The Burning Homeland: A Rogue Generals Semi-Canon Spinoff

[TheRomanSlayer]

EPISODE 008: OPERATION BARREL BUSTER

Portions from Global National August 12, 2020 Breaking News

(Scene begins with rebel militiamen storming the parliament building of the Russian West Baltic Republic in its capital, Tartu)

RWBR REBEL MILITIAMAN: (points his AK-74 at the detained members of the RWBR parliament, including former self-proclaimed President Dmitry Dyomushkin, who is in handcuffs) Keep moving!

(Scene switches to the RWBR border with Russia as regular Russian Army tanks cross the border, followed by elements of Rosgvardiya and Terminal Defense Group mercenaries)

ANCHOR: The greatest security threat to Europe since the end of the Second Russian Civil War has been raised, as Russia has sent troops to 'restore order' to its former protectorate, the Russian West Baltic Republic. International observers had observed the coup d'état against the Russian neo-fascist government that has ruled much of the occupied portions of sovereign Estonian and Latvian territory that was carried out, hours before the Russian incursion into the unrecognized state. Much of the RWBR government and cabinet had been arrested by rebel soldiers who switched sides to the Russian government, and in fact, had been aiding the regular Russian military in seizing control of various parts of the unrecognized state.

(Scene switches to Russian President Alexey Zhravlyov sitting at his desk)

ZHURAVLYOV: We felt that the growing fascist menace that we had unfortunately nurtured during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the civil war that it followed had become too much of a threat to us, as much as it is a threat to the entire Baltic region. We could not ignore the lingering danger that Estonia and Latvia posed to our wayward brethren when economic sanctions had driven the economy of the Russian West Baltic Republic to the brink of collapse, and there have been numerous protests erupting against President Dyomushkin's mismanagement. The Russian West Baltic Republic has become a criminal enterprise in which neo-Nazi ideology and criminal oligarchy had dominated much of the daily life of our people living on the other side of the fence. It is for this reason that we had to enter the territory of the Russian West Baltic Republic to restore order and to de-Nazify this territory before Estonia and Latvia launch a military operation to expel our compatriots. We must never forget that the Russian West Baltic Republic existed to provide a safe refuge to our people who were expelled from Kaliningrad Oblast during the early days of the Second Russian Civil War, and the state has emerged as a place where non-Russians were being slaughtered in revenge.

(Scene switches to Estonian President Allar Joks)

JOKS: The illegal occupation of our eastern borderlands by Russians has remained a sore point in our relations with our eastern neighbor, who isn't interested in world peace or the liberal world order. We never forgot the millions of our people who were massacred by the Soviet Army and Russian paramilitaries in retaliation to their well deserved expulsion from the former Kaliningrad Oblast, and as a result of the occupation, we were unable to join NATO because of it. The world condemns Russian expansionism, just as it did condemn the ESTO military conflict in the Philippines. We must launch a new war to stop the Russians before they get too strong, even if we must allow America to destroy the entire world to stop its enemies.

(Scene switches to Latvian President Janis Bordans)

BORDANS: We see the replay of the Russian military aggression that was seen during the Second Russian Civil War, and it is extremely heartbreaking. Latvia has suffered much worse during the collapse of the Soviet Union, with the deportations to Siberian gulags and from declassified Soviet archives, it was revealed that all of the Latvian inmates in the Siberian gulags were massacred in the far reaches of Siberia as revenge for the pogroms against the Russians living in our territory. We are now reliving the nightmare of the civil war that has destroyed our country and it is horrifying that the Russian KGB had intentionally ripped our territorial integrity apart as a way of exploiting the provisions that NATO has regarding candidates with territorial disputes. In addition, its side kick Belarus has continued its illegal occupation of Lithuanian territory and has targeted both Lithuanian and Belarusian Roman Catholics for extermination or forced conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy, and our Estonian brothers are facing the same pain we did. Like Estonia, we want America to stop the Russians from further destroying our country, even if we must support the wholesale destruction of the entire world.

(Scene switches to Global National News Anchor Catherine Starr)

STARR: Good evening, and welcome to this breaking news on Global National News. As the world watches the bloody carnage unfolding in the Philippines, the Russian Army has sent its troops to the unrecognized Russian West Baltic Republic. This was in response to the Estonian and Latvian shelling of the unrecognized state and the subsequent coup that toppled the neo-fascist government of Dmitry Dyomushkin. Even as we speak, regular Russian forces are continuing their advance throughout the unrecognized state, with the cooperation and assistance of the RWBR militiamen who were disillusioned with the growing incompetence of the Russian neo-fascist government. What's going on over there on the border with the RWBR, Max?

(Scene switches to Max Sandoval in Viljandi, Estonia)

SANDOVAL: (points at the approaching Estonian Army convoy) Right now, we're seeing a general mobilization of the Estonian Army as they are being sent to the border with the RWBR. One of the Estonian soldiers had told me that the RWBR militia that played a role in the coup against Dyomushkin had received major backing from Russian military intelligence. It also appeared that Dyomushkin himself accused RWBR Major General Dmitry Utkin of being a double agent working for the Russian GRU, while Utkin himself accused Dyomushkin of embezzlement of state funds. It is clear though, that the Russian military and the Russian KGB, along with various paramilitary units, have a clear mission in mind, which is to clean up the RWBR of actual Russian neo-Nazis, who they see as a menace to be liquidated.

STARR: Has the Latvians mobilized their military as well?

SANDOVAL: (pauses) We are not yet sure of what the Latvians are doing, but- (pauses as one Estonian major spoke to him, and the translator relayed the message in English) The Estonian major, through his translator, has told me that this town isn't safe if the Russians decide to attack, and that all foreign journalists are required to relocate to Tallinn, where we might have to evacuate.


Regular Russian infantrymen engaged in the operation to detain the entire government and cabinet of the Russian West Baltic Republic.

---

"A second Russian mercenary group that was founded in 2017 by noted war veteran and former Novy Put' member Zakhar Prilepin as a means of expanding the private security business in addition to the Terminal Defense Group. The name, Udar Tigra, or Tiger Strike DG, had been staffed by primarily ex-regular military and paramilitary personnel, though with National Bolshevik and Eurasianist leanings. Prilepin however, was a rare case, as he was seen as one of the few anti-Semites who had written a Stalinist critique of modern Russia, but had recently began to embrace a form of clerical fascism. As a man with close connections to Patriarch Diomid I and Aleksander Dugin, Prilepin had been influenced by their teachings, which made him a Eurasianist. Yet, Udar Tigra DG had become corrupted from within as former neo-Nazis who pretended to renounce their beliefs, were recruited into the Udar Tigra DG. In such a way, Udar Tigra DG had imitated their Japanese counterpart in recruiting criminals, deadbeat fathers, and men with outstanding debts. Prilepin, unlike Mitsuo Jinguji, was not divorced, nor did he have any prejudice against deadbeat fathers. In fact, he agreed with Jinguji in that offering a refuge and home for the downtrodden men of society in a mercenary unit was going to help change their lives. However, Prilepin did not hesitate to carry out death sentences against any member of Udar Tigra DG who used their mercenary skills to settle scores with their estranged wives and children, as evident by the recent execution of ex-Udar Tigra member Vitaliy Morozov. Morozov was shot by an all-mercenary firing squad after being found guilty of killing his wife and children over a custody dispute gone wrong. In such a way, Prilepin had separated himself from the likes of Jinguji, though he also recruited from Russian prisons. Inmates that joined Udar Tigra DG and/or its frenemy, the Terminal Defense Group, would serve for six to seven years, in exchange for commuting their sentences. If they were wounded in action, their service would be shortened to four years, and if they were killed in action, they were considered to have repaid their blood debt to society. The inmates that joined were diverse: some of them were professional criminals, others were illegal immigrants from Central Asia or the Caucasus, and a few inmates that joined had extradition notices. Those inmates that had an Interpol extradition notice were secretly let into the group, in exchange for not revealing their crimes to the public. The inmates that joined both mercenary groups were subjected to rigorous training that bordered on hazing, but the fear of being expelled from the group, along with the return to prison life, had motivated the convict recruits to endure the hazing. Noted human rights observers had compared the training of the Udar Tigra DG recruits and their Terminal DG counterparts to the notorious Soviet-era policy of Dedovshchina, where they were being physically abused by drill sergeants. It is worth noting that both Terminal and Udar Tigra had sent their mercenaries during the Khorasani offensive against the remnants of the Taliban in what was then southern Afghanistan. Various hot spots in Africa and Latin America were often the popular destinations for the mercenary groups, before the ESTO invasion of the Philippines. Three mpnths after China invaded the Philippines, there were large increases in Terminal and Udar Tigra deployment of mercenaries as they were often used in large scale combat, mainly against the Akatsuki International Resource Group. In fact, the Battle of Matawe in which a joint Russian-Korean force had been carried out by the two mercenary groups, and the AIRG mercenaries were simply lounging around when they were caught completely by surprise." From 'Of Guns and Sunflowers: Russia's Mercenary Groups in the ESTO-Philippine Conflict', courtesy of KBN Documentary, released on November 19, 2023.

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AUSTRALIA PLANS POSSIBLE MILITARY DEPLOYMENT TO PHILIPPINES AS ESTO FORCES INCREASE ATTACKS ON EMBATTLED DAGUPAN GARRISON
Sydney Herald
August 14, 2020


Australian soldiers engage in a military exercise somewhere in northeastern Australia in preparation for a possible military intervention in the Philippines against ESTO forces.

(Dagupan, PHILIPPINES) - In response to the increased ESTO offensive in the Philippines's Pangasinan Prefecture, the Australian government under Prime Minister Mark Coulton has discussed with his cabinet on the possibility of sending troops and naval vessels to the Philippine island of Mindanao as a means of deterring further ESTO military aggression on the Philippines. Coulton's plan was to send a token force of 4,000 Australian Army troops to the city of Davao as a show of force against the ESTO forces, followed by one Adelaide-class destroyer and four Collins-class sub. If approved, this would be the first time since the Second Korean War that Australia would authorize the official deployment of its military. However, Prime Minister Coulton was notified of escalating the risk of expanding the wider war in the Asia-Pacific region by his Cabinet and the Australian military leadership. In addition, both the United States and Canada had proposed to send troops to show support for the Philippines, but both US President Tim Kaine and Canadian Prime Minister John Turmel had ruled out such plans, preferring to instead impose sanctions on all participating ESTO members engaged in military operations on Philippine soil. Most significantly, President Kaine has also announced that there will be a revision on the Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations, justified by the growing nuclear capabilities of Russia, China, and Iran. Although the Korean Federal Republic at one point, had planned to develop its own nuclear weapons, the Second Korean War had put those plans on hold, and when Prime Minister Huh Kyung-young had risen to power, he has approached its partners on developing Korea's nuclear deterrent. The plan to revise the Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations would fall in line with the current situation.

"Due to increased ESTO military operations in the Philippines, as well as the recent aggressive actions taken by the Russian government in the Baltic region, the United States is now seeking to lower its standards on when it will use its nuclear arsenal. In light of the growing geopolitical change that we are seeing, it is now prudent that we would have to take measures that will allow us to gain quicker approval for the use of nuclear weapons," says President Kaine, during a televised speech in the Oval Office. "In addition, I have also authorized the US military to commence with the nuclear weapons drills, and to even brainstorm with our officers on using our nuclear arsenal to tip the geopolitical balance of power in our favor, even when the odds are against us."

Kaine's nuclear announcement however, does not sit well with its arch-enemy, Venezuela, under the current junta led by Rodolfo Marco Torres. The Venezuelan junta is aware of the US's intention to deploy and use tactical nuclear weapons in the event that the US would go to war against Venezuela to topple its anti-American government, but the possibility of using nuclear weapons to topple the Torres junta has shocked the world. It is also rumored that the US military had also formulated a secret plan in the event of losing its global dominance, though critics of American foreign policy had mockingly called it the Brzezinski Plan, named after infamous neocon Zbigniew Brzezinski. The Brzezinski Plan, or rather, Operation: Knight Rider, was a plan in which the United States would use its nuclear weapons against targeted geopolitical enemies. Knight Rider had been divided into several sub-plans, though one of them, the Funston Plan, called for a nuclear strike on the Philippines in the event of a left-wing government coming to power, or when the Philippines is invaded by a hostile military alliance opposed to American global dominance. The MacArthur Plan on the other hand, would call for the nuclear strike on the Korean Federal Republic in the event that an anti-Huh coup would fail and rebel forces are defeated. Finally, the Oppenheimer Plan called for a second nuclear bombing of Japan in the event that Japan and the United States would once again go to war with each other, though in this case, Kyoto and Tokyo would be targeted for a nuclear strike. As part of the Funston Plan, the US military had started to station nuclear bombers on Australian airfields and had armed them with nuclear cruise missiles. The presence of American nuclear bombers close to Indonesia had triggered protests from within the Indonesian public, to the point where President Santoso had personally traveled to China for a meeting with President Wang Jian-ping.

"We are on the verge of a nuclear holocaust because of past geopolitical issues that remained unresolved, and the American government's plan to use its nuclear arsenal to keep its unipolarist world order is a symptom of a societal decay," says President Santoso during the discussion with President Wang. "It is because of our fear that America might also one day use its nuclear weapons against us if we did something to undermine its interest that we now face the possibility of having to improve ties between our two countries."

---

"The Zambales Offensive, though just as important, albeit not as heard of, was nevertheless significant in that the Philippine military had started to learn the necessity of gradually retreating to preserve their manpower. At the same time though, the Zambales Offensive had began to expose much of China's military weakness in its incohesive coordination between the troops on the ground, the personnel working in communications centers, and the military leadership in Beijing. Tactical errors made by the PLA and Korean forces were exploited by the Philippine military, which enabled them to launch small, but effective counterattacks that gave them much needed breathing room. General Danilo Lim, who oversaw the defenses of central Luzon, quickly noted the advantages that the higher ground provided for the defending forces, and it was his deduction that led to the construction of the Zambales Redoubt. However, the Korean military leadership also realized that their enemy was going to use geography to its advantage, having been on that same position as well during the Second Korean War, but on the northern side. China itself has a similar kind of geography, though it had been a long time since they were the ones on the defending side. Now that they're the attacker, they had to learn the hard lessons of war. The Russians too, are learning the hard lessons of war, and given the unfamiliarity of the Philippine tropical environment, it is different from the battlefields that were featured in the Second Russian Civil War and the 2005 Russian conflict in Ukraine. Yet, the ESTO forces are gradually adapting to the battlefield conditions, as well as the tropical climate. In 2018, the ESTO held a military exercise in southern China, to climatize its troops for the eventual conflict against the Philippines. Though mistakes were still made, they can compensate for it with their manpower and firepower advantage. Instead of sending large number of troops and vehicles to storm a defensive position, the ESTO forces had now resorted to using infiltration to navigate through the jungles and mountains of central Luzon, and when they found the enemy position, they would engage in a firefight, before calling in artillery strikes. Drones had also been useful in locating and eliminating enemy positions, with KDV002 drones being utilized to detect enemy troop movements. The Central Asian forces, though smaller than their Russian, Korean, and Chinese counterparts, learned the necessity of preserving their precious manpower through infiltration tactics much quicker. Casualties suffered by the Central Asian troops were much fewer as a result of making smarter tactical and strategic decisions.

The September 2022 Philippine Counteroffensive also revealed China's other weakness as well, which was that their borders could easily come under attack by artillery shelling, as well as small incursions by armed militants. In this case, the catalyst for the September 2022 Counteroffensive was the Guangxi Zhuang SAR Border Incursion made by the Vietnamese mercenaries working for the AIRG. The speed in which the Vietnamese AIRG mercenaries had carried out in not only conquering Dongxing County within the city of Fangchenggang, but had also pulled off a successful river crossing when the other mercenaries attacked the Hekou Yao Autonomous County by September 6. The Chinese redeployment of troops from the Philippine front to counter the AIRG mercenaries in the Sino-Vietnamese border had given the Philippine forces a needed respite, and their counterattack began with artillery bombardments against exposed and weakened ESTO positions. The Mongolians and Koreans bore the brunt of the fighting, while the other AIRG mercenaries that arrived from Japan also helped out with the counteroffensive. What was not revealed until 2023, was the deployment of over 2,000 mercenaries attached to the infamous PMC Logos Group. Though the Logosians had 'official' permission from the Philippine government to take part in military operations against the ESTO forces, they were mainly tasked with creating chaos behind enemy lines and fought pitched battles with pro-collaborationist Philippine forces that have sided with the ESTO invaders. The presence of the Logosians, as well as the growing extremist rhetoric coming from over 76% of the Logosians who came from Western countries, had given the pro-collaborationist Filipino State Guard and Philippine Volunteer Corps forces a means to continue fighting for their misguided cause. By far the most successful operation conducted by the joint Philippine military and AIRG mercenaries was the advance in southwestern Zambales Prefecture, where they succeeded in cutting off the ESTO forces from each other, resulting in over 25,000 ESTO troops being trapped. The PLA High Command authorized the withdrawal of those troops from southern Zambales and Bataan Prefectures towards the Calamines Islands as a way to save face. Unfortunately, while the Philippine forces were successful in their September 2020 Counteroffensive, that success was not replicated during the two-day Battle of Dagupan, when the advance into central Pangasinan Prefecture had ran into serious troubles. For one, the ESTO forces had reorganized themselves and began to push the Philippine forces back. Second, the ESTO military leadership decided to switch the responsibilities in the Western and Eastern Luzon Zone of Operations. Now, it was the Central Asians and Chinese forces that are assigned in the Western Luzon Zone of Operations, while the Russians would now cooperate with Mongolian and Korean forces in the Eastern Luzon Zone of Operations. This switch enabled the Central Asians to apply their infiltration tactics to nullify the element of surprise that the Philippine forces relied on. In the end, while the Philippine forces were able to regain the initiative against the ESTO forces, it came at a dreadful cost. Over 16,000 Filipino soldiers were killed in action between September 2 and September 21. However, the ESTO military leadership also realized that Vietnam might also become a second front that they would have to fight against. To ensure that military operations against Vietnam would become successful, the ESTO military leadership would reorganize the exiled former Vietnamese communist government, whose leader Luong Cuong, had agreed to abide by the Treaty of Berlin in recognizing Chinese sovereignty over the Spratly Islands. The pro-communist Vietnam People's Army, which still had the strength of over 150,000 soldiers based in China's Xinjiang SAR, had now consisted of defected former Vietnamese Armed Forces personnel who had to hide their communist leanings to avoid being executed. The VPA was still equipped with Soviet-era weaponry, though they were also being given old Chinese weaponry that the PLA didn't need anymore. In sharp contrast, the VAF was gradually replacing its own Soviet-era equipment with Japanese weapons. It would not be until January of 2022 when Laos, along with Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Assyria, and Kurdistan, would be admitted into ESTO when plans for a second front to be opened against the Vietnamese neo-fascist government." From 'The Summary of the ESTO Invasion of the Philippines', courtesy of VidTube.

---

TOKYO, JAPAN
AUGUST 15, 2020

The stress had gotten much to the head of 49 year old Shinichiro Moroboshi, as the news of his armed group's recent foray into the Philippine conflict had dominated much of the head office. As the head of the Akatsuki International Resource Group, Moroboshi-taichou, as he was called by the mercenaries themselves, had been subjected to intense scrutiny. Since the day his second in command, Mitsuo Jinguji, had proposed to him that they be allowed to recruit divorced fathers, he did not yet realize the pandora's box that was opened. Suddenly, various kinds of men who were not only divorced, but had abandoned their children and wives had also flocked to join. Although only 45% of the AIRG mercenaries were former husbands and fathers, it was still enough to cause chaos. With Toru Katsuragi being in the payroll of Jinguji, and causing even more trouble, it wasn't surprising that he would have to take drastic steps. However, the remaining 55% of the mercenaries were of great character, as evident by the employment of the three medics that were attached to the group. It was only three years ago that Moroboshi had interviewed a young Yui Kyougoku for the position of a medic, as she finished studying at one of Japan's finest medical schools. She was the opposite of Katsuragi: a down to earth, humble woman who wanted to gain experience immediately. As soon as he allowed her to join, it all cascaded as two more of her friends, Nagisa Shimazaki and Noa Urahara, also joined, and two male mercenaries who were former JSDF personnel, much like himself. Yuichi Sato and Harunobu Yamada had finished their military service when they joined. It was surprising for Moroboshi to suddenly accept Yuichi, considering his elder brothers, Satoshi and Keiichi, were serving aboard a Japanese destroyer.

Moroboshi's stress however, could not dissipate, as one of the receptionists had arrived, with a surprise visitor in tow.

"Moroboshi-sama, the Prime Minister is here to see you." Moroboshi stood up from his desk and bowed down to the presence of none other than Toshio Tamogami himself.

"It's good to see you, Honorable Prime Minister. I am not sure though, if I share the same sentiment these days," Moroboshi told the Prime Minister, to which he simply nodded.

Prime Minister Tamogami sat down on one of the chairs that the receptionist had offered for him. "It's terrible. Jinguji's poison has become a cancer on your group. I know that you were desperate for recruits, but ever in my entire life have I dealt with a crisis that is the worst since the days of Yukio Mishima. Mercenaries using their skills to eliminate their own families? That is the worst thing that I've ever heard. The women and children who are now resting in the afterlife are crying out to the heavens and they're asking why their estranged husbands/fathers have killed them."

"I wish I could have visited them, but they would never want to see me," Moroboshi said softly.

"With good reason. Did you know that I spent the entire day weeping inside my own room when I heard the news of that vicious bastard who forced his own ex-wife to watch his son get tortured by Jinguji's hired hands, before assaulting her in such an atrocious fashion that it made the entire country seethe in disgust? Or the incident that led to the gruesome discovery of those corpses at the Nakaminato Fishery Port? The blood of those broken families are on the hands of the AIRG," Tamogami said sternly.

Moroboshi could only nod. "I understand. However, if I were to dissolve my own group, I would have destroyed the livelihoods of all the mercenaries. I have to take into interest the good apples who aren't tainted by their custodial disputes, as well as the bad apples."

"Regarding the good apples, the Minister of Defense, Yamamura-san, had proposed to form a Special Assault Group that would be open to the unemployed mercenary who lost their position there, but the condition for joining is that they don't have any outstanding financial obligations. Given that you may plan to dissolve the AIRG, the condition imposed on those poor wives and children that they forfeit any claims to alimony and child support in exchange for a lump sum would come to an end, which means they would technically be able to pursue claims of alimony and child support," Tamogami explained. He groaned in frustration soon after. "I fear for what happens if word of this reaches the ears of the criminal elements of the AIRG."

Moroboshi grimaced. "If that happens, I may have to shoot Jinguji myself."

"I would prefer that you turn him in to the military authorities. Shooting him outright would be far too much, plus you would get arrested if you did that." Tamogami got up from his chair and started to walk towards the door. "Time is against us, Moroboshi-san. And you have a decision to make."

After Prime Minister Tamogami left, Moroboshi sat down once again and clasped his hands while placing his elbows on the desk. He knew that he had a tough situation to face, but it was a difficult decision to make. To keep his group around and create more tragedies that would inevitably rip countless families apart, or to disband it and leave thousands of fighters unemployed and potentially causing a rebellion that can be even more destructive than the Tatenokai's failed rebellion and the 2-26 Incident combined. Never in his life had he faced a crisis like this one, but it was even sadder that the AIRG was his own pride and joy. He realized that some of the decent minded people who are employed in his group would no doubt accept the unpopular decision, in exchange for being allowed to join the proposed Special Assault Group. Then there's also the criminal element, which Jinguji had cultivated. It was then that Moroboshi called in the receptionist and looked at her grimly.

"Moroboshi-sama, is there any request that you'd like to make?" the receptionist asked.

"Can you please procure for me the file on Mitsuo Jinguji? I'd like to know more about his background," Moroboshi responded. The receptionist nodded and went out. Fifteen minutes later, she returned with a single folder in her hand. "Thank you."

As soon as Moroboshi opened the contents of the folder, he started to read some of the files that were written down. However, he frowned when some of the provisions of the application were whited out. Immediately, he summoned the receptionist once again.

"Can you please look up any private investigators and ask them if they're interested in investigating the background of a mercenary?" Moroboshi asked. The receptionist simply nodded and entered his room. She looked at her phone and scanned through, before her eyes widened and wrote something down. "Well?"

"There's a private investigator who's willing to do the work you're suggesting, but he is charging a steep price for his services," the receptionist told him. "He's charging over 5 million Yen for it."

"We'll cover it. Phone him at once." Moroboshi paused as the receptionist began to dial the number. As soon as she heard the phone ring, she gave it to him. "This is Moroboshi speaking."

A gruff sounding man spoke from the other end of the line. "Moroboshi? I never heard of the name before."

"Anyways, I'd like to request your services for a background investigation on one Mitsuo Jinguji. I know he's currently in the Philippines, leading the AIRG mercenaries, but I need some information on his background. We're prepared to pay you triple the amount that you're charging," Moroboshi simply explained. "It also concerns the future of my group as well."

The gruff sounding man smiled. "Jinguji. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while."

His response stunned Moroboshi. "Wait, you know Jinguji?"

"Well, yes and no. I only know of him from my wife, who used to be married to him. Apparently the main reason why they divorced was because of her infidelity, but in reality, it was he who caused the divorce in the first place. The anonymous man who parroted the official version of Jinguji's divorce was most likely loyal to him," the gruff sounding man answered. "By the way, now that you've introduced yourself, it only seems to be proper that I would say mine. I'm Togo Shioyama."

Moroboshi simply smiled. "Pleased to meet you. Should I proceed with the payment and you can investigate Jinguji?"

"Well, I might as well come over there in person. I'll be over in twenty minutes. By the way, no need to pay me. My wife insists on making sure that Jinguji falls in such a vicious manner," Shioyama replied back. "Talk to you later."

***

ONE HOUR LATER

A bulky looking man with brown hair arrived inside Moroboshi's office, accompanied by a woman who appeared to be in her 40s. Moroboshi gestured for them to sit down as the receptionist poured some ginger tea on their cups and offered it to them. Once they accepted the offering, Shioyama sighed as he turned to the woman whom Moroboshi assumed to be the wife.

"Shinichiro-san, I'd like to say thank you for summoning us here. We've heard about the news regarding the murdered women and children caused by Mitsuo's madness," the woman explained. "I'm Saya Shioyama, and I wanted to come here to give my side of the story of why I divorced Mitsuo."

Moroboshi grimaced. "You know that Mitsuo isn't going to like it when he learns about my conversation with the two of you."

"I could care less what that scum thinks," Saya said bluntly. "Anyways, I should give my explanation first."

"Go ahead." Moroboshi paused for a moment as he started to listen.

"Two decades ago, when Mitsuo-san was recently discharged from what was then the JSDF, he had just married me and we had our first child together. He claimed that he was too exhausted from years in the military to help out with the housework and child care, but I was angry at him for not helping out. Of course, one day when Takeru, our son, was a baby, Mitsuo yelled at him to be quiet, making him cry even louder. I scolded him for being violent towards our baby, but Mitsuo said that if Takeru can't stop crying, he'd poison him with sleeping pills. I didn't take that too well, and we lived separately for a while," Saya explained. She sighed and shook lightly. "When Takeru was six, an incident happened that led to the divorce."

"What incident was that?" Moroboshi asked.

Saya sighed deeply. "When Takeru was speaking during dinner, Mitsuo snapped at him. However, just as I was about to calm Takeru down after he started to cry, Mitsuo shoved me aside, and simply spanked him. I was fearful when Takeru cried harder after Mitsuo spanked him in the butt, but when Takeru yelled at Mitsuo that he hates him, something snapped inside Mitsuo. He grabbed Takeru by the throat and started to punch him so hard that his jaw broke. As a last straw, Mitsuo stomped on Takeru's nose, breaking it before he left. The next thing I know, I heard that he simply signed up to join your organization, and went on basic training before heading to Vietnam."

Moroboshi gasped as he suddenly recalled the moment when Jinguji showed up at the AIRG recruitment office. The sight of his former comrade in arms who looked grim had seemingly passed the interview, before finding himself at a boot camp. He also remembered the time when the AIRG went on their very first mission, which was to help the Vietnamese Army retake its lost territories from the occupying Cambodian forces. He didn't realize the true face of his former comrade when he relished in torturing captured soldiers, while giving aid to the displaced civilians.

"To make matters worse, Takeru had developed PTSD from the ordeal and I used his beating of my son as a reason for the divorce. I ran into the arms of Togo here, but as we both agreed on the divorce, there was no alimony and child support involved. He actually gave five months' worth of his salary as lump sum to me, but refused to pay child support. Takeru glared at him when they saw each other for the last time, which only made Mitsuo angrier to the point where he simply dislocated his shoulder. By the time I tried to get the police involved, Mitsuo had apparently relocated to Thailand," Saya continued to explain. She turned to Moroboshi when he closed his eyes. "It's not your fault, Shinichiro. You had nothing to do with how Takeru suffered."

"But I should have been more diligent in how I recruited him. Of course, Mitsuo did come up with the idea of recruiting deadbeat fathers and abusive husbands into the group, and because of it, they're using the skills they learned to kill their own families. My hands are stained with their blood, and this group is responsible," Moroboshi said weakly.

Togo patted him in the back. "You didn't know that there would be more people who had the same mindset as Mitsuo's, or that they really found a way to take revenge on their families."

"Now that I thought of it, I've started to see disturbing details of their circumstances that led to their enlistment in this group." Moroboshi grabbed another folder that the receptionist had laid out for him. He opened one of them and began to read it. "Takashi Yamamoto. Age 30. Joined the AIRG as a way of escaping from his financial obligation to pay alimony and child support to Mayumi Yamamoto and Yuta Yamamoto. The AIRG paid Ms. Yamamoto a lump sum of 600 million Yen in exchange for agreeing to forfeit any further claims of alimony and child support. Currently stationed in the Philippines on the Central Luzon front."

Moroboshi also opened up another folder and grimaced. "Keisuke Shigemoto. Age 33 when he first joined, and is now 39. Joined the AIRG as a way to avoid paying alimony to his estranged wife Yukie and son Haruto. The AIRG paid Ms. Shigemoto over 400 million Yen as lump sum in exchange for agreeing to forfeit any additional claims of alimony and child support. Currently stationed on the Central Luzon front." He also noticed one small note scribbled on the bottom of the page. "Wanted by Hachinohe Municipal Police for the murder of Yukie and Haruto Shigemoto. Investigations have revealed that Shigemoto and five other squad mates who are also in the Philippines have kidnapped, tortured, and executed the victims in such a fashion that their relatives wouldn't be able to see their mutilated corpses." He continued to go through all the folders that were prepared for him until he spotted the last folder containing Toru Katsuragi's info on him. "Toru Katsuragi, age 34 today, only 32 when he first joined. Ms. Fumika Katsuragi was initially offered a lump sum of 450 million yen in exchange for agreeing to forfeit claims of alimony and child support, but she declined, insisting that she had the right to sue Toru for not only abusing her while she was pregnant, but also for nearly killing her baby. Unfortunately, both Ms. Katsuragi and the baby were found dead only three months after Toru joined, with clear evidence of physical torture and gunshot wounds on Ms. Katsuragi's head."

Saya gasped in horror as Shioyama sighed in sadness. "Wait a minute, those men were featured on the news!"

"As it stands, with your testimony, I am now convinced that dissolving this group will be for the best. Let's not forget that the AIRG was a government-backed mercenary group, as our laws currently forbid the possession of weapons by non-government backed mercenary agencies." Moroboshi told them. "However, I am required to make you two swear to secrecy, to make sure that whatever is told here, must not be revealed until I am authorized to do so, and on the Prime Minister's instruction."

---

"Austria, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Switzerland were the only nations in Europe that have yet to join NATO. Albania already joined back in 2007, though the Intermarium alliance had joined NATO back in 2016. Initially, the former Eastern Bloc was supposed to join in 1997, but the devastation caused by the Second Russian Civil War forced the NATO leadership to postpone the expansion until Central and Eastern Europe were able to get back on their feet. Even so, the chain of neutral states has actually been more of a detriment to the wider Euro-Atlantic security than an asset, since the Russians could simply influence the politics there. Turkey's withdrawal of its membership in NATO in 2005 had been a big blow to the alliance, but it actually made things a lot easier for us, as the Turks proved to be troublesome allies at best, and a Trojan Horse at worse. With Turkey now being added to the chain of neutral European states that stretched from the Swiss Alps to Anatolia, we had no way of enhancing our own security. That was the reason why I pushed for Austrian membership into NATO, as well as to advocate for Yugoslavia's breakup and Bulgaria's regime change. We needed all of Europe to unite as one against the Asiatic hordes, for this is a civilization war. Of course, the Austrian patriots were criticizing my dream of bringing it into NATO, because they insisted on neutrality. However, the geopolitics have changed, and it is against our interest. Basically, there was only one way to achieve this dream that I cherished: either Austrian direct admission into NATO, or we push for a new Anschluss. Out of the former Eastern Bloc nations, only the Visegrad Group plus Romania have joined, as the three Baltic States still have territorial disputes with the unrecognized breakaway state of the Russian West Baltic Republic. It would be a disaster for Europe as a whole if even Bulgaria had joined ESTO, because that would have meant that the Russians could turn the Black Sea into a Russian lake. With ESTO expansion that could possibly admit several Middle Eastern nations, the Russians could now gain direct access to their Tartus naval base and share their military bases with the likes of Iran and China. Even the United States still needs to solve its own issues, both domestically and externally, and I believe that using ballistic nuclear weapons against the Venezuelan leftist junta would be an ideal solution, and to engineer a breakup of Mexico as a way of weakening the National Syndicalist regime there." Gunther Fehlinger, during a speech in the NATO Cologne Summit, August 21, 2020.

---

AUGUST 7, 2020
ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN

It had been an unusual homecoming for Nurzhan and his squad when they received the rotation orders from Colonel Smagululy after they finished transporting the POWs to their intended destination. They also heard that their replacements would be the newly formed 63rd and 64th Mechanized Brigade, which would take over their duties on the Eastern Luzon Zone of Operations. By the time the military transport had arrived back in the Kazakh military base of Qapchagay, Nurzhan immediately went back to his hometown in Almaty's Alatau district. He entered a large Soviet-era commie block where his family lived, and after using the elevator, he arrived in front of the door that led to his home. Nurzhan knocked on the door, and a woman opened it as she shrieked and hugged him.

"Nurzhan! Welcome home!" 59 year old Sholpan Bayzhanova told Nurzhan as her husband, 64 year old Qaisar Nurzhanov laughed and joined the family reunion.

"Ana! Ata! (1) I'm happy to see you. Where's Togzhan?" Nurzhan asked lightly.

Qaisar pointed at what appeared to be a slightly stocky woman, who was slightly younger than Nurzhan. Togzhan and Nurzhan both hugged each other as she kissed him in the forehead.

"Nurzhan, my brother. I'm so happy you've come home. We were scared that you might die in that tropical hellhole," Togzhan told him. Nurzhan entered inside the home as he took off his military boots and sat down on the table. "My parents are asking me when I'm going to get married, but I insisted that I have to find a good career first."

Qaisar looked at Togzhan sternly. "There may be a time when it will be too late for you to marry."

"I'm not married yet, Ata," Nurzhan pointed out, which only made his parents pout.

"And you, uly (2), need to find a wife soon. I know that you're too caught up in this conflict, but you need to think about your future, and the future of our homeland as well," Qaisar said. "Inshallah, you'll find a good woman who will tame your wild spirit."

Nurzhan simply smiled. "I hope so too. Maybe I should play matchmaker and arrange for Togzhan to marry one of the other officers attached to my unit."

"That wouldn't be a bad idea, but I would prefer to not marry a military man. A guy who's established in his civilian career would be ideal, but if I had to settle for a military man, I'll accept," Togzhan sighed. She turned to Nurzhan and grinned. "Have you met any local girls when you fought in the Philippines?"

Nurzhan frowned. "No, not really. I don't really want to talk about what happened over there, because I sometimes have nightmares about it."

"I agree. It was the same for me when I still fought during the Second Russian Civil War. It was awful when those jihadists were invading our lands, but we managed to drive them out. Then my unit was transferred to the Belarusian Front and it was hell on Earth. I even shot that Nazi looking clown with a Dragunov when we advanced through western Belarus," Qaisar told him. He turned around as the sound of a boiling pot was growing louder. "The beshbarmak is going to be ready soon, so eat up."

Thirty minutes later, the Bayzhanov family sat down on the table and held up their hands in an Islamic prayer. After rubbing their faces with their hands and gave out their prayer, the entire family sat down and began to serve each other the beshbarmak, with Nurzhan serving the first bowl to his mother, then his father, and finally to Togzhan, before grabbing the bowl for himself. He also served the shorpo in smaller bowls to his family before himself as well.

"When your father told us that you'd be coming home today, we prepared the best beshbarmak, shorpo and bought a lot of vegetables as well. I'm glad that you've served us first," Sholpan beamed as Nurzhan nodded.

"In the army, the enlisted men are served their meals first before the officers. I had to help serve meals to my own men too. Speaking of which, I've only got a few days of furlough before I have to return to Qapchagay, so I'll sleep more often here," Nurzhan said curtly. He turned to Togzhan and grinned. "How about we go out and enjoy ourselves at the nightclub?"

Togzhan frowned. "I'm not that much of a party girl. Maybe we could just go for a walk then."

"Togzhan dear, remember that Nurzhan is only here for a few days, so make sure that you enjoy your time with him." Qaisar turned to Nurzhan. "And Nurzhan, when you come back from the war with victory, make sure that you find a girl that is not just down to earth, but is also a traditional woman, but isn't afraid to speak her mind."

Nurzhan nodded in agreement. "Yes, ata. I will keep that in mind."

***

1900 HOURS, AUGUST 7, 2020
STREETS OF ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN

Nurzhan and Togzhan were walking along Koltsevaya Ulitsa in their casual clothing as the buses and cars moved along. Throughout the streets of Almaty, pictures of various apple dishes were shown, side by side with military posters, encouraging Kazakhs to enlist in the military. Military propaganda posters were also strewn in most walls of the commie blocks, depicting the Kazakh soldier as a strong man, marching side by side with the soldiers representing the other ESTO member states. Finally, another poster was shown, encouraging Kazakhs to buy war bonds and to raise funds to help bolster the economy. By the time the two siblings arrived inside a shopping mall, they were greeted by a rather unfamiliar face.

"Sir, what do I call you?" an unfamiliar but slender looking man asked. "I'm attached to the 36th Guards Air Assault Brigade."

"When we're in civvies, just call me by my first name, but I'm not sure who you are," Nurzhan answered cautiously.

The slender looking man lightly laughed. "Sorry about that. I'm Senior Lieutenant Zhangir Sabitov. I know most of the troops that you've commanded in your squad, as they used to serve in mine."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Captain Nurzhan Bayzhanov. This is my sister Togzhan," Nurzhan said to the newcomer as Togzhan shook hands with the newcomer. "I only have a few days before I need to return to Qapshagay."

"I know. All the desantniks within the 35th and 36th have to report back. It seems that we might come back to the Philippines at some point," Sabitov replied back.

Sabitov led Nurzhan and Togzhan inside the mall, where various shops started to close while shoopers of all backgrounds started to leave. Realizing that the mall was about to close, Sabitov and the two siblings turned around and did the same.

"I remember the men that I have trained and led before they were reassigned to your unit. That guy, Temir Sheraliyev, he was talented in running. Could outrun even me as well," Sabitov explained while they exited the mall. "I know that the smart one, Rashid Qasymov, could memorize the parts of a BMP, but he can also tell if the vehicle is either broken or working well."

"I see. What of Bolatov?" Nurzhan asked.

"Ah, Bolatov. Nurlan Bolatov. Guy was very shy and quiet when he first joined, but we managed to coax him out of his shell by inviting him to eat with us at the mess halls. He's just as shy as Musa Tursynov. Musa, he was even more shy than Nurlan," Sabitov continued to explain. "Musa was a loner before he joined. Like Nurlan, we eventually invited him to eat with us at the mess halls too."

"And what of Smagulov and Tolegenov?" Nurzhan continued back. Togzhan started to yawn as she looked at the sky.

"Bakir Smagulov and Rustam Tolegenov? The only thing I know of them is that they come from a mixed family. Their fathers married Tatar women from Kazan, and their maternal families are living in Russia," Sabitov replied back. "In any case, Nurzhan, when we'll go back to Qapshagay, they're going to issue new rifles. The AN-94 that you were using, they'll replace that with the AK-103s. It's a good thing that our government is now going to replace our AKMs with the AK-103s. They've also been talking about developing the bullpup rifle with the Russians too."

"You should study weapons development, Zhangir. That knowledge would come in handy," Nurzhan replied in a comical tone. "I can tell that you are smart with your weapons."

"Well, it comes in handy when we're trying to learn how to operate those weapons though." Sabitov looked at his watch. "Look at the time. I gotta go home now. Let's meet up again sometime."

---

AUGUST 9, 2020
1200 HOURS MANILA STANDARD TIME
CAMBITALA, NUEVA ECIJA PREFECTURE

The sounds of the TOS-1s, TOS-2s and 2A36 Giatsint-Bs firing their payload into Rizal Municipality had greatly pleased Captain Suvorinskiy as he saw several fireballs erupting miles from his position. Though he was a bit disappointed that the Kazakh forces had to rotate their troops by replacing the paratroopers with mechanized infantry, he was more than happy to take on the additional responsibility of leading his men into battle against the Philippine forces. As Nurzhan had pointed out in one of the earlier battles, preserving the manpower and materiel also included being smart about where to deploy them. Terminal-style tactics, as he called the usage of smaller, platoon sized units in various skirmishes. The Terminalians had massive experience with infiltration tactics and the ability to operate in smaller formations from their conflicts against Ukraine in the 2005 conflict, as well as the Khorasan Offensive of 2017 that finally destroyed the Taliban's stranglehold on the former Pashtun Emirate and the victory of the Khorasani forces that allowed Afghanistan to reunite. The Mongolians and Central Asians have taken to Terminal-style infiltration tactics much quicker than their Russian, Chinese, and Korean counterparts, as they could not afford to lose too many men. Suvorinskiy's mood only brightened when news of the arrival of a second Russian mercenary unit had reached him. Immediately, he knew what it was, judging from the message that he received a few days earlier from his old friend Oleg Ivanov. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the approaching presence of Sergeant Zakarin.

"Comrade Captain, I have received a message from HQ in Tuguegarao. We are to advance into the town immediately." Zakarin handed Suvorinskiy the written note that he wrote down that was presumed to have been sent by the higher ups.

Suvorinskiy nodded in agreement. "Brigadier General Durov must be desperate to wrap up this battle." He and Zakarin started to walk towards the rest of the formed up Russian troops and stood at attention. "We have received orders from the higher ups to advance into that fortified zone over there. The objective remains the same: the capture of Rizal Raion (3) and the liquidation of enemy forces there. The enemy knows that we tend to simply bash our way into the stronghold, which is why we will change our tactics instead."

"Do we advance now?" one of the Russian sergeants asked.

Suvorinskiy shook his head. "Nope. We continue with the artillery barrage, round the clock, along with airstrikes. When night falls and the enemy cannot see, then we will advance, but only a quiet advance. Infantry platoons will initiate the advance, while armored and mechanized formations will wait for the signal. When the infantry platoons give the signal, then we will strike. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers shouted.

"Prepare for battle and maintain combat readiness." Suvorinskiy waved his hand as the Russian troops dispersed in multiple directions.

Suvorinskiy walked slowly as he started to look around the columns of tanks, APCs and other equipment as well. On the side of the road, he could spot over 50 T-72M3GUs being prepared, while another column of over 75 T-64M3GUs, 70 BTR-70s, and 40 BTR-90s were seen approaching from a distance. Several Russian soldiers also exclaimed when they saw 35 BMPT Terminators approaching the Baracbac Bridge as well.

"Comrade Captain!" another officer shouted. Suvorinskiy quickly ran towards the officer who called him and pointed at what appeared to be a column of enemy armored vehicles. "Enemy MnBTs are approaching our position. What should we do?"

"Have the T-64s meet them, and send a few Terminators to make sure that we don't run into enemy infantry equipped with anti-tank weaponry," Suvorinskiy responded. "Comrade Senior Lieutenant Sidorov, make sure that our positions are well defended. The artillery units need a clear visibility when they're bombarding the enemy position."

"Of course, Comrade Captain Suvorinskiy," Sr. Lt. Sidorov replied back as he returned to the T-72M3GU that he commanded as the tank commander.

Five minutes later, Suvorinskiy reached the BTR-90 where he and his squad had been riding on. Just like his Kazakh counterpart Nurzhan, Suvorinskiy had ten soldiers in his squad. However, where he and Nurzhan had differed, Suvorinskiy's squad was actually more diverse, reflecting the diversity of the Russian state. His second in command, Junior Lieutenant Alban Arbayev, was a slender looking Yakut who had a natural talent for tracking, given his background as a resident of a rural village in his native Yakutia. Though he was just a bit older than Suvorinskiy (he was already 30), Arbayev still gave his superior the much needed respect. His preferred weapon, the AK-103, had been cherished as his preferred weapon, though he also liked to use anti-tank weaponry as well. In Suvorinskiy's remaining squad, there were nine enlisted troops, though only five of them were PFCs. The remaining four were higher up, with one of them being a Senior Warrant Officer. The Senior Warrant Officer, Dzhirgan Ochirov, had been a medical student in his previous civilian career. His experience in the medical field had resulted in being the medic of the squad, though he normally carried an AEK-971 to protect himself, as well as a Makarov pistol. Ochirov, a debout Buddhist from Kalmykia, had also pulled double duty as a sniper as well. In contrast, the demolitions expert, Sergeant Major Vadim Mirkulov, had portrayed himself as a bit cocky for someone who originally came from Vorkuta. However, he could back it up with his talent in scouting suitable terrain to place various kinds of mines. In combat though, he preferred the AK-103, just like Arbayev. The final sergeant, Junior Sergeant Magomed Bayramov, was the main weapons maintenance man of the squad. Suvorinskiy had personally selected Bayramov because of his ability to assemble and disassemble the AK rifle in record time, though Bayramov was rather soft spoken for a Shia Muslim from Dagestan. His preferred weapon was the AK-103, like many standard issued weapons of the Russian Ground Forces.

The five enlisted men, all of which were Private First Class, were rather unusual, as they had been conscripts when they first joined, and after finishing their required military service, they opted to stay in the army. The first one of the five, PFC Anatoly Ivanov, was related to Oleg Ivanov, one of the main figures within the infamous Udar Tigra, or the Tiger Strike DG. Though a Muscovite, through and through, he did not brag about his city life, as he didn't have any friends when he grew up. He was however, trained in martial arts, as evident by his talent in close quarters combat, given that Oleg must have been the one to train him when he was young. When he is using a firearm though, Anatoly preferred to use a bullpup rifle, or more precise, an ABM-110 bullpup rifle that resembled the failed DAR-21 prototype that the Korean Federal Republic had fielded. The second PFC, Sabircan Rishatov, had been a bookish nerd when he was young, and rather skinny too. Since joining the military, Rishatov had actually started to put on some weight, but not too fat to the point where he could not perform his duties properly. As the main machine gunner of the squad, he preferred the Pecheneg light machine gun, though he doesn't mind using other weapons too. Given that he came from Kazan in the autonomous Republic of Tatarstan, Rishatov has also been seen praying alongside his friend Bayramov in an Islamic style, though Rishatov is a Sunni Muslim. In sharp contrast, the third PFC, Dmitry Bratoshenko, was physically built to be a tough man, though just as a bit cocky as Mirkulov. However, Bratoshenko could back his swagger with his talent for repairing communications equipment and taking part in demolition missions. In most missions, he carried the AK-74M, though in other missions that require the destruction of an enemy vehicle, he would often carry an RPG-7. Hailing from Krasnodar Krai, Bratoshenko was often compared to the Kuban Cossacks, but he insisted that he didn't have any family that were Cossacks. The fourth PFC, Ivan Myulder, had the hardest time adjusting to life in Russia after his family fled from the former South Africa. Though his father and grandfather had once served in the former SADF, they didn't want to remain in the town of Orania when the South African Civil War broke out. Having been mistaken for a Jew by some other Russians with anti-Semitic attitudes, Myulder insisted that he wasn't Jewish, and that he could speak Afrikaans in addition to his Afrikaan-accented Russian. Hailing from Isetgrad Oblast, Myulder stood out from within his squad, as his stocky built, blonde hair, and blue-green eyes would mistaken him for a Hitler Youth member. He is also the other sniper of the group, having learned how to hunt when he was little. In this case, Myulder could go on sniper duty if Ochirov is busy tending to the wounded. Finally, the last PFC, Yuri Kolesnikov, came from a long line of sailors, but had chosen to join the army instead of the navy. It was understandable, having come from Priamurye Krai, though his hometown was Sovetskaya Gavan. Unlike the other men in the squad, Kolesnikov was an orphan, with his parents dying in a car accident when he was just a toddler. With no grandparents or relatives to take him in, Kolesnikov had ended up attending the Ussuriysk Suvorov Military School until he graduated from that school and eventually enlisted in the Russian Army. However, Kolesnikov had a rather gloomy attitude, stemming from his earlier years when he had been an orphan. It was because of that gloomy attitude that he started to learn how to become an explosives expert, often helping Mirkulov place mines in places that he wanted to put in. His preferred weapon, an AN-94, had been a rare weapon that was issued to him, and it was similar to the first firearm that he learned to shoot when he was still attending the Ussuriysk Suvorov Military School.

"Look alive, guys. We're just waiting until the sunset before we start going in. Make sure that you all have night vision goggles, since we're operating in complete darkness," Suvorinskiy reminded the squad.

Arbayev gave him a thumbs up. "We've got it. Do we also go for any infrared equipment as well?"

"Please do," Suvorinskiy answered back curtly. He tapped on the wall of the BTR-90 to get the attention of the driver and tank commander. "Get us to the Pantabangan River, and drop us off."

"Will do, Comrade Captain," the BTR-90 commander answered in a firm tone. "We'll also need cover as well."

"The artillery barrage is providing that cover," Suvorinskiy said as the BTR-90 started to move, with the rest of the APCs and IFVs following along.

***

2200 HOURS
RIGHT-BANK PANTABANGAN RIVER

Suvorinskiy and his squad snuck out of the BTR-90 once it arrived at the desired spot on the right bank of the Pantabangan River, along with several other squads. He looked around and smiled in satisfaction as his squad turned on the optical night vision goggles, prompting him to do the same. They soon started to slowly advance towards the river bank while crawling on the ground. They laid down in prone position, even as they could feel a small tremor from the constant artillery barrage. Just as they were about to get up, a single crack was heard as enemy machine gunfire erupted from the other side. The surprise attack launched by the enemy prompted Suvorinskiy to gesture to the entire platoon to open fire on them. He turned to PFC Bratoshenko as he nodded in recognition of what he needed to do.

"This is callsign Jagula, this is callsign Jagula. Requesting amphibious transports for river crossing," Bratoshenko said over the comm. He handed the communications equipment over to Suvorinskiy while retrieving his weapon and firing it again.

"This is callsign Feniks. We're pinned down by enemy gunfire, and we are requesting amphibious transports. Preferably the PTS-Ms," Suvorinskiy replied back. He waited for ten minutes until he received a response.

"This is Bear's Den responding. We're sending five PTS-Ms over, but we're also sending additional crates of ammunition and medical supplies. Stand by and hold your position for one hour until it arrives," the officer responding on the other line said in return.

"We'll do that. Feniks out," Suvorinskiy said as he gestured for another squad leader to push a bit forward. "We need to take out that enemy machine gunner over there."

Ochirov began to get up, but Myulder promptly crawled a bit faster as he looked at Ochirov and gave him a nod. Myulder simply aimed his Dragunov sniper rifle at the machine gunner and paused until his enemy ran out of ammunition. Once the enemy machine gunner yelled out to reload the machine gun, Myulder squeezed the trigger, catching his enemy in the throat as he gurgled blood out of his mouth. Five seconds later, a second enemy soldier managed to reload the Sumitomo MINIMI 5.56mm Machine Gun, prompting Myulder to fire another round, killing the second machine gunner. Luckily, when a third enemy soldier was rushing towards the machine gunner, Myulder moved away as he realized that the third enemy soldier was holding an M24-A2 sniper rifle.

"Crap, we gotta pin down that enemy sniper!" Suvorinskiy growled. He turned to the machine gunner of the squad. "Rishatov! Suppressing fire on that enemy sniper over there!"

"At once, sir," Rishatov said as he started firing his Pecheneg machine gun at the approaching enemy soldiers. "We should have gotten a heavy machine gun in this case."

"Less complaining and more firing," Suvorinskiy replied back. He fired a short burst from the AK-12 rifle and paused.

An hour and five minutes later, Suvorinskiy suddenly heard a faint rumbling of a machinery arriving towards their positions as he gestured for his squad to get up and to climb aboard the approaching PTS-Ms, with Rishatov climbing aboard last. Once the rest of the other squads had climbed aboard the PTS-Ms, the transports started to move forward, with Rishatov and the other machine gunners inside the rest of the PTS-Ms providing the necessary suppressing fire. Mirkulov, Bayramov, and Kolesnikov began to throw several grenades into the bushes, causing a small explosion. Several screams could be heard from the bushes as Rishatov fired a long burst into the bushes where the enemy soldiers yelled in agony before being silenced permanently. Once the PTS-Ms reached the other side of the Pantabangan River, Suvorinskiy started to climb off the transport, prompting his squad to do the same.

"Forward!" Suvorinskiy yelled as the Russian soldiers began to open fire at the approaching Filipino soldiers.

The advance was unusually fast, though they constantly had to drop down occasionally to avoid enemy machine gun fire that came from whichever direction. Suvorinskiy and his squad also had to navigate through the rice fields as the enemy troops had managed to hide in the jungle. Once the Russian troops reached the jungle, they continued the gunfire, while several of their comrades had been struck with enemy bullets, though their wounds were not so severe. Bayramov fired four shots at an approaching guerrilla leader attempting to rescue one of his wounded comrades.

"How many of us are still alive and kicking?" Suvorinskiy asked the squad.

"We've counted two platoons' worth of men that have joined us. The other platoons have spread out throughout this sector, but the armored vehicles are still waiting for the damn signal. We'll have to get the amphibious APCs and IFVs to cross the Pantabangan River soon," Arbayev answered grimly. He looked around and suddenly aimed his rifle and fired, as an enemy soldier dropped dead. "On the other hand, that would kill the purpose of using Terminalian style infiltration tactics."

Suvorinskiy snorted. "The infiltration didn't exactly fail, but we didn't succeed in sneaking in either. From here on in, it's going to be close quarters combat."

"Should we fix bayonets then?" Arbayev asked back.

"We might as well do it." Suvorinskiy grabbed what appeared to be a short bayonet from his side and mounted it to his AK-12. "Fix bayonets! Prepare for close quarters combat. If you have to, just skewer the bastards instead of shooting them. Or at the very least, use silencers on the rifles if you have them."

Throughout the night, the jungle combat slowly degenerated into a confrontation where each soldier from both sides resorted to using knives and bare fists with each other. Rishatov narrowly avoided a knife lunge from an incoming enemy soldier who appeared to be a regular Army personnel by sidestepping before grabbing the knife-wielding enemy soldier and pinned him down before grabbing the knife and stabbing him in the throat, causing him to gurgle blood. Ivanov on the other hand, felt exhilirated as he took on two Filipino soldiers armed with a kris dagger. He simply kicked one soldier on the side before flipping another one down on the ground. Just then, the other soldier who was kicked on the side suddenly jumped from behind and grabbed him. Ochirov and Myulder grabbed the soldier who was on Ivanov's back and pried off of him, before pinning his hands down to prevent him from reaching out to his grenades. Meanwhile, Suvorinskiy and Kolesnikov were engaged in a bayonet close quarters combat with three Filipino Marines, with Arbayev soon joining them. Arbayev dismounted the bayonet from his rifle and started to swing it, slicing the throat of a Filipino Marine attempting to stab Suvorinskiy. On another part of the hill, the second platoon opened fire on an approaching group of civilians that were armed with old M16 rifles. The second Russian captain could read the letters written on the armband of the civilian leader.

"Alsa Masa....the lack of uniforms mean they're guerrilla fighters." The second Russian captain muttered before he fired a short burst from the PKM ight machine gun. "Suvorinskiy! We got incoming partisans our way!"

Suvorinskiy held another Filipino soldier by the chokehold before snapping his neck, prompting Arbayev to throw the knife at the last soldier before rushing towards the second Russian captain.

"Captain Voronin, where are the partisans?" Suvorinskiy asked. When Voronin, the second Russian captain, pointed in the direction that the Alsa Masa guerrillas were moving from, Suvorinskiy simply jumped down on the ground, grabbed the last grenade from his pouch, pulled the pin, and threw it close towards the guerrillas. Immediately, the guerrillas started to run back, but a small pop threw them back lightly. Voronin gave another short burst from the PKM, killing the wounded guerrillas.

Just then, one of the other Russian soldiers attached to Voronin's squad started to crawl towards him, with a walkie talkie in hand. Voronin looked at the incoming soldier before taking the walkie talkie from him.

"This is callsign Splinter," Voronin said while Arbayev kicked the guerrilla who was charging towards Voronin. "Falcon's Nest, have you tried to reach us already?"

"This is Falcon's Nest, over." The walkie talkie suddenly went silent for a bit. "Falcon's Nest request to all units to pull back over 400 meters."

"We've got incoming enemy guerrillas and regular enemy soldiers, and we're locked in close quarters combat," Voronin replied back heatedly.

"That's all the reason why all units must pull back. Grads are incoming, along with the rest of the artillery pieces. We're setting up artillery nests with over 15 D-20s, and we're also bringing in a few more SPGs to the banks of the Pantabangan River. Pull back immediately, so you won't be killed by friendly fire," the communicator on Falcon's Nest replied back.

Voronin simply nodded. "Acknowledged." He turned to Suvorinskiy and shouted, "Pull back! We're pulling back right now."

"Already?" Suvorinskiy asked, but Voronin's face didn't change its expression. "I see." He turned to his men as he gave a short burst from his AK-12 and started to walk backwards. "Retreat! Down the hill, now!"

The Russian platoons gradually started to walk backwards as they continued to fire their weapons at the charging Filipino soldiers and guerrillas. However, a few burst from the enemy gunfire had struck the chests of three Russian soldiers from Voronin's squad, prompting Kolesnikov to fire back at the enemy soldier with the AN-94.

One of the other enemy guerrillas gasped as he squinted his eyes at what appeared to be a column of vehicles. He grabbed the shoulder of the other guerrilla and pointed at the convoy.

"Ay nako!" the guerrilla growled. "Artillery. We gotta get out of there now!"

Though the guerrillas started to run back, the Russian troops didn't pursue them, mostly because they were waiting for the artillery units to finish preparing their cannons and ammunition. Once Voronin and Suvorinskiy received another order to not advance until the artillery barrage was over, they simply ordered their troops to lay in prone position until the barrage was over. Sure enough, after an hour of waiting, the artillery barrage started.

"All units waiting for the barrage is over, we're also sending air cover. Please wait for the approaching Ka-52s and Mi-28s before advancing, as well." Voronin's walkie talkie suddenly went silent, this time for good.

***

0030 HOURS
SOUTH SIDE OF PANTABANGAN RIVER

Several engineering vehicles had already arrived by the time the artillery barrage started to subside, with 6 Ka-52s and 5 Mi-28s hovering above the river. In addition, over 12 Mi-26 transport helicopters managed to cross the river and land on the other side, prompting over 600 troops to exit from the 12 Mi-26s. Judging by the small presence of what appeared to be blue striped t-shirts tucked in by the field fatigues, the newcomers were primarily VDV units. After the pontoon bridges were assembled and built, the first BTR-80 started to cross, followed by a T-72M3GU. The BMD-1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s however started to cross the river directly, providing suppressing fire to stop the guerrillas and regular Philippine Army soldiers from attacking the incoming Russian reinforcements. However, 15 TOS-1s and 12 TOS-2s, accompanied by 13 2S4 Tyulpans and 8 2S7 Pions had stopped by the river bank and began to prepare for another artillery bombardment once the field howitzers stopped their attack. In the distance, Suvorinskiy saw the approaching vehicles and grabbed a flare gun from his pouch and fired it once into the air. Voronin and Arbayev saw what he did, and prompted them to do the same.

"That's the signal for the armored vehicles to advance on all axis. We're storming through the hills and forests, while the main armored vehicles will strike into the city center. Other mechanized infantry units will go ahead and capture Barangay Villa Montejo," Voronin explained to Suvorinskiy. He turned to his own men and nodded. "The helicopters are coming. Infantry, forward!"

"URA!" the Russian soldiers shouted as they got up from the ground and started to move quickly forward into the base of the hill. They started firing their weapons the moment they spotted the guerrillas.

"Don't let the bastards escape, not even one of them! Catch them if you can, but kill them all if you need to!" Suvorinskiy shouted. He fired three shots at a retreating Filipino Marine, while the Ka-52s launched two missiles at the machine gun nest that the Filipinos had built.

The combat went on for a while, with Filipino soldiers and guerrillas alike firing their weapons at the incoming Russian soldiers in desperate defense. Some of their shots had succeeded in killing over 12 paratroopers, but the mechanized infantry units remained standing. However, three grenade blasts had resulted in some of the infantrymen clutching their arm, prompting Ochirov to go down and to start tending to their wounds. Myulder however, positioned himself in front of Ochirov to ensure that he was protected while Ochirov started to tend to Kolesnikov's wound first.

"Ochirov! Move the wounded to a safe zone first, then you start cleaning up the wound," Arbayev barked, to which Ochirov simply nodded.

"C'mon, you dumb bastards," Myulder growled as he squeezed the trigger on the Dragunov, hitting an approaching guerrilla fighter attempting to get on the machine gun after the machine gun nest blew up lightly. "We need more suppressing fire on that machine gun nest!"

"On it!" Bratoshenko said as he aimed his AK-74M at the incoming enemy soldier trying to get to the machine gun. He placed the rifle on his back, grabbed a grenade from his pouch and pulled the pin before throwing it into the machine gun nest, causing it to give a small pop. "Grenades would distract the bastards!"

"I see now." Myulder started to grab his own grenade and did the same thing Bratoshenko had done.

"Suppressing fire!" Rishatov shouted as he started to fire his Pecheneg at the machine gun nest. Arbayev rejoined him in firing his own weapon at the machine gun nest, but soon paused as he turned around and his eyes widened as the Tyulpans and Pions suddenly fired.

"Get back now and take cover!" Arbayev shouted as Suvorinskiy looked at him before nodding in agreement and jumped down the hill for a bit.

The ground started to shake from the impact of the mortar shells fired from the Tyulpans and Pions as the Russian troops still lay prone on the ground, hoping that the shells wouldn't hit them by mistake. One of the mortar shells finally struck the machine gun nest, causing several enemy soldiers to fly from the impact. Suvorinskiy and Arbayev spat out what appeared to be chunks of enemy blood, while Rishatov fired another burst that struck an enemy Alsa Masa guerrilla.

"Artillery bombardment will cease. Say again, artillery bombardment will cease. Resume the advance," someone from Falcon's Nest said over the walkie talkie. "Grads are coming, along with the armored vehicles. The Tyulpans and Pions will also make their way up there."

"This isn't over yet. We still got a lot of ground to cover," Suvorinskiy said to his men as they stood up once again and started to run. "Forward!"

"URA!" the Russian troops yelled once again as they started to run towards the enemy position, with the helicopters trailing behind them.

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RIZAL MUNICIPALITY FALLS TO ESTO FORCES AFTER A RECORD 14 HOUR COMBAT WITH FLANKING MANEUVER AND DIRECT ADVANCE PIERCING THROUGH FILIPINO DEFENSES
Philippine Star
August 11, 2020

(Rizal Municipality, NUEVA ECIJA) - A brutal and grueling 14 hour combat between the 3,000 Filipino defenders of Rizal Municipality and over 12,000 ESTO soldiers, of which were 9,500 of them had been predominantly Russian Ground Forces soldiers, had concluded with the disastrous fall of Rizal Municipality in Nueva Ecija Prefecture. The sudden collapse of the Rizal Municipality's defenses had come at a worst time when other fronts within central and western Luzon are facing a possible collapse from ESTO military offensives in the region. At the same time as Rizal's fall to the ESTO forces, the town of Llanera had also been operationally encircled by other ESTO forces, though this time the Central Asians were leading the attack. The setbacks facing the Philippine forces forced General Danilo Lim to issue an order for a general retreat back to Palayan City and Cabanatuan City to prepare for the defense of those larger cities, meaning that the Philippine troops that are still fighting and risk being operationally encircled are now fighting a rear guard battle to prevent their comrades from falling into the hands of the enemy. However, General Lim's decision to pull much of the Philippine forces back meant that San Jose City is dangerously vulnerable to an ESTO flanking maneuver, and given the numerical advantage that the ESTO forces enjoy over their Philippine fores, it is an extremely risky gamble that General Lim is taking.

"General Lim was specific about the kind of troops that he's leaving in San Jose City to defend, since most of them tend to be the most extremely fanatic of them all. All of the troops that remained in San Jose City had been hardcore supporters of the late Artemio Tadiar, having been graduates of the infamous Goyo Academies," says noted Philippine Senator Rita Hontiveros, when asked about the soldiers that were left behind. "He knew that the Armed Forces of the Philippines had exposed its politicial divisions between those who were loyal to the President, those who aligned themselves with Defense Minister Palparan, and some who have declared their loyalty to Raymond Bagatsing, the current leader of the revamped Kilusang Bagong Lipunan."

Although the divisions within the military have been apparent, it didn't stop them from conducting their defensive operations rather efficiently. Yet, it has become apparent that the highest casualties that the Philippine military had suffered actually came from the pro-Palparan crowd, whose insistence on dogged defense has been the major cause of those casualties. General Lim, who had spent his later years of the late Tadiar dictatorship in Singapore between 2001 and 2007, had become a surprising player within the Philippine political exile community. Given his close links to Singaporean politicians and military figures, some started to view General Lim as an alternative replacement, should President Romeo Arcilla be killed by an ESTO missile attack that killed his predecessor, Loren Legarda. Unfortunately, the growing popularity of Cirilito Sobejana as the de facto figurehead within the parts of the Philippines that are under direct ESTO military occupation has started to undermine much of the credibility that the current Philippine government has, and there are also rumors that if he fell under enemy captivity, Danilo Lim might actually switch his allegiance to the ESTO-backed Philippine Transitional Directorate. The Minokawa SpecOps, which had been the most fanatical pro-Tadiar faction of the military, had done the bulk of the guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, though they've also clashed with collaborationist forces as well.

"The Minokawa SpecOps has been designated as a terrorist organization by not only the Philippine Transitional Directorate, but also the member states of the ESTO alliance as well. We have been tasked with the mission to wipe out every single Minokawa member from our soil," says Sobejana, during an interview with Chinese state media in occupied Tuguegarao. "They're still fighting for the old Philippines, one that's mired in political corruption, political extremism, and ideological terrorism. We're fighting for a new Philippines that is at peace with the rest of Asia."

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"The true scope of Operation: Barrel Buster had been to cause chaos behind ESTO lines, not by guerrillas, but by the deployment of deserted soldiers who switched sides. The first sighting of Mongolian soldiers who now fought on the Philippine side had occurred during the Zambales Offensive, when Korean Ground Forces soldiers had captured three Mongolian soldiers who had been taken prisoner by Philippine forces during the Baler Campaign and had agreed to switch sides. The three Mongolian soldiers who switched sides were immediately court martialed for high treason and were summarily executed, though their presence had galvanized much of the Mongolian diaspora and their fight to free themselves from both Russian and Chinese influence. Initially called the Mongolian Detachment of the AFP, they eventually evolved into the Demchugdongrub Regiment, though the anti-ESTO Mongolian turncoat unit only managed to go up to 120 men. In addition, the Yeni Turan Regiment had been formed by Central Asian POWs that were captured by Philippine troops, but they only had 27 men in their ranks. Their numbers had been so miniscule that the AIRG had to take them in as volunteers and mercenaries. However, the largest turncoat forces to ever appear in the Philippines consisted of Russian, Chinese, and Korean troops that had been captured by Philippine troops and agreed to switch sides. From the 400 men strong Korean New Righteous Army (which had also been bolstered by Korean political exiles who fled from southern Korea after Huh Kyung-young's rise to power) to the 800 men strong Russian Liberation Forces and the 600 men strong Reformed National Revolutionary Army that consisted of Chinese POWs that switched sides. However, it is worth noting that the Russian Liberation Forces and the Reformed National Revolutionary Army also drew its strength from anti-regime opponents within Russia and China, as after the events of August 2020 when the Russian West Baltic Republic's government fell in a coup, many anti-Zhuravlyov Russians joined the RLF and swore an allegiance to both the Philippine government and the so-called Russian National Transition Government that was formed under former Progressive Conservative Party of Russia chairman Sergei Yushenkov, though Yushenkov had criticized the large presence of Russian neo-fascists in the RLF. Likewise the Reformed National Revolutionary Army had also been bolstered by ex-Pan-Blue coalition members from Taiwan who were being purged by Pan-Green forces that dominated Taiwanese politics. It also proclaimed its loyalty to the other so-called Chinese National Transition Government that had been formed under Guo Wengui, though his rival Han Kuo-yu had also claimed the leadership role as well. What united these turncoats wasn't just their hatred towards their respective current governments, but rather their criticism of the post-Cold War political climate that has gripped the Asian continent. Both Guo and Han did share their antipathy towards the current Chinese communist leadership, but were unsure of how they would proceed with overthrowing said communist regime, given their limited resources. Yet, they saw an opportunity to expand their activities when on August 10, 2020, Taiwanese President Lin Yu-chang had announced his plans to declare the sovereignty of an independent Taiwanese Republic. Five days later though, Taiwan would find itself facing an armed uprising by the deposed Pan-Blue coalition, with the Reformed National Revolutionary Army making several landings in eastern Taiwan, marking the beginning of the Taiwanese Turmoil. However, in sharp contrast, the Russian National Transition Government's only claimed successes were the civic demonstrations that protested against the war and criticizing the presence of a so-called Silovikistan, which was essentially a neo-Soviet Deep State that still controls much of the Russian government. Yet, several attempts by the Russian Liberation Front to foment revolts in far flung regions of Russia have been met with various failures, and in some cases, the RLF men were simply shot when they were captured by FSB agents and regular Russian Army personnel. The turncoats were also useful in the defense of the important fortress of Gapan, and their knowledge of their former military's strengths and weaknesses had been crucial in helping the Philippine forces maintain their control of Gapan. However, the outcome of Operation: Barrel Buster, which had been a Philippine special operation, was rather mixed. Politically, it did lead to the Taiwanese Turmoil that paralyzed Taiwan for almost two years until both the former Pan-Blue coalition and the Chinese Communist Party agreed to a Cross-Strait round table talks that eventually led to multi-party elections and the formation of the Chinese Federated States, a successor to the People's Republic of China. Likewise, the Russian Federated States was also seen as a successor to the Russian Federation, though the office of the Russian President was strengthened much further. Militarily however, it was a disastrous failure, as the turncoats were mercilessly hunted down and killed once they were found. Overall, the Philippines did win something out of Operation: Barrel Buster, but it did not translate to battlefield success, as the ESTO forces now doubled down on their escalation of the Philippine conflict. With the declining credibility of the Arcilla government and the incremental economic stability enjoyed by the citizens of the occupied territories, it was only a matter of time before the Arcilla administration eventually collapsed in the face of protests against him for prolonging the war." From 'Operation: Barrel Buster - A Risky Gamble with Mixed Consequences', by VidTube Channel AegeanReport.

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(1) Ana means mother in Kazakh, and ata means father, also in Kazakh

(2) Uly means son in Kazakh

(3) Raion means district in Russian