindsight, everything is proportional in the moment. It creeped into their friendship as well as the feeling for vengeance, at least for Alexander...

And suddenly Sigmund disappeared into his own mind and his own memories, his old body faded and he was young again, he couldn't remember the exact age as everything became 27ish, 26ish with time. It was maybe three or eight months after his wedding, or sometime after... he couldn't remember the time but he remembered the smell. The air was damp, a window was open and the cool post-rain summer breeze swept into the hallway. The Citadel looked different than it did these days, the modernization renovations had not occurred, the tower was at the time the tallest building in the world, whereas now it had competition, portraits of the old Duke hung in the hallways, he could see them even in the dark, he had arranged for the power to be cut for at least twenty minutes. The Royal guard were on patrol, flashlights and guns drawn as they tried to reestablish the power. Sigmund was wearing a Harkon sneaking suit he had acquired to 'see and understand' what his special operations personnel would be wearing. Nothing was visible to anyone else, but he had perfect vision, well slightly darker but that was not the point, he could see fine. He was not far now, the old duke was nearby, he would not be in the Ducal room at the top of the tower as he was a womanizer and was spending the night in one of the guest rooms.

Then he saw the room, no guard so that he did not have to worry about them knowing too much of his habits or his schedule, especially given the fact that every Grand Duke in the history of Draxis had been assassinated, usually by family members trying to take the signet ring. The Old Duke was paranoid, paranoid of his family, paranoid of his guards, paranoid of what he felt was an unholy alliance with the Harkons but his wife and much of the Drax and Harkon families were trying to find a way to ease the rift. And having the respective sons and heirs to the families grow up together, attend the same schools and go on joint vacations. At least until Alexander had to leave for the family tradition of education from sometime in the early teens of pre-teens until the age of eighteen. Alexander had left at age twelve and seemed no different at first, by 16 he seemed off, colder more distant and logical, and by eighteen he was completely different but still his friend. Alexander was cold, but could cover it with a mask of warmth, he felt the ends justified the means though the means rarely meant he needed to care what the people thought, he needed to do something, finish something.

Sigmund opened the door quietly, it was well oiled and glided with ease. The room was dark and had a large balcony with a view of the river and the gardens where one day the embassies of the nations of the world would sit. But at this point it was n open space filled with beautiful gardens, parks, and plazas. Some of the best restaurants in the city were located there. Everywhere else out from the window became high density housing and mass transit systems, Arrakan was a large city filled to the brim with people, though with the economy the way it was few cars. In a single word the architecture was powerful to say the least.

The Old Duke was not asleep nor was he about the room, he was washing up in the bathroom, Sigmund could hear the splash of water form the bath. So he waited, and he waited. The old Duke took his time in the candlelit bathroom. And still he took his time, the power came back on around the Citadel, Sigmund could tell from the buildings around the Citadel lighting up and the lights in the hall returning. And still the Old Duke took his time. In his ear his surveillance equipment did its trick and let him know what the guards were doing, now that they had restored power they needed to find the Grand Duke. Of course only a few people in the Citadel actually knew where the Old Duke was, Sigmund, Alexander who had his father surveyed, and perhaps one or two of Alexander's siblings. Sigmund heard the Old Duke get out of the bath and begin toweling off. When the Old Duke emerged into the guest room he did not see Sigmund at first until Sigmund elbowed him in the right temple with just enough force to knock the Old Duke out, when he was on the ground he plunged the dagger through the old Dukes back to where his heart would be, then he slit the Old Duke's throat.

Turning around Sigmund went to leave only to find that he had been joined by Alexander with some of what he considered the worst timing in existence, gun drawn, face solid, enraged about to pull the trigger when Sigmund acted. Pulling off his mask he said, "Alexander its me, Sigmund, you are Grand Duke now, and together our new era will begin. I did this for you."

He could see it in Alexander's eyes then that he would never forgive Sigmund, but he silently nodded and put his gun down and walked over to the body. Coldly he surveyed it, "We can't have him killed by the head of House Harkon, now can we? People would scream for your blood. Take him out to the balcony and toss him. We'll rule it suicide, and those who examine his body will agree with that conclusion and then disappear."

At the time he thought he and Alexander had won and that look was just from shock, Alexander would understand, the ends would justify this action. Of course evil always found a way, they grew distant, Sigmund became jealous of Alexander and greed demanded that he take his rightful place as the Duke of Draxis, the Harkon were the rightful rulers after all. The Duke swore his vengeance and that attributes had been imparted to his children. The feud became even deeper and now Sigmund was the only one left, the only one who knew why things became worse and of all things... he missed his nemesis. He missed Alexander, things were not meat to end this way, but they had and now Sigmund had to deal with the world the way it was today. And he was old again, the air was dry even though the heater was labouring to keep it warm it seemed to be failing, another long and cold Drax winter was ahead of them.
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Draxis
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Captain
OOC: Time to dust this off once again. Apologies to NRE and RD, developments in my life between the last update and now have for the most part been bad (healthwise) and then suddenly took a decent turn recently, so now re-energized I hope to continue. So this update will be short for now. Also given my abscence for now I will be making use of our nice fluid time where it sits like a stagnant pool in some places and a raging rapid in others for a few posts while I update myself on what has been going on in our world.

IC:

The Drax forces in the city had for the most part been overwhelmed by the activation of Senatarian forces. After all they had no choice, the armed wing of House Drax had violated the Constitution and the Arrangement of Places, Duties, and Strengths (signed on the acquisition of State by the Senate). The only real question was where the forces of House Harkon stood if and when the war between the Senate and Drax reached them. But for now they were safe in their section of the city House Harkon seemed to be minding its own business and had yet to choose a side. Though it was still trying to gather its intelligensia and figure out its position.

Inside the Citadel databanks were being backed up on portable storage units and then purged completely. Teams of technicians roamed the halls of the computing and data storage centers with large and powerful magnets to marked machines. The Citadel when it fell would offer the Senate nothing more than a grand building for propaganda. There would be nothing that could harm house Drax. And so this continued until their job was finished. These technicians knew they would be captured, if they could not finished their job by the time Senatarian forces arrived then they would simply have to destroy as much as possible with the rigged explosives. If they died in the process then they had served their House and their Duke well, their names would live on and their families would find themselves blessed by the honor of their sacrifice, forever binding themselves to the House and the Grand Duke.

Anton wondered if this would be the last time he would ever see the Citadel again, briefly before boarding the train, he couldn't remain behind any longer. For now he would go to Russia to see to his fathers body, and ensure it passed safely into the right hands.

The station quickly receded from view as he left into the darkness of the tunnels. Every so often the train would shake when it passed a safe distance from the explosions which would collapse the tunnels ensuring that the Senate could not follow them or even map out the royal train lines.

---
---

Soon enough Niko knew he would come to hate flying. Especially in these Ox transports. He would reach the target area in three hours a dusk. Supposedly there would be a meeting of several of the leading conspirators in the plot to assassinate the Duke. And there he would kill them all no matter the person. After that would come the hunt for the rest. He wished they would all be there, but he did not think he could ever be that lucky. Just three more hours.
Edited by Draxis, Apr 1 2011, 06:42 PM.
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Draxis
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OOC: Just to clarify, the time line gets a bit weird here as I will be discussing things happening in the morning as well as the night before. Niko is in the night before and Anton and the rest is coming after-wards. The Niko part will probably last over a couple of posts before he is then reintegrated with the main storyline.

Niko watched the snow swirl around him as the Ox transport left him in the darkness of the countryside, it would not be fair to define the area he was in as wilderness as it was part of a large estate held by one of the principle instigators of the assassination of the Duke, god rest his soul. Maybe there was a small village twenty kilometers away, but the chief way people were moved in and out of the estate was by helicopter, while the servants were left to use 4x4 vehicles to traverse back and forth between the village and the estate. Things were not much better in the village, it was remote, as was most of this families holdings. They were from the aristocracy, one of the deviant lines that was officially forgotten but their holdings and monetary dealings had kept them in the good graces of the treasury and of a high rank in the non-book lines. While most other people had forgotten the family's start, the family did not, and had only simmered in rage at House Drax since even before the time of the Unification War. Though at the same time ingratiated themselves into it and into Party Drax. As far as most non-family Drax knew they were just a good example of the bourgeois who had risen in Drax and somehow managed to survive the great depression. Almost everything in this remote province belonged to the family, every business paid them some form of tithe. In Arrakan academics may think this to be odd or different from the rest of the Drax nation, but it was far more common than most would care to admit. Only here it was fuedal to the lords who were known by the title of Senator, there was only one party out here and it was not the Party Drax but that which the owner belonged. Out here the Patronage network was meaningless, there was no honor in it, and even in the places where it existed it had been broken, the honor removed and only was a bastardized form of private power and coercion.

Niko knew he had to be quiet, but even in his load out for this job this was reinforced, a crossbow with 24 bolts, four were explosive in case things went terribly bad, and a ballistic knife with multiple reloads. The compound ahead was heavily fortified and given the state of Draxis and what the lord had done, would obviously be on high alert. From the information they had inside should be a celebratory party and feast over the successful assassination. The guards were optional and only if they attempted to interfere, obviously they will try, but his targets were those responsible for the actions in the senate. The snow and its gentle crunch beneath his boots would not assist in a quiet infiltration. At least though he could wait for the storm to worsen as it was predicted it would, reducing the visibility of patrols and hopefully bringing them to a closer security ring.

With a long, cold, quiet and dark walk ahead, Niko trudged on as the weather began to worsen around him. The constant swirl of snow increased, small flakes greatly separated became small flakes coming in clusters. Those clusters grew in size as the snow began to fall in clumps. A light haze in the distance became larger as the darkness became all consuming. Nothing improved the situation, night-vision barely gave definition to anything in the distance. But he knew he had reached the edge of the central compound when sound first reached him, and a slight glow after the noise.

It was a small watch post. It had no windows, but several small surveillance cameras, no doubt joined to a network through which they could keep watch of large sections of the estate. It was near a dirt road that no doubt led to the central estate, with another shack off to the side, probably where a car was kept. Thankfully for Niko the snowstorm made seeing anything extremely hard, though if he managed to make it to the first observation post without setting off any motion detectors it would be a surprise. But from the sounds of the post, then they were still unaware of his presence. So either they knew he was there and were waiting for the last one to go off, or they had discounted any warnings as oddities caused by the weather.

Niko kept his distance. One of the two cameras was moving the other was fixed, both older almost outdated models. He couldn’t tell if the non-moving one was on him. Niko lowered himself onto the ground near some shrubs. It was cold, the temperature had continued to drop. Now it was maybe twelve degrees below zero. The low of the night was minus twenty. Now he just had to think of how to get the people from the inside, out, or get around these people without anyone noticing. He couldn’t wait long as a long and dark cold night was as deadly as a bullet in the stomach.

And Niko waited as the winter cold seemed to slowly seep through his winter fatigues, slowly layer by layer, fiber by fiber he could feel the winter closing in on him as though old general winter was clawing at his flesh hoping to find his heart and silence its eventually futile beatings. Niko waited how long he could not say, he knew this area in its dense snow as well as his childhood him. Several meters forwards and many more to the right lay a garage, in front was that damned shack with its cameras. And inside lay the loudest, and quite possibly drunk (as alcoholism was almost as rampant), guards. By now he knew the exact number of guards and their names, he could even probably name their significant others if he cared.

The three inside seemed to be distracted with a game of cards, he couldn’t make out the exact game given that he recognized none of the calls, either it was one from the locality, or just something they made up in their spare time. He could make a break for the garage, but would probably not get far as hotwiring a car would take too long and they were armed. So that was out. Now he was hoping one of them would come out, especially given their apparent possibly drunk nature.

Finally one did come out, he believed this must be Nicolai, and hopefully he was the biggest of the three, even under his guard fatigues which fit extremely tight and were not forgiving of his muscles Niko could see that any unarmed combat would have to be a surprise. Nicolai was grumbling about the bitter cold, the other two Sarius and Andrai were yelling at him to close the door. Well not close the door, but such was implied through the expletives. Niko readied his crossbow and leveled it on Nicolai, he waited until Nicolai steadied himself alongside the shack, and the steam began to rise with a slight moan of pleasure. Niko breathed with Nicolai and pulled the trigger, it snapped and was met with a great spray of blood from Nicolai’s neck as the gargantuan man slumped over and fell forwards into the snow. Nicolai was gurgling in the snow trying to wildly move his head around to find what hit him and from where. Fumbling limply for his pistol eyes wide as his life faded with each breath and the blood emptied into the snow below.

The other two yelled at him to not mess about, and without a reply silence hit the shack as they scrambled outside. Inside Niko’s head he felt he could hear something, it was the beautiful symphony of action, and it seemed to be of some peaceful quiet and rhythmic classical music. Somewhere from before Draxis in the concert of Europe. It was mostly strings right now as the other two ran out bearing old automatics that probably still functioned. Surplus arms from the days of Catholic Europe that had flooded into Draxis with its collapse. Another bolt was readied and Niko fired striking the second man, Sarius in the chest. Andrai jumped and tried to roll but stumbled on what he realized was the body of Nicolai. Niko breathed and fired a knife blade striking Andrai in the hand. Niko ran forwards and popped in another blade, Andrai had finally sighted Niko but could not be fast enough he was barely up when the blows of hand to hand combat fell, a kick to the gun tossing it wide and out of his hands, an elbow to the neck and a boot on the shin pushed Andrai into the snow. Niko breathed and brought the knife down into the man’s neck.

Now was a time for some much needed warmth so he could regain feeling. The music had not faded yet, but was beginning to fade. It had not reached its peak but soon would.

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Drax News Agency: Senate Declares Marshall Law and Invokes the Articles of Tyrannicide as Fighting Continues in Draxis and Riots Rock Arrakan
Excerpt...
Today a partial meeting of the Senate was met, with the emergency law in full measure the entire senate was not required to begin voting for the day and the remaining senators with several notable exceptions passed three emergency measures. The first and most controversial being Marshall Law which has been instated indefinitely and is expected to last the duration of the crisis. It has also been instated as a measure to quell the riots that have rocked Arrakan these past few days as protesters call on the Senate and House Drax to end the fighting...

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The Articles of Tyrannicide were also invoked in a passionate and lengthy debate on the Senate floor where the sides were split without either side reaching the required 5/6ths approval for them to pass on the acts of the former Duke, but with the fighting against Anton Slavic Drax V and the Drax forces incursion into the Senate consensus was reached on declaring the Articles on the current Duke.
...

From an undisclosed located Anton Slavic Drax V reached the Drax News Agency and denounced the resolutions as illegitimate and pushed forwards by separatists and Senatorial Supremasists...

For more on these actions or thoughts on the crisis visit our in depth "Strife in Draxis" section on our website including the full unedited interview with Anton Slavic Drax V.
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Anton had been in Russia for what seemed like ages now, he had protected his father's corpse for a long time. Eight months had elapsed since the murder of Grad Duke Alexander Drax and his body had been interred in an unspecified place within Russia. Even if less than half of the conspirators had been killed in various attacks by Niko many had so far escaped any form of justice. Worse yet was that even though House Drax controlled most of the military it was too widespread to matter much in the combined attacks by Senatorial forces and defections amongst the officers corp. At present Anton's fighting powers were under a quarter of what they were on paper and most of these were now out of the country. Sadly it looked like the most important group that could tip the balance either way was of course House Harkon, and they were making noises that sounded like Senatorial support. He had been isolated for too long, he had left the country to ensure that his father's remains were safe, but had since then been stuck most of his interactions with Draxis were through interviews done right from Russia. His time though was nearly up in his mind though as he had felt with some time he could organize a counter-offensive, with the Russian No-Fly Zone and economic embargo on the Senate and the country of Draxis unrest had only become worse, but that unrest was not for any particular force which was the problem, the few isolated loyal forces still in Draxis were spending most of their time trying to keep the peace in their areas and once in a while fight any intrusions by the over-stretched Senatorial forces and rogue commanders seeking to establish their own power structure or personal fiefdoms.

Anton had thought too that with time his anger would have faded, but if anything it had grown and because of this he had begun to isolate himself even from his own family. He had not seen his son in the last three weeks, his wife maybe a few times over the last week, and his sister perhaps a few months ago. But now that he had finally decided that his isolation would end in all terms, first with the personal and then with Draxis.

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Niko had disappeared into the East, it was not Drax land officially but the aristocrats and those wanted to raise their social standing had moved out here where they had bought out large swaths of land where they could act as tiny kings of the earth. While there were statelets here they were divided and these men had become power brokers. Unfortunately these power brokers had ties to the conspirators or were them seven out of ten cases which with the authority placed on him by Anton, the unconfirmed Grand Duke of Draxis, meant their lives and material goods had become forfeit. He had killed so far eight of the "Party Kings" of the East, and had taken up residence in one of the more palatial estates outside of Perm though his personal lands through these confiscations led to him wielding considerable influence down to Chelyabinsk and north to Dobryanka. His death list was long and he had barely scratched off that many names in the last six months, but now he was a man of importance and one who technically had to exist now unlike where he was eight months ago as a ghost of House Drax, like the Holy Ghost only centered on vengeance. Out here he had become one of the "Party Kings" but was also the most hated, intrigue followed intrigue, as most opposed him or feared his intentions in regards to their own person and that of their family but rarely directly opposed him. Which was their weakness one that he exploited.

Niko walked out into the grounds, first he passed through the flower beds and arrangements that were in bloom this early in summer to an ornately decorated gazeebo at the center of which sat a replica of the peacock throne the previous owner had created to symbolize his regional importance. Unfortunately he was not so as important to have anyone care about his death and Niko had stepped into his position with little change other than a swift depopulation of the man's employees. The throne was rotated to have a full view of the emptied and deep olympic sized pool which now found itself to be home to two of Niko's tigers, again appropriated from former wealthy owners that had thought themselves to be safe in their positions, far enough away from Draxis to ensure no official state action could touch them, but close enough to either assist the conspirators or house them in their time of need. Arranged at the edge of the pool were six of these people and in front of them were twenty of his men, armed and ready for what had to be done. Niko could see over his men and into the faces of the unfortunate six.

Two of them Niko knew personally as he had been introduced to them at a party about two months ago, the other four he knew through pictures and name, though usually prefaced by a number on his list of undesirables that had fled Draxis or were tied to those who were needed to disappear for House Drax. Unfortunately since getting set up here he found his list ever growing, first with orders from the Black Hand, then from Anton who seemed to always be in some form of a boiling rage considering that the last names he had been given a week ago were mixed in with curses. And looking down at those arranged here now he knew that at least one of them would find a way to get their name off that list.

"I assume you all understand why I have brought you here today." Niko said holding a hand up during his pause to let them know not to speak. "You are at a cross roads, one leads to life and the other ends just below you in the pool. So who here is willing to surrender everything of theirs and swear allegiance and loyalty to myself and House Drax?"

All he had returned was protest, but he knew that as this happened at least once a month since he moved into his estate. He flicked a House Drax Battle Sign to throw one of the six into the pool and asked the same question again, though now accented with roars and screams from the pool. No protest, but no one stepped forward.

"Feel free to watch as if you do not do this you too will end there, either way I will own all that you own, one way you choose it and the other hurts a little more."

The colour drained from the remaining five as the person in the pool finally succumbed to injuries and began to be eaten.

Three were left when he received their "allegiance", he knew it was temporary at best but mostly he wanted to make sure that people feared him so he would no longer need to deal with the theatrics required of him.

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Anton had finished dinner with his family where he had given the news that he would be departing for campaign in the next two weeks as he had given the order to muster his forces and to arrange routes of invasion. He hoped to not need either Russian or Roman support in the land campaign as he wished to preserve Drax independence in all matters. As he had left to go to bed, not his actual bed but where he had taken up residence during his time in isolation a messenger came with a report that was marked as urgent and in need of his immediate viewing. He muttered a thank you as he pushed the bard away and read the report, the Senate had voted in an emergency session to demolish both the Royal College of Arms and the Citadel, as in recent months the Senate had moved to a much more radical line with both of those buildings being seen as affronts to a truly republican Draxis. Anton felt his eyes bulge and pop, his blood ran hot and felt like acid in his veins, he tasted smoke and wished to breathe fire and was not sure of whether or not he was thinking, feeling or yelling but all that appeared in his mind or mouth or heart was that he truly and more than anything wanted to purge everyone ever associate with the Senate, not quietly as he had always engineered with the XIIIth legion or the Black Hand but publicly. He wanted to crucify every senator, aide, page, and bureaucrat down the main boulevard of Arrakan, and have those who voted in favor done in front of the burnt remains of the Senate House. Two weeks was too long and too good for these people, he was going to order the move to be done in five days.

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