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In years to come, scholars would recall the Riot at Palace Square as the spark which ignited the fuse to the Falcanian Civil wars - arguably the bloodiest event in the long and stained history of Falcania, the foundations of which were laid in the suspicious death of King Falcon II in an aerial explosion over New Shirley Airport, and the resignation of 80 civil servants who formed the initially-nonviolent resistance group Quicksilver, and at that time their efforts originally focused on proving the official ruling on the old King's death was fraudulent.
However, after the Riot at Palace Square, things changed.
That day, the national newspaper, the Protector-endorsed Union Icarus, ran a full-issue spread on Quicksilver, laden with largely falsified information about their violent and illegal practices in the past. As a result, a large mob had assembled in Palace Square to demand that the Protector, Lord Tarrick, do something about these violent criminals. In stirring up the crowd against Quicksilver, Tarrick achieved his aim of crushing any support for Quicksilver. He'd achieved this with the help of his mole within the organisation.
Back at their rented basement, the senior members of Quicksilver stood agog as they saw the news coverage.
The mob was contained by a line of Palace Guard, armed very visibly with J4 CLAWs. The J4 was a close-quarters firearm designed for use by the elite shock troopers, combining the best features of a compact 9mm submachinegun with an automatic 12 gauge shotgun.
Above them, on the Grand Balcony of the Palace, stood Lord Tarrick and his personal bodyguard, standing next to his mole.
Disgraced Lieutenant-Colonel Smith Cockroft, former head of FLIE and founding member of Quicksilver, stood resplendent in his dress uniform, directly adjacent to Lord Tarrick.
"People of Mathdon," Tarrick exclaimed over the public address system. "You have called for action. And I have listened! As we speak, agents of FLIE are en-route to the hideout of the terrorist organisation Quicksilver. The noble hero of the Union, Smith Cockroft, infiltrated the terrorists and has helped the Union vanquish them once and for all. They will be brought here and executed before you."
In the basement room in the dockyards of Mathdon, the men and women of Quicksilver sprang to arms. |
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Falcania |
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Winging It Since 2004 |
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The battle was short and bloodless.
Within the hour, eighty men and women, bound and gagged, were forced out of vans, and lined up on the steps of the Palace in ranks, in full few of Tarrick, Cockroft and the baying crowds in the square. Eighty armed Palace Guards, with the intricate ceremonial rifles of the Old King's guard, took up positions behind each one.
And it should have ended there for Quicksilver.
Two men in the crowd darted forward, pushing against the armed guards separating the mob from the Palace steps. One of them unsheathed his claws and gored a guard, the other scooped up his gun and started randomly shooting at the Quicksilver prisoners. As the prisoners ducked out of the way, the Palace Guard started firing back, into the crowd. The mob pushed forward, and Quicksilver found themselves caught up with the Palace Guard in a mob that was turning into a melée. |
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Falcania |
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From the balcony, Cockroft made an almost imperceptible gesture to one of the ceremonial bodyguards to his left, who began to talk quietly and hurriedly into his mouthpiece. As one, the Palace Guard beat their wings and took to the sky in an arrowhead formation. The crowd were nonplussed, and some even began attacking their fellow mob. One by one the palace guard found perches around the parapets of the vast Palace. Cockroft made another gesture, at which point the guard switched their weapons - the riot-control shotguns were replaced by the submachine guns. Live ammunition. They began to spray into the crowd.
The situation was grim. Blood flew all about, and the screams of the crowd drowned out the gunfire.
Status Aran ducked and wove through the mob - his many years as a palace under-runner had left him adept at navigating crowds. His target was the statue of King Falcon I, erected in the middle of Palace Square. It was currently swathed in scaffolding, having been scheduled for demolition. He clambered up the scaffolding, flapping his wings to try and shake off the bloodstains.
As he reached the summit, a few shots whistled past him, but at this range the SMGs were useless. a few people at the back of the crowd had noticed him, and as the gunfire ceased, the crowd's panic turned to bloodless confusion.
"Sir, shall I get the marksmen?" asked a guard on the balcony.
"Please," replied Tarrick.
The crowd, as one, turned to Aran, on the statue. "Flee!" he cried desperately over the mob. "Disperse!" He was barely heard, but some began to get the message, and slowly began to slink into back alleys.
"He's in our sights," came the report from the guard.
"Fire," came the reply from Tarrick.
"No. Belay that," piped up Cockroft. The guard seemed confused. "Don't fire!" Cockroft repeated.
"What's the meaning of this, Cockroft?" Tarrick turned to Cockroft, but Cockroft merely punched him in the face, turned, and vaulted over the side of the balcony. |
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Falcania |
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Winging It Since 2004 |
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Posts: 776 |
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