A Battle Unseen

[hyraemous]

Somewhere in Etxea, April 5637

It was here. 

And hundreds of thousands were about to fight it.

While Keita burns under constant bombardment and while the soldiers on all sides began a massive assault for the city, on the scale of Aethansk long ago, there was another fight about to begin.

Tiberius Claudius Nero stood before the men and women that, years ago, he was President of. Them, and hundreds of thousands more, will be crossing the Jildrath Strait and likely die for a reunified Kundrati. He spoke to his soldiers, it was a short speech, but it was to impress upon these boys and girls about the upcoming battle.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Soldiers.

You will be crossing that strait shortly. Some of you will die in that attempt. Some of you will die once you land. Some of you will die after you land. None of you will die in vain. Two and a half million people are looking to you and your colleagues. When we are finished here, we will either have reunified our families across the strait or we will all be dead by Lazar's hand. You don't want the latter, neither do I. Surviving months long bombardment has proven that.

I will be commanding you and your foreign colleagues with my colleagues from Hutori, Davostag, Kalistan and more. It will be a long road ahead. It will be a bloody one. Expect the enemy to attempt to destroy you physically and mentally. You will come back to your families a changed people, either in a box or wanting to be in one. But I will be with you. Your families will be with you. And the world will be with you.

When you fight, remember that you are fighting your own. The ones who wear the Legionary armband are saying we are traitors and that we deserve nothing more than death and destruction. Their actions prove it. You, however, will be fighting northwesterner savages who never belonged on our nation. Those people are the ones wearing the armbands and praising Lazar endlessly. But you will be cordial and win the hearts and minds of the rest and show them there is a better life beyond Lazar's grip.

Respect your command no matter their origin. They share our belief. They want all of us to win.

Let us fight. Glory to Kundrati.

And thus Tiberius Claudius Nero left the podium. At once, the soldiers began to enter their boats. Similar scenes were repeated throughout the island. Hundreds of thousands of people with one goal - destroy the Legion - stepping on board these boats and beginning their journey north. They were joined by tens of thousands of Kalistani militia which were also under the command of the Kundrati Union.

These boats would not be heading to Keita. They would be headed a fair bit east of the city, away from the action. The plan was to establish a second beachhead and encourage the Legio to move troops away from Keita. At the same time, a small group of airplanes from the Kundrati Union Air Force (25 IRL Panavia Tornado aircraft) launched on their way to bombard Keita and the upcoming beachhead in tow.

The journey for the boats will be long. The journey for the aircraft will be short. Yet the risks were extreme. Everyone knew it...

...yet it had to happen.

Thus was the start of Operation Albatross.