Everything started when an oddity had been found in the village of Uva. At that time it flamed up chatrooms: a five-portal cluster with absolutely identical (!) coordinates was studied with a magnifying glass and probed critically. Everyone wanted to know how that inconsistency could have even happened in the first place and who was to blame — Enl-agent coolsoft, who had submitted them, or Niantic themselves, who had approved them. Several tentative trials were performed, but the whole thing stopped at that, and the curio-portal was left on the threshold of oblivion.

And yet the story got its sequel in September after the infamous trash-link contest of the Enlightened. Res-agent CatDisaster had been browsing the Intel, searching for perfect anchors, chains and corridors, when suddenly he realized that Moldova could carry a whale of MUs if only you have enough Jarvises to spare. Besides, Misha DeepEvil had been craving to make “something special” for a long time. The five-faced portal sprang to mind immediately. The third angle of the configuration was obvious as well: of course, Finland with its helping res-hands, always ready to assist.

Why the operation was called “CiderOp” nobody knows still: whether it was the sheer amount of the drink consumed, or the real Moldavian Gold Leaf (generously sponsored link) “smurflegged” to Moscow, or the Shapers had put their spell. Nonetheless the name had stuck and the plan went into motion.

Finnish anchors were chosen the first, as for Moldova the options were less obvious. Finally, chains in Kahul and Chișinău were marked as most promising. Kahul had its advantages (for example, it didn’t need to be ‘virused” all through), but there were some difficulties too. ‘Whatever,’ we decided and laid the course right through the capital city.

The first and foremost among all showstoppers had become Niantic themselves. At one stage of the preparation the Intel popped up the notorious message almost every minute.

The error was fixed only with use of [censored], but we did it! Eventually, the plan was licked into shape. The keys were distributed via two personal meetings at European anomalies, two complex transfers Moscow-Izhevsk and one trip to terrifically welcoming Chișinău. A headlong arrangement in the middle of the New Year binge holidays [in Russia people officially celebrate the New Year for 10 days in January] had been made, but reality was harsh as ever and had its say: after long and hot debates the date of the operation had been moved to the 25th of February and for almost a month and a half everyone hibernated.

We woke up long after the holidays, when everyone had already plunged back into their jobs at their regular pace of life. Chatrooms were revived, cleansed, teamleaders were relayed, teams sorted and refitted, while the orgs kept their eye on the Intel and watched the crosslinks. Obvious pressure points were recognized: Mordovia had a corridor running through the inactive but permanently green and webbed Krasnoslobodsk; there were areas from Vologda to Arkhangelsk notorious for their green crosslinks, and last, but not the least, Pertominsk, at that time vastly web-linked to Karelia.

Krasnoslobodsk proved to be more or less static, some areas in the suburbs could easily be cleared beforehand, furthermore, we had kind help from Ryazan and Nizhniy Novgorod res-agents. But the northern areas made us feel like cats on a hot tin roof — and no one knew which way the cat would jump.

First of all, Pertominsk was impregnable. Well, can’t say totally so, but at that time most of the possible trips were crazy even for the most badass agents. Actually, all of the Pertominsk crosslinks could be chased off from other locations, but it was obvious that one wrong step could cause an avalanche of new ones.

Second, it took some time to find a car team for Karelian crosslinks. And more than one was needed, as those spread over 200 km area, which had also been open for links with infamous Pertominsk. One wrong step and… Yeah, right, an avalanche of new crosslinks.

But Fate (via @magsusl) stretched its pointing finger at @Herolanger, the absolutely badass driver who had already lighted up at several blazing operations. We contacted her, and one thing led to another: we started weighing various possibilities, whether to blast off directly from Moscow, or get to Petrozavodsk first and then rent a car there, or even travel through Peterburg. Her area of engagement would turn out to be the most dramatic of all, but all in good time!

Third, Pertominsk and Karelia weren’t the only problem generators. There was Kotlas, which stood on both sides of Vologda corridor, and the latter had damnably many keys to fire links to Kotlas. Besides, it had ill-fated deployed portals, always ready to receive an incoming link, which in turn would be ill-fated too. The only good thing about Kotlas had been the number of crucial crosslinks: just two. And one of them originated in Vologda, so posed no difficulty. We just wished to cleanse Kotlas for the sake of good order, but still couldn’t find anyone to do that, and it sucked. Nonetheless, we had the situation of stability, albeit a shaky one.

Days passed. The operations loomed on the horizon. The Intel kept lugging and at times froze the browser completely. The situation stayed that of highly-strung stability. One of the Kotlas crosslinks was neutralized by gizma2068 from Vorkuta on a drive-by visit. Most of the Pertominsk crosslinks disappeared due to the Enlightened themselves, but nothing could prevent them from appearing again. But all that of secondary importance: the remaining crosslink Vologda—Kotlas was slowly decaying. Our operation was appointed at 5 am checkpoint on Sunday, the 25th of February, and judging by all symptoms the crosslink was to fall about 5 hours 45 minutes prior to the checkpoint. That is, right at the previous one. In the middle of the weekend. The usual paranoia burned high, ‘smells like possible clash of ops’. The only comfort (of course, not soothing at all) was that there had been no other conspicuous actions happening at the time.

But we couldn’t adopt a hands-off approach here, at least for our nerves’ sake. And again CatDisaster rummaged through his stash of keys and found something of interest. The plan was fast and furious: Herolanger collects all the remaining keys necessary and drives to the only spawning spot of crosslinks in Karelia, well prior to the whole event. As soon as the Vologda—Kotlas crosslink decays fully and falls (or when the inner voice says ‘it’s time!’), the Karelian portal is to be destroyed, and Kotlas is to be cut off by a 600 km long link from Vologda region to Demyanovo. Simultaneously, Demyanovo gets a guardlink from Kostomuksha. And a cherry on top — all these links are to be joined in a field. Even two, as the portals thankfully allow. Then it’s just the case of the traditional selfies ‘how we spend our weekends’ and everyone is to go to bed. At the start of the linking we would have needed just some Jarvises to clear the corridors. Or so we thought.

Friday evening prior to the operation was marked by a sharp rise of paranoia. The Vologda—Kotlas link had decayed up to the last 10%, but there appeared another crosslink, Emetsk—Velsk, created by brisk84 in Arkhangelsk Region. The night was spent in a futile search for a car team to destroy the link. At 3 am we had finally created a high-emergency plan with a flight to Arkhangelsk and a taxi to Emetsk, with a critical decision point at 11 am, and filled with apprehension, went to bed.

Initially the following morning proved to be ominous. Near Cherepovetz there appeared a stacked field by gonya and LarinAn, with new crosslinks, of course, while at the same time brisk84 kept on roaming and linking in the area of Arkhangelsk. The flight-n-taxi plan was redesigned for Cherepovets and Velsk, which allowed for another hour for decision making. And then… a small miracle happened:

The car team to Velsk — maik2005 and maschanja — had been finally found. At that time Muscovite EvilBear6969 was almost ready to depart for the airport.

The rest of the day before the operation was spent finalizing the last details and watching the corridors. As if nothing of importance was under way, and that was worrying. The first car teams at the start line. An unexpected crosslink flies from Ukraine, but immediately an agent is found to destroy it. New crosslinks near Belgorod, and very inconvenient at that, but still we manage to keep everything under control. Herolanger starts from Peterburg, nervous all through. The paranoia seems to reach its peak. Then BlackFx throws a link from Vologda, but luckily not across the corridor, yet the agent also recharges the anchor of the Vologda—Kotlas crosslink at some moment.

The torrent of emotions is to be kept under control. The daytime actions of the Enlightened around the northern zones of the corridors leave us no choice but to set the plan into motion immediately, that is, to create the guard field, make it fast but at the right time still. On the other hand, closer to the evening the activity seems to lessen to naught. A final decision is made, the right time is named and the waiting begins.

Some even manage to catch a few winks.

And yet the last few hours before the guard fielding fly in no time: having a look at that, checking this, prep talk with the agents… And the planned moment comes. Crosslinks are cut, one after another, one, two, three, and here is the field. And another one to follow — 388 kMU across 12 cells. Not much, yet not too little either. BlackFx goes into link frenzy from Vologda, but his actions are futile, the corridor is locked off.

The traditional selfies of the linkers are taken with the title ‘we’ve done everything, go sleep’, and the waiting continues. Time to breathe out a bit: the first step is taken, and some certainty is achieved.

Surprisingly the night brought no surprises. The northern and western crosslinks are promptly destroyed and the first links fly over. The southern corridor has a short holdback: at the crucial moment the scanner loses the GPS and needs to be rebooted, the second agent is 8 km away from the spot. For ten minutes the corridor stands invitingly half open and, what’s more, absolutely conspicuous. The Intel operators are losing nerve cells and gaining grey hair, but eventually the first field is there — the stacking begins.

The planned linking was to be enormous. And I mean, GINORMOUS. The five-faced Uva portal allowed for five layers from each anchor, so we were in for a treat.

One chain is finished, the Chișinău team starts. Some confusion happens, one of the agents drops out, long links do not pass, but the process runs and fields are created layer after layer. We are approaching a hundred already.

And here wakes up the enl-agent MrMysteeri. He is just lvl7 (and we all know that lvl7 agents are the most badass) and at first tries to bite at the guardlink portal, futilely. But we realize that though he is alone now, he’s is under an avalanche of PMs with offers of help. And we realize that even though he does not have any Jarvises right now, he will get them in a minute or two. At the same in Chișinău emerges another foe, nBloos, and advances along the chain.

The linking plan undergoes an urgent overhaul. In Kuusamo falls the internal anchor and here are phantoms. We are prepared to lock as many fields as possible at the checkpoint. Time runs out. The final countdown… The checkpoint registers 38 layers, more than a billion MUs. The global result is swayed our way! Chatrooms explode with exaltation and selfies.

Later we would link all the remaining available portals. The field agents would launch on their long way home. Half an hour after the checkpoint Uva would welcome coolsoft, who had eventually got there, as the question of his visit was not “if” but “when”. After a short battle the half-a-year operation would finally be over. And only 42 (the answer to all and everything, as you know) phantoms would remind about it for the second checkpoint, but at the third one would melt into the void.

But most importantly — a fine team would stay, which again had proved that if properly organized, the Resistance can solve any problems. Many thanks to those who kept watch in the hotspots and were ready to rush into the fray at a moment’s notice. Thanks to all who had cut off the crosslinks and linked the portals, watched the Intel, farmed and transferred the keys, created plans and invited agents. Thanks to the Enlightened: you are truly competitive rivals! Thanks to all the Resistance: you are the best!

And of course, the organizers are the last to leave the ship. With that “after-party” gaping hole in their souls, usual for all the BAF operations. But it is already filling with new ideas, which for now get the understandable response “nevermore”! but we all know that it won’t last…

See you soon! Viva la resistance!

• Maximus layers reached: 113
• Layers at first checkpoint: 38
• Phantoms at second checkpoint: 42
• Average field BAFness: 30.5kk MU
• General overweight in global score:

Participants:

Organizers: CatDisaster, inye, DeepEviL, UpbeatPhoenix, magsusl, Mechanicuss, MaryStray, Manzicca, Starwie, lemmingby, WSmithy, Incognito90, Etcgress

Intel Operators: CatDisaster, inye, bjarken, SeppoEno, eimink, Starwie, AlexGott, Nemiroff, ant0n, LongBoa, EvilBear6969, TomBiroff, mikn, magsusl

Key Farming: InokAW, mi1isenta, CTPEKO3b, RuiL18, NoirSoleil, armaman, morsikMurmurmur, Izhevika, WSmithy, DeepEviL, julleko, hatetrick, jewelann

Key Transfer: CatDisaster, inye, DeepEviL, rvs1, masterskol, NomadeSlang, Incognito90, White5178, f1045, Barbariskoff, hatetrick

Linking: CTPEKO3b, RuiLka, Adellan, ASe808, daawg, Hatetrick, jyksi, Noz, Starwie, spesialisti, Sweetyx73, vieru2002, VVViljo, Teras01, Artist500, Ololosh, DeepEvIL, 2shup, Lizika, ValikMD, Langk, Sharavik, Lisafet, jewellann

Kostomuksh—Rybreka—Demyanovo BAF: Kostamuspoika, Herolanger, DeadTurist

Finland: Kostamuspoika, Hatetrick, eznottt, vieru2002, NomadeSlang, Adellan, ASe808, AuntieAlfa, ConDFIN, daawg, EnMaaTieda, Ghidoh, Hatetrick, heksagon, hoosee, Juhatar, jyksi, Kattia98, Khaeron, Medellia, Noz, OswaldoWuffie, PapaRobber, pecu67, Sarasalla, spesialisti, Starwie, Stedius, Sweetyx73, TimoteusK, txk045, vieru2002, Vuscape, VVViljo, Zaastiz

Russia: 3P3CHNI9, Anywake, atomvodoroda1, Azalix, blagoverniy, Bradlik, CTPeL0k, DaanEdgar, DymLDM, echo78spb, Etcgress, exSysOp, f1045, FaustSPb, ffiks, ffyga, flatcatfish, fwhisper, hijack81, iceelf22, igorami, Igorson, Incognito90, Irismed, Lekksa, lissska9378, MOHTEP, MrMaxim, MrSnakeSPb, murzilka17, Mustikka, NikaKor, OMYTb, Overpix, Pitchay, pyatkacat, RuBlackCat, Saionji, Sergey78rus, sitty, skafandrband, Solarize, t0masina, tametigress, Tassea, Tatikomabot, valenok1234, Vellariel, ventywing, Vexann, ViraV, VSadko, Wa1terWhite, White5178, ygirtc, zel1boba, ZhyShy, padladinO1, qq21, WSmithy, B1indvandal, maik2005, CKPuIIa4, Foxyrip, Maschanja, sunnytoffee, Assanek89, arafat31, Megaorion, DEVLEX, Andysam, larrynovel, Gensek, Brodiaga12ru, korra777, CortaVortex, radio978, AlexaLuneva, HyperionNN, cfayrat, flydragonlip, vi2003, HDD21ru, Andreas21, Patric43, siudvh, StarryEdhel, rikkitikkitakki, A3ex, Gulftown, zheezh

Belarus: Alexashk, aosiniao, Bobrov, DefV6, ellenkelly, garmoniya, KarrGa, KireevNikolai, Lemmingby, Lagerta, lansser, LosGar, malinoisdog, Miracom, pljuschik, SIMAGRL, SMOOWS, TheXAH, VegaLira, ZRGN

Ukraine: bakst, yesnosurely, fatheel, homyakovski, tomatotron, Fawell, Torkea, Khazayushka,  RomanticMaster, RToxic, mellivora, MrCerebrosus, UpbeatPhoenix, OlegPalyvoda, ZanozaVelikaya, bakr1, SUGA1, Wwind, NorthernLights5, B0gdanAMIGO, MrAngry, parragon01, Madvin, Redrik7, MyrrymN, Barbatosik, DiriksZT, Jazzzter, BrutalSuperman, redheadviola, kravovich

Moldova: Teras01, Artist500, Ololosh, DeepEvIL, 2shup, Lizika, ValikMD, Langk, Sharavik, Lisafet, jewelann