The Burning Homeland: A Rogue Generals Semi-Canon Spinoff

EPISODE 002: OCCUPATION

ESTO-OCCUPIED TUGUEGARAO PREFECTURE
MAY 11, 2020

The bombed out ruins of what had been the city of Tuguegarao had been a depressing sight for 54 year old Brigadier General Anton Gorchakov. Having fought in the Second Russian Civil War on the Ukrainian Front, he participated in that theater, witnessing the carnage that befell upon the cities of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, and even Pavlohrad when he was just a junior lieutenant, though he worked as a tank commander. Fast forward to the present time, the grizzled old military officer was now sitting at an empty room inside the damaged Cagayan State University classroom, alongside the other ESTO generals from the participating nations. He noticed the Chinese officer delegation arriving inside, which included a few PLA Navy officers and an unfamiliar looking man whom he assumed to be the newly chosen figurehead who will manage the parts of the Philippines under ESTO control. Although he was deployed at the Uzbek-Afghan border during the failed 1999-2000 Mujahideen border incursion into Uzbekistan as a commander of the tank platoon attached to the 237th Guards Tank Regiment, he knew the major news story that involved a few of Artemio Tadiar's junior officers studying nuclear physics in Ukraine. His eyes widened as the figurehead that shook the hands of General Liao Zhengrong and General Aleksander Dvornikov, as he berated himself for not realizing who the figurehead really was.

His attention was diverted by the PLA Navy officer, who approached him before saluting each other. He did the same thing to a Korean officer, followed by the junior officers from Mongolia and the Central Asian participant nations. They soon walked out of the empty classroom, and into the deserted hallways, before arriving at what had been an empty cafeteria that was now staffed with various cooks from all over the ESTO member states. He could smell the freshly cooked raengmyon (or naengmyeon, as the anti-Huh exiles called their cold noodles) coming out of the pot, followed by a variety of dishes being cooked as well. To the left of the raengmyon, was a tray full of Dongpo pork that he was unfamiliar with. However, sitting beside the Dongpo pork was a dish that he smiled with fondness. A tray full of kasha was placed beside the Dongpo pork, while another pair of trays, this time a tray of Kazakh Beshbarmak and the local delicacy called the dinakdakan were placed.

"The Dongpo pork is great, but I'm more fond of Min cuisine as well, and this is coming from a man who lives in Heilongjiang Province," said Xuan Long-wei, who lined up for food behind him. "Are you getting anything, Comrade Lieutenant General?"

Anton nodded as he pointed first at the kasha, followed by another cuisine that was placed inside the tray. "I'm having the kasha and this thing that the locals here actually love to enjoy."

Long-wei rubbed his stomach in anticipation. "That one? The locals call that insarabasab. That looks good too."

"Excuse me, sirs. What will you be eating today?" A cook clad in combat fatigues of the Russian Ground forces asked the officers.

"Comrade Sergeant, I'll have the kasha and the insarabasab. Comrade Lieutenant Commander Xuan here will have whatever he wants," Anton answered back. A minute later, he leared of Long-wei's selection of the Dongpo pork and some bowls of rice as the two officers sat down on one of the tables that was unoccupied. "Have we gotten some more locals who are willing to work with us?"

"A few, but we had to be careful as to who we select. The locals that chose to work with us don't have any family members left, as they learned of what happens to collaborators who betray their country for pittance," Long-wei answered back. "The entirety of Cagayan Region is teeming with guerrilla fighters, and we had to deploy more of our own soldiers to engage in counterinsurgency operations. Fortunately, our friends in Yugoslavia was able to form a military unit consisting of second generation Filipinos who grew up in political exile alongside their parents, and sent them there. They're called the Makabayan Battalion, though their officer is Milorad Ulemek, a former foreign volunteer who joined Novy Put' when your country was tearing itself apart."

"I see. That explains the Yugoslav combat fatigues used by these former exiles," Gorchakov answered.

An hour later after their lunch was done, Anton and Long-wei soon exited the building, and walked outside where a group of Filipino paramilitary units were conducting their training sessions. Though the other PLA officers started to laugh at the paramilitary units, it was Long-wei who responded.

"Do you gentlemen have time to waste? Get back to your duties at once!" Long-wei snapped, causing the hecklers to stand at attention and began to salute, but he forcefully placed their arms down. "No saluting! Do you want an enemy sniper to know that we're officers?"

"No, Comrade Lieutenant Commander," says a young looking Chinese conscript as he and his friends walked away.

The Filipino paramilitaries conducting their training session did not look like the Filipino soldiers shooting at them, though judging by how rigid they looked, they could either be former soldiers who defected, or former guerrillas who fought against the Tadiar regime and the succeeding regimes that came after. However, it was the insignia that caught Anton's attention, as his eyes were glued to it. Two swords of local origin was seen crossing each other, though hidden beneath a shield with the eight ray sun that was seen in the Phiilippine flag, but it looked like it had a face in it. There were eighteen yellow stars encircling the eight ray sun wiith the face, but what truly impressed Anton and Long-wei was that there were no symbols associated with communism within that patch. His gaze was broken up, as a man who he assumed must be the leader of these paramilitaries had saluted to them.

"Sir, it is a great pleasure to see you and Lieutenant Commander Xuan here," says the Filipino paramilitary commander after shaking hands with them. "I'm Carapali Lualhati, and I've been appointed the new commander of the Filipino State Guard, though there are talks that if the Philippine government collapses and a new government is installed, the name of the country might be changed to Maharlika."

Anton and Long-wei nodded in agreement, though it was Long-wei who spoke first. "Comrade Commander Lualhati, do you have any clue if former General Sobejana will take up the post as the interim leader of the Philippine territories under our occupation?"

"I'm afraid that I have no clue. For all we know, we are nervous at the possibility of being completely integrated into China as an SAR, thanks to Wang Hui's article that we read a while before the war began," Lualhati confessed. Long-wei winced at the unwanted reminder, as he felt that Wang Hui had gone too far with his radical proposal.

Both Anton and Long-wei continued their conversation with the paramilitary commander for a while, asking him about how the paramilitary unit was formed. From what they've learned, Lualhati revealed that the majority of the paramilitary unit were former communist guerrillas who fought against the Tadiar regime, confirming Anton's assumption about them. However, they were also reinforced by a few number of Filipino soldiers who chose to surrender instead of retreating with their units. According to Lualhati himself, the entire ESTO military leadership had opted to form the ESTO Military Transitional Council for the Occupied Territories, which will become the real power in the Philippines, with a Philippine Sovereign Reclamation Government being formed as well. To no one's surprise, the former officer Cirilito Sobejana would be chosen to lead this Sovereign Reclamation Government.

---

ESTO FORCES LAUNCH NEW LANDING OPERATION IN ZAMBALES PREFECTURE AS BATAAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT AND EX-US NAVY BASE BECOMES MAIN OBJECTIVE
Sydney Herald
May 21, 2020


Chinese troops cautiously advance towards the town of Morong.

(Morong, PHILIPPINES) - Another ESTO amphibious operation was carried out yesterday, as over 40,000 troops from China, Mongolia, and the Korean Federal Republic had landed in three areas of western Luzon. In addition to the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which had been re-commissioned back in 2013, during the Grace Poe administration, the important Subic Bay Freeport has also become an important objective, as it once hosted the US Navy base there. Accompanying the 40,000 strong force were the bulk of the Chinese and Korean Navies, which provided the necessary artillery bombardment for the infantry and armored advance. In conjunction with the planned military operation in the Zambales-Bataan Zone of Operations, the ESTO forces also launched a series of airstrikes and missile bombardments against key Philippine military positions in southeastern Luzon, as far as Sorsogon City and even struck a residential area in Calbayog City, in Samar island. Although Philippine forces managed to tie down such a large number of enemy troops in the town of Sabang, they feared another landing in the town of Mariveles, as such a successful landing would imperil their positions in Bataan Prefecture. Unfortunately for the defending Philippine forces, Mindoro Island is more likely to become the next target of ESTO amphibious operations, as control of that island can allow them to threaten southern Luzon and even launch punitive strikes deeper into Visayas and Mindanao.

"Approximately over 2,000 Filipino soldiers perished in our military operatin in the Zambales Zone of Operation, though at the cost of over 1,300 of our own soldiers as well in this important mission to secure the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. We feared that the Philippine military was planning to rig the power plant with explosives, and to detonate it while it is fully operational, should we capture it. To this end, Special Forces troops from China, Russia, and the Korean Federal Republic are being dispatched to prevent this nuclear catastrophe from happening," says People's Liberation Army spokesperson Wu Qian, during a televised conference. "In addition, additional advances in the Zambales-Bataan prefectural border have also been made, as we remain committed to securing the entirety of Subic Bay and its coastal towns under our control."

Operating from ESTO-occupied Palawan Island and the Calamian Island chain, the ESTO navies had a free hand in disrupting Philippine naval and maritime activities in the region, though the mini-submarines that the Philippine government purchased from Turkey had proven to be a tough opponent for the larger sized ESTO naval vessels. In particular, the ESTO naval leadership have an eye on taking the strategically important city of Zamboanga City, as its control would allow the ESTO navies to potentially intercept any shipment of arms and ammunition destined for the besieged Philippine forces from outside. However, recent announcement of a joint Australian-New Zealander naval task force arriving on the shores of Mindanao has raised alarms within the ESTO leadership, which feared a wider escalation of conflict into a larger Pacific War, should not only Australia and New Zealand enter the war on the Philippine side, but even the potential entry of Japan and Vietnam as well. For Vietnam, the fears of a renewed Chinese invasion, followed by a potential Cambodian reconquest of its territories lost to Vietnam in the 1997 Vietnamese reconquest of its formerly lost southern territories, is the main reason why it kept its defensive posture. On the other hand, Thailand has recently started to distance itself from the Philippines and Vietnam, due to fears that it would become an ESTO target, should it get involved in the conflict. Moreover, the ESTO is also hopeful of a possible Thai entry into the alliance as well, but anti-Chinese sentiment within the Thai military leadership is an obstacle to such a goal. However, Japanese Prime Minister Toshio Tamogami has not ruled out the possibility of deploying both regular Japan Ground Defense Force personnel and the Concordia Brigade (a multinational force consisting of battalions from Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Thailand, and Myanmar) to the war torn country. His proposal of Japanese troop deployment however, was not received well in Beijing and Kaesong.

"We cannot rule out the possibility of launching strikes at any Japanese soldier who would be deployed into the Philippines, should the warmongering barbarian in Tokyo have his wish. If it comes down to this, we might have to launch a pre-emptive strike against targets inside Japan as well, though we do not intend to so such a thing," says Wang Jianping, during a session in the National People's Congress. "Moreover, the problem in Vietnam has almost forced us to pay attention once again to our southern border and the fear of a Vietnamese military incursion into our territory. We will not hesitate to bring order to those two semi-barbaric states that dared to threaten our sovereignty."

---

'Hello my friend, how are you?
The spring thaw must be in full swing,
please don't tell my girlfriend that I'm in the Philippines,
the blistering heat is boiling over Cabanatuan,
just don't tell my girlfriend that I'm in the Philippines,
for I'm about to go crazy over mangled corpses.

Three days ago, the jungle rats struck our tank,
too many of our friends are bleeding out,
I want to ask myself what's the point of this war,
please don't tell my girlfriend that I'm in the Philippines,
for I really question my sanity about the point of this war,
just don't tell my girlfriend that I'm in the Philippines.

I bought a ring for my dear girlfriend for when I shall return,
but everything here smells of oil, blood, and body odor,
we thought of surrendering, but don't want to be slaughtered,
please don't tell my girlfriend that I'm in the Philippines,
our friends were butchered like pigs in front of our eyes,
so don't tell my girlfriend that I'm in the Philippines.

We are a long way from Karaganda, our beautiful hometown,
but now we're stuck in this hell called Santa Rosa,
on our way to the meatgrinder the locals call Gapan,
please don't tell my girlfriend that I'm in the Philippines,
we just conquered the other hell called Cabanatuan,
so don't tell my girlfriend that I'm in the Philippines.

This is not goodbye forever, for we surely will return,
but we started to learn why this war isn't pointless,
we all wanted peace, but the bastards won't forgive,
so please tell my girlfriend any lie you can think of,
if she and my mom ask, just give them any excuses,
please never tell them that we went to war.'

Kazakh war song about the ESTO-Philippine War.

---

FORT MAGSAYSAY
MAY 14, 2020

It had been several weeks since the AIRG medics and their patients had left the besieged town of Baler that they managed to operate on the wounded soldiers that they've taken charge. Unfortunately, they had to go through a gauntlet of ESTO missile barrages and drone strikes, leading to the deaths of five soldiers that were sent to protect them. For Yui, she last heard of Yuuichi when they were still back in Baler. He told her that they would hold on to the besieged town until the last soldier retreated, and then they'll join them at Fort Magsaysay. For several weeks, Yui and her friends grew worried about the fate of Yuuichi and Harunobu, since they're the ones fighting on the front lines. She thought of contacting Yuuichi's brother Satoshi, who was a naval officer in the Japan Maritime Defense Force aboard the JS Sekiryu, but never had the time to do so, as they were mostly focused on keeping their patients awake. Back on April 30th, the medics and their patients arrived at Fort Magsaysay, amidst another ESTO bombing campaign. They managed to bring their patients to a larger infirmary, where professional surgeons took over the procedure, allowing the AIRG medics to catch a much needed break. Yet, their break proved to be short lived, as they were dragooned into ammunition delivery duty, bringing in much needed ammo to various Philippine units that needed them. Most of their time, they also had to work in the kitchens, as the military cooks were already being deployed to stop a major ESTO advance into the city of Carranglan. It had been a major every day occurrence for not only the AIRG medics, but the AIRG mercenaries that were forced to retreat along with them.

As one cook told Yui to go on a break, she took off her apron and later joined Nagisa and Noa on a separate table as they were watching the news of the ongoing conflict back in Baler. She noticed the food that the other girls chose for their lunch, which consisted mostly of simple plate of rice, some green beans, and three slices of luncheon meat. Ever since the other cooks were sent to Carranglan, the quality of food started to decline. It was understandable, given that the agricultural lands of northern Nueva Ecija is gradually coming under ESTO military occupation, though other parts of Luzon had already come under their control long before that. The famous Banaue Rice Terrace, curiously enough, was left untouched this time around, as the ESTO military leadership realized that they needed to secure their own food supplies as well, instead of relying on shipments of food from their respective homelands.

"....Several sources have confirmed the capture of Aurora Memorial Hospital in Baler, on the corner of San Luis Street and Bitong Street. This capture has spurred other ESTO forces in the area to launch a breakout operation to expand their zone of operations..." the TV announcer said as images of the burning hospital mentioned in the news was shown, followed by other images of ESTO artillery barrage and helicopter flyovers.

"How may I supposed to call Satoshi-kun and tell him that his little brother was killed if that happened?" Yui asked with a whisper, though only Noa was able to hear her.

"Yuuichi-kun said that he'd hold off the enemy forces until the last soldier leaves, though I don't know how he'll survive this battle," Noa replied back. They could hear the distant sound of explosions rock the far distant areas of the city.

Nagisa noticed four Kapre MnBTs drive away from the base, and into the North Gate, to which they would proceed towards the town of Bangad. The three girls continued to eat their lunch, and after they finished, they went back to work in the kitchen. Various soldiers came and went, though occassionally, artillery shells would often land on the airfields, as well as ammunition depots. Their routine would often go on like this for a few days, with their breaks dominated by the watching of the news on the television.

***

THREE DAYS LATER
MAY 17, 2020

"Wait! What do you mean, Baler has fallen!?" Nagisa asked horrifically. She and the other girls were still working in the kitchen when an unexpected visitor arrived at the camp. As it turns out, it was none other than Lieutenant Layag, the man who ordered the evacuation of the patients out of the hospital that fell to the ESTO forces. "Is it that quick?"

Lt. Layag sighed and nodded. "Fortunately, the AIRG guys did a terrific job defending the city while providing our guys with enough time to leave. However, when we finally left Baler, the city was burning so badly that the ESTO forces had to stop bombarding the city, and to allow the local fire department to put out the fire before leaving as well."

Three days had passed, and a large influx of wounded soldiers suddenly arrived at Fort Magsaysay. The three girls were given permission to leave the kitchen as they traded their aprons for medical equipment and supervised the transportation of the wounded soldiers into the infirmary, which was across from the mess hall that they lived in for a few days. In those three days however, the ESTO forces increased the level of their aggression, causing one residental block to fall after another. Though Baler officially fell on the 16th of May, the ESTO forces gave their enemies time to leave the city, as the incoming vessels from the Russian Pacific Fleet arrived at the coast of the city. The Korean Navy also arrived as well, dropping off the much needed supplies and construction materials needed to help rebuild the city, with the inclusion of engineering equipment being among the materials dropped off. To Lt. Layag's surprise, there were no Filipino soldiers that were left behind, as they did not want to surrender to the ESTO forces that converged on the area.

"Baler Airport has also fallen to the ESTO forces, and is now being used to station various kinds of aircraft from the participating nations. We've seen over 50 Shenyang J-11s land on Baler Airport, followed by the F-16s painted in Korean Federal Republic colors and Yak-130s. With Baler Airport under ESTO control, we'll have to brace for constant airstrikes around Cabanatuan City," Lt. Layag explained to the three medics as he walked beside them and directed the other medics on where they need to bring the wounded soldiers. "Unfortunately, the 1st Brigade Combat Team is engaged in the defense of Carranglan, and we're not sure how long until they're forced to retreat. It's worse when we didn't construct defenses in that area."

Just then, Yui's eyes widened when she saw another Maxi-Ambulance arrive and various wounded soldiers were also lifted out of there. She saw the bloodied uniform of the AIRG merc, and the man's name tag on it, though he looked like he was nursing a wound in his arm.

"Yuuichi-kun!" Yui cried out as she ran towards him. "Are you all right?"

The wounded Yuuichi nodded weakly. "I had a shrapnel embedded in my arm, though it didn't go deep."

"Take the AIRG guys into the infirmary as well, and make sure that all anesthetics and pain killers are all accounted for," Lt. Layag ordered sternly. The medics nodded in compliance and they continued to bring in the wounded soldiers into the infirmary. He turned to the three AIRG medics and sighed. "You three need to join the other medics as well, but pay attention to all evacuation orders issued by either me or the other officers. I'll have to send the 71st Infantry Battalion and the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion to reinforce Cabanatuan City. The AEONTown Mega Mall and BilisPazar Store would be used as headquarters for our ground forces when the ESTO armies would launch an offensive into Cabanatuan City."

"Yes, sir!" the three girls said in unision and later joined the other medics.

---

ESTO-OCCUPIED BALER, AURORA PREFECTURE
MAY 17, 2020

It had been a brutal two month battle for the coastal city of Baler before the last enemy soldier left the city that the ESTO forces finally moved in to seize it. The flag of the ESTO flew on the flagpole of the Baler Municipal Hall after ESTO soldiers tore down the Philippine flag and replaced it. Additionally, the flags of all the ESTO member states participating in the military operation could be seen as well, including the flag of Kazakhstan. Nurzhan's heart lept when he saw the flag of his homeland fly above the same municipal hall, though he and many other Central Asian troops were on patrol of the city. Since seizing control of Baler, every single bomb disposal squad was deployed to all the residential and commercial neighborhoods to ensure that all the suspected bombs were defused. Arriving alongside the Central Asians were the pro-collaborator paramilitaries of the new Filipino State Guard, who proved themselves to be surprisingly calm and competent. In front of Mount Carmel College of Baler, Captain Geun and his special forces guided the regular Korean Army personnel that soon arrived to help in the reconstruction of the burning city, while Chinese troops were busy rounding up civilians suspected of being spies and guerrilla fighters. Inside the Baler Multipurpose Hall, several Russian VDV and regular Army soldiers stood guard as their officers led their fellow ESTO colleagues inside.

"How many of our guys have we lost?" Sergeant Major Tursynov asked him as the three conscripts that accompanied the bomb disposal squad were seen helping them carry out the defused bombs.

Nurzhan sighed in sadness. "Over 400 of our troops were confirmed as KIA, and additional 1,400 confirmed as WIA. The Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Kyrgyzes confirmed roughly a similar number of their guys killed as well." He spotted several Filipino State Guard pararmilitary personnel asking one captured civilian some questions. For some reason, the FSG men did not look friendly at all, as the captured civilian was constantly swearing at them. "What's going on here?"

"Putang ina mo! You sold yourselves out to the Chinese and the Russians. Do you not have any shame?" asked the angry captured civilian.

One of the Filipino State Guard paramilitaries stepped forward and looked at Nurzhan. "This civilian here was caught attempting to set off a bomb that was defused. Only after we finished interrogating him, did we learn that he was trying to fix the bomb and rig it once again."

"Is that true?" Nurzhan snarled as he aimed his AKM rifle at the angry civilian before placing it back on his shoulder. He turned to the FSG paramilitaries and nodded. "Please confirm it with Colonel Pao on the fate of the captured saboteur."

"Will do," the FSG paramilitary man said and barked orders in Ilocano and Tagalog for his men to drag the captured saboteur away.

By the time sunset had arrived, Nurzhan spotted a column of ESTO engineering vehicles arrive at the bombed out city, though they were escorted by seven helicopters, which fired their missiles at any enemy infantry attempt to ambush the column of engineering vehicles. He and several other Kazakh soldiers continued their patrol of Baler, until they reached the area where the churches were located. He saw several Russian and Mongolian soldiers carry out the corpses of the Filipino troops that fought to defend the abandoned church, and given the size of the bullet hole in their necks, he assumed that they shot themselves rather than to surrender. He winced rapidly after smelling the stench of rotting flesh mixed with blood as the other soldier called Sheraliyev vomited on the side of the road.

"They fought well, but chose the coward's way out of this difficult situation. May Allah give them the redemption they need," Nurzhan muttered to himself as he held up his hands and rubbed them on his head in a custom Islamic prayer. He turned to the nearest Russian soldier and stood at attention. "Did these morons commit suicide?"

The disgruntled Russian soldier nodded in frustration. "Decades of propaganda have mentally screwed up these guys, and they honestly thought that we were going to execute them all in cold blood. Not that surprising, given how they behaved in Korea back in 2002. Plus, we weren't there when the bastards tried to 'invade' our country, just to kill a bunch of former North Korean soldiers during the Continuation War."

Nurzhan was about to continue speaking to the Russian soldier in charge of taking out the corpses when he heard a commotion from outside an adjacent church. To his shock, three men clad in AIRG fatigues were being dragged out by what appeared to be irate Korean soldiers. Two Korean soldiers began to kick the AIRG captives in the face, yelling out obscenities as the AIRG captives started to yell back at them.

"Kimchi bastards! How dare you treat us that way!?" one of the AIRG captives yelled in his native Japanese, which earned him a kick in the face from another angry Korean soldier.

"Jjokbari assholes! You bastards dared to show your faces in this country, of all places!" the Korean soldier who punched the captive AIRG mercenary yelled back, but they stood silent as a single crack was heard. They all turned to an equally furious Captain Geun, who pointed his gun at his own subordinates. "Sir!"

Captain Geun cocked his pistol at the Korean soldiers who were beating the captured AIRG mercenaries. "Step away from the POWs. Right now."

"Sir, they are mercenaries, and are therefore not covered by the Geneva-" a third Korean soldier pleaded, but Captain Geun's pistol was now aimed at him. "Of course. We will obey." He turned to the rest of his comrades and soon walked off.

Nurzhan then walked towards Captain Geun and stood at attention, prompting the other Kazakhs to do the same. The Korean Marine officer looked at the beaten AIRG POWs and sighed in frustration.

"Did the ESTO General Secretary say about what we should do regarding those AIRG mercenaries that we captured?" Nurzhan asked in his Koryo-saram accented Korean.

"Not yet, but I suspect that they're also a treasure trove of military intelligence that our own agents would have to extract out of them. I would supervise the interrogation of these scumbags, but I'm afraid of letting myself loose on them. The troops who were beating the crap out of these jjokbari mercs were not entirely wrong." Captain Geun looked around before turning his attention to a different group of Korean soldiers. "Take these mercs inside that church. We have some questions to ask them, and contact all available military intelligence officers."

The different group of Korean soldiers nodded in agreement as they ran off somewhere. Thirty minutes later, five different men in combat fatigues arrived as Captain Geun pointed at the AIRG mercs before gesturing them to bring the captives inside. He also pointed at Nurzhan and gestured for him and the Kazakhs to come along with him. It was not until they arrived at what appeared to be an old office used by the priest who used to work in there that the AIRG mercs were being separated and one of them was dragged inside. Nurzhan and Sheraliyev tied down the AIRG merc as recommended by Captain Geun, while the intelligence agents were setting up their communications equipment. Only after forty minutes, did Captain Geun notified Nurzhan that he and his group have to stand guard over the church while the intelligence agents entered the interrogation room. One of the intelligence officers, a not so old looking Chinese woman with a gun holster in her hip, looked at the captured AIRG merc with a poker face expression.

"For the purpose of this session, we are to notify you of our identities before we will decide on what to do with you. I am Captain Zhao Mei-qi, and I will lead this interrogation session." The Chinese military intelligence officer turned to her colleagues, who also arrived in the room as well. "Over there is Lieutenant Imrobek Eshonov from the Uzbek military intelligence detachment, while my other female colleague who will take notes is Lieutenant Tatyana Glushkova. Luckily for you, we have one interpreter who knows Japanese." A combat fatigue clad woman of a similar height and build to Mei-qi stepped forward. "My mistake. My second female colleague here is Lieutenant Jeup Seo-yeon. She knows Chinese, Korean and Japanese, and the final colleague who came with me is Lieutenant Khulan Erdenechimeg from Mongolian intelligence. Now, state your name and affiliation."

The Korean intelligence agent translated what Mei-qi had said to the captive AIRG merc and nodded. "My name is Haruhiro Matsuda, and I am affiliated with the Akatsuki International Resource Group."

Seo-yeon nodded as she translated the captive's words to Mei-qi. The Chinese agent then continued to speak.

"What was your position within the AIRG?" The captive was dumbfounded before Seo-yeon translated.

"I was the radio communicator for all the defending forces in Baler, but I was a low level grunt mercenary. I joined the AIRG after serving for five years in the Japan National Ground Forces," the captive said.

"Have you received any orders that were of questionable nature?" Mei-qi asked the captive, prompting Seo-yeon to translate. "For example, has your commander told you to execute any enemy soldier that fell under your captivity?"

"Nothing of the sort. However, my friends were issued cyanide capsules and were ordered to commit suicide to prevent our capture. Obviously, that failed," the captive continued. He looked at Seo-yeon and whimpered. "I thought for a minute that I'm talking to this Zainichi bitch here."

Mei-qi smacked him in the back of the head. "I would advise you to not provoke our agents, lest you value your own worthless life."

"Honestly, you really have to be this stupid to insult me when I'm the one translating for you," Seo-yeon growled in Japanese. "And you are right about one thing: I grew up in Japan, before moving to China, and then back to Korea. You jjokbari assholes have always been prejudicial towards us 'Chosen-seki', though it is understandable if it turned out that your granddaddy was raping my grandmother in a comfort station."

The captive growled before Mei-qi grabbed him by the ear. "That hurt!"

"I would suggest that you cooperate with us and not make things difficult," Seo-yeon sneered before turning her attention to Mei-qi. The captive AIRG merc named Haruhiro gritted his teeth in anticipation at what the interrogators will do next to him.

---

TIMELINE OF THE BATTLES OF BALER AND MARIA AURORA:

April 2, 2020: The first ESTO artillery barrage commenced at 0500 hours, with over 35 Russian BM-21 Grads pummelling eastern Baler. At 0700 hours, the first sighting of Chinese artillery equipment has been sighted over 50 kilometers away from the town of Maria Aurora.

April 3, 2020: The first ESTO airstrikes have been reported over Baler and Maria Aurora. Over 25 sorties were confirmed to have been detected, and resulted in massive losses for the defending Philippine military forces. Philippine military officials also confirmed the ESTO's use of over 36 JH-07s and 21 Chengdu J-10s from the Chinese side, as well as over 17 Su-27s in Mongolian Air Force colors. Additionally, over Russian Su-33s were also reported to have taken part in airstrikes around southern Baler, and 10 MiG-21s in Korean Federal Republic colors have been spotted as well.

April 6, 2020: ESTO reinforcements have arrived via the Tuguegarao Airbase under their control. These reinforcements are primarily soldiers and equipment from the ESTO member states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, and they have been deployed after a national referendum regarding their countries' participation in the Special Military Operation against the Philippines. Also arriving at Tuguegarao is a Yugoslav-trained battalion of Filipino exiles, under the command of Colonel Milorad Ulemek.

April 7, 2020: The first report of Akatsuki International Resource Group personnel's arrival in the Philippines at Cabangbang Air base, though other AIRG personnel had been in the country prior to the ESTO invasion of the Philippines. However, the new arrivals are actually combat mercenaries coming from Japan and Vietnam, though the Vietnamese mercenaries had to fly through Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian airspace, as flying across the disputed seas is impossible.

April 9, 2020: The first engagement of the entire war between the Philippine Navy and the ESTO combined fleet in Baler Bay ends in a Philippine defeat, as all four Bacnotan-class frigates were brutally sunk. By 1800 hours, the ESTO would launch the first amphibious landing operation in the coastal areas of Baler, though the first wave was repulsed with heavy losses for the defending Philippine side.

April 11, 2020: After a successful landing operation launched by the predominantly Central Asian force, in cooperation with Korean Special Forces, the first attempt at a breakthrough is slowed by fierce Filipino resistance.

April 14, 2020: The first ESTO advance into Maria Aurora has been confirmed by both ESTO and Philippine reports. Poblacion and Banganan would later fall to the ESTO forces after only 4 hours of intense combat. Additionally, the airborne brigades from China, Russia, and Mongolia were flown through helicopter, and successfully reinforced their position outside Buenavista and Lipit.

April 17-19, 2020: ESTO forces dug up their positions outside Buenavista and Lipit as they await Chinese reinforcements being rerouted from Banganan, through the Cordon-Diffun-Maddela-Aurora Road, and into the Baler-Casiguran Road. The absurdly long reroute has resulted in ESTO General Secretary Ularbek Sharsheyev's order to build a new road that would directly connect Banganan to Dipaculao. Military engineers and local workers recruited by the Filipino State Guard would work on this project for over a year, leading to the completion of the Banganan-Dipaculao Road.

April 22, 2020: The artillery barrage against Buenavista and Lipit begins with over 36 BM-21 Grads on the Russian side and 47 PHL-81 MLRS, and reinforced by over 60 PLZ-89 SPGs and 44 2S4 Tyulpan SP Heavy Mortar. As a result of the fierce artillery barrage, the Philippine 4th Scout Ranger Regiment was forced to withdraw to Baler proper. Two units would arrive at Baler to bolster its defenses: the 81th and 84th Infantry Battalion, followed by the 1st Tank 'Masikan' Battalion. The Masikan Battalion is one of the few armored divisions to possess the Kapre MnBT (miniature battle tanks).

April 23, 2020: The first ESTO target inside Buenavista is selected to be the abandoned Puangi Goyo Academy. Remnants of the 3rd Scout Ranger Regiment tasked with the defense of Buenavista are stationed there. By 1200 hours, the 3rd Scout Ranger Regiment has engaged both the Chinese 154th Combined Arms Brigade and the Russian 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade. Surprisingly, the defenders of Puangi Goyo Academy managed to repel the first four waves of attack, until 2300 hours when airstrikes launched from the captured Tuguegarao Air Base had rendered the position in Buenavista untenable, resulting in the advances made by the Chinese and Russian forces.

April 25, 2020: The Kazakh 35th Guards Air Assault Brigade, in coordination with the Uzbek 36th Motor Rifle Regiment, the Kyrgyz Machine Gun Battalion, and the Tajik 7th Separate Rifle Battalion, consolidate control over eastern Baler. An attempt to take control of Ermita Hill ends in disaster for the ESTO forces, as the 2nd and 1st Scout Ranger Regiment succeed in repelling their attacks. Additionally, Buenavista would fall to the ESTO forces, prompting the evacuation of the remaining troops stationed in Lipit, which would also fall in the same day.

April 29, 2020: A second amphibious landing operation was mounted by the ESTO forces, this time targeting the Cemento Beach as its primary destination. Accompanied by the Russian Pacific Fleet's warships, the naval bombardment allows the 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade to land its troops into Cemento Beach, followed by Korean Marines and the Mongolian 084th Special Task Battalion arriving soon after.

May 1, 2020: A second attempt at taking Ermita Hill ends in failure for the ESTO forces, though by this time the Filipino defenders of said hill are running low on ammunition. Constant airstrikes, and helicopter attacks have reduced the defenses of Ermita Hill.

May 2, 2020: A Filipino counteroffensive aimed at retaking the Sabang Beach Lighthouse ends in defeat for Filipino forces, as the 35th Guards Air Assault Brigade manages to repel their attacks. In the same day, the Kazakh 36th Guards Air Assault Brigade arrives in Baler as reinforcements.

May 4, 2020: The first confirmed battle between regular Philippine forces and the ESTO-aligned, Yugoslav-trained Makabayan Battalion takes place in Dipaculao Goyo Academy (now Dipaculao High School). Most significantly, the Battle of Ipil also marks the first participation of the pro-ESTO Filipino collaborator forces in the Filipino State Guard. The performance of the Filipino State Guard is highly praised by the ESTO military leadership, who gave its blessing for its expansion from one single battalion to over seven battalions. FSG soldiers who performed admirably would form the core of the most dreaded pro-ESTO collaborator force in the Philippine Volunteer Corps. Former New People's Army guerrilla fighters and ex-Alex Boncayao Brigade fighters do end up joining the Filipino State Guard, though they remained suspicious of the ESTO occupational authorities' intentions.

May 6, 2020: The Battle of Ipil ends in a victory for the ESTO forces, and the defending forces are now corralled into the rest of unoccupied Baler. Now the remaining command post is moved to Baler Church and the abandoned San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Roman Catholic Church. The Baler Industrial Zone, which contains the Turkish-owned Vestel home appliances factory and the Japanese-owned Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. factory that produces cutting tools in need by other foreign-owned factories established throughout the Philippines. It subsequently becomes a major stronghold that would be subjected to a brutal siege, as the construction of the factories was done with protection from air raids as its priority.

May 9, 2020: The town of Reserva becomes the latest target of ESTO airstrikes and artillery barrages as they transform ESTO-occupied Buenavista and Lipit into a front line base. New defensive positions are built around the two occupied towns and a new airbase is being constructed by ESTO military engineers. Meanwhile, a second lighthouse in Baler quickly falls under ESTO control, this time it is the Chinese 4th Marine Brigade that captures it.

May 10, 2020: ESTO forces, consisting mainly of Chinese and Mongolian forces, launch the first direct assault on the town of Maria Aurora. Thanks to the expanding control of Buenavista and Lipit, it becomes a focal center for the arrival of other ESTO reinforcements. Lipit Air Base is not yet completed, but it's being used to land helicopters and other fighter aircraft arriving from all over the ESTO member states.

May 13, 2020: Mongolian troops take control of Barangay Kadayacan in a pincer movement. Chinese forces on the other hand, reach the Maria Aurora River, but Filipino sappers managed to blow up the Maria Aurora-Baler Provincial Road Bridge, preventing the PLA from crossing the river. However, three other bridges were also blown up as well, though one bridge near Kadayacan was captured intact by the Mongolian forces that captured Barangay Kadayacan.

May 15, 2020: Chinese military engineers begin to construct several pontoon bridges connecting the two banks of the Maria Aurora River, amidst a Filipino artillery barrage and drone strikes. Within just eight hours, the pontoon bridges are completed, and they are built in the same locations where the destroyed bridges were located, allowing the Chinese forces to cross the river.

May 17, 2020: Filipino forces were issued an order to retreat from Baler proper, and to regroup in Maria Aurora, as additional ESTO reinforcements now began to pour into the exposed defensive positions around Baler. The retreat escalates as every residential area now fall under ESTO military occupation. Only the Baler Industrial Zone and Maria Aurora remain unoccupied.

May 18, 2020: Chinese forces reach the Pantabangan-Baler Road as Mongolian forces reach the Maria Aurora National High School. The Battle of Maria Aurora begins with the Sino-Mongolian artillery barrage and airstrikes provided by the Russian Aerospace Forces.

May 21, 2020: Barangay San Jose in Maria Aurora is seized by the Chinese forces, making things even tougher for the defending Filipino forces. To make matters worse, several regiments of the pro-collaborator Filipino State Guard take part in the Battle of Maria Aurora, resulting in war crimes committed by bot the FSG and the Philippine Army forces defending Maria Aurora.

May 24, 2020: A Mongolian attempt to advance into the town of Bazal turns into disaster as they came under heavy Filipino fire. After six hours of intense combat at the abandoned Inglesia ni Cristo, the first recorded surrender of ESTO forces was confirmed as over 40 Mongolian soldiers would surrender to Filipino forces. To their surprise, the Filipino forces would send them to a POW camp in Banton Island, but their surprise turned to horror, as Banton Island was also the site of the infamous Tadiar-era death camps.

May 26, 2020: Filipino reinforcements arriving from Baler help bolster the defense of Maria Aurora as ESTO forces consolidate control of Baler. The general order to retreat also reached the Filipino defenders of Ermita Hill, as they pull out as well, though they opted to retreat south, towards Nueva Ecija Prefecture. As a result, the ESTO forces take full control of Ermita Hill and its surroundings.

May 27, 2020: The Siege of Baler Industrial Zone Begins as Filipino forces and AIRG mercenaries fortify their positions. ESTO airstrikes target enemy positions around Maria Aurora, while the Central Asian contingent forces advance and capture the town of Bazal, which they would turn into another supply base and an important hub for military vehicle repairs.

May 29, 2020: Chinese PLA Navy's Type 055 guided missile destroyers conduct a naval barrage against the Baler Industrial Zone, in cooperation with the Russian Pacific Fleet's Udaloy-class destroyers and the Korean Federal Republic's Daegu-class guided missile frigates. Additionally, Filipino military officials confirmed the reports of the first sightings of the Weishi MLRS and TOS-2s.

May 31, 2020: Though not related to the Siege of Baler Industrial Zone, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Surovikin voluntarily resigns from his position and is replaced by Airat Khairullin. Surovikin is then appointed the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, though answering to Prime Minister Yegor Letov. CEO and President of BAZ (or Baikal Armata Zavod/Baikal Armored Factory) Nikolai Kuryanovich announces the ambitious project to completely overhaul all of the old Soviet tanks recovered from the tank graveyard in Kharkov/Kharkiv. All previous 2GUs would now evolve into 3GUs, or Third Generation Upgrades.

Khairullin was originally a part of the pro-Soviet loyalist paramilitary group Novy Put', until he was wounded in action during the 1994 Battle of Pavlohrad, in which he was wounded by a shrapnel. Though he survived, he was cashiered out of Novy Put' on medical grounds. He and his brother Ishat would enter the business world, mainly by acquiring older UAZ-452s and rebuilding it as a military ambulance vehicle.

June 1, 2020: Filipino defenders of the Sumitomo Electric Industries factory managed to repel a large Russian-Chinese attempt to storm the factory, though in return, their positions are destroyed by TOS-1 thermobaric rocket launchers.

June 2, 2020: An attempt by the Filipino Navy to launch hit and raid attacks on the ESTO vessels in Baler Bay ends in disaster, with the survivors of the sunken patrol boats shooting themselves rather than to surrender. At the same time, a suicide bomber blows up the Museo de Baler, which was being used as an administrative office by the Central Asian contingent forces.

June 4, 2020: Resistance from within the Baler Industrial Zone eventually weakens, allowing a renewed assault to take place. Several regiments of the pro-ESTO collaborator force Filipino State Guard also take part in the assault, though their task is to accompany several bomb disposal squads that are also tasked with finding and defusing any bombs that might be planted inside the Baler Industrial Zone.

June 7, 2020: Buhangin and Suclayin fall to a renewed ESTO offensive, though it is the Mongolians that are doing the bulk of the fighting. Additional Mongolian reinforcements arrive via the Tuguegarao Air Field. Zabali and Pingit have also fallen to ESTO forces, as the Koreans launch their attack from Ermita Hill.

June 9-11, 2020: The battle for the control of the strategic defensive position in the center of Maria Aurora, the SugoiSarap supermarket chain owned by Hiroaki Iwamoto, begins. Fierce battles also take place around the residential areas of Maria Aurora as well, though by this time the Filipino positions are becoming more vulnerable, with Barangay San Jose, Aurora, falling to ESTO forces attacking from Suclayin.

June 12, 2020: Filipino forces retreat from Maria Clara, and make their way to Fort Magsaysay, effectively abandoning the town to the ESTO forces. Additionally, the Filipino defenders of the Baler Industrial Zone surrender to other ESTO forces laying siege to the area.

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"The United States government has announced a large package of sanctions imposed on several Russian, Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tajik companies conducting business with international partners, as well as for their role in fueling ESTO military aggression against the Republic of the Philippines. This also includes the restrictions on the targeted companies' access to international financial institutions and technology transfers, regardless of whether or not it's for civilian or military matters. In addition, we've also identified several ESTO officials that we're now placing on the list of sanctions, and have relayed their personal information to the International Court of Justice. The international community and the Euro-Atlantic alliance will never tolerate the military aggression of the Eurasian bloc towards a country that we once called it a colony. However, we should also make it clear that the Republic of the Philippines cannot be allowed to recover from its post-war malaise unless what's left of its entire government subordinates its national interests to that of the United States. We fully intend to retake the Philippines, and set it straight once and for all. It has been proven, time and time again, that the Filipino people have dared to rebel against their American masters, for whom they owe their lives to because we liberated them from both the Spanish in 1898 and the Japanese in 1944. When we retake the Philippines this time around, we will never give them their sovereignty back." Anne Applebaum, White House Spokesperson, during a press conference, June 12, 2020.

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* The Baler Industrial Zone ITTL is in place of the OTL Baler Conventional Center.

* SugoiSarap is TTL's version of the supermarket chain Puregold. Hiroaki Iwamoto ITTL becomes one of the few businessmen who thrived from Artemio Tadiar's patronage.

* AEON Town Mall is TTL's version of SM shopping malls, but 100% owned by the Japan-based AEON Group.

EPISODE 004: PERMANENT SUNSET

"The downfall of Japan's private security group, the Akatsuki International Resource Group, had been shocking, to say the least. However, they initially started off with good intentions, until it gradually loosened up its requirements in order to attract more people into the security group. Unfortunately, that opened the doors to certain bad elements from Japan's underworld, as well as various unfaithful husbands who either cheated on their wives, or other kinds of husbands who were deep in debt due to their financial problems. The horrific news of a gruesome murder of a 31 year old woman with three children, the oldest around 12, the middle child around 9, and the youngest child only 4, and their discovery at the mouth of the Naka River in May of 2020, reached the world media. The discovery of their corpses at the Nakaminato Fishery Port was initially seen as a violent custodial battle gone wrong, but when it became apparent that the way they were killed, it looked like a summary execution. Local police investigators noticed the way the victims were tied up: a noose was wrapped around their necks, while tying their hands back with the same rope, and a single shot struck them in the back of the head. Just as when the investigations were going to proceed, a major outbreak of sudden discoveries were being revealed within the timespan from April 3rd to May 2nd alone. Those sudden discoveries, as it turned out, became even worse. Similar cases of family members tied up and shot as if they were executed arose as a result. Yet, the Nakaminato Fishery Port Murder of May 30, 2020 was not the first case that revolved around the deaths of family members, but it became more prominent in the sophisticated way that they were killed. Back in March of 2016, a gruesome discovery of an executed 24 year old pregnant woman was made in the small, sleepy town of Noshiro. Unlike the murders at the Nakaminato Fishery Port, the murder of the 24 year old pregnant woman was done in a manner that stunned all of Japan, though whoever killed her, they made sure that they didn't leave any traces of DNA that could be traced back to them. Two months later, an izakaya run by the family of another murder victim was bombed and the family owners, along with their customers, were found with several bullet holes in their bodies. Every single law enforcement agency throughout Japan had great difficulties trying to solve the mystery of how these women and their families were murdered. It was not until January of 2020, a few months before the ESTO launched their invasion of the Philippines, that a former AIRG whistleblower had exposed his own organization's role in training and equipping professional criminals and deadbeat husbands or ex-husbands while seeking asylum in the Korean Embassy in Tokyo. The unnamed whistleblower would become the source of information regarding the activities of the AIRG in the Korean Federal Republic, though his assassination by AIRG agents in February 14, 2020 by a parcel bomb disguised as a Valentine's Day chocolate gift in Daegu, had exposed the AIRG's growing ties to criminal groups. Additionally, the AIRG also attracted another kind of dangerous group to its organization: social misfits without a future at all. They saw the AIRG as a means of getting revenge on the society that shunned them, by any means necessary. Yet, the social misfits were actually sent on dangerous missions around the world, to prevent them from carrying out acts of domestic terrorism at home.

The most tragic part of these murders were that the perpetrators all belonged to the AIRG. The aforementioned deadbeat husbands or men with large financial debts joined the group, primarily to earn enough cash to repay their creditors, though they refused to pay alimony and child support. Things eventually got worse when certain AIRG mercenaries offered their services to disgruntled parties involved in nasty divorce proceedings and child custody battles. The hired guns would often break into the homes of the targeted parties, rob their belongings, and drag the targeted parties into a pre-built ditch, where the perpetrator would order the hired guns to tie the targeted parties up, before proceeding to execute them with rifle fire. Their atrocities on the domestic front had gotten out of control to the point where they were even hired to liquidate rival yakuza gangs. The Nakaminato Fishery Port murder would become the last straw for the Japanese government, as both Prime Minister Toshio Tamogami and Japanese Minister of Defense Yoshihiro Murai would officially announce on April 18, 2021, the dissolution of the Akatsuki International Resource Group, and the formation of a new unit called the Special Assault Group that will replace them. The new SAG would have a much stricter criteria for recruitment, barring men with outstanding debts or significant parental irresponsibility from joining. However, several AIRG mercenaries that would theoretically be disqualified from joining the SAG would corral around the ringleader, whose notoriety would reach the international media. For it was 34 year old Toru Katsuragi, the man connected to the murder of the 24 year old pregnant woman from Noshiro, had began to clamor for a coup against the Japanese government. However, Katsuragi in reality, was only the second in command of the AIRG renegades, for it was former JGSDF soldier Mitsuo Jinguji, who became the real man behind the renegades. Unfortunately, the AIRG could wouldn't be launched until May of 2021, by which time the Philippine military managed to repel and retake lost territories that the ESTO forces occupied, and the November 2020 Selurong Counteroffensive that completely cleared ESTO forces out of Selurong Prefecture, until the start of the infamous Battle of Gapan, which started on November 22nd. It was the so-called Children's Day Coup of May 2021 that nearly topped the Tamogami government, until an intervention by the founder of the AIRG, Shinichiro Moroboshi, a former then-Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces officer who left the military back in 1995 because of his frustrations at not being able to gain combat experience, along with the deployment of several vessels from the Japan Maritime Defense Forces with the sole intention to use lethal force to quash the coup. Luckily, the coup fizzled out, though both Katsuragi and Jinguji smuggled their followers out of Japan, and right back into the Philippines to resume their combat operations." From 'Criminals and Deadbeats with Guns', courtesy of VidTube.

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ESTO-OCCUPIED DIKAPINISAN, DINGALAN, AURORA PROVINCE
JUNE 15, 2020

Since the fall of the tiny fishing village to the combined ESTO forces a few days earlier, there were more engineering vehicles arriving than usual, and given the complaints that various military officers from the participating ESTO nations regarding the horrible infrastructure around the eastern part of Luzon, especially the roads, the emphasis was now shifted towards the construction of new roads that would link up the city of Baler, which they captured last month, to Dikapinisan. Yet, most of the combat engineers were also focused on demolition missions in other parts of the Philippines, and the last time that Nurzhan heard about the other fronts, there was an imminent ESTO amphibious landing in Pollilo Island. Civilian construction vehicles also joined in the fray as well, providing the necessary support for the demolition of damaged houses that the other Central Asian ESTO soldiers complained that it was too small, in order to make room for the construction of temporary barracks that will house both the ESTO military personnel, as well as civilian construction workers recruited from within the occupied territories of the Philippines under ESTO control. His new friends, Sarboz and Samat, were also eager to help out with the reconstruction of Dikapinisan, though Captain Geun politely told them that their job is to continue with the mission, and to leave the reconstruction efforts to both the civilians and the military engineers.

Nurzhan awoke to a new morning that was interrupted by the sound of a rooster calling out with its squak, as he slowly got up from the bed that was delivered last night, courtesy of Captain Geun and his unit. The gradual arrival of more Korean troops into the sleepy fishing village was also accompanied by the appearance of more Russian soldiers. However, what prompted Nurzhan to approach closer towards the new arrivals, were the badges and insignia they wore. Several of the Russian soldiers had the insignias that revealed their place of origin, including the flags of the various autonomous republics within Russia, while others had a symbol that Nurzhan did not encounter before. Four arrows going in a diagonal direction had imposed itself over a four rayed star, before he realized that the other arrivals were the famous (or infamous) Terminal Defense Group mercenaries. He looked over at the Terminalians (the official nickname for the TDG guys) and saw the stark differences between them and the regular Russian soldiers. For some odd reason, the Terminalians were rather indifferent to the presence of the other soldiers, but one of them approached him and saluted.

"Comrade Captain Bayzhanov, we've arrived from Khabarovsk on orders of our High Command. I understand that you've all been pushing hard against these bastards, so we're here as additional support," said one of the Terminalians. "My name is Colonel Aleksandr Yuryevich Dolmatov, and I lead one of the platoons within the TDC."

Nurzhan nodded. "Am I to assume that some of your subordinates may not be comfortable working with Central Asians and other Asiatic peoples around here? I see various volunteers from Kalmykia, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, and even Yakutia as well."

Dolmatov shook his head. "No, we've vetted every single Terminalian to ensure that he does not have any ties to racist organizations. I fought alongside Novy Put', and we have no tolerance for actual fascist larpers in our mercenary group. We've also made sure that we do not accept idiots with outstanding financial debts, deadbeat fathers who abuse their wives and children, or alcoholics."

"So you've heard of the disturbing stories that involved the Japanese mercenary group that has been on the news lately?" Nurzhan asked first, though Captain Geun's arrival had thankfully paused the conversation. "Sir. Will the new arrivals be assigned to help us advance towards the next target?"

Captain Geun shook his head. "For now, General Dvornikov has issued an order for an operational pause. We are to consolidate control of the territories we've captured, as well as to entice the refugees to return to their homes. I would have to contact the military intelligence officers again if we ever end up with another Japanese mercenary under our custody, now that the news of the fishery port's discovery of the corpses have been leaked. To think that a custodial battle would end with an execution, and it looked like it was the work of professional killers."

"I agree." Nurzhan and Colonel Dolmatov gazed at another area of the captured village as another ship arrived, this time carrying several construction materials needed to help rebuild the damaged place. "Building a harbor should be the top priority before building the damaged houses, since we'll need a place to service the vessels in a timely manner."

Five hours later, the rest of the other ESTO forces from the Central Asian nations arrived at the occupied fishing village, along with their heavy weaponry and engineering vehicles. Nurzhan spotted Sarboz giving instructions to the newly arrived troops from the recently formed 24th Air Assault Brigade that was based in Bukhara, while the Kyrgyz contingent was busy giving directions to the incoming military trucks carrying food and medical supplies. Several civilians started to form a single line as they waited for the military trucks to stop before the soldiers would begin to hand out the rations to the civilians. Nurzhan spotted Sheraliyev, Bolatov, and Qasymov talking to the bomb disposal squad as they nodded and inspected their equipment. He soon approached them, who in turn, simply stood at attention.

"Sergeant Majors, a word?" Nurzhan asked the three soldiers as the bomb disposal squad soon went off to do their work.

"Captain?" Sheraliyev asked first.

"I never got around to address you three by your ranks, but I will make this official in a parade meeting. The entire platoon that I've commanded will receive one rank promotions for their efforts in the last few weeks, and I'm going to be assigned command of three regiments," Nurzhan explained. He gazed at the sea, as several more vessels continued to arrive. "My only advice to you three is to make sure that you all stay alive. Our country might not have any quarrels with this country here, but we must secure the peace for our children and grandchildren. Is that understood?"

The three soldiers nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Back to your duties," Nurzhan said curtly. He later joined the three soldiers in directing the traffic for all the military vehicles arriving and departing Dikapinisan.

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Portions from the Interview with Former Leader and Founder of Akatsuki International Resource Group Shinichiro Moroboshi
NHK International, released on July 15, 2021

Discussing the Events Leading to the Children's Day Failed Coup Attempt of May 2021

Interviewer: Many of the higher ups within the former AIRG had stated that you were reluctant at having to make such a difficult decision to disband the mercenary group that you founded back in 1995. Yet, you also gave a credible reason as to why you had to do it. Can you please elaborate on that?

Moroboshi: I honestly think that loosening up the recruitment prerequisites had been a mistake on my part, mostly because I've seen far too many men throw their lives away for such fruitless reasons. I didn't realize that the AIRG had become a magnet for deadbeats, men with outstanding debts, and known spousal and child abusers to join. I only needed to remind myself of that tragic incident in Noshiro back in 2016, when I learned that Katsuragi Toru, who had been one of the few competent mercenaries under my employ, had murdered his pregnant wife, over a nasty divorce setting. When it became apparent that he didn't want to part with the wages that he's earned while risking his own life to pay alimony, he simply recruited likeminded goons to help carry out his dirty work.

Interviewer: And yet, we're also seeing a lot of these men still in the combat zone in the Philippines, fighting alongside the Philippine military. Yet, the ones who were barred from joining the Special Assault Group of the Japan Ground Defense Force had opted to form their own unit, the PMC Tasogare, which eventually absorbed most of the former AIRG that didn't join the SAG. Have you spotted any disturbing trends within this successor group?

Moroboshi: Well, I've begun to see the same kind of deadbeats, spousal and child abusers, and men with debts flocking to join Tasogare, but now it's foreigners with those same problems as our local men joining. Incels and other social misfits from both Japan and foreign nations have also joined as well, making it more like a criminal organization. I wasn't surprised to see the Tasogare mercenares get along with the Minokawa Spec-Ops Force, since both of them consisted of professional criminals at this point.

Interviewer: Do you think both the SAG men and the Tasogare criminals would be of great use if ESTO launched a military invasion of Japan? We've seen a lot of naval exercises conducted by Russia, China, and Korea, both off the coast of Hokkaido and even within the vicinity of Okinawa. Are they reliable enough to not attempt another coup?

Moroboshi: In the end, they're still patriots, even if their moral character is rather rotten. Yet, they'd also become more fanatical in their resistance, as the ESTO forces are merciless towards their enemies. The last thing we need is another Yukio Mishima arising from within the disgraced ex-AIRG guys and leading another coup, if it might turn out to be successful.

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ESTO SECRETARY GENERAL ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT GAINS MADE BY PARTICIPANT MILITARIES AS FILIPINO TROOPS BUILD NEW DEFENSIVE FORTIFICATIONS ON THE SANTA MARIA-FAMY LINE
Sydney Herald
June 23, 2020


Former guerrilla fighters of the New People's Army swear allegiance to the ESTO Military Transitional Council for the Occupied Territories and the Philippine Sovereign Reclamation Government as they are formally inducted into the Filipino Volunteer Corps.

(Cabanatuan City, NUEVA ECIJA PREFECTURE) - Another setback has been confirmed by both Philippine military officials and ESTO Secretary General Ularbek Sharsheyev, with the successful amphibious landing on a few set of islands off the coast of Eastern Luzon. Polillo, Palasan, and Patnanongan Islands, as well as Jomalig Island, had fell to a combined ESTO force mainly consisting of Russian naval infantry, backed by Korean and Central Asian troops. Although the Filipino garrison there were fully prepared to resist, a mutiny had broken out from within the defending garrison, as many of its troops started to disobey orders. In addition, the presence of a tiny platoon of Minokawa Spec-Ops infantry had been a source of tension between regular forces and the aforementioned Spec-Ops, along with the additional arrival of other AIRG mercenaries. Luckily, the AIRG mercenaries who showed up in the four recently captured islands were ordered to retreat to the Santa Maria-Famy line, where they're tasked with building fortifications to help bolster the defense of eastern Luzon, as well as to deter the ESTO forces from attempting to capture the former Philippine capital. It is also worth noting that among the AIRG mercenaries that arrived at the captured islands before their retreat was the infamous murderer Toru Katsuragi, known for his connection to the murder of 24 year old Fumika Matsuda from Noshiro in northern Japan. Though the case was solved, with the discovery of Katsuragi's role in Matsuda's death, the Japanese government was unable to formally request their Philippine counterpart to extradite him, as he and his unit were diverted from the Santa Maria-Famy line to help bolster the defenses of Gapan in southern Nueva Ecija. Consequently, and as a result of the AIRG's presence in the Philippines, the ESTO authorities reluctantly allowed the deployment of Russia's PMC unit, Terminal Defense Group.

"We could not call out the AIRG for their recruitment of prisoners that are incarcerated, for we have also done the same thing. Yet, even we are strict when it comes to the recruitment standards. Terminal Defense Group forbids the enlistment of prisoners who are incarcerated for child and spousal abuse, as well as other kinds of heinous crimes," said Terminal Defense Group founder and Minister of Regional Development Yevgeniy Balitskiy. "We also forbid the enlistment of criminals that are charged with hate crimes, as their actions against the civilian population of the occupied territories could undermine our mandate."

As early as June 7th, 2020, several unconfirmed reports of the Terminal Defense Group's arrival on Philippine soil had circulated both ESTO and Philippine government official sources, but it was not until June 11th that the Philippine government had in fact, confirmed the arrival of the Terminal Defense Group personnel. Many of the TDG mercenaries are in fact veterans of the Second Russian Civil War and the Russo-Ukrainian border clashes, and are now arriving in the Philippines to participate in the combat. Alongside the TDG mercenaries, Rosgvardiya units and volunteer battalions formed from all over Russia's oblasts have also arrived in the Philippines, though in thousands. The most notable units that arrived in the Philippines are the Volga-Caspian Brigade, consisting of volunteers from Russia's autonomous republics located in the Volga River-Caspian Sea region, and the Gorodovnikov Brigade, named after the Red Army officer Oka Gorodovnikov, of Kalmyk heritage. Additionally, both Philippine and ESTO officials also confirmed the reports of the arrival of over 12,000 Belarusian soldiers that signed up for combat duty as part of the TDG, though three quarters of them are active soldiers in the Belarusian Army and the remaining quarter are reservists. In response, there were discussions within the PMC Logos Group to dispatch its own soldiers to the Philippine conflict, but given the long standing racism that most of the Logos Group mercenaries displayed towards the Filipino diaspora settled in Eastern Europe, there is a high chance of President Arcilla's refusal to accept the Logos Group's offer. At the same time though, the Vietnamese government has also talked of possibly opening up a new front against the ESTO by attacking the Sino-Vietnamese border crossings as a prelude to a possible Vietnamese invasion of southern China, though this action would only force the Chinese government to station more troops to the border with Vietnam as a measured act of self-defense.

"We are also looking at the possibility of expanding the Special Military Operation to include Vietnam as well, since the post-communist government had constantly undermined the security of the wider SE Asian region," says ESTO Secretary General Ularbek Sharsheyev, while he was holding a press conference in Shymkent. "Unlike the Philippines however, we still host the former Vietnamese communist government, and has never wavered in their commitment to peace in the Asian continent. We call upon the incumbent Vietnamese authorities to cease and desist with their aggressive activities."

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MATAWE, AURORA PREFECTURE
JUNE 24, 2020

Exhaustion and thirst had kicked in brutally by the time 34 year old Toru Katsuragi and over 200 of his fellow AIRG mercenaries had arrived at the small town of Matawe. Since a couple of days ago, one of his friends who was still in Japan had alerted him to a potential police raid on his home in Noshiro in connection to a murder case from 2016. As a result, Toru and his friends were able to fly away from northern Japan aboard a transport plane. The flight eventually took them to Manila, and then rode alongside the regular Philippine military to the town of Matawe in a couple of hours. They were lucky too, since the local police force in Noshiro was starting to cooperate with both the prefectural police and the National Police Agency in tracking down the AIRG mercenaries that were being used as hired hands in settling custodial disputes and divorce proceedings. Additionally, Toru was also accompanied by one of his faithful sidekicks, a bulky looking sly faced man Kojiro Matsuda. Unlike Toru though, Kojiro was better known as the man who played a role in the infamous Nakaminato Fishery Port, when in a fit of rage and pure hate, Kojiro and three other hired guns dragged his estranged wife and kids and simply shot them. Like Toru, the mastermind of the Nakaminato mass murder was given a warning by a sympathetic but corrupt cop who was in need of cash of an impending arrest, allowing him to leave. The corrupt cop in turn, would also quit his job abruptly and also join the AIRG as well.

The town of Matawe was a lot smaller than Dinapikisan, but it also had its shares of enemy bombardment as well. Toru and Kojiro spotted an abandoned elementary school that had been subjected to what appeared to be a massive aerial bombardment, most likely from either a PLAAF bomber plane, or a Russian Aerospace Force Tu-22 bomber. What truly disturbed them was the lack of civilians in the area, indicating that they've already left the village before the ESTO began to bomb it. Taking advantage of the lack of civilians, Toru and Kojiro spotted the nearest undamaged house and began to enter it as quickly as possible, prompting the other mercenaries to do the same. Another mercenary, who looked just as sinister as the other two, aimed his Howa Type 89 rifle at another house, presumably empty and without any residents. As soon as the rest of the mercenaries arrived at the deserted town, Toru and Kojiro started to scout the area for abandoned supplies.

"Yuya! Found any canned meat yet?" Kojiro asked as he and Toru laughed.

Yuya Tokuda arrived back from the house he was searching for with not only the captured canned foods, but he was also carrying a jerry can full of gasoline.

"There's some tricycles that looked like it hasn't been used in a while, but it'll be hard to fix. On top of that, you can't even fit in your whole body inside the side car," Yuya complained. He pointed at a derelict tricycle that looked neglected. "We got plenty of time until those bastards from the mainland show up."

"You're right, but at the same time, we'd better select one of these houses to store our ammo. How about that one?" Toru said. He and the other mercenaries began to walk along the empty street, though they remained cautious. "How many are we in here?"

Kojiro grunted. "Around three companies' worth of troops here. Unfortunately, the softies are in Cabanatuan City, including that Yuichi prick. Too bad we can't frag that pansy."

"All right, less whining and more hunting," Toru said lightly. To their enormous relief, there was no one else who arrived at the sleepy village. It seemed that luck was on their side for once.

Night time had fallen upon Matawe, as Toru and Kojiro began to cook the dinner for the entire mercenary group. Earlier on, Jiro told the other mercenaries that he came across an abandoned open air market that contained a stall where the rice was being sold. He managed to get ten of the other mercenaries to take all the rice, vegetables, and fruit from the open air market and returned to their positions

***

JUNE 28, 2020

Four days since the mercenaries had arrived in the deserted town of Matawe, and much of the mercenaries had mostly kept to themselves. Within that time period, Toru and many of his friends spent time fortifying much of the deserted town, mainly by digging trenches around the village and taking control of the empty houses. Although there were no airstrikes that were carried out on their positions, the mercenaries remained paranoid for a good reason. It was around this time that Kojiro started to notice several reconnaissance drones that were flying in the air as he and many of the other mercenaries made sure that they remained unnoticed, so the drones couldn't pick up their traces around the village. Five hours later, four more trucks started to approach the deserted town as Toru grinned at the sight of the other mercenaries that started to climb down from the truck. He ran up to one of the newcomers and hugged him tightly.

"Sano, you mangy little bastard! I didn't know you are coming to this hellhole! Should have told us beforehand!" Toru yelled happily before waving Kojiro and Jiro over towards him. "Boys! Look what the cat dragged in!"

"Takuma!" Kojiro and Jiro yelled as well. They waved at the other mercenaries before leading them into an undamaged house that still maintained a workable kitchen.

Yuya grinned at Takuma as he clapped his back. "I take it that you've managed to get your ass down here in a hurry. The cops back home are starting to get more skittish over the damn corpses."

Takuma Sano nodded grimly. "Yeah. I heard from that cop who quit that we're all wanted back home. Yuya is especially being hunted down for what happened to that loony bin that he shot up."

Yuya sneered. "Those defects were being a drain on our resources, so I did some spring cleaning then and there. At least Jinguji-san was level headed enough to lower the standards to let us join."

"Yeah, but now the goody two shoed piece of crap Moroboshi is even planning to dissolve our group. Like we didn't work hard and leak out blood, sweat, and tears while getting shot at in some war zone," Toru growled.

The group suddenly paused for a minute, prompting the mercenaries who were busy fixing much of the damaged houses to drop what they were doing and started to look up in the sky. One of the other mercenaries started to swear as two Mi-24 helicopters could be seen from the air. Almost immediately, Yuya ran back towards the undamaged house and returned outside with two Stinger anti-air MANPADS. He threw one at Toru, while Takuma and Kojiro quickly grabbed an older Sumitomo Type 62 machine from the supply truck that accompanied them. By the time the mercenaries positioned themselves inside the houses that they were fixing, the Mi-24 helicopters started to fire their payload before flying away. Explosions had rocked some of the houses, but Toru quickly peeked outside before leaving the house. He aimed his anti-air MANPAD at the fleeing Mi-24, and fired his shot. Five minutes later, Toru gave out a scream of joy as the helicopter was struck by the ammo from the MANPAD.

"We got ourselves a man hunt. Let's get us some meat!" Toru shouted happily as some of the other mercenaries shouted in unision.

***

Thirty minutes later, Toru and his squad arrived at what appeared to be a crash site where the helicopter landed. Though Jiro began to inspect the remains of the downed Mi-24, Toru aimed his rifle at the bushes to ensure that there were no nasty surprises hidden inside. Takuma held up his hand as he paused for a while to see if he could hear any agonizing moans. He gestured to Toru and Yuya, and slowly walked towards the source of the moans. Their grins widened after they uncovered the debris from the downed helicopter to see three wounded soldiers wearing an Uzbek Ground Force uniform.

"Please. Help us. We're wounded," said an unnamed Uzbek soldier as Toru noticed a large gash on his arm. As soon as Yuya and Takuma approached him, they started to hit him in the head with the butt of their rifle.

"Stop this, please!" another Uzbek soldier shouted, but Toru punched him in the face.

"You want mercy, you little shit!?" Toru snarled. He unsheathed his combat knife, grabbed the wounded soldier's fingers, and began to cut it off, causing the wounded soldier to scream. "Yuya!"

Yuya turned towards Toru with a sadistic grin. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Let's just kill these bastards. Feeding them will be a pain in the neck," Toru replied back. A minute later, Kojiro and Yuya tied up the three wounded soldiers and force marched them into another part of the forest, where the rest of the AIRG mercenaries had finished digging up what appeared to be an empty plot of land. He kicked the three soldiers in the knees, raised his hand, and brought them down. Gunfire suddenly erupted from the rifles of the AIRG mercenaries as the three Uzbek soldiers fell into the plot of land. "Good riddance."

---

*TRIGGER WARNING: This segment contains references to physical violence of any sort, and the OP does not endorse such activities written here.*

Portions from the Interview with an Unnamed Anonymous Ex-AIRG Mercenary and Deserter
Sky News AU, released on August 17, 2022

Discussing the Formation of PMC Tasogare

Narrator: This interview was made on condition that we do not disclose his identity, for fear of reprisals back home. Due to the sensitive nature of this interview, the anonymous former AIRG deserter only agreed to the interview in exchange for protective custody in an unnamed country yet to be announced.

Interviewer: (pauses) From what I can tell with your legitimate fear of reprisal, your background within the former AIRG allowed you to vet each potential new recruit when it comes to enlistment. Did your job also compel you to ask the potential new recruit of what their background were and why did they want to enlist?

Anonymous Former Mercenary: (voice distorted) Initially in the beginning, the AIRG only accepted former Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel because we needed people with military experience. Our boss formed the AIRG as a means of allowing these former JSDF personnel to experience live combat that they never got to experience while serving with the actual military.

Interviewer: So how did the AIRG went from a PMC group to what is essentially an over glorified criminal gang dressed up in military garb?

Anonymous Former Mercenary: (voice distorted) It was that fellow Jinguji who wanted to use the AIRG as a means of refuge for scorned husbands and ex-husbands. About Jinguji though, he was also a former JSDF personnel that was in the same unit as Moroboshi, but unlike the latter, Jinguji had gotten a nasty divorce with his ex-wife when he learned of her infidelity. He also began to seek out other like minded men who felt that they didn't want to take responsibility for their failed marriage, and thus approached Moroboshi with the idea of allowing the scorned husbands and ex-husbands to join the AIRG, an in return, the AIRG would pay out a lump sum of money to their divorced spouses in exchange for an agreement to not pursue claims of alimony and child support. This proposal had a lot of merit, as anyone working for the AIRG would inevitably be killed in their line of work. The basic training was brutal, but none of the enlistees complained, as getting kicked out of the AIRG would mean that their exes would now be allowed to legally pursue claims of alimony and child support.

Interviewer: Did Moroboshi agreed to Jinguji's proposal?

Anonymous Former Mercenary: He reluctantly did, mostly because he had trouble trying to attract new recruits, and the majority of the JSDF personnel still subscribed to the pacifist nature of post-war Japan. We had no trouble with those bad apples being a part of the AIRG, until after the Second Korean war, when three AIRG personnel traveled to Korea and participated in the brutal crackdown of the Pyeonghwa Motor Company strike, though they were hired as 'civilian consultants' by the unlamented former owner of that company. Of course, the AIRG was also a natural habitat for the Japanese far-right, as they viewed their experience with the AIRG as a unique way of cultivating combat experience so they could form paramilitary units of their own and one day challenge the government if they're starting to moderate some of their stances.

Interviewer: All right. (pauses) Let's move on towards the first case of an AIRG personnel who used his training for criminal purposes.

Anonymous Former Mercenary: If you're talking about Toru Katsuragi, I'm afraid that he isn't the first mercenary to have used his training for criminal purposes. The actual start of these gruesome execution style murders wasn't in 2016, but rather in 2015. It wasn't a major headline around the world, but in the city of Hachinohe, it was an event that would never be forgotten.

Interviewer: You are of course, referring to the infamous Hachinohe Mabechi River Murder Case, where the body of a 42 year old woman and a 6 year old boy was found with clear signs of physical torture.

Anonymous Former Mercenary: Correct.

Interviewer: Did you suspect that the AIRG was getting involved in any criminal activity when the news of the murdered ex-wife and son reached all the media outlets around Japan?

Anonymous Former Mercenary: I initially thought that the murder was somehow motivated by a criminal act gone horribly wrong. However, when I was told of how the murder happened, I was stunned. You see, what happened was that the official version of that murder was presented as a case of a divorce custody battle gone wrong. However, as I continued to study the investigation of the murdered ex-wife and son, I was stunned at the methods that were used.

Interviewer: How so?

Anonymous Former Mercenary: The method of which the ex-wife and son were bound and gagged. First, their necks would be slung with a noose, and their hands would be tied with the same rope that the noose belonged to. Next, their heads were covered with an empty sack, and were transported to an empty ditch beside the river. The perpetrator would order his hired guns to take off the sacks, so that the ex-wife and son would know instantly that it was the estranged ex-husband who was responsible. But the worst part of it was that he decided to torture his ex-wife psychologically by forcing her to watch as her son was being water boarded and kicked around by the hired guns.

Interviewer: That's terrifying and disgusting!

Anonymous Former Mercenary: Oh, but I'm not done yet. He would personally pour gasoline on the son's body before setting it on fire, and his screams were so loud that the ex-wife became mentally damaged from that trauma. Finally, the ex-husband would douse his own ex-wife with gasoline, and then set her on fire as well. The investigators and criminal forensics were having a difficult time attempting to identify them. It was not until the Noshiro Case when I learned of Toru Katsuragi's role in killing his pregnant ex-wife that I came up with an equally kind of horrific hypothesis: what if the AIRG mercenaries that we recruited had started to use their skills to settle scores with their estranged former spouses?

Interviewer: I assume that the hypothesis that you came up with must have been true, because after the Noshiro Case broke out, there were several confirmed cases in which the legal battles involving spouses devolved into physical violence. The Nakaminato Fishery Port Murder Case that took place a few months before the ESTO launched their full scale invasion of the Philippines was the last straw, right?

Anonymous Former Mercenary: Yes, and it was because of that very same reason that my colleague who emerged as the whistleblower fled to the Korean Embassy in Tokyo. Unfortunately, the AIRG knew who the whistleblower was and killed him with a bomb hidden beneath the Valentine's Day chocolates. That's also the reason why I wanted to maintain my anonymity.

Interviewer: And what of the formation of this PMC Tasogare? I assume that it was formed out of disqualified ex-AIRG mercenaries who are barred from signing a contract with the Japanese Ministry of Defense on grounds of their criminal records, right?

Anonymous Former Mercenary: Yes, and Jinguji and Toshiro Hirano both control PMC Tasogare, but since Prime Minister Tamogami had banned the PMC Tasogare from operating on Japanese soil, they now had to operate out of Thailand. Initially, they wanted to operate from the Philippines, but given that ESTO forces are on the verge of storming into the former National Capital Region of Manila, as well as launching an amphibious operation around the island of Mindanao, Thailand was a much safer option to operate. It also helped that they could also give access to impoverished Thai men who are facing their same societal problems as their Japanese counterparts, and are now openly recruiting professional criminals and thugs to join.

Several factors that are at play here:

- ITTL, Taiwan still has its defense pact with the US, while the Philippines no longer had a defense pact, as a result of Jesse Jackson’s decision to throw Tadiar under the bus, and coupled with the Chinese bombing of the Japanese Embassy, the Philippines looks more to Tokyo.

- Most importantly, it’s not just a solo Chinese operation. The Korean Federal Republic, Mongolia, Central Asia, and Russia are also participating in this operation. Also, the Spratly Islands here ITTL are all under Chinese control, even including Scarborough Shoal. I would also suspect that if the Russian Navy is operating in a combat zone, they’d probably sail along the Korean and Chinese coasts, carefully avoiding Japanese territorial waters.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a cakewalk for the invading forces too, but it would be a bloody affair. There would be more international condemnation for this kind of thing ITTL's 2020 than TTL's 2002 when Tadiar would still be alive. Most importantly though, the Chinese and their allies have also created collaborationist units that would essentially act as meat shields and cannon fodder.

The sudden shift from the US towards Russia and China began in TTL's 2009, during the revolution that would bring Huh Kyung-young into power after a bankrupted automobile plant workers' strike was brutally squashed with such ferocity that it eventually led to said revolution. As stated in the original version of the TL, the bankrupted car factory ITTL had employed former North Korean workers and destitute South Korean workers from the lower class. The crackdown had resembled OTL's SsangYong strike of 2009, which laid the basis for the plot of Squid Games. The crackdown would lead to a general strike and Huh Kyung-young would use it as an opportunity to call for a revolution. Technically TTL's Korean Federal Republic would be what if Korea united under the North Korean regime, but substitute communism with a kind of national syndicalist regime. Basically National Bolshevik Korea.

The split would have happened in 2009, long after Jackson and Kemp are out of office, and it could have either been a major foreign policy failure of Carol Moseley-Braun or Dick Gephardt.

I will explain more about the ESTO in this case. Basically, it is what if OTL's CSTO had more teeth. Member states can grant free access to their military bases to other member states. For example, the Chinese, Korean, and Mongolian militaries can use Russian military bases in times of war, or under special circumstances, and likewise, Russian, Iranian, and Central Asian militaries can use the military bases belonging to either the Korean Federal Republic, Mongolia or China. In the case of TTL's invasion of the Philippines, the Russian Navy would be granted access to Chinese naval bases in Hainan Island In the event of a larger conflict for example, the PLA Navy can operate from Russian navy bases in the Far East, and theoretically, they can even use the bases operated by the Northern and Baltic Fleets.

ITTL and IOTL, Russia still has the Tartus naval base, but that's in Syria. It might be in the future if Sri Lanka or some other ESTO applicant nation would host a Russian, Iranian, Indian or Chinese naval base. Also, we have to point out that ITTL, Pakistan is getting closer to the US as a result of India winning a conflict against them in 1986-89, so you may expect a more anti-Western sentiment in India as well. I also forgot to mention that since Vietnam would have their communist revolution violently overthrown, Cam Ranh Bay might actually become a free trade port a la OTL Subic Bay, or it becomes the first overseas military base ITTL since OTL WWII. Having the Japanese control Cam Ranh Bay military base would also be a danger to Chinese ambitions in SE Asia as well, which could potentially lead to another round of war between China and Vietnam.

If this TL's version of the "SMO" ended in a complete Philippine defeat, they would be placed under a direct ESTO Military General Governorate, with a Philippine Reclamation Government being a parallel government that represents the occupied Philippines. Heck, the Chinese might even use it as an opportunity to launch their own kind of 'De-colonization' campaign that would inevitably target the Catholic Church, 'de-Westernization' campaigns that may include ramping up more negative propaganda about the Spanish and American colonial period, and most importantly, purging the "Qianzhou Military Administrative Region" of subversives and Japanese nationals.

I'm beginning to see this ETSO invasion of the Philippines as similar to OTL Ukraine.

The Philippines can't bear the brunt of the ETSO.

EPISODE 006: RESPITE

"What eventually played a role in the first major Philippine military victory against the ESTO forces in their conflict was the Sino-Mongolian attempt to storm the city of Alaminos on July 15th, 2020. While the amphibious landing at northern Pangasinan was successful in that the PLA was able to bring in additional troops for the offensive, the change in the Philippine military leadership had brought in unexpected results for the defending forces. General Felimon Santos Jr., who was the previous commanding officer of all Philippine forces in central Luzon, was relieved of his command and Danilo Lim replaced him. He saw what has happened and why there were so many mistakes that were being made by the Philippine forces when attempting to defend their territories. Thus, General Lim decided to allow the withdrawal of all Philippine forces fighting in the outskirts of Alaminos to bring the Sino-Mongolian forces inside. The Chinese military leadership did not realize that the sudden withdrawal of the defending forces was a trap, and when the trap was indeed sprung, General Lim ordered a massive artillery barrage against the trapped Sino-Mongolian forces that were now inside northern Alaminos. The Tikbalang-1s and other SPGs that the defending forces had employed were placed around the Mount Matwiltwil area, where they would be most difficult to attack. The ferocity of the attack, plus the ongoing artillery barrage and the infantry hit and run raids, had resulted in the PLA sustaining over 4,000 casualties, while Mongolian military caasualties were at 5,000 troops. Though the ESTO forces gradually retreated from Alaminos, they only regrouped in Panacalan and Siapar Islands, where they had a better success in taking them. In another area, the attempted ESTO landing at the town of Capalonga had ended in disaster when Philippine Marines and Army units, along with the mercenaries from Japan's Akatsuki International Resource Group, had successfully repelled the attempted amphibious landing. Unlike the Sino-Mongolian operations in Pangasinan Prefecture, the operation in Camarines Prefecture had been carried out mainly by a joint Russian and Central Asian force, though the main reason for the failure was the insufficient naval support needed to support the landing operation. As a result of these failures, the ESTO military leadership would switch to round the clock bombing operations that targeted ammunition depots, military bases, critical infrastructure, and most importantly, major cities where large numbers of civilians have resided. Additionally, in mainland Asia, the Sino-Vietnamese border was subjected to artillery shellings as PLA troops were constantly alerted to a possible Vietnamese incursion into southern China, especially the province of Guangxi.

The Philippine military has also made unpopular but strategically smart decisions to withdraw its forces from the front lines in Zambales Prefecture towards the mountainous areas by August of 2020. There, General Danilo Lim has instructed the regular Army units to build mountain fortifications that would allow them to hold off the ESTO attacks until either reinforcements would arrive from other parts of the Philippines, or other countries that are allied with the Philippines would officially join in the conflict. The informal redoubt, called the Zambales Redoubt, also included artillery and anti-aircraft encampments as well. Most important of all, General Lim instructed the Marines to help the Army soldiers build tunnels that would connect the redoubts with each other, and with another redoubt that was being built around the Mount Mariveles area. By the time the fortifications were complete on October of 2020, the front lines had become stabilized in western and central Luzon. However, around the same time as the infamous siege and battle that took place around the notorious Gapan City meat grinder, the ESTO forces would mount another amphibious invasion, this time targeting the island of Mindoro. The ESTO military leadership knew that possession of Mindoro would not only secure the sea lanes between Palawan Island and the rest of Luzon, but would also provide them with another launch pad for an invasion of Selurong Region from the south, as well as mount an attempt at taking control of minor islands in the VisMin region. It was there that the ESTO forces would undergo a series of island hopping campaigns, isolating larger Philippine forces and bombing them into submission. In addition, missile attacks were carried out, some with ballistic missiles launched from bases in southern China, though they were mostly Chinese ballistic missiles. Of course, the ESTO forces were also alerted to a planned Vietnamese incursion into southern China as early as September of 2020, though in this case China was negotiating with Laos on using their territory as a transit point for the invasion of Vietnam. Cambodia, which had been smarting over its territorial losses to Vietnam in the 1996 Vietnamese reconquest of southwestern Vietnam that was occupied by Cambodian forces, had also petitioned to the Chinese government that it be allowed to participate in any military conflict involving Vietnam if it hoped to regain much of its lost territory. Laos however, was weary of getting involved in a war against Vietnam, as they felt that they didn't have anything to gain from fighting the Vietnamese. Additionally, the post-communist Vietnamese ultranationalist government had openly called for the restoration of what they viewed as historical Vietnamese lands in a Greater Vietnam, though the competition over influence with Laos had sometimes resulted in disputes between Vietnam and Thailand. In the end, China would formally invite Laos to join the ESTO alliance, granting it candidate status by August 15, 2020." From 'The Summary of the ESTO Invasion of the Philippines', courtesy of VidTube.

---

JAPAN ANNOUNCES PARTIAL MOBILIZATION AND TROOP DEPLOYMENT TO RYUKYU ISLAND CHAIN AS NEIGHBORING TAIWAN PLEDGES TO DECLARE FORMAL INDEPENDENCE AND SOVEREIGNTY
Sydney Herald
August 10, 2020

(Tokyo, JAPAN) - Japanese Prime Minister Toshio Tamogami has announced a partial mobilization of its armed forces in response to neighboring Taiwan's pledge to formally declare its independence and sovereignty as an actual Taiwanese nation, shedding its status as the government of the Republic of China. President Lin Yu-chang, who was elected just months ago on the platform of intentionally carrying out his promise of formally declaring a Taiwanese Republic, has also sent diplomats to the Japanese capital to negotiate with Prime Minister Tamogami on a security pact, which would allow Japanese soldiers to station troops on Taiwanese soil for the first time since the end of the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan. At the same time however, the Pan-Green Coalition, which supported Taiwanese independence and sovereignty, has also edged out its Pan-Blue Coalition rivals in a snap legislative election just two months ago, though the nature of the snap legislative election was rather controversial, as ballot burnings had been reported by both sides. In response, the Chinese government under President Wang Jianping has sent a naval armada from its Eastern Theater Command, while positioning some of its other active naval vessels operating from within ESTO-occupied northern Philippines for an attack. Additionally, the partial mobilization also extends to the increased recruitment for the PMC group, the Akatsuki International Resouce Group, though Mitsuo Jinguji, one of the main leaders of the AIRG, had undertaken a bold but controversial step of reaching out to Japanese prisons in search of recruits from the inmate population.

"At this point, we might as well be prepared for another war in the Asian continent. The threat that the ESTO poses to the independence of our nation, and much of our national honor, is extremely large. We must never forget that China and Russia today carry the same kind of legacy as their predecessors when they fought against us back in 1945," said Prime Minister Tamogami, while addressing the Japanese Diet. "Of course, if by some sort of miracle that we won against them, it is only fair that the status of Chishima Retto would be resolved in our favor, as well as the acquisition of the entirety of Karafuto Island."

Though Japan has renounced its territorial claims in the peace treaty signed in 1951, following the Treaty of San Francisco, that normalized ties between Japan and the Allied Powers of WWII, it is the first time that a sitting Japanese Prime Minister has actually announced it in his official capacity as Prime Minister since the end of the Pacific Theater of that conflict. In addition to the planned resolution of the Kurile Islands, he has also mentioned the resolution of the fate of the Senkaku Islands, which China also claims as part of its territory as well, as they called it Diaoyu Islands. Finally, it was the issue regarding the Korean Federal Republic that the Japanese Prime Minister has talked about in the same session in the Japanese Diet that has triggered anti-Japanese protests in various Chinese, Korean, and Russian cities in the Far East. In that same speech, the Prime Minister has also called on Korean Prime Minister Huh Kyung-young to step down from his position as Prime Minister, and for new elections to be held, though with sole Japanese supervision, that would replace the National Syndicalist regime that is controlling the Korean Federal Republic. Needless to say, the anger towards Japan was intense, but justified.

"The ugly face of Japanese imperialism has been shown to the world, at long last. We already knew that Japan was waiting for the right time until it casted off its pacifist façade and revealed its true personality," says Korean Prime Minister Huh, while addressing members of the Korean National Assembly for an emergency session. "Unlike the other Japanese imperialists who only wanted to steal Dokdo from us, Prime Minister Tamogami wants to destroy our government and replace it with a kind of puppet regime that he can control, recreating the events that led to our humiliating servitude towards them. Well in this case, the Korean Federal Republic should claim Kyushu as part of our territory too."

---

ESTO-OCCUPIED BALER, AURORA PREFECTURE
JULY 24, 2020

To Lt. Layag, it was a huge shock when he returned to the scene of his earlier failure. Baler had still looked like a hollowed out war zone, though in the midst of a massive reconstruction boom. Many civilians have started to move back to Baler again, though fearing the occupation that has brought to their community. By the time the captured Filipino officer and his captors arrived at the place where he was going to be interrogated, he was stunned that it was a church. However, his captors continued to lead him down into what was then the priest's office, which had now been commandeered by the ESTO intelligence officers. Lt. Layag spotted an unfamiliar looking man with a familiar looking uniform, sitting down but looking like he had already been tortured. He was screaming profanities in his native language, before three interrogators were yelling back at him in another language. When he finally sat down on an empty chair that looked like it was recently cleaned, five intelligence agents arrived and stood in front of him. To Lt. Layag's shock, a sixth guest had arrived inside. His shock turned to horror, and then to rage.

"Saique!? What the hell are you doing back here, you goddamned traitor!?" Lt. Layag yelled at a man he never expected to see again. "I guess the bastards gave you a good spot in their puppet administration in exchange for your surrender."

Colonel Alon Saique looked at Lt. Layag coldly. "Traitor? Don't tell me you're still fine serving those self-serving morons that are trying to bring back the days of family based corruption."

"Says the bastard who surrendered to the ESTO forces when Vigan fell to their control. I kept telling you to withdraw back towards La Union Prefecture, but you were too stubborn. I managed to retreat in good order with some of our men. Now I don't know if some of our men are either dead, taken captive, or turned traitor," said Lt. Layag coldly.

Captain Geun suddenly entered the room, accompanied by several Philippine Volunteer Corps bodyguards as he turned to one of the intel agents, a certain Lt. Jeup Seo-yeon, who was holding a foldier while Lt. Tatyana Glushkova stood there and watched the interaction between the two opposing Filipino officers.

"Since you can only speak English and whichever native tongue you're familiar with, I had to enlist the help of Colonel Saique of the Philippine Volunteer Corps. Lucky for you, we also have an intelligence agent that can speak English," Captain Geun explained as he gestured for Lt. Glushkova to step forward. "Lt. Glushkova will do the translating into English, while Colonel Saique will translate to your native tongue, and Captain Zhao will ask the questions. Do you understand?"

Lt. Layag nodded, though he kept glaring at Col. Saique. "Understood."

Captain Zhao stepped forward first. "State your name and affiliation, sir." Lt. Glushkova soon translated what her Chinese colleague had said.

"I'm Lieutenant Pancho Layag, formerly of the Philippine Army's 56th Infantry Battalion. I took over the reins of what was left of the 144 strong brigade after they suffered defeat in some earlier battles," Lt. Layag explained in English, prompting Lt. Glushkova to write it down. When Captain Zhao whispered something to Lt. Glushkova, the latter simply nodded and to Lt. Layag's surprise, the Chinese intel agent stepped aside.

"What were you doing near Laur when the battle was happening?" Lt. Glushkova asked in English, prompting Col. Saique to translate it to Tagalog.

Lt. Layag answered back in a firm tone. "I accompanied several medics attached to the AIRG as they were on their way to retrieve the wounded troops and to bring them back to Cabanatuan City."

"Why though?" Lt. Glushkova asked curiously.

"Because it wasn't safe for three medics attached to a mercenary group to be wandering around a warzone," Lt. Layag answered back.

"About the AIRG medics, can you tell us about them?" Lt. Glushkova asked again. When Col. Saique was about to speak, Lt. Glushkova shook her head. "We have interrogated one captured AIRG mercenary and he said that there were thousands of AIRG mercenaries operating inside the Philippines. Can you corroborate on that?"

Lt. Layag sighed in frustration. "I can tell you the names of the three medics."

"That would be fine. We've also heard stories that the more unsavory group of mercenaries working for the AIRG have been spotted in eastern Luzon. Do you know a Toru Katsuragi?" the Russian intel agent asked back. When Lt. Layag shook his head, she continued. "Or how about Toshiro Hirano? Kojiro Matsuda? Jiro Tokuda?"

Lt. Layag shook his head again. "I am not sure about them."

"We believe that the men that are mentioned have been linked to several high profile murders back in Japan. We are not sure of what exactly is the nature of their crime, but we have seen a pattern emerging," Lt. Glushkova explained, much to the shock of everyone inside. "These men were engaged in a middle of divorce proceedings gone wrong, and they often resulted in the murder of their estranged wives. You see, the Nakaminato Fishery Port Murder Case that happened a month before the Special Military Operation began was something that might force the Japanese government to do something about the AIRG."

Though Lt. Layag didn't show any emotion, it was Col. Saique's expression that turned rather dark. He whispered something to Capt. Geun before leaving the room, allowing Lt. Glushkova to continue with her questions.

"Since you've worked with some of the AIRG mercenaries, I assume that you'd know some of them," the Russian military intel agent continued, though Lt. Jeup's facial expression also grew a bit dark.

"I only know the three medics and two mercenaries that worked with them, and believe me, they don't have any criminal records. Unfortunately, I don't know the man responsible for recruiting those criminals, but from what one of them has told me, the recruitment of inmates from prisons, as well as enlistments of deadbeat fathers who abandoned their family duties and divorced ex-husbands who are in a tough financial situation had started back in 2001," Lt. Layag explained. "As for the three medics, I was tasked with making sure that they stayed alive."

Lt. Jeup whispered something to Lt. Glushkova, who nodded. "It would be of great help if we would be able to capture even one of those medics."

"Well, the three medics that I worked with, they have been with the AIRG since 2018. First, there's Yui Kyougoku. She isn't married at all, but has her eye on one of the mercenaries who accompanied her over here," Lt. Layag continued, though he ignored Col. Saique's re-entry into the room, followed by Lt. Eshonov and Capt. Zhao. "The eldest medic is Nagisa Shimazaki, and she's leading the other AIRG medics in medical care, and the youngest medic is Noa Urahara. Ms. Urahara has recently joined the AIRG back in 2019, but she actually came off from medical school in Japan."

Lt. Glushkova paused as Col. Saique whispered something to Capt. Geun's ear and he nodded quickly. She turned to both officers and showed them the notes that she took from her interrogation with Lt. Layag.

"I think that capturing these three medics would also allow us to gain information on the criminal elements of the AIRG that now dominate the organization. We'll have to give this task to both Capt. Geun and Col. Saique as well," Lt. Glushkova explained, though Capt. Zhao frowned.

"I can understand Capt. Geun being selected, but assigning an officer of a military group that is not popular with the local populace? Some of these troops from the FSG and PVC are more likely to defect to the Minokawas or desert their units and become guerrillas," Capt. Zhao explained.

"I agree, and I think that it would be best if we assign the task of capturing the three medics to the Central Asian formations. If we left it to either the Chinese, the Koreans, Mongols or Russians, the medics would be spooked enough to actually flee from the Philippines," Lt. Eshonov spoke, surprising everyone. "Capt. Zhao, will it be possible for Capt. Geun to relay this order to Captains Musayev and Bayzhanov?"

Capt. Geun looked at his Uzbek counterpart and frowned. "The last time I spoke with Capt. Bayzhanov, he's busy securing the town of Laur. We don't know if the Filipinos will launch a counterattack against us, but I suspect that at some point, we'll eventually end up fighting the bulk of the Philippine Army and the AIRG mercenaries at a fortress city. The question is, will we have to use the Terminalians to help us as well?"

"TDG would be a great asset, though they too, have recruited from prisons, just like the AIRG. However, they're very strict about the guidelines," Lt. Glushkova responded crisply. She turned to Col. Saique. "We'll let you know when we're done interrogating Lt. Layag. Once he's done, we'll put him in a POW camp."

"Can't you at least shoot me? I've already disgraced myself in front of the men that I've commanded," Lt. Layag said, but Col. Saique laughed lightly.

"I heard that you told one former Goyo Academy graduate to stay alive as an order, and now you want to die like that? Allow me to repeat your own words back to you: if you really want to serve the new Philippines, I'm ordering you to stay alive," Col. Saique snapped in Tagalog, but Lt. Layag glared at him.

"I told Sgt. Quitain to stay alive in hopes that he would participate in guerrilla attacks against your overlords, traitor," Lt. Layag hissed in Tagalog, despite the slap he felt from an enraged Col. Saique. "I'm not going to defect to your side just because we're losing. The new administration is doing better than the old Fifth Republic, and President Arcilla is a much better president than the likes of Grace Poe and Loren Legarda."

"Are you joking!? A <redacted> actor as a great politician!?" Col. Saique yelled before Capt. Geun restrained him. "We are still cleaning up the gargatuan mess that those two dictators had made, and the impotent politicians who are still doing the cleaning are slowly letting the old corrupt cronies to regain their wealth! The Americans still have the wealth that the Marcos family stole and kept in Swiss banks! Meanwhile, President Punyeta in Kabankalan is still using the old Tadiar-era death camps to hold criminals in, as a means of working them to death! How dare you tell me that he's a good president!?"

"Enough!" Capt. Zhao snapped at the two men. She glared at Lt. Layag before grabbing Col. Saique by the arm and quickly led him out of the interrogation room. "Colonel, don't jeopardize your position with the Filipino State Guard for an idiotic lieutenant. He'll eventually come around. He hasn't seen the cities in northern Luzon under our control yet."

---

"Baler before the infamous 2020 Siege of Baler and what happened after was like looking at two vastly different worlds. What looked like a small, tourist town before the ESTO invasion of the Philippines, had now been transformed into an emerging small city. Of course, the reconstruction of Baler had entirely been done by the ESTO military engineers, with some local labour mixed in as well. The construction of the first major port and harbor for Baler had been planned only a few days after its capture, but the PLA military engineers had brought in the materials needed to build it. Few locals were willing to work for the ESTO occupational authorities in rebuilding Baler, for fear of being shot as collaborators, but eventually, word of mouth spread on good salaries, great work environments, and possibly a reward in an apartment suite had spread. Of course, the ESTO military authorities made sure that any local worker who was hired under their watch had to be taken care of properly, or the enemy will use their alleged maltreatment as propaganda. The new Baler of 2022 and 2023 had looked nothing like the Baler of the pre-invasion era. In places of small houses, those infamous, brutalistic looking commie blocks had replaced them. Curiously enough, the commie blocks became more popular with the growing labour force that populated Baler, and in fact, those same workers were actually given those apartment suites inside the commie blocks, provided that they paid for the mortgage with their wages. Unlike the other parts of the unoccupied territories of the Philippines, the areas under ESTO occupation were governed by a combination of ESTO military law, Chinese and Russian financial laws, and Korean labour laws. It was a chaotic mixture of those laws that propelled the infamous ESTO-backed figurehead in Cirilito Sobejana to draft a new constitution that was starkly different and similar to the 1998 Tadiar-era constitution. The so-called Sobejana Constitution of 2020 had kept some reforms from the Tadiar-era constitution while shockingly enough, not guaranteeing the freedom of speech in the 2020 constitution. Sobejana had apparently taken note of what the late Lee Kuan Yew had said about how he reformed Singapore, and was looking to implement it to the Philippines, despite the economic growth that it displayed between 2007 and 2019.

Additionally, Dinapikisan and Dingalan had also been transformed from sleepy fishing villages to bustling small cities, each with several ports and harbors, though those places were mainly used by the ESTO navies. Of those villages, Dingalan was the most crucial part, as it guarded the path to the infamous Gapan meat grinder. ESTO military engineers and local labourers alike have built a new road, connecting Dingalan to General Tinio and the town of Penaranda, and that new road called the Dingalan-Penaranda Highway would later play a role in how the Gapan meat grinder became the bloodiest battle between the Philippines and the ESTO armies. However, the most common complaint that the ESTO forces had when they invaded the Philippines was a lack of useable roads, and that they had to rely more on engineers and local labour to build new roads for them. Likewise, the town of Infanta, which was the subject of a new ESTO offensive in 2021, had been mercilessly bombed, before elements of the Russian military had stormed the city, with the help of the Central Asian and Korean detachments, as well as the pro-collaborator Philippine forces fighting on the ESTO side. The Battle of Infanta, which took place on May of 2021, at the same time as the infamous Japanese Children's Day Coup, had been a one month battle, in which the Russian Navy played a huge role in destroying the defenses of Infanta. The fall of Infanta now gave the ESTO forces the control of Highway R-6, which had been called Marcos Highway before the Tadiar military dictatorship, which it was renamed to Tadiar Highway. The town of Infanta was gradually subsumed into the new, larger, metropolitan of General Nakar, and once again, the construction of ports, harbors, and commie blocks was the way of life. Moreover, ESTO-occupied Laoag, which had been one of the first Philippine cities to fall under ESTO control, had its urban landscape changed entirely. Narrow roads became wider roads, as houses that have been damaged by the conflict, were simply bulldozed. It is also worth noting that the commie blocks that are being built in Laoag have yet to be completed, but the designs for all the commie blocks that are now featured in the ESTO-occupied parts of the Philippines are of Korean design, meaning that some of the construction management guys who designed them came from the former North Korea. However, it is also worth noting that the commie blocks are also a sinister plot to slowly subvert Philippine independence and sovereignty, as Chinese families of active duty soldiers are being encouraged to move to what they wanted to call the Qianzhou SAR. Yet, because they feared losing control of the pro-ESTO collaborator units, the ESTO authorities decided to officially establish the informally named 'Philippine Transitional Directorate', essentially creating a rival, albeit a puppet, government that is competing with the Kabankalan-based current government." From the VidTube video titled 'Luzon Before and After the Invasion'

---

NATO ANNOUNCES POSSIBLE NAME CHANGE IN RESPONSE TO PLANS FOR EXPANSION BEYOND EUROPE WITH MEXICO AS POTENTIAL CANDIDATE
Vancouver Sun
July 23, 2020

(Brussels, BELGIUM) - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has announced a possible amendment to Article 10, which stipulates that membership would be open to any European state that can contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area. The proposed amendment comes during the ongoing conflict between its rival counterpart in the Eurasian Security Treaty Organization and the Philippines, with Mexico and Colombia as potential candidates NATO Secretary General Radoslaw Sikorski has accepted the proposal made by US Secretary Michael Gottlieb, though Sikorski's term as NATO Secretary is coming to a close, with various replacements emerging to take over his job. If the amendment was accepted, NATO as a defensive pact would evolve from a North Atlantic-centric security alliance to a pact that would cover the entire Atlantic region. Prominent leader of the Pan-Western far-right extremist movement, the Euro-Atlantic Imperium Gunther Fehlinger had also advocated for such an expansion, viewing it as a necessary measure for the defense of what he viewed as 'White Euro-Atlantic Civilization' from the so-called 'Asiatic hordes' and 'Third World scum', while the three Baltic States, still unable to join NATO due to a territorial dispute with the unrecognized Russian West Baltic Republic, and Lithuania's territorial dispute with Belarus over the Vilnius region.

"We have to secure the entirety of the Western Hemisphere before we could move on to the rest of Europe and parts of Africa. As long as there are European states that refuse to join this security pact, they will be vulnerable to Russian meddling," Fehlinger comments while talking to a Hungarian reporter during one of his speeches in Vienna. "Ireland, Yugoslavia, Malta, Austria, Lichtenstein, and Switzerland remain the only European states that refused to join NATO or get involved in the strengthening of the Euro-Atlantic alliance. This has to change."

However, expanding NATO and changing the nature of the alliance to a Pan-Atlantic security pact would be resisted from some of its members, who felt that integrating Latin America into the expanded pact would be a bridge too far, as some Latin American states are still anti-American because of recent conflicts. The current Venezuelan National Syndicalist military junta of Rodolfo Marco Torres, who replaced the recently assassinated Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, has vowed to resist any renewed American military aggression against his country, leading to the Kaine administration's promise to use thermal nuclear weapons to destroy the National Syndicalist Venezuelan regime. Chacin was assassinated back in 2017 at the hands of pro-American rebels operating from the border between Guyana and Venezuela, resulting in the rise of Torres. Like Chacin, Torres was also a hardliner who gave shelter to the exiled Cuban ex-communist rebels and former Nicaraguan Sadinistas, and has also promised to recreate the irredentist project of Gran Colombia as a way of protecting the rest of Latin America from what he called American neo-fascist imperialism. Torres is also an undying enemy of NATO and the far-right Euro-Atlantic Imperium, and has also called for Latin America to form its own military alliance to counter NATO within the Western Hemisphere.

"The racist blancos that dominate the Western governments today are the same type of racists who dreamt of reconquering their lost colonies in Latin America. Even now, we still see the legacy of the American invasion of Cuba and Nicaragua, as American corporations are still using Cuban and Nicaraguan cheap labor to skirt around the rules that they are forced to follow at home," says Torres, during a rally in Caracas in front of supporters. "At the same time, we are also critical of the ESTO military aggression against our long lost Asian cousin, the Philippines, as far too many lives have been lost. We do not mince words so easily, as we also see the current Filipino political culture that was tainted by the legacy of two dictatorships: one kleptocratic autocracy, and another a military junta that was influenced by Pinochet and Corbalan."

---

OUTSKIRTS OF PALAYAN CITY, NUEVA ECIJA
JULY 25, 2020
1000 HOURS

After leaving the town of Laur behind, Nurzhan and his expanded squad were relieved that they were moving towards Palayan City. Although the mop up of Laur had been successful, it came at a cost of the BMP-1 that they rode on, when guerrillas had ambushed them during a night patrol. Although Captain Ospanov and his crew managed to survive the ambush, their vehicle was sadly destroyed, which is how he found himself being awarded for his valor with the command of a new BMP-3 IFV. To ensure that the IFV convoys are protected, various attack helicopters like the Mil Mi-24 and Mi-25 Hinds in Kazakh, Uzbek, and Kyrgyz colors are hovering above them. It was good that the helicopters had hovered above the vehicles, as they managed to prevent any potential guerrilla attacks from happening, with much of the Minokawas and civilians turned guerrillas having to use the vegetation to conceal themselves. Inside the BMP-3, Nurzhan re-read the text message that he received from Capt. Geun about the mission that was assigned to them, courtesy of the intelligence agents who interrogated the captured Lt. Layag. According to the contents of the mission, the Central Asians' new mission now is to capture the three AIRG medics for intelligence extraction purposes, so they can track down and eliminate the criminal elements of the AIRG mercenaries. To help understand the nature of the mission, Nurzhan also read the bio of the three AIRG nurses as well.

"Yui Kyougoku, Nagisa Shimazaki and Noa Urahara. What's so interesting about those three?" Nurzhan muttered before Ospanov tapped the wall. "Captain Ospanov, are we close to Palayan City?"

Ospanov snorted. "Not even close. We're not on the highway though, so we're taking the time to secure every block and every street. Looks like those Filipinos are either scared or are very good at hiding."

"Wouldn't we have to use thermobaric weapons to smoke the bastards out?" Nurzhan asked back.

"Not without violating various rules of the war, though they're pretty much out of the window. We might end up using the same road that we used when we advanced from Baler, though that airport that we've all captured is now being used as an airbase. Russians and Chinese are bringing in their heavy bombers and are airlifting supplies, reinforcements, and equipment as well. Not that easy to manage, since we had to use Chinese airspace to stay out of the range of anti-air," Ospanov explained as he whispered a few orders to the driver. "Geez, even these roads are too damn narrow. Whoever designed them is a bloody idiot."

"I don't blame you, Ospanov. Good thing the Chinese are bringing in civilian engineers in addition to military ones, and they're screaming to the ESTO leadership to let them widen the road. Half of this bloody island doesn't even have proper roads to connect to other parts of the island, which is why we had to build new ones ourselves," Nurzhan complained angrily. "ESTO is literally bankrolling the infrastructure projects of this hellhole, just so we could finish our mission here."

To the surprise of the Kazakhs, not a single enemy attack had been reported while they were traversing the Bongabon-Dingalan Road. It was a good thing too, because by the time they reached the intersection with the Nueva Ecija-Aurora Road, they spotted the first enemy platoon in a long time. The Hinds opened fire on the Bongabon Municipal Hall in response to an enemy attempt at shooting down the helicopters, prompting the BMP-3s to open fire before Nurzhan gave a nod to Smagulov to open the door of the BMP-3.

"Out! Out! Out!" Nurzhan shouted as his squad emerged from the BMP-3 and began to fire their assault rifles at the approaching enemy infantry.

"Enemy garrison up ahead! They're using an empty high school!" Sheraliyev shouted, prompting Tursynov and Qasymov to take cover in time to dodge a heavy machine gun fire. "Bolatov! We need to smoke the bastards out!"

Bolatov nodded and crawled closer towards one of the empty houses that overlooked the intersection.

"We'll take shelter in the house that Bolatov secured for us. Good job, Bolatov!" Nurzhan said savagely as the squad entered the empty house. He beckoned for Smagulov and Tolegenov to give him the communications equipment that they began to carry after the mission in Laur was completed. Once he pressed some buttons, a man on the other side of the line responded. "This is Captain Bayzhanov of the 35th Guards Air Assault Brigade. We need artillery support."

The man on the other line responded. "This is Colonel Zhanibek Smagululy. Are you having trouble on your end, Captain Bayzhanov?"

"Enemy resistance is fierce in this sector, Comrade Colonel. We're requesting artillery support," Nurzhan said curtly.

"The Gvozdikas are already on their way, but since we're already hard pressed with the offensive against the enemy in both Rizal and San Jose City, we couldn't spare any more. You're in luck though," Colonel Smagululy responded brightly. "Reinforcements are inbound for Rizal and Bongabon. ETA for the 386th and 387th Artillery Brigade should be 60 minutes. Until then, expand the control of your zone of operations. Relay this message to all the other units operating in the area."

"Will do." Nurzhan turned off the comm with the Colonel and began to type the message and relayed it to the rest of the units. He could still hear the machine gun fire as Qasymov and Sheraliyev shouted for the rest of the infantry to begin setting up machine gun nests of their own. "Squad! Hold this position for an hour until reinforcements are arriving."

"Yes, sir," the soldiers shouted.

***

ONE HOUR LATER
1100 HOURS

Explosions began to rock around the house that Nurzhan's squad was holed up in. This time though, it was the sound of an enemy rocket artillery that began to rain down on them. Sheraliyev spotted several other Kazakh soldiers screaming in agony as flames quickly began to consume much of their skin. Suddenly, it made sense to Nurzhan and his squad. The lack of resistance from the Philippine military, the gradual expansion of their territorial control. It was a trap laid by the Filipinos, and they didn't realize that they fell for it. The artillery barrage that they themselves were now being subjected to had been fierce and brutal. As if it wasn't enough, Bolatov crawled closer towards him with a slightly wounded Smagulov beside him.

"We're going to get cut off if we stay here. Is there any way out of here?" Bolatov asked, but Nurzhan shook his head.

"The enemy may have trapped us, but the reinforcements will come any minute now," Nurzhan replied back. He looked out of the window and his eyes bulged at the sight of Sheridan IIs and Kapres coming at them. Several platoons of Filipino infantry and men with different looking uniforms began to slowly approach their position from the south. Sheraliyev looked through the binoculars and grinned maliciously.

"Sir, we got incoming AIRG mercenaries tagging along with the Filipino infantry," Sheraliyev said.

Nurzhan grunted. "Okay, boys. Let's see if our priority targets are among those mercenaries. Do NOT kill the priority targets if you see them."

One of the surviving Kazakh soldiers pointed at the nearest Sheridan II. "Do we have any more anti-tank weapons left? The BMPs can't handle them all at once."

Luckily for Nurzhan and his increasingly depleted squad, another artillery barrage had struck the town. This time, the enemy reinforcements were subjected to the barrages as Nurzhan sighed in relief at hearing the familiar sounding of an incoming rocket artillery launched from a Grad rocket launcher. Some of the Sheridan IIs had been struck by the rockets, causing several fireballs to erupt. He gestured for the rest of the squad to open fire at them. Three AIRG mercenaries were the first to be struck by the bullets as Nurzhan grabbed his own binoculars to see if the medics were present. He was disappointed to see no AIRG medic attached to them, but one of the AIRG mercenaries aimed his rifle at him, causing him to duck. Smagulov opened fire with his own AKM rifle at the Filipino infantry, prompting them to fire back at him. It didn't take long until another set of rocket artillery began to rain down on the enemy forces, while regular artillery shells pounded the high school where the other enemy garrison was holed up.

"Looks like we made it. The 386th and 387th Artillery Brigade is here," Nurzhan said to his squad, though he also looked up to see an incoming aerial convoy of 5 Mil Mi-25 Hinds in Russian colors firing their payload at the high school building. "Is everyone okay?"

Some of the Kazakh troops nodded, but Bolatov spoke up. "We lost over 14 guys in just an hour. Damned enemy rocket artillery must have destroyed them. We almost got cooked too."

"It's my fault that we're in this situation in the first place. We may need to stay in this town to secure it and to mop up any more leftover enemy forces still fighting in here," Nurzhan said to his survivng squad. "For now, continue to hold on to your positions."

Multiple gunfire continued to erupt from several houses as the enemy troops began to take cover in response. Smagulov shouted for one of the other soldier to give him a Dragunov, prompting Tolegenov to hand him one. Smagulov began to slowly walk out of the lower floor, and moved up to the second floor, with Sheraliyev and Tolegenov accompanying him. After they finished setting up a sniper's nest, Smagulov uttered a small prayer before rubbing his face with his hands in an Islamic ritual fashion. He aimed the Dragunov at a tank crew who peeked out and pulled the trigger, causing the crewman to fall dead. Sheraliyev and Tolegenov opened fire with a Pecheneg light machine gun from the same height as Tolegenov peeked out of the window to see if the Sheridan IIs are aiming their cannons at them. Luckily, he had the foresight to duck back right out as a bullet whizzed by his head, presumably from either a machine gun or an enemy sniper.

Below on the first floor, Nurzhan took the communications equipment that Smagulov left for him as he pressed a set of buttons for a bit. He waited for ten minutes before someone finally responded, much to his surprise.

"This is callsign Tolar to Cavern. Tolar to Cavern. Do you copy?" Nurzhan asked.

A different voice from the Colonel responded this time. "This is Cavern speaking."

"Tolar here. We're stuck at the junction of de Lara Street and the Bongabon-Dingalan Road at the intersection with the Nueva Ecija-Aurora Road. Requesting information on the ETA of reinforcements," Nurzhan responded, even as machine gun fire continued to erupt from the second floor of the house they've occupied. "We got shells landing all around us, but enemy advances are threatening our positions."

"Tolar, your squad has to get out of there right now. Incoming artillery barrage coming in five minutes. Retreat to the Municipal Evacuation Center, and await further orders. Tell the BMPs to cover the retreat as well," 'Cavern' responded, prompting Nurzhan to nod.

"Will do, sir." Nurzhan turned off the communications equipment and turned to the rest of the squad. "Prepare to evacuate from this building right now."

"Is it that bad?" Sheraliyev asked, but Nurzhan shook his head.

"Retreat! Let's get out of here!" Nurzhan yelled as everyone else inside the house simply rushed towards the front door, but he blocked the path. "Back door! We can't let the enemy know we're getting out!"

Three minutes later, all of the squad members managed to get out as the BMPs waited for them. Ospanov's shouts to his tank crew to fire their round had resulted in a Sheridan II's turret flying off the tracks. Every single BMP reversed itself from the road, turned around, and drove as fast as it could towards the place that Cavern told Nurzhan to go to. Luckily for them, there were no ambushes awaiting for them, but a different surprise awaited for them. When Nurzhan's squad exited from the BMP-3, a large convoy was driving towards them, though they were not firing their rounds at them. As the convoy got closer, Nurzhan could spot several BMD-4s that were accompanied by what appeared to be a tank support fighting vehicle of an entirely different kind. The NCOs and Privates that formed Nurzhan's squad gaped at the impressive sight of the BMPT. On both sides of the turret, there were 6 launch tubes, with two autocannons beside it. However, it was the intimidating presence of over 30 T-64-M3GUs and 10 T-72M3GUs that stunned the Kazakhs as the regular Russian Army infantry units got off the tanks and began to shout orders. Nurzhan turned around and saw a Russian Army captain who looked a bit older than he was and shook hands with him.

"Comrade Captain Bayzhanov, it is an honor to be fighting alongside you. We have known each other from when we participated in foreign exchanges in our secondary schools, but I'm glad to see you once again," the Russian captain said. "I'm Captain-"

"Comrade Captain Gennady Yevgeniyevich Suvorinskiy. I haven't seen you since the Last Bell. I didn't hear anything from Colonel Dolmatov, but that's probably because the Terminalians are somewhere," Nurzhan said as Suvorinsky nodded. "I guess you're the reinforcements that we're supposed to wait."

"Yes, and no. The reinforcements that you were supposed to wait for were the artillery regiments. They're busy pounding the town of Bongabon," Suvorinskiy explained. "By the way, I'm with the 144th Motor Rifle Brigade, and it's not the only Motor Rifle Brigade that has shown up here. There's the 145th, 146th, and 147th, and we're all new formations that were formed back in 2017. We've come all the way from the Volga-Urals Military District, so we're pretty much based in Isetgrad."

"We're thankful for your assistance. Any other news from the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz?" Nurzhan asked curiously as another Russian soldier swore loudly after seeing a large fireball in the distance. "The barrage is ongoing, right?"

Suvorinskiy nodded. "We'll wait until the barrage subsides before retaking lost ground. As for the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, Colonel Smagululy has ordered them to return to Baler. They're getting new equipment, weapons, and medical supplies after suffering casualties in the failed attempt to capture this town called Capalonga."

"Some of our comrades also suffered some losses while repelling the enemy counteroffensive around Laur." Nurzhan looked around as 15 additional T-72s arrived, though of the M2GU variant. He understood that the M2GU variant could only be used by one nation. He was relieved to see the tanks in question with Kazakh colors and markings arrive. One of the T-72M2GU's hatches opened to see a slender looking guy emerged outside. He too, stood up and shook Nurzhan's hand. "Captain Zhusupov?"

"Ah, Captain Bayzhanov. It seems that we're all here. We'll still wait until the barrage subsides, since they've started to use TOS-1s alongside the Grads, Uragans, and Iskanders." Captain Zhusupov squinted as another fireball had erupted at the site of a seminary. "I'm not going to lie. Too many small houses that don't look like it can fit in a large family. They're basically shantytowns built in brick and mortar."

Captain Suvorinskiy laughed lightly. "Even the Brezhnevkas and Khrushchevkas would be a slight improvement over those pitiful houses, and the roads are too damn tiny too!"

"That's what Captain Ospanov said to us when we rode to Bongabon," Nurzhan answered back, though one of the Russian infantrymen stood at attention and gave Suvorinskiy a communication equipment. He soon answered for a moment, before handing it back to him. "Are we clear to return?"

"We're good to go. Our forces will do the flanking, while yours will go straight for the Bongabon District Hospital. The 144th and 145th will aim to capture the Water District and Public Market, while the 146th and 147th will aim to capture this oversized supermarket and the La Casa cabin." Suvorinskiy turned around and whistled at the infantrymen. "Mount up! We're going now."

Nurzhan nodded in agreement as he did the same. Five minutes later, he and his squad boarded the BMP-3 once again and waited until the Russian contingents began to move. After the last Russian vehicle left the evacuation center, the Kazakhs started to move as well, though they were going back in the same route that they took the first time. By the time they returned to the junction where the enemy artillery barrage had nearly wiped out their unit, the Sheridan IIs and Sheridan Is had been reduced to burning husks as the enemy infantry forces were now holed up in some of the other abandoned houses. One of the T-72M3GUs fired its round at a house that was occupied by enemy troops, as it exploded upon impact, causing the enemy soldiers to yell in agony before being cut down by a round fired from the BMP-3 driven by Ospanov. As the Kazakh infantry exited from the BMPs, Nurzhan and his squad stopped at one of the undamaged houses and gestured for them to remain silent. He pointed at Tursynov to slowly approach the entrance. Tursynov in return, grabbed one of the grenades from his pouch, pulled the pin, and quickly threw it inside. A small explosion erupted, and for a moment it remained quiet. When Nurzhan could hear a faint moan, he gave a nod, and the Kazakh infantry suddenly burst inside the house and began to search for any unexploded bombs inside. Sheraliyev waved his hand wildly at the squad as they frantically arrived at the spot where he made a shocking discovery. Three sets of unexploded IEDs were already laid out inside an empty room, while Qasymov dragged in a wounded enemy soldier on the verge of death.

"Don't save me. I've lost too much blood," the wounded soldier gasped agonizingly as he soon fell limp. Qasymov gently laid him down on the floor and looked at Sheraliyev.

"We need to trigger the IEDs. We can't take chances with them," Sheraliyev said. Nurzhan nodded in agreement as the squad began to leave the building, with the captain leaving last. However, he grabbed three grenades from his own pouch, pulled the pins, and dropped them on the empty room where the IEDs lay, and ran out of the building.

The squad managed to reach another empty room, just in time to see the house next to them erupt in a small fireball. They repeated the same step in the second house they've occupied, and were lucky that there was no booby trap rigged inside. Bolatov nudged Sheraliyev on the side and brought him close to the window, where they could see other Kazakh troops engage in clearing buildings of booby traps and enemy soldiers. Just inches away from them, Smagulov and Tolegenov started to place two Pecheneg machine guns on the window sill. Once the enemy troops opened fire with their own machine guns, they did the same. Tursynov was handed the Dragunov that Smagulov used earlier, and began to break a small opening on the wall of the damaged house. He slowly aimed the Dragunov and waited for his target to come out. Fifteen minutes later, a Philippine Army soldier carrying a Javelin manpad peeked out of the window as he searched for a BMP to take out. Tursynov pulled the trigger, causing the Javelin carrying soldier to crumple on the ground.

"We'll hold on this position until we are cleared to capture the hospital. From there, we'll coordinate the movements with the Russians until our Uzbek and Kyrgyz friends will rejoin us," Nurzhan told his squad while an incoming T-72M2GU aimed its gun at the house where the Javelin carrying soldier was hiding in and fired its round. "For now, keep an eye on your ammunition and weapons. We'll be here for a while."

---

CABANATUAN CITY
AEONTOWN PACIFIC MALL
1100 HOURS, JULY 25, 2020

The lack of news regarding Lt. Layag's whereabouts had alarmed much of the defending forces that remained in Cabanatuan City, though by the time the stragglers from the disastrous defense of Laur had arrived, one of the surviving soldiers had rushed to the infirmary where the wounded soldiers are being taken care of. Nagisa spotted one of those defenders running towards them, despite Yui and Noa's pleas for him to slow down. Yuuichi and Harunobu were startled at the sight of the other men that have arrived as well.

"Disaster! We've been routed at Laur," Sgt. Quitain panted as Nagisa's eyes widened.

"Where's Lt. Layag? And why are you guys here?" Nagisa asked curiously.

Sgt. Quitain looked at his comrades before grimacing. "Lt. Layag was captured while we tried to retreat from Laur. An artillery shell landed close to him, but he survived the impact. The ESTO forces have captured him, but not before giving us the order to retreat. We came here with the APC convoy that picked us up. I wouldn't be surprised if the ESTO decided to start hunting down the AIRG guys."

"This is bad. Can you tell us what happened?" Noa asked Sgt. Quitain.

The sergeant proceeded to explain what happened in great detail, about how they were building up their defenses of Laur before the Central Asian formations started to storm the place. He also added the encounter with the Kazakhs and Koreans and how he barely managed to avoid capture by hiding in the jungle before being spotted and picked up by friendly units. By the time he finished explaining, Nagisa shook her head.

"We don't have any officer left in Cabanatuan City, and we're not sure if we're going to hold on to this place," Yui admitted.

Sgt. Quitain shrugged. "I also heard from one of the drivers that the Kazakhs have also seized control of parts of Bongabon. We wanted to help drive them out, but by the time we arrived, it was too late. The Russians have been shelling Bongabon with their rocket artillery and conventional artillery."

"So who is going to lead us now?" another soldier asked Sgt. Quitain.

"I don't know. If Rizal falls, then resupplying San Jose City will be difficult. However, none of us are officers in here, so we'll have to find one," Sgt. Quitain responded.

Half an hour later, everyone who was inside the abandoned shopping mall felt the tremble from an incoming rocket artillery barrage, which was soon followed by another rocket artillery barrage, this time coming from a different MLRS. The rocket artillery barrage eventually ended, but for a while, it seemed that the worst ordeal was over. Unfortunately, as Yuuichi and Harunobu started to accompany Sgt. Quitain to the entrance of the abandoned mall, their eyes widened at the sight of 12 H-6Ks and 7 Tu-22Ms approaching. A few AIRG mercenaries equipped with Type 91 hand held SAMs fired their load from the rooftop of a seminary school, before the H-6Ks began to drop their payload. Several explosions rocked the empty seminary school as screams of agony were being heard.

"We might have to withdraw from here, but since there's no officer around, we'll just have to stay until an officer would arrive with reinforcements," said Sgt. Quitain sadly. "Captain Liangson is currently fighting on the outskirts of Bongabon with a few of the AIRGs with him."

"Why can't we go over there? They are going to need us to bring in the wounded," Noa insisted, but Sgt. Quitain shook his head.

"If Lt. Layag is captured, he'd be forced to give out the names of all the AIRG mercenaries that were attached to him. You three would be hunted down by the ESTO forces if you exposed yourselves needlessly," Sgt. Quitain said heatedly. He turned to Nagisa and Yui with a frown. "Ms. Nagisa and Ms. Yui, all the medics will have to retreat from Cabanatuan. Santa Rosa might not be safe, so Gapan is the best place to retreat to. We've already made preparations to fortify the place."

"Why Gapan?" Noa asked curiously.

Sgt. Quitain pointed at another Filipino soldier to give him the map. He laid it down on a damaged table and started to point at various areas of the map.

"Gapan is the last stronghold in Nueva Ecija and guards the road to Bulacan. Its intersections in San Isidro and General Tinio are also crucial, since they lead to Pampanga and Aurora. Eastwards, it leads to General Tinio and Dingalan, and I suspect that the ESTO forces have already taken control of Dingalan," Sgt. Quitain explained. "I will not be surprised if they're trying to build a road that would connect Dingalan to General Tinio and Penaranda. From San Isidro, it's a long drive to Arayat, Mexico, and San Fernando. Angeles Airfield is highly prized, which is why the ESTO forces are launching missiles to destroy it."

Yui sighed. "And I take it that they're not only focused on conquering the rest of Nueva Ecija, right?"

One other soldier who was a Corporal spoke up. "Right now, we're resisting the enemy advance in Pangasinan. Another fresh landing at Zambales would be a disaster, because that would mean that they can push towards Tarlac and Pangasinan from the west. Or they could go down and place all of Pampanga in danger."

"Plus the fall of all of Pampanga would mean opening a gateway to capturing Olongapo, which hosts the former US Navy base there. The ESTO would want to capture that ex-US base for their own purposes," Sgt. Quitain contined to explain. "That's why while Cabanatuan may be a big blow to us if it was lost, losing Gapan would be horrific."

"All the more reason why we need to stay here and defend this city," Nagisa advised the Sergeant, but he shook his head.

"We will need to resort to guerrilla warfare in order to slow the enemy down." Sgt. Quitain turned to the rest of the troops still inside. "We'll retreat to the vegetation and launch hit and run raids if we have to. Until reinforcements arrive or the troops arrive here from Rizal and Bongabon, we'll carry on with guerrilla warfare."

"I agree." The other soldiers nodded.

"In that case, give us permission to retreat to Gapan City then. We'll need to stock up on medical supplies for the siege ahead," Nagisa suggested, prompting the Sergeant to nod in agreement. She then turned to Yui, Noa, Yuuichi and Harunobu. "Yuuichi-kun, you and Harunobu will have to escort us out of the city."

Yuuichi nodded in agreement. "Of course, Nagisa."

***

TWO HOURS LATER

The sounds of the ACV-15s departing from the AEONTown Mall had greatly relieved the three medics as their bodyguards sat closest to the door, so they could exit just in case things went south rather quickly. Even if they were still far away, the medics inside the APC could feel the faint rumbling of the ground being hit with rocket and conventional artillery shells. Nagisa turned her head towards Yuuichi as he was on the phone with someone.

"How's the high seas, onii-san?" Yuuichi asked one of his brothers on the phone.

Satoshi Sato answered back from his end. "We're pretty calm right now, otou-tou. Keiichi is on shore leave in Tokyo, but I'm stuck over here, just off the coast of Kunashiri Island. How is the warzone over there?"

"We're getting our asses handed to us, onii-san. Some of our friends within the AIRG might have to go back home, as Moroboshi-sama has hinted at disbanding the AIRG. He's in talks with Prime Minister Tamogami about it, and it's all because of that baka Jinguji," Yuuichi growled in frustration.

"I understand, Yuuichi-kun. At the very least, if the AIRG gets disbanded, you'll probably get a new contract with the Japanese Ministry of Defense. I don't know much about the details, but I advise you to not get involved with the likes of Katsuragi-teme," Satoshi advised. He looked at his watch and nodded. "I gotta get back to my shift. Send my greetings to the ladies on mine and Keiichi's behalf."

"Okay," Yuuichi said as he hung up the phone. He turned to see Yui with her eyes wide open. "Yui-san, onii-san says hi."

"What's this about Moroboshi-sama wanting to disband the AIRG?" Yui asked, but her eyes widened even bigger in horror. "Wait a minute. Is it because of what happened at the Nakaminato Fishery Port? And the murders that were being done by our colleagues?"

"Come to think about it, Harunobu came close to shooting a fellow merc over an argument that proved to be pointless," Noa chimed in. "I think it was that Takuma guy that he had gotten into a fight with."

At the sound of his name being mentioned, Harunobu perked up. "What was that?"

"We were talking about how Moroboshi-sama wanted to disband our group because of the likes of Sano-san and Katsuragi-san," Yui explained to Harunobu, who only gritted his teeth in frustration. "The last time I heard from them, they were lounging around in Matawe."

Harunobu shook his head as he was looking up on his phone and whistled. "I'm not sure if that's the case though. There's been another ESTO landing in the town called Matawe, which is a part of Dingalan. Those softies were caught napping by the Russians and Koreans before being forced to retreat through the jungle. I swear that we need to take their paychecks away from them."

"What the hell is Toru doing? And why hasn't there been enough men in that sleepy town?" Noa asked angrily. Not for the first time, she silently cursed the idiocy of the more dangerous criminal elements of the AIRG. "Why do I get the feeling that we'll all pay for their mistakes with our lives?"

---

Excerpts from the October 18, 2020 Monica Lewinsky-Jones and Hillary Clinton Interview with 'Monk'
TrippWire

*For Security Reasons and the Sensitive Nature of the Interview, it was decided to conceal the identity of the interviewee and was given the code name 'Monk'*

CLINTON: With the ongoing ESTO military aggression in the Philippines and the start of the Battle for Gapan City, plus the 2020 American Presidential Elections that are coming up, we felt confident enough to have an interview with an anonymous former government official. Because this individual felt uneasy with giving open interviews, we decided to make it a phone interview, just so this individual wouldn't have to leave the place of residence. I'm here today with my colleague Monica Lewinsky-Jones. How are you, 'Monk'?

'MONK': I'm good, Ms. Clinton.

LEWINSKY-JONES: All right, so can you tell us about why you decided to approach us for an interview when your life could end at any given moment?

'MONK': I had to do this because I am seriously close to dying. Recently, there was an assassination attempt on my life, and I was sprayed with some kind of poison. The hospital that I was admitted at managed to save my life, but I was told that I only had a few weeks left. That being said, I could not keep quiet any longer.

CLINTON: All right. What was something that you had to speak out that you could not stay quiet for so long?

'MONK': I confess that I had a role to play in how the neoconservatives became dominant in the 1990s and the 2000s, when I first worked for former Presidents Jackson and Kemp. We knew that liberal democracy emerged dominant after the end of the Cold War, but never in my dreams did I learn that the neoconservative agenda that we crafted would be hijacked by the most unlikely player we ever thought of.

CLINTON: And who would that be?

'MONK': The Vatican, or rather, the extreme reactionary elements of the Vatican. I am talking about the likes of Opus Dei, which had conspired with some of the very same neocons to influence certain political positions that the US government had made in the last decade. However, not only did America's foreign policies were becoming corrupted, but it started to look more like a blueprint for a totalitarian regime that would engulf much of the political west. Opus Dei had also recruited operatives within the US government, as well as bringing in various political, diplomatic, and military figures from all over the Western nations.

LEWINSKY-JONES: Hang on, wasn't the neoconservative faction consisting of American Jews that are influential?

'MONK': Yes, and here is where it gets really tricky. The neoconservative movement had in effect, been split along the sub-political factions. You had the alliance of Evangelical Christians and Jews on one side, and certain radical Christians that were prone to anti-Semitism that allied itself with Opus Dei. These sub-factions actually clashed with each other, and President Kemp belonged to the Jewish-Evangelical faction, while the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Zbigniew Brzezinski had belonged to the Opus Dei faction. Then there were the independent neocons like myself who were basically fence sitters.

CLINTON: If you were a neocon, then what led you to actually defect to India of all places? Why did you betray your country?

'MONK': It wasn't that much of a betrayal, but rather the change in tone that was being made when the power struggles were becoming more dangerous. Here's the thing though: the Jewish-Evangelical faction had advocated for the use of color revolutions as a means of enacting regime changes in countries that we targeted, but the Opus Dei-backed radical Christian faction favored a combination of military coups and covert assassinations. I was initially close to both Brzezinski and George Soros as well, but once Brzezinski's Opus Dei links was exposed to the world, it was only a matter of time before we had to destroy his political career. Unfortunately, the KGB had gotten to Brzezinski in the worst possible way.

LEWINSKY-JONES: You are of course, talking about the infamous 2010 Rivne Plane Crash.

'MONK': It wasn't just a plane crash. The KGB rigged a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft with explosives that killed not only Brzezinski, but Robert Kagan, Paul Wolfowitz, and Alexander Soros. It wasn't connected to the power struggles within the American neoconservative movement, but rather as revenge for their roles in the Second Russian Civil War.

CLINTON: I am not surprised if that was true. You still haven't fully answered our question.

'MONK': I am also getting to that part as well. Before Brzezinski's death, he had confessed to an Opus Dei operative about his collaboration with the infamous David Duke, who played a role in bringing Klansmen and neo-Nazis to fight the Soviet government during the Second Russian Civil War. However, those same fascist veterans would later play a role in the mass murder of the Coloureds in South Africa, essentially helping the neo-Nazi Afrikaner ultranationalists secure their Volkstaat. When I criticized the role that those fiends had played, Brzezinski flatly told me that I should know my place and that I should count myself lucky that the whites didn't kill my family in the internment camps. That was when I realized that I could no longer stand with the neocons. Of course, the Jewish-Evangelical camp weren't so welcoming to me as well.

LEWINSKY-JONES: If that was the case, then why did you abandon America in her hour of need?

'MONK': Because the America that I grew up in had essentially died the moment that Jack Kemp's presidency had ended. Carol Moseley-Braun's assassination at the hands of the diehard radicals who wanted to clean up the CIA by getting rid of both the Cowboys and Corsairs had also alerted me to something even more terrifying. There are now more CIA operatives and US military officials that are embedded in every level of the US government, as well as FBI and NSA officials as well. I thought that the presence of those guys would not have happened, and that this is basically a sort of American Siloviki that has established itself. What ultimately sealed my fate however, was the secret plans that the neoconservatives that had been backed by Opus Dei had formed, though the Jewish-Evangelical sub-faction also contributed to it as well.

CLINTON: And that would be?

'MONK': It was what they called the Agenda for a New Global Hegemony. It was a long term security project that was planned by the neocons of both sub-factions, in collaboration with Israel, the Vatican, and the infamous pan-European far-right group, the Euro-Atlantic Imperium. There were several phases that were clearly outlined.

LEWINSKY-JONES: What were those phases?

'MONK': The first phase was to secure Latin America. To the guys who staffed the Agenda for a New Global Hegemony, Latin America had to be secured, because the Monroe Doctrine was seen as outdated in the age of increased global instability. The invasions of Cuba and Nicaragua were seen as preludes to the first phase, but the real target was Venezuela. The US military and the CIA had been heavily involved in the Venezuelan Civil War that saw Ramon Rodriguez Chacin rise to power and had led the country until his assassination in 2017 at the hands of anti-Chacin collaborators working for the CIA. The election of a left-wing government after the fall of the Chaparro junta had frightened the Edwards administration to the point where they engineered a counter-revolution to depose the Mexican National Syndicalists, until that counter-revolution ended in failure. However, the government of Mexico failed to suppress the anti-syndicalist revolt, leading to a short civil war that ultimately led to the collapse of the national syndicalists and the imposition of a Mexican puppet government that only served American corporate interests. Of course, the border between the US and Mexico by the end of the Third Mexican Civil War had become one of the most militarized frontiers in the Western Hemisphere, and it was becoming harder for illegal immigrants to enter the US from Mexico. Keep in mind that both American and Canadian immigration officials had also made it tougher for illegal immigrants to enter the country as well. Additionally, given that the US is still occupying Cuba and Nicaragua, it was only a matter of time before the rest of Central and South America were forced to fall in line.

LEWINSKY-JONES: Would that consist of forcing the Central American nations to kowtow to the US government?

'MONK': Yes, and Colombia would also follow suit, as the US military, along with the Canadian and Chilean militaries, have deployed their forces to combat the leftist FARC. The Dirty War in Colombia was so nasty that ordinary Colombians had called for Chacin to liberate them from the American military occupation. That was the reason why Chacin was murdered. Torres took over, and the Venezuelans had deployed their military to help FARC resist the Americans, Chileans, and Canadians.

CLINTON: As of right now, the war against FARC is still ongoing, right?

'MONK': Yes. And now, we get to Phase Two of the Agenda for a New Global Hegemony. The second phase called for destabilizing North Africa, but the Middle East was going to be Phase Three. Why North Africa? Because they needed a beachhead in which they would completely secure the Mediterranean Sea. We also have to take into consideration that the Second Korean War had spooked Gaddafi enough to not give up the country's nuclear arsenal, so a planned intervention was going to be tough. Still, by securing North Africa as well, they would also be in a position to exert influence on the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, though the last time we heard from them, they violently overthrew their pro-Western rulers and replaced them with military officers who were directly inspired by the late Artemio Tadiar. The West has referred to the coups in Africa as the Tadiar Syndrome. It didn't help that Japan's intelligence agents were also covertly fighting an intelligence war against the West as well, by providing training to rebels fighting their pro-Western rulers.

LEWINSKY-JONES: I take it that's where the infamous Akatsuki International Resource Group is doing the bulk of their work.

'MONK': Yes, and I can understand why some of those mercenaries were motivated to fight for them. Approximately 66% of the AIRG mercenaries consist of deadbeat fathers who abandoned their wives and children, as well as divorced ex-husbands who could not afford to pay alimony and child support in Japan. The AIRG would pay an advanced lump sum to the ex-wives in exchange for agreeing to not pursue claims of alimony and child support because the ex-husbands and deadbeat fathers could easily be killed in the line of combat. The AIRG also had to talk to civilian lawyers representing the injured party, which in this case, is usually the wife.

CLINTON: And now those same AIRG mercenaries are in the Philippines, helping the fighting Filipinos defend their country against the likes of Russia and China, plus the Korean Federal Republic and the Central Asian states.

'MONK': Yes. Now we get to the extremely dangerous part, which would be discussing what Phase Three is. Phase Three is to trigger a wider war in the Middle East. The Russians, Chinese, and Iranians are keeping a tight lid on the wider attempt at preventing revolts within Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Kurdistan. This is where Israel becomes a major factor.

LEWINSKY-JONES: What kind of factor exactly?

'MONK': Given that Israel had already annexed all of the West Bank after it won over the PLO and expelled all the Arabs from Palestine, it also annexed all of Gaza and expelled the Arabs there too. I wouldn't be surprised if Israel would turn towards Lebanon and attempt to attack them on the premise of fighting and defeating Hezbollah. However, the Lebanese government at this point had solidly become more anti-Israeli to the point where even the Christians there are starting to accept those anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Yet, the conflict between the Maronites and Orthodox Christians had been to Israel's benefit, as they could use the sectarian conflict in Lebanon to ease up the pressure on the northern border, though when Israel was too busy with the West Bank and Gaza, the Syrian Army had launched its counteroffensive operation against them with Iranian backing. They managed to take the Golan Heights and even pushed the IDF beyond the Golan Heights. Now, with Phase Three of the Agenda for a New Global Hegemony, they're banking on making Israel the only regional power in the Middle East, with most or all surrounding Arab states fractured beyong repair.

LEWINSKY-JONES: That's frightening. I'm guessing there's also a phase four and five.

CLINTON: Plus isn't Lebanon on the verge of joining the ESTO?

'MONK': Yes, and I wouldn't be surprised if ESTO has accepted Lebanon already by next year. Phase Four was going to shift to Europe, where they would trigger a wider war on two fronts: the Balkans and Russia. Phase Four is Fehlinger's brainchild, since he was an open advocate for a Greater Albanian state and a Greater Croatian state, plus he wanted to destroy Yugoslavia and the Serbs as well, seeing them as the culprits that helped destroy his beloved Austro-Hungarian Empire. Not only that, he also supported the Polish backed Intermarium project and the Prometheist ideology which called for Russia's physical destruction and balkanization.

LEWINSKY-JONES: Isn't that already playing into the hands of the Russian hardliners?

'MONK': It is, and that is also why the Russians are rotating their battle hardened troops from the Philippine warzones to help train their fellow troops for a wider war with the Intermarium Alliance. Of course, Phase Five would be a war against China, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was going to be a nuclear war at this point. Phase Six on the other hand, would be a mop up operation, as the great barriers to Western global hegemony would have been destroyed by this point. The West would impose a condition on the Third World that is so harsh that they would naturally reject it, which would then give them an excuse to carry out the Funston Option, or a kind of cleansing. This is no doubt a mass genocide on a global scale, and they intend to target the likes of Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, for a nuclear revenge.

CLINTON: (gasps) This is.....I don't have much words for it. It's not like I could even phantom picturing it in my mind.

'MONK': I secretly made a copy of this plan and smuggled it when I defected to India. The Indian government and Indian intelligence has protected me so far, but there's so much that they could do before I would be killed. Even if I were to die, I can die with a clear conscience.

***

NOVEMBER 22, 2020 SPECIAL BROADCAST

LEWINSKY-JONES: We have some breaking news. It appears that the unnamed defector whom we called 'Monk' was assassinated while he was about to exit from Serikbolsyn Abdildin International Airport in Astana, Kazakhstan. The assassin was clearly masked up, but it appeared that 'Monk' was choked before being subjected to stabbings.

CLINTON: That bad?

LEWINSKY-JONES: Yes. The perpetrator has even said, and I quote, 'The Free World does not tolerate traitors and rebels who dared to defy them. Tell your maker that your executioner sends his regards. And the executioner should simply be referred to by his callsign.....Marduk'.