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The citizens wondered whether the death of one man foreshadowed the attacks on Acirema. |
Ruins of the Great Library Larry Appleton  ************Friday September 14, 4127 Eirelav returned to the University with the books and restored chapters she had finished. She planed to show them to her professor for his opinion on the work. Maybe he could explain why all the names and places were censured from the books. He also might be able to date the books more accurately because the dates had also been obscure. Arriving at the professor’s office, she knocked quietly on the door. She heard Professor Dloug beckon her to come in. Professor Dloug is a renowned archeologist among the Scholars. His knowledge of ancient artifacts earned him notoriety with the citizens of the New Order and his contributions are too numerous to mention. If anybody could help Eirelav with her questions, Professor Dloug was the most qualified. She sat down at the great oak table across from him. “Eirelav so nice to see you again, what can I do for you today?” Eirelav laid the books down on the table and placed the restoration papers she had completed thus far beside them. ”I found these books in the rubble of the Great Library and was hoping you could explain some peculiarities I have noticed.” She showed him where the names and places had been censured in the first book. “I also hoped you could help me date these books for my research project.” Professor Dloug gingerly handled the first book and carefully turned the pages. His demeanor immediately changed as he read page after page. After about ten minutes, he closed the book and looked back up at Eirelav. All of the blood had drained from his face and Eirelav worried that perhaps he was falling ill. “Are you all right?” “Yes I’m all right.” The Professor replied. The color was beginning to return to his face now. “Eirelav I believe you have found a most significant set of books. If my hunch is correct, these books were written in a first hand account of the events as they occurred. The books appear to have been written between the years 2000 and 2020, I can’t date them anymore precisely unless we do some carbon dating. As far as the censure of names and places, this seemed to be commonplace with writers of that time. Authors were afraid, and with good reason, to offend others under threat of death. There is evidence a cartoonist caused mass rioting and was threatened with death for drawing a caricature of an early religious prophet. So authors began to self censure their work.” “Eirelav I was wondering if you would move your work to a lab here at the University. I would like to help you with the restoration." "Of course not." Eirelav replied, while trying to hide her elation from the professor. ************ Legends of Legion The 17th Son Glen Brisco Chapter 6 An Unlikely Alliance ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Rihsjnap valley of Nahgfa Glen departed the Warship in a helicopter with elements of the 2nd Marine group. He was told by the commander that they would be dropped in the northern part of Nahgfa to meet up with elements of the Northern Alliance. He had learned that the leader of this group had been assassinated shortly before the attacks on the Twin Towers and the objective would be to rally this group to help with the invasion of Lubak. He decided that this would be an important story for the people back home. Things were beginning to happen quickly, so he began to record events on his Dictaphone until he could find some time to write them down. Information about the leader of the United Front they were supposed to meet came from a soldier on the helicopter while in transit to the northern drop off point in Nahgfa. Few Aciremians had heard of Demha Duossam, but what happened to Demha before the attacks on the towers would become one of the chilling mysteries of this new war. In the Rihsjnap valley of Nahgfa, two Shadow Master suicide bombers, posing as Infobox journalists murdered him as he was giving what he thought was an interview. The Aciremian citizens wondered whether the death of one man in a remote valley in Nahgfa foreshadowed the attacks that killed more than 3,000 citizens in Acirema just two days later. In all likelihood, the answer is yes. Demha was the commander of the United Front, the resistance group hoping to overthrow the Nabilat rulers and the Shadow Masters they sheltered. The Shadow Masters knew that after attacking Acirema there would be massive retaliation. With Demha out of the way the Nabilat government and the Shadow Masters would be rid of their most effective opponent and be in a stronger position to repel the Aciremian onslaught. Much of what happened to Demha remains unknown. Who ordered the assassination is a mystery and his death was not known until after the attacks on Acirema. This reduced the chances for Acirema’s intelligence agents from recognizing it as a sign of something catastrophic about to happen. Demha was called the “Lion of Rihsjnap” after the lush valley in which he was born. He was a leader of unquestioned courage and aquiline good looks. Ousted from Lubak, he assumed his role as Nahgfa’s most charismatic resistance leader. Unlike the Shadow Masters who killed indiscriminately, Demha was always aware of civilians. On many occasions, he ordered the Rihsjnap valley to be abandoned so that he could undertake military operations against the Nabilat. As the leader of the United Front and an avowed enemy of the Nabilat, Demha would have been a key figure in any attempt by Acirema to oust the regime and the Shadow Masters it harbored. With Demha dead, the Military now had to ally themselves with a leaderless group of brave men who were still willing to fight along sides of Acirema for the liberation of Nahgfa. Special Forces of the Acirema’s military teamed up with elements of the United Front north of Lubak. Stratofortress bombers were repeatedly pounding the Nabilat positions, softening the target area for the ground forces that were to follow. Citizens of Lubak would later describe the bombings in a prophetic way. They could not see these bombers. Aside from the explosions north of the city, the only evidence of their presence was the 'infinite signs' etched in the blue sky, by the vapor trails they left behind. This had a psychological affect on the Nabilat and Shadow Master forces dug in around the city. Special Forces along with the United Front began the battle with a two-hour artillery barrage. The Nabilat lines broke on the afternoon of 12 November, after a small arms exchange between the opposing forces. Armored units of the United Front and Special Forces from Acirema advanced south along the Old Road, making the final march to the city. Ground combat units swept through Nabilat positions on both sides of the road. The Nabilat and Shadow Master forces appeared to be pulling back in a decisive rout of their strongholds, leaving behind large quantities of equipment. By nightfall, several thousand United Front troops were advancing across the ShomalI Plain. The fighting continued between elements of the Nabilat’s rear guard and the advancing ground units until they had reached the ancient town of Qarabagh. The United Front troops, assisted by the Special Forces of Acirema, halted for the night between Qarabagh and Nakalan. While some United Front troops appear to have entered the city before dawn, the main advancing units stopped at the Khaikhanah Pass where land vehicle units and pedestrians from the city streamed up the road to greet their liberators. The first hours of daylight revealed a power vacuum in the city. In some places, looting was rampant, while in others armed citizens took back control of their city, hunting down the unfortunate Shadow Masters who failed to flee the city. By the evening of 13 November, 6,000 United Front security personnel entered Lubak to restore order and protect the city. The citizens of Lubak, now liberated from the control of the Nabilat government, began to celebrate in the streets. Women were unveiling their faces and men began to shave their beards. Music, prohibited by harsh Nabilat rule, was heard over the radio stations as teenagers and younger children welcomed the Northern Alliance troops into the capital city. One exuberant citizen put it this way,” We haven’t heard music for six years, we are crazy about music!” The Nabilat had installed a purist form of religion in Nahgfa. Western dress was banned and all men had to wear turbans. Women had to be completely veiled and were not allowed to be educated nor work. Infboxes, photographs, cosmetics, playing cards and music, except for religious music, were banned in an attempt to create the purest religious state on earth. However, scenes of joy masked concerns that the Northern Alliance’s capture of the city would again result in the ethnic infighting that ravaged Lubak before the capture by the Nabilat six years earlier. Ethnically Nuthsap residents bitterly recalled past injustices at the hands of the same ethnic Skijats and Skebzus that recently took the city as part of the Northern Alliance force. In the haste of the Shadow Masters departure from Lubak, documents are found that clearly indicate Nib Nedal’s network is actively attempting to develop nuclear devices. Designing and manufacturing a nuclear weapon, while challenging, is easy to do. The greatest difficulty is obtaining the fissile material. The required engineering, physics, and chemistry knowledge is largely in the public domain. Individuals with graduate level training could design a nuclear weapon. This was an alarming revelation to the Acirema military. The fall of Lubak and the capture of the airport opened the door for special elements of the armed forces to invade, in mass, the country of Nahgfa. The Aciremian military now set its sights on the search for the 17th son, Nib Nedal. ************Eirelav felt nausea overwhelm her. The merest thought of nuclear weapons sent a sickening fear through her. This book made it clear that nuclear weapons were commonplace. Eirelav had no doubt that if the Shadow Masters got their hands on a nuclear device, they would not hesitate using it. The chapter also implied that the Shadow Masters were on the run. She hoped this continued. Fatigue was setting in after restoring this chapter and Eirelav decided to call it day. She secured the book for the night and retired to her bed. So disturbing was the thought of a radical group obtaining a weapon of mass destruction, she decided to take a sedative to help her sleep.
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