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Bloodless Wounds


ReuKinChe
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Foundation Square, Metro City

Through the bite of winter air, the sun was shining its mild light and warmth over the rapidly growing crowd. People walked along the streets, keeping their hands tightly held in their coats to keep warm. The crowd members were perhaps huddled together as much for the warmth as they were for the President's speech. Today, Reubenia would be officially renamed. After a proposal by the president himself, the Senate and the people had voted to rename Reubenia to Lumia. A nation named after the first name of its first ruler would not be taken seriously. Much like 'Germany' commanded greater respect than 'Ottoland', 'Lumia' would command greater respect than 'Reubenia'. One day, Reuben Cheuk would die, while the nation continued. A nation tied so closely to a dead leader of its past could not progress beyond their legacy. True to its new name, Lumia was to be a shining beacon of freedom, equality and progress. And so Lumia would.

At the conclusion of the speech, applause began to ring. But it quietened down quicker than usual. The eyes of the crowd were no longer looking at the president. They were looking at a growing wave of disturbances in the air. Much like ripples in water distort one's reflection, disturbances in the air were distorting what was behind them. Walking around the disturbances revealed that they were acting within a spherical zone. When the size of the distorted area reached a diameter of roughly 5 meters, the distortions abruptly disappeared. But the image in the sphere was different. This was not the same Metro City. Through the sphere, a person could be seen walking towards the crowd. The person was in full uniform, and was getting closer fast. The person walked through the sphere, and into the crowd. The sphere was no ordinary sphere; it was a portal.

 

OOC: I'm role-playing the suggested mirror universe event. No else one can post here, unless to role-play a reply to a classified message I've directed their way IC.

Edited by Reuben Cheuk
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Foundation Square, Metro City

Several dozen more people came through the portal. The Reubenian government soon arrived on the scene, and it was found that the people were diplomats of the nation on the opposite end of the portal: the Lumian Empire. The portal seemed to connect to a parallel universe, on in which Lumia was an authoritarian state. There were hundreds of questions waiting to be asked. But as of yet, the diplomats were doing their best to give nothing away. However, it was discovered that the empire was significantly more powerful than their democratic counterpart, with power equal to or greater than MoG[Corp]. But it looked as if technology sharing was out of the question, with diplomats claiming that the republic must decide its own destiny. The Lumian Empire remained shrouded in mystery.

In the meantime, a makeshift building was put in place around the portal to serve as a customs area. The diplomats were given accomodation in hotels around Metro City. Normality gradually returned after the momentous events of yesterday.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Grand Metropolitan Hotel, Metro City

Clad in lightweight armour, Kyle Bryant stood above the 3D printer as it printed out the ammunition for the HAR-28 Devastator rifle. As the Lumian Republic had refused to allow the Empire to bring weapons through customs, they'd needed to make them on-site. The technology gap had been great enough for Kyle to convince the credulous customs officer that the 3D printer was a food preparer. The Republic would pay dearly for their stupidity. For Kyle Bryant, along with about fifty of his compatriots, was not a diplomat. He was a soldier tasked with wreaking havoc behind enemy lines. And with his advanced cybernetic implants and weaponry, there was little chance of failure

 

Foundation Square Customs Office, Metro City

Three armed men and two armed women in exoskeletons were crossing the portal. They exuded menace and power, a description they had earned and deserved fully.

"Sorry, you're not allowed to bring weapons past this point."

"Ah, of course. What do we do with them?"

"I'll just take them from here, thanks."

The customs officer reached out for the closest man's weapon. The man abruptly stepped back and jabbed the hapless officer with the butt of the rifle in the windpipe, before tossing him with full force into the two guards manning the portal. His comrades preceded to efficiently and silently fire slugs of lead into their skulls from 10 metres away. The security cameras were dispatched shortly after. While reinforcements began rushing through the portal in preparation for a breakthrough attack, the squad of five held off attackers from all entry points with ease. The Republic's fast-moving blaster drones were more difficult to hit, but since the Empire's exoskeletons protected against blaster shots, there was little element of danger.

Once a hundred Imperial soldiers and thirty drones were inside the customs office, the next phase began. Anyone on the Empire's side of the portal would note that the room the portal was housed in had closed its doors. Imperial soldiers began to toss high-pressure poisonous gas canisters over the front line, killing many Republic soldiers and forcing their retreat. Within minutes, Foundation Square had been occupied by Imperial forces, and barricades were set up, as further reinforcements arrived through the portal. The Lumian Republic's first responders had been almost annihilated, and the stage was set for further catastrophic humiliations as the Republic's reinforcements spearheaded a counterattack.

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Lumian Imperial Airspace

The Lumian Imperial Air Force had certainly earned its reputation as the most deadly in history.

Part of it was technology. Thousands of scientists, engineers and computer assistants worked together to refine every last part of the plane into part of a efficient, ruthless and elegant killing machine.

Part of it was doctrine. Forged by hundreds of conflicts and thousands of simulations, the almost perfect logistics, strategies and tactics of the LIAF were employed to their fullest extent.

The rest was the colossal industrial base backing it up. Millions of robots worked 24/7 in the factories with one goal; to build more planes. With such a vast industrial base at one's fingertips, the most valuable resource was really the people behind the project. In the time since its formation, the LIAF had lost only 30 pilots, hardly a setback.

There were currently eight planes, flying towards a single point in the sky, so that, like a pizza, their trajectories divided the sky into eight equally sized portions. The pilots all saw the sky in front of them shimmer and distort, before opening into a portal, one growing larger by the second as the planes raced to their target.

"Autopilot, commence bombing procedure."

Suddenly, the world around them changed.

 

Above Metro City

Anyone who hoped that the brief shimmering in the sky was divine salvation would have been swiftly disappointed, as eight military jets screamed out of the portal, their contrails dividing the sky into neat and equal portions. But the aftermath of their visit would be anything but neat, as many bystanders would soon find out. An astute observer would have noted that the contrails were also parallel to the eight roads leading out of Foundation Square. Several thousand bombs were being dropped down the eight roads, right on top of the Republic's reinforcements. The bombs then guided themselves to hit the enemy positions. With resistance weakened, the Imperial soldiers broke out of their position, moving down the streets of Metro City. Several of the Republic's drone fighters chased after the Imperial jets at top speed, only to be methodically smashed into pieces by the explosions of several homing missiles.

 

Grand Metropolitan Hotel, Metro City

There was the sound of several gunshots, followed by the sound of shattering glass and screaming. The screaming was then overpowered by the constant hum of an automatic rifle. Gradually, the screaming subsided as scores of civilians rushing for the doors were cut down. The screams had been replaced by silence, the oppressive and horrifying silence of the quiet and methodical stalker hunting those who must remain quiet in order to live. Occasionally, there was a whimper, a sneeze or a cough, followed by a gunshot.

The sound of running boots could be heard, signalling the arrival of Republic's reinforcements. But for every gunshot that followed, there was the sound of something metallic bouncing off something hard. A few minutes later, the silence was total and unbroken.

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Recognition of Hostilities with the Lumian Empire

Yesterday, at 3:28 pm, the Lumian Republic was suddenly and treacherously attacked by the Lumian Empire. We had been under the impression that we shared similar ideals, and that together we would embark on a great journey of knowledge, progress, and the betterment of the human race and environment. We were mistaken, and our trust was broken in the cruellest of ways, with the slaughter of hundreds of innocent men, women and children. There is will be no diplomatic solution to this situation. There will be no atonement for their crimes. It is clear to all of us that the Empire's last chance of redemption withered away long ago. They have taken from us. They have lied to us. Now, they will pay the bill. A state of war now exists between the Lumian Republic and the Lumian Empire.

 

Message from the Lumian Empire to EU Nations

You have most likely heard of the recent conflict in Metro City. You can be assured that the Lumian Empire has no designs upon your nations. We merely wish to unite the two Lumias under one banner, so that we may bring an era of progress and freedom to humanity, in all universes. We are a peaceful nation, and do not wish to start a war.

War has changed. Thousands of years ago, a battle could be won or lost by factors such as individual bravery or the weather. But war has changed. Now the main factors behind victory are logistics, doctrine, and technology. Luck plays almost no role in the game of modern warfare. Should any of you feel inclined to assist your ally, luck will not save you. Luck will not save you, as your military is crushed to nothingness by sheer numbers. Luck will not save you from the inevitable humiliating failures of your military leadership. Luck will not save you, if we use portal technology to deploy uncountable numbers of soldiers anywhere in your nation. War has changed, but there's one way it never has. The strong will always defeat the weak.

You are at a crossroads. How you act will determine the future of your people. If you choose wisely, we will enjoy centuries of mutual respect and cooperation. Choose poorly, and you will not be there to enjoy anything.

 

Senate Evacuated from Metro City, Elections Suspended

The Senate today chose to grant emergency powers to the President. Under the Wartime Government Act, two leaders will jointly be appointed: President Reuben Cheuk, and General of the Armies Trent Smith. Either of the leaders can be impeached by the approval of the other leader and 80% of the Senate.

Edited by Reuben Cheuk
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The Laurentian Embassy, 

 

Deputy-Ambassador Elizabeth Huffington ran into the Ambassadors room "we are leaving now."

"Why Elizabeth?" The Ambassador looked startled

"There is a military helicopter and the Laurentian GIGN are here. We are leaving now."

Before the ambassador could object, Laurentian Marines grabbed her and moved her into the Military Helicopter. She watched as Embassy staffers burnt classified documents, intelligence gathering, contacted spies in the region, and prepared to exfil to the airport. Consulars rapidly dialed Laurentian citizens and sent mass messages telling them to get to the Airport as soon as possible. Laurentian Soldiers stood at the Airports, with Atlas Troop Transports arriving with some AirLaurentia Planes coming as well. 

Under 48 Hours, the Laurentian Embassy was desolate and all of its contents burnt and destroyed. What was vital or not digitalized was taken by the Ambassador's Helicopter. 

The Ambassador would be taken to President Korczaks office to be debriefed and asked on how to proceed. 

 

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In the days which followed, much of the civilian population of Metro City fled, as urban warfare shook the city. Artillery barrages and rocket attacks were common. Use of nuclear weaponry was quickly decided against, as it would significantly damage morale and most likely fail to destroy the portal. Though casualties remained heavily stacked against the Lumian Republic, a semi-sustainable stalemate had been achieved. The Empire's forces were gradually bogged down in a gruesome quagmire of blood.

 

Outskirts of Metro City

The air shimmered and distorted, and a portal opened. For five minutes, soldiers marched and tanks rolled out of the portal. The portal closed. Several kilometres away, the same thing occurred, 30 seconds after the end of the first portal. Over the next few hours, the Lumian Empire would place several thousand troops around Metro City. The few troops patrolling the outskirts attempted to break the ring, but were pushed back. Metro City was under siege.

 

Mendel Street, Metro City

Humanity had evolved in the savanna to hunt large game with tools and endurance. Sean Smith was pretty sure that his ancestors hadn't evolved to hunt highly-trained soldiers in the city with automatic rifles and radio communications. Nevertheless, that was the situation he and his team now faced. Their orders were directly from High Command: to incapacitate and scan the brain of an elite soldier, before holding for extraction. Seeing as Metro City was now surrounded, and help was far off, the mission would be very difficult.

After seeing an elite soldier walk into an Imperial-held department store, the squad stealthily walked behind the man in the exoskeleton, until he would no longer be able to escape by the doors. An acid grenade was tossed at him, covering his plastic-based exoskeleton with opaque and pungent liquid, dissolving his visor. Such weapons had proven useful in halting the Empire's advances. In the temporary confusion their target faced, the squad surrounded him, and bombarded his head with microwaves. As his head heated up, the man began to scream and clutch his skull in agony. Seconds later, he had collapsed from heatstroke. After waiting for a few minutes, his brain was scanned and digitised. To cover their tracks, a bullet was inserted into his skull.

Extraction was costly, with the Republic's army needing to launch a doomed offensive elsewhere to divert the attention of the Imperial forces. Eventually, the squad was transferred to a secure base, along with the vital information. Metro City would fall, but the Republic had scored a stunning intelligence coup, one which could potentially change the course of history.

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  • 1 month later...

Neural Data Processing Facility, Lumian Republic

The elite soldier's name was Kyle Bryant. He was potentially one of the most horrible people Lumian Intelligence had ever dealt with. Even terrorists had some form of twisted moral code. But Bryant? He killed, not out of any particular ideological motivation, but because he found it fun. Psychologists would doubtless be studying his mind for years to come. But none of that was important right now. What mattered was the information that could be gained from him. Fortunately, Bryant had a very intelligent and perceptive mind, making information-gathering a far easier task.

The timeline was the same initially: Reubenia was still founded in 2024, for example. The initial food rations and wages were somewhat smaller, however. But in the election of 2025, the timelines diverged majorly. Instead of an SDP victory, the Nationalist Party surged to power, riding on a tide of anger over insufficient quality of life. The president, a more intelligent Nick Overton, soon received increased powers under the pretence of a manufactured emergency. By 2027, Overton was the dictator of the newly christened Lumian Federation.

In 2029, after a rapid militarisation, Overton launched an invasion of Prussia. The force of the attack was so great, that Prussia was conquered before their Laurentian ally could fully mobilise. Laurentia and Iberia fell soon after, with two expertly performed decapitation strikes. Hungadada and Britannia intervened, but with no connection to Lumia by land, and with numerically and technologically inferior aerial forces, they could do little to help. Scandinavia posed a serious logistical threat, but a stunning naval victory forced them out of the war. With their hands free, the Lumian Army made massive advances into Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe. By 2032, the Lumian Federation had become the Lumian Empire, and ruled over all of continental Europe, except for Scandinavia.

At around this time, a particle physicist worked out the equations behind portal generation. Although each portal required its own particle accelerator to produce the energies necessary for tearing open a literal wound in spacetime, the Lumian government quickly realised the benefits of portal technology, and poured billions of dollars into it. However, Lumian scientists found that it was impossible to create portals between two points in the same universe. Facing this new reality, the Lumian Empire adapted and colonised parallel universes, looting their planets and asteroids for industry in the home universe. In 2033, the Lumian Empire flooded the market with cheap, mass-produced goods, made from the materials of other universes. MoG[Corp] fell into irrelevance, and declared bankruptcy in 2036. Imperial invasions captured the scraps.

By 2038, Hungadada and Scandinavia had finally fallen, despite valiant defences until the very end. Britannia waned in power, before its remains finally bowed down and declared loyalty to the Lumian Empire. Occupying land would be costly, so only a few Lumian-held zones would be on each continent, so that any rebellion could be crushed. To this day, no rebellion had lasted for longer than a week.

With its home planet under its grip, the Lumian Empire sought to expand and colonise the multiverse. Occasionally, they would encounter strong nations, who would need to be subjugated. The Lumian Republic was the first nation to go under the same name as its imperial counterpart, and it too would be brought to heel.

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Figure 1: The Lumian Empire and its territories. Note that the vassal states of Britannia and Mogatopia are not shown.

 

Mendeleev Street, Metro City

Nick Overton, leader of the Nationalist Party, walked along the dusty path, dyed an almost imperceptible red from long-gone rivers of blood. He had 'missed' the last senatorial transport vehicle out of the besieged capital. Abruptly, a shot rang out, and the ground next to him sputtered. With his arms raised in surrender, he called out to the shooter and his comrades.

"My name is Nick Overton! I am the leader of the Nationalist Party, and it is my intention to defect!" he shouted.

"Edwards, what the hell is the Autarch doing in this godforsaken place?" whispered the shooter.

"We're in another universe; perhaps there's a Nick Overton here as well."

"Alright. Simmons, search him for explosives and bring him back to base."

"Yes, sir."

Edited by Reuben Cheuk
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Metro City

Metro City had fallen. The city had once been a symbol of wealth, technology and power. It had inspired optimism in all those who saw its iconic skyline. Gleaming shards of metal and glass had pointed up to the clouds, as if to poke a hole into the heavens. But not anymore. What remained now were parodies of wealth and glory: broken shards, with gnarled steel frames, twisted from the fires that had gutted their innards. Shards of glass littered the streets. Abandoned vehicles lay plowed into buildings. Horrible, grating metal noises were frequent, as buildings continued to collapse. Smouldering apartment blocks glowed in the night. The Lumian Republic had tasted the bitterness of war, and would continue to many times more.

jvdG0oM.png

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Between Metro City and Williamsburg

There was a growing bulge in the front. What had merely been a rounded part of the front had swollen like a balloon, until it became a salient, threatening to burst. And like a balloon, it would pop when the inside pressure exceeded the outside pressure. And when a salient bursts, the troops within it spill across the battlefield. It was clear that Williamsburg, the interim capital of the Lumian Republic, was the goal in the Empire's latest offensive. But for now at least, the Republic held steady.

 

Imperial Command Centre, Outskirts of Metro City

The discussions occurring within the base were particularly noisy today. Holographic projections were being viewed from different angles, in attempts to get flashes of insight. Analysts tapped away frantically at glass screens. At the centre of it all stood General Joseph Vesper, the commander of Imperial forces in the Lumian Republic. Someone quickly stood up and moved towards the general.

"The Republic has achieved a stalemate, sir. All progress toward Williamsburg has stalled. Military simulations estimate a 40-70% chance of mission success within acceptable time parameters."

"And what of their troop commitments?" asked the general, "How many troops do they have on the battlefield?"

"About 200,000, sir. Troop density is at very high levels."

"Hmmm... Launch an EMP strike, immediately."

"Of course, sir."

The missile sliced across the sky shortly after, before exploding and descending almost the entire defending force into disarray.

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Between Metro City and Williamsburg

Exoskeletons had failed, leaving their users trapped within. The soldiers who were fortunate enough to be outside of any electronic machinery were attempting to bust them out, but work was hard and slow. Planes fell from the sky, as their intricate electronics were rendered as useless as scrap silicon. It was humbling, in a way, how easily humanity's creations could be destroyed. But worst of all, communications had been totally severed. It was in this pitiable situation that the hapless defenders would face their baptism of fire.

Imperial jets streaked across the sky, dropping their deadly cargo. Soldiers were forced to take cover, as the ground was torn up by war for the first time in decades. It was only when people began to notice a burning sensation in their lungs that the order was given to put on gas masks. But it was too late for some, as they fell on their knees with bloodshot eyes and drowned in their own hot, foaming blood. But the ordeal had only just begun.

While the Lumian Republic had long attempted to decrease the extent to which gas masks blocked the wearer's sight, gas masks were still very cumbersome. Tanks soon surged towards the front, with soldiers in heavy exoskeletons in tow. The Republic's soldiers were crushed under a torrent of metal. Some met their end under the tracks of tanks, which painted the grass with blood like a roller brush. Some were simply blown apart, as the human body met depleted uranium. Within minutes, the defenders had been routed. The road to Williamsburg lay open.

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Secure Bunker Facility

"So, here's the battle report." said Trent Smith, as he sent electronic copies of the report to the people in the room.

5uNQe9l.png

The room was filled with sighs. President Cheuk bit his lip.

"It's clear we need a change of plan," said Smith, breaking the silence. "Our attempts to bring the front to a stalemate have failed."

"I've been thinking," said the President, breaking the silence, "that our entire plan of forcing a war of attrition was doomed from the start, even if we had succeeded in achieving a stalemate. First of all, the Empire has better technology, which acts as a force multiplier. On average, we'd need significantly more troops than them to bog down their advances. The Empire also controls an indefinite amount of resources, and so they would be better stocked than us in a war of attrition. We also must avoid making large troop commitments, at least until we find a way to counter their EMPs."

"All good points. But we need solutions as well, Mr President."

"Hmm... Well, we can't hope to score any tactically brilliant victories right now. Tactics require opportunity, and the Empire has eclipsed us in every medium of war, except, perhaps, for espionage. Our plan should involve finding a way to disable the portal, and perhaps finding a way to create our own. That way, we can shut off their connection to their home universe, and with it, their industry. We can then work on destroying their invading force. We also need to close the technology gap, perhaps through the reverse engineering of captured equipment. If we can do both of the two things I've mentioned, we can negate their two advantages over us: resources and technology."

"We can organise an espionage mission into the Empire." said the Chief of Intelligence.

"All in favour of the new plan?" asked Smith.

"Aye."

"Yup."

"Yes."

"Aye."

"Agreed."

"OK."

"Sure."

"Sounds good."

"What about the droid attack on the Wookiees?"

Smith sighed. "Wow, Jackson. People still remember that film? Anyway, are you OK with the plan?"

"Another happy landing. Sorry, I meant 'meeting session'."

"So it's decided."

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  • 2 weeks later...

Imperial Command Centre, Outskirts of Metro City

"Sir, the Republic offensive is at risk of inflicting heavy casualties on our forces. They're attempting to recapture Metro City. If it is captured, our portal may be lost to their forces, leaving us with no reinforcements. How should we proceed?"

"Notify Portal Base 3 of the danger, and tell them to prepare to shut down the portal at a moment's notice. In the meantime, ready an EMP strike on the attackers."

"Yes sir."

 

Bletchley, Metro City

As the bright flash arced across the sky, James Vane held the bulky device tightly to his chest. The future of Lumia was in his hands.

As the missile exploded far over him with a flash, the device's display flickered. The future of Lumia relied on the next few seconds.

As every other device's screen sputtered into darkness, the Imperials made their advance. Just a few more seconds were needed.

As the device displayed a wave function, Vane witnessed his friends' final moments, as they were torn to shreds by bullets.

"MESSAGE SENT". The Imperials had killed the rest of his squad, and had come to kill the last member.

"MESSAGE RECEIVED". James Vane allowed himself a sigh of relief.

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Secure Bunker Facility

"So we've received the data on the EMP strike?"

"Yes, sir. The sacrifice of the 78th Infantry Division has given us a chance. We're creating EMP-blockers for the appropriate frequency as we speak."

"What if the Empire changes their EMP frequencies every time they use it? Our efforts could be all in vain."

"We'd planned for that with the President and General of the Armies. The division was divided to launch several separate attacks. All EMP frequencies were the same. Information also came in from informants that the frequency is never changed."

"Wonderful. Keep up the good work."

 

Williamsburg

Despite the continuing push of Imperial forces through the city, the Lumian Republic had finally set the gears of war in motion. The only issue was that the resources of a small nation in Europe were nothing compared to those of an entire world. One advantage the Republic had, however, was that the Empire was forced to transport their forces through portals, while the Republic's forces could freely manoeuvre all over the country. There was only a thin strip of Imperial-controlled land connecting Metro City to the Empire's forces in Williamsburg, and guerrilla fighters had taken advantage of this to disrupt supply lines. The Empire's retributions were swift and brutally effective. But still the attacks continued, as ordinary Lumian citizens died to defend the ideals their nation represented.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Lumia

Thousands of tanks and soldiers were streaming through Republic lines. Hundreds of jets were pounding the Republic's soldiers. The torrent of meat and metal would not be stemmed until the Empire had quadrupled its territory. No longer would the war be fought in just cities; it would be fought on every terrain. The Empire had finally achieved the capacity for mobility.

 

Imperial Command Centre, Outskirts of Metro City

"The operation was successful? Excellent. Let us commence the final assault on Williamsburg."

"We have 300,000 reinforcements available. How should we allocate them?"

"50,000 on guarding our frontiers, and the rest on the battle of Williamsburg. I intend to draw the Republic into a battle of annihilation."

A map of the Empire's territories, in grey, lay on the table.

CM1JoE8.png

Edited by Reuben Cheuk
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  • 3 weeks later...

Secure Bunker Facility

"The exoskeletons and jets have been equipped with Faraday cages, tuned to the frequency of the EMPs."

"Let us begin the counter-attack, then."

 

Outskirts of Williamsburg

About 70,000 elite soldiers stood in bulletproof exoskeletons. Raising them to a height of 5 metres, just one of them alone was a force of nature on the battlefield. At least, until they were immobilised by an EMP blast. But today would be different. For today, they were equipped with Faraday cages, designed to block the Empire's EMP frequency. It would buy them crucial time to deal a crushing blow to the Imperials.

At a signal, all of the soldiers charged forward, at over 100 km/h, kicking dust into the sky. On both the east and west of Williamsburg, Imperial troops were routed. Any forces who resisted were cut down by a withering hail of bullets. Tanks were torn apart by rockets. Jets flew over the sky, pounding Imperial supply lines. Within just an hour, the Imperial forces in Williamsburg had been encircled.

Several EMP missiles were fired over the rushing tide of metal, but to no avail. New missiles would need to use a different frequency. After an order from the President, 5,000 elite soldiers would turn in to fight the encircled invaders, while the remaining troops would continue to push forward.

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Williamsburg

Bullet holes, blood stains and scorch marks were common on the walls of buildings. But buildings in Williamsburg were no longer common. They had been smashed to rubble by constant shelling. Despite this, the people of Williamsburg were gradually beginning to rebuild. Vehicles scooped up rubble, and cleared roads. Drones worked on 3D-printing housing and infrastructure. Williamsburg had faced the Empire's worst, and had survived. Now was the time for it to get back up on its feet.

The surprise failure of the Empire's EMP missiles had allowed the Republic to push Imperial forces back significantly, which inflicting heavy casualties. The battle was unlikely to be decisive, but it had bought the Republic precious time to equalise the technological gap with the Empire.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Metro City

The sound of necks snapping was accompanied by the sound of steel through flesh. The destruction of an entire squad did nothing to disturb the soft rustling of trees in the night. Shortly after, a squad of Republic soldiers dressed in Imperial garb walked out into the streets, back to base. Their faces were indistinguishable from those of the squad they had just killed, thanks to new facial mapping technology. The squad was now being deployed on guard to an Imperial particle accelerator, in the home universe.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Following the acquisition of Imperial knowledge on portal generation, the data was plugged into the largest supercomputer in Lumia, and left to run. Meanwhile, several million troops, and thousands of tanks and planes were gathered for an assault on Metro City. A network of spies was built up to ensure that Republic Faraday cages would always counter Imperial EMP missiles. Some of the Republic's own EMP missiles would be produced in secret, for tactical usage.

An executive order was passed in secret, requiring all military electronic equipment to be radiation--hardened.

Edited by Reuben Cheuk
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Classified

After a few days of running, the supercomputer finally made its conclusion, having deduced all laws of physics that could be deduced from Imperial knowledge. Some of the discoveries the supercomputer made had potential military applications, including the method to create portals between universes. It also seemed the Imperials had also missed something: the method to create portals within the same universe. Perhaps they had some sort of twisted honour code for portal usage, because they surely weren't stupid enough to miss the applications the Republic saw. However, any perceived war crimes the Republic committed would surely be met with devastating force, as well as the Empire's own war crimes, so that was why the supercomputer's final major discovery was vital. The computer had worked out how to close a universe to portals from other universes. When the Republic's attack came, it would be swift, decisive, and without consequences.

Deep underground, a tunnel was built, for the creation of a particle accelerator. With thousands of builder robots working on it in secret, Lumia would only need to hold out for a few more months.

Edited by Reuben Cheuk
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  • 1 month later...

Le Mans

The distant rumble of Imperial shelling had been getting louder over the past 3 days. The Republic's forces had been defending against the Imperial ground assault, but the sheer number of Imperial forces at the front had begun to crack the defenders. Missile interceptors had been working for days against Imperial EMP launches, but they were beginning to run out. If missile defences were removed, Le Mans would fall and, like a row of dominoes, Western Lumia would follow.

But a loss of indefensible territory would not affect the course of the war. As long as no naval bases fell into Imperial hands, the Republic's continued existence was secured. What mattered was the completion of the portal project. The Battle of Le Mans would be a delaying operation.

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