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Phase 15: The Wakanda affair
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Part 1
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The Wakanda War, or the first Unification War as it became known later, was the first critical challenge SWORD and SHIELD faced shortly after Disclosure. Reasonable fears that alien infiltrators could have compromised members of Wakanda's Tribal Council and their military brought SWORD fully on board. They allowed the organization to take a point in dealing with this unexpected threat.
Thanks to a warning issued by Prince T'Challa, who managed to escape the coup that saw his father, the previous King T'Chaka, and his mother murdered, world governments and militaries had precious time to react before Wakanda strike teams, assassins, and even air strikes went after critical infrastructure under development, laboratories and research centers across the world.
History of the Unification Wars, by New Cambridge University; Quality Digital Books for Windows store
Initially, Prince T'Challa's warning was met with understandable disbelief. However, militaries worldwide were already at a high state of readiness and alert due to the aftershocks of Disclosure and the threat of imminent alien incursions. Proof that Prince T'Challa's claims weren't entirely a hoax in the form of the Royal Talon Fighter he and his sister, Princess Shuri, used to escape the coup soon reached high-ranked military leaders across Europe and the US.
The first confirmation that the Prince was telling the truth came in the early morning hours when news of air strikes across targets in Southern Spain and Italy spread like wildfire throughout Europe.
The First Unification War had begun.
From Disclosure to the Stars: Modern Earth History, Jose Espinoza, Amazon Books
"Fellow citizens of Wakanda, I speak to you today, bringing grave news. King T'Chaka and the Golden Tribe betrayed us all! Last night, the King and the leader of the Mining Tribe met in secret, discussing how to best sell our precious vibranium and technology to the colonizers that even now ravage the rest of Africa!"
from an address given to my Border Tribe Leader M'Kathu the morning after a military coup removed the Wakanda Royal Family and the Gold Tribe from power
NATO goes to full war footing! Flights across Europe and the Continental United States just got ordered to land at the closest available airport, no matter if it's military or civilian!
CNN
Explosions shook the University of Palermo, focusing on its research buildings. We are receiving more reports of explosions near Villaprilo, at the construction site of Sicily's first fusion reactor. This is happening after NATO just went on war footing half an hour ago, and all European governments issued orders for air traffic over Europe to seek emergency landings. Is there an alien invasion underway?!
Euronews
Explosions are reported at the University of Malaga, coinciding with a still unconfirmed attack on one of Spain's fusion reactors currently under construction…
BBC News
"As you can see, Tel Aviv is dark, ready to face an air attack. We can barely see the engines of fighters moving high above us…."
Odd cracking sounds interrupt the journalist, followed by explosions. The camera pans to the right, showing an insect-shaped silver craft that materializes over the city and opens fire.
Missiles and streams of tracers rose to meet them from Israel's air defense network. For a moment, the silver machines ignored the threat until tracers linked with one, shaking it, followed by missiles that struck its back. Something broke and sent the silver vessel spinning out of control to crash into a residential building. The other one accelerated and tried to run, chased by missiles and streams of tracer fire. More and more defensive emplacements lit up. The camera caught how rounds bounced off it as it flew at an angle from the news crew.
More missiles converged on the insectoid vessel, some coming from above, caught on camera as little more than a blur before impact. A missile struck it from above, pushing its already perilously low flight even lower. It clipped a building and shook, tearing its roof to pieces in a shower of brick and roof tiles before losing control and slamming into a nearby office building.
Live footage of the Wakanda Raid on Tel Aviv, caught on camera by a CNN
"Charlie, what do you have for us?"
"We're here outside Edwards Air Force base, observing protesters demanding more news about aliens and alien abductions. For the past ten minutes, we could hear alarms sounding across the base, and it has been launching planes practically non-stop since then!"
CBS
"The Emergency Broadcast System just came online! It is simple and to the point for those who missed the message. Citizens are required to remain home and bunker down for the time being. Disruptions in regular communications and power supply are to be expected. More information will follow when available. We still don't know if Earth is under alien attack or if we somehow stumbled into World War Three!"
CNN
"Breaking news! We just received a brief statement from NATO officials that we are not currently under alien invasion. However, a previously hidden advanced Earth state has begun a systematic campaign to cripple the ongoing technological advancements worldwide. NATO's statement confirms air raids across Italy and Spain targeting universities, fusion reactor construction sites, and industrial centers producing advanced technologies… What is this? This makes no sense! Aliens I can buy, but this?!"
Euronews
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SWORD HQ
New York
"Demonstrated enemy capabilities point at a possible collaboration with aliens. The timing is suspect as well. Alien infiltration of the people who executed the coup, or at least their leadership, is something to consider. I put it as a high possibility. If the ongoing attacks are successful enough, that will push back our uplift efforts by years. The loss of highly skilled and able scientists would hurt even worse," Danvers explained SWORD's stance. "We have to treat this as, at best, a subversion attempt aimed to cripple our ability to protect Earth against alien threats. We might be looking at a deniable alien operation executed by the same people who attempted infiltration in the mid-nineties," Carol concluded. "Worst-case scenario, this is a crippling strike to soften us for a general invasion. The enemy already has a secure landing zone in Wakanda."
"Recommendations?" Pierce asked from the back of a car racing toward the nearest bunker.
"We weather the storm, gather intelligence and retaliate."
"General, you need to see this!" A specialist interrupted the conversation.
Danvers looked at a nearby screen showing live news from Israel. It was over fast and was a good news.
"Now, we know we can kill them once they de-cloak to attack. I recommend focusing our air force above likely targets and reinforcing those facilities with ground-based AA and Javelins. Keep in contact with our NATO allies, so we know what might work and what doesn't by the time they hit us."
"Time?" Pierce asked someone else.
"Our best estimate based on distance from Wakanda and the first confirmed attacks in Europe is… forty minutes to an hour before the enemy is within a strike range of the Eastern Seaboard."
"At any rate, barring a nuclear strike, we won't be hitting Wakanda back immediately, and fortunately, we aren't there yet," Pierce's face became a granite mask. "Nicholas, the status of Wakanda's diplomats and possible agents?"
"We are moving to apprehend them. I still don't have authorization to go after embassies."
"Use their Prince. Have him make a public proclamation about the coup and demand that all embassies, consulates, and such cooperate. Then we declare any that doesn't allow your agents in as potentially subverted by alien interests and act accordingly," Stark suggested.
"Aren't you going to ground?"
"I can't risk being caught in the open by air strikes. I'm bunkering down at the research center and will rely on my security detail to do their jobs. National Guard units should be racing this way and air cover, too."
Carol recalled he was at a laboratory near New York where he made Mjolnir available to study. So far, that wasn't going great.
"We have ongoing engagements in central Italy and around Madrid. The Spanish report they managed to shoot down one hostile alien aircraft, yet at least three more successfully entered stealth mode and disengaged."
"Confirmed hostile contact over France and Austria."
"Update from the Wakandian Royalty. He claims he knows of little over a hundred aircraft. I say again; we have at least a hundred-plus intruders in play!"
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Tangier
Morocco
It was early in the morning in Tangier, and the city was subdued. Military and police were out in strength, while most citizens stayed home.
Others preferred to watch the world change, or perhaps even burn, from inside an air-conditioned bar, drinking away their worries. Here and there, you could find an enthusiast happy that parts of Europe burned. Most reasonable men had other ideas. If what they saw on TV could happen in Europe, then it could happen to them more easily.
Besides, the old men and women who remembered the bad old colonial days were among those most disturbed. They were alive in a different world, then saw it change around them. From where they sat, quietly sipping strong coffee or stronger beverages if their religion and the place allowed it, these days, Europe was much better than it was decades ago. It was fat and content. They didn't want to see the page of history turn back, and Europe was very interested in their affairs. Better leave sleeping dogs lie and allow them to continue mellowing out.
Carlo Santiago found that sentiment was a bit amusing. From where he sat, Europe was a very different beast from what it was decades ago, and Spain was no different. For people to even think of returning to the bad old days, it would take something drastic and unlikely. Well, that was the agent's thought before everyone learned that aliens were real. Some crazies, straight out of a legend or a movie, were busy attacking Europe. The unthinkable was happening, and Carlo didn't like where things might head to. There were always right-wing bastards peddling their poison as if they learned nothing from the likes of Franko, the Italian fascists, or the fucking Nazis.
Sadly, now there might actually be a reason for people to listen to the bastards, the agent thought morosely and drank from his fantastic juice. This was a dry establishment, known for being so, thus faced less scrutiny by security forces. Those tended to crack down occasionally on the places selling alcohol. While it wasn't strictly forbidden, drinking was frowned upon, especially if you weren't a foreigner partaking in a licensed establishment.
Morocco's been strange on that front ever since it gained independence.
As an agent, a dry bar was an excellent place to meet contacts. The lower profile you could keep, the better, so it was best to avoid areas where local security forces frequented to look for troublemakers.
One of Carl's favorite contacts was Elaid. The young man could have been more helpful. However, he was smart, and all he wanted was to get his family out of the country and into Europe as legal citizens. That made him more reliable and trustworthy than other customers Carlo had. Yet, it also meant it was doubtful his buddy would ever bring him enough information to warrant such a hefty reward.
This morning, Elaid was about to prove him wrong, and that was more than all right in Santos' mind.
"Hey there, buddy!" Carlo waved at Elaid when he saw him stumble into the bar. The youngster paused and just enjoyed the cool air. Outside, it was early summer, and it was already scorching hot.
"Hey there!" Elaid waved at the owner and nodded at a fridge with all kinds of cold drinks. "This is better," He sighed in pleasure after downing some cold juice. "My brother was in a meeting last night, and his guys got to meet some crazy character," Elaid finished his juice and sighed in relief. "That one was crazy-crazy, if you know what I mean? My brother isn't the brightest fellow around, and he isn't one to make stories, you know?"
"I know, buddy, I feel you," Carlo nodded, doing his best to radiate commiseration. This might be useful information; who knew?!
"So that big black dude stands in front of the guys and starts preaching to them about fighting colonial oppression and other such shit," Elaid waved his hands to help empathize with how crazy it all sounded.
Carlo had to agree, yet with the whole world going insane over the past few days, who was he to judge? It might be some poor fuck who stayed too long under the sun. These things tended to happen.
"Then that dude brings out crates upon crates with weapons!" Elaid leaned so they wouldn't be easily overheard; I thought that was a moot point. The few other people in the place were too engrossed in watching TV to pay attention. "Those were some weird-looking guns, I tell you! Bro brought a crate of them; that man was giving them like they were ancient AKs!"
Now that got Carlo very interested.
"I've got one in the trunk outside to show you, and we can give you the rest of the crate. You know what I want, and bro's ready to get legit. He doesn't want to get involved with this shit; even he's too smart for that!" Elaid nodded at the TV.
Yes, if this weren't the prelude for an alien invasion, there would be hell to pay, that much the agent was sure of. He paid the proprietor and followed Elaid outside to his car. Sure enough, some very awkward thing in the trunk looked more like a prop for a sci-fi movie than the real thing.
"I tell you what, we get this to the embassy, and if it's the real thing, you go get your people; we've got a deal."