And So It Begins: New Scotland

[Dougal MacDonald]

<Bauriggon, Kingdom of New Scotland>

Many buildings were a smoking ruins. The smell of death filled the air. The enemy advance had halted as stiff resistance had taken out the enemy 's leadership, a pair white clad troopers with one shoulder of their armor painted orange.

General Dougal MacDonald stared down at the holographic map in the basement of a concrete building on the edge of the city. He was still wearing his TA Marine uniform. The officer s around him were wearing a mishmash of the new red army uniforms, civilian attire, and Marine uniforms like his own.

"I spoke with General Talon and the 82nd Marine Division is on its way," Dougal replied. "The enemy appears to have split their forces, and is attacking Hiroshima, in New Kanto as well. For now we have to hold the line here."

"General, with all due respect, we are outnumbered 100 to one," a major who was wearing an army uniform.

"Aye, I ken that well enough laddie, but we cannae let the bastards do as they please. Besides this comes from the king himself."

A bomb exploded nearby shaking the whole building. Dust drifted down from the floorboards above. "I suggest ye get your men and women ready for a fight. I would appear they are on the move again."

[T'Kir]

A shimmer of blue light illuminated the corner of the basement and a slender woman in a black and grey pantsuit, Romulan armor and an old style Romulan battle helmet stepped forward, a sniper rifle slung across her shoulder and a case in her hand.

"General, I am Speaker of the House T'Kir T'Radiak-Foster... and I'm here to help. My husband the Vice-President is setting up a forward command post." Her voice had the distinctive lilt of a Highlander. "The Presidents Price are defending the Capitol, we're being hit all over." she handed him a PADD. "Updated troop deployments, we're keeping as much as possible off the central servers in case the enemy gets access. Ye'll get as much help as we can muster, but I cannae promise y'much more'n we have already deployin' here."

[Malcolm Foster]

Meanwhile --

Malcom was with the Corps of Engineers, setting up a mobile forward command post near the edge of town, he was in a suit of SKIN armor that was under his SKIN mesh blazer and a tartan with his family's crest emblazoned on his phaser holster. As much as he considered himself the Vice President, he was a Scot first and these were his people. For the past few months had had been trying to get T'Kir to be on board with the idea of moving to New Scotland once her term was up. Of course, she had enjoyed being the Congresswoman for the Capitol and had started to think of herself less as a former assassin and more as a politician trying to do some good.

All that changed once the first strikes happened and within an hour, she had taken her ceremonial gavel to a plaster wall and removed her emergency kit and strapped on a sniper rifle and armor. Within five minutes, she had already killed four white clad troopers who were about to kill members of the Congress. They shared a kiss and then the two of them began making battleplans. He was hardly a military strategist but in his term as both Nick Ryder's communications director and as the Vice President under Isabella and Jon Price, he was starting to learn a few things, but one thing he had immediately put into action were his 'foot hold' protocols, breaking all lines of normal communication and setting up a non centralized encrypted method.

"Sir... we're almost set." an engineer said with a salute. "But enemy forces have noticed an are on their way."

"Then lad, it's time to do some violence." Malcolm said with a heavy sigh. "Words have been my weapons, I can fucking ruin a man with a perfectly timed and directed verbal barb. But... these troopers are not going to be taken down with words. We'll have to fight. Once your men are done here, deploy to the cities, beef up whatever defenses you can, get the civilians to safety and for God's sake... be careful!"

[Dougal MacDonald]

Dougal nodded to her, "Welcome lass. I'll take all the help we can get. We got more troops scattered about, but getting them here has been a challenge. We could use air support. The Royal Air Force base was the first place they hit."

[T'Kir]

"Aye, I have cloaked Secret Service fighters in bound. One of the lovely parting gifts our former President left us was an entire fleet of air superiority fighters and a cadre of capable pilots and AI drones to fly 'em... we didn't even know about the buggers until we wanted to build a new comm tower and we hit a bloody brick wall. Literally. Twas cloaked in the middle of a field. We're also tryin' to get the 414th to finish getting the city shields set up, that should keep outsiders from comin' in and let us handle who's inside the bubbles."

[Dougal MacDonald]

"Oh aye," he replied as he picked of a phaser rifle. "I hope that phaser ye have is more than for show. There's too many of them an not nearly enough of us." He turned to his subordinates, "Get yer arses out there lads, and lets show these bastards what its like to go against a Highland army." Without another word he charged up the stairs and out onto the street. Building after building was leveled. Fires raged across the city and black columns of smoke rose skyward.

Dougal ran across a grassy opening and slid into a hastily constructed trench. The Scots army looked at Dougal with surprise. "Is there a problem General?" A private asked.

"Aye lad. About fifty-thousand of them." The Ajem'dasis Army was moving slowly with their tanks and other equipment leading the way. Dougal raised his rifle and squeezed off a shot at one of the tank commanders with his head poking out. "49,999 problems now." This lightened the mood and there were chuckles from the soldiers around them, and they started shooting back at the enemy. Somewhere a bagpipe started to squeal. Someone started to sing along to "Scotland the Brave" which others fell in with him.

[T'Kir]

T'Kir found a taller vantage point and used her personal transporter to beam to the location, taking up a position that allowed her to effectively sniper shoot the clone commanders from a distance. Each kill she beamed to another vantage point, giving the impression that there were more snipers than there really were.

One after another commanders fell, troopers were taken out from a distance, silent, cold, effective death.

[Dougal MacDonald]

The tanks stopped and the clone troopers found what cover they could find. Some with nothing better than laying flat on the ground. Then the tanks opened fire. Their rounds with their minturized photon warheads rained down on the defenders. Smoke, dust and screams of pain filled the air.

"Hold the line!" Dougal shouted, "Hold the bloody line you fools!"

Terrified soldiers scrambled out of the trench scattering in all directions trying to escape the death from above only to be cut down by enemy fire.

"General!" A Major General pushed his way to Dougal his face coverd in soot and blood that wasn't his. "General sir, we have to surrender. It's our only chance."

Dougal shook his head, "Nay, lad. Those are Bellatrix's troops. They will na take no prisoners. If I am to die I am taking as many with me as I can."

[Malcolm Foster]

Suddenly the sky lit up with torpedos and phasers coming from seemingly the clouds, the assault targeted the tanks and their warheads. It was too late for the initial salvo, but the phase cloaked fighters cut through Bellatrix's lines like a hot knife through butter. Troopers were taken out by unseen enemies, they tried to open fire on the direction of their attackers, but all they got were assaulted from the other side. A battered building was used as additional shrapnel and exploded from within, taking out an entire unit.

"General MacDonald!" Malcom's voice boomed over a loud speaker. "Get yuir men to the transport boosters we dropped.

Fourteen cloak suited LMDs wearing former President Ryder's face appeared and deployed personnel shield emitters.

"About bloody time we put those spare LMDs of Ryder's to use..." Malcolm chuckled as he looked over at the other Major General. "Surrender is nae an option lad. We fight and we make THEM bloody surrender!"

[Dougal MacDonald]

Dougal peered over the edge of the trench, "An go where sir? Ye took out their armor, now it's just their infantry. We have a covered position and they do not."