text: "Fuck it, it's easier to go to violence. Aim for the heads, fire on my mark. Try to avoid straight chest shots, it'd be too obvious."
  
  You pause, raising your rifle as you aim for one of the soldier's head. You've a straight, close shot through the side of the head. You take a deep breath, pausing.
  
  "Mark," you say, as the guns go off.
  
  There's a volley of gunfire, as the two soldiers drop almost instantly, not even seeing what's happening. You quickly rise up to your feet, moving in a hurry down the street, rushing down the path. You hurry down to the two soldiers, as you motion for the others to stand guard as you and Joseph get dressed. You grab the first soldier, pushing his body over. A bullet wound has taken the back of his skull off, so you quickly rescue the cap from the pool of blood and brain matter. You hurry to unbutton his jacket, finding a bullet whole through the shoulder and a growing blood stain.
  
  "Bollocks," you swear, quickly pulling off the jacket.
  
  You pull the jacket on, before removing the man's boots and trousers. It's not long before you're fully dressed, as is Joseph. You nod to other three soldiers.
  
  "OK, I'm finished. Take the corpses out and find somewhere to dump the corpses out of view and join up with the others," you say.
  
  The others quickly go to work, as you turn to Joseph. His uniform isn't bad, only blood around the collar from a throat shot and a bloody patch at the knee from a recruit's badly placed shot.
  
  "Does it look alright?" you ask.
  
  "The shoulder's a bit obvious. We should be fine."
  
  You stand by the road as the ambush position is set up, as you patiently wait as the rest of the unit dumps the bodies off in a field and sets up the ambush.
  
  After about an hour, the two weapons transports begin approaching. Two trucks filled with a mixture of soldiers and weaponry. You wait patiently, as the truck begins approaching. You stand by the road, holding up a hand to motion for them to stop.
  
  "They're slowing down," Joseph says. "Thank Christ."
  
  You pause, wondering what's going on as a mixture of emotions crosses the front driver's face. The truck stops slowing down, although it doesn't speed up either. You stand straight and continue gesturing, trying to stay calm and casual.
  
  "They might've noticed something," Joseph says. "Stay calm or hit now?"
  
  > signal your allies to attack
  You raise your fist, as a volley of gunfire goes off from the ambushers positions. Bullets thud through the windscreen, killing the driver of the first lorry. The second lorry slams into the back of him, before trying to reverse, before that driver is quickly killed two. The soldiers inside begin piling out, as a brutal gunfight begins.
  
  Unfortunately, stopping them outside of the ambush zone seems to have had some negative side-effects. They're not surrounded, so rather than a massacre, this has turned into a shoot-out. You outnumber them, but only slightly, and the element of surprise hasn't finished this quickly. They're little chance of beating you, but if really want to take this convoy, it'll take some losses.
  
  Fionn seems determined to finish this: if you don't think it's worth the loss, it's best to decide that.
  
  > fall back and regroup
  "Dammit! Fionn, we need to fall back!" you yell at Fionn, who is hidden in the grass.
  
  "FALL BACK! Fall back and regroup!" Fionn yells after giving you a nod, as you quickly firing at the soldiers, heading into the grass.
  
  You quickly disappear off into the grass, rushing off through the fields. The British soldiers don't have the numbers to follow and confront you, especially since they fear you might just be leading them into another ambush. After a few minutes, you disappear off back to the nearby town, where your cousin Patrick has a house he's allowed you to use. From there, you're easily able to split off, escaping before any British counter-attacks can occur.
  
  You've escaped the brutal ambush with not a single soldier lost, although you failed to secure the weapons. Now, without your weapons, continuing fighting is going to be far harder than ever before. As ammunition and arms run low, you don't know how long you'll be able to last.
  
  > Weeks Pass...
  Over the following weeks, you continue launching attacks, but it becomes clear you're losing men and running under-supplied as the war goes on. It becomes a serious question of how hard you can keep fighting. You desperately push against the British, hitting them hard and aggressively, but you don't know how long you'll be able to continue the fight.
  
  The burning of the Customs House is a mixed bag. 120 Irish soldiers storm the building, setting it up in flames. The building burns for five whole days, being completely destroyed by fire. Although it's a huge propaganda victory, it's a serious military loss. Not a single British soldier or police officer was killed, while on the Irish side, the losses were intense. Five men killed, with 80 being captured after the undersupplied force ran out of ammo. Commander Tom Ennis managed to escape, but took two bullets to the leg. It soon becomes clear that the war is being lost.
  
  All you can do is continue fighting. You promise yourself you won't break until the Irish flag flies free and proud.
  
  It's May 11th, and you're at Fionn's house with an assortment of local leaders and lieutenants. The fighting has taken a small break, and you're looking to the future. The war needs to change, and you need to start doing something serious, to hurt the British where it'll do some damage.
  
  Rory O'Connor stands in the center, looking over a large map. You all stand around him, listening to him talk.
  
  "We need to do some serious damage, and hurt them where it'll matter. Their pockets. We're going to send soldiers over to England, to show them that the war will hurt them just as much as us. We're going to hit economic targets, like the Liverpool docks, and bomb the ever loving shit out of them!"
  
  "Irishmen will stick out like a sore thumb over there," Fionn says.
  
  "There's many of us over there, economic migrants and dock workers and that. Plus, it'll be easier to evade capture seeing as they're not under martial rule. They want to put their whole country under martial rule, then we're golden, because that just convinces the whole of Britain that this war isn't worth f...!"
  
  A young man bursts through the door, panting as he nearly collapses on the table in exhaustion.
  
  "Damn, catch your breath, boy," Rory O'Connor says, standing back. "What's wrong?"
  
  The boy looks up at him, explaining between breaths.
  
  "There's a... truce! The war... it's over!"
  
  "A truce?" Tom Ennis asks.
  
  "Eamon DeValera and the other Dáil politicians have organized a truce."
  
  There's a murmur of discussions breaking out from among the group.
  
  "Thank god," Joseph says to you. "We could use a break from the fighting. This'll give us a chance to regroup, recruit and rearm in preparation for the war to start up again."
  
  "What makes you so sure the war isn't over?" you ask him.
  
  "The British won't give us what we want. We haven't pushed them far enough," Joseph says. "This won't be the end, I'm sure."
  
  "I hope you're wrong, Joseph. I hope you're wrong."
  
  > Seven Months Later...
  The war does not continue. Shortly after, negotiations begin between the Republican Government and the British government. President of Dáil Eireann, Eamon DeValera, visits London four times, before finally a delegation is sent over for negotiations.
  
  Negotiating for Britain was Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Lord Chancelor Lord Birkenhead, Leader of the House of Commons Austen Chamberlain, Secrety of State for the Colonies Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for War Sir Laming Worthington-Evans, Attorney General Sir Gordon Hewart and Chief Secretary for Ireland Sir Hamar Greenwood.
  
  On the Irish side, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and famed nationalist politician Arthur Griffith is chairman, accompanied by Secretary of Finance and military general Michael Collins, Secretary for Economic Affairs Robert Barton, and two Members of British Parliament and members of Dáil Eireann, Eamonn Duggan and George Gavan Duffy.
  
  Strangely, President of Dáil Eamon DeValera chooses not to attend. Although reasons were not given, there's rumors that he knew whatever deal the Irish delegation could manage to argue for would certainly be far less than wanted, and he wanted someone to pin the blame on.
  
  The negotiations are long and hard. The Anglo-Irish Treaty is devised, but it involves both sides sacrificing quite a bit. The Irish delegation refuses to sign it without consulting DeValera and the Dáil. Eventually, under threat of taking the two countries to war again, a final ultimatum is made: sign the treaty, or continue the war. With little choice, the delegation takes the former option.
  
  The Treaty was a long, complicated document, but the main things were these: Crown forces would withdraw from most of Ireland. Ireland was to become a self-governing dominion of the British Empire, similar to Australia, Canada or South Africa. The British King would be the Head of State of the new state, known as the Irish Free State, or Saorstát Éireann. The new free state's parliament would swear an oath of allegiance to the Irish Free State. The more Protestant, Unionist Northern Ireland would would withdraw from the Free State, becoming it's own dominion of Britain with it's own parliament. Britain would control a number of Treaty Ports in Ireland. Ireland would draft it's own constitution giving it power of itself, but Britain would decide it's policies in terms of foreign affairs and war.
  
  The treaty was met with a mixed bag. In many ways, it was far more than anyone had dreamed of before 1916. On the other hand, the idea of a free, independent Irish Republic was what many men had fought for, and was what many men had died for. Many saw it as a betrayal of principle to bow down to the crown after what they'd done.
  
  There's along debate in the Dáil, with Eamon DeValera leading the anti-Treaty side. The threat of war was used as evidence that the treaty was signed under duress and did not stand. In the end, the final vote was 64 to 57 in favor of the treaty. DeValera resigned as president in protest, to be replaced by Arthur Griffith. Many anti-treaty TDs left the Dáil, refusing to swear the Oath of Allegiance that would be necessary to stay in the Dáil. It became clear that there were serious divisions in the community. These divisions run through your community.
  
  You stand in Fionn's farmhouse, discussing plans with him. The debate has been long and hard on what your unit has done. The IRA is to be disbanded, to be replaced by the National Army of the Irish Free State. As soldiers in the IRA, you're all offered positions in the army. However, many anti-treaty IRA officers have refused this offer, staying in the "new" IRA that refuses to acknowledge the treaty or the Dáil, for betraying the Irish republic they swore loyalty to. The path forward is being debated.
  
  "This is more than we could ever get," Fionn says. "If we oppose this, we'll be crushed. We don't have the arms or numbers to continue fighting."
  
  "We didn't in the rising either!" Joseph says. "But we fought on, and good men gave their lives for the republic! Not this pathetic offering!"
  
  "The Dáil we pledged ourselves to voted in favor of this," Fionn says. "We have a duty to serve."
  
  "Damn right we do!" Sean says. "We swore a duty to the republic! We'll stand by it!"
  
  "Michael Collins' defended his view at the Dáil," Liam says. "I was there. We're not abandoning the republic. He said this is only a stepping stone, but the path forward is through politics. We can't fight anymore but with our votes!"
  
  "Our votes?!" Sean says. "Did that get us anywhere in the past?!"
  
  "The new IRA has called for all true sons and daughters of the republic to serve them. I stand with them!" Joseph says.
  
  "That's a massacre. We'll be massacred if we go to war. We couldn't fight on," Fionn defends.
  
  "We could've fought on! We can fight on! I refuse to bow to the tyranny of the British crown, until the flag of the Republic of Ireland flies over the Dáil! Enough men died for us to fight on to see it happen!" Joseph shouts.
  
  "Michael!" Fionn says, looking to you. "You've stayed silent. Care to make your opinions known?"
  
  > support the treaty and serve as a soldier for the Irish Free State
  "The Treaty is the best path forward," you say. "We need to stand by our countrymen and the Free State for the greater good."
  
  "Michael! That's fucking disgraceful!" Joseph says, sneering.
  
  "He's right. You need to see reason!" Fionn says loudly.
  
  "I'm not serving the British who executed our friends. Not a chance," Liam says. "Those who stand with the IRA, let's leave these dogs to serve their masters."
  
  You watch as around half of the soldiers in the room, men you've fought with, friends you're shared laughs with, brothers in arms, storm out of the room, completely disgusted with you, just as you all share the same hatred of them for how stubborn and short-minded they're being. You watch as they walk out, even Joseph walking out with them, knowing this won't work out well. Only bloodshed lies down your path.
  
  > Six Months Later...
  Over the next few months, hostilities rise between the forces of the Irish Free State and the anti-treaty IRA. In February, Ernie O'Malley, the Cork IRA leader who had sheltered you, manages to take over an RIC barracks in Clonmel, capturing 40 police officers and 600 rifles. There's a stand off between O'Malley and 800 of his anti-treaty IRA and 700 pro-Treaty IRA men under Michael Brennan over who will take over the military barracks in Cork after British soldiers abandoned it, which ends peacefully, thankfully, after the barracks is divided between pro-treaty and anti-treaty forces. Later in Cork, IRA soldiers raise a British ship, taking 1500 rifles, 700 handguns and 60 machine guns.
  
  Then, comes a more definitive attack on your Free State. Led by Cathal Brugha and Rory O'Connor, your old friend, 200 anti-treaty IRA soldiers take over the Four Courts, the center of judicial power in Dublin, in order to show defiance and to provoke a response from the British soldiers in Dublin, hoping that if Britain's provoked, the Irish will be able to team up again in repelling them and the war can continue. You're positioned outside the Four Courts, ready to defend the Free State if these traitors make an attack.
  
  In May, anti-Treaty soldiers take over the center of Kilkenny, before being dislodged by 200 Free State soldiers. There's a firefight, with 18 casualties, before peace reigns again with a truce. In Donegal, there's another firefight between pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty IRA soldiers, with two deaths. Also in Donegal, a Free State motor convoy is ambushed by Republicans, where one Free State soldier is killed In County Meath, RIC and anti-Treaty fighters clash, with one killed on either side. The election takes place, with pro-Treaty parties far outdoing anti-treaty parties. Sir Henry Hughes Wilson is assassinated in Britain, although whether it's by anti-Treaty IRA soldiers or a secret assassination by Michael Collins and the Free State is debated, due to Sir Hughes Wilson being an almost universally hated figure among Irish for his treatment of Irish citizens in the war. However, this forces the British to put pressure on the Free State to dislodge the anti-Treaty rebels from the Four Courts.
  
  You're left waiting nervously to see what the Free State will send you to do, but you're completely willing to serve your country in whatever it needs.
  
  > The attack begins
  Early in the 28th of June, the artillery attacks beginm hitting the Four Courts and beginning the Treaty War. The artillery is meant to quickly force out the rebels and quickly end the conflict. Instead, it lasts through the day, before they decide to send in your unit to take the Eastern Wing.
  
  You stare as the next barrage of artillery begins, explosive shells slamming into the Four Courts with explosive punches. You pause, wondering how many of your former allies are in there. Is Joseph there, among the other traitors, standing by the window with a rifle, waiting to shoot you as you walk by?
  
  "Michael?" Fionn asks, as you return to reality.
  
  "What?" you say.
  
  "Did you hear our old friend Ernie O'Malley is commanding a large group of traitors?" Fionn asks.
  
  "I didn't know that. Is that supposed to help me do this?" you say darkly.
  
  "It was just an interesting fact," Fionn says, looking down.
  
  You march along the street with the rest of your Free State unit, heading towards the Eastern Wing. Securing that and capturing the men held there. After a few minutes of walking down the street, you quickly come under-fire. The bullets smack into the ground around you, as you quickly rush behind cover, hurrying to dive behind a concrete wall. You stare over it, at a large rolling beast of metal and firepower.
  
  "Dammit! It's the armored truck they stole, the Mutineer!" Fionn shouts at you. "Stay down!"
  
  You pause, staying low and trying to hide behind a building as bullets thud off the concrete around you. You stare out at the heavily armored car in front of you, it's machine bursting down the street in an attempt to stop your unit from moving up the street to secure the Eastern Wing. You pause, wondering how best to take it out.
  
  > charge the Mutineer with grenades
  You charge forward, staying low and rushing forward, drawing the first grenade from your side and fumbling to pull the pin off. The armored car quickly bursts into action, letting out a burst of machine gun fire that bursts towards you. Bullets begin pinging off the ground around you, as you toss the grenade through the air. It bounces along the road, rolling to a stop right next to the Mutineer. You dive down low as it goes off, showering the Mutineer with shrapnel.
  
  You quickly rise up, charging ahead again, before the gunner twists to aim at you. The machine crackles with a burst of gunfire, as bullets slam into your body, knocking you off your feet and shredding your organs, killing you instantly. Your bullet-ridden corpse collapses to the ground, a pool of blood quickly forming around it.