Both part of Countdown now rewritten

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...

A group of rebel leaders meet with each other in a governmental building seized in the aftermath of their capture of Pannerden, the regional capital of Havenklein serving as the EAS's new HQ of sorts where strategies are planned out and executed.

"So to start" one kicks off the agenda "What's the news we have on the Commonwealth"

"In that case, I shall relay this to you all" a figure named Henk-Jan Keppelink answered "My men has reported that our enemy, the Commonwealth of Esterria has received military aid from an uncivilized country named Foderal Republic of Flashia"

Upon hearing that, other commanders couldn't help but chuckle and scoffed at the fact the queen had to rely on a republic for their military.

"Can I have some silence please?" interrupted the one who is in charge of this whole rebellion in a commanding voice, Valentijn Goggen. The sound would fade away on his order, the commanders straighten themselves up again.

"Thank you... can you tell us more about what this aid consist of?"

"From what I know, they sent guns, cannons and some kind of carriages"

"Do you believe we can still easily defeat their new toy?" questioned one of the leaders.

"I believe so" Keppelink replied "After all, they're just barbarians from the Uncivilized World, and what kind of advantages would this Flashian equipment give to our enemies anyways?"

"Other than numbers... I don't see anything else..." added Valentijn.

The others nodded in agreement.

"On other news..." another one, Kevin Weg would take the spotlight next "We have received more equipment from our Kingdoms Union allies. We have received more muskets, cannons, and wyverns. This will help us further in our struggle"

"There is no doubt about that Weg, it will definitely help us in our fight against the enemy" Valentijn responded "...Anyways, shall we continue with the news from the frontline?"

"Yes sire" Keppelink would again report "In what can be considered as a setback to our cause, the Commonwealth has taken the town of Vastiak from our hands"

"And do you have anything in mind to take back the city?"

"Yes, I think we should surround the city and lay siege, that way we can force the troops there to surrender and the city would be ours again"

The head commander nodded, acknowledging his subordinate's idea.

"Very well" he replied "In the meantime, I suggest we prepare for an offensive in the South where we will drive the enemy out of Molwerna and claim another territory as ours"

Valentijn then stood up, prompting others to also stand up, to shout out their slogan:

"Glory to the Esterrian Associations of Slaver!"

"Death to the queen!"

"You are all dismissed from the meeting"

And so, one by one, the rebel leaders of Havenklein begins to leave the room, as the short gathering has come to an end with everyone knowing their next course of action.

...

Right outside of Havenklein, Esterria Fighter jets flew above the Esterrian airspace while also constantly making high-pitched roaring sound wherever they go. Many that saw it were left curious as to what they were, however to the Flash that rode them and the Esterrian military personnel about to give them a welcoming party, they knew it as none other than the iconic Harrier Jump Jet.



These Harriers belonged to the last squadron that operates them, which was set to be converted to F-35B's. Had it not for the transfer, it would not have a future in the eyes of the Luftforsvar. And it's thanks to this sudden dramatic event, it was given another chance with more of its brethren returning to serve the Federal Republic again.

And owing to recent events, it just happened to be the day that the Harriers conduct their first ever operational mission in this new world, as the pilots look for the airbase that they were told to go to. Oh, and this also marks the first time it used low-vis markings, something not done back in the so-called Old World.





"This is MIA*, I'm seeing some kind of blue light, source on the patch of land with straight road of dirt on it, I think we found our destination"

The squadron then head to the blue light source, the first preparing to go for the landing.

"Primate is going in, standby"

The leading Harrier now has their flaps down, and the landing gear extended, the nozzle also began to rotate to about 45 degrees. The Harrier then steadily make their descent down to the runway, getting closer, closer, and closer...

"...Touchdown!"

The Harrier have now landed on the runway, immediately lowering the power since they won't go too far that would result in a re-takeoff.

After Primate, there was another, then another bird that would also on the runway one by one, in consecutive order.

...

After 7 aircrafts of the formation have been landed, it was the leader's turn, that being MIA, who proceeded to begin the landing on the airfield.

As a necessary order of procedures, he extended his flap down, the landing gear and turned the jet nozzle by 45 degree, clearly slowing him down as he gets closer to the improvised runway.

When he got close to the ground, the dust started to kick up onto his aircraft, signalling that he's almost there.

He continues descending until his VTOL aircraft touched the land below. He then taxies his aircraft to where the others are parked, it has been quite a journey and now it came to an end.

'AI' parked his aircraft on the furthest right, relative to his fellow squadron members' aircrafts. He turns off the engine of the Harrier, took off his mask, lifted his visor up and opened up the canopy. He carefully get off his fighter jet, then on his way to others.

"Good evening good sir" said an Esterrian personnel at the airbase "My name is Jan Noordink, Captain of the Esterrian Wyvern Corps, and you must be..."

"Major Jens Hjertsson, 127th Squadron, Luftforsvaret"

Hjertsson then reached out his right hand to his Esterrian counterpart, who more or less confused about the gesture.

"...Just so you know, handshake is like our thing for cooperation and trust and all that..."

"Ah, I see now..."

The Esterrian and the Flash shook hands with each other.

"Now that we got that done with, I have questions to ask you"

"Uh... Fine by me I guess...?"

"Perfect!" as Noordink pulls out a small notebook and a pen, this one is an obvious Flash import "Now first question, tell me about your jet and its capabilities?"

"The Harrier...? Ah, well, our is capable of taking off and landing vertically, and can shoot down air targets as well as provided ground support"

"That's splendid... so what weapons does it carry?"

"It uh... has a gun that is often used to strafe some poor bastards on the ground but can also act as our secondary weapon for air-to-air. It... can carry missiles and bombs..."

"Hmm, I see... Can I ask what is a missile?"

"...I don't know how to explain this one to you... maybe think of it as a guided explosive spear or something..."

"Very well then, next question: Why do you need a long runway when your 'Harrier' can take off and land vertically as you said?"

"That's because in certain combat condition, the aircraft will become too heavy to do so, also we have a massive aircraft carrying supplies that should be here soon"

"And why does the runway have to be paved?"

"Because last time I checked, we don't use dragon nails as a weapon"

The Major then went away, leaving a baffled Noordink standing there as he just looks around. And then, he hears someone calling for him.

"Hey don't worry about it!" he reassured to the Wyvern Corps captain "He's got quite some issue with his anger, you're lucky he spared ye!"

He nodded and sighed as he still has unanswered questions to report to the higher ups, furthermore more questions has been added to the list, adding more headaches to the Esterrian Wyvern Corps Captain. Well at least he got an explanation for the rather less than desired last answer.

He closes his notebook and put his pen away and stop thinking about the questions. He then smiled as he looks at the 8 grey aircrafts together, thinking of advantageous it would be and how thankful the troops in the frontline will be when they supported by the huge black birds. Now he and others will wait for the 'massive aircraft' that the Flash Major mentioned beforehand.

...

Lernoa Ocean The Lernoa Ocean, also known as the North Civilization Ocean is one of the 6 oceans in the Civilized Regions. Located in the Northern end of the world map, which ironically enough, doesn't cover the entire world at all, this is one of the biggest oceans in this new world (that I haven't got a name yet), just after the Hiron Ocean, sometimes referred as the South Civilizations Ocean to the Southern end of the map.

While the ocean itself is quite beautiful, it unfortunately also subject to piracy activity which interestingly targets Esterrian merchant ships. And as we speak (or write or read) right now, a ship without an ensign sails North to do their thing.

The captain of this pirate stood on the deck of the ship, full of pride. Over the past few months, he and his crews were able to conduct 21 successful missions clandestinely assigned and paid by the La Ferdian Empire.

The target of the night is a Flash grey ship with some kind of structures on it, including a rectangular tower. On the hull of ship spells out A 229, which is weird for a name of a ship, if it is really the name.

The captain was also confused why would they have to display the name of the ship on the hull, but no matter, he must do what he is ordered to do. He never targetted any ship other than that of Esterria, but he is confident he will find success in this mission

The ship sails around the ocean, near the area between Flashia and Esterria to find the specific target.

"Captain!" yelled out the sailor on the mast tower "I see the ship to the West! 254!"

The captain nodded, before he gets himself into business.

"Left! 254!"

The ship then turn West with the heading of 254, and begins to intercept the target. The grey ship is now in sight, just a little far away from the pirates, and upon closer look, it is positively identified as A 229. As they stalk their prey, he wonders how does it move without sails, as there was no magic capable of doing it to his knowledge.

He then waited patiently for the ship to come closer and closer. It takes a while to get there, but eventually, it's now close.

"Fire a cannon shot in front of the ship!"

As a common thing amongst the pirates, when the ship is getting close and both are in transit, a cannonball is often fired into the waters in front of the target as a form of intimidation to force target vessel to stop, allowing them to board the ship.

One of the cannons on starboard fired a shot, aiming at the water in front of this grey vessel. The boarding party then gathered onto the deck, and as the cannonball splashed the water in front, they cheered and laugh, the captain would also join in.

"Imagine how much are we going to get from this!" shouted out one of them.

"Yes, we will show the barbarians how it is done!"

"And a message that this is our territory!"

The party along with the captain continues to laugh with glee, as they wait for the glorious boarding and seizure of the ship. However, they might have to wait for a little while, with their target still on the move, they might have to resort to striking the ship directly-

WHIZZ-POP

The delight that they had disappeared in a blink of an eye as before they even realized it, one of their own dropped dead, drops of blood splattered out of his head.

CRACK-CRACK CRACK...

Panic ensues as more of them drop dead one by one in very short successions of the sound of the air cracking , many began to frantically run around in an attempt to surviving, tripping over corpses, some fell overboard as woods of the ship were quickly chipped away.

The captain stood low, with his hands holding on his head and his dear life. He looked around in horror as the veteran pirate crews had suddenly became unorganized in complete confusion and terror. He then looks at the target ship, bright yellow flashes engulfed almost every corner of the ship's deck.

"By the gods... who are they?"

...

"You picked the wrong ship, fool!"

The ship that the pirate attacked was FMV Røverbo, which is not a merchant ship in any way but rather a warship, more specifically a replenishment ship. It is the first ship of its class, the Røverbo-class, named after a town in Tilenogtyve.

The vessel in question was on the journey to Esterria, to support their Luftforsvar's deployment to Esterria when a sentry had spotted the pirates, alerting the ship dwellers to arm up.

"Give me some cover here, changing mags!" yelled out one of the sailors as he takes out the old mag, get the new one, putting into the magwell before giving it love tap and pulling on the bolt release of his rifle, located directly behind the well.



The service rifle of his is an old model of the rifle introduced in 2013, which fell out of favor with the Mariner, but they nevertheless are the same Nexusijan rifle, just with different carry handle. The sailor began to open fire again in semi auto, at the enemy wooden ship ahead of them in the night.

"Am I hitting anything? 'Cause I can't see shit!"

"Me neither, probably took out some of them for all we know..."

The sounds of multiple gunfire, which included machine guns continued as they engage the pirates in what would be an unimaginable range for them when suddenly, the CIWS (see-wis) went off, sending tracers a bit high from left to right at the direction of the ship, triggering fight-or-flight reflexes of many in the process.

"The hell was that?" the sailor inquired

"Did they just shoot cannonballs at us?" questioned his better armed equivalent of the Mariner.

"Shit, that would explain it..."

"Jeez, they really did huh? What a blunder..."

The sailor could only sigh disapprovingly at their mistake of trying to get a shot onto his ship. He would take a look at his translucent magazine, barely seeing that it still got some bullets left, then brought the sight back into his eyes and placed the reticle at the unfortunate wooden ship.

...

After taking heavy casualties with no chance of steering away as most of the masts got destroyed by a hail of red projectiles in addition to helmsman being reduced to a puddle of blood in the process, the captain ordered something that he never thought he would shout out to his very experienced crew:

"Abandon ship!"

Soon enough, many began to rush to the wooden lifeboats while more and more bodies fall to the floor of the deck. Many of these escapees had to keep their heads low as the cracks are heard near and above them, those who didn't ended up with some mysterious bullets taking their lives away, forcing others to drop the body to make space.

Soon enough, all the boats were packed with fearful pirates, and soon after, the rope was cut. The captain looked up at his ship, saddened and in shame as to how could have this happened. They were here to plunder and send a message to the Federal Republic and the Commonwealth, but instead, they were doomed right before they even get close in the first place.

...

"I see boats dropping" the Mariner called out.

"Really?" asked the sailor.

"Yep, I can clearly see them out there with my NODs..." the Marinesoldat then toggles his push-to-talk on the left side of his chest, on his body armor "Control, this is Mid-4-2, we have neutralized the threat, the surviving pirates are egressing by boats"

"Good work Mid-4-2, but we're not done yet, standby"

"Roger" he let go off the button, letting out of long breath "What a hell of a night..."

...

5 minutes have passed since they barely got out of the ship, the boat stranded in the dark blue water of Lernoa under a dark sun-less sky.

"...What happened...?" the captain murmured to himself "Our plan was perfect... How could this mission go wrong?"

The captain is drowned in series of thought as to what had unfolded when they attacked that Flash ship. He was looking back at his abandoned ship, far away from here when he abruptly hears choppings of the air that comes from above. He looked up and see a shadowy figure, with something spinning on top at the back, with green and red light flashes.

"...What is that?"

It gets closer and closer, making the chopping even louder as it closes distance. And then suddenly, it emits a bright white light directed at the boat he's on along with others, causing him to cover his eyes in reflex. And then, there was a voice coming from that thing.

"This is the Flash Navy, stop where you are right now or face irreversible consequences!"

The captain and the crews that are on board looked at the flying object in awe. It could not only easily find them in the dark skies and ocean, but also deliver clear-cut voice messages.

The paddles were let go, hands being raised followed next, sealing the fate of this crew as the boat slows down to a complete halt. The object hovered around the boat, and only do so for the entire duration much to their confusion.

"Look there!" one of them pointed out in the distance.

They turned their eyes to where he had pointed, meeting the sight of the silhouette of boats barreling towards them at unbelievable speed. The captain could only look down and sighs disapprovingly of himself.

...

"Right, so we got fuel for those jets and other vehicles and... pirates?"

Hours after the incident Commonwealth-controlled Port, outside of Havenklein "That can't be right..." muttered a staff as he reread the checklist again "Who on Earth would put this as cargo...?"

The staff swiped pages after pages of his list, skimming and scanning for anything that might come up.

"Can't see anything, is it a mistake?"

He then looks up, only to immediately meet the sight of a Flash sailor with his distinct short black gun dragging a restrained ununiformed person along whose attire seems like they had been at sea recently before being handed over to the Esterrian Royal Army soldiers.

"Oh..."

...

*Me Is Angry, taken from the fact he (sometimes) go so irrationally apeshit that it sounded like he returned to caveman, hence the broken (English) Builtish in his callsign.