The Land of Sad Songs – Stories From Protect and Survive Finland

That is a nice photo, Karelian. Remove 10 kilograms, add dark rings around the eyes (and a somewhat grey pallor in general) and that would be pretty much how he would have looked like in E5.
 
There was no way around it.

” - No, Lieutenant”, the Staff Sergeant said, his voice now desperate.

” - No, we can't open fire against them. Not when there are civilians here, too, and they are giving away FREE COFFEE...”

He looked again at Liikka, who now raised a steaming cardbord cup to him in lieu of a salute, taking a big bite from something in his other hand.

”... and sweetrolls...”

There's something extremely Finnish going on here. :p

Soini is probably a rather different person here from who we know. He's not Catholic as his inter-rail trip to Ireland didn't happen though probably still rather conservative from our perspective. ITTL that would be likely counted as a "liberal" though. Unlike IOTL, he has actually been working in the government which has probably affected his views too. OTOH him going against the government might be a sign that he has retained some aspects of his OTL personality.

BTW, does Finland have any sort of TV service yet? I think all post-war updates have only referred to radio broadcasts.
 
There's something extremely Finnish going on here. :p

Indeed. Even IOTL people here will go to great lengths for a free cup of coffee. Realizing how much worse the people would have it ITTL, after decades of poverty and shortages, was nothing short of mind-blowing.;)


Soini is probably a rather different person here from who we know. He's not Catholic as his inter-rail trip to Ireland didn't happen though probably still rather conservative from our perspective. ITTL that would be likely counted as a "liberal" though. Unlike IOTL, he has actually been working in the government which has probably affected his views too. OTOH him going against the government might be a sign that he has retained some aspects of his OTL personality.

There are big differences, but there is also a lot of what we see IOTL there. Unlike IOTL he had the chance of becoming pretty important in government early on, but gave that up due to disillusionment as to what exactly that government was becoming (and seeing firsthand what happened to Leppänen, who here has a bigger influence on his life and choices than IOTL). But he never actually gave up, just started to quietly build up an alternative power base for the eventuality a chance would open up to help break the post-War consensus, on his own terms. I think OTL Soini could understand him in this pretty well.


BTW, does Finland have any sort of TV service yet? I think all post-war updates have only referred to radio broadcasts.

There are plans for restarting TV broadcasts, and in fact the relaunch of YLE TV was originally projected to coincide with the Olympic games - however, the strikes and protests that started in late 2013 caused this to be abandoned. In comparison to Sweden, the lack of TV broadcasts again underlines how much less well off and backwards the FNA is. Technically, it would have been possible years ago - for various reasons, the Committee has not prioritized it, instead choosing to rely on good old YLE radio. Ostrobothnia of course gets Swedish TV.
 
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It's time for the dusk, I want to go to sleep
I hide a butterfly in my hand, it came to see me
There's gold on its wings, and it shivers a little
I'll raise it on my hand, I will not hurt it

There's a letter in my pocket, one I'll send home

I'll show it to you, if you want to know more
I'm doing fine here, and I'll be back soon
I'll build a house out of the ruins where I'll live with you

Chorus:
You arrived and blew refreshing air on my forehead
That's when I knew it is easy for a dying man to confess his love
The fields of glory are the last place where two people get each other
People one of which will be left dead on the field of glory

...

Dingo: Kunnian kentät (1985)



E7. The Fields of Glory


Porvoo, around 9 a.m.. March 10th 2014.

As the M/S Atlantic Companion started unloading its cargo of trucks bearing Red Cross symbols, the ship's captain thought the wintery morning light falling on the ro-ro ship was almost gentle on the worn surface of the old girl. He stood on the pier, looking at the vehicles rolling off the ramp with a walkie-talkie in hand, giving curt instructions to his second mate from time to time. After a while he was satisfied that everything was going as planned, and told his crewmen to keep it up and only contact him if something unforeseen came up. He then put the Ericsson handset into his pocket and started slowly walking inland. The port officials didn't give him any fuss after he showed them his passport with a few Swedish crown notes tucked inside it.

The Atlantic Companion had arrived to the Sköldvik harbor unannounced, just like the M/S Stena Kristina that was now also starting to unload its own cargo. They were accompanied by the armed icebreaker Frej (now standing watch just outside the harbor), and with the lingering winter ice and the Finnish Urho at this moment assisting a group of freighters just off Åland, the Finnish Navy[1] could not do anything more to the surprising arrivals than some sharply worded radio messages sent their way. At the pier, they had been greeted by confused Navy officers and port officials. But after getting to know what the trucks were carrying, the Finns had been perfectly happy to allow them off the ships. Of course the Sea Captain knew that palms had been greased beforehand, and in this case with more gusto and foresight that was the norm in Finno-Swedish trade.

The Sköldvik harbor had before the war served the Neste oil refinery in Porvoo. Due to being planned to accommodate large tankers, it was one of the deepest trade ports Finland had, and this was why the Finnish government had reasonably soon after the destruction of the refinery area in the hands of the Soviet remnant taken measures to return the port to use. Today the Sea Captain could see that while the port itself was serviceable in a rough-and-ready sort of way, most of the old refinery area still stood in blackened, now snow-covered ruins. Only some fuel and oil tanks had been rebuilt to accommodate the foreign tankers bringing much needed fuel for the Eastern Finnish economy. When the FNA could afford that, of course.

The Sea Captain knew that the unloading would take some time still, so he was in no hurry. Hitching a ride in a nervous port official's old Saab towards the old town of Porvoo, he could feel that the Finnish man at the wheel was eyeing him curiously - the captain's cap, the tanned face and the large golden earring probably gave him a somewhat piratical look in the eyes of the pale man. Together with his native Finnish accent, his appearance sometimes seemed to confuse people when he visited the FNA's domains.

As the car reached town, the Sea Captain saw that while the stony medieval church still stood, very few of the old wooden buildings that once made the town a tourist attraction remained. Instead, the center of town had been partly rebuilt throwing up some of the same residential concrete boxes that one saw in most towns in Finland today. Even if they were not much more than 20 years old, some were already starting to look worn and forlorn. It was only the bright morning light that lent some cheer to the snowy port town.

Exiting the Saab (and leaving some cash to the driver), the Sea Captain found himself on the market square. There were some people out and around, and a growing group of protesters with placards was eying a gaggle of grey-black military police antagonistically. The MP:s were not armed with anything more lethal than truncheons on their belt, so the Sea Captain thought that it was reasonably safe for him here, for the while.

In front of the old Town Hall that seemed to have also been spared from the flames of war (or possibly later rebuilt) was an imposing granite obelisk. Two bronze lions stood watch at the foot of the memorial. The Sea Captain walked closer to see the writing on the side.

TO THE MEMORY OF THE FINNISH SOLDIERS WHO PERISHED DURING THE BATTLE OF PORVOO IN MAY-JUNE 1984. THE FATHERLAND AND THE FINNISH PEOPLE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE.”

So said the somber letters carved on the cold stone. The Sea Captain felt a shiver in his spine when he looked upon the rows and rows of names on it. LIES!, someone had painted on top of them, and MURDERERS on the other flank of the obelisk. One wreath of now wilted, freeze-dried flowers had been left next to the war memorial.

The Sea Captain saw the military police slowly organizing into a line, with NCOs barking them orders. His thoughts were still on the fields of glory of the Battle of Porvoo when he heard a voice from his pocket. He pulled out the walkie-talkie.

...ptain. Captain Neumann!”

- Listening. What is it, Henriksson?”

- Something's come up, Captain. You need to return to the ship at once!”

- All right, Henriksson, copy that. I'm on my way.”

With a determined look on his face, the Sea Captain wheeled around and started looking for a ride back to the port. It wouldn't be much of a challenge - for someone carrying hard currency, any vehicle in Finland was a taxi these days.

...


BBC 1 News, March 10th 2014.

...and we are returning to the events in Eastern Finland. While the Swedish Prime Minister, Mr. Bodström, has condemned the Finnish National Administration and especially its leader, General Halonen, for using excessive force against the protesters in many Finnish towns and called for sanctions to be placed on the Mikkeli regime, he has also denied the rumours of Swedish involvement in the anti-government rebellion now in progress as ”false and irresponsible”. According to the Swedish Prime Minister, what is happening now is a Finnish internal matter. When questioned, Mr. Bodström refused to speculate about the actions of the Western Finnish, or ”Ostrobothnian” military units that according to some reports have crossed the internal border to Eastern Finland in significant numbers and are engaged in large scale activities to support to unarmed protesters.

Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to reach our own news correspondent George Warren in Mikkeli in Eastern Finland. It is possible that the phone lines have been cut or the connections to the hotel that act as the base to many foreign journalists in the FNA capital have been severed for some other reason. Everyone here at the BBC hopes George is safe and able to continue his work and that we can again re-establish contact with him as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the escalating events in Finland have also caused some high-level discussion here in Portsmouth. Today at Parliament, the Prime Minister had to defend His Majesty's government's actions, or rather inaction...”


...

Savonlinna, around 11 a.m. March 10th 2014.

The uniformed man stood tall in front of a crowd of people shouting his name. This was the man who banished the wretched rebels and anarchists back to their little, dark holes. This was the man who re-united Finland and returned it to real independence - and brought it back the respect it deserved on the international stage. Rebuilt its honour and restored the pride of the people.

He looked around the square with friendly if stern eyes, basking in the amber glow of his Fatherland's new dawn, revelling in the sight of a line of blue-and-white cross flags flying proudly in the wind, with the golden lions rampant on them, raising their swords in newfound strength. Seeing a flight of four jet fighters passing overhead with a mighty roar, light glinting off their clear metallic sides, the man suddenly thought how it was hard to know what was real and what was dream these days. And just as he had this thought, the view in front of him blurred.


Disoriented, he could feel a dull pain on his left arm, and someone talking to him. He stood up – he hadn't realized he was lying down before he did this, and felt a brief bout of vertigo.

- General”, a voice beside him said, ”thank God you finally woke up!”. It's tone was panicky.

General Varis stared unseeingly in front of him, not acknowledging the man. ”The Fatherland's new dawn...”, he muttered between his lips.

- General?”, the officer beside him said, ”Can you speak up, I can't hear you...”

Slowly it all came back – the rebellion, his measures to stop it. And then, someone taking a shot at him. He suddenly realized he wasn't wearing his uniform tunic, and saw that his left arm was covered by a hastily applied field dressing. Blood had slowly started to seep through it, forming a constellation of red dots on a white field.

Suddenly fully aware of what was happening, Varis stood up, grabbed his ruined uniform tunic off a chair and started painfully, furiously putting it on.

- Major, status report!”, he barked to the officer next to him, who he remembered to be the man commanding the local Military Police units trying to retake Savonlinna from the rebels. When in doubt, questioning your underlings was always a good way to move forward. He had always thought this was one lesson every superior officer should learn.

- General,” the man started, a bit startled about his superior's sudden transformation.

- Since you were shot, our units have been forced back. You were out for about, what, over two hours. The protest has been growing since then and the numbers we are facing are are nothing like we have seen before. It is like this was planned. We have lost the Town Hall, and the surrounding buildings too. Our numbers simply are not enough. Before you woke up, I was thinking of ordering the men to fall back towards the market square, to clear it as it still has less rebels on it, and then to regroup and wait for reinforcements from...”

Varis looked at him and shook his head.

- We will not fall back. Here or anywhere else. Tell your men that the use of live ammunition is now authorized and that anyone who has bayonets for their rifles should attach them in a preparation for charges against the rebels.[2]

The other man looked at him, his eyes wide.

- General, I don't believe the Committee has authorized...”

- The Committee be damned! Right here, I am the Committee, and I am authorizing it. That is all you need to know. This is it – we need to protect this nation from anarchy. It is our duty as Finnish soldiers, Major!”

The Major looked at Varis, and thought his eyes were literally glowing when he said his words. Right now, this was not a man one should disagree with, not if one valued his health.

The General started to the door, then stopped in his tracks.

- We'll get out of here and start putting things right. I need to get in contact with my staff to coordinate the action! But first... Could you find me some painkillers? The stronger the better. I need to shake this pain to do this.”



Greeting the places back home
Let our song ring
Over the fields, the waters and the fells
All the way from Hanko to Petsamo

The echo of march steps is the same
We know it in our hearts
That below the mounds, in the bosom of the earth
The fathers look at their sons




The Government Buildings, Mikkeli, 12 a.m. March 10th 2014.

The conference room was stuffy, and it smelled like old coffee, tobacco and male sweat. Under this, a keen nose could smell a growing undertone of confusion, panic and fear.

Or so the young Signals NCO thought as he kept bringing more news to the members of the National Committee for the Continuity of Government. These were the most powerful men in the nation, the young man knew, but when you served next to them, at a moment like this, they didn't look so impressive up close. The young NCO thought most men in the Committee should have retired years ago. He was expecting any one of them to have a heart attack any moment.

As a part of the communications personnel, the young man was feeling that he was being blamed for the comms problems that were plaguing the government and military today, even worse than the previous days. Nothing was working like it should have been. Even the so-called Defence Forces Cellular Network, a state-of-the-art system launched two years ago, with Swedish help, ”to bring the Finnish military communications to the 21st century” was constantly malfunctioning. It was as if there was a concerted campaign being waged against the Committee's communications, by parties unknown. Many people in here were probably thinking that, but so far nobody had dared to say it out loud.

And so, much of the discussions and decisions here were based on guesswork. Boards on the wall were being updated by the minute about what happened where, or what was thought to happen, and looking at it right now it seemed all the bigger towns in Eastern and Central Finland were experiencing large-scale protests. Some of them were actually under rebel control, the young man thought. The same could be said of some middling-sized towns and some of the bigger municipalities. Only the Southern part of the nation, the coastal areas, were more or less peaceful. But everyone was fearing even that would be bound to change, the way things were going.

The latest issue being discussed by the Committee was the matter of the YLE. It was now clear that the national radio was sending news and reports that were not authorized by the men in this room, in a stark contrast for the last three decades since the War when the YLE, controlled by the State Information Office, had acted as the government's official mouthpiece in everything that mattered. The YLE now supported the rebellion and gave airtime to its leaders, nationwide. Neither the YLE offices or the SIO's leadership in the broadcast centre could be contacted, apparently, even after repeated attempts.

When the Committee ordered a police cruiser to check on the YLE buildings, the civilian officers reported that the area is being controlled by Special Military Police units in full combat gear and refusing to allow anyone to enter without a permission from the head of the SIO, Colonel Vartia. It was estimated that there was at least a company of ESP in the area, sitting behind a system of fences and sandbagged positions with machine guns, supported by armored vehicles.

While the Committee was stumped about what to do, as also General Varis, the head of the military police, was unreachable, a crowd of protestors supporting the YLE's new, ”liberal” line had gathered to form a chain of ”human shields” around the broadcast centre, seemingly confusing the ESP troops guarding the area even further. Finally the Committee had decided to send a unit of trustworthy jaeger infantry to form a perimeter around the protesters, in turn, to contain the problematic area, and high-ranking officers to try and reason with the ESP officers leading the defensive force in the area pig-headedly holding on to their orders, apparently in mortal fear of letting down Major General Varis.


The young Signals NCO thought the whole thing with the YLE was, frankly, fucked up. So far, even the efforts to cut the YLE signal completely or to start to send competing news from other locations had failed.

Another of his comrades handed him a news digest compiled at the comms office to be brought to the Committee. He glanced at it and sighed. Now, here were further sorry news to bring to the old men:

Roadblocks set up by protesters have been appearing on all major roads since early morning. The people manning them, both men and women, are usually not armed but are using heavy construction equipment, etc, to block or render the roads impassable in those places. In the province of North Savonia, for example, only two roadblocks have been dismantled by local authorities while at least six more have appeared only during the last two hours.

Local commanders in both Hankasalmi and Iisalmi report that Ostrobothnian 'volunteer' units have arrived with convoys of vehicles and started giving out food, coffee and medical aid to the protesters. In both places, many conscripted men of both military police and jaeger units are now refusing to follow orders and are putting down their weapons and joining the rebels. Northern Command reports that a jaeger company of recent conscripts is being sent from Kajaani towards Iisalmi to stop the spread of the protest there.

In Pieksämäki, the striking railway and factory workers have stopped railway traffic completely, occupying the railway station, the railyard and the traffic control offices in the town. The civilian police sent to investigate are not reporting back to their HQ anymore. Inquiries are being made if there are troops available that are not engaged against protesters to help resume the use of the station and the rails through the town.”

Apprehensive, the young NCO entered the room, arriving in the presence of the National Committee.





You know my friend beside me
The journey that brought us here
Happily we hurried the way
Where the call rang out for all

The duty familiar to the fathers
Is now taken over by the young ones
When our land of birth comes under threat
We leave behind our homely chores


...

Maria, sometime after noon, March 10th 2014.

"The whole world has gone mad. I know that now as the streets of Mikkeli are now full of people protesting against the government. Where did all these people come from? I didn't know Finland even had this many people! There are now also soldiers all around, with all kinds of insignia. And nobody knows which orders to follow! There are news of a general mobilization being called, but it seems to be just rumours.

We have been listening to the radio at the barracks where we are, and the news are pretty weird, like the Dogs, I mean the Military Police shooting the protesters and killing them! Or the leaders of the opposition speaking on the radio and not General Halonen. There was this one guy called Soini on the program, and he read some speech he said had been written for Acting President Leppänen before he died. It was kind of beautiful speech, even if I didn't like Soini's voice.


But then we had to turn off the radio because Noora says that the YLE has been taken over by the rebels and that it is treasonous now to listen to it. I don't know if I believe her. What I can say, and Saara and Jonna agree with me that there was some pretty good music playing on the radio this morning, some of which we hadn't heard ever before.

When Noora is not around, we'll open the radio again. They might even send some Olympic news – there should be the men's relay in skiing today, and the ice hockey match with Sweden is tomorrow. I think it is a bit selfish from the protesters that they are making it harder for us to listen to the Olympics now...

I am joking of course. There seems to be a lot of things wrong with Finland that need to be corrected. I agree about that with this Soini guy, even if I don't like his voice. There will be a future, and it is more for young people like me than those old men in the Committee.

Now I have to stop, Noora's here again and I think she wants us to go somewhere. Note to self: I have to get a word to Dad that I am all right. He must be worried sick about me right now..."


...

The Halli Air Base, 12 a.m. March 10th 2014

The Pilot looked at the BAE Hawk fighters with the skeletal fist and lightning bolt insignia on their tails[3] being armed in the hangar at Halli, the crew of air mechanics busy around them in their green overalls. The Finnish Air Force didn't have many serviceable modern fighters these days, but those few that it had still flying it was proud to keep in an excellent condition. It also made sure the pilots and technical personnel were well-trained and professional. Not for nothing was the Air Force's motto QUALITAS POTENTIA NOSTRA still today, the Pilot thought with a measure of pride.

Arming the Hawks with rocket pods for a ground attack, though... There was some time since that had taken place before. The Pilot was too young to remember whether the air-to-ground weapons were used during the War or the Battle of Porvoo – the only thing that came to mind were the operations in Karelia to support some of the Russian authorities in the 90s.

But this – this was queer. The order was clear, however:

Arm as many fighters you have available with air-to-ground weapons and stand by for orders to undertake strike missions within the Finnish national borders in support of Military Police operations.

Order authorized by the National Committee for the Continuity of Government - The National Military Police Command / Varis.”

It had not been possible to contact the Air Force HQ or Mikkeli itself to confirm the orders, so it was assumed that they were in authorized. Varis was a member of the National Committee in good standing, after all. And of course nobody wanted to be caught dead disobeying the orders of the man who led the feared Special Military Police.

The Pilot still felt his stomach twist itself into a knot. It was not an easy prospect to contemplate the aerial bombardment of protesting civilians, even if they were trying to overthrow the legal government.





What ever treasures Finland holds
Surely the most precious is freedom
Here every man has the right
To stand tall or proudly fall

So you children and elders
And you mothers and maidens
So long are your hearths safe
As even one man remains standing


Sillanpää/Mustonen: Sillanpään marssilaulu, 1940.





Notes:

[1] The Finnish Coast Guard was a component part of the Finnish Border Guard when both were folded into the Defence Forces in the run-up to the War in late 1983. After the Exchange, the Coast Guard was never re-established as a separate entity, but the FNA's Navy (such as it is) is also handling its former responsibilities.

[2] The Finnish-made Rk 62 assault rifle, used by the FNA military police as a common service weapon, includes an optional bayonet attachment.

[3] The logo used by the Finnish Air Force's Readiness Squadron (Valmiuslentolaivue, or VaLLv for short) operating the limited number of modern aircraft in the FAF's inventory in 2014.
 
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The traditions of Finnish officer corps will come back to haunt them now. Things will have to get awfully bad before the high-ranking commanders start to act against their superiours since "Preussische Feldmarschälle meutern nicht" :(
 
Oooh, getting tense ! :eek:

I hope Varis doesn't go as far out of his mind as to actually authorise an air strike against the protesters.

Interesting to see Soini picking up the opposition role, given his stance and position in the late 1980s, when the Acting died.
 
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Wonder what building in Portsmouth is being used to house Parliament? With efforts to rebuild Westminster well underway in 2014 it would certainly be an adaptation of something that exists already. IMVHO the British government would be keen to promote the idea that Portsmouth was only ever a temporary capital. London would rise again, just as it had the last time it had been destroyed by fire.

The BAE Hawk is the sort of aircraft likely to be back in production in TTL's 2014. There's a fair chance that the tooling may even have survived.
 
[1] The Finnish Coast Guard was a component part of the Finnish Border Guard when both were folded into the Defence Forces in the run-up to the War in late 1983. After the Exchange, the Coast Guard was never re-established as a separate entity, but the FNA's Navy (such as it is) is also handling its former responsibilities.

What sort of ships the Finnish Navy has? Looking at Wiki, bigger ships Finland had during the Exchange were the missile boat Helsinki, minelayers Keihässalmi and Pohjanmaa and gunboat Karjala. It would seem likely that at least some of these would have survived. Then there's of course smaller boats like Kiiski-class.

The BAE Hawk is the sort of aircraft likely to be back in production in TTL's 2014. There's a fair chance that the tooling may even have survived.

The Finnish National Administration probably just doesn't have enough money to buy new ones. A plane like the BAE Hawk is a large extent comparable ITTL to the F-35, a machine which only a few can afford. It seems possible that by 2014 Finns might be able to buy at least some spare parts though.
 
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What sort of ships the Finnish Navy has? Looking at Wiki, bigger ships Finland had during the Exchange were the missile boat Helsinki, minelayers Keihässalmi and Pohjanmaa and gunboat Karjala. It would seem likely that at least some of these would have survived. Then there's of course smaller boats like Kiiski-class.

What they have in 2014 is mostly smaller vessels from the pre-War Navy and Coast Guard inventories. Certainly several ships and boats would have been lost with the Pansio base. This was winter, so dispersing the smaller vessels pre-Exchange would have been more difficult than in the summer. On the other hand, Upinniemi survived - apart from suffering heavy fallout (and other follow-up effects from the capital area being destroyed) and being isolated post-War. Again here a weapon earmarked for the base must have been destroyed in its silo/launcher/bomber, or then it over/undershot and caused one of the three Helsinki blasts...

To be honest, I haven't given the survival of the Navy assets a lot of thought - I'll consult some sources and get back to you soon.:)


The Finnish National Administration probably just doesn't have enough money to buy new ones. A plane like the BAE Hawk is a large extent comparable ITTL to the F-35, a machine which only a few can afford. It seems possible that by 2014 Finns might be able to buy at least some spare parts though.

Yes, these are pre-War fighters, the surviving part of the circa 40 Hawks the FAF had during the War. They were put together at the Valmet Kuorevesi factory (ITTL the Finns could even complete the production of a few Hawks after the Exchange), so the Air Force would have the expertise to maintain them at Halli. Even if this would later be by cannibalizing some of the fighters to keep others flying. Halli would have had a decent amount of spare parts too, and I agree with you that they might be able to buy some from the British by 2014.
 
Wonder what building in Portsmouth is being used to house Parliament? With efforts to rebuild Westminster well underway in 2014 it would certainly be an adaptation of something that exists already. IMVHO the British government would be keen to promote the idea that Portsmouth was only ever a temporary capital. London would rise again, just as it had the last time it had been destroyed by fire.

As a resident of OTL Portsmouth, I'd say the obvious ATL stand-in for the Houses of Parliament would be the historic Guildhall. Any ATL post-war civil service could be housed in the Civic Offices across the square from the Guildhall, though I suspect that most of the plate glass frontage would have been damaged by the blast from the over-shooting warhead, and then by the "ammunition explosion" that sank the South African refugee ship, so only the inner rooms would be usable for some time after the Exchange...
 
Halli would have had a decent amount of spare parts too, and I agree with you that they might be able to buy some from the British by 2014.

With recent events in TTL Finland I would imagine that the first thing that HMG would do to express its displeasure would be to cut-off supplies of Hawk spare parts. Depending on the condition of the FAF's Hawks cutting off spares could see them grounded pretty quickly; just look at how quickly most of Zimbabwe's examples went u/s.
 
I do like that Palme survives longer than he did OTL (1), but he (and Sweden) could only do so much to help the Finns, especially given the fact that Sweden was struck during the Exchange.

(1) An interesting sidenote: Victor Gunnarsson, who was a suspect in Olof Palme's assassination, moved to the U.S. after he was cleared in the Palme assassination and, sadly, was murdered by the ex-fiancee (who also happened to be a former cop) of a woman he had become romantically involved with (said ex-fiancee is also believed to have killed the woman's mother). The ex-fiancee is still serving time in prison for the murder.

Interestingly, conspiracy theories are popular in regards to both Palme's and Gunnarsson's deaths OTL (though they are more in regards to the former's death than the latter).

BTW, DrakonFin, the US crime series Forensic Files had an episode about Gunnarsson's murder.
 
Carry the wells full of dryness
Gasp for breath
You spirits of a dried up spring
The waterline waves at you
The waters of the lakes bid you farefell

Chorus:

That beautiful grey firmament will open
The ashes land on your shoulders like in secret
Do we feel the fire?
Do we feel anymore?
Can we hear the roar?

Grow quiet, you fruits of the earth
Think deeply, you sweet forests and ends of forests
Will it bother to answer?
Does the autumn walk in your hearts?

Chorus:

That beautiful grey firmament will open
The ashes land on your shoulders like in secret
Do we feel the fire?
Do we feel anymore?
Can we hear it roar?

So heavy in tone, from twilight to twilight
(Was not a wolf's trail)
From twilight to twilight

To a darker darkness
(Was not a wolf's trail)
From darkness to darkness
From longing to longing

(Was not a wolf's trail)
From longing to longing
And still not
A wolf's trail
A wolf's trail

Chorus:

That beautiful grey firmament will open
The ashes land on your shoulders like in secret
Do we feel the fire?
Do we feel anymore?
Can we hear the roar?



Viikate: Susitaival (2007)


E8. To Stand Against the Dark, Part 2


Jan Holmén, 2 p.m. March 10th 2014

The square was was a happy riot, if it is possible to have one. It was even more packed of people than in the previous days – of course I knew that this was what the Badgers had planned for for weeks, but still it was overwhelming to see it. There were young people, old people, children even. Men and women. Fathers carried their kids over their shoulders, boys and girls pointing their fingers at things and exclaiming in wonder. And wonderful it was, the blue-and-white-clad Olympic crowd mingling with the burly union people, often in overalls, some wearing their helmets, the ”alternative” groups such as the black-clad anarchists with their ”Remember Lahti” chants, the punk rockers with spiky hairdos, the neo-Kalevalans with their vaguely medieval clothes with Finnic symbols on them. It was as if everything the Committee had tried to contain was now out in the open, under the bright winter sun.

On the other side of the square, in front of the Mannerheim statue, a grey-black wall of military police faced the crowd, the men disconcertingly still in their riot gear. One could see this was ordinary military police – young conscripted men, mostly, both tall and short unlike the elite ESP which (due to Varis's machinations, I was led to believe) recruited the tallest, strongest and brightest of each age cohort among its ranks. The ESP's raison d'etre was to protect the government and key strategic targets, as well as to act as something like the shock troops of crowd control, and so it was sort of hopeful to see the Crows, as they were called, were not yet here to face the multitude of people on the Mikkeli market square.[1]

On one side of the square, a stand built for the Olympic events had been taken over by the Badgers, and since morning it had featured speeches by opposition figures such as Saaresto from the Free Democrats, Tervo, the underground author, and Lehtinen, a young woman with a crazy hair from the New Coalition, as well as at least three different bands playing protest songs, but also more commonplace popular tunes about love and hope. On the other side, loudspeakers also originally set up for the Olympic coverage played the YLE radio – for some people, it seemed to be more important that they provided Olympic updates than news about the unfolding revolution. Revolution was what it was called now, and according to most news the Badgers were succeeding.

From time to time, though, I had to remind myself that the YLE was not the most trustworthy source to judge this by – the state radio channel's transformation to a staunch supporter of the pro-democracy movement was still being presided over by a FNA Colonel blackmailed into it all. For all I knew, Vartia could be again turned by the Committee at any time, or then just arrested and sidelined – but I had to say I was surprised how well he and the Badger infiltrators at YLE had managed the transition so far. It was pretty much a miracle the forces of law and order had not stormed the YLE buildings yet to stop the broadcasts – everyone here seemed to hope this was a sign of the Committee's weakness in the face of popular will.


The news about the formation of the Interim Council and its calls for the Committee to pull back all military units, as well as different endorsements to the Council, such as the Ostrobothnians and Social Democratic politicians were greeted with cheers. On the other hand, the the only way the Committee had answered these calls so far had been with violence. The information about the military police attacking the protesters, first in Joensuu, then in Lahti, and finally in Savonlinna (where a brutal bayonet charge and volleys of fire by the MP:s had caused a small number of conscripts who had joined the opposition to open fire on the military police in turn, leading to a pitted battle ending with several dead and tens wounded) made the people apprehensive and fearful, and some seeked confrontation with the troops lining the square, by throwing projectiles at them (even if they were mostly just snow balls) and singing taunting songs (those I could recognize were Eppu Normaali's Poliisi pamputtaa taas, Kollaa Kestää's Musti, sotakoira and Juice Leskinen's Poliisikouluun[2] with modified words).

The military police were getting reinforcements by the hour, also in ordinary army uniforms, but then the crowd of protestors was growing all the time, too, and getting more aggressive. A frisson went through the crowds when a group of military trucks arrived at the side of the square so far in rebel control, but then it was found out it was conscripts from a provisions section who had joined the rebellion, bringing food to the people on the square. As orderly lines were created to the field kitchen, a young man in a Lutheran pastor's clothes and very Christ-like visage with his long hair and beard led the people in a small prayer to say grace together before the meal was started in earnest.


...


Somewhere on Highway 14, 2 p.m March 10th 2014

As military convoys go, this one was pretty modest. A UAZ jeep was followed by an eight-wheeled BTR-60 armored personnel carrier and two Sisu trucks in military colours. Captured from the Soviets during the Battle of Porvoo, the meticulously maintained APC had a prominent radio antenna and other features marking it out as a command vehicle. This was the personal armored vehicle of the Commander of the Military Police, and Major General Varis did not go for understatement. Whereas the UAZ and the Sisus bore the ordinary Defence Forces winter camouflage paing of matte green and off-white, the APC had a stark, angular grey-black paint job with a prominent white ”SP01” painted on its side. A regulation-size Finnish state flag was flying on top of the APC, fluttering in the breeze.

Five men sat in the APC. The driver kept his mouth shut and his eyes in the road in front of him, lest he do something untoward to raise the General's ire. The General was speaking through a radio handset to different authorities, especially the Military Police Command in Mikkeli – but of course only when the radio operator, a slighty overweight Sergeant in square glasses could get through. It appeared someone was jamming the frequencies used by the military police.

The last two men were military police officers, and they were trying hard to hide their apprehension about it all. They eyed their superior and each other, seeing the General was acting like a man possessed, speaking quickly and making snap decisions. They didn't know what the military doctor had given the man to block the pain (and to stop him from succumbing to exhaustion as he hadn't really slept recently), but it seemed that rather than dulling the pain the pills just helped him ignore the pain on his arm. The second bullet had pierced his left earlobe as he ducked, but he was scarcely paying any attention to this secondary wound (or the blood spatters on his neck).

...and we'll go to Mikkeli and tell those elderly fools how we snuff out this bloody rebellion, by God! You see, men, they have done nothing substantial, nothing so far to help me to fight for law and order! Just sitting on their hands, just wishing it all go away. Well it isn't going away, not if we don't do anything. And we'll hit them where it hurts. These people are cowards, pansies and deserters. They don't have the steel in them to stand against real soldiers...”

Stopping his frenzied monologue for a moment, the General looked to the two officers and extended his hand.

- Mäkelä, the map, if you can be so kind.”

The map of Mikkeli and surroundings was promptly handed to him.

- This is what counts. We secure the capital, and all the major routes here, here and here...”

He stabbed the map with his index finger.

- And after we have cleansed everything inside of that area and consolidated our position, we will send strong expeditionary units to all towns now suffering from the anarchy created by the damn rebels. The Specials will lead the way, eh? They are the only men we can count to stay loyal to the legal government... To stay loyal to me, more importantly. By tomorrow night, we'll be back in control, and then we won't relinquish it again. Oh no. We'll use martial law, stricter curfews, bloody field courts on the streets if we need to, to make the damned rebels see what they are up against. Had the old fools followed my advice before we would not be in this mess in the first place, you mark my words. It is the dinosaurs in Mikkeli that led this government, this nation into this debacle. It is 1988 again, and we need to keep our heads up or we drown...”

Lieutenant Colonel Mäkelä could not keep his eyes away from the General's left hand playing with the flap of his pistol holster while he kept on with his monologue. It seemed as if he would any minute now pull out the weapon.

...Sergeant, have all the units in Mikkeli acknowledged the orders?”, the General suddenly asked, turning to the radio man.

- Some of them have, General”, the man said with an unsure voice.

- Many are not receiving at all, and at least one jaeger unit sent a negative response, saying that they need orders from within their own chain of command...”

The General banged his right hand violently on the side wall, surprising everyone else in the vehicle and causing the driver to verve slightly. He then clenched his teeth – apparently it had hurt his left arm when he did that.

- The chain of command”, he said between clenched teeth”, that's the problem, isn't it? The men who should be making decisions are not making them, and that is what is paralyzing the forces of law and order in this country at this moment. A child can see it! If this goes on for any longer, the fools will condemn this nation to oblivion!”

He looked ominously into the eyes of Mäkelä sitting opposite him.

- We'll stop that right now."

He turned to the radio operator.

" - Get me the Air Force base in Halli."


Mäkelä thought the General looked wolfish, in the twilight of the vehicle, as he fixed his eyes on the driver.

" - Lehto,” he barked to the driver, ”step on it. Run over the UAZ if you have to. I need to meet the Committee and I need to do it NOW.”






The Karkialampi garrison area , Mikkeli, 2.30 p.m. March 10th 2014

The military police officer went through the garrison area with a squad of his men in tow, armed with assault rifles, checking all the buildings for men to be sent to bolster the lines of the government troops in the town centre and around the Government Buildings. And, of course, to take back the YLE broadcast centre – apparently the ESP unit occupying it had joined the rebellion. A damn ESP unit, bugger it to hell! The officer felt disgusted.

So far they had only digged out about a platoon of men, now standing as a disorganized gaggle near the vehicles the MP:s had brought along. Supply people, cooks, clerks, medics... It was all backwards and fucked up, the officer thought. The garrison had more weapons than men, he knew, and you had to have someone shooting them to make a difference...

He banged the door of a barracks building with the butt of his assault rifle, and just before he ordered his men to break it down, surprisingly a woman's voice answered on the other side.

- Military police, Miss. Open the door and let us in!”

Slowly, the door was opened, with a woman wearing the uniform of a Lotta Svärd Section Leader with a determined look on her face.

- There's nobody here but us, Lieutenant.”

The officer started to walk in past the woman but she wouldn't budge.

- Who's us, Section Leader?”

- Two sections of Lotta Svärd, Southern Mikkeli AG 96, under the command of me and Section Leader Kohonen.”

The military police officer looked at the fierce woman - and had an idea. It was desperate times, after all...

- Section Leader, national emergency has been declared and the National Military Police Command has just ordered all uniformed units in the capital area to arm themselves and join the defensive lines against the rebels who are trying to overthrow the legal government. It all hangs in the balance. I am under direct orders from General Varis himself to gather all the units at the garrison and make sure they are following the orders.”

He paused for a while, to study the face of the thirtyish Lotta leader.

- Your unit has received arms training, yes?”

- Some, like all Lotta Svärd do, you know that. But that does not mean...”

- Section Leader, my orders were for all uniformed units. Yours is that – it does not matter you are women. You have a duty towards the Fatherland. You will follow orders or face court martial!”

The Lieutenant could see the Lotta leader still hesitating. He forged on.

- Come on, hop to it! Get the units organized. We're going to the armory in five minutes!”

Almost surprisingly, the Section Leader saluted him, and turned back to get her girls. It had worked.

The military police officer didn't know what to think. This is justified, he told himself. This is what needs to be done. This is me taking initiative. Yes, that was it. He had applied for a post in the Special Military Police and Varis was nothing if not pragmatic. If he could help to put down the rebellion with the help of armed Lottas, well, that might be his direct ticket to the ESP. Maybe a promotion, too, for good measure!

This might be just what he needed. And the Fatherland too, of course.


.


The Government Buildings, Mikkeli, 2.45 p.m. March 10th 2014.

The Chairman of the National Committee for the Continuation of Government looked around the table, to the worn, wrinkled, expectant faces of the men around it. Most of them were as old as he was, or at least not much younger. As tired as he was, he knew that these men waited for him to lead them – they had grown used to it during the last three decades since the War. Three decades the most of them had served together. Served Finland, through good and worse.

The Chairman wanted to think all he had done was to serve the Finnish people. All those that had survived the nuclear holocaust the wiped away more than two thirds of his people. The nuclear holocaust that had killed his wife and children. But as of late, he had grown doubtful. Maybe it was old age. Maybe it was natural one started to look back on his decisions when his health and his memory started to fail him. When one had to struggle even with everyday things, one could just not wipe away his doubts like younger men do, and stride on towards new things and fresh challenges.

The Chairman had had enough challenges for one lifetime. Or maybe two or more lifetimes, he had recently started to think, as every time he closed his eyes he saw the same scene, the same cold horror staring him into his face.

- So, gentlemen”, the old General said to the threadbare Committee in front of him, ”we have discussed the matter at length and I think we have reached consensus. We have reached a decision on what we need to do. Does anyone oppose the measure?”

No hands were raised.

- It is settled then. We will move on as decided. Now we need to contact Major General Varis as soon as possible...”





Joni, Mikkeli, 3 p.m. March 10th 2014

I had never thought revolution would look like this. Singing, speeches, good news from near and far...

...Word has been sent from Iisalmi that the military units in the town are not obeying the orders from the Northern Command anymore, but have defected to the Interim Council in their entirety, including the new conscript troops sent to the area...”

...Ostrobothnian volunteers have reached Pieksämäki and been joyfully received by the strikers controlling the town and rail yard area...”

...Through general peaceful resistance in the Districts and military police units have withdrawn towards Lappeenranta, abandoning vehicles and weapons on their way...”

..Taken control of the entire State University area in Joensuu and withstood two further assaults by the military that now seems demoralized by recent...”

...By the British government to impose sanctions on the National Committee along the lines agreed together with the French and Swiss governments, unless their terms are met in two...”

...Swedish aid that is pouring to the southern coast through the ports of Hanko, Porvoo and Hamina. Vice Admiral Tikka, the Commander of the Navy, has agreed with the Swedish the units under his command will not take measures to stop the...”

Together with the guys, we took a position in the first lines against the military police holding the side of the square in front of the old houses of the provincial government. If anything, the cuts and bruises from our previous encounter with them only made us bolder. They could hurt us, sure. But we would only come back stronger! Listening to the music playing behind us, shouting our slogans at them, throwing their crey-black line of shields with snow balls, waving our black flags at their faces we felt invincible.

- Dogs! You damn, dirty dogs!”

Invincible... Until their officers started shouting orders and the whole line started advancing on us, truncheons held high. And we would be the first to face them. As I looked at Väänänen's face, he had gone deadly pale.

- Joni”, he said, ”maybe that last snow ball was too much.”


...


The Halli Air Base, 3.15 p.m. March 10th 2014

The klaxons sounded the alarm all around the air base.

The four pilots walked briskly to the fighters and started the take-off procedures, with the air mechanics helping them. The order had come down from Mikkeli and the Readiness Squadron was ordered to send aircraft towards the capital itself to support the military police units in their fight against the rebel forces that were on the brink of taking over central Mikkeli.

The Pilot thought the Committee must truly be desperate, thinking about the strike coordinates that had been given to them. He was not quite sure himself if he could go through it. But orders were orders, and these appeared to come from the legal national authority. It was the Pilot's duty as an officer in the Finnish Air Force to follow them, for better or for worse.

After receiving the go-ahead from the Halli tower, the four BAE Hawks took off into the blue winter sky in a quick succession, and then settled into a formation and assumed an easterly course.





Maria, Mikkeli, 3.45 p.m. March 10th 2014

I could see Noora looked more lost than ever before when we were riding with the handful of MP:s and the assorted armed soldiers from the garrison towards the market square. Nobody said nothing. Nobody was joking around like we did all the time with the girls in my unit. Now it was different. It was horrible.

And it didn't get better when we arrived at by the square. The trucks took us behind a line of military police that was starting to attack the protestors. There were so many of them, the square was so full. To shoot weapons in there, any weapons, it would be pure murder, I thought.

We climbed down from the trucks lugging around the heavy submachineguns. Madness, pure madness. To give us Suomi SMGs and order us into war! I mean sure, we could shoot with them, at least after the military police Lieutenant demonstrated it to us, but still – us, going against the protesters!

And then the Lieutenant ordered us all to form a mixed line with the soldiers to the right flank of the military police force.

- Ready your weapons, troops”, he said, with a queer light in his eyes, ”the bloody rebels will not get past us today!”

Suddenly, there was a roar in the air, like thunder - or jet aircraft. Everyone, on both sides, craned their heads towards the air to see the four little specs approaching the city centre from the west.

And everything stopped.





The Government Buildings, Mikkeli, 3.30 p.m. March 10th 2014

The door flew open violently as Major General Varis barged into the conference room. A ESP Lieutenant Colonel followed three steps behind him. The Major General was breathing heavily, the left side of his neck still partly covered with drying blood. On his left arm, blood was seeping through the field dressing, making it look like he was wearing a red armband instead of a Military Police symbol.

The Chairman didn't even turn around.

- You're late, Varis”, the old man said in a cold voice.

The Major General faced the table, his eyes wild.

- Yes I am, General Halonen!”, he said in a loud, mocking voice.

- I have been out there trying to keep this government in power. If you haven't noticed, General, we a have a full-blown revolution on our hands!”

A single drop of blood fell from his ear to the floor. A Signals Corporal arrived to the room, stopping cold in his tracks after seeing the wild-eyed Varis staring at him. The Corporal opened his mouth and stammered.

- Yes, Corporal, out with it!”, he snapped to the young man who had gone deadly pale.

...- Mr. Chairman, General, sirs, the Military Police commander in Joensuu reports that he has lost control of the University area and the town centre. Only a third of his men still follow his orders... The news from Jyväskylä are roughly the same. Ostrobothnian troops are still advancing...”

Varis turned trimphantly to the table.

- Hear that, gentlemen!”, he announced.

- We are losing this battle! If we don't move now, decisively, we'll lose the whole damn war!”

Another drop of blood landed on the floor. The men around the table sat in uncomfortable silence.

Varis painfully raised his left arm.

-They fucking tried to shoot me! Me! And they very nearly got me, too. Just a few centimeters to the right and... Those filthy rebels! Those bloody communists! They have snipers on rooftops and they won't rest until we're all dead!”

The Chairman of the National Committee for the Continuity of Government slowly turned around in his chaír and looked directly at Varis.

- Major General, would you be so kind as to sit down in your seat so we can move forward on the agenda.”

He pointed to an empty chair.

Varis stared General Halonen in disbelief.

- Agenda? What bloody agenda? With respect”, the bloody man snarled mockingly, ”fuck your agenda! We're losing control, our units mutiny, we're being hunted down on the streets, the bloody stoats are sending troops into our territory with impunity... The time for talk is over! We have to declare martial law and order a full mobilization right now!”

The old General stood up.

-We are not going to do such a thing, Varis.”

The room was deadly silent.

- It has come to our attention that you have ordered your units to shoot the protesters. Reports say that at least fourty people have already died and over, what, one hundred and fifty injured.”

- So what? It was – is - necessary to stop the rebels! It is war out there! Of course you old men hiding here in your hole can't see that...”

The old General looked down at the younger man, now clearly angry.

- You had no right! We did not authorize this! And it is our responsibility! Ours! I am sick and tired of you continually overstepping your authority and making a mockery of this Committee!”

Many of the men around the table nodded at that. Now anger flared in several old eyes.

Major General Varis looked furious now.

- I am sorry if you can't see it, Halonen, but this is it! This government is about to fall, and we are the last line standing before the abyss. We are the last thing standing against darkness! The line must hold!”

The old General's eyes narrowed at this. There was some angry mutter around the table, and one or two men started to get up.

- Varis, were you commanding troops during the War?”

The younger officer looked at his superior, eyes blazing in anger.

- You know I wasn't, you old fool. I can't bloody see what the meaning of...”

- Did you serve in the camps on the Line? Did you take part in the Battle of Porvoo? Organize mass evacuations or command a first line unit during the first year of the Reclamation, perhaps?”

- No, General, how could I? I was too young to...”

The old General looked at the man before him with something like a combination of fury and deep sadness in his eyes.

- So who are you to talk to us about darkness, Varis? To these men around this table? To me?”

Varis stood with his mouth open, at loss for words.

- We are the last line against the dark, you say. Those are empty words coming from you. You won't lecture these men about the dark, young man. You don't talk to me about the dark, Varis.”

Now the old General's voice was only a hard whisper.

- You don't know the dark, boy.”

Cold corpse eyes in the dark, judging his every move... The old man cleared his throat and fixed his eyes again on the upstart officer before him.

- As of this moment, I am relieving you from your duty as the Commander of the Military Police. You are also to take a leave from your duties in the Committee, pending a formal inquiry into your actions.”

The younger officer didn't say anything. He just stared at the old General.

-You're dismissed , Major General.”

The old General turned around, facing the men around the table, ignoring Varis.

- We will negotiate”, he said to the tired old men around the table. Most of them nodded their heads.

- We are not going to bring more death to this nation, not after all these years. I am not ordering our own citizens killed. Instead, I am going to order all the troops to stand down and to return to their barracks forthwith. We have no other way to...”

The General was surprised to hear the loud report of a pistol. In front of him, a bullet lodged itself to the heavy wooden table. The old man turned around to see Major General Varis pointing his sidearm towards him.

- For treason in the line of duty...”, the younger man muttered, looking like he was detached from the world around him, somehow. This was not going the way he thought it would.

The words that then came out of the old General's mouth were surprisingly emotionless.

- That's it, Varis. You are stripped of your rank in the Defence Forces and your position in this Committee.”

He glanced towards the Special Military Police Lieutenant Colonel who had accompanied Varis to the room and had stood dumbstruck by the sidelines, watching the events unfold in the room.

- Lieutenant Colonel, this man is no longer your superior. Take, ah, Private Varis into custody. He will stand trial for high treason and attempted murder. Get him out of my sight.”

The General glanced at the man at the table, wearing a civilian police uniform with impressive rank tabs and a horrified expression on his face.

- Mäkinen, accompany the Private and the Lieutenant Colonel, would you. We wouldn't want any trouble now.”

Varis had dropped his pistol to the floor and he did not raise a hand when the two men escorted him out of the door.

The men around the table looked in horror as the blood stain on the General's otherwise immaculate tunic slowly became bigger.

- Väistö,” the old man said to the Engineer officer.

- You are in charge now until Koskelo returns from the Olympics. Start the negotiations. We will not have any further bloodshed.”

As the Lieutenant General nodded he saw Halonen fall to his knees. Only then he and some other men in the room realized the need for medical assistance. The spell was broken and the men stood up to help the fallen General.

- Medic! Someone get a damned medic in the room!”

The old man fell slowly on his side on the floor. He could feel someone ripping open his tunic, but he didn't care about it anymore. From the corners of his eyes he could see the darkness, slowly creeping closer.

The old man smiled as he saw what it was - a pure, unadulterated darkness. A deep, clean darkness. It was a promise of peace, finally the oblivion he had long hoped for. As pure dark enveloped the old man, his dry lips formed two words.

- Thank you”, whispered the dying man.




Private Varis, Mikkeli, 3.40 p.m. March 10th 2014.

Varis walked along the empty corridor flanked by two silent men. He was not sure what was happening, but for some reason he could feel the ground slipping away from below his feet. And for some reason he felt that his feet might never touch the ground again, and briefly that filled him with unimaginable terror.

And then, suddenly, he didn't quite realize why the two men beside him were being so wordlessly hostile towards him. After all, he was the man who saved Finland.

Wasn't he?


.



In the air over Mikkeli, 3.45 p.m. March 10th 2014

The four Hawks closed in on central Mikkeli in perfect, tight formation. The Pilot looked ahead, towards to the market square brimming with people. It was the most people he had ever seen in one place.

It was such a shame.

His target lined up, he started to move his fingers towards the button.

And then he heard the anxious, breathless voice in his headphones.

- This is Halli Tower to Peregrine Flight – ABORT ATTACK! I repeat ABORT ATTACK! Peregrine Flight, the attack has been called off! Your orders are to return to base immediately!”

Removing his finger from the button, the Pilot suddenly felt an enormous weight lifted from his shoulders. And then immediately a cold shiver followed through his body. It had been so close it was almost ridiculous.

The flight of four Hawk fighters turned in a wide arc above the centre of Mikkeli, heading back towards the Finnish Air Force's main base, with the cold but bright sun caressing their sleek lines – and the unused rocket pods in the hardpoints under their wings.

The Pilot smiled all the way home.




Sven Blomqvist, Mikkeli, 4.10 p.m. March 10th 2014

The Swedish journalist working for the Göteborgs-Tidningen looked at the battle raging on the Mikkeli market square. The four military jets flying low above the town centre had frozen everything for a moment, but now the clashes continued. If the Finnish military government had thought it could scare the protesters by buzzing them with aircraft, it was sorely mistaken, the Swedish newspaperman thought. Now it seemed though that the military police could not advance against the press of people and men with improvised means of protection in the first line by using only clubs and truncheons, so the advance had stopped for the while.

Scanning around the crowd with his camera in hand Blomqvist suddenly saw a face he could recognize – the revered protest leader, the man they called Big H. He was unmistakable, with his tall frame and long grey hair and full beard. Blomqvist was about to turn his gaze as he realized who the man was standing with. That was... That was Holmén, the Project Minne leader, Blomqvist thought with a chill. It was like a lightbulb going on in his head. Of course! It had been Holmén all along – the link between the Swedish government and the rebel leadership! He pointed his camera towards the two men – this photo would be worth gold...

Then someone pushed him and he lost the view towards the two men. And could not locate then anymore. With the crowd pushing him, he had drifted towards the front, closer to the left side of the military police line.

And there he saw it – soldiers with weapons, and women in uniform with weapons. The female ”volunteers” the Finns called Lotta Svärd. And they had been armed! Blomqvist started snapping fotos of the women, no, girls with submachine guns as the crowd started the chant.

STAND DOWN! STAND DOWN! STAND DOWN! STAND DOWN””

The Swedish journalist looked around himself, uncomprehending.





Joni, Mikkeli, 4.20 p.m. March 10th 2014

The news spread fast among the people in the square. The Committee had ordered all the troops to stand down and return to their barracks! It was on the radio, it was everywhere. We joined the chant, and in a few minutes, the line of military police started to withdraw.

It was slow at first, and orderly. But then one, two, four and more of the men started throwing down their shields and their truncheons and just walked away. Some ran. In just minutes, the military police line collapsed on itself.

Inspired by the moment and feeling giddily victorious I grabbed a black Anarchist flag from a man next to me, just standing with a smile on his face, chanting with the others. I took the flag, took a few sprinting steps and climbed on top of a civilian police Lada that had been abandoned in the no-man's land between the two sides.

Waving the flag with a flourish I felt I was in the centre of it all.

Then I saw the girls. Pretty girls in Lotta uniforms, with submachineguns of all things in their hands. As soon I saw them, they started throwing the damn things to the ground. It was an amazing sight, and I just stared at them.

And so it took me a while to see the military police officer aiming his rifle towards me. I remember feeling so surprised when the shot rang out.

And then I fell.





Maria, 4.20 p.m. March 10th 2014

STAND DOWN, STAND DOWN, STAND DOWN...”, the people were chanting, and the military police started to lower their weapons and withdraw. We looked at Noora. She gingerly put down her weapon and then looked sternly at us.

- Section! Lower weapons!”

Right then, I was distracted by this young punk rocker with a spiky hair dyed black, who had climbed on top of a car and waved a black flag around with a wide, dumb smile on his face.

The military police Lieutenant who had brought us to the square looked around him, lost, and then also seemed to fix his eyes on the young man now drawing cheers from the crowd.

- Damn filthy Anarchist!”, the soldier exclaimed, raising his rifle and aiming it at the stupidly smiling young man.

I was just a few paces from him. The rifle was still in my hand. Quickly, unthinking, I grabbed it from that barrel and swung it towards the man, putting all my strength and pesäpallo practice behind the hit.

It hit him in the neck and he collapsed to the ground. But not before he had pushed the trigger. I heard the shot and saw the young man, too, fall to the ground.





Joni, 4.25 p.m. March 10th 2014

I slipped from the roof of the Lada to hit the ground hard. And for a brief while I was thoroughly confused about what had happened. Then I felt a pain on my leg.

I opened my eyes to see a girl's face in front of me, blue eyes, a slightly open mouth and a concerned expression, all framed with long, open fair hair glowing in the bright afternoon sun.

It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

Without saying anything, she held out a hand. When I reached and grabbed it, she helped me up with surprising force.

And then she kissed me.





After considering many worthy options from the past year, the jury has decided to present the award for the Swedish Photograph of the Year to photo journalist Sven Blomqvist, of the Göteborgs-Tidningen, for his beautiful and poignant picture of the recent Finnish Revolution, called ”Two Tribes”. The photo, showing the kiss between two young people from different realities is not only an intimate document of a real historical event and the part played in it by two individual, very real people, but it also acts as a memorable and relevant document symbolising in broader terms the issues behind the Finnish Revolution and its ultimately fairly bloodless resolution in March 2014. It showcases the occupation of the press photographer, the quest to intrepidly enter life-threatening situations and locations to bring out the pictures that move us and stop us to consider all the beauty this world holds even between the uglier sides of its grim reality...”[3]


...


Is it not enough,
There open up
Golden gates to a new day
And the world still goes around
Is it not enough,
You are loved
A lot and always more
And you are trusted?
Is it not enough,
That sometimes, rarely,
Your hands will draw a line,
permanent and real?

Chorus:

... Light takes time on its journey
...The days change their faces
And you walk through a shining world.

Is it not enough,
Your feelings will overwhelm you
In the sight of broken beauty
Is it not enough,
They always rise before you
Shining new paths to the morning on your way?

Chorus:

Time rolls forward on its path
...Fierce winds cover the earth
And you walk through a shining world.

Sometimes your face shows a map of pain
And sometimes the web of the sun
And you know you are still here
Nothing happens tomorrow

Chorus:

...Light takes time on its journey
...The days change their faces
Time rolls forward on its path
And you walk through a shining world.

CMX: Kuolemaantuomitut (2007)


...


Notes:

[1] The Special Military Police traces its origin to the Riots of 1988, the pro-democracy demonstrations that gained momentum after the death of Acting President Leppänen. The newly-formed Committee for the Continuity of Government sent the police and military to contain the growing riots, fearful that the events would lead to anarchy and the fall of the still tenuous structure of the reconstructed Finnish state - only to see a majority of its units disobeying orders or at least stalling and dragging their feet in their actions. Only a handful of military police units from North Karelia and South Savonia acted decisively and carried out their orders, in effect breaking the back of the protest movement while most of the military was paralysed. In effect this served to consolidate the position of the Committee for the years to come. As a result, these units were rewarded by naming them ”Special” Military Police and subsequently giving their members better rations and various perks, including the first pick of better equipment and vehicles, and so on.

The ESP units would retain their position as a part of the general military police structure, though, until 2005 when the ambitious (and well-regarded) young Lt. Colonel Varis was put in charge of the military police organization. After that, in under a decade, Varis has built the ESP up as an explicitly independent elite formation. Varis, who had quickly risen through the ranks of the military police itself, since entering the military as a conscript at age 17 in 1985, faces quiet resentment among the other service branches of the FNA military for his favoured position and the resources at his disposal, as well as for – as some see it – building a ”private army” for himself.

[Interestingly, the nickname of the ESP, ”Crows”, was already used of the military police - along with the older nickname ”Dogs” - since 1994 when the MP units were first issued the new grey-black uniforms to distinguish them from the grey (or camouflage) uniforms of the ordinary army troops, and it is then just a coincidence that their leader is called Varis (Finnish for ”crow”) - though certainly the ascension of Varis as the national military police commander cemented the fact that the term would be specifically used in connections with the elite ESP units. - JSH]

[2] ”To the Police Academy”. Originally used as a protest song already in 1988 by Leskinen himself, then a prominent opposition figure.

[3] An excerpt from a press release from the Swedish Press Photographers' Club, October 2014, concerning their yearly photo competition held since 1942.


...


The Land of Sad Songs Will Be Continued In

E9. The Popular Demand

And Concluded In

E10. The Backroads of History


(filler)
 
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After all the grim darkness in this TL I was dead-certain that those Hawks would turn it into a bloodbath. Phew.

Great update.
 
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After all the grim darkness in this TL I was dead-certain that those Hawks would turn it into a bloodpath. Phew.

Great update.

Thank you. I thought that at this point I could do with a bit of a lighter touch - I am happy if I managed to surprise someone at least.:)
 
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