The Sequel to One Last Mission.

Having received his assignment from the Emperor, Zack Assegaf heads off to lead his troops into battle against the pro-coup forces and their leader, the renegade Field-Marshal Dzhokhar Siregar. Meanwhile, he's also been assigned to work alongside Jude Chiang, the mysterious Director of the Biro Keamanan Negara, with whom he had just developed a rivalry.

Yet there is more going on between them than meets the eye, for Assegaf and Chiang had in fact crossed paths in what seemed like a lifetime ago – when both had to fight side by side against a gauntlet of dangerous threats. Now thrust together once more, both men will be forced to face their past, as they struggle against a formidable enemy which threatens even their combined might...

The Imperial shuttle dropped from high altitude and flew towards the Aerodrome in the outskirts of Bogor City, escorted by a pair of DI-39 fighter jets. The fighters flew close by; rarely deviating from the shuttle's assigned flight path and doing so only whenever their pilots realized they have flown too close. The fact they'd taken all these precautions to protect the shuttle was an indication that whoever or whatever it was carrying was important.

That fact was not lost on Air Traffic Controller Sergeant Makmur. He, along with many of his peers, was one of the first batch of graduates from the Air Force academy under the reign of Emperor Hakim. Like the rest of his classmates, he was among the first to see action against Siregar's coup attempt, coordinating all communications as High Command marshalled loyal units to expel pro-coup forces from Imperial Centre.

"This is Control Tower to Shuttle Cakra," he said into the comlink. "Requesting clearance code before landing. Over."

"This is Shuttle Cakra to Control Tower," the pilot replied. "Transmitting clearance code right now."

"Clearance code accepted," Makmur said after a moment. "You're cleared for landing."

The shuttle landed at a nearby field in front of a contingent of Air Force pilots and Marine troopers standing on both sides of the aisle. Standing at the centre of the aisle was base commander Colonel Zulfan. He saluted as Grand-Marshal Zack Assegaf stepped out of the shuttle, surrounded by a pair of black-clad Death Troopers and a few staff officers.

"Right this way, sir," Zulfan said, as he led the entourage towards the Command Centre, a sombre grey edifice located on the West Side of the Aerodrome. "They're waiting."

Assegaf stared straight ahead at the building. "I know."

The war room inside Bogor Aerodrome's command centre was bigger than the one at the Marine Headquarters back in Cilandak. Senior officers discussed battle tactics over the holotable at the centre of the room, while comm officers worked in front of their computers, relaying information back and forth to High Command. Everyone paused when Grand-Marshal Assegaf and his entourage strode in.

"General, how are preparations for our attack proceeding?" Assegaf asked as he came over to the holotable.

"We're almost ready to begin, sir," the holoimage of Marine General Hadisubroto said, a military poncho draped over his battle uniform. "The last of our forces have just arrived, and the rebels are still unaware of our presence."

"Good. Prepare your men and await my command."

"Yes, sir."

Zack Assegaf prepared himself to perform the first raka'ah of prayer, reciting the Ta'awuz and Bismillah, followed by the Surah Al-Fatihah; seeking for the protection of Allah the Most Merciful and Compassionate against all manner of harm and evil, imploring Him to guide the faithful to the straight path.

There was a sense of relief and satisfaction each time he performed the obligatory Islamic prayers; influenced by his late father Sayyid Ammar Assegaf, who taught him the meaning and importance behind each phrase and gesture. Among his favourites are Surahs Al-Falaq and An-Nas, both of which implored the one praying to seek refuge in Allah, declaring and affirming His sovereignty above all harm and evil. He made it a habit to recite both Surahs even outside the obligatory prayer times. Each time he did so he'd grow strengthened in focus and resolve, ready to take on any challenge once the time to act arrives.

More importantly, each recitation was a prayer for the Empire's victory over its enemies. Assegaf had twice nearly lost his life in the opening days of Siregar's coup. The first time he was lucky to have escaped moments before pro-coup soldiers stormed his residence, tipped off by the shrieking of his pet falcon just as he was about to sleep. The second time was when pro-coup forces ambushed his car en route to High Command headquarters the following day. Had his chauffeur been a second late in stepping on the accelerator, the bullet that had merely grazed his shoulder would've hit his neck and killed him on the spot. His survival prevented the coup plotters from rallying the Armed Forces behind them, thereby allowing the Empire to prepare for an adequate response and roll back the coup later on.

Today he needed Allah's protection more than ever.

The coming battle would be the final act in what had been a decades-long struggle for power. During the Civil War Assegaf had led countless military operations against Islamic extremists aiming to overthrow the Republic and replace it with their so-called Caliphate. In the process he ended the lives of those who sought to harm the Motherland and subvert the Deen – the religion – of Allah for their own nefarious ends, his only regret being that not enough extremists perished during the conflict. After all, Siregar and his allies had looked to them for inspiration; shamelessly taking advantage of the Empire's National Reconciliation Initiatives while waiting for the right moment to avenge their fallen predecessors.

None of this will stay for long, he thought. The Empire shall triumph over its enemies, and every stain of treason will be swept away.

-----------

Inside the fortress that once housed the Strategic Reserve Forces' most elite units, Dzhokhar Siregar performed his prayers at the same time as his adversary Zack Assegaf. While Assegaf prayed for the Empire's victory and the protection of his forces in battle, Siregar prayed for the exact opposite outcome; namely the defeat of the Imperial loyalist forces, and the coming of a just and righteous order guided by the Deen of Allah to replace the corrupt Empire and their mushrikeen – or unbelieving – leaders.

The past few months had seen plenty of defeats. Siregar's forces, once in control of much of West and Central Java, had been reduced into isolated pockets unable to lend each other support in battle. The only place where regime forces had yet to gain ground were the mountain ranges surrounding the Garut-Sukabumi area. The mountains provided plenty of cover for his men, from which they would hold out indefinitely against vastly superior enemy forces. Each cliff and mountainside had been armed with countless traps and explosive devices, preventing regime forces from moving in and establishing a foothold.

"Sir," Siregar's adjutant Ibn Jameel said, moments after he had finished his own prayer. "Latest reports from the front."

"I'll take them in my quarters."

"Yes sir," Ibn Jameel replied. Both he and Siregar departed the prayer room shortly afterwards.

-----------

"Blessed Gods and Ancestors, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, heed my call. I beseech thee to grant me protection against all dangers and triumph against mine enemies."

BKN Director Jude Chiang intoned his prayer in Old Chinese, while placing the joss sticks in each censer dedicated to a different god or family ancestor. In front of him stood an altar decorated with candles, at the centre of which stood a tablet where the names of his ancestors were inscribed. A pair of figures, each representing Taoist war deity Guan Gong and Buddhist Bodhisattva Vajrapani, stood atop two ornate pedestals above the altar.

Chiang had spent almost an hour prostrating and praying inside the altar room, refusing to meet with anyone else after the final briefing. He recalled how he'd confronted Assegaf back at Cilandak and told him to stay away from his personal files. Had he been able to do things his way, he would've used it as the perfect excuse to keep Assegaf out of the mission, allowing him to assume sole control of the operation to defeat Dzhokhar Siregar.

Siregar was by far the greater problem. Cunning and dangerous, he was the one who engineered the coup attempt that nearly toppled the Emperor, taking with him a sizeable chunk of the Army and nearly all of its elite divisions along the way. Only the Empire's superior numbers managed to turn the tide against his forces in the ensuing battle for control of Jakarta.

"One who surrounds himself with traitors is certain to find a knife stuck in his back," the Emperor had told Chiang following the retreat of pro-coup forces from Imperial Centre. It still boggled him to think that the coup could've been prevented in the first place had it not been for the treachery of General Abdat, former Head of Military Intelligence. As far as he was aware, BKN and Milintel were rivals as well as sister agencies; but no one had expected Abdat to cast his lot with the pro-coup forces, given the fact that he'd been one of the Emperor's closest confidants. Eventually rumours began to surface that Abdat and Assegaf were embroiled in a power struggle; each wanting to earn the Emperor's favour and assume the mantle of leadership among the Arabs.

Why the Emperor had placed so much trust in Assegaf remained a mystery to Chiang, in any case. For all he knew, the Arab possessed a keen strategic mind and was an indispensable part of the Empire's military machine, but was otherwise inept at manoeuvring across the political landscape. Both Abdat and Siregar were bitter rivals with Assegaf, and he wondered to what extent their dislike towards the Grand-Marshal had factored into their betrayals. Having and making too many enemies has never been beneficial to one's career, unless one is powerful or lucky enough to overcome such obstacles.

For now, Chiang would focus on accomplishing his mission. The time to exact revenge on Siregar is nigh, and not only for what he'd done to the glorious Empire. He and his allies had been responsible for the destruction of several ethnic Chinese enclaves during the Civil War by turning a blind eye to the pogroms. Chiang would make sure that the renegade Field-Marshal would answer for this, among his many other crimes.

Time to spring the trap and capture the beast once and for all.

Raka'ah (رَكْعَة) is the term for a unit or cycle of Islamic prayer (Salat).

Ta'awuz and Bismillah (تعوذ) (بسم الله) are the two obligatory recitations, seeking for Allah's protection against Satan and doing it "In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful and Compassionate." It is prayed before the Surah Al Fatihah (سُورَةُ الْفَاتِحَة) at the beginning of each Raka'ah.