(this first post will be edited later. just jotting down ideas for now)
(Also, this is a work of fiction based on real events. all politics aside, this is for fun~)
BACKGROUND
The fall of the Mubarak Regime sparked protests through the entire Arab world. Syria's protests were similar to Egypt's; many arrests were made, with an emphasis on minimizing civilian casualties. By April 2011, however, a crackdown ensued. Schools and other government buildings in the southern town of Dara were emptied out and turned into prisons. By the end of May, 2011, human rights groups estimated that over 1000 people had been killed, and over 10,000 people had been detained.
October 27th, 2011:
While the Arab spring seemed to liberate the people of most countries, there were a few failures. Libya had evolved into a civil war after Europeans forces withdrew, due to terrorist bombings across France. The 'No-Fly-Zone' was lifted and the news forgot about the wartorn region, deeming it another poor African country that would barely catch anyone's attention.
Syria was sanctioned by the UN with the Arab-Union's compliance. The steady stream of refugees into Lebanon, Jordan, and even Israel prompted surrounding countries to mobilize and defend their borders. American Troops in Iraq had pushed deep into Syria, past Palmyra, encompassing the great eastern desert region. Diplomatic pushes to get Turkey involved were met with stiff resistance, however, and in direct violation of international conventions, Turkey was sending more and more weapons into the war torn region.
Now here was the issue: Syria was destroyed. There was no way the country would be able to rebuild itself, and for once, America wasn't stepping in. The US had spent one of its last lives on Iraq, an invasion that was uncalled for, unjustified, and was prominent in provoking enemies to act against western influence.
Lebanon was eager to expand its territory. Hamas agents were already beginning a PR campaign to win the hearts of the Syrian people, eager to expand Palestinian territory. Turkey had a vested interest to support Hamas. Israel did not want to see more enemies turn against them. The Syrian regime, while dying, was still in power. Civilians were being murdered, towns were being erased.
Thus, we enter the Syrian Theatre, an orgy of murder, genocide, politics, radicalism and corruption. Mercenaries were in full demand by all factions involved, everyone motivated by greed. A true hell on earth.
(http://i.imgur.com/epoFC.jpg)
DAMASCUS, SYRIA
FACTIONS
UNITED STATES, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: A leaked communication shows that the US government plans to airlift the Syrian Presidency into exile, allowing them to escape trial or death at the hands of others. It is entirely likely that CIA agents are operating in Damascus, outside of the US military's approval.
UNITED STATES MILITARY: There is no clear indication of what the US Army is doing inside of Syria, other than enforcing sanctions. Forward bases have been set up, populated with Rangers and Special Forces. Aside from a mission to protect civilians, the intentions of the Army remain unknown. Analysts think that the US may simpling waiting to strike at whoever gains too much influence.
ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCE: Interested little in the lives and suffering of the Syrian people, the IDF has mobilized to meet Hamas forces in Damascus. While under a guise of democracy, similar to the US, the IDF is a lot more predictable. Reports show Israeli troops destroying civilian facilities, including flour mills and cement factories, to hamper the rebuilding process. It is believed that the IDF simply seeks to destroy Hamas and then leave the wartorn country in the state that it is in.
HAMAS: Spending the better part of the year pushing a diplomatic campaign, the lure of war was too much to resist for the terrorist organization. Preying on the desperate people of Syria, Hamas, with the help of Turkey, is putting guns into civilians' hands. The strategy is the same for Palestine: get desperate people to murder Israelis in a fanatical fashion, provoke a military response from the IDF that kills the people Hamas promises to liberate, turn a thriving city into a wartorn ghetto, and then repeat the process while explaining to journalists how righteous the struggle is.
LEBANESE MILITARY/HEZBOLLAH: Hezbollah, an enemy of Israel, has involved itself in the conflict. While usually a sister movement to Hamas, the mixed Lebanese Military and Hezbollah forces are pushing in large numbers from the west, determined to neutralize all opposition forces. Some speculate that this is simply a land grab, though it is still unclear the true intentions of the Hezbollah forces, other than the obvious destruction of the state of Israel.
THE GAME: CHESS
The goal of chess is to put the king into checkmate. For this theatre, the king is the the president of Syria, Al-Assad. Al-Assad has ruled Syria for thirty years under martial law. The bounty placed on Al-Assad is half a billion US dollars for a live capture, 250 million for a body.
That being said, this is no simple task.
While the Syrian army controls 90% of Damascus, each faction involved is making a push for the city. The Elite Syrian guard will be protecting the king piece. Hezbollah pushes in from the west, IDF from the south, and US Military from the east. Over the next few days, the city's no-man's land will become smaller and deadlier.
The UN has submitted a deadline for a cease-fire to be enforced: November 1st. With all factions aware of the enclosing deployment of UN peace-keeping troops, all factions are desperate to obtain their goals before the watchful eyes of the humanitarian UN forces occupy the area.
It's currently midnight, October 28th, 2011.
YOUR ROLE
Soldier
You are a soldier for one of the factions. You are the right hand of your nation; represent it with courage. Depending on your faction, you will have support ready for you. US and IDF will have everything available to them, including air-strikes and artillery. Hamas and Hezbollah will have lots of ground support, but no air support. Ect, ect.
-Class suggestions: Grunt, Medic, Sniper, Engineer (mechanics and electronics), Specialist (explosives and anti-air, anti-vehicle) Sargent. (Players cannot be officers)
Contracted Mercenary
You are a mercenary for a company. As a mercenary, your will not have ground support. However, your company will provide you with GPS coverage, an intel officer in your ear-piece, along with various support options here and there. As a mercenary, you will have freedom to act as you will, though keep in mind that your company is always watching...
Freelance Mercenary
You are alone. You have only what you bring with you. What are you, suicidal?
Civilian
Citizen: Your home is destroyed. Everyone is killing each other. You really really really need to leave the city. NOW.
Expat: You're just super unlucky to be stuck here. A foreigner in a foreign land engulfed in war. You need to leave the city or else you will die.
LOADOUT
(rules)
You are allowed three weapons, all according to size: Large, Medium, and compact. Rifles, launchers, and LMGs are all large. Submachine guns and shotguns (and some rifles) are considered medium. Sidearms are all compact.
You are allowed three different types of grenades, and only two of each kind. Grenade types include frags, WP, flashbangs, smokes, teargas, semtex, C4, and claymores.
Ammunition is also dependent upon various factors. For weapons that require clips, a maximum of four clips can be carried with you for each weapon. Weapons with boxes (like LMGs) will only allow you to carry one extra box with you. Launchers (stinger, laws) will have only one shot. RPGs will carry three shots, grenade launchers will have one reload to them (six in the gun, 12 shots total.) Rifle mounted grenade launchers, however, will have only one shot. Shotguns users can carry 20 shells, regardless of the shotgun.
Other equipment is dependent upon your faction and budget. Keep in mind: the more you carry, the slower, clunkier, and more fatigued you become. You may choose to actually carry less than the allotted amounts if you so desire to.
Other examples for equipment: radio, water, rations, tools, jammers.
RESUPPLYING:
Ammo isn't laying around. You can ONLY restock equipment from stockpiles. You won't be able to restock often. Soldiers will have the benefit of returning to their faction's forward bases to resupply equipment and men. All other ammunition stockpiles will belong to enemies, and only be in certain areas, often surrounded by companies of soldiers who are using the stockpile. Use your ammo sparingly.
Guns from dead soldiers can be used, but not reloaded. Also bear in mind the poor quality of some weapons; often times enemy guns cannot be trusted to work.
SQUADS
You can travel alone, or in a squad of up to four members including yourself. Players cannot be in each other's squads; all squad members must be played by the player. Soldiers belonging to a faction can recruit more men to replace fallen team-members. Mercenaries cannot replace members. Civilians cannot have squads.
Players can decide for themselves if they wish to befriend another player's squad, or challenge them in combat.
Squad members can only carry one weapon, two types of grenades, and equipment according to their class. I.E. Specialists will have bomb removal tools, medics will have med-kits, ect.
OBJECTIVES:
- Stay alive
- Collect bounty on the King-Piece
- Keep the other factions from getting what they want
CHARACTER LIST
Please start your first post with your Squad, your Squad leader, and your Loadout. I will add your information to this page. Other squad members in your team will carry only one weapon, with two of one type of grenade, and equipment pertaining to their class. I.E., a specialist will have bomb-defusing tools, an engineer will have electronic interfaces, ect.
EXAMPLE
player: dudebroguy
Faction: US Marine Corps
Squad:
+Dudebroguy
M16A4 grenade launcher attachment (5.56x45mm NATO, x4 30 round clips)
Franchi SPAS-12 (12 gauge, 20 shells)
Beretta 92 (9mm, x4 9 round clips)
4 frag grenades
2 smoke grenades
equipment: combat knife, water canteen, GPS, radio, desert survival pack, 2 MREs (rations), porno mag.
Armor: USMC helmet, kevlar vest, facemask, polymer shin-splints, kneepads.
++Squad Guy One
M16A4 (5.56x45mm NATO, x4 30 round clips)
2 frag grenades
Soldier Class Equipment
++Squad Guy Two
PKM (7.62x54mm Rounds, x1 300 round box)
2 frag grenades
Soldier Class Equipment
++Squad Guy Three
Heckler & Koch UMP (.45 ACP, x4 25 round clips)
2 smoke grenades
Engineer Class Equipment
====================================================
VIPs
White King Piece: Bashur Al-Assad, Syrian president.
1/2 Billon bounty.
Inherited the Presidency from his Father.
Since the start of protests in his country, thousands of civilians have been arrested and subject to torture and execution. Bounty supplied by the UN.
Black King Piece: Dr Mamoud al-Abbrash, Syrian vice-president
100 Million Bounty
Speaker of the Baath Party, an international political party. Bounty supplied by the CIA.
White Queen: Hassan, Hezbollah General
250 Million Bounty
Personally commanding his troops into the country. Bounty supplied by Mossad.
Black Queen Piece: General McCloud, United States
300 Million Bounty
Commanding US Military operations in the country. Bounty supplied by Iran.
====================================================
COMBATANTS
Player: Tabachi
Faction: Freelance Mercenary
Squad:
+Tabachi
AKM (7.62x39mm, x2 30 round clips)
Benelli M4 (12 gauge, 20 rounds)
Taurus PT92AF (9mm, x2 17 round clips)
2 WP grenades
2 flashbangs
2 smokes grenades
equipment: combat knife, lighter, pack of cigarettes, 2 protein bars, water canteen, roll of trip wire, multi-purpose tool.
armor: goggles, kneepads, elbow pads, ploymer shin-splints, polymer forearm guard.
Tab looked at his watch. 23:58. He sighed and leaned back in his seat. Looking out the window of the bus, he could see the ugly red glow of Damascus, illuminating the dark, starless night. The buildings still standing were dark silhouettes, towering like tombstones above the glow of hell. Along the road, a steady stream of refugees marched along in search of shelter and asylum. All of these people, busy or lazy, successful or poor, were now a nameless nation seeking only the bare necessities of life. It would be years before they could return to their homes, years before they could have any inkling of a normal life...
Tab lit a cigarette and stood up, holding onto the rail as the bus lurched along the bumpy, shot-up road. He made his way up through the empty bus to the driver, leaning over the back of his chair. The driver noticed Tab and smirked. "Ah, Mister P. We are very close to Israeli checkpoint, yes. I can see it coming up."
Smiling, Tab patted the driver on the back. "You're a good man, Hassan."
The driver kept his eyes on the road. "Well, Mister P, I cannot stand back and let my people suffer. My heart tells me that there are more of us trapped in the city, waiting to be freed."
"And you're gonna save them?" Tab smirked to the driver.
"If the Israelis let me, I shall! This will be my last, glorious bus run between Amman and Damascus. If I die today, I will please god. I fight my holy war by saving, not destroying. Mister P! Thirty seconds to checkpoint!"
Tab chuckled. "You're a good man, Hassan," he repeated, walking away from the driver. He stepped to the back door of the bus, pulling the latch, swinging the door open. "A salaam alaikum~" Tab yelled, jumping out the back, rolling as he hit the pavement. As the bus drove away, he could dimly hear Hassan shout back "and shalom to you...!"
Coming to his feet, Tab checked his surroundings. Broken buildings littered the side of the road. These used to be gas-stations, stores, houses. They were all empty now. Tab made his way to past the buildings, pushing through the line of refugees leaving the city. The checkpoint on the road ahead would block of the main roads. Tab would have to travel into the city the hard way; huffing it yard through yard, fence over fence. Thankfully, the smoke of the hundreds of fires and the dark of the night would conceal his approach. Another suicide mission, another day~