Ugly Penguins

Prologue
2029

Colonel Rodriguez was rather anxious about the move that he was going to make. He looked at the three other soldiers in the dining hall, where Tiburónian President Juan Guzman and his guests (most of whom were members of the Cabinet) were having their last meal. One by one, more soldiers entered the room. By the time there were around 14 of them, the colonel made his move.

Rodriguez: “Fire!”

The soldiers took out their assault rifles and started firing at the diners.

RATATATATATATA

Caught by the element of surprise, all they could react was to perish in the hail of bullets and collapse to the floor.

Rodriguez: “Check their pulses and make sure they are dead!”

Soldiers: “Yes, sir!”

The soldiers went and checked the pulses of each of the deceased, before emptying several volleys of projectiles at their corpses. One of the soldiers approached the colonel and saluted.

Soldier: “Colonel, President Guzman and his guests are all confirmed to be deceased.”

Rodriguez: “Thank you, Sergeant. Get the rest of the men to secure the palace. I’ll radio the Command and inform them about the executions.”

Sergeant: “Yes sir!”

As the soldiers waddled off to check other rooms in the palace, the colonel took out his military communications device and contacted his superiors.

Rodriguez (COMM-LINK): “Sir, President Guzman and the rest of his guests have been shot.”

General (COMM-LINK): “Excellent work, Colonel. You shall be promoted for your contribution to the Revolution, as I’ve promised.”

Rodriguez (COMM-LINK): “Thank you for the honour, sir!”

General (COMM-LINK): “You deserve it, as you and your men fired the first shots of the revolution. The rest of our men shall execute the next phase of the revolution. Remember your task, which is to secure the State Palace itself. You are dismissed.”

Rodriguez (COMM-LINK): ”Yes, sir!”

Throughout Orca City and population centres across Tiburón, civilians hurried back to their homes as soldiers began marching down the streets. In some areas, APCs and tanks could be seen as well. Public sirens across the island broadcasted the same message.

''”The military is currently taking control of the country for the sake of national security. All civilians are to stay home as a curfew has been imposed. Any unauthorised individual found in places that they aren’t supposed to be in will be detained under martial law.”''

The coup was, to say the least, not as violent as the masterminds had expected. Aside from the President and his closest allies, there was almost no fatality. However, dozens of individuals were arbitrarily detained by the military as a preventive measure. Most of them would never see light itself again, as the Tiburónian military’s associates took good care of them.

=Act 1: Ascension=

Chapter 1: Temptation
2 years later

From an observation tower, Brigadier Rodriguez, dressed in his military uniform and sunglasses, observed his soldiers with a pair of binoculars as they tested the new howitzer sold to them by Ruscan arms dealer Vassily Zhukov. Zhukov was a notable figure in the underworld, as he was an associate of the Bratva (which was a name occasionally used to refer to the Ruscan mafia).

Zhukov: “Don’t worry, my friend. Your government will find this to be very useful against the New Mavvs.”

With a smile, Rodriguez replied to the mobster.

Rodriguez: “We’ll see.”

Zhukov: “The New Mavvs are rather poor militarily. They can’t win fight against you guys.”

Rodriguez: “We have yet to engage in a full-out war with them.”

Zhukov: “During the last few times they attempted to invade Orca City, your army made quick work of them.”

Rodriguez: “That’s because they invaded with a flipperful of obsolete ships. If they somehow managed to secure a beachhead, we are most likely screwed.”

BOOM!

The two penguins looked at the wreck that used to be a decommissioned APC, now engulfed in a ball of flame. The brigadier general turned towards the arms dealer, who had a smirk on his face.

Rodriguez: “Congratulations buddy, once again you’ve proven your reliability to the Tiburónian state.”

Zhukov: “Thank you, now my payment.”

The brigadier signalled for a nearby soldier to bring a briefcase to him. The corporal saluted and put it on the table.

Rodriguez: “Check your merchandise. There’s some extra, as you requested.”

Zhukov opened the briefcase, revealing bags of Doom Weed. He smiled before taking out some sacks of Club Penguin Coins and giving it to Rodriguez.

Zhukov: “Tell the President I sent his greetings.”

Rodriguez: “I will.”

At the golf course of Tiburón’s most prestigious country club, the penguin in the navy blue polo shirt looked as his opponent swinged his putter at the golf ball. He could see the ball falling into the hole for a millisecond, but it somehow came back out and went to the other side of where it was originally at.

Penguin in navy blue polo: “You should stop kissing my butt.”

Opponent: “Why would-“

The opponent was surprised when the penguin’s entourage, which consisted of heavily armed soldiers, grabbed him and forced him to kneel towards him.

Penguin in navy blue polo: “I prefer a fair game. I certainly don’t need someone to take pity on me.”

The navy blue polo-wearing penguin took an iron from his golf bag and swinged it multiple times at the opponent. He then took out a pistol from his inventory and aimed it at the opponent’s legs.

Opponent: “Please-“

'''BANG! BANG!'''

Within seconds, the bruised golf penguin was grabbing his legs while howling in pain. The other penguin turned to his soldiers.

Penguin in navy blue polo: “Dispose him by mortar.”

Soldiers: “Yes, Your Excellency!”

As the soldiers took the liar away, the Tiburónian President, Emilio Sousa, waddled into the golf cart and was driven to the club building. He took a traditional Azukrian steam bath before he got dressed in his usual military attire and departed for his office, which also happened to be his private residence.

The palatial colonial Lisboagese mansion was situated in Joao, which was the most expensive residential address in the country. Originally a shantytown bordering several upscale neighbourhoods, Sousa ordered for it to be demolished as soon as he rose to power. Existing dwellers were not warned of the order beforehand, as they were merely given 10 minutes by the military to evacuate before soldiers blew the entire settlement up with howitzers and killed more than 58 creatures. The President then built his mansion at a strategic point on the hill which the shantytown was situated on, with the remaining plots of land sold to other members of the Tiburónian elite.

The five guard towers at the centre, which were camouflaged by strategically-planted trees, couldn’t really be seen as the presidential motorcade approached the mansion. In them were military-trained marksmen and automated sentry guns. Twelve heavily-armed soldiers were situated at the guardhouse. As the motorcade entered, the soldiers lifted the barrier gate and saluted. There were some SAM systems throughout the palace that were hidden underground, which only appeared to the surface when their usage was warranted. Passing by the Neoclassical fountain in front of the main building, the motorcade of 1 motorcycle, 2 military armoured cars, 3 armoured sedans and 1 limousine came to a stop in front of the main house.

As Sousa waddled out of his car, an aide dressed in military uniform approached him and saluted.

Military aide: “Sir, Brigadier Rodriguez is waiting for you in your office.”

Sousa: “Noted. You’re dismissed.”

Military aide: “Yes sir!”

The President found his trusty underling waiting in his office, with a briefcase on the teak office desk. Realising his commander’s presence, Rodriguez stood to attention and saluted the Senior General.

Rodriguez: “Your Excellency.”

Sousa: “At ease, Rodriguez.”

As the two took their seats, the President opened the briefcase, revealing its rich contents. Rodriguez saw a smirk on Sousa’s face before he closed the briefcase again and ordered an aide to take it away.

Sousa: “On behalf of the organisation, I’d like to thank you for being a rainmaker.”

Rodriguez: “It’s just my job, Your Excellency.”

Sousa: “Well not anymore, son. I don’t want you to handle this racket anymore. It ain’t nothing compared to the main business.”

The Senior General took a packet out from a drawer and placed it on the desk. In it was some locally-grown Green Doom Weed.

Sousa: “Would you like some?”

Rodriguez: “Thank you, sir, but I’m not fond of it.”

Sousa: “Meh, more for me.”

Eating some of the Doom Weed, Sousa made his proposal to his underling.

Sousa: “I’d like you to handle the smuggling of Green Doom Weed to our main enemy, namely New Maverick.”

Rodriguez: “Wait, I thought Green Doom Weed is legal there.”

Sousa: “Not after the conservatives in Saint Rhodes came to power once more. The sudden criminalisation of Green Doom Weed meant that prices for the stuff in the local black market have skyrocketed. Many New Mavvs still crave for it.”

Rodriguez: “You can count on me to deliver the stuff, boss.”

Sousa: “Of course I can. You are one of the best penguins the Syndicate has ever had.”

At this point, you might wonder why some military officers from a newly independent country were plotting to smuggle illegal merchandises into their former rulers. Most of all, you are probably also curious about the organisation and Syndicate that the Senior General kept mentioning.

Long before this story and shortly after Margatian President Mueller’s successful effort in crippling the International Syndicate, a global criminal organisation, its remnants went into hiding. Many of them established legitimate businesses with what was left of their funds. Surprisingly, for a bunch of crooks, they turned out to be rather competent in running legal businesses. They slowly expanded to Polaris and eventually Tiburón, which was part of New Maverick prior to 2028.

As New Maverick is a confederation, each of its constituent republic was allowed to set its own laws. Naturally, the liberal and progressive Tiburónian government decided to legalise gambling, Green Doom Weed, cream soda and even cactus juice. This stood in stark contrast to the rest of the country prior to the end of President John Thomson’s first term, which was rather socially conservative. These businesses coincidentally turned out to be areas in which the Syndicate remnants were very interested. They expanded their operations to Tiburón, and secretly infiltrated the regional police and government. Soon enough, some members even joined the New Mavv military’s officer corps, but these were ordered to not participate in any of the Syndicate’s activities in order to preserve the long-maintained secrecy. By 2018, even the head of Tiburón himself was an associate of the Syndicate. Unlike their previous blunder, they managed to keep themselves in the dark. While many theorised that a secret cabal controlled Tiburón, none suspected that the Syndicate was behind it.

By 2028, after Tiburón seceded from the rest of the New Mavv confederation, the Syndicate became even more powerful as they now had control over an entire nation just like the good ol’ days. However, the Syndicate’s associate decided not to cooperate with his benefactors anymore. Instead, he planned to gobble up the country for himself. This did not please the generals of the new Tiburónian military, who launched a bloody coup against him. The most senior army officer, Emilio Sousa, was inaugurated into the presidency and given the rank of Senior General.

Despite the fact that the country was run by a military junta that was also mobsters themselves (though there was no knowledge of the Syndicate’s existence as of now), it did not deter countries like the USA from being friendly to it. Tenorio’s successor to the Antarctic presidency decided that it was more prudent to have good relations with both New Maverick and Tiburón in order to prevent one from being more dominant. Previously, Tenorio had angered the New Mavv government, which resulted in its brief exit from the Free Republic Union. However, faced with the threat of a militarily stronger opponent and a considerably weakened economy, New Maverick decided to rejoin the FRU and mend ties with the USA. In order to “handicap” the new government and prevent it from becoming too powerful for the USA’s own good, the Antarctic Ministry of International Relations established diplomatic ties, and encouraged investment and trade with Tiburón. This was all in spite of the fact that the Elite Penguin Force was aware of the Tiburónian generals’ involvement in shady activities and that they regularly accepted bribes and kickbacks.

When Antarctica’s top dog started doing business with a country, many were bound to follow in its footsteps. One such country was Magonia, which had spectacular success from filling in Shops’s trade gap with the USA and Polaris after the former superpower met its untimely demise in an internal conflict. The Tiburónian representative, Colonel Johann Speer, met with the Magonian Emperor Slender in the latter’s private palace in order to discuss the deal.

Speer: “Your Imperial Excellency, thank you once again for the invitation.”

Slender: “You’re welcome. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

Speer: “Sure. My superiors have decided to construct a brand new industrial park outside of Orca City that intends to manufacture electronics. However, power stations, housing and public transport will also have to be built near the park as it is rather distant from the CBD. This will essentially be the foundation of a new satellite town to house the workers. We do not have enough capital to build it on our own, however, so we’d like your assistance.”

Slender: “Interesting. Has any country expressed their interests yet?”

Speer: “So far, some Polarian businessmen have agreed to contribute 15% of the total capital. We are currently negotiating with the USA to contribute 13% of the capital. My government is willing to let you have a 12% stake in the industrial park’s ownership in exchange for providing only 10% of the capital.”

The idea of a discount was enough to grab Slender’s attention. His eyes widened.

Slender: “How much will that be?”

The Tiburónian showed the Magonian some financial papers, which further increased his attention.

Slender: “What the heck are you constructing, mate?! That sum is really huge for an industrial park.”

Speer: “Your Majesty, this industrial park will be state-of-the-art. In order to be the best, one has to pay the cost.”

Slender thought for a moment before standing up.

Slender: “Well, I’m certainly interested but I’ll have to discuss it with the Chancellor and the cabinet. It’s likely that they will only agree to fund 8% of the total capital and I’d have to contribute the remaining 2% from my own pockets. I’ll try to get them to agree to this proposal though, as the expected returns seem attractive enough.”

Speer: “Thank you, Your Majesty. I’ll look forward to your good news.”

As the two shook each other’s flippers, Speer was smirking mischievously from within. ''I’ve managed to fool the Polarians and the Magonians into overpaying for our project. It’s time to get the Antarcticans to agree as well'', he thought to himself. The Senior General personally promised the colonel he would receive a seven-figure commission from the excess funds paid by the foreign investors. Unbeknownst to even Sousa himself, Speer raised the amount that he was supposed to quote. He intended to embezzle the extra for himself.

Stanley Tjoeng felt a sudden sense of courage surging through him. It must have been the sparkling Cream Soda that he drank. He looked at his friend Terry Chew’s fiancé, who was dressed beautifully in a green ball gown, and gave her a smile. The fiancé, whose name is Kaarina Ling, smiled and waved back to him in response.

Stop, what the heck are you thinking?!, the newly inaugurated Margatian President warned himself. This is in violation of the bro code and your own morals!

Before he even knew it, Kaarina was approaching him. Crap, you screwed up big time!

Kaarina: “Congratulations, Stanley, or should I say, Mr. President.”

Stanley: “Thanks. Having a good time so far?”

Kaarina: “Of course. I love the music that the orchestra is playing. Where’s Alexis?”

Stanley: “Oh, she’s preoccupied with some stuff.”

''Too preoccupied to attend her own husband’s inaugural ball! Too preoccupied with buying jewels in Parié with her husband’s own money!'', the thoughts of Alexis’s priorities fuelled his anger.

Kaarina: “I’m sure that she’s doing something important.”

Stanley: “Mhm, I’m positive that she’s probably helping her family’s philanthropic ventures. not  ”

Just then, the band started playing a mambo song, which is a genre of Cuadran dance music. The guests started dancing the mambo.

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At that very moment, something took control of the Margatian president. To Underworld with your friend and your wife, you are dancing with Kaarina tonight!, he heard a voice faintly resembling his told him.

Stanley: “Do you know how to dance the mambo?”

Kaarina: “Of course. I learned that when I was a chick, along with tango, foxtrot and waltz.

Stanley: “Sounds impressive, but can you actually prove it?”

Kaarina grabbed Stanley’s flipper and started dancing with him.

Kaarina: “You’re on!”

After the mambo was played, the band proceeded to play some waltz and tango. The two continued dancing, until Terry Chew showed up almost immediately after the tango song ended.

Terry: “Are you guys having fun?”

Upon hearing his friend’s voice, a chill went down Stanley’s spine. Oh crap, he thought for a moment before regaining his composure and turning towards him.

Stanley: “Why if it isn’t the new Margatian ambassador to Zhou?”

Terry chuckled before waddling towards his fiancé. The two looked like the perfect couple, or so Stanley thought up until what transpired just bow.

Terry: “How was the dance, mate?”

Stanley: “It’s great. Your fiancé definitely knows how to dance. This one’s a keeper.”

The trio laughed, although Stanley sensed that Kaarina’s laugh was filled with some nervousness. He took a look at the new Prime Minister Benjamin Teng, who was chatting with his brother Jordan Teng, Stanley Mason and several other investment bankers, before turning towards the two again.

Stanley: “Excuse me, but I have to talk to my Prime Minister for now. You two have a good time.”

Waddling away from the couple, the President felt a relief in his heart. That was a close shave!

On that very same night, two masked penguins were waiting at a relatively unknown beach near New Maverick’s capital Ciudad. One of them was nervously looking around him every minute or so.

Masked penguin 1: “Did they get intercepted or something?” Are we going to be in trouble?”

The other accomplice slapped him in the face.

Masked penguin 2: “Shut up, you imbecile! You’re making me nervous too!”

After a few moments, something resembling the shape of a motorboat began approaching the duo. As it got nearer, they recognised it to be their other accomplices’ boat. When it was near the shore itself, one of the penguins on the boat handed the duo some crates.

Masked penguin 3: “Here are the merchandise. Be safe boys!”

Watching as the two loaded their own ice-delivery truck with the crates and left the scene, he took out a walkie talkie.

Masked penguin 3 (COMM-LINK): “The merchandise has been loaded onto the truck and it has just departed the scene. Over.”

Voice (COMM-LINK): “Gotcha. Over and out.”

Metres underneath the sea, a midget submarine turned around and started its journey back to its place of origin, namely Tiburón.

Chapter 2: Stalkery
To be continued