This is an updated version of an older post of mine, Made because I hadn’t seen a comprehensive list of all vehicle skins with their respective methods of obtainment. Hope this helps some people out there who are like me, and want every last cosmetic possible.
Note – I assigned many skins rarities based on their chance of spawning in the game, there is no rarity system for vehicle skins!
Contents:

1. Best Methods of Vehicle Hijacking.
2. Outrunner Skins
3. Technical Skins
4. Cyclone Skins
5. Jetbeast skins (DLC 3 only vehicle)

1. Best Methods of/ Tips for Vehicle Hijacking

Some general tips to follow:

1. Play on Normal Mode so that enemies do less damage to vehicles. Nothing sucks more than getting a rare vehicle to spawn, hijacking it, only to have it get blown up.
2. Play on Mayhem Mode 1, enemy vehicles will spawn in at your level. You will be significantly less likely to destroy enemy vehicles on accident. In the case of Fl4k players, playing on Mayhem 1 means your pet won’t destroy vehicles before you can get them.
3. Use the outrider with a tesla cannon/gun (forget exact name) to kill enemy drivers without destroying the vehicle. This method works great in areas where vehicles don’t go after the player or otherwise stay distanced.
4. Many vehicles will drive near the player to attack when you are out of your Vehicle. Use this to your advantage, but be aware that upon hijacking, enemies exiting the vehicle can then easily destroy the vehicle. Get away fast or use the outrider method mentioned above instead.

2. Outrunner Skins:

A. Automatic unlocks – Found in Catch-A-Ride when first unlocked:
· Default – Can also be found on outriders in Ascension Bluff.
· Angel

• Atlas

· Ellie
· Hyperion
· Jakobs
· Torgue
· Vladof
B. Crew Challenge Unlocks – Awarded by bringing in vehicles marked on map to Catch-A-Ride:
· Flames – Ascension Bluff hijack target.
· Triangles – Floodmoor Basin hijack target.
· Bug Racer – Devil’s Razor hijack target (there are two targets in this area, one is a technical.)
· Stealth – Desolation’s Edge hijack target (there are two targets in this area, one is a cyclone.)
C. Story/Mission unlocks – Awarded on campaign or side mission milestones/completion:
· Grog Lube – Complete side mission “Get Quick, Slick”.
· Prisa’s Garage – Complete side mission “Get Quick, Slick”.
· (DLC 2) Spicy Tuna Roll – Complete side mission “Call of the Deep”. Check mail upon completion, (empty mail space and exit/enter mail if it was already full at time of mission). A white pistol from Omen should be there, open the message and the skins will unlock in the Catch-A-Ride.
· Bubble Gum – Complete the Floodmoor Basin Dynasty Dash burger mission, using an outrunner, and fulfill all optional objectives. Play in co-op to make this easier. Can also be found very rarely in The Droughts.
D. random spawn unlocks – Found on random vehicles in various locations:
· Children of the Vault – (common) Any map with outrunner vehicles and a COV presence will frequently spawn vehicles with this skin.
· Forest – (uncommon) Found in The Droughts on random vehicles.
· Golden Hog – (very rare) Found in Desolation’s Egde on random vehicles.
· Houndstooth – (very rare) Found in Devil’s Razor on random vehicles.
· Infection – (very rare) ??? Possibly bugged to a certain level character, no clue how I obtained.
· Pirate – (rare) Found in The Droughts on random vehicles.
· Historic Racing – (uncommon) Found in Meridian Metroplex on random vehicles
· Maliwan – (common) Found in any map with vehicles and a Maliwan presence.
· Pyscho-Mobile – (uncommon) Found in Devil’s Razor on random vehicles.
· Rage Cage – (rare) Found in The Droughts & Devil’s Razor on random vehicles.
E. Bugged/Unobtainable
· (DLC 2) Tentacar
· Red Machine
· Slow and Mad
· Dahl
· Festive
· Gearbox
· Shirking Convention
· Hexagons

3. Technical Skins:

A. Automatic unlocks – Found in Catch-A-Ride when first unlocked:
· Default

• Atlas

· Ellie
· Hyperion
· Jakobs
· Torgue
· Vladof
· Dahl
B. Crew Challenge unlocks – Awarded by bringing in vehicles marked on map to Catch-A-Ride:
· Follow-Me – Meridian Outskirts hijack target.
· Plaid – Splinterlands hijack target.
· Skag – Devil’s Razor hijack target (there are two targets in this area, one is an outrunner.) Also obtainable from hijacking a rare-spawn technical named “Skagzilla” in the droughts.
C. Story/mission unlocks – Awarded on campaign or side mission milestones/completion:
· Maya – Complete story mission “Beneath the Meridian”.
· Golden Ticket – Complete story mission “Angels and Speed Demons”.
· Vaugn’s - Complete story mission “Angels and Speed Demons”.
· Roadkill – Only available during “The Next Mouthpiece” side mission, not a set reward!!! Must hijack the war pig vehicle that only spawns only once during this mission. It’s lost if destroyed, can be earned on either playthrough or TVHM mission reset.
· (DLC 2) Spicy Tuna Roll – Complete side mission “Call of the Deep”. Check mail upon completion, (empty mail space and exit/enter mail if it was already full at time of mission). A white pistol from Omen should be there, open the message and the skins will unlock in the Catch-A-Ride.
D. Random spawn unlocks – Found on random vehicles in various locations:
· Blue Angels - (rare) Found in Neon Arterial on random vehicles. (Steps for hijack below.)
Edit: can be found very rarely in meridian outskirts along with thunderbird. If farming in that location skip the steps below, as they pertain to getting them in the neon arterial.
Note - This is a hard skin to get, you can’t chase the vehicle and hijack it, as the vehicle despawns after traveling a short, scripted distance.
Also note that the technical can spawn with the Thunderbird skin, which is predominately white. Make sure the technical has the skin you want as it won’t respawn after hijacking. Just let it get away and respawn if it has the wrong skin.
Take a vehicle through and kill all cyclones, up until the first drop down into the causeway. IGNORE the technical that you pass in this section, let it get away, as it despawns. If a cyclone gets away, fast travel back to the start of the level and it will respawn. Repeat until destroyed. Now, with all cyclones cleared (don’t forget to get the one rocket turret in this section), travel past the technical, but stop before the drop down, and let the technical get away on more time. Now rode your vehicle back towards the start of the level, but get out before the technical spawn location. Technical will spawn, drive up to you, and then you can hijack with ease.
· Thunderbird – (rare) Found in Neon Arterial on random vehicles.
See Blue Angels entry above for steps to capture.
· Children of the Vault – (common) Any map with technical vehicles and a COV presence will frequently spawn vehicles with this skin.
· Festi-Flesh – (very rare) Found in the Splinterlands on random vehicles.
· Forest Camo – (uncommon) Found in Floodmoor Basin on random vehicles.
· (DLC 2) Frost Rider – (common) Found in Skittermaw Basin on random vehicles.
· Halftone – (rare) Found in Carnivora and Splinterlands on random vehicles.
· I Like Dinosaurs – (very rare) Found in Floodmoor basin on random vehicles.
· Leather – (uncommon) Found in Meridian Outskirts on random vehicles.
· Skag – Found on a rare-spawn technical called “Skagzilla” in The Droughts. Also obtained from a hijack target in the Devil’s Razor.
· Stealth – (uncommon) Found in Sandblast Scar and Floodmoor Basin on random vehicles.
· (DLC 2) Tentacar – (very rare) Found in Skittermaw Basin on random vehicles.
· Woodland Camo – (common) Found in Carnivora and Splinterlands on random vehicles.
E. Bugged/unobtainable
· Bubblegum
· Magic number
· Gearbox
· E3 2019

4. Cyclone Skins:

A. Automatic unlocks – Found in Catch-A-Ride when first unlocked:
· Default – Can also be found on outriders in Ascension Bluff.

• Atlas

· Ellie
· Hyperion
· Jakobs
· Torgue
· Vladof
· Dahl
· Firehawk
B. Crew challenge unlocks – Awarded by bringing in vehicles marked on map to Catch-A-Ride:
· Psycho – Floodmoor Basin hijack target (other hijack target in area is an outrunner).
· Ninja Shark – Desolation’s Edge hijack target (other hijack target in area is an outrunner).
· Police – Meridian Metroplex hijack target.
C. Story/mission unlocks – Awarded on campaign or side mission milestones/completion:
· Bubble Gum – Complete the Devil’s Razor Dynasty Dash burger mission, using a cyclone, and fulfill all optional objectives. Play in co-op to make this easier.
· (DLC 2) Spicy Tuna Roll – Complete side mission “Call of the Deep”. Check mail upon completion, (empty mail space and exit/enter mail if it was already full at time of mission). A white pistol from Omen should be there, open the message and the skins will unlock in the Catch-A-Ride.
D. Random spawn unlocks – Found on random vehicles in various locations:
· Children of the Vault – (common) Any map with cyclone vehicles and a COV presence will frequently spawn vehicles with this skin. (Minus Meridian Metroplex.)
· Chopper – (common) Found in Floodmoor Basin, Desolation’s Edge, Splinterlands, and Carnivora on random vehicles.
· Dark – (uncommon) Found in Meridian Metroplex and Desolation’s Edge on random vehicles.
· Stealth – (rare) Found in Meridian Metroplex & (possibly) Neon Arterial on random vehicles.
· Emergency – (rare) Found in Meridian Metroplex on random vehicles.
· Forest (uncommon) – Found in Floodmoor Basin on random vehicles.
· Golden Wheel – (uncommon) Found in Desolation’s Edge, Meridian Metorplex on random vehicles.
· Lifeline – (very rare) Found in Floodmoor Basin on random vehicles.
· Lollipop – (very rare) Found in Desolation’s Edge on random vehicles. Vehicle will be called candy.
· Maliwan – (common) Found in Meridian Metroplex & Desolation’s Edge on random vehicles.
E. Bugged/Unobtainable
· Gamescon 2019
· Gearbox

5. Jetbeast skins:

A. Automatic unlocks:
. Default - (common) Unlocks after DLC intro, when exiting town.
B. Mission unlocks:
. Beefy - (uncommon) Complete all missions at the ranch (side mission quest line in the Blastplains).
. Devil Rider - (uncommon) Complete side mission “dandy and the damsel” in Bloodsun Canyon. Rewarded regardless of choice made at end of mission.
C. Random spawn unlocks:
. Woodsy - (uncommon) Random vehicle spawn in Blastplains.
. Reptile - (rare) Random vehicle spawn in Blastplains.
. Company Car - (very rare) Random vehicle spawn in Blastplains.
​
Again, I hope this helps anyone who cares about getting all vehicle skins! Please feel free to comment if you find any additional locations for a skin or find one I listed as bugged!

Operations in Saudi Arabia

Attacks on CIRAP
After significant deliberation and debate within the Council of Ministers. Enough pressure has been put on King Mutaib. He has agreed to transfer command of 6 brigades of National Guard troops over to regular Saudi Arabian Army command. Along with that 8 battalions of militia soldiers maintained by the Saudi Arabian National Guard have been ordered to report to the Eastern command, where they will join those forces in an assault on Damman. The National Guard and the militias on retainer have been held in reserve around Riyadh to defend King Mutaib and prevent any coup d’etat against him from taking place. They have seen little to no combat in the Civil War, but now with these troops being given over to the regular Army command it may be enough to tip the scales.
The next step of the Saudi Civil War relies largely on wiping out CIRAP by taking the major cities of Medina and Mecca. King Mutaib, but more importantly Chairman of the General Staff al-Farqah have courted religious leaders, and have received religious blessing to undertake violence to retake the cities. Though other religious leaders supporting CIRAP have decried such blessings. By and large though the popular support for CIRAP has faded over time, and if the cities fall and the Hejaz population can be kept placated the traitors will collapse rapidly into disorganized bands.
The 1st Army will be formed from Army and National Guard units and will work to encircle and then capture Medina and Mecca for the Kingdom. A secondary objective will be the capture of Jeddah so that the Navy can be returned from foreign ports. The 1st Army will include
The 4th Armored Brigade: 45 M1A2S Abrams
The 8th Armored Brigade: 45 M1A2S Abrams
The 11th Mechanized Brigade: 100 M2 Bradleys
The 14th Mechanized Brigade: 100 M2 Bradleys
The 16th Infantry Brigade: 4,000 troops
The 17th Infantry Brigade: 4,000 troops
The 18th Infantry Brigade: 4,000 troops
The 1st National Guard Infantry Brigade: 2,500 troops
The 3rd National Guard Infantry Brigade: 2,500 troops
The 1st Army will be led by the Armored Brigades who will respectively encircle the cities of Medina and Mecca, supported by the Mechanized Brigades, and the National Guard infantry brigades. Once the cities are encircled the Infantry brigades will assault the cities in LAV-25s and Humvees. CIRAP forces will be light within the cities, and popular support has dried up. The less than 20k troops that make up CIRAP will be hard pressed to get reinforcements into the city. While the assault on the cities begins, the Egyptian forces will be asked to join in on attacks from the north and coastline to distract the CIRAP forces, and perhaps retake Jeddah when they are weakened.
Due to supply line constraints, Egypt has been forced to scale down its deployments in Western Saudi Arabia, leaving only the Republican Guard in the AO. The previously deployed Armor division will redeploy back to Egypt by way of Aqaba, while the mechanized division has been redeployed to the northern border to provide assistance against ISIS. Egypt will deploy the following assets to support Saudi operations:

Name	Number
Egyptian Republican Guard	24,000
T-14	656
T-15	778
2S35 Koalitsiya-SV	216
Buk-M3	6
BM-21	36
Egyptian Marines	3,000
Rames II	44
BTR-80	444
MANPADs and ATGMs	Large amounts
RSF	20,000
Trucktm	1,500
BMPT Terminator	30
UH-60	22
MI-28	30
F-16E	90
MIG-29M	90
CH-7	45
F-117X	15(used only on extremely high value targets with heavy jamming support)
E-2D	2
MIG LMFS	30(Air superiority and moderately high value targets with moderate jamming support)
J-11D	30(Providing Jamming escorts)
KC-46	30(Providing Tanker support over the red sea)
Wingloong I/II	102(Providing Recon and targeting support over the operational area)

Attacks on the PDF
The 2nd Army will be formed outside of Damman. Made up of primarily the 16k militia men of the Sunni groups within the National Guard, they will begin to engage the PDF across the nominal border they have established around Damman. The United Arab Emirates will be asked to coordinate with the ships of the Royal Saudi Navy to enforce a blockade of Damman. Regular Saudi troops from the:
6th Armored Brigade: 45 M1A2S Abrams
9th Mechanized Brigade: 120 M2 Bradleys
15th Infantry Brigade: 4,000 troops
1st Airborne Brigade: 3,200 troops
Will begin an attack on Damman once the militia men have established a toehold against the PDF. While Chinese armed, these groups cannot stand up to the might of regular troops and militia, along with foreign support.
The Air War
The crux of these new offensives is that the Royal Saudi Air Force will begin an increased level of operations. They will support all military units by performing coordinated strikes against the rebels in CIRAP and the PDF to destroy any major equipment or weapons systems and then destroy supply caches, and strike against leadership locations. The United States will be asked to assist in this plan, by helping coordinate missions and flights, as their experience in these matters are invaluable to the Royal Saudi Air Force.
The War Against ISIS
Throughout this conflict, ISIS has proven to be a persistent pain in the ass, harassing our supply lines and even managing to hold some territory along the Saudi-Iraqi border. This level of ISIS activity has managed to earn the ire of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, which has agreed to resume anti-ISIS air strikes along the northern Saudi border.
The Jordanian forces previously used to assist in anti-CIRAP operations in the West will instead redeploy north to help guarantee the security of the Jordan-Saudi Arabia-Iraq border. Egypt will also contribute one of its mechanized divisions to this purpose, filling the space left by Emirati forces, which have been forced to redeploy to Bahrain in response to ongoing instability there.
With a whole lot of new firepower up by the border, it should be pretty easy to push ISIS out and keep them from crossing over the border again. We hope.
Anti-ISIS Equipment Deployment

Name	Type	Number	Contributing Nation
Jordanian Army Combat Personnel	Soldiers	10,000	Jordan
Egyptian Army Combat Personnel	Soldiers	14,000	Egypt
T-90MS	MBT	220	Egypt
BMP-3E	IFV	150	Egypt
BTR-82A	APC	312	Egypt
EBRC Jaguar	Recon	28	Egypt
M109A7	SPG	90	Egypt
Some AA Stuff	AA	It’s ISIS, I don’t wanna list it all out	Egypt
MI-28	Attack Helicopter	6	Egypt
CH-53K	Utility Helicopter	3	Egypt
Al-Hussein MBT	MBT	150	Jordan
M113A2MK-1J	APC	400	Jordan
M577	APC	48	Jordan
Ratel IFV	IFV	120	Jordan
AIFV	IFV	90	Jordan
M109A2	SPG	120	Jordan
M141 HIMARS	MLRS	20	Jordan
Pantsir S1-E	SAM	18	Jordan
MANPADs and ATGMs	Missiles	Large amounts	Jordan
Humvee	Utility Vehicle	230	Jordan
Various Utility Vehicles	Utility Vehicle	260	Jordan
F-16 C/D	Multirole	44	Jordan
F-16E Block 60	Multirole	14	Jordan
Boeing AH-6	Light Attack	40	Jordan
Bell AH-1	Attack Helicopter	15	Jordan
F-35A Lightning II	Multirole	12	Canada
F-16 Fighting Falcon	Multirole	16	United States
Panavia Tornado	Multirole	16	United Kingdom
MQ-9 Reaper	UCAV	32	United States
Tanker Support	Aerial Refueling	However Many	US/Canada/UK

Operations in Bahrain

Phase One
Commander’s Intent: Solidify control over government territory in Bahrain to prevent further deterioration of the situation.
Thanks to leads from British intelligence, it is clear that China, and possibly Iran, has been providing materiel to dissidents in Bahrain. And if there was somehow any doubt remaining as to who their sponsor was, China was kind enough to dispel all doubts when they decided to move to full, open, overt support of the rebels in Bahrain. If we are to have any hope of stabilizing the situation in the country and preventing a further collapse of the government, this supply of arms must be cut off.
The newly-minted King of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, will immediately utilize his authority to declare martial law throughout the country, as well as a blanket ban on people entering or exiting the country without advance permission from the government. Every port in the country will be directed to turn away all vessels unless they have the proper authorization--which will be restricted, more or less, to ships carrying essentials. Aircraft will not be permitted to land at Bahrain International Airport (which is under the control of the rebels anyway, so it’s not exactly fully functional at the moment). Any aircraft attempting to do so will be intercepted and escorted out of Bahrain’s airspace. Failure to comply will result in the aircraft being shot down.
Coupled with these bans, King Salman will also declare a temporary suspension on recreational and commercial shipping activities, claiming that the policies are intended to “allow fisheries in the Arab Gulf, which are threatened by climate change and overfishing, a chance to recover.” [S] In reality, these bans are intended to create a pretext for GCC forces to intercept and search any and all small craft within Bahrain’s waters--which is important, as China has primarily been using small craft like fishing boats and rubber inflatables to smuggle materiel into Bahrain. [/S]
King Fahd Causeway, the bridge connecting Bahrain to Saudi Arabia, will be closed to public traffic until further notice, except for the passage of foodstuffs, essential goods, authorized personnel, and military traffic, (the first three having to go through a rigorous search process on Passport Island or on Umm an Nasan. In practice, we don’t expect the bridge to see much usage due to PDF activity at the other end in Dammam--this is more or less to make sure they don’t try to smuggle anything across the bridge or storm the island. The Bahraini edge of the bridge will be heavily fortified to prevent PDF forces from trying to force a crossing or, more realistically, to prevent protesters or militias from seizing control of the Bahraini end of the bridge.
With the militia’s seizure of territory on the island of Muharraq, we believe that the terrorists have concentrated most of their materiel--or at least a significant portion of it--on that island. In other words, if we can cut off their ability to move from that island into the rest of the country, we can severely restrict their ability to operate on the main island. To this end, Bahrain and the GCC will be heavily fortifying the bridgeheads on Bahrain Island. No passage will be permitted by anything other than military vehicles. The one exception to this policy will be at Shaikh Hamad Causeway, which will be open to pedestrians and government-run busses only. People attempting to cross the bridge must first submit themselves to searches by security forces on the government-controlled portion of Muharraq Island surrounding the bridgehead.
The government controlled territory on Muharraq Island will be heavily fortified. The southern portion, where government forces have retained control of the main port of Bahrain, lends itself well to these sorts of defensive fortifications, with Prince Khalifah bin Salman Causeway more or less dividing the government and rebel territory, with an expanse of open terrain on the southern (government) side of the Causeway. This territory will more or less be used as a killzone against any militia offensives trying to push south and seize the port.
The bridgehead around Shaikh Hamad Causeway is much more urban, making it harder to set up the sort of open ground killzone we would want for defense. Still, we will make due with what we have: security forces, reinforced across the Causeway, will set up a defensive perimeter bounded by Airport Avenue on the North, Muharraq Al-Khubra Garden to the north/northeast, and Khalifa Al Khabeer Highway on the East. The civilian buildings on this border will be forcibly vacated.
Phase Two
Commander’s Intent: Seize control of Bahrain International Airport in preparation of further offensive operations.
With the situation on the island stabilized, next comes the task of retaking territory. Fortunately for us, OPFOR is a motley band of untrained militias (China has armed the militias, but never trained them. After all, where would they even train a militia on an island as small as Bahrain that the government wouldn’t notice?). We do not expect them to be able to hold ground against any sort of coordinated offense.
Unfortunately for us, Muharraq Island is fairly urban and densely populated. While it lacks the skyscrapers of Bahrain Island, this will still be urban combat, and casualty numbers will likely represent that.
Fortunately again, we have been dealt a massive advantage by the ethnography of Muharraq Island. Though Bahrain is majority Shi’a, Muharraq Island is actually majority Sunni--especially in the communities to the south of the airport, where most neighborhoods are either exclusively or majority Sunni. Since OPFOR is a group of Shi’a Islamist militias looking to overthrow the Sunni government and install a Shi’a Islamic Republic, we don’t expect the locals to be too sympathetic to their cause. As such, we expect OPFOR to have a hard time organizing an effective asymmetric resistance (which usually relies heavily on local support for things like arms caches, supplies, etcetera).
The primary target of this phase of offensive operations is to secure Bahrain International Airport. The Airport is strategically situated between the three major OPFOR-controlled neighborhoods. Taking control of the Airport will, in essence, divide these OPFOR strongholds, preventing them from reinforcing one another and allowing us to deal with them one by one.
Prior to our offensive against the airport, the forces currently located near Khalifa Bin Salman Port (with reinforcements shipped in using the port) will being a series of probing attacks against OPFOR forces in the Al Hidd neighborhood in southern Muharraq. These offensives are mostly to divert attention from the operations that are to come, but we’ll certainly take and hold territory here if we can get it.
After a day or so of operations in Al Hidd, we will launch a coordinated nighttime assault on Bahrain International Airport. Using Khalifa Al Khabeer Highway, Airport Road, and Avenue 20, we will launch a multi-pronged attack on the Airport, seeking to use our superior mobility (we have armored vehicles, they do not) to take over the vast, open expanses of the airport grounds.
At the same time our ground assault is occuring, the United States 1st Ranger Battalion will launch an airfield seizure on Bahrain International Airport. About two hundred Rangers, departing from an American air base in the UAE, will paradrop onto the 4km² airport grounds in the dead of the night, securing the airport until advancing BLUFOR units can relieve them. Between the mobility advantage enjoyed by BLUFOR troops, the low quality of OPFOR units, and the element of surprise, we expect to have taken control of the airport and its environs before the sun rises. The Rangers will then pull out of the area--either by riding in BLUFOR transports to the US Naval Base on Bahrain Island or through airlift out of the airport--whichever we think is safer.
Phase 3
Commander’s Intent: Eliminate all armed opposition on Muharraq Island.
With the airport taken, OPFOR will be divided, making it significantly easier to handle through a series of coordinated pushes. The first offensives will focus on taking control of the territory south of the airport (coming both south from the airport grounds and north from Khalifa bin Salman Port) and west of the airport (using both the airport and the Shaikh Hamad Causeway bridgehead as a base of attack). Since most neighborhoods in these areas are Sunni-majority or Sunni-exclusive, we expect the locals to be pretty forthcoming about the presence of enemy weapons caches, safehouses, strongholds, firing positions, etc. All in all, these shouldn’t pose too much of a problem to us.
Once the neighborhoods south and west of the airport are secured, BLUFOR units will push north to secure the neighborhoods to the north of the airport. These neighborhoods are a little more a mix--some are Shi’a, some are Sunni--so local support might be a little more tepid. Either way, we’ll lean on the Sunni communities here to help us in crushing OPFOR’s ability to wage an asymmetric insurgency.
The Air War
Commander’s Intent: Maintain air superiority and utilize it to support BLUFOR ground assaults.
We’ll admit: the rebels took us somewhat by surprise when they managed to accurately and effectively guide artillery onto the royal residence in Bahrain, killing the King. We’re not sure how they managed to smuggle those artillery pieces onto the island without us noticing, nor where they learned to use them (and to use them accurately) without us hearing about it, but the long and short of things is that they have artillery and they know how to use it.
But now that we know they have it, they will not get to use it again. Bahrain isn’t exactly big. Bahrain Island is only ~300km² (and is heavily urban for most of that expanse, so there’s even fewer areas where it would be feasible to set up artillery) while Muharraq Island (where the rebels are most heavily concentrated) is only ~50km^2, so the country should be pretty easy to keep under constant aerial surveillance of some form or another. Clocking in at 3,210kg and measuring a whopping 5.4 meters when in transport configuration, it should be pretty damn easy to spot these things and blow them to hell using either drones or attack helicopters before they get a chance to shoot again.

Name	Type	Number	Contributing Nation
Regular Army Soldiers	Regular Soldiers	7000	United Arab Emirates
Presidential Guard Soldiers	Special Forces	1000	United Arab Emirates
Leclerc Tropic	MBT	80	United Arab Emirates
BMP-3	IFV	300	United Arab Emirates
UH-60L Black Hawk	Transport Helo	15
Rabdan 8x8	APC (Wheeled)	200	United Arab Emirates
Nimr	MRAP	200	United Arab Emirates
F-16V	Multirole	8	United Arab Emirates
Mirage 2000EAD	Multirole	12	United Arab Emirates
Airbus 330 MRTT	Tanker	2	United Arab Emirates
AH-64E	Attack Helicopter	12	United Arab Emirates
Yabhon United 40	UCAV	20	United Arab Emirates
Whatever	Bahrain	Sends	Us
US Army Rangers	Special Forces	200	United States
C-130 Hercules	Transport (Paradrop)	4	United States

Outside of Muharraq Island

We’re still planning on continuing all of the other things we’re doing to help stabilize Bahrain. Now that it has become readily apparent that the terrorists are getting support from China, we expect our earlier efforts to paint the terrorists as a Chinese-backed Fifth Column to be significantly more successful. After all, we were right all along! China will become a convenient (and completely accurate) scapegoat for everything going bad in Bahrain--from the death of the King to the open warfare on the streets.
While the King dying is obviously bad for business, it is a small blessing in that it justifies increased efforts to crack down on the unrest in the country. Moreover, the fact that you’re now liable to get caught in the crossfire between military forces and literal terrorists if you go to any given protest should help to keep the less enthusiastic members of the Opposition off of the streets and in their homes. We will continue our efforts to prevent information from getting out of Bahrain--jammers, shutting down the internet in “problem neighborhoods”, etc.
[S] GCC intelligence will launch a coordinated multimedia campaign to cast the armed militants that killed the King as a violent extremist group that is damaging the cause of the peaceful, nonviolent protesters. The campaign will highlight how bad things are in the rebel-controlled areas, as well as just about any domestic opposition to the rebels we can find. Any division we can make in the enemy ranks is good for us. We’ll ask for help from the CIA in doing this. [/S]

Name	Type	Number	Contributing Nation
Kuwaiti Police	Riot Police w/ Transports	400	Kuwait
Jordanian Police	Riot Police w/ Transports	400	Jordan
Omani Police	Riot Police w/ Transports	300	Oman
Dubai Police	Riot Police	600	Dubai
Abu Dhabi Police	Riot Police	500	Abu Dhabi
Sharjah Police	Riot Police	400	Sharjah
Nimr	MRAP	500	United Arab Emirates
Mirage 2000-RAD	Reconnaissance Aircraft	2	United Arab Emirates
Global 6000 “Project Dolphin”	SIGINT/Surveillance	1	United Arab Emirates
ECH-130H Compass Call Baseline-2	Electronic Warfare	1	United Arab Emirates
Presidential Guard Soldiers	Special Forces/Counterterrorism	1000	United Arab Emirates
Regular Army Soldiers	Regular Soldiers	4000	United Arab Emirates
UH-60L Black Hawk	Transport Helicopter	8	United Arab Emirates
BTR-3U Guardian	APC (Wheeled)	20	United Arab Emirates
EE-11 Urutu	APC (Wheeled)	20	United Arab Emirates
Leclerc Tropic	MBT	40	United Arab Emirates
Rabdan 8x8	APC	80	United Arab Emirates
Whatever	Bahrain	Gives	Us

Responding to China

China’s threat to institute a no fly zone must be responded to--not just because it is an unacceptable violation of the territorial sovereignty of Bahrain, but because it impedes our ability to adequately respond to the ongoing crisis in the country. We have no intention of abiding by the Chinese NFZ.
With their base in Qatar removed, any NFZ maintenance operations will have to be run out of China’s bases in Pakistan. Whether they use their base in Peshawar or Gwadar, any flight path will take them directly past the UAE, where surface-based radars and anti-air installations should pick them up well in advance of their arrival in Bahrain. As we (or Oman) detect these aircraft, we will forward the relevant information to Bahrain and scramble F-16s to intercept (with the number being based off of how many planes are in China’s formation--the goal is to have at least equal numbers of F-16s responding to any Chinese sortie, backed up by F-35s discussed below). These aircraft will shadow the Chinese aircraft from a safe distance, informing the Chinese aircraft that, should they violate Bahraini airspace or otherwise attack any GCC member, they will be shot down.
While the F-16s are doing the actual visible intercepting, F-35s will be kept at a safe distance behind the Chinese sortie, using their stealth capabilities to avoid detection. If the Chinese aircraft take any sort of aggressive action against any of our allies, the F-35s will be ordered to engage and eliminate all Chinese resistance. If China listens to the intercepting aircraft, they should never even know the F-35s are there. We’re aiming for a force presence of about one F-35 for every two Chinese aircraft in the sortie--so combined with the F-16s, a response of about 1.5 UAE aircraft to one Chinese aircraft.
The Emirati air defense network will be put on high alert for the near future, given the threat of an aerial engagement against China near the territory of the UAE. If any of these interceptions erupt into combat, UAE ground-based SAMs will ensure that no Chinese aircraft live to tell the tale, engaging the Chinese aircraft on their return flight. If the Chinese do not engage, neither will we.

Name	Type	Number	Contributing Nation
F-16E Block 60 “Desert Eagle”	Multirole	Up to 32	United Arab Emirates
F-35A “Lightning II”	5th Gen Multirole	Up to 32	United Arab Emirates
ECH-130H Compass Call Baseline-2	Electronic Warfare	1	United Arab Emirates
Global 6000 “Globaleye”	AEW&C	1	United Arab Emirates
Airbus A330 MRTT	Tanker	1	United Arab Emirates
THAAD	ABM	10 Batteries	United Arab Emirates
MEADS	Modern SAM	18 Batteries	United Arab Emirates
MIM-23B I-Hawk	SAM	3 Battalions	United Arab Emirates
MIM-104F	SAM	4 Battalions	United Arab Emirates
Rapier	SHORAD	24 Launchers	United Arab Emirates

Naval Operations

Meanwhile, at sea, BLUFOR naval and coast guard assets will be working double time to enforce the new maritime restrictions imposed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with force contributions from the American Navy and Coast Guard, as well as the Navies and Coast Guards of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Orders will be given to detain anyone found smuggling weapons, including and especially foreign nationals.
Now that China is no longer able to stage these smuggling routes out of their base in Qatar, we expect the trips they have to make will be significantly longer, as they will either have to come from Chinese bases in Pakistan (navigating the extremely narrow Strait of Hormuz to do so, where they will likely be detected by Omani or Emirati land-based surveillance installations monitoring strait traffic) or from Iran (which is substantially farther--240km from Bahrain instead of ~40km). This should mean that the smuggling routes China is running will have to use bigger boats and travel farther than they did before, increasing the odds of detection, or at least making it harder for them to accomplish their mission. The ongoing oil embargo against China also means that there are substantially fewer Chinese tankers in the region than there were before, which should make it easier to track those Chinese ships that are in the region--as well as every other ship. Less surface clutter and all that.
The smaller ships in the naval deployment, such as the inshore patrol boats, will have the additional task of preventing boat traffic from crossing the strait between Muharraq Island and Bahrain Island. They will be supported in this task by larger ships (using their longer-ranged weapons) and land-based forces on Bahrain Island. Effectively, we’re blockading Muharraq Island and detaining or destroying any ship that tries to enter or leave the small docks scattered across the island without our permission.

Name	Type	Number	Contributing Nation
Daegu-class	Frigate	1	United Arab Emirates
Al-Saber-class	Patrol Boats	4	United Arab Emirates
Arialah-class	Patrol Ship	1	United Arab Emirates
Falaj 2-class	Patrol Ship	1	United Arab Emirates
Al-’Abd-class	Corvette	3	United Arab Emirates
Al-Reem-class	FAC/Patrol	4	United Arab Emirates
Gowind-class	Corvette	2	United Arab Emirates
Baynunah-class	Corvette	1	United Arab Emirates
Mirage 2000-RAD	Reconnaissance Aircraft	5	United Arab Emirates
Air Tractor AT-802	Reconnaissance Aircraft	4	United Arab Emirates
Yabhon United 40	MALE UCAV	10	United Arab Emirates
Global 6000 “Project Dolphin”	SIGINT/Surveillance	1	United Arab Emirates
Global 6000 “GlobalEye”	AEW&C	2	United Arab Emirates
AS565F Super Puma	ASW/ASuW Helicopter	4	United Arab Emirates
Mark V Special Operations Craft	Patrol Boat	4	Kuwait
Um Al Maradim-class (Combattante P37-BRL)	Missile Fast Patrol Boats	4	Kuwait
Intisar-class (OPV-310)	Patrol Fighting Vessel	2	Kuwait
Inshore Patrol Craft	Patrol Boats	15	Kuwait
Subahi (FPB 115)	Patrol Boat	3	Kuwait
Island-class	Patrol Boat	6	United States (PATFORSWA)
Sentinel-class	Patrol Cutter	4	United States (PATFORSWA)
Cyclone-class	Patrol Ship	10	United States
Mark VI Wright-class	Patrol Boat	3	United States (US 5th Fleet)
P3-C Orion	Maritime Patrol Aircraft	20	United States
Al-Ofouq-class	Patrol Ship	2	Oman

[S] Egyptian naval movements

The Egyptian nuclear attack submarine force will sortie and establish positions off the continental shelf of Gwadar, upon establishing positions there they will lurk quietly and deep only emerging to signal depth to receive updates on Chinese naval movements from Egyptian military communication satellites. In the event that hostilities between China and the alliance occur, these submarines will be tasked with intercepting any chinese naval formations via combined and coordinated attacks between our bombers(armed with long range hypersonic anti ship missiles) and submarine forces(armed with high speed torpedoes).
A26 attack submarines will establish positions outside of Chinese naval bases in the red sea, and will form a screening force at the entrance to the red sea. These submarines will be pre equipped with naval frogmen in the event of the need for their deployment. In the event of hostilities these submarines will torpedo the chinese fleet should they attempt to deploy but if they remain in port they will not be engaged.
The Egyptian navy will enter heightened alert with forces being ready to sortie rapidly into the red sea should it be needed.

Egyptian Air Defence Command

While the air defence system is always operational, we will begin dispersing MIG-35s to civil airports and predesigned dual use highways in the event a scramble is needed. MIG-31 interceptors will be put on strip alert and prepared to engage any unauthorized intrusions into Egyptian airspace

February 2025
In its forty some years of existence, the Gulf Cooperation Council has become many things: a free trade area, a visa-free regime, a proposed currency union. But all of those things are window dressing over the GCC’s true founding purpose: the perpetuation of the rule of the Sunni monarchs of the Arabian Peninsula. With Saudi Arabia’s collapse into civil war and the eruption of wide-scale civil unrest in the island kingdom of Bahrain, this purpose is more important now than it has ever been before--for the collapse of one of the monarchies to Islamists or Liberals will likely create a domino effect that will lead to the collapse of all of them.
The United Arab Emirates, both in support of its allies and in an effort to protect its own interests, has gone to the GCC to secure Peninsula Shield Force units to help guarantee stability in Bahrain and the Shi’a Provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is our hope that by acting proactively here rather than reactively, we can dramatically increase regional stability and protect ourselves from the spillover effects of the unrest in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Bahrain
Though Saudi Arabia has managed to strip the title of “least stable GCC member state” from the longstanding titleholder Bahrain, this is due to Saudi Arabia’s instability rather than some great increase in Bahrain’s stability. Much like in the 1990s Uprising and in the 2011 Uprising accompanying the Arab Spring, it falls to the other members of the GCC to help ensure the stability of their smallest member.
After securing an invitation for intervention from Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the government of Bahrain, Emirati, Jordanian, and Kuwaiti police, as well as small contingents from their armies under the aegis of Peninsula Shield Force, will arrive in the country via the Saudi-Bahrain Causeway, the port of Manama, and Bahrain International Airport. Officially, these forces will be deployed to protect the country’s vital infrastructure from damage, while the Bahraini security apparatus will be responsible for controlling and countering the protesters.
In truth, the foreign forces deployed in Bahrain will be actively involved in the suppression of the protests and the maintenance of the Al Khalifa family’s rule over the country. The United Arab Emirates will counsel the government of Bahrain to declare a State of Emergency and order the protesters to disperse. While we suspect that this will not break up the protesters, it will provide a justification for future repressive measures.
Once the State of Emergency is declared, Bahraini police, supported by the GCC allies, will work to clear protesters from key areas of the city to guarantee the security of important areas and prevent the protesters from being able to fully disrupt Bahrain’s economy. We currently expect the protesters to be non-violent, and will therefore use (mostly) non-lethal methods of repression, including tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and water cannons. Police will work to herd groups of protesters into situations where they can be split up and surrounded by the police, where arrests can then be made. Bahraini nationals will be detained (and, if possible, prosecuted for any criminal activities they engaged in), while foreign nationals will have their visas revoked and be deported to their country of origin.
While we expect the protests to remain mostly nonviolent, the potential of violence cannot be entirely discounted. Therefore, counter-terrorism and military forces will be held in reserve to deal with the possibility of armed rebels. These groups will be given top priority in repressive efforts, with every effort made to pinpoint their leadership and safehouses, arrest their leaders, destroy their arms caches, and identify any foreign assistance they might be receiving. [S] Torture is authorized to assist in rooting out these violent groups. [/S]
One critical part of the GCC intervention in Bahrain is to prevent the spread of information both through the protest movement and through the world at large. In problem areas, the Bahraini government will shut off the internet to prevent videos of police activities from leaking out, and will cut cell service to prevent protesters from being able to communicate among themselves, with mobile phone jammers being used to further restrict the flow of information. Even in areas where the internet is accessible, sites that are being used to organize the protests will be blocked by Batelco, the sole ISP in the country. The Information Affairs Authority, the Bahraini Ministry of Information, will work in close coordination with their GCC counterparts to censor any and all media that portrays the crackdown on the protests in a negative light. Al Jazeera and its affiliates, which have been banned in Bahrain since the 2010s, will remain banned. Problematic foreign reporters will be detained, stripped of their electronics, held in custody for 48 hours, and deported.
Meanwhile, GCC-controlled media outlets including Al Arabiya, the second-largest news network in the Arab world, will do everything in their power to cast the protests in a negative light. Instances of violence or looting by the dissidents will be highlighted, while incidents of police violence (when they do manage to leak out of the information blockade in Bahrain) will be heavily downplayed or framed as “necessary” given the “connections of some of the dissidents to foreign terrorists.” The role of Iran in sponsoring the protests--whether they are doing so or not--will be highlighted when possible, with constant reminders that Iran was proven to be behind similar protests in Saudi Arabia. These media outlets will also heavily emphasize the role these protesters are playing in weakening the country for future foreign intervention, highlighting the fact that China has been actively seeking to invade countries in the region, from promoting intervention in Chinese state media (ignoring, of course, the fact that their intervention was allegedly to protect the Shi’a), to their UNSC Resolution attempting to justify intervention in Saudi Arabia’s Civil War, to their massive military deployments in the region and leaks that they intend to invade Saudi Arabia. The dissidents will be portrayed as a Fifth Column, weakening the state in preparation for a foreign invasion with imperialist designs

Name	Type	Number	Contributing Nation
Kuwaiti Police	Riot Police w/ Transports	300	Kuwait
Jordanian Police	Riot Police w/ Transports	300	Jordan
Omani Police	Riot Police w/ Transports	100	Oman
Dubai Police	Riot Police	400	Dubai
Abu Dhabi Police	Riot Police	300	Abu Dhabi
Sharjah Police	Riot Police	300	Sharjah
Nimr	MRAP	320	United Arab Emirates
Mirage 2000-RAD	Reconnaissance Aircraft	2	United Arab Emirates
Global 6000 “Project Dolphin”	SIGINT/Surveillance	1	United Arab Emirates
ECH-130H Compass Call Baseline-2	Electronic Warfare	2	United Arab Emirates
Presidential Guard Soldiers	Special Forces/Counterterrorism	350	United Arab Emirates
Regular Army Soldiers	Regular Soldiers	500	United Arab Emirates
UH-60L Black Hawk	Transport Helicopter	4	United Arab Emirates
BTR-3U Guardian	APC (Wheeled)	10	United Arab Emirates
EE-11 Urutu	APC (Wheeled)	10	United Arab Emirates

Saudi Arabia
The far greater threat to regional stability is Saudi Arabia. While we are obviously concerned about the rise of CIRAP and Al Qaeda in western Saudi Arabia, we are far more concerned about the threat that hasn’t fully emerged yet: the Popular Defense Forces of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. With a population of about 5 million, Eastern Province is home to a sizable Shi’a majority of about 1.65 million--or 33 percent of the Province’s population. Though this population is small on paper, it is of immense geopolitical importance, as it is heavily concentrated in the area surrounding Qatif, Dammam, Hofuf, and the Al-Ahsa Oasis. This, of course, also happens to be the location of most of Saudi Arabia’s vast oil and natural gas resources.
Given the importance of oil revenues to the continued existence of the Saudi government, the PDF groups of Eastern Province has the potential to become a massive thorn in the side of the Saudi Arabian government. So far, the groups are only loosely affiliated, lacking any sort of centralized leadership structure that is able to motivate the lightly-armed, poorly trained militia groups to leave their neighborhoods, let alone engage in armed offensives or guerilla activity against the government. But with China openly broadcasting its intentions to intervene in the province in its state media and the UNSC and through its massive deployments in Qatar and leaked diplomatic talks, we believe that it is safe to assume that these groups will not remain disorganized and passive forever. It is only a matter of time until some hostile actor in the region--be it Iran, China, Qatar, or Hezbollah--works to arm and organize the PDF into an effective fighting force capable of, at best, putting pressure on the Saudi rearguard and drawing forces from the front or, at worst, seizing and holding critical territory from the government. Therefore, it falls to us to ensure that this does not happen.
At the invitation of the Saudi Arabian government, the UAE and the GCC will begin a deployment into Eastern Province to assist in peacekeeping in the region and free up Saudi Army and National Guard regiments for transfer to the Western Front.
Unlike in Bahrain, where the Shi’a population is already out in the streets and protesting, the PDF is more of a future threat than an active threat. Peninsula Shield Force deployments in the region will be crafted accordingly: this is more of a counter-insurgency deployment than a “break up the protests in the streets” deployment (though there will be some of that, too, given the ongoing liberal protests in major cities). Police presence in Eastern Province will be concentrated around key points of infrastructure--oil refineries, pumping stations, pipelines, etc--in order to prevent them from coming under attack by terrorists or militant PDF groups.
While this police presence will serve as the primary stabilizing force of the intervention, there will be three other critical components to ensuring the PDF to not rise up against the government. The first plank of the GCC policy will involve active policing of troublesome neighborhoods. At their core, the PDF exist to protect their neighborhoods from the threat of attacks from Sunni Islamists. If we can provide that security instead, then we should hopefully see PDF recruitment numbers drop. It is much easier to convince a man to pick up a gun and defend his neighborhood when an Al Qaeda suicide bomber kills his family than it is to do so when his family is safe and fed. To help provide this security, the police presence in Eastern Province will be increased significantly through reinforcements from the other GCC states.
[S] The second plank involves heavy surveillance throughout Eastern Province. Using the increased police presence, thousands of CCTV cameras will be set up throughout the cities of Eastern Province, with the goal of ensuring that just about every street corner is covered from several different angles. Using this CCTV network, we hope to purchase and run facial recognition software (like that used during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests) from the United States in order to track the movement of Eastern Province’s population. This will be used as part of a “prevent defense” strategy, in which PDF members, liberal protesters, and Sunni Islamists alike are identified and tracked throughout the Province, with the information collected being used to synthesize profiles on the dissidents and track connections between different groups. Shi’a mosques in the area will be subjected to particularly heavy surveillance.
The third plank involves a more typical counter-insurgency operation. GCC and Saudi intelligence, with assistance from their western counterparts, will work to coverly identify major safehouses and weapons caches used by dissidents, including Sunni Islamists, liberals, and the PDF. Attempts will also be made to identify more “militant” groups among the liberals and the PDF--that is, groups that are more willing to engage in violence against the government than average. As these groups and locations are identified, a combination of special police units (or, in the case of very high value targets, special army units) will be deployed to arrest leaders and members, destroy caches and strongholds, and otherwise disable or disrupt the ability of these groups to provide effective resistance.
Currently, the Eastern Province PDF are fragmented and without any sort of centralized leadership. This must remain the case. An organized PDF leadership is much more capable of persuading different groups to launch coordinated attacks on targets outside of their particular neighborhoods and turning the PDF. Working in close coordination with Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agencies, the intelligence agencies of the GCC (and, we hope, with the CIA, MI6, and other western intelligence agencies) will launch an extensive surveillance campaign on the Shi’a in Eastern Province, with the goal of identifying any sort of organized leadership structure uniting the militias before it has the chance to take route. Should we stumble across anything of this sort, we will ensure that the structure is broken up before it can cement itself, either by arresting key figures in the movement on trumped up charges, exploiting HUMINT vulnerabilities to sabotage the negotiations (say, by leaking fake intelligence that one of the leaders in question is actually a Saudi intelligence asset), or, if we catch on too late and meetings are already occurring, by raiding their meeting place and arresting the leadership in one fell swoop. [/S]
Saudi and GCC state media will also undertake an extensive propaganda campaign to paint the new government in a more positive light in the Shi’a community. This media blitz, aided by American consultants, will focus on how a government victory is a favorable alternative for the Shi’a of Eastern Province. While the previous governments of Saudi Arabia might have oppressed the Shi’a, this was in large part due to the overwhelming presence of conservative Islamists in the government. Now that most of these people were forced out of the government by the late Mohammed bin Salman, the new government is much more amenable to guaranteeing certain rights to the Shi’a community. Since the alternative to the current government is a CIRAP, an umbrella group of hardcore Sunni Islamists that has allied with Al Qaeda, a group that has actively and consistently targeted Shi’a Muslims throughout its existence, it should be pretty easy to convince the Shi’a of Eastern Province that the devil you know (the government) is much better than the devil you don’t (Islamists that are allied with Al Qaeda). Extensive coverage will also be given to the efforts of GCC and Saudi police to protect Shi’a neighborhoods from Sunni Islamist attacks (which is a definitive change from the Saudi Arabia of old). [S] News of the ongoing suppression in Bahrain will, of course, be heavily censored. [/S]
Police/Counter-insurgency Deployment

Name	Type	Number	Contributing Nation
Kuwaiti Police	Police w/ Transports	1200	Kuwait
Jordanian Police	Police w/ Transports	1500	Jordan
Omani Police	Police w/ Transports	1200	Oman
Dubai Police	Riot Police	750	Dubai
Abu Dhabi Police	Police	600	Abu Dhabi
Sharjah Police	Police	400	Sharjah
Fujairah Police	Police	300	Fujairah
Ajman Police	Police	100	Ajman
Ras Al Khaimah Police	Police	100	Ras Al Khaiamh
Umm Al Quwain Police	Police	20	Umm Al Quwain
Nimr	MRAP	500	United Arab Emirates
Presidential Guard Soldiers	Special Forces/Counterterrorism	800	United Arab Emirates
Regular Army Soldiers	Regular Soldiers	1500	United Arab Emirates
UH-60L Black Hawk	Transport Helicopter	10	United Arab Emirates
BTR-3U Guardian	APC (Wheeled)	20	United Arab Emirates
EE-11 Urutu	APC (Wheeled)	20	United Arab Emirates

Emergency Reserve Deployment
This is a forward deployment to help deal with shit if it gets very bad (TM), like an open conflict or the PDF or Bahraini rebels actively seizing territory.

Name	Type	Number	Contributing Nation
Regular Army Soldiers	Regular Soldiers	4000	United Arab Emirates
Presidential Guard Soldiers	Special Forces	500	United Arab Emirates
Leclerc Tropic	MBT	60	United Arab Emirates
BMP-3	IFV	200	United Arab Emirates
UH-60L Black Hawk	Transport Helo	15
Rabdan 8x8	APC (Wheeled)	200	United Arab Emirates
Nimr	MRAP	300	United Arab Emirates
F-16E Block 60	Multirole	12	United Arab Emirates
AH-64E	Attack Helicopter	12	United Arab Emirates

Foreign Interference
It would be naive of us to think that outside forces won’t try to provide any support to these groups to help further destabilize the region. Of particular note are China (for reasons discussed earlier), Iran (due to their extensive historical efforts to destabilize the GCC and their self-image as the leaders of the Shi’a faith), Pakistan (due to their increasing alignment with Iran and China), and Qatar (as revenge for Saudi Arabia’s coup attempt).
Materiel support to dissident forces in the region can arrive through one of two ways. The first is by land. While ending the Qatar blockade was necessary to extract commitments from Qatar that they would not allow China to use Qatar as a base for an invasion into Saudi Arabia, it does come with downsides: namely, the end of the blockade means that the border between the two has opened up again, meaning that there is a chance that land traffic could be used to smuggle weapons and other assistance to the PDF groups in Eastern Province.
Fortunately for us, the border with Qatar is short--only about 83 kilometers in total--and overwhelmingly desert. Traffic between Qatar and the GCC is funneled between two border crossings: the first with Saudi Arabia near Salwa and Abu Samra, and the second with the UAE near Al Hudaid (previously part of the Saudi-Qatar border until the recent border renegotiation between the UAE and Saudi Arabia). Doubly fortunate, the suspension of Qatar’s membership in the GCC means that the freedom of movement agreement between the GCC and Qatar is currently not in effect, allowing us to mandate whatever restrictions on border crossings that we see fit.
Effective immediately, all vehicle traffic between Qatar and the GCC will be subjected to a full search. Utilizing state-of-the-art technology provided by the United States, all vehicles will be scanned (both physically and through the use of technology) for hidden smuggling compartments and screened with dogs trained to smell explosives and gunpowder. This should hopefully allow us to significantly reduce, if not entirely eliminate, arms smuggling occurring across the border. Since there is very little trade between Qatar and the GCC states it borders (in 2015, the last year before the blockade, Qatar only exported 1.67b USD to the UAE and 828m USD to Saudi Arabia, and only a fraction of that trade would be by land), we expect most traffic to be civilians in personal vehicles which is much easier for us to search. Still, shipping containers will come under special scrutiny, with their contents being electronically scanned, their shipping manifests being scanned for any irregularities, and a random sampling of their goods being physically opened and examined at the border crossing.
We will also increase the number of patrols guarding the open desert. An increased UAE police presence will be used to double the frequency of patrols along the border road, while the border will be covered by constant UAV or helicopter overflights to identify smugglers or other persons attempting to cross illegally.
The second way for foreign groups to smuggle in materiel is by sea. While Bahrain’s coastline is relatively short--just 161km (including outlying, sparsely populated islands), Saudi Arabia’s Persian Gulf shoreline is considerably longer, at about 650km, necessitating a significant commitment of resources to protect from smugglers.
Luckily for us, the waters of the Persian Gulf are some of the most heavily patrolled in the world. Between the navies and coast guards of the GCC member states, Combined Task Force 152, and the United States Coast Guard deployment in Bahrain, the Persian Gulf has more patrol craft per square mile than just about any other waterway in the world.
We will make extensive use of these patrol craft to ensure that materiel cannot be smuggled by boat to the PDF or the protesters in Bahrain. To this end, we will make a deployment of UAE and Kuwaiti coast guard and naval vessels to the area around Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, as was done during the 2011 Uprising in Bahrain, to help secure the integrity of their territorial waters (and to a lesser extent, EEZ). The US, with its massive naval presence in the region, will also be asked to provide assistance in this endeavor.
Obviously, the quickest way to move large quantities of weapons into a country is through established ports, so we will focus some of our efforts on preventing weapons from being smuggled in through the port of Manama and through the major ports of Saudi Arabia. Shipments on vessels bearing the Chinese, Qatari, or Iranian flag will be placed under greater scrutiny, as will vessels that passed through their territorial waters or made stopovers at their ports before reaching the GCC.

Name	Type	Number	Contributing Nation
Daegu-class	Frigate	1	United Arab Emirates
Al-Saber-class	Patrol Boats	4	United Arab Emirates
Arialah-class	Patrol Ship	1	United Arab Emirates
Falaj 2-class	Patrol Ship	1	United Arab Emirates
Gowind-class	Corvette	2	United Arab Emirates
Baynunah-class	Corvette	1	United Arab Emirates
Mirage 2000-RAD	Reconnaissance Aircraft	5	United Arab Emirates
Air Tractor AT-802	Reconnaissance Aircraft	4	United Arab Emirates
Global 6000 “Project Dolphin”	SIGINT/Surveillance	1	United Arab Emirates
Global 6000 “GlobalEye”	AEW&C	2	United Arab Emirates
AS565F Super Puma	ASW/ASuW Helicopter	4	United Arab Emirates
Border Patrol	Police Officers	600	United Arab Emirates
Nimr	MRAP	50	United Arab Emirates
Mark V Special Operations Craft	Patrol Boat	4	Kuwait
Um Al Maradim-class (Combattante P37-BRL)	Missile Fast Patrol Boats	4	Kuwait
Intisar-class (OPV-310)	Patrol Fighting Vessel	2	Kuwait
Inshore Patrol Craft	Patrol Boats	15	Kuwait
Subahi (FPB 115)	Patrol Boat	3	Kuwait
Island-class	Patrol Boat	6	United States (PATFORSWA)
Sentinel-class	Patrol Cutter	4	United States (PATFORSWA)
Cyclone-class	Patrol Ship	10	United States
Mark VI Wright-class	Patrol Boat	3	United States (US 5th Fleet)
P3-C Orion	Maritime Patrol Aircraft	20	United States
Al-Ofouq-class	Patrol Ship	2	Oman

Newest version of this post is located here - Updated and changed enough that I warranted making another post.
https://www.reddit.com/borderlands3/comments/hhkznx/list_of_all_vehicle_skins_in_game_skins_from_dlcs/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Bl3 Vehicle Skins and Locations (updated as of 04/18/20)

Hadn’t seen a list of vehicle skins that included locations, so here you go. I spent way too many hours hunting down all reportedly obtainable skins in order to check if they were indeed in the game.
Note – I assigned many skins rarities based on their chance of spawning in the game, there is no rarity system for vehicle skins!

Contents:

1. Best Methods of Vehicle Hijacking.
   
2. Outrunner Skins
   
3. Technical Skins
   
4. Cyclone Skins
   

1. Best Methods of/ Tips for Vehicle Hijacking

Some general tips to follow:

1. Play on Normal Mode so that enemies do less damage to vehicles. Nothing sucks more than getting a rare vehicle to spawn, hijacking it, only to have it get blown up.
   
2. Play on Mayhem Mode 1, enemy vehicles will spawn in at your level. You will be significantly less likely to destroy enemy vehicles on accident. In the case of Fl4k players, playing on Mayhem 1 means your pet won’t destroy vehicles before you can get them.
   
3. Use the outrider with a tesla cannon/gun (forget exact name) to kill enemy drivers without destroying the vehicle. This method works great in areas where vehicles don’t go after the player or otherwise stay distanced.
   
4. Many vehicles will drive near the player to attack when you are out of your Vehicle. Use this to your advantage, but be aware that upon hijacking, enemies exiting the vehicle can then easily destroy the vehicle. Get away fast or use the outrider method mentioned above instead.
   

2. Outrunner Skins:

A. Automatic unlocks – Found in Catch-A-Ride when first unlocked:
· Default – Can also be found on outriders in Ascension Bluff.
· Angel

• Atlas

· Ellie
· Hyperion
· Jakobs
· Torgue
· Vladof
B. Crew Challenge Unlocks – Awarded by bringing in vehicles marked on map to Catch-A-Ride:
· Flames – Ascension Bluff hijack target.
· Triangles – Floodmoor Basin hijack target.
· Bug Racer – Devil’s Razor hijack target (there are two targets in this area, one is a technical.)
· Stealth – Desolation’s Edge hijack target (there are two targets in this area, one is a cyclone.)
C. Story/Mission unlocks – Awarded on campaign or side mission milestones/completion:
· Grog Lube – Complete side mission “Get Quick, Slick”.
· Prisa’s Garage – Complete side mission “Get Quick, Slick”.
· (DLC 2) Spicy Tuna Roll – Complete side mission “Call of the Deep”. Check mail upon completion, (empty mail space and exit/enter mail if it was already full at time of mission). A white pistol from Omen should be there, open the message and the skins will unlock in the Catch-A-Ride.
· Bubble Gum – Complete the Floodmoor Basin Dynasty Dash burger mission, using an outrunner, and fulfill all optional objectives. Play in co-op to make this easier. Can also be found very rarely in The Droughts.
D. random spawn unlocks – Found on random vehicles in various locations:
· Children of the Vault – (common) Any map with outrunner vehicles and a COV presence will frequently spawn vehicles with this skin.
· Forest – (uncommon) Found in The Droughts on random vehicles.
· Golden Hog – (very rare) Found in Desolation’s Egde on random vehicles.
· Houndstooth – (very rare) Found in Devil’s Razor on random vehicles.
· Infection – (very rare) ??? Possibly bugged to a certain level character, no clue how I obtained.
· Pirate – (rare) Found in The Droughts on random vehicles.
· Historic Racing – (uncommon) Found in Meridian Metroplex on random vehicles
· Maliwan – (common) Found in any map with vehicles and a Maliwan presence.
· Pyscho-Mobile – (uncommon) Found in Devil’s Razor on random vehicles.
· Rage Cage – (rare) Found in The Droughts & Devil’s Razor on random vehicles.
E. Bugged/Unobtainable
· (DLC 2) Tentacar
· Red Machine
· Slow and Mad
· Dahl
· Festive
· Gearbox
· Shirking Convention
· Hexagons

3. Technical Skins:

A. Automatic unlocks – Found in Catch-A-Ride when first unlocked:
· Default

• Atlas

· Ellie
· Hyperion
· Jakobs
· Torgue
· Vladof
· Dahl
B. Crew Challenge unlocks – Awarded by bringing in vehicles marked on map to Catch-A-Ride:
· Follow-Me – Meridian Outskirts hijack target.
· Plaid – Splinterlands hijack target.
· Skag – Devil’s Razor hijack target (there are two targets in this area, one is an outrunner.) Also obtainable from hijacking a rare-spawn technical named “Skagzilla” in the droughts.
C. Story/mission unlocks – Awarded on campaign or side mission milestones/completion:
· Maya – Complete story mission “Beneath the Meridian”.
· Golden Ticket – Complete story mission “Angels and Speed Demons”.
· Vaugn’s - Complete story mission “Angels and Speed Demons”.
· Roadkill – Only available during “The Next Mouthpiece” side mission, not a set reward!!! Must hijack the war pig vehicle that only spawns only once during this mission. It’s lost if destroyed, can be earned on either playthrough or TVHM mission reset.
· (DLC 2) Spicy Tuna Roll – Complete side mission “Call of the Deep”. Check mail upon completion, (empty mail space and exit/enter mail if it was already full at time of mission). A white pistol from Omen should be there, open the message and the skins will unlock in the Catch-A-Ride.
D. Random spawn unlocks – Found on random vehicles in various locations:
· Blue Angels - (rare) Found in Neon Arterial on random vehicles. (Steps for hijack below.)
Edit: can be found very rarely in meridian outskirts along with thunderbird. If farming in that location skip the steps below, as they pertain to getting them in the neon arterial.
Note - This is a hard skin to get, you can’t chase the vehicle and hijack it, as the vehicle despawns after traveling a short, scripted distance.
Also note that the technical can spawn with the Thunderbird skin, which is predominately white. Make sure the technical has the skin you want as it won’t respawn after hijacking. Just let it get away and respawn if it has the wrong skin.
Take a vehicle through and kill all cyclones, up until the first drop down into the causeway. IGNORE the technical that you pass in this section, let it get away, as it despawns. If a cyclone gets away, fast travel back to the start of the level and it will respawn. Repeat until destroyed. Now, with all cyclones cleared (don’t forget to get the one rocket turret in this section), travel past the technical, but stop before the drop down, and let the technical get away on more time. Now rode your vehicle back towards the start of the level, but get out before the technical spawn location. Technical will spawn, drive up to you, and then you can hijack with ease.
· Thunderbird – (rare) Found in Neon Arterial on random vehicles.
See Blue Angels entry above for steps to capture.
· Children of the Vault – (common) Any map with technical vehicles and a COV presence will frequently spawn vehicles with this skin.
· Festi-Flesh – (very rare) Found in the Splinterlands on random vehicles.
· Forest Camo – (uncommon) Found in Floodmoor Basin on random vehicles.
· (DLC 2) Frost Rider – (common) Found in Skittermaw Basin on random vehicles.
· Halftone – (rare) Found in Carnivora and Splinterlands on random vehicles.
· I Like Dinosaurs – (very rare) Found in Floodmoor basin on random vehicles.
· Leather – (uncommon) Found in Meridian Outskirts on random vehicles.
· Skag – Found on a rare-spawn technical called “Skagzilla” in The Droughts. Also obtained from a hijack target in the Devil’s Razor.
· Stealth – (uncommon) Found in Sandblast Scar and Floodmoor Basin on random vehicles.
· (DLC 2) Tentacar – (very rare) Found in Skittermaw Basin on random vehicles.
· Woodland Camo – (common) Found in Carnivora and Splinterlands on random vehicles.
E. Bugged/unobtainable
· Bubblegum
· Magic number
· Gearbox
· E3 2019

4. Cyclone Skins:

A. Automatic unlocks – Found in Catch-A-Ride when first unlocked:
· Default – Can also be found on outriders in Ascension Bluff.

• Atlas

· Ellie
· Hyperion
· Jakobs
· Torgue
· Vladof
· Dahl
· Firehawk
B. Crew challenge unlocks – Awarded by bringing in vehicles marked on map to Catch-A-Ride:
· Psycho – Floodmoor Basin hijack target (other hijack target in area is an outrunner).
· Ninja Shark – Desolation’s Edge hijack target (other hijack target in area is an outrunner).
· Police – Meridian Metroplex hijack target.
C. Story/mission unlocks – Awarded on campaign or side mission milestones/completion:
· Bubble Gum – Complete the Devil’s Razor Dynasty Dash burger mission, using a cyclone, and fulfill all optional objectives. Play in co-op to make this easier.
· (DLC 2) Spicy Tuna Roll – Complete side mission “Call of the Deep”. Check mail upon completion, (empty mail space and exit/enter mail if it was already full at time of mission). A white pistol from Omen should be there, open the message and the skins will unlock in the Catch-A-Ride.
D. Random spawn unlocks – Found on random vehicles in various locations:
· Children of the Vault – (common) Any map with cyclone vehicles and a COV presence will frequently spawn vehicles with this skin. (Minus Meridian Metroplex.)
· Chopper – (common) Found in Floodmoor Basin, Desolation’s Edge, Splinterlands, and Carnivora on random vehicles.
· Dark – (uncommon) Found in Meridian Metroplex and Desolation’s Edge on random vehicles.
· Stealth – (rare) Found in Meridian Metroplex & (possibly) Neon Arterial on random vehicles.
· Emergency – (rare) Found in Meridian Metroplex on random vehicles.
· Forest (uncommon) – Found in Floodmoor Basin on random vehicles.
· Golden Wheel – (uncommon) Found in Desolation’s Edge, Meridian Metorplex on random vehicles.
· Lifeline – (very rare) Found in Floodmoor Basin on random vehicles.
· Lollipop – (very rare) Found in Desolation’s Edge on random vehicles. Vehicle will be called candy.
· Maliwan – (common) Found in Meridian Metroplex & Desolation’s Edge on random vehicles.
E. Bugged/Unobtainable
· Gamescon 2019
· Gearbox
Hope this helps anyone who cares about getting all vehicle skins! Please feel free to comment if you find any additional locations for a skin or find one I listed as bugged!

Examples of old comments of mine that the mods tracked down & deleted: this, this, and this
Mods have also deleted similar list posted by others.
Last Edited: Nov 6, 2019
Hall of Bootlickers

• Activision / Blizzard: banned player for supporting HK democracy protest. Confiscated all his winnings. Fired his interviewers. Apologized to China: condemned incident, swore to defend China's national dignity
  
• Activision / Blizzard: censor words related to HK protest in WoW
  
• Activision / Blizzard: cut livestream when American U team held up pro-HK sign
  
• Activision / Blizzard: censor "Free Hong Kong" in twitch chat of PlayHearthstone
  
• Activision / Blizzard: ban users in its Hearthstone Twitch chat for pro-Hong Kong statements
  
• American Express: changed "Taiwan" to "Taiwan, China" on its website
  
• EA DICE: censor "Tiananmen" in Battlefield V chat
  
• ESL: warn staff not to discuss HK protests
  
• TikTok: censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, Falun Gong
  
• TikTok refuses to testify to US Congress about its business in China
  
• ZLONGAME: removed guilds with any reference to HK in Second Galaxy M
  
• Apple: censor Taiwan flag emoji in iOS in HK
  
• Apple: banned HK protest map in App Store. Approved app after backlash. Banned app once again after China hissy fit
  
• Apple: banned in Chinese App Store news app that covered HK protest
  
• Apple: minimized the seriousness of iOS exploits that enabled China to track Uyghurs, when 1M+ of them are rounded up by China in concentration camps
  
• Apple: handed over iCloud data & encryption keys to China
  
• Apple: told Apple TV+ creators to avoid portraying China "in a poor light"
  
• Apple: Safari browser sends some user IP addresses to Tencent by default
  
• Apple refuses to testify to US Congress about its business in China
  
• Vans: censor pro-HK democracy design in its shoe design competition
  
• NBA (partial entry): rebuked Rockets manager for his pro-HK tweet, saying NBA was "extremely disappointed with Morey's inappropriate comment." Backpedalled after backlash, now saying they support Morey's freedom of speech.
  
• Brooklyn Nets: owner decried Rockets GM's pro-HK freedom tweet
  
• Houston Rockets: censored journalist who asked question about freedom of speech after China debacle
  
• James Harden: apologized to China on behalf of his GM's pro-freedom tweet
  
• Lebron James: attacked Morey for supporting HK democracy. Wanted Morey punished for it.
  
• Philly Sixers: ejected fans for supporting HK
  
• Washington Wizards: confiscated "Free Hong Kong" sign
  
• Christian Dior: apologize for using "incorrect" China map
  
• Disney / ESPN: forbid mention of Chinese politics when discussing Rockets manager's HK tweet
  
• Disney / ESPN: showed map of China on SportsCenter that acknowledged CCP's claims to nearly entire South China Sea
  
• Disney / Marvel: censored Tibetan monk from "Doctor Strange" & turned him into white woman. Movie screenwriter: "if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place & that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s bullshit".
  
• Disney: removed non-white characters from Chinese poster of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
  
• Disney / ESPN: told reporter to stand down on covering the NBA-China story the way he wanted
  
• Comcast / DreamWorks: movie "Abominable" shows 9 dash line in China map
  
• Viacom / Paramount: censor Taiwan flag from the jacket worn by Tom Cruise in new "Top Gun" movie
  
• ASICS, Calvin Klein, Coach, Fresh, Givenchy, Pocari Sweat, Valentino, Versace, Swarovski: details here
  
• Marriott: apologized & changed "Taiwan" to "Taiwan, China" after China threw a hissy fit
  
• Marriott: fired employee who liked tweet from Tibetan group
  
• Nike: removed Houston Rockets products from China webstore
  
• Cathay Pacific: fired employees for FB posts supporting HK protests.
  
• Google: censored pro-HK game "The Revolution of Our Times" from Google Play because it was about a "sensitive event".
  
• Gap: apologized for selling T-shirts IN CANADA that didn't include Taiwan as part of China
  
• Tiffany: removed tweet showing model covering 1 eye after China accused it of supporting HK
  
• Mercedes: apologized for quoting Dalai Lama on Instagram
  
• American, Delta, United: deleted mention of Taiwan as a country from websites
  
• Audi: apologized for using "incorrect" map of China that left off Taiwan
  
• Muji: destroyed store catalogs that contain "incorrect" map of China
  
• Zara: apologized for listing Taiwan as country
  
• Medtronic: apologized for publishing "illegal content" that listed "Republic of China (Taiwan)" as country
  
• Ray-Ban: changed "Taiwan" & "Hongkong" to "China Taiwan" & "China Hongkong"
  
• Qantas, Air France, Air Canada, British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Japan Airlines, ANA: changed "Taiwan" to "Taiwan China"
  
• Sheraton: banned Taiwan National Day event due to China pressure
  
• Shutterstock: censors search for any topics China doesn't approve: “Taiwan flag,” “dictator,” “yellow umbrella”
  
• US universities: don't talk about 3 Ts: Tibet, Tiananmen, Taiwan
  
• US universities: welcome China infiltrations with open arms
  
• Leica: released ad on Tiananmen protest. Apologized & distanced itself from ad
  
• Reddit: took $150M from Tencent. Removed thread like this
  
• Rockhampton, Queensland: censored Taiwan flag in student project
  
• Cisco: helped build Great Firewall including module to persecute Falun Gong
  
• MGM: changed Red Dawn's villain from China to N Korea to placate China
  
• Global Blue: fired staff for calling Taiwan a country
  
• L'Oréal / Lancôme: canceled HK artist concert for her pro-democracy activism
  
• US universities: self-censor in fear of offending China
  
• Disney: block Winnie the Pooh website in HK
  

After decades of opening up Western market to China while turning a blind eye to rampant Chinese IP thefts, forced tech transfers, & protectionism, we are looking at widespread control of Western firms by China. Firms that are not under outright Chinese control still kowtow to China out of fear of China's retaliation.
This is a very incomplete list of what we're seeing publicly. Imagine how bad it is behind closed doors.
Hall of Backbones

• Daryl Morey: tweeted "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong"
  
• Shaq: said Morey "was right" to openly support pro-democracy protesters in HK despite China's pressure
  
• Matt Stone & Trey Parker: South Park "Band in China"
  
• Ubisoft: listened to fans, said no to China after initially saying they would tone down game content to be China-compliant.
  
• Prague: cancel partnership with Beijing over 1-China principle
  
• Immutable: offer to repay banned gamer's winnings that was confiscated by Blizzard, got cyber attacked as a result
  
• Epic: won’t ban players for political speech
  
• Paradox Development: game banned by China in 2004 for using historically accurate maps that China deemed "incorrect". Refuse to bootlick: latest edition of game still using "incorrect" map
  
• Yubico: donated 500 hardware security keys to HK protesters & journalists to defend against cyber attacks
  

China's never-ending human rights abuses

• Hundreds of human rights lawyers (not even dissidents, just the LAWYERS who defended people) were snatched by gestapo all over China in what is known as the 709 Crackdown.
  
• One of those lawyers, Wang Quanzhang was sentenced to 4.5 years for "subversion of state power". But that's not enough. China actually went after Wang's 6-year-old son, forcing him out of his school and banning any other school from taking him in.
  
• A dissident, Wang Bingzhang was kidnapped by Chinese agents in Vietnam and sentenced to life in prison after a closed trial that lasted 1 day.
  
• A man wore a t-shirt with the word "Xitler" on it and was disappeared. Eventually he was tried for "subversion of state power" while barred from meeting with lawyers
  
• Another man, Wang Meiyu hold up a placard calling for Xi’s resignation & democracy. He was arrested for "picking quarrels”. He ended up dead in custody.
  
• A woman live streamed herself splashing ink on a Xi poster. She was disappeared. Her last social media update: "Right now there are a group of people wearing uniforms outside my door. I’ll go out after I change my clothes. I did not commit a crime. The people and groups that hurt me are the ones who are guilty". Later on there was report of her being sent to a psychiatric hospital
  
• After the ink-splash woman's disappearance her father made a series of broadcast to call attention to her plight. He ended up getting taken away by the police in the middle of a live stream
  
• 5 people associated with a Hong Kong bookstore that sold titles such as "Xi Jinping and His Six Women" were disappeared. Only one managed to escape back to HK. He held a press briefing to tell the world about his kidnapping by China. He's now in exile in Taiwan. The other 4 are still somewhere in China.
  

And, of course

• 1.5 million Uyghurs rounded up in concentration camps
  
• Leaked footage of a large number of blindfolded Uyghurs shackled together
  
• Genocide through forced abortions & sterilizations on Uyghur women
  
• Sexual torture of Uyghur women such as rape & rubbing intimate parts with chili paste.
  
• A Canadian journalist wanted to debunk reports of Chinese anti-Muslim repression so he went on a stage-managed show tour put on by China. That means he only saw a fake Potemkin village that China actually thought was acceptable by Western standard. But the brutality of even this fake Potemkin village stunned him. Now imagine what's really happening in the real concentration camps where millions of Uyghurs are being held. Imagine how bad the true situation is.
  
• Using minorities & political prisoners as free organ farms.
  
• Call for retraction of 400 Chinese scientific papers amid fears organs came from Chinese prisoners
  
• 15 Chinese studies retracted due to fears they used Chinese prisoners' organs
  
• Cultural genocide & organ harvests. A uyghur's testimony: "First, children were stopped from learning about the Quran, then from going to mosques. It was followed by bans on ramadan, growing beards, giving Islamic names to your baby, etc. Then our language was attacked – we didn’t get jobs if we didn’t know Mandarin. Our passports were collected, we were told to spy on each other, innocent Uyghur prisoners were killed for organ harvesting"
  
• Cultural genocide, part 2 destroy graveyards where generations of Uighur families are buried "to eradicate the ethnic group's identity"
  
• China is moving beyond Uyghur and cracking down on its model minority Hui Muslim. 'Afraid We Will Become The Next Xinjiang': China's Hui Muslims Face Crackdown: "The same restrictions that preceded the Xinjiang crackdown on Uighur Muslims are now appearing in Hui-dominated regions. Hui mosques have been forcibly renovated or shuttered, schools demolished, and religious community leaders imprisoned. Hui who have traveled internationally are increasingly detained or sent to reeducation facilities in Xinjiang."
  
• Leaked photo of an extremely emaciated prisoner of Chinese concentration camps
  

The Meld II (22): Dark Dream Part 1.
Nahrl fixating on venomous visions briefly glanced out cautiously. Peering quickly around with twin bright amber eyes from the edge of the T junction. Back pressed tight to the security of one wall. Then drawing himself slyly away into relative cover to rest heart hammering. Distinctly stressed his failing mood running deeper than he knew. The fear produced by less obvious instinctive subconscious computation. Meanwhile, waiting patiently for any developments, grim stalking images continued to dominate the forefront of his troubled meat brain.
When nothing seemingly happened he dared to poke his head out slightly again. This time he sniffed deeply. Seeking even the barest hint of Reptile, Gek or Tusk. Picking up only slightly less stale air. The atmosphere dry with hints of machine in it compared to the Causeway previously traversed. Cursed paranoia! Things change Nahrl old Fox. Populations move on. Some even get completely wiped out by disease, famine or competition. All Uplifts once technically members of First Spawn Servitor Species, but not anymore. To Nahrl servitude of that sort - rightly - history, no longer the business of any sane Hellespae Uplift.
True wild stories claimed the Fangs supposedly once exceptionally loyal Enforcer Assassins of Geskhan, but Geskhan’s murder by the Inquisition and The Fall would have ended that employment abruptly. Anyway, any surviving Fangs likely deeply changed culturally beyond all previously problematic recognition. Surely now focused on more useful survival activities. Assassins turned farmers or simple hunter gatherers seeking food. No profit anymore in killing other Uplifts for coin, twisted perceptions of honour or duty. Although thinking about venomous hunters was almost as scary a prospect as worrying about venomous Assassins. Yet whilst straining his ears, he reasoned again that the Fangs likely long gone maybe extinct from all Hellespae.
Too annoyingly however Nahrl still felt deeply ill at ease almost irrationally so. The vibe as if being stalked by menacing presences, presences all around him. Whilst no matter how many times he peered out, sniffed or listened finding nothing, the feeling of dread refused to budge. It was cursed unnerving and hardly normal. For a Fox Scout certain animal instincts not wisely ignored and hairs were standing up on end all over his body that should be lying placidly flat.
Spawn Geskhan and all his viler works. All such ills could go to the void to dwell alongside the purged soul of the Dark Dreamer.
So many wicked things out there, even those weird carnivorous plantimals filling the Jungle that terrified Efor. Why did the ancient GekSpawn make so much ill? The last thing now needed by the Pentacle Minus One being to encounter more artful killers. Murderers tenaciously guarding their home ground be it ancient or adopted. It easy enough for any trespassing Fox Scout to worry about angry guards. Nahrl far too used to avoiding various forms of hostile patrolling sentry during his difficult life. Slipping around everything from Uplifts of the cannibalising Horde to huge ancient biomechanical Stalkers. Therefore given his unease it not easy to fully abandon Fang fears.
Worse it was hard to remember when he last felt so surrounded without some more obvious hint of a foe.
Could they really be that skilled. Out there emotively sensed but not seen? His instincts reading subtle clues his more Uplifted sapient consciousness could not identify. Actually his subconscious scenting the very timbre of the air, taking in the precise atmosphere of the local volume of space in a holistic cumulative - deeper - perceptual manner. It likely feeling out a measure of the voids surrounding him making all those hairs dance a jig as much as Fangs.
He slipped back a little further into the tunnel he arrived from, moving away from potential exposure to safer review his predicament with a cooler more measured mind. The animal side had uses, but also rational limitations. Technically it a mundane Causeway T junction, Nahrl considered, well as questionably mundane as any hell spawned Hellespae Causeway engineered by Geskhan now felt. With annoyingly the road stretching off to either side into the far distance that being a dire disappointment. Both ways onward confounding Nahrl by diverging from the direction of the City he sought. No matter which way he might choose to go, it being the wrong way. That being if he dared to step into that brighter overhead light, which presently he did not. It all too exposed. Earlier the junction stopping him cold instilling him with heated anger and frustration. The conundrum irritating almost beyond easy endurance then the irrational fear had crept up upon him.
Not good enough. He forced his breathing to get more even despite considering a cowardly retreat. Then almost at the point of giving up, whilst gazing back down towards the stronger light, it locked into place and finally he saw it plain. Metaphorically dawn breaking late over a sharply jagged mountain range of previous obscuration. The Fox cursing himself for a Fang blinded fool as he judged the deeper source of his mood revealed. It not even something new. The underlying feeling of looping dread: The linked oppression an old terror… It had never really been about Fangs. The new Causeway not veering off to either side to go elsewhere. Though technically it did veer off and did go elsewhere, at the same time paradoxically it went nowhere at all. That thought actually making him show his teeth in an unsettling predatory Fox grin.
The new routes beyond the T junction existed purely as an encircling loop with no beginning or end. In short, he was gazing into another cursed Great Ring Road Causeway. The feature akin to the one that had surrounded the Grand Warren, at least in general physical architecture. Once again the great curve involved - so enormous - it far from easily detected from within. Whilst Nahrl had been so busy trying to spot skulks behind the ribbing of metal pillars he had overlooked the more obvious source of his vexation the area itself.
His subconscious mind dreading the Ring Road as a haunting reminder of a former delve: The other Ring Road a truly horribly infected zone overflowing with corruption, worse in review potentially impregnated with Dark Dreamer emissions.
It was at Geskhan's Grand Warren Ring Road that they first encountered masses of evil faux Goop style disguised bio-drone material. Here though there were no swathes of smelly intimidating alien growth, or overly subtle underlying, brain continuity stealing, vibes. At least no emissions belonging to the deceased Dark Dreamer. The Causeway, beyond the junction, as the section he had just traversed, actually exceptionally clean bare metal and composite plating. Ignoring in the Ring Road those weird structural supports. The mass of the road very well lit too by currently even brighter lights than elsewhere. The illumination from technological light panels mounted flush in the ceiling. A strong if cold and even light. Indeed, if there an obvious abiding issue out there it might be the later difficulty of the Pentacle Minus One stalking onward whilst traversing such a well lit arena.
Logically, at first glance, overall it a far more welcoming and friendlier space than the Grand Warren Ring Road. The fair aspect of the place confounding his earlier consternation that increasing sense of trepidation - Fang fears aside. Of course Causeways alone currently problematic to him, all reminders of the surviving ghost of Geskhan, yet his recent gut reaction aversion stronger at the T than normal. Now though he judged his dread an escalation of subconscious recollections: The former problematic Dark Dreamer mass not just an active Geskhan.
Now that he believed he understood whence his ill feelings sprouted they seemed much easier to confront and to ignore. Indeed the hairs of his coat already settling down somewhat. It was, after all, not the Grand Warren Ring Road. This site its own thing, and actually - a good find - more evidence of ordered conformity in general architectural planning on Hellespae. From the ring surely there would be spoke like passageways leading coreward - as before - maybe even fully mirroring paths comparable to ones he had previously mapped out within the Grand Warren. Such conformity should make his future path-finding easier. The structure also potentially suggesting at its heart rested a cloned Central Warren Shaft: A means by which they might later hastily rise up from Port Platform to Port Platform to gain any level needed even quick access to a central surface area of the Lost City. An exciting prospect as a short cut.
Actually, at last, it felt as if they were getting somewhere. With any luck soon locating any resident Smugglers maybe even tracking down the imprisoned Traveller Torrance as well thanks to jetpack mobility.
Much here to feel good about not glum and fearful. It certainly seemed if it all following a fairly standard design plan the way ahead clearer. Though he cautioned himself against making too many - too early - assumptions. Even if many parts followed known principles other surprises might yet lurk in ambush such as the pillars. Again he looked at those areas resting a little in shadow behind strangely complex and ornate looking technological structural members. Nahrl considering the additions with continued distrust. Other Causeways had not needed any such profusion of supports including at the Grand Warren Ring Road. Considering the pillars he also began recalling some of the more maze like inner spaces of the Grand Warren those thoughts moderating his momentarily better mood back to one of typically tempered scouting caution.
If much akin to the Grand Warren that site had many ideal ambush spots plus lots of ways that knowledgeable denizens might sneak around any trespasser including endless levels of snaking service conduits. Passages within walls and even under some floors. Fang or Smuggler eyes could easily be watching over the Ring Road Causeway from behind spying panels or making use of tiny concealed security cameras perhaps mounted high on those problematic pillars.
Again he wondered about what those Tusks had been so cautiously afraid of? Could they also fear Geskhan‘s ghost might inhabit this place to turn long dormant machines against them, or to recall to service, once more, the descendants of ancient Fang Assassins? That is if the Smugglers, some of whom had also breached the Grand Warren, knew about the survival of Geskhan as a Digital Echo into this late age. Else had they come upon ancient or more recent signs of Fangs and that had induced their guarding paranoia? Perhaps the Tusks had shared their own too graphic lore about Ancient Assassins living here or nearby with their off world Gek employers? Saying that any such Tusk lore existed among them. Although he wondered if he was making too much of those earlier Tusk movements. Maybe the Gek he tracked, near the blockage, simply a stern employer demanding vigilant security at all times from his hirelings. Often it was what you thought you knew combined with what you very much didn’t know that tripped you up. A little knowledge easily leading to broadly false assumptions. In review, Gryll not necessarily wrong about some cautions.
Yet to him when the Tusks arrived down that blocked Causeway section finding it empty and sealed off they should have relaxed somewhat. Annoyingly he had found no hint of any easing of vigilance in their movements whatsoever. Instead, the Tusks placements remained fully tactical, perhaps even more despite that secure space, then they withdrew in haste as if fearing being trapped at a dead end. Though of course they might, in need, have tunnelled through the rubble to escape, unless they equally distrusted unknowns on the other side of the collapse. Maybe the guards under their own oppressive Fang paranoia. Still, exploring extensive vacant ruins could be haunting by itself, such places thick with the phantoms of other ages even without finding masses of battle remains. Many no doubt suffering and dying here during then after The Fall.
Nahrl strove to let go of his more unanswerable queries for now, since he had no fresh input to apply for better understanding. Dwelling on it too much only waxing unproductive, whilst potentially damaging his own nerves. Too easy to again imagine Fangs in every crevice and Geskhan in every machine. The pillars looking annoyingly mechanistic with great robotic style joints disturbingly reminding him of fixtures in armatures. Yet he could not figure out how they might sensibly move so maybe that design aspect purely stylistic. They itched at him though as another anomalous matter. Again he strove to let it go as outside his control and present comprehension. Attempting to turn his thoughts towards more productive commonalities between the City Warren and the Grand Warren, and how he might make best use of the same to ideally find and rescue Torrance.
Unfortunately, for Nahrl, his mental processes almost instantly spiralling their own way as another divergent train of thought rudely intruded. Did these potentially alike Warrens, he wondered, even more truly than previously guessed before, rest at either end of his world. It striking him suddenly that the Lost City might actually rest directly opposite Geskhan’s Peak on the precise other side of the globe. It playing on his mind that when Tor had gone for a polar opposite coordinate, he had done so in direct relation to the Taran Hinterland - moreover - subconsciously or purposely in particular to the exact opposite position of Geskhan’s Peak that landmark being an obvious starting point.
Thinking about Tor he decided to try to link to him again on the rare chance the Traveller’s communication system mended. Although Nahrl hardly surprised when once more no connection occurred.
Perhaps Tor did go for a polar opposite coordinate direct to Geskhan’s Peak making that choice as part of some hidden theory he had not yet been ready to fully share, or even as a subconscious choice not totally understood. It even worryingly possible Tor nudged by the subtle input of implanted information from the Primary Mass of the Dark Dreamer. In review - it actually incredulous to consider - that they had all been so close to that grim hub of - nefarious emissions - and yet come away untouched and unspoiled by any intrusive input worming into their brains. After all, it was not the more blatant emissions from such dreadful powers that proved their worst cause of infamy, it was the subtle knife that cut so sharply you didn’t feel it enter at all - not at the time.
It possible the Dreamer - when yet alive though wounded - had sought to direct them all here maybe even as a cunning act of sophisticated revenge against Geskhan or them or both? If so, precisely what might such a trap entail? Unfortunately again he did not have enough information to work it through. However the idea of any implantation - so deeply covert - that he would not even realise he harboured it as anything other than his own inner workings proving incredibly gross to the Fox. He hated the very idea of such emissions with an easy passion. No wonder Tor occasionally seemed to verge upon insane levels of convoluted self doubt and paranoia. Who could hope to avoid abiding mental issues whilst knowing of such direly deceitful and invasive powers?
Moreover in some ways the Traveller cursed via inheriting masses of mind bending lore from previous Iterations. It probably, in part, the Elder Torrance’s personality - his hatred of manipulation and manipulators - that had first revealed to him the horror of the Overmind of Monopods as he soon understood the same. His immersion in horror only compounding over time: An evil circle of self-reinforcing trepidation and paranoia. The Elder Torrance’s mind sensing an external beguiling force many others readily overlooked also, he claimed, because of a historic Dark Taint from a cultish Book of a time and place possibly Beyond the Beyond: Rising from contact with that weird realm of the Anomalous Channels.
Sadly, the boon or curse of his sensitivity - whilst revealing intruding broadcast emissions directed from an external emitter - never meant being fully guarded against the same. Insight alone making you far from fully immune. Most emission implantation, it believed, by their very nature confused as part of your own inner self be the implantation: A thought, a memory, a dream or even a broad emotional association or general feeling.
Perceiving the existence of the threat - only opened up some limited possibility to resist - alongside entangling negative snares degrading your mental health including an abiding loss of confidence in the sanctity of your ego. In short, knowing a grim portal to forever questioning your own mind, your own inner reality and integrity. Nahrl more than glad the Dark Dreamer - as an active local emitter - now gone. The more he thought about it, the more he abhorred the power the Dreamer quietly wielded over the people of Hellespae especially over the culture of the Tusks. Whilst the idea of the incredibly vaster might of the Overmind of Monopods was - if true to the form described - a cosmic scaled terror beyond reckoning.
The Fox shuddered deeply on the inside at the harsh realities of the vile concepts involved: The horrid twisty feeling incited by knowledge of mind crimes as a fact of his Universe. It loathsome that you might never be certain to pick out and tie down any external influence you might be suffering that fact truly an unsettling awareness. How can anyone after all hope to separate their inner self from such alien manufactured external implantation? Did some faint internal sense of difference exist? Was inner corruption something a Fox might metaphorically sniff out? Nahrl wondering, if one day he might be able to track anomalous input within himself yet he was far from certain it possible. The Mindwar felt like a spiral into easy insanity, mind crimes never matters readily reconciled. Again even knowing of emitting powers only a poor and problematic beginning to resistance.
Worse recognition of the problem causing as many issues as the problem itself. Although the thought of being manipulated - in utter ignorance - felt even more abominable than being oppressed by horrid fears of barely seen actors. Already, at times, since his nearness to the Primary Mass, Nahrl found himself - questioning - doubting the reality of his: Thoughts, feelings, memories and motivations placing all those inner things under a reviewing inquisition of scrutiny. Yet it seemed increasingly impossible to be mindful - all the time - and on the inside he knew it maze cascades of subtle nudging associations. You might never know how an implanted aberration might rise later coming at you via twisty paths of obscure inner influence.
Implanted emission a challenge to any soul’s integrity. Worse guarding reactions whilst near an emitter such as a Monopod insufficient, for a slipped in sending might rest dormant behind your skull like a secret seed waiting to germinate to mutate your better intent warping your very perception including ultimately your personality years later. For what was a person if not a meld of present and recounted experiences, feelings, associations and so on? In any head it being this thing leading to that matter, it all linkages.
No easy escape then as simply knowing wrecked your peace of mind akin to forbidden knowledge of the Great Machine itself: Those swarming nanite components and the idea that all people potentially just other constructs of a manufactured reality. Every digital soul deeply subject to the engines occasionally altered whims and devices. Most locals, if not all, not even supposed to be able to perceive the broader mechanism of that Elder Technology in which they were technically but moving parts. It readily wounding the mind just thinking about some of those perception altering concepts and yet occasionally now how could he not dwell upon those ill making perspectives.
Some knowledge although - slippery - equally not easy to let go of either, once known somehow it lurked in there on a shadow level even when seemingly voided out. The empty shape of the lack within itching at you with almost recognition. Then you remember fully when someone else mentions it, or when certain oblique associations flow your thoughts back into that direction flooding that gap again defining its old meaningful shape. Yet illogically at other times that shape seemingly melts away behind a fog of fading confusion.
To Nahrl some things getting a little easier to retain since he met the Triumvirate, maybe because those rare associates kept jogging certain recollections reinforcing them. Also it oddly subjective of context. Easier to think of some matters as a distanced story, a Blood Cult myth or lore than to deem them solid facts into which you are thoroughly bound as just another artificial part of a vast artificial construct. Indeed as he fixated on those problematic facts he began to feel a little ill and dizzy his cognition dulling with a verging on intoxicated miasma. Yet via some inner resource he battled that encroaching vagueness down to reclaim his waking mindful self. Though for a moment an Abyss had almost opened within him so that escaping that maw had felt akin to a hard crawl up an especially steep incline during a blazingly steamy hot day. Nahrl finding he felt more than a little sweaty and fevered from the inner effort even though his head cleared.
Despite such occasional internal struggles it probably far easier for Uplifts than some others to retain certain facts, his kind having another built in level of divergent manufactured separation via their genetic uplifting. Their weird recreation setting them a little apart, not just from simpler animal stock, but also perhaps from more normal Atlas life. Yet the potential dampening of memory that could yet occur remained scary enough because even with all his advantages Nahrl positive on occasion he was far from immune to being realigned as had just almost happened. Moreover, the way it worked, it mostly made you feel as if you didn’t want to go there in relation to forbidden truths. Some facts feeling uncomfortable, akin to contemplating self harm.
Therefore he had to accept that perhaps - even for him as a Fox - there might always be some active gaps in his memory and cognition, or at best occasional informational vague spots. At times his mind seemingly at war with the truer facts of his wider reality as say the Triumvirate occasionally spoke of such matters. The wider reality expecting - even demanding - that he conform by accepting it all simply as normal and natural, never fake or contrived, never that illusion pulled over your eyes.
The Fox found he was growling softly, curling back his black muzzle lips to expose bright white teeth including sharp canines. A part of him yearned to bite.
The parts as Atlas manufactured life, it seemed, not supposed to question their role in the whole. No one arguably supposed to be - too self aware here - they were just expected to adhere to the broader pattern, to happily fill their niche. All good little cogs in the broader clockwork loops. That idea causing a harsh irritation of anger within him. It was almost as if the Atlas rigged his existence long before his birth. Some creations not allowed to fully know their reality or even themselves. It seemed wrong - as wrong as being spawned as part of a Servitor Species - with an expectation of slavery to your maker’s design.
Perhaps Atlas procedures occurring for good, even semi-essential, - operational - reasons: The maintenance of good public order: The easy retention of individual sanity and peace of mind... Yet Travellers and some others that partook of deeper truths, (in part or in whole), could easily disrupt the perfection of ignorance among those they met. They shone a light upon the shadow workings of the Great Machine. They revealed hidden things squirming under the rocks. Geskhan without doubt another such revealing force. There was no doubt Geskhan beheld the Great Machine - for what it was - and was well aware of, and maybe even manipulated in a somewhat blasphemous way. Such folk abusing for example the Base Code of existence, it possible all the most powerful First Spawn habitually played such games and some higher initiates in the Blood Cults it guessed as well.
Some people getting almost too close to the esoteric workings of reality, perhaps many First Spawn historically breaching barriers via delving Korvax Prime, but others potentially reaping forbidden knowledge even earlier through contact with alien external forces: Congress with the dreadful Mythic Darks from Beyond the Beyond. Although at times it easy to doubt the reality of the Darks, as things existing on the edge of myth and terror, perhaps they were more than real enough. Possibly more real than Atlas reality.
It easy to consider that some awareness - some forbidden lore - risked feeding the Dark Taint being at the first root of blasphemous rebellious thoughts and meddling. The Overmind of Monopods and the Darks coming from outside of the system surely seeing all the mechanisms of Atlas Creation clearer than locals bound tightly to its strictures. Moreover, any intruder likely measuring it all in a less sympathetic manner than any integrated part of the system. Surely contact with the Overmind and the Darks had in part altered the perceptions and thinking of the First Spawn profoundly. Did the First Spawn also - as a result - yearn to break their local programing to reach beyond the limitations imposed upon them by their Maker? To be more than just a constrained part of a manufactured reality.
A struggle in your head against your Maker was something Nahrl now knew too well.
It easy to imagine Geskhan thinking of himself as far more than any subservient cog or flywheel looping through the cycles of ages, obliviously chained. Of course - they - would want more: The First Spawn wanted to domineer. The idea of being enslaved themselves within any broader system of control - even an entirely benevolent system - surely an anathema to Ancient Gek especially ambitious forceful leader types. At the least they would want to know and control the system rather than just be known and controlled by it.
Probably, Nahrl guessed, - as historic hints suggested - First Spawn leadership deluded themselves that they could manipulate the Darks external perspective plus outside knowledge. Gain enough greater awareness and control: To rise far beyond restrictions upon average citizens. Was that ultimately the target Blood Cults were aiming at but so often missed: To reach the apex of the pyramid of control and thus freedom from all masters. To know and lord over all artificial creation, even perhaps in time to step beyond the confines entirely, if stepping beyond your physical reality possible for beings embedded in a mechanised existence.
Can a cog operate outside of its device? Else must parts only have meaning within the whole? Outside a timepiece a spilled cog a dead unmoving - lost - broken thing. Unless, unless it could create its own machine an exo-suit for travelling Beyond the Beyond. Its own little roving interface with broader external possibilities, akin to how the Korvax operated in the physical real, via the intermediate interface of their manufactured Casings, whilst remaining on other levels insubstantial digital echoes. Incredibly, Nahrl imagined a special device reaching beyond even the imaginings and makings of Atlas - breaching a higher un-moderated by Atlas reality a realm of - real - freedom beyond all strictures of programing.
What strange alien marvels might rest in un-moderated chaos Beyond the Beyond?
The idea of grasping control of his own fate, of escaping every ruling hidden routine - akin to escaping any imposed emission - almost made him feel a little sympathy with the First Spawn’s grim agenda, even potentially a little empathy with cursed Blood Cult plans. Well the target if that was its real mark - arguably worthy - even if their means of interacting with the Darks to try and gain their desires waxed thoroughly abominable and utterly evil. The Darks - at best - mocking every comparatively littler First Spawn cog for their big dreams and desires. The Darks and their designs being far above lesser caged beings. Teaching their worshippers to murder their own Star Born kind simply as a means to seemingly open up deeper communications alone seeming far too akin to a rigged looping trap. The Darks only interested in consuming the Light of the Great Machine rather than in assisting the Light to break free from the cage of say the lamp housing it.
How would destroying Atlas creation benefit the Darks? In some ways the Darks made no sense to him although he knew not all motivations made sense. It interesting though to think of the Great Machine as manufacturing Light, housing as it did a Star Maker, compared to the Darks that according to myth only consume Stars to live in a cold empty void of their own almost negative spawning. Nahrl imagining the pregnant void as a vile dark dream - beyond all sane reason - but was it?
Was it equally insane for any cog to yearn to be free of the confines of the Star Maker? Was it unnatural for anything spawned by Atlas to dream of escaping to spaces Beyond the Beyond? It did feel a little crazy to him - an almost darkly blasphemous dream - and yet the idea held a certain undeniable sinister attraction one hard to fully ignore once entertained. Though it an attraction he had hardly ever previously delved. Before within the Darks and Cults Nahrl beholding only the wickedness of the methodology, nothing of the broader majesty of any dreamed prize.
Surely out there though, despite the weird rhetoric of the Darks, rested far more than a cold void. Somewhere Beyond the Beyond - a higher more complex more nuanced reality - than anything a senile ailing Atlas might contrive: The higher reality of the Makers of Atlas, the called by some Cosmic Engineers also he believed known to others as Progenitors. Still as Tor was prone to saying occasionally now: What is in a name? Many labels shared whilst the substance involved ultimately remained its own thing. All labels in a way comparative too often describing new things as if akin to older similar things, yet though similar never actually the same. The sameness an illusion.
We are all our own thing, Nahrl mused.
Even when we are made in part in the likeness of something else we stay unique. Just as his own people where in part made in the likeness of other bipeds - most notably the Big Three - yet retaining their own integrity of being. Nahrl finding he was looking at his hands - as if for the first time - they retained so much more in common with the hands of Travellers than any animal paw. Even the term Fox actually - species wise - a misnomer, as a far from perfect classification. He shook his head a little astounded at the mental journey he was presently undertaking. It as if his thoughts had spun around and around the Great Ring Road, around and around until they naturally picked up enough speed to spiral up and out into colder unfathomably alien reaches. That thought made him shudder externally though not just internally as if gripped by a chilling void. Was this whole world a Temple to the Darks? An embodiment of the Darkest Dream as some in this reality perceived it. The Darks and the Grandmasters each seeking to use each other just as say Geskhan and the KVC might now be locked in a battle of wills.
For a moment the Outer Darkness of the deepest Beyond felt closer to him here than he felt presently comfortable with, as if an encroaching alien liquid ocean of night spilling down upon his little Star Child soul almost washing him away. Yet he prevailed if left bedraggled and beached under the shadow of a great Horned Hourglass. Opening his eyes, that he had unknowingly closed he registered the ring road yet well lit. It was then as if via a grand conspiracy of omen he noticed a severe - almost violent - flickering in that illumination so that the whole circuit seemed to flash as if stuck multiple times by esoteric lightning. A startling manifestation of another of Gryll’s pulses and it had to be terribly strong here from the boldness of the light panels reactions. He was still deeply musing, in a disturbed manner, at the potency of the passed event when his grown too deep thoughts physically interrupted.
‘This is it.’ Gryll sent almost giving Nahrl a jump scare by placing a hand on his shoulder from behind.
Nahrl realising just how much he had become lost in his own mind - not clever for a scout in the field - not clever at all. The lapse made him feel a fool or as if he had momentarily been beguiled by this place, ensorcelled by an intrusion from Geskhan’s world or at least some emission from the ring of the Causeway. Gryll had mentioned a spill of vibes from the Nanotech earlier. What powers might Geskhan have learned from his toying with a part of the Overmind? Whatever the cause of his recent silliness he had gone so deep for a moment into sinister meditations he had not even registered the rest of the party advancing upon him. Then looking back he noticed the rest of the party not there, it was only Gryll that had apparently broken ranks to come forward.
Nahrl soon wondering how long he had been snared in his dark meditations had Gryll grown worried.
Meanwhile, Gryll tilted his head slightly in a quizzical way, maybe noting something of the Foxes weird mood in troubled unguarded features. Yet he spoke of his own present hard to escape obsession.
‘This is it.’ The Traveller Korvax repeated with slightly uncharacteristic - not so machine - excitement.
‘Is what?’ Nahrl asked though he had obvious suspicions he desired clear confirmation.
‘The source. This is the source of the pulses. I am certain now they are all here, resting all around this Great Ring Road - all of them.’
Nahrl felt doubly a fool. Gryll, though just arrived, clearly recognised the Ring Road instantly for what it was unlike himself earlier. How had he become so distracted? Truly, he felt, he had not been at his best recently perhaps ever since the Grand Warren Delve his mind oft cycling in problematic ways.
‘When that last pulse happened - it so close - I could feel a host of them. As if each reflected a little of the energy. Although the effect tapering off with each more distant contact the overall shape of the huge arcing flare clear enough. Earlier, I must conjecture, the main pulse being far stronger than the echoes, observed at a distance drowning those lesser signals out but not here. The last pulse made the circle obvious although it did not flash all the way around fading away at its extremities. Pity I didn’t notice the ring pattern before.’
So the pulses revealed the Ring Road to him not the other way around, Nahrl mused. He then guessed arriving here at the junction only finally confirming the facts. That actually made Nahrl feel a little better, a little less distractedly stupid or even emission ill.
‘Before, the firing off of the pulses simply too random,’ Gryll continued. ‘the distance involved too confusing creating a vagary in the estimated placements, drowning out the broader shape and those far lesser sympathetic reflections as well. Yet it firming up a little all the time to me. They are here, I am positive, every emitter of the pulse rests somewhere within this circling Causeway.’
‘Could it be those pillars?’ Nahrl sent.
‘Maybe. Thank you Nahrl. You have found the primary source of the emissions.’ Gryll insisted. ‘When I felt it so clearly, I had to come forward to confirm. In truth, it almost a compulsion. Though I had the others hang back - as you previously ordered - I only risked myself and made my way forward stealthily.’
‘The rest of you might as well advance as well now.’ Nahrl sent back to Efor and Jhasq.
Nothing more was said until they had all regrouped at the junction.
‘So another ring road.’ Efor stated. ‘Do you think this circle marks out the main confines of the City above as well? Else maybe defines some central district?’
‘I don’t know, but I feel certain now that the Lost City is huge in breadth not just height. I seriously underestimated the scale of this place in every particular. A failure of imagination on my part. I suppose I didn’t credit the true scale of it possible. It seems I have a limited - parochial - Taran Warren Fox mind after all, despite my scouting travels so far.’
‘Bah! I wouldn’t put yourself down about that oversight. This one an easily excusable error.’ Efor stated.
‘Efor is right Nahrl. I imagine all our perceptions of scale shaped by specific past experience and environment.’ Gryll lectured. ‘It hardly surprising that the relative sizes confused you. This City beyond your normal experience. Really it is beyond even us off world folk. True we wanderers know astronomical scales but this concept of huge urban spaces is a different thing altogether to us.’
‘So what now? Shall we seek out the transmitters within the ring? Else do we delve onward following a spoke of the wheel as we did at the Grand Warren, possibly to the facility of a Core Shaft? The smugglers likely occupying somewhere near the heart for easy access above and below.’ Nahrl reasoned.
‘Surely we must seek out and examine at least one source of this problematic signal first.’ Jhasq stated.
‘Do you think you would recognise the transmitters?’ Efor asked.
‘This close I should be able to confirm them via any later pulse even via echoes.’ Gryll stated.
‘Whilst we are here we must at least take a look.’ Efor decided.
‘We can hardly just move along and not.’ Jhasq agreed.
‘Again I almost feel disqualified to vote on this one. It all being a bit too close to me. I certainly do not want to be the reason we fail to rescue Tor in time, if time a serious factor against us.’ Gryll noted.
‘There is no knowing if any reasonable delay will make a difference or not. Besides, Gryll, we have been forced to make many delays already just to get this far. Whilst it is hardly good to advance with one of us suffering a malady when we have perhaps an opportunity to seek after knowledge for a cure. I don’t think Tor would want you to suffer unduly.’ Jhasq stated.
‘There is no guaranteeing that even examining an assured transmitting source will provide any kind of solution to the pulse.’ Gryll warned.
‘True, but it might, whilst if we don’t try to figure this puzzle out we certainly won’t find a cure.’ Jhasq reminded. ‘What do you think Nahrl? You are being very quiet about this one.’
Nahrl considered his friends whilst internally feeling a bit like a grumpy person just woken up from a strange dream. It not entirely easy to focus on the present moment some small part of his mind still venturing Beyond the Beyond. He scratched behind his right ear then sighed.
‘I would say do what you must Gryll.’
Jhasq nodded at that possibly expecting no other outcome.
‘If we find no solution, within a reasonable time frame, then we can move coreward again.’ Nahrl added.
‘Sounds like a plan.’ Efor sent.