Illusions of Victory(Dangerous Games 5)

[cbraund]

The Dangerous Games Pentology

Dangerous Games

To Die For (Dangerous Games II)

Patriots and Tyrants (Dangerous Games III)

Organised Chaos (Dangerous Games IV)

Illusions of Victory (Dangerous Games V)

Hope you enjoy(ed) reading these stories!

Chris AKA Nemesis

***************************************

I want to take a longer amount of time with this one, to give the Dangerous Games pentology the send off it deserves. So this will hopefully be finished in time for the next round's noms and prelims, so that it is still fresh in people's minds.

Just a teaser...

*******************************************

Nicholas stared into space as the limo drove him home from Martin's funeral.

The helicopter crash had been no accident, he knew now. Josh had basically accused him of using his links within the Hoplites to get them to pull this stunt, where the pilots had jumped from the chopper as it hit the ground.

This much was known now, as the ejection seats were missing, and the seatbelt on the Black Hawk had been tampered with.

It had been a murder. And it had taken many many pleas to get Josh to listen to reason, that Nicholas hadn't ordered it.

Then the bodies of the two Hoplites that were supposed to fly Martin home were found buried in a grave near his mother's. That confirmed it, outsiders had committed this assassination.

I will have revenge, Nicholas told himself grimly. Martin had been an innocent kid, too young to be suspicious of the world like every other ruler. And he had paid the price for it, obviously accepting these new pilot's word on the switchover rather than demanding to see their Hoplite passes.

Unless he had...

Nicholas shook the thought away as it threatened to terrify him. Josh would never do such a thing, would he?

Josh looked over at Nicholas, the same question in his mind.

For in this world of illusions, everyone was a suspect.

*****************************************

More to come later!

Comments appreciated!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[cbraund]

The First Prince smiled as the man entered the room.

He was known only as 007, his chosen codename in the Hoplites, and he was the First Prince's link in that organisation.

"It was hard to cover up most of the evidence, but it is done. Josh will never be able to prove that you ordered the assassination."

"Good. Now run along, I have a coronation to go to."

The Prince rose from his chair with a smile on his face.

Today was going to be a very good day.

*****************************************

The crown was placed on Nicholas's head, and he rose, no longer First Prince.

He was now the King of Greece.

He stood, only to see Josh receiving a note.

His eyes enquired what it was, but all he saw was a look of hatred.

*****************************************

"What the hell was that all about?!" Nicholas demanded as soon as they were in the limo, driving back to the Palace from Acropolis, the place where all Greek Kings since Phillip were crowned.

"What about?" Josh snapped.

"The nasty looks, and accusing stares!" Nicholas growled.

"I just don't like seeing a murderer crowned King, that's all!" Josh answered coldly, staring icily at Nicholas.

"What the hell are you on about?!"

"Listen to this." Josh turned on the tape player built into the centre of the back seat, and voices filled the car.

"It is done, my First Prince," the first voice spoke.

"Very good," said a relieved voice. "The King is dead, long live the King!"

Nicholas stared in shock at the tape.

"That's not me!" He gasped.

"Then who the hell is it?! Let's see, who can we blame this one on? Your mother? No, she's dead! Your father, no he's dead! Your cousin, no he's dead!" Josh shouted.

"It's not me!" Nicholas roared in reply.

"No one else had a motive to kill Martin, and this tape is evidence! The person on the tape sounds exactly like you, so either he's a damn good impersonator, or it's you!"

"Maybe it's someone who's supposed to be dead. Remember my father's return." Nicholas said thoughtfully.

"Great, he can't blame anyone in Greece, so he blames the dead." Josh said sarcastically.

"Wait, run that tape through the Hoplite data files. See if you can get a voice match." Nicholas ordered.

"We did, you were the first candidate."

"Did you continue through the voice patterns after that, or decide you had your suspect?" Nicholas demanded.

Josh looked sheepish, and pressed the button to voice match.

The limo's computer, linked to the Hoplite network, began scanning.

It came up with the first match: NICHOLAS REX.

"Continue." Nicholas ordered. Josh pressed the button again.

The computer continued scanning, and after three minutes it was nearing the end of the database, back to when the Hoplites were first formed under Phillip's guidance.

It was nearing Phillip's reign, just coming towards the beginning of Spartacus's.

"Any longer and the people on there will be dead ones." Josh frowned, realising a match was unlikely, and whatever he wanted to believe, Nicholas was likely to be the murderer.

Then the computer beeped.

Both of them froze as they read the name.

Alexander Rex.

******************************************

To be continued, hopefully tomorrow(sorry, not got much time at the moment!).

Comments appreciated!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[TheGuitarist]

This is excellent! Keep it coming

[cbraund]

"We must get you to safety. He has insiders in the Hoplites!" Josh had a haunted look in his eyes. Not only had he accused Nicholas, he had been in control of the organisation that committed the murder, and hadn't known.

Just how many of the Hoplites were under Alexander's control? How could Alexander still be alive?! So many questions, too few answers, he thought unhappily.

Nicholas was thinking the same things, but also about how he would not abandon his people - he would fight Alexander with everything he had.

"It won't work." Josh said, reading his mind.

"But..."

"No. We are getting you to safety on Crete. That's where the Black Aces and two Royal Guard regiments are, and they are completely loyal to you, along with the Spartacus and a few other ships, not to mention an air squadron."

Since the abdication, and his return, Nicholas had reformed the military, renaming many units to wipe their slate clean of shame, and merging others that were too weak alone.

But that meant that the Greek army numbered only 30 regular regiments, plus 2 Hoplite regiments that could fight when needed(and were deadly at it) but usually served as bodyguards. 10 of those regiments were named ones, which meant they were elite and therefore could have individual names, such as the Black Aces, or a royal regiment such as the Royal Guard regiments.

The other 20 were Greek Guard regiments, denoted only by a number. Those were the regular regiments, the backbone of the Greek Army.

Nicholas thought about the set up. Which regiments would be loyal to him? He guessed that the three on Crete would definitely be, and their families were on the island too so they couldn't be blackmailed.

But the other three Royal Guard regiments had sided against him during the abdication. He suspected they would turn against him, as would the Greek Guard regiments who had not responded well to his "you must be elite to be individually named" technique. It was supposed to encourage them to perform at their best to gain themselves a name, but they had been angry for losing their individual names for the region they came from, such as Sparta, which had been rebuilt.

The militia, which numbered 25 regiments would probably remain neutral he decided. They were a fickle bunch, always siding with whoever was in power, or their local lords. So that left just 4 more regiments, the Greek Dragoons, the Tirana Tigers, the Spartan Guard and the Athenian Avengers.

He guessed that they would support him, but remain neutral if someone threatened to hurt their family, as Alexander probably would with however much of the Hoplites supported him.

The Hoplites. How many of them supported him? Did the two combat regiments support him?

"Change heading to Crete." Josh's order to the driver woke Nicholas from his deep thought.

"I am afraid that is not possible." Jonathan Brown, the Hoplite driver and second only to Josh, replied.

"What?" Josh looked confused.

"It seems you have discovered my little surprise, just as I planned you would." Alexander's voice came through the radio into the rear of the car.

"What, is he on the phone to us or something?!" Josh demanded.

"I am afraid not." Jonathan smiled as he removed the wig and mask, turning to look at his passengers.

Nicholas's mouth hung open as he looked at the man he had only seen in history documentaries.

First Prince Alexander.

******************************************

Josh grabbed the door handle, to find it locked.

"Where are you taking us?" Nicholas demanded.

"To the Palace. You see, I have spent many years since your father removed me from power building up my contacts once more. The Hoplites remained loyal to me always, if it hadn't been for your father's meddling, even the leaders would have been loyal to me."

"So I'm the only loyal one..." Josh looked stricken, realising he had never been fully in control of the monster that was the Hoplites.

"Yes, you and that father of yours. He had been loyal to Spartacus too. They didn't know I was alive, but good God did both of your fathers cause me hassle trying to regain my throne! Especially Spartacus, he just refused to die!" Alexander grinned at their discomfort. He was 50 now, but as athletic and youthful as ever due to his strict Hoplite training and exercise regime.

"So how... How did you survive the duel with my father?" Nicholas asked, struggling to remember what he knew about the Civil War.

"I knew I was going to lose the battle, and I knew due to his training your father would head straight for my headquarters to try and kill me. So I placed a double there, and hid myself in the ranks of the Hoplites."

"What makes you think all the army loyal to me won't rise up against you taking power from me?"

"Your death will stop there being anyone else to take the throne from me. And all of the Greek Guard regiments will support me, all of the Hoplites, and the militia and other elite regiments will remain neutral simply due to my Hoplites threatening their families. The only ones who may rebel are those on Crete, and a nuclear weapon will soon destroy all of them.

"And now, it is time to die." Alexander smiled as they pulled up alongside the Palace.

For there waited both Hoplite regiments, armed and ready to serve.

Nicholas looked in horror at the sight, while Josh felt angry and disgusted at the betrayal.

*******************************************

More to come tomorrow I hope!

Comments appreciated!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[Kramerman]

very good, very-well written.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Brilliant!!cant wait for next installment.

[civman2000]

[cbraund]

Alexander opened the door for them, the victory glowing on his face.

"After you, Highness," he mocked Nicholas.

"The people will never support you!" Nicholas snapped.

"They will. You've been a terrible ruler, your father nearly destroyed Greece in the German war, and all they remember about me are good things, except for the fact that I supposedly murdered my father. Well, give them an excuse like the video was made up to give Spartacus an excuse to rebel, and in their desperation for a good ruler, the Greek people will support me." Alexander smiled as the truth hit Nicholas hard.

"So why did you kill Martin? And if it was your Hoplites that attacked Sofia Castle, why?" Josh was trying to piece together how he had been fooled.

"So many questions young one. Martin was a threat simply because he was popular. With him gone, and Martin's murder pinned on Nicholas, I can easily resume control of the nation. As for the Sofia thing, well, it will be used as yet more evidence how bloodthirsty Nicholas is.

"Oh yes, I have been planning this for many many years." Alexander grinned.

Nicholas and Josh were led away to cells in the Palace, charged with treason and murder.

******************************************

"Will they rebel?" Nicholas asked Josh. Alexander had thrown them in the same cell, to make them easier to guard, and to waste less "valuable space".

"Not if we can't get word to them." Josh said grimly. "And even if they do, your supporters are on Crete, which is uninhabited by all but your supporters and their families. Alexander won't think twice before pressing the button to destroy them."

******************************************

The Black Hawk landed silently, its new stealth capabilities given by excellent funding proving their worth. Two stealth Comanches, bought from America, hovered above, standing guard against air or land threats.

The Hoplites disembarked, and scrambled for the rooftop entrances. The men who guarded those had been killed by snipers while the helicopters had still been a long way away.

The Hoplites continued to the next floor, silently taking out guards, and continuing right down to the basement. There were a lot more guards there, so each Hoplite chose a target, and fired with silent precision.

Finally they moved forward, disabling security systems with ease, as they had been doing for the entire mission.

Then they reached the cell.

******************************************

"I knew some were still loyal!" Josh whispered happily as he saw the Hoplite guards die, and these new intruders opening the cell doors.

The leader of the Hoplite force motioned to Nicholas and Josh to follow him.

For they were going to Crete.

******************************************

"Now we must return to our posts, before Alexander discovers us gone," the Hoplite leader waved as he climbed back into the Black Hawk.

Nicholas smiled as he met his Colonels. He may be outnumbered more than five to one, but at least now he had a chance, and could go down fighting.

******************************************

Just another bit lol, I'm trying to continue this one. More to come later I hope.

Comments appreciated!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[civman2000]

Thanks for continuing this! I look forward to more!

[cbraund]

"What?!" Alexander raged. "How the hell can they be gone?! Have the commander of the guard shot!"

"I'm afraid he already has been Highness, and not by us..."

"Who did this? They can't have escaped alone!" The First Prince demanded.

"It looks like a job by special forces, but all of the Hoplites are accounted for, unless a whole unit is disloyal, which is highly unlikely." The Minister of Defence was now shaking slightly, terrified by the tyrant he had helped restore to the throne.

"Another country?" Alexander asked more calmly. A war on another nation was an exciting prospect after so long in the shadows.

"Not likely, my Prince, the Germans bear a grudge, but have no forces capable of doing this, and no other nation had units close enough. I suspect rebels."

"Crete. Don't tell me, Nicholas has gone there?"

"Yes sir, we have evidence that points to someone arriving in Crete last night, but the worrying thing is that we have nothing for anyone leaving before then, just this one drop off. So Nicholas is likely to be there, but he was taken there by forces on the Greek mainland."

"Why does this worry you? A few rebels are easily dealt with!"

"Sir, remember twenty years ago, you said the same thing."

"You insolent dog..." Alexander slowly growled. His temper hadn't been calmed by his years of waiting.

The Defence Minister never saw the Prince's foot kick him in the groin, and he sank slowly to the floor in agony. Then Alexander stamped once on the man's head, then finally kicked him in the stomach before motioning to the Hoplites by the door.

"Have fun." Alexander smiled, which was the codephrase meaning "torture him".

The Defence Minister was dragged off to a slow and painful death.

The Deputy Minister of Defence entered two minutes later, looking pale.

"You are my new Minister of Defence." Alexander smiled warmly.

"Sir, I have reports of a tactical nuclear weapon going missing. The Hoplites suspect supporters of Nicholas are behind it." The new minister blurted out, desperate to get it out of the way.

"And what are you planning to do about it?"

"Well since we can no longer nuke Crete, which is why I suspect they would take this weapon, to nuke Athens if we nuked Crete, we will have to destroy Nicholas by conventional arms, as his code of honour will stop him killing innocent civilians with such a weapon if we fought him honourably."

Alexander nodded his approval for the plan.

"Or we could make peace with them," the Minister suggested.

"Have fun with him." Alexander sighed as he spoke to the Hoplites by the door.

"And bring in the Assistant Deputy Minister of Defence." He walked back around his desk and sat down heavily.

"They're dropping like flies," he groaned.

*******************************************

More to come tomorrow!

Chris

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Thanks for continuing this story, just off now to check your other one.

[cbraund]

The first battle of yet another Greek civil war was fought at sea, and in the air above it, predictably, as Alexander's fleet tried to break through the supporters of Nicholas to invade Crete.

Captain Alexander Smith was the godfather of First Prince Alexander, and his namesake, due to his loyalty to King Phillip.

He had grown up alongside the King, had invaded Greece alongside him, and been almost a brother to him. He had known Prince Alexander's faults, and had been one of the ones that Phillip had hoped would help advise the Prince after Phillip's death, should the King die before his friend.

But the new "First Prince" had ignored his advice, sidelined him by putting him in charge of the navy, which during an invasion of Russia was a useless position. Then had come the video which had started the revolution. From then on, the Captain had people call him Alex rather than Alexander to distance himself from the manical ruler.

Ever since knowing that First Prince Alexander had killed Phillip, Captain Alexander had been devoutly loyal to Spartacus, recognising him as Phillip's true heir.

And what a likeness there was between those two, he thought sadly. Spartacus had been the great but kind general like Phillip, while Alexander, for all his military skills was a tyrant.

He had been Admiral of the Fleet under Spartacus and Nicholas, and it was he who had started a vote amongst his crew to change the name of the ship from HMS Sparta to HMS Spartacus, as a tribute to the dead King.

He had stood by Nicholas - he could see no evil inside him, just a lonely young man wanting to live up to the reputation of his father.

Spartacus was great, Alex thought, and that made him one hell of a hard act to follow, especially for a boy.

But the people of Greece, and most of the armed forces had turned out to not be so loyal after First Prince Alexander's televised speech. After the "tyrant" Nicholas, they were glad to have someone back they couldn't remember many bad things about, and the excuses he gave them were enough to silence any fears they had.

Those and his Hoplites, Alex thought bitterly.

Alex shook his head clear of thoughts. He was old now, nearly seventy, and he found his mind drifting more and more often.

But the battle was going exactly to plan. Alexander, thinking he was a great Admiral as well as General was giving the orders to the enemy fleet, and he was screwing up badly.

"Time to show him that this old dog has learnt some new tricks," Alex said to the crew on the bridge with a grin.

"It's going to be close sir. Two carrier battlegroups against our one, well, it's gonna be one helluva battle."

"I'm counting on it." Alex winked.

******************************************

The three squadrons loyal to Alexander, the 2nd, 3rd and 5th Greek Eagles had taken off from Sparta Air Base about ten minutes before, and already were over the area that the rebels had chosen to give battle.

They were quickly joined by the two squadrons(the 2nd and 3rd Greek Hawks) from HMS Athens, and HMS Greece, recently renamed to HMS King Martin to remember the boy supposedly assassinated by Nicholas.

The 1st Greek Eagles, the squadron fanatically loyal to Nicholas rose from Crete, to be supported by the 1st Greek Hawks from HMS Spartacus.

The two squadrons were amongst the best in the world, but they were outnumbered five to two. Only one air squadron, the elite 4th Greek Eagles had remained neutral, and were refusing to take orders from Alexander or Nicholas.

They clashed in the space between the two fleets, as neither had the desire to go too close to the enemy's fleet, knowing that anti-aircraft guns, while not the most accurate things around could still be deadly. AA guns were the most advanced anti-aircraft weapons in the Greek navy so far, to everyone's embarrassment. The most modern anti-aircraft ships were relics, over fifty years old.

The missiles were launched, in a deadly game of chicken, as at this range all were radar guided. But the command wings of both squadrons loyal to Nicholas had fire-and-forget missiles, bought from America and Britain, and so were quickly able to turn around and flee from the approaching missiles. The other planes all had to keep their heading until their missiles hit, or were guaranteed to hit, and then scramble away as quickly as possible.

The rebel missiles hit first, and gladly, the Harriers of the 1st Greek Hawks did a tight loop and rushed back towards the Spartacus, dodging with their VTOL engines and firing off chaff to try and confuse the missiles.

The 1st Greek Eagles did almost exactly the same, but their F15s escaping as fast as they could, and using all the counter measures they had.

Alexander's forces shrugged off the losses, which were bad, but not disastrous, and raced on, trying to guide their missiles home, confident of victory now.

But rebel F15s reached their own fleet first, and suddenly smaller missiles filled the air, taking out most of the radar-guided missiles.

Only a few F15s didn't make it, and most of those were hit, and then the Harriers raced through, half already having shaken off their tails using their excellent maneuverability, and then to have the rest of the missiles shot down by these unknown SAMs.

But no SAMs were that accurate, the squadron commander of the 2nd Greek Eagles realised.

Those were AEGIS missiles, and the Greek Eagle squadrons were racing straight into them.

Oh sh*t, was the thought that went through his mind as he shouted a warning to the entire air force.

But it was too late.

*****************************************

Captain Alex laughed as the Greek Eagles entered the range of the AEGIS systems installed on two old anti-aircraft cruisers.

When Nicholas had been banished, he had secured all the upgrades that were going to the Greek Armed Forces that he had got for them from other nations, such as the AEGIS systems, the fire and forget missiles, and some Sidewinders for his forces.

Most of the F15s that entered the range of the AEGIS cruisers were annihilated, with only a few escaping. Now the enemy was down to one and a half Harrier squadrons and the same number of F15s, the 5th Greek Eagles having been able to steer away.

Damage had been done to the rebels as well though. They had lost a half-squadron's worth of planes.

But the air battle had been won - Alexander's air force would not venture near the fleet again. Nicholas's aerial assets couldn't really leave its protection again, due to being outnumbered by so many, and no longer having a surprise, but at least the battle would now be decided by the fleets, not by the huge air power that Alexander had.

Now Captain Smith planned his strategy carefully. This battle could be a rout for his fleet.

Or his greatest ever victory.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

That guy who sailed the Titanic was called Smith wasnt he ? keep writing this is great!

[cbraund]

HMS Spartacus listed to one side, the torpedo having done a serious amount of damage.

"No more Harrier landings for us, and the battlegroup is in tatters," Alex groaned.

The AEGIS cruisers had been sunk, after a fierce battle between two destroyers, them and the five submarines that made up Alexander's submarine fleet.

Three submarines had sunk, but the remaining two had fired on Spartacus before anti-submarine warfare(ASW) helicopters took them out.

But then good news - the three submarines that supported Nicholas, led by the great submariner Captain Jones had waited for the loyalist fleet to move overhead, slowly but surely chasing the enemy, then surfacing and launching Harpoons anti-ship missiles and torpedoes.

The torpedoes had been aimed at the propellors of the King Martin, and it worked. They hit the weakest part of the carrier, stopping it in mid-ocean and causing a catastrophic gash that made the Captain give the order to abandon ship.

The Harpoons had hit the deck of the Athens, ripping most of it to shreds, and preventing all but a couple of Harriers landing on it until it was repaired, which was a few week's work. One penetrated into the engine room, causing enough damage to slow the ship to a crawl.

Then the submarines began a deadly game of cat and mouse with the loyalist destroyers, outnumbered two to one. They still managed to sink three destroyers and a frigate before finally being sunk themselves, a great victory for the rebels.

Now three destroyers, four frigates and six corvettes, plus the battered Athens faced off against the damaged Spartacus, one destroyer, three frigates and five corvettes.

The loyalist corvettes hung back to defend the Athens, while the destroyers and frigates raced ahead to try and defeat the enemy.

The battle was short and swift, the outcome decided by the weight of numbers. The Spartacus was scuttled by Smith, who stayed on board to check it worked himself.

They had fought to the death, and inflicted huge damage upon Alexander's fleet.

But they had not stopped his invasion.

******************************************

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Most excellent, keep it coming.

[cbraund]

Nicholas gasped with pain as he fell onto his side, feeling his rib probably break on the impact.

He had been sent sprawling by a tank shell hitting the rampart he was defending. The tanks were massing below, firing on the ramparts and trying to break down the entrance while covering the soliders trying to scale the walls.

The helicopters couldn't venture close enough to drop troops onto the Castle as Nicholas's HQ was known, due to the SAMs defending it, and the air forces still fought a vicious battle above, with the loyalists paying dearly for each area of sky that they forced the rebels to retreat from, but the rebels were losing planes quickly too.

Too quickly.

Nicholas went back inside, rubbing his chest, and checked out the battle map.

Not good, he decided. Soon his aerial assets would be overwhelmed, and then the loyalists could use their planes to destroy his SAMs. After that the battle was a foregone conclusion...

But there was one way out. He saw that the squadrons rising again and again to fight his planes were now based on Crete itself.

That meant he could hit them.

"Prepare the command battalion of the Black Aces. I'm going to lead them on a little expedition."

Nicholas saw that if he could gain air superiority once more, he could cluster bomb the huge ranks of tanks outside the Castle, and begin to drive them back. It would be hard, but then his Apaches could come into play too, and finally he could drive the loyalists from Crete.

And maybe from Greece itself, he realised.

If he could defeat Alexander now, it would allow neutral units to openly side with Nicholas - and perhaps win him his throne back.

It all pinned on this one mission...

*******************************************

Nicholas was using the few stealth helicopters he had to lead the infantry of the Black Aces in this daring raid.

As he had predicted, when his planes began to pull back to defensive positions during a lull in the battle, many of the loyalist fighters began to land to refuel and re-arm.

Including their prised AWACS craft. Alexander had three, Nicholas just one. But that one, along with the superior numbers that the rebels would hopefully have after this battle would guarantee victory.

One AWACS was in the air, and now had a skeleton defence.

All the others were on the ground, refueling and re-arming, even more than Nicholas had estimated.

They were right in the fact that before enough rebel planes to get past the AWACS defender were up, that most of these planes could get back in the air, but they were relying on the fact that these planes could get back into the air.

And Nicholas didn't intend for that to happen.

"Go go go!" He yelled as the Comanches began firing on the perimeter defences, and the Black Hawks began to drop their ropes.

The Black Aces swarmed down the ropes, and into the airfield. The Comanches had already aimed at both AWACS planes, and Hellfire missiles guaranteed that they wouldn't be going into the air ever again. The Aces now began to fire on the technicians and pilots swarming around the planes without mercy, and the Black Hawks began to do the same thing.

Nicholas charged towards a fighter, and blasted away at a pilot scrambling towards the plane.

When no planes began taking off vertically, as he had expected the Harriers to try and do to get away, but instead took off normally, he got suspicious.

He climbed the ladder to one F15, and looked inside. It was an old plane, from the time of his grandfather! It had been altered to fit the body shape of an F15...

That meant the mission had been compromised. That meant betrayal, the thought of which made him feel sick.

But if they had been compromised, why weren't Hoplites in the place of the techs and pilots, ready to ambush the assault? Why did these people actually seem to think that the planes they were working on were vital to the war effort, when in reality they were almost useless?

The answer filled him with dread. All this expendable equipment and all these expendable people meant they were going to be expended, since Alexander would never pass up such an opportunity to kill Nicholas.

The answer was proven true as a flight of real Harriers passed over, and began dropping cluster bombs.

Nicholas just watched, realising that with this battle lost, Crete was going to fall to Alexander.

*******************************************

Alexander nodded at his new Defence Minister, the eleventh today.

"We've found the nuke," the Minister said.

"Great. Now nuke Crete and get this over and done with, I want to make sure Nicholas is dead this time!"

"But sir, that will kill our people too!"

"You're the latest in a long line of Defence Ministers to disagree with me. Do you want to join them, or will you do as I say?" Alexander, feeling happier now as he checked his watch and about the news of the nuclear weapon, was prepared to give a bit of mercy to this young man.

"I will of course do as you say Highness."

*******************************************

More to come, probably tomorrow!

Comments appreciated!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Its good to see you back great story.

[cbraund]

The air strike had shot down Nicholas's helicopters with swift precision - not even their stealth technology could save them.

Now the bombs began to fall, and Nicholas's men were trapped.

Nicholas just stood near the plane he had discovered as a fake, dumbfounded.

His strike on the AWACS would now be a disaster, he would lose air superioty, and Crete would fall.

And with it all of his warriors, their families, freedom, his dreams - and the dreams of a free Greece. Alexander would rule once more, and this time there would be no Spartacus to oppose him - Alexander would have eliminated every major threat.

He was shoved down behind a load of crates by a Black Ace, as a bomb landed right on the false F15.

Metal clanged off of the crates, and the soldier and Nicholas peeked out as the smoke cleared.

The loyalists were now bringing in their own helicopters to finish the job, and they had seen Nicholas's distinctive gold sash, the item that marked him as commander of the Black Aces.

"These crates might halt their bullets," the soldier said hopefully.

They both glanced at the writing on the boxes.

Missiles.

"RUN!" Nicholas shouted, the madness of the moment almost making him laugh, as the crates exploded behind them.

Yeah, that really will convince your men you're insane, he chided himself. But like this mission hasn't already convinced them of that, his mind replied.

He shook his head to clear it of the crazy thoughts, and put his effort fully into sprinting. The soldier was running alongside him, since there was only one way to run - the other being blocked by yet more crates.

They reached an aerodrome as bullets slammed into the ground around them, and ducked inside. The roof had mostly been destroyed by bombs, but the corner was still covered, so they hid in that area.

"Give me the sash," the soldier ordered.

"Why? They'll kill you." Nicholas shook his head, knowing what the soldier meant, but hoping he didn't.

"Better I die than the ruler of Greece," the soldier said simply. He had already accepted the fact that he was going to die here for his country, and that he would try to keep the true King alive as long as he could - so perhaps Nicholas could escape to fight another day, one day far into the future when Alexander was least expecting it.

Nicholas nodded his head with resignation, and handed the sash over. The soldier darted away, determined to get as far away from the King as possible.

The helicopters began to track him, and bullets sprayed around him.

Nicholas, left alone for a while, caught his breath, and sank into the corner.

How do I get out of this one? Nicholas asked himself. He buried his head in his hands, resigning himself to his fate.

I'm not worthy of being King. Better I die now, and let another, worthier man remove Alexander. A man like my father.

The thoughts of his father brought back the memories of his death. Why did you have to die while I was so young, Father? Why did you have to leave me to rule, when I was so unfit for it?

Nicholas's shoulders slumped for the first time since he had become King, as he realised he wasn't worthy of the job.

******************************************

The soldier who had taken Nicholas's place, who Nicholas had never even known the name of, who later turned out to be Sam Osbourne, a young recruit who had joined just before the relocation to Crete, ran across the runway, with no real plan but to fool the loyalists.

He sprinted harder and faster as the helicopters locked on, and began firing again, having lost him after he ducked behind the trucks, most of which had since been blown up by their gunfire.

Just 21 years old, and about do die for your King. Is there a greater honour? His mind asked him as time seemed to slow to a crawl.

How about surviving to raise a family of your own, to actually have your own life? Why not surrender now, tell them where the King is, and live that life?

NO! the reply came back forcefully from his heart, or so he thought. I cannot let a tyrant rule Greece because of my fears! Nicholas is the true King, and I will not fail him!

"For the King and for Greece!" Sam shouted as he pressed himself even harder.

It was the last thing he ever said, as the bullets ripped into his back. The body armour was no match for the armour-piercing rounds used by the helicopters, and the explosives inside that let rip once they were firmly lodged in his body guaranteed he would not survive this battle.

******************************************

Nicholas watched the explosion of red blood from the young soldier's back, and saw red.

If Alexander wants a fight, he's got one! Nicholas roared in his mind. That b*stard has taken too many of my friends, too many of my family, and too many of my citizens! He will not take Greece too!

His first instinct was to run outside, find a Stinger shoulder-launched SAM and let loose on the helicopters, in a scene from a Rambo movie or something.

But doing that in real life would get you killed, and would leave Greece without a ruler.

So Nicholas finally let his mind rule over his temper, and he sneaked out the back way of the aerodrome.

There it was. The fence, and better yet, a gap in it.

He stepped out of the aerodrome, and never saw the gun pointed at his head until it was too late.

*******************************************

Nicholas glanced sideways to see who was holding the M16.

Hoplites. Alexander's Hoplites.

His intelligence assets would have picked up one more than one battalion of Hoplites moving to Crete, so there must be less than that in this base, Nicholas realised.

But that thought was futile, as he had no way of taking out even this small squad.

But once again it registered as an expendable number. A number of which could be used to secure the perimeter to prevent the escape of any rebels, and which if it was accidentally killed by the bombing wouldn't be missed by a man like Alexander.

Am I really that predictable, that Alexander knew I would personally lead this attack? Nicholas asked himself.

The answer was yes, he knew.

"Remove your mask, soldier." The order was barked by the big and burly commander of this squad, the man who was holding the gun, who looked like he could break Nicholas's neck with his bare hands if he felt like doing so. Also it seemed he enjoyed getting his hands dirty, sending a shiver down Nicholas's back.

His words made Nicholas recoil as they registered in his brain. The man didn't yet know who he was, but if he removed his headgear, the Hoplite would instantly know, and kill him on the spot. Also, it would totally defeat the object of what that young Black Ace had done, and he was determined that couldn't happen.

But if he didn't take off his mask, they'd kill him and take it off anyway.

Nicholas hesitated, and then felt the butt of the M16 slamming into his back, forcing him down onto his knees, the M16 muzzle now at the back of his head.

The perfect position to be murdered in cold blood, he realised.

******************************************

The loyalist F15 pilot checked his scanners again.

He could see planes in the distance, but he couldn't detect them on his radar.

What the hell? he asked himself.

He knew Nicholas's air force was being destroyed to the east, and that his F15 was one of only a small number of those planes to be deployed to this area, to defeat the helicopters that Nicholas had brought while the Harriers bombed the base.

He squinted, trying to make out what type of plane the formation consisted of.

It was very streamlined, definitely not a Harrier formation. But it didn't look too much like F15s, or any of the planes that had been altered to look like them.

And it wasn't showing up on radar.

The pilot had heard of stealth technology in helicopters and bombers, but no fighter had it.

The pilot began to believe more and more in ghosts as the enemy fighters closed in, and then realised the shape was like that of an American fighter.

And as he finally remembered, the world's only stealth fighter.

The F22.

"Alert! Inbound American fighters! Do not fire unless fired upon, we don't need a war with a nuclear superpower!" the pilot shouted over the radio, as he was in command of this little group of F15s.

The radio just hissed in response.

Jamming, the pilot groaned.

The F22s closed, and it seemed that they were just going to make show of force. After all, they could have fired from many miles away.

But in truth they hadn't been getting this close as a warning, but to kill the enemy quickly at close range, to make sure they all died along with their pilots. It was brutal, but it was necessary to stop it being known that the planes had ever been there. They were above cloud cover, so no ground forces would report them, and the death of all the loyalist pilots would make sure that they had never been there.

Just like the ghosts the pilot had thought they were.

He never even had time to counter the missile lock as the F22s opened fire, and swatted the loyalist air support from the sky, leaving the air over the base free of enemy planes.

*******************************************

The Hoplites had looked up at the first explosion, and Nicholas used that to his advantage, kicking backwards into the groin of the burly commander, and pulling the barrel of the M16, in turn pulling the Hoplite forward and over Nicholas, tripping him. He fell forwards, already in pain, and landed on his face on the concrete.

He was out cold. Nicholas swung the M16 upwards, and fired a burst into the soldier right infront of the commander and himself, then rolled to the left as the remaining three members of the squad opened fire.

He aimed quickly, and put a burst through the head of the Hoplite that had been to his left, then threw the body at the remaining Hoplites, distracting them.

It was all the distraction that Nicholas needed, and he jumped up and began to sprint.

He made it all of ten yards before he tripped, and was sent sprawling. He managed to crawl behind a crate, an empty one this time luckily.

But the M16 now lay yards away, and the Hoplites had already begun to advance.

Nicholas rested his head on the crate, and took a quick breather.

He was going to need all the breath he could get.

******************************************

There was the sound of helicopters, then gunfire. Nicholas peeked out as it went silent again, to see the Hoplites that had been coming to kill him lying dead on the floor.

He stepped out to meet his rescuers, to see that they were Hoplites too.

"You again." Nicholas grinned.

"You can bet your life on that, son."

Nicholas laughed at the remark, one typical of an older man in the Greek army - who thought every young soldier was his son.

But then the Hoplite removed his balaclava.

******************************************

Guessed who it is yet lol? And don't ask how, that will be revealed next time!

Comments appreciated!

Thanks,

Chris AKA Nemesis

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Hmm it would'nt be Josh would it ?
Or is it Bush come from scratch's story to settle this war with a game of tag

[cbraund]

Nicholas gasped as his father removed the headgear, and then rushed towards him, grabbing him in a bear hug.

Spartacus laughed, and lifted his son easily from the floor, spinning him around like he had as a child.

Still as strong as ever, Nicholas thought happily, the fact that his father was supposed to be dead not even occuring to him.

They boarded the waiting helicopter, where Nicholas finally realised the situation and began to ask a lot of questions.

"I saw you die with my own eyes! How can you be alive?!" The first question was obvious.

"Justin uncovered movements in Greece against me. The trouble after my 'death' twenty years ago had already made me weary, as did the circumstances of the day I killed Alexander.

"I had heard of his famous sword fighting skills, and while I'm good, I should have been no match for the world class fencer he was supposed to be. It was almost too easy, and as I kept recalling that moment, I realised that Alexander would not be stupid enough to put himself in such danger.

"He had Hoplite training you know. The damned Hoplites seem to be the worst thing that ever happened to Greece - they give deadly skills to men that don't deserve them, and have nothing but the conscience of the current ruler to limit their power - and sometimes they'll do what they want even then, as you have discovered.

"The trouble after my supposed assassination seemed to have one cause - greed. But then Justin began to discover that some of the "events" that happened during that time were not caused by the players involved in the power struggle. Basically, there was always someone there - someone holding the strings of the puppets.

"I didn't realise it at first, and even Justin put it down to foreign intervention, or just an annoyed noble. But during the war with Germany, when they had intelligence such as that which allowed them to kidnap you, Justin began to run operations by himself to look for leaks in the Hoplites.

"The amount of data leaving the Hoplites was staggering. And none of it was to Germany. It was all being sent to Sofia. We suspected that the Governor was organising a rebellion against me, until we began to look into most of Greece's military. There was no way the Governor could have gathered that much support.

"We found the Hoplites were loyal to another master, and so was a number of units in the military. We were forced to divide the military units by their loyalty, to prevent bloody civil wars within units if war broke out.

"We weren't sure who was working against me, but I suspected Alexander, and Justin was almost certain. So we decided to make a very realistic death for the pair of us so we could go undercover, and begin to build our own movement against the rebels, while they identified themselves by trying to attack you.

"The KaiserSturm attack really did catch us off guard, and Justin was badly injured. He nearly did die, but finally the doctors
managed to save him. I had already decided to say that he was dead, since this was too good an opportunity to pass up, and it gave Justin time to recover in peace.

"My death was more complicated. Once Justin was better, he thought about using a substance to try and make it look like I was dying, and make me unconscious, so that by the most loyal doctors in the country I would be declared dead.

"He began to discover traces of other illegal substances in my food though - it was the beginning of the German plot to kill me. He gave me the vaccine so I could still eat her food and not make her suspcious, but my heart was already broken, and I knew she would be one of those we would have to deal with when it came to the final battle.

"Once I had taken the pill and been declared dead, we began to watch. And well, I'm pretty sure you know what happened from there onwards. Oh, and today you weren't betrayed I'm afraid - simply Alexander used a trick from the Hoplite book - make your enemy chase after illusions and use them to trap them. He made the target tempting, and you fell for it, hook line and sinker."

Nicholas looked down in shame, remembering actually being told that trick by one of his Hoplite instructors.

"So where did you get the F22s?" Nicholas quickly changed the subject.

************************************************** *******************

The bomber took off, and crossed the sea quickly, supported by many fighters.

As it neared Crete, the pilots began to mentally prepare for what they were going to do.

Although they couldn't say no anyway, not with a Hoplite pistol pointing into each of their necks.

The pilot moved his thumb to the trigger button, and ordered his co-pilot to check the weapon's status.

************************************************** **********************

Sorry for it being so short tonight, very sleepy! More to come tomorrow.

Comments appreciated, and thanks for reading!

Chris AKA Nemesis

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Very good Chris, this story is full of leaders who die and return another day to continue the struggle. Supposed to have died that is, and when they return it gives strong twists of plot etc. Great writing keep it coming.

[cbraund]

"We have an incoming bomber on the radar Highness, and it's got back up. We're out of their reach, but what are they up to?" An assistant told Spartacus. After their "deaths", Spartacus and Justin had tested the loyalties of many soldiers, and recruited some of them in secrecy, which had made up the force that had rescued Nicholas.

"Sounds like a nuclear threat. Seems they must have found our little group that took the nuke."

"Yes sir, we received a request for help from that unit."

"Nuclear?" Nicholas whispered. "We must alert my forces!"

"Negative, Nicholas. Justin has already got Josh, and you both are coming with us to the secret base, Area 51 we call it, until Alexander is sure he has killed you both."

"But thousands will die if that nuke hits!"

"And what can we do about it? Your forces can't withdraw, and I can't stop that nuke!"

When he realised that if his forces couldn't withdraw, then neither could the enemy's, Nicholas smiled.

"Alexander can't nuke Crete. His forces are here!"

"Not all of them - just an amount that he would deem expendable. Trust me, he has no qualms about killing his own men."

Nicholas paled, and sat back in his seat, a feeling that the situation was now out of his hands overwhelming him.

In the time since Spartacus had "died", Nicholas had become used to being in control - doing it badly, but he still had the authority to fix things. Now he was once again just the heir, an important figure, but still one who took orders and had to obey them.

***************************************

Alexander smiled as the live satellite feed showed Crete being wiped off of the face of the earth.

"I do believe Greece is mine without question once again." He smiled at the Defence Minister.

The man was shaking, and ashen. Unlike Alexander, he valued human life, and knew the true meaning behind the pictures they were seeing. Thousands had just perished, and he had been the one to help Alexander send the order.

He was responsible for the death of those men.

"Wait, where is that formation going?! Is that ours?!" Alexander's eyesight was not failing at all despite his age, and he had spotted a formation on the very edge of the full picture of Crete.

"No sir. I don't know what that is, but by their heading I'd say they're going to Sparta."

"Nicholas. It has to be. He's escaped! Mobilise the rest of the forces. It seems if you want a job done properly in this place you must do it yourself."

Phew, at least he doesn't want to use nukes this time, the Minister thought.

"Pity I can't nuke them, but I can't risk my main arms factory."

What the hell kind of man is he?! the Minister asked himself.

He reached inside his jacket for his pistol, deciding to rid Greece of this tyrant. The Hoplites were outside, too far away to save Alexander.

The pistol was brought into view, and Alexander tensed and stood.

"Murderer," the Minister growled as he pulled the trigger.

Alexander was a Hoplite though, and as soon as the Minister began to speak, he knew he was about to fire. Alexander dived over the desk, and rolled once.

The bullet hit the window, the bullet-proof glass shrugging off the shot.

Before the Minister could turn to shoot again, he felt Alexander launching himself like a panther from the floor into his side.

The two men rolled, and the Minister fired again, the bullet embedding itself in the ceiling.

Alexander's hand grasped at the Minister's gun hand, and began to push it away, while Alexander's other hand began to push his arm into the floor.

The Minister's elbow was now against the ground, and Alexander pushed with all his might on the gun, snapping the Minister's wrist right back.

The gun fell to the floor, and the Minister screamed in pain. Alexander lept to his feet, and let the Hoplites which had burst into the room after the first gunshot finish the man off.

Alexander just grinned, loving the adrenaline rush that such a fight gave him, and the chance to show off his Hoplite skills.

Still as deadly as ever, he thought to himself.

***************************************

"So you deceived us all?" Nicholas was trying to take his mind off of what happened on Crete.

"Yes, I'm afraid son. You see, no one really won the civil war 20 years ago. The powers, mainly myself and Alexander, have struggled ever since the death of our father, even when we didn't think we were fighting, often when we thought we had won. But they were merely illusions of victory - the fight has never ended."

"So all of us have merely been your pawns?"

"Yes, I'm afraid. A tyrant can never be allowed to rule, and that is what I have fought against my entire life, for the freedom of Greece. I took an oath when I joined the army to protect Greece for the rest of my life, and through it all I have held that oath close to my heart. The battle has mainly been a battle of illusions rather than reality, making the other think they are safe when they are not, letting them think they have won. Now Alexander thinks he has won, and he will find out that he hasn't, to his cost. I will finish this battle once and for all, then I will step down as King, and finally live out my last days in peace. So long as I survive fighting Alexander of course."

"Sir, we've got inbound hostiles, and I have reports of mobilisation across Greece. I think Alexander may have received reports seeing and hearing us, since radar won't work, but not even a stealth aircraft can completely hide, not even in the dark."

Nicholas looked out the window. God, it is night already!

"Hmm, true, people know that there is something there when they see a shape block out the stars for a second, they can tell something is moving across the sky. And plus someone may have survived the slaughter before to report what they saw, you can never be absolutely sure someone is dead."

Tell me about it, Nicholas smiled at the irony of that statement.

"Looks like we're gonna have to prepare to fight earlier than I expected," Spartacus nodded at his son. "Prepare the communications centre at Area 51, I want to go out over all TV and radio networks as soon as we get there.

"It's time the people knew that I'm still alive." Spartacus smiled at Nicholas.

Good luck explaining that to them, Nicholas shook his head in disbelief.

*******************************

More to come tomorrow! Comments appreciated, honestly!

And thanks to those who've already commented, but any thoughts on how this is going? I need feedback, because I'm thinking of writing a completely new story after this, then finishing off my other unfinished stories.

Thanks

Chris AKA Nemesis

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Its very good Chris. My only complaint is the time its taken but thats not such a big deal. At least youve come back to finish it.

This last part is great as the plot thickens towards the finale. Im expecting a huge showdown and the anticipation is immense. Great work keep it comong.

[cbraund]

A one minute flash warning appeared on all of the TV, radio and websites in Greece, and everyone wondered what could be so important.

At the King Phillip Inn in Athens, the locals were wondering what was going on. Some were from the local militia, while others were retired veterans, and all were voicing their opinions.

"I remember the last time there was a flash warning..." Jim, an ex-Royal Guard soldier who had sided with Spartacus at the time of the civil war.

"When was it?" Will, a 19 year old recruit training in the local barracks asked, his usual thirst for knowledge shining through.

"During the Civil War. Spartacus used one to attract attention to the programme where he declared his intention to fight Alexander, and then Alexander used one to gain publicity for his response. A few more were used during the war..."

"I fink it's gonna be Alex-shaaa-ander tellin' us that Nick's kicked the bucket, good riddan-shhh-ce." A drunk, slumped at the end of the bar, slurred.

Will was startled by Jim's sudden lunge at the drunk. Jim lifted the drunk easily from his stool, and threw him against the wall.

"No one badmouths our ruler! Alexander is nothing but a tyrannical son of a b*tch who murdered his own father, and thinks murder is just another tool at his disposal - his regards people as pawns. Nicholas made mistakes, but who doesn't? He was human, and Spartacus was one hell of an act to follow! So you just watch what you say about the King buddy, or I may just decide to administer my own punishment on you for treason!" Jim growled, his voice raised but not shouting. The bar had fallen silent - Jim was known as a loyal friend but a dangerous man to cross.

"So what do you think it is then?" Dave, a local doctor who was in the militia asked as Jim walked back to his seat.

"I don't know, I just hope it isn't what that drunk idiot says it is. Let's find out," he nodded at the TV, which was showed a podium with the royal seal on it.

A gasp of disbelief was heard in nearly every house, pub and car in Greece, as people either saw or were told that Spartacus walked out of the curtains and took the podium.

*************************************

"My people," Spartacus began, "I have much explaining to do. You see, a battle has been raging behind the scenes in Greece for the last twenty years, one where usually even those in the thick of it did not know it was happening. It was a battle of illusions - making the enemy think they had won, or were safe, when they weren't. Alexander as you know did not die as I at first thought at the end of the Civil War, and events after that began to make me suspect this. Eventually I discovered that most of the Armed Forces were being turned against me, especially the infamous Hoplites.

"So I decided to go undercover by faking my own death, so that I could begin to uncover the true plot against me."

Nicholas watched his father, as entranced as the rest of the Greek population. He suddenly felt a lot less worried about no longer being in control, but instead realised that he never had been - he had simply been serving his father and Greece has he always had.

And now he was prepared to do so again.

***********************************

"Stop the damned broadcast!" Alexander yelled from the middle of the communications centre, backhanding the chief technician to get his point across.

"Sir, we can't! The satellites and transmitters have been hijacked by another centre, and they've cut us out of the loop!"

"Get us back into the loop!"

"Sir, it's not that easy, it's going to take time!"

"Fine, then just shut down the broadcast in another way!"

"Sir, the only other way to stop it would be to physically stop the TV and radio masts, and by the time we got there, the speech would be finished anyway."

Alexander just glared at the man, then continued to watch the screen.

*******************************

"That is why I must call upon every person in Greece to rise up against the tyrant once more. I have the military to hold him at Thunder Rift, but if I do that, then you must rise up and take your cities back from the tyrant! Free Greece from this murderer, and end the rule of the dreaded Hoplites!"

Spartacus walked slowly away from the podium, and the bar remained in silence.

"Good fer nothin' Spartacus. Didn't do nothin' fer me, sho why should I help him? He can shhcrew himshelf..." The drunk spoke again, and once again Jim Forester rose to his feet.

"Spartacus is the best ruler this nation has ever had, while Alexander is the worst. If you don't want freedom, then fine, but you will not disrespect our leader again you drunken scumbag!" Jim shouted as his fist connected with the drunk's chin. The drunk was sent flying backwards off his stool, and hard onto the wooden floor.

The drunk climbed up slowly, to see Jim's foot slamming into his chin, sending him sprawling again.

The drunk finally stood up, and began to stagger towards Jim, feeling his broken jaw.

The drunk swung for Jim, who easily ducked underneath the blow and delivered a knee into the drunk's groin, followed by his right fist slamming into the drunk's stomach. To finish him off, Jim gave him a left jab to the face, making his nose bleed, then delivered a knockout right hook that put the drunk down on the floor, and rendered him unconscious.

"Well I for one am supporting Spartacus." Jim looked at those around him.

They were all soldiers, recruits, retired veterans or militia, and all nodded their agreement.

They would fight for Spartacus.

****************************

Spartacus looked out over Thunder Rift, his secret base, knowing that Alexander would have tracked the communications signals to this place. He didn't have as many troops as he would like, but at least he had a chance. And with Nicholas by his side, he was confident that they could cause Alexander a lot of trouble.

The preparations were still being made, but by the time Alexander arrived, Thunder Rift would be as ready as it could be.

But then regiments were spotted in the distance...

**********************

Final part to come tomorrow!

Comments very much appreciated!

Thanks
Chris AKA Nemesis

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Great build up Chris a real sense of impending disater and the massive battle to come.

[cbraund]

Nicholas watched as his father gave the necessary orders, and realised that he was afraid.

If the enemy attacked this early, with Thunder Rift not prepared the battle would very likely go Alexander's way.

But Spartacus remained calm - although Nicholas had trouble remembering the last time he had seen his father anxious about a battle. He always seemed to remain cool and calm until the battle began, when he became a soldier that was feared across Greece.

He knew it was in his blood too - every Greek royal seemed to excel at warfare.

Maybe that's why I failed, Nicholas thought. Perhaps us Rexs are too good at war, and not good enough at domestic policy. Although the two things seem to be very closely related in Greece... My father made some mistakes in his peacetime decisions, and I made a lot.

He looked out over the Rift. But it's our skills as warriors that will decide the fate of Greece.

He didn't know just how wrong he was.

*****************

""It's the Tirana Tigers, the Athenian Avengers and the Greek Dragoons!" A lookout shouted, and even Spartacus breathed a visible sigh of relief.

"Wait, then where are the Spartan Guard?" Nicholas asked.

"Look around you," Spartacus laughed. "When we were looking for support, we found that some of the most loyal support for me came from my home city of Sparta. Almost the entire Spartan Guard joined me, and those who refused to in that unit had some little accidents..."

Nicholas glanced around at him, past those in uniform that Spartacus was wearing, and realised his father was right, the Spartan Guard were already here.

"Oh, and what uniform are you wearing?"

"The original Royal Guard uniform, the one that was abolished when Nicholas came to power the first time. I'm hoping it will remind him of his father."

Nicholas stood back and looked at his father again. Alexander was sure to get the point of the uniform, but Nicholas doubted that he would care. However, Spartacus's resemblence to Phillip - he looked almost exactly like him in that uniform - may be enough to shake Alexander, but only if he actually felt regret for killing his own father, which Nicholas doubted, since he had to be mentally unstable, and probably thought that his father had simply been another barrier in his way to becoming sole ruler of Greece.

"Remember this son. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, so never rule with absolute power - let the people have their say. If they are speaking out against you, you're doing something wrong, listen to them and learn from it. Alexander wants absolute power, not letting his people have free speech, and look where it got him, he's as corrupt as they come. My father ruled fairly, and the people loved him for it, as he rid Greece of a very corrupt regime. Possibly marrying a woman from that regime was a bad idea, since Alexander seems to have inherited the worst things of that government.

"But whether it was nature or nurture, due to him being so spoilt when he grew up, he's a terrible ruler than must be removed once and for all. I must do as my father did to the corrupt regime before him - I must depose Alexander." Spartacus no longer seemed to be talking to Nicholas, but rather building himself up for the fight.

Nicholas heard rumbles of thunder in the distance, and looked down at the perimeter. Soldiers were looking upwards, reaching for their wet gear and coats, and covering up things that weren't waterproof.

Nicholas had been in more battles than anyone else his age in Greece. In fact, he had been in more battles than anyone in Greece, except Alexander and Spartacus.

He knew what that wasn't thunder.

It was the sound of guns firing.

He glanced at his father, and saw him looking back.

Spartacus knew that noise too.

"Battle stations! Incoming enemy!" Spartacus shouted at his forces, immediately gearing himself up for combat as the adrenaline began to rush through him. He was over fifty now, but still as lively as ever - and still as determined.

Nicholas also prepared himself, and then smiled as Justin and Josh Daniels returned from their scouting patrol.

"Alexander is chasing them all the way here. Just hope they make it before he destroys them - he is really going for it." Justin spoke quickly to Spartacus, a worried look on his face.

Nicholas watched the task force race for Thunder Rift, and realised they were racing for their lives.

**********************

Alexander was flying in a Black Hawk above his forces, watching the small command screen infront of him, and glancing down at his troops.

He would transfer back to the ground once the battle began, but until then he wanted to get a good look at his target.

His eyesight was still like that of a hawk, and he saw Thunder Rift infront of him, with little figures on the helipad at the top of it.

Exactly the kind of place he would choose to survey his defences from. And therefore so would Spartacus.

"Give me a zoom in on that helipad." Alexander ordered. In battle he was more in control of his temper than he was normally, and this was one of the main reasons that his army did respect him - he was a natural leader, and they didn't see what he was like behind closed doors, and probably wouldn't care anyway.

The screen showed the camera refocussing, and then the picture cleared again.

Spartacus. Nicholas. Justin Daniels. Josh Daniels.

"Sir, I think we should launch an all out air attack, and then bomb that helipad. It would kill all their commanders..." The Minister of Defence spoke up.

"Shut up you fool. Do you have no honour? Commanders do not kill each other before a battle - it is considered bad sport. Also, this time I want to kill Spartacus with my own hands, to make sure he is dead once and for all..."

*********************

Nicholas rushed to lead a company of the Athenian Avengers to plug the gap in the defences of the Tirana Tigers.

The Avengers had made an heroic rearguard while the other units escaped to the Rift to make their stand.

The Avengers had struggled into the Rift as a much reduced unit, with Alexander hot on their heels. The lines had opened to let them through, then blocked Alexander's path, and the battle began in earnest.

Now the Avengers were acting as a mobile reserve to shore up defences, under Nicholas's command. Spartacus was leading the Spartan Guard with Justin as his executive officer, and Josh was acting as XO for Nicholas.

The initial sledgehammer of Alexander's assault had made the first line of defences break, and the units withdrew to the second line. All in all, there were six lines of defence. The first and second were incomplete, the third was the main ridge of the Rift itself, the fourth was the peak of the Rift known as the Point, and the fifth and sixth were underground, the entrance to the bunker being at the top of the peak.

The second line held while Spartacus and the Spartan Guard set the explosives, then all four regiments pulled back from the fray.

********************

Alexander had far more problems that he had anticipated. Five of the Greek Guard regiments, which had earlier said they had been delayed due to public demonstrations and riots, had now declared for Spartacus as soon as Alexander was out of range, along with ten of the twenty five militia units of Greece. The other fifteen had declared for Alexander, seven only after he had personally contacted their Duke and either called in favours, threatened them or offered them rewards.

He had been forced to dispatch five of his own Greek Guard regiments to combat the rebels too, and now he had received news of an unknown ship being seen at sea - an aircraft carrier and battlegroup.

Time for a transmission, he thought.

"A fine day for a battle, wouldn't you say, brother dearest?" Alexander smirked as Spartacus came up on the communications screen of the phone.

"A fine day for you to die, yes." Spartacus growled.

"What would father say, us fighting like this?!" Alexander smiled, determined to unsettle his brother.

"He'd say 'go kick that tyrant's ass, Spartacus, cause he's no son of mine!'." Spartacus glared.

Alexander's eyes showed fury, but he remained calm.

Then both heard an explosion, and Alexander's tank (which he had long since switched to), rocked with the shockwave.

"What was that?!" Alexander demanded of his people, forgetting the videophone.

"That was your Greek Guard regiments being blown sky high, brother dearest." Spartacus winked at his brother, then cut the link.

The videophone was sent flying out of the tank turret by a screaming and cursing Alexander.

*****************

Four regiment's worth of troops lay dead at the second line of defences, the delayed-fuse bombs detonating when nearly all of the Greek Guard regiments had reached the line.

Alexander wasn't stupid though, so it had been Greek Guard regiments that had been hit. He knew that the turning point of the battle would be later on, at the last few lines of desperate defence, so he was using his less well trained troops to reach that turning point.

The remaining Greek Guard regiments, furious at the slaughter of their brother regiments, charged at the third line of defences, expecting them to be as weak as the first two.

It wasn't, and they were repulsed at the first attempt.

Major Peter Walker of the 2nd Greek Guard regiment found that he was the highest ranking officer left in the Guard, and led them again against the third line.

He scanned the line, looking for the weakness.

There wasn't one, but there were weaker areas.

"Requesting air strike," he began to say over his microphone.

**************

All of Alexander's F15s rushed towards the Rift, where Spartacus's mixed F22/F15 squadron lifted off to engage them.

The two squadrons met in a titanic clash above the Rift, with missiles flying everywhere. The F22s were hard to track, but not even they could avoid Sidewinders at very close range, as the battle turned into individual dogfights.

The battle could only have one winner though, as Alexander had expected anyway. Spartacus won the air battle, but that battle had merely been a distraction.

While the battle between those squadrons was raging, a flight of five F16s rushed in behind Alexander's force, and the ground-attack planes aimed at the third line of defences.

Spartacus had the head of the line was the first to see the threat, and he shouted a warning.

Men rushed to their bunkers, as the cluster bombs were dropped amongst the regiments.

The few tanks that Spartacus had kept blew up as the bombs hit, and shrapnel and the cluster munitions killed most of the infantry that didn't reach their bunkers.

Tanks were rare in Greece, since the terrain made them vulnerable to infantry, and infantry had proven themselves to be the kings of the battlefield under such innovative military leaders. It had once been different, but the Russian Offensive and the Civil War had destroyed most of the tanks in Greece, and only a few were replaced.

Now, with Spartacus's tanks destroyed, Alexander's tanks, all of which belonged to the Greek Guard regiments and made up about a regiment in number, charged towards the third line of defences, which now lay ruined and unmanned before them.

Nicholas, further up the Rift, saw the threat, and lead the Avengers down into the fray, while the stunned defenders began to emerge from their bunkers.

"Fall back the the fourth line!" Spartacus yelled at his force.

Nicholas and his Avengers shoved through the fleeing defenders, to make a rearguard, something the Avengers seemed to have a lot of experience at.

The tanks raced for the Avengers, main guns already firing and machine guns being manned.

"Fire!" Nicholas roared.

The Avengers took aim with their rifles, and fired.

The soldiers climbing out of tanks to man machine guns were the targets, and most collapsed, blood pouring from their heads or chests.

The main guns still fired, but they were aiming for the last of the fortifications, hoping to damage them to make them easier for the infantry to get through.

Now the Avengers unstrapped their anti-tank missiles, and others manned the few fixed gun positions still around.

They fired, but the juggernaut seemed too powerful to stop.

Nicholas gulped as the tank formation rushed the last few hundred metres to his line.

**************

Well I tried to write the entire battle in one post, but then realised it was going to be bigger than that. So here's the first part, the second part should hopefully be tomorrow or Sunday, and then if there is a final part it will be on Monday.

Comments REALLY appreciated!

Thanks

Chris AKA Nemesis

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Its great but you probably wont get much feedback with the holiday at the moment. Looking forward to the rest of the battle.

[SKILORD]

Good job chris!

[cbraund]

A10s roared over the battlefield, and both armies looked up, both wondering which side the planes were on.

Spartacus had absolute air superiority, but his fighters were refuelling and re-arming.

The A10s opened fire close to the Avengers, and Nicholas shuddered, but the bullets missed the Avengers and began ripping into the tanks charging for them. The A10's main gun was an anti-tank Gatling gun, a huge weapon of enormous power, and it showed as the tanks began to explode with just a round or two hitting each.

The raking fire ran through the tank lines, and few were left unscarred.

The others found their way blocked, and only a few tanks that survived in the front lines could reach the Avengers, where grenades and anti-tank rockets finished them off.

Those that were stranded were soon dealt with as Spartacus's planes returned to the air, and began to strafe Alexander's forces with the A10s.

Things were going badly for Alexander, but as Spartacus's forces withdrew to the Point, he still had three rebuilt Royal Guard regiments and two Hoplite regiments as his trump cards, on top of the Greek Guard, which still numbered about 5 regiments.

And Spartacus now just about two and a half regiments, the Greek Dragoons and the Avengers being hardest hit.

And those were odds not even Spartacus could beat, Alexander thought confidently. Especially not with my little surprise…

***********

The water to Thunder Rift had already been cut off, as it had been so many times in its history as a military barracks and royal stronghold. Many small pipes had been used when the water system had been installed, to prevent Special Forces infiltrating the pipes and smashing their way from the pipes through the walls of the installation to invade it.

However, one big pipe had been used for the sewers, since many small pipes could have caused too many blockage problems, and when it had been built, anyone who swam through the sewers would have been killed in the attempt.

But to make sure, the builders had installed a series of electrified metal gates, and due to the flow of water, the height of the pipe as it empties into the reservoir at the sewage works, and the gates themselves, the sewage system was deemed secure.

Except the builders hadn’t reckoned on the Hoplites.

With the water cut off, the flow of water in the pipe wasn’t a problem. The Hoplites scaled down from the cliff above into the pipe and then the Chinooks lowered three hovercraft into the tunnel.

The Hoplites made their way along the tunnel, and then connected ropes from the hovercraft to the first gate, and then the craft accelerated.

With a groan and a shower of sparks, the first gate gave way, and collapsed forwards. The Hoplites continued on, and dealt with the other two gates the same way.

They came to the part of the tunnel which was on the opposite side of an armoured wall to the cavern that acted as the command centre for Spartacus’s forces.

The hovercraft were packed with explosives, and the timer set.

All the Hoplites laid down in the sludge, wearing body armour and helmets along with their wetsuits.

The explosion ripped a huge gash in the wall, and the Hoplites jumped up quickly, emerging through the smoke into a hi-tech centre full of surprised soldiers, most of which were more used to desk jobs or command positions - not fighting.

Most were mowed down in seconds, with only a few reacting quickly enough.

A Major in the Spartan Guard, the commander of the small detachment left to watch the command centre reacted the quickest, drawing his pistol and firing as soon as the Hoplites emerged.

Three were down before return fire forced him to seek cover, and he managed to get a small group huddled in the corner, quickly building a barricade of tables and chairs. The Hoplites opened fire on the hastily-assembled fortifications, but the tables were made of titanium, and the bullets bounced off.

Return fire killed two Hoplites and injured another. The Major raised his head to see those casualties, and then fired once, hitting the commander of the Hoplites in the shoulder. The return fire killed another Spartan Guardsman, and the Major grasped his radio.

************

Spartacus noticed the change in Alexander’s lines, and a frown crossed his face.

Alexander was leading Hoplites to the front of the column, supported by the Royal Guard regiments. The Greek Guard was being pushed into reserve.

Alexander knew Thunder Rift, and knew how many lines were yet to come. So why was he devoting his most elite troops and putting himself in danger so soon?

The answer hit Spartacus with the force of a bullet, and he mentally recoiled from it. Alexander must expect to win here, which means he must think we have no escape. Which means he’s cut it off, which means the caves must be breached… The sewers!

His thoughts were interrupted by the radio crackling, and a voice coming through:

“We are taking fire in the control room! Repeat, Hoplites are invading the command centre!”

Spartacus reacted immediately.

“Nicholas, take your Avengers down into the command centre! It’s been overrun by Hoplites!”

Spartacus himself led his troops against the approaching army, determined to kill Alexander even if he was going to be defeated.

Alexander led the charge, desperate to fight Spartacus one-on-one for the first time. They had been in so many power struggles, and a double of Alexander had fought Spartacus, but they had never met in combat.

Until now. The two clashed in a flurry of swords, the Royal weapon of choice - Greek Royals excelled at combat with the sword, and were some of the few officers in the world to use their swords for more than ceremonial duties.

The fight dominated the battlefield, most soldiers more concerned about the two leaders fighting than their own combat.

It almost became a spectacle, the soldiers watching rather than fighting. Josh rushed around, urging Spartacus’s forces to fight and not watch, and most responded. The younger Hoplite officer looked around for his father, but could not find him in the combat. He said a quick prayer, hoping desperately that Justin was not dead, and rushed back into the fray.

***********

Nicholas rushed down into the command centre, firing wildly at the Hoplites on the other side, forcing them to dive for cover while his Avengers rushed to aid the surrounded Guards.

Shots were fired continuously from behind tables and other barricades, with neither side doing much damage.

Nicholas knew he only had to hold the Hoplites to stop them attacking the rear of the army, but his forces tied down here could not help in the battle which was coming to a head on the Point.

He needed to win this fight, and quickly.

There it was. A sewage pipe that drained into the main sewer. It wouldn’t have water running in it, but it would still have sewage lining it since it had no water to carry it out.

Nicholas drew the only anti-tank missile the Avengers still had, and nodded to his soldiers.

They all took the pins from their grenades, having only one each left, and hurled them at the enemy as Nicholas fired at the pipe.

The Hoplites were spread out, but the multiple blasts, smoke and explosion of sewage left them stunned and blinded.

The Avengers threw themselves from their cover, most diving over the tables, and rolling to give fire.

The Hoplites began to fire, but wildly, and some guns had been jammed by sewage.

The Avengers cut them down as mercilessly as the Hoplites had murdered the command staff, and the Major led his Spartan Guard into the fray too, sword drawn.

It was a massacre, the Hoplites were soon routed. But the commander, injured from the beginning, crept from the sewage tunnel as the Avengers began to turn to go outside, dragging a wooden crate.

“Stop him!” Nicholas shouted when he saw what he was doing.

It was too late, the Hoplite leader had already fired a bullet into the crate, one which had been blown clear from the hovercraft and contained a large amount of explosives.

The command centre was wiped out by the blast.

****************

Spartacus dodged the lunge, and thrust his own sword at Alexander’s face. He cut his brother’s cheek, and could see the fury in Alexander’s eyes.

He had him angry now, and Alexander replied with a series of attacks that Spartacus blocked. The fight was almost won, and Spartacus knew it. Once Alexander got mad, he was predictable.

He heard an explosion, but blocked it out, concentrating on the struggle with Alexander.

But then a soldier ran from the caves, shouting “Nicholas is dead!”.

Spartacus turned pale, and his attention was drawn to the soldier.

That was all Alexander needed. He parried the distracted Spartacus’s feeble lunge and stabbed into his brother’s torso.

He shouted his victory as the sword went clear through Spartacus, and the younger man began to fall, clutching at the wound that had pierced his lungs.

Alexander knew that Spartacus was dying, but he wanted to finish him off. He took aim for a slice to the neck to behead the fallen leader, but was barged out of the way by Royal Guard soldiers and a few Hoplites, all that were looking for mementos and keepsakes, not to mention riches, from Spartacus’s body.

The furious Alexander ordered his Hoplites to open fire on the men who had shouldered past him, and they were quickly killed. He stalked towards Spartacus’s body once more.

In the rest of Spartacus’s army, confusion reigned. Josh was trying to hold together some defence against Alexander’s army, while Justin couldn’t be found. With the two rulers dead, the army had lost the will to fight.

Then bullets sprayed at Alexander’s feet, making him jump backwards.

In all the confusion, no one had heard the Black Hawks approaching.

From the lead one, Justin Daniels had fired on Alexander, and now he leapt from it, followed by Hoplites.

“Our little surprise once Alexander was down in the caves. Thought we might need them now.” Justin winked to his son as he passed him, leading the Hoplites in a charge.

An entire Hoplite regiment, made up of the most elite soldiers loyal to Spartacus, and those Hoplites that had been loyal to him, smashed into Alexander’s force, beginning to drive them back. But the main army still remained disheartened, and didn’t follow.

Until a man emerged from the caves below, demanding to know who had claimed he was dead.

The sight of Nicholas and what was left of his Avengers, gave the army something to fight for once more, and they charged at Alexander’s forces alongside the Hoplites.

Alexander was pushed back from Spartacus’s body, but satisfied his brother was dead, and now cursing Nicholas still being alive, he began to pull back with his army.

To let the cannon fodder through. The Greek Guard charged at Nicholas’s line, to be slaughtered by the elite and re-energised units in the rebel army.

Wading through the Greek Guard, Nicholas’s much-weakened line, held mostly by the new Hoplites, reached the Royal Guard/Hoplite line that Alexander now held the front of.

We’re going to be slaughtered, Nicholas realised. Alexander still had the forces to destroy him.

But then the honking of horns was heard, and the sound of engines.

“Militia and civilians!” the lookout shouted.

The cars (many of which were civilian cars driven by their owners) and trucks of the militia and a few Spartacus-supporting Greek Guard, whose ranks were now bolstered by many civilians that supported Spartacus, stopped near Alexander’s line, and began to pour out towards his rear.

“Spartacus is dead, go home!” Alexander yelled over a megaphone.

The charge suddenly faltered, and some even began to step backwards.

“But Nicholas lives!” came a shout from a megaphone at the top of the Point.

The charge began again, and Alexander’s force, trapped between the two sides, suddenly began to look very weak.

The slaughter took just ten minutes, and the rout was complete.

Greece had been won.

**************

Nicholas rushed towards his father’s body, to be beaten to it by Justin.

“He’s still breathing!” Justin yelled. Medical teams were rushing over, and a Black Hawk was waiting to take him to hospital.

His father might yet live, Nicholas thought happily, and now turned his attention to the battlefield.

”Sir, we’ve checked all the Hoplites bodies. Alexander is not among them!”

Nicholas turned pale.

“And worse sir, the Macedonians declared their independence in this. Well they’re currently mobilising, and vow to always support the true ruler of Greece. By their tradition, the oldest son is ruler no matter what, so they will support Alexander if he’s still alive.”

“Great, just great.” Nicholas groaned.

************

Alexander’s few Hoplite bodyguards, all in civilian clothes now after meeting a supporter, boarded the plane to Macedonian with him.

It took off from Athens Airport two minutes later. It was only an hour after the end of the battle, and Alexander saw police rushing to the airport now to begin securing it to stop his escape.

Too late, Alexander smiled to himself. Nicholas may know I’m on this plane, but he can’t shoot it down, public opinion would turn too far against him. And once I reach Macedonia, I have a big enough army once more to take Greece easily.

Then a man approached him.

“Yes?” Alexander snapped.

“My name is James Osbourne. My brother fought and died in this civil war. I just wanted to pay my respects to the true King of Greece.”

Alexander’s face showed confusion, then a smile.

“Of course, thank you very much.” Alexander’s public smile appeared.

He never saw the pistol being raised by James, which was aimed right between his eyes.

“By killing you, you murdering son of a b*tch.” James growled as he pulled the trigger.

Alexander’s head flew back as the bullet entered and exited it, embedding itself in the head rest. The people behind Alexander were splattered with blood, and his bodyguards reacted quickly.

James’s last thought before he died was that he had finally avenged his brother, the brave Sam Osbourne who had sacrificed his life on Crete to save Nicholas.

************

When Nicholas heard the story, he let out a sigh of relief, and ordered a monument built to commemorate Sam and James’s sacrifices for Greece.

Now he was playing chess against Josh, as the two fathers entered the room.

“Well, we’ve both decided that we are indeed retiring,” the King of Greece, now fully recovered, smiled at his son.

“Yeah, you can make your own moves, we won’t correct them, just advise you.” Justin grinned.

Nicholas moved a pawn, and saw Spartacus shake his head.

“Except for that one,” the King said, picking up the pawn, moving it back and instead making a better move.

Josh moved in reply, and saw Justin walk over to the table.

“And that one,” Justin smiled, correcting Josh’s move.

Five minutes later, and the younger pair had been ousted, the two fathers now playing the chess game themselves. Nicholas and Josh had given up trying to re-take control of the board.

“If this is what their retirement will be like, I think we have no worries about making mistakes.” Josh grinned as he watched the older pair.

“I hope not.” Nicholas smiled as he walked out onto the balcony.

Below was the monument to the brothers who had sacrificed so much, and behind that, in the main square of Athens, was a huge monument to all those who had laid down their lives in all of the Greek Wars.

There have been so many, Nicholas thought. But maybe now, finally, Greece can get used to peace…

************************

Thanks for reading this series, comments appreciated!

I hope you enjoyed them!

Thanks again

Chris AKA Nemesis

[TheDarkCavalier]

HOLY SH|T!!! That ...... that was the most amazing story I've ever read on this forum .... hell, I think best that I've read in ANY forum .... EVER. And it surely beats a lot of stuff I read in books. You're an incredibly good writer.

I just hope that Alex was hiding in the toilet when James shot his twin. Adn he's gonna lead the Macedonians against Spartacus and Justin and all the royal gang.