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13:29, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

[IC] Chapter Two.

Posted by TegyriusFor group 0
Tegyrius
GM, 232 posts
Mon 20 Apr 2015
at 16:48
  • msg #1

[IC] Chapter Two

 

Mundadji cut [Kurkutji] open, right down the middle line, took out all of his insides and exchanged them for those of himself, which he placed in the body of Kurkutji. At the same time he put a number of sacred stones in his body. After it was all over, the youngest spirit, Munkaninji, came up and restored him to life, told him that he was now a medicine-man and showed him how to extract bones and other forms of evil magic out of them. Then he took him away up into the sky and brought him down to earth close to his own camp...

- Baldwin Spencer & Francis Gillen, The Northern Tribes of Central Australia (1904)

 
Tegyrius
GM, 236 posts
Thu 23 Apr 2015
at 01:08
  • msg #2

Re: [IC] Chapter Two

RAAF Base Edinburgh
Adelaide, South Australia
16 April 2015
1142 hrs local (0212 hrs Zulu)


"PO Williams.  Come in.  Sit down."  Major Gary Nichols gestures to the lone unclaimed chair in the dusty gray room.  His voice rasps and his eyes are windows onto sleepless nights and imminent violence.  Despite the room's cool temperature, he's pale and sweating.

The room's other occupant nods politely to Cooper but remains silent.  He's an ambiguously dark man, thin and hawklike, with a pale Heidelburg scar on his left cheek.  His anonymous gray suit might as well be a uniform.

Nichols waits for Cooper to be seated, then roughly clears his throat.  "Williams.  We have an irregular international situation requiring the assignment of a liaison officer to a foreign team that will be operating on our soil.  The, ah, domestic side of the problem involves a case which ASIO has been tracking for some months.  It's recently come to Defence Intelligence attention through our Five Eyes relationships.  ASIO is not aware that we are examining the case.  It has not been widely circulated because of its political sensitivity." He pauses to look down at a single handwritten sheet of notes.

"If we understand the situation correctly, we are looking at the first modern cell of radicalized Aboriginal terrorists."  Nichols grimaces at Cooper's reaction.  "As I said, political sensitivity.  They're receiving operational advice and, possibly, material assistance from foreign Islamists.  Until recently, ASIO believed their connections to be solely with Jemaah Islamiyah.  New data has invalidated that, for reasons which our guest will make clear to you.  Please give him your full cooperation.  While his unit is present in Australian territory, you will be their primary liaison with Defence Intelligence."  Without further elaboration, he stands, nods to the stranger, and exits.

The stranger watches Nichols exit with a mix of resignation and compassion, then extends a hand to Cooper.  "Petty Officer Williams.  I'm Kapitein Bram Maatsen, Royal Netherlands Navy Korps Mariniers.  I'm the executive officer of a NATO joint task force with an unconventional portfolio.  My intelligence chief likes to describe us as 'rocket surgeons with guns' and I can't dispute his turn of phrase."  He smiles humorlessly and withdraws two file folders from a briefcase at his feet.  He arrays them on the table.  Both bear the seals and stamps of high-level classified material.  The thinner is labeled VEHEMENT HARPIST PERIWINKLE; the thicker, TUNGSTEN MEMENTO.

Maatsen flips open the thinner folder and extracts a large glossy surveillance photograph of two Indonesians, two Aboriginal Australians, and a Middle Eastern man.  He indicates the latter with a fingertip.  "This individual goes by the name of Mas'ud Attar.  The actual Mas'ud Attar is, or was, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard officer, subsequently a Da'ish operative.  My unit has previously encountered other hostile forces operating under this identity..."
Cooper Williams
player, 1 post
Petty Officer, RAN
Spartan-117
Thu 23 Apr 2015
at 21:32
  • msg #3

Re: [IC] Chapter Two

”Thank you Major,” Cooper Williams said, taking a seat.  The Royal Australian Navy Petty Officer returned as yet unidentified man’s nod.

Cooper’s eyes moved quickly between the man in gray and the Major.  It wasn’t lost on Cooper that Nichols looked like he had seen a ghost.  The officer was sweating like a pregnant nun.  William’s quick read of the room was the Major had either received or was expecting bad news.  Coop had been in the same position once or twice, but paternity tests weren’t matters of national security that required the services of the Special Air Services Regiment.

William’s listened attentively until the Major mentioned the source of the political sensitivity.  Aboriginal terrorists… For fuck sake…  Wasn’t this why they had supported NATO in Iraq and Afghanistan?  Fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them here at home?  Williams calmed himself, took a deep breath, and refocused on the Major.  Still, in the back of his mind, Coop couldn’t help but think, This fundamentalism shit is spreading like wildfire.

…his unit… in Australian territory… liaison… Coopers bullshit meter suddenly jumped from 0 to WTF, with the needle twitching like a sleeping dog.  Was DIO bringing in a foreign unit to handle a domestic terrorism problem?  And hiding it from AISO?

When Nichols finished his part, Cooper watched as the Major got up to leave.  The Petty Officer drilled the officer’s back with a curious, yet pissed-off gaze that conveyed both, where the fuck are you going and what have you gotten me into.

Williams shifted his chair as Maatsen introduced himself.  Williams hadn’t quite decided if he was being given a babysitting assignment or being setup as a fall guy, so he decided to keep his cards close to his chest for now.  ”Sir,” Williams said simply, returning the handshake.

He listened as the RNR Marine spoke… yeah, yeah, rocket surgeons with guns.  That better be literally true if you guys are going to come into our backyard and sideline TAG East and West, Williams thought.  If NATO was just here to share intel, that was one thing.  But of course, they could have done that with a memo.  Williams was starting to have a bad feeling about the whole situation.

The RAN Petty Officer glanced down at the folders.  He had never heard of the code words they were labeled with.  The nightmare scenario was nuclear and that's what his mind went to.  But Cooper had worked with guys from the Special Operations Engineer Regiment on a C-CBRNE exercises before.  The ADF had retooled post 9/11 and had plans and teams for such situations.  Whatever was in those folders, it must be something the ADF hadn't prepared for.

”Mas’ud Attar,” Williams repeated under his breath, looking over the glossy.  The guy looked like a used Paykan dealer.

”And what’s so special about Mr. Attar…” Cooper shook the glossy to indicate he was talking about the individual operating under the assumed identity, ”that requires a deniable NATO operation within Australia?”
Tegyrius
GM, 239 posts
Thu 23 Apr 2015
at 22:07
  • msg #4

Re: [IC] Chapter Two

Maatsen smiles grimly and meets Cooper's eyes across the table.  "Ah, but your real question, Petty Officer, is why a Dutch Marine flew halfway around the world to tell you his people are about to start fishing in your pond, in violation of both Australian sovereignty and innumerable international accords."  He reaches into his briefcase again and extracts a notebook PC, which flickers to life as he opens the clamshell.

"The efficient answer to both your questions is that Mister Attar is entirely fictitious."  The grim smile widens into a death's-head grin as he tabs to a video window.  The scene is a one-bay garage, probably Middle Eastern from the visible architectural cues, recently disarrayed by volence.  In the foreground, a green haze partially obscures a bullet-riddled body whose distorted face is still recognizable as Attar's.  "He is also," Maatsen continues as he clicks Play, "in no way human..."
Cooper Williams
player, 2 posts
Petty Officer, RAN
Spartan-117
Sun 26 Apr 2015
at 15:25
  • msg #5

Re: [IC] Chapter Two

”Your words Sir,” Cooper said with a slight smile as Maatsen addressed the elephant in the room.

William leaned forward to see what the Dutchman had on his laptop that would explain his presence.  As Cooper watched the video, he looked at puzzled by the ending, with the Kapitein’s revelation that Attar wasn’t homo sapien leaving him only more confused.

”Wait, say that again…” William asked as he tried to understand what he was seeing.

The Petty Officer moved his face closer to the screen to see more detail.  At this point his mind had settled on an implanted a chemical weapon as the most rational explination.  It didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but a lot was happening in middle-east that didn’t make a whole lot of sense.  But that didn't explain everything he was seeing.  And what Maatsen meant by in no way human... he hadn't said no longer human... he said in no way human.

Nothing had really prepared Cooper Williams for this.
Tegyrius
GM, 240 posts
Sun 26 Apr 2015
at 15:36
  • msg #6

Re: [IC] Chapter Two

The Dutchman waits impassively for Cooper to absorb the video, making no motion to interfere as the Australian replays the scene.  "That was a month ago in Tripoli," he comments, "and my unit's first direct contact with 'Mas'ud Attar.'  The men who killed this one were forced out of the area by the vapor.  It's caustic and an inhalation hazard.  They later returned with the rest of their team and recovered the remains.  The take from their initial examination is in 'field autopsy,' third on the playlist."  He taps a finger on the TUNGSTEN MEMENTO folder.  "This file contains a deeper analysis, but the videos seem to be more effective at conveying the real message."

He slides both folders across the table.  "The fourth playlist item is a composite of helmet camera footage and Global Hawk imagery from the team's last engagement with the Attar entities and their Libyan and Da'esh associates.  We've edited it for brevity and relevance but the raw files are available if you want them.  Familiarize yourself with the material.  I have all day to answer your questions."
Tegyrius
GM, 241 posts
Sun 26 Apr 2015
at 17:34
  • msg #7

Re: [IC] Chapter Two

Incirlik Air Base
Adana, Turkey
16 April 2015
0903 hrs local (0703 hrs Zulu)


There are new lines around Group Captain Mewes' eyes as he surveys the empty seats at the table.  "Welcome back, Miss Omdahl, gentlemen.  I trust you've absorbed the preliminary analysis of your take from VEHEMENT HARPIST.  I'm told the science will take years to play out in full, but the research facilities fortunate enough to get their hands on this material have been advised of the urgent need for practical applications."  His lips twitch slightly.  "In the meantime, we have another Attar sighting, courtesy of our Five Eyes relationship with the Australian intelligence services."

Mewes sips his coffee, then hands Sébastien a stack of briefing folders labeled ESSENTIAL NOMAD.  "For the past four months, the Australian ASIO has been tracking the growth of a network of radicalized Aboriginal Australians.  Their agenda is a mix of native rights and eco-terrorism.  Specifically, they're advocating the violent expulsion of non-native peoples from the continental interior and coastal sacred sites."  He shakes his head.  "For those of you whose ignorance of the local sociology matches my own, this radicalization is itself highly unusual.  The Australian Aboriginal population has a very limited - practically nonexistent, really - history of violent resistance.

"ASIO rapidly concluded that an outside organization was contributing to the group's radicalization and went looking for the connections.  What they found was Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian terror group responsible for the Bali nightclub bombing in '02.  For the moment, ASIO is maintaining surveillance to ensure they fully understand the group's scope and activities.  They've been sharing intelligence with their partners to trace back the JI connections."  He aims a finger at the open folder in front of James and smiles humorlessly.  "Last week, our friend Mas'ud Attar turned up at a meeting between the Aboriginal group and its JI advisors.

"The radicals have several cells and ASIO believes it has yet to identify the full scope of their network.  They're primarily centered on Adelaide, Melbourne, and the states of South Australia and Victoria.  They haven't made an overt move yet but their activities seem to indicate that they're preparing to target resource extraction companies that operate in the Australian interior.  The identified JI representatives include a tradecraft and organizational specialist and a bomber, which points up the skills they're trying to acquire.  I'll remind you that the original Attar's background also included IED construction."

"Sir, do these Aboriginals have an organizational name?" Crewe asks.

"None that ASIO have turned up."  Mewes shakes his head and quirks a corner of his mouth.  "Feel free to assign them one for internal use."  He leans back in his chair.  "Your briefing documents have the full take of ASIO's case file on the radical group and a backgrounder on JI.  The former is painfully thin, so you can expect to develop your own profile while you're on the ground.  For the record, your assignment is reconnaissance and subject matter expertise.  You are to identify the scope of Attar - ah, TUNGSTEN MEMENTO involvement in the radical group.  Any kinetic operations on Australian soil will be handled by your hosts.

His face goes diplomatically blank as he continues.  "Captain Maatsen is already in Adelaide and is currently briefing the Australian military intelligence community and your assigned liaison.  For the time being, ASIO is not cleared for this material.  Because the Australians have only been brought into this task force's compartment in the last forty-eight hours, they have not authorized foreign military personnel to go armed.  Special Agent Choi, you are cleared for your duty sidearm but your Bureau's standard diplomatic restrictions apply.  You'll be flying into Adelaide via commercial carrier."

He sweeps his gaze around the room and gestures, inviting questions.
Cooper Williams
player, 3 posts
Petty Officer, RAN
Spartan-117
Sun 26 Apr 2015
at 18:23
  • msg #8

Re: [IC] Chapter Two

Williams took advantage of Maatsen’s offer, studying all of the file material in detail and reviewing all the videos.  The most interesting videos he watched twice.  By the end, the Petty Officer had come to grips with the existence of extraterrestrial life on other.  Still, Cooper looked as confused as when he started.

”So what do they want?  I mean, why come all this way to hang out with the worst of us?  Surely they would have more in common with the boys at CSIRO, ESA, and NASA.” Williams asked by way of an Australian centric listing of space agencies.

”Or are these just some diggers sent over to kick off a war?”
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