Rebel (Blue Alert)

**Key Features** | »» Kar 98 bolt-action rifle w/ extra clip»» Schmeisser MP 45 submachine gun»» Head scarf and old shoes (taken from workers)»» Civilian clothing to hide amongst the crowds»» Copy of "Kar 98: Field Stripping and Operation" (in Arabic)

*"The higher order shall reign!"*

- WLA slogan

## Tactical Analysis

* **We shall fight**: An unfortunate combination of enthusiastic, badly trained and ill equipped, Rebels are the grunt fighters of the World Liberation Army. Their bolt action rifles are good against infantry, but not much else.

* **Nothing will stop us**: When their bolt action rifles prove unsuitable, Rebels are capable of switching to their Schmeisser submachine guns, which are faster firing. However, do note that this still leaves them highly vulnerable to armoured threats.

* **We will die for the cause**: With no protection save the clothes on their back, Rebels will fall quickly in a straight out fight. The upside of this is that they can be quickly and cheaply trained.

* **They will never see me**: However, while they are poor combatants, they can fade into the desert sands or shifting urban crowds, making fighting them a frustrating prospect.

## Background

### Forming the Rebellion

The world is divided into many camps. The Democratic Communism of the Comintern, the varying degrees of Liberal Democracy of the Alliance, and the Axis powers' assorted forms of Oligarchy and Absolutism form the basis of "conventional" politics. However, there are some who reject all these "ways", whether out of a devotion to religious extremism, a proto-nationalist belief in the formation of a warrior's paradise, or out of a venemous hatred out of the powers that be and a rejection of both capitalism and collectivist thought. These people have come together in a vast if loosely organized army known as the World Liberation Army, a collection of paradoxes and often confused beliefs united primarily by hating the rest of the world more than each other. Whether they wish to drive out the Axis, Alliance, and Comintern for being "godless invaders", whether they wish to create a new nation for the mighty to prove themselves, or whether they want to tear down the powers they believe oppress them, countless young men and women join together as Rebels. Showing their devotion to their religion, their desire for power and wealth, or their hatred of the elite.

These young people, while devoted, are a combination of poorly trained and poorly equipped, and fanaticism can only get one so far. Among such persons, it can be hard to find those who can call themselves long term veterans due to the rate of attrition they suffer regardless of what variation of "the cause" they believe in. Insanely brave, resolute, and pious, Rebels form the backbone of the WLA, and can be seen in any conflict with the WLA. From the organization's very beginnings as an alliance of fundamentalists, individualist anarchists, mercenaries and warlords, nationalist freedom fighters, and others; to when Epsilon helped build them into a mighty army capable of taking on the world to now where they cause trouble all across the planet. They find no shortage in people who hate the status quo enough to join up with their various causes, and while they may have incompatible end goals, so long as they cooperate enough to get the job done the WLA's loose network of ring leaders cares rather little for their internal squabbles and even internal conflicts.

While there is no shortage of men to volunteer for the WLA, there is a difficulty in getting them enough weapons without getting the attention of the authorities in areas the WLA does not control enough to operate above ground or set up factories in. Looking for the cheapest alternative, they armed their men with Kar 98 rifles and Schmeisser MP 45 submachine guns supplied by International Inc. While the Kar 98 has become obsolete in an era of assault rifles, it is easy to reload, and more importantly (for the WLA), extremely cheap and easy to acquire. The Schmeisser, on the other hand, is somewhat more up to date, while also being cheap enough to buy in bulk. This allowed the WLA to arm a great insurgent army that lay like a sleeping snake, and when Geoffrey reached out to them, they were eager to accept his aid in building their rebellion, being given added funds and supplies and the means with which to set up a great many cells to launch an attack against their enemies. Laying low for the most part, the WLA fooled the world into believing that they were weak even as they prepared to launch an orchestra of violence.

Like many conscripted forces, the common rebel is a poorly educated dupe. However, this means the common rebel is also a fanatical dupe. He sees the worst excesses of the Alliance in Afghan sprawls or the brutal crackdowns in colonies the Alliance refused to let go of. They see their ancestor's faith being mutated into something obscene and hedonistic in communist territory or the power of their once mighty feudal tribes being broken up. They saw the opulence of the Axis and its commitment to strange and false leaders and its hypocrisy in denouncing the expansionism of the others while building up its empires. Some simply have grown to be disgusted with the softness of the world and its decadence, or have grown addicted to the power that being strong grants them, and fear that the world will try to render their ways irrelevant. The world is changing too fast for many of them to understand, and no one is willing to explain it to them what is happening save for a few who dare to speak their minds against the way the world is going. So these simple men and women resort to fighting, rarely finding understanding in their struggles but finding solace in a new identity. All they needed was the right moment.

### World War III

That moment came with Epsilon's attacks in the third world war. Joining with their newfound allies, the World Liberation Army launched its attacks with shocking brutality and organization. In Kuala Lampur, a parade being organized was suddenly and shockingly attacked with a stolen Vacuum warhead fitted to a massive truck and a series of car bombs before their insurgents revealed themselves and assaulted the military parade; tanks emerging from the tunnels and causing havoc in the streets. In Morocco, V2 missiles rained down from the skies without warning and spread deadly poisons before rebel cells emerged from hiding with their guns at the ready and cut down Comintern patrols to seize important towns. In eastern africa, Pan-African air bases found themselves being assaulted by quick moving buggies that raced through the defenses while rebels went around placing booby traps wherever they could. In western asian pact territory, rebel cells emerged from the ground and opened fire on soldiers whose defenses were oriented for attacks by the Alliance and many oil fields found themselves now seized by the Rebels.