Chapter 28—Vicious to the Enemy
Things were looking up in King Jacob's War. Word had recently reached Sarasaland of the Mushroom Army being forced away from Koopva. The district had never been expected to fall, but it was good to hear that the Mushroomers were being driven back. Nathaniel was currently with a family of Bob-Ombs: Bombette and Viktor Bomboshenko, as well as their sons, Yosif and Nikita. The family had fled from the Mushroom Kingdom after a number of "disappearances" in Koopa Village.
"Lord Nathaniel, why are you bothering with us?" Viktor asked, his slight Iced Land accent easy to confuse with a Koopsian accent.
"My lover is currently fighting Mushroom troops," Nathaniel said. "I rarely get to speak with Mushroom civilians without cameras intruding everywhere, so I was hoping I could learn more about what has been going on."
"Well, to begin, the Mushroom Kingdom was not always like this," Bombette said. "When Mario was still alive, people rarely gave my name a second glance. However, once King Jacob began pushing for war, people began getting abducted—not just Koopsians, mind you. Viktor and I are both of Iced Land descent, as was Bruce, who 'disappeared' about a year ago. Kolorado was also accosted, despite just being a Koopa Troopa. In fact, almost everyone knows Kolorado's ancestors are from Desert Hill. The Steel Shrooms were actually operating in plain sight by the time we fled here. Essentially, anyone who seemed to be a Koopsian was arrested."
"That is exactly what I have been told. Still, I had never heard of the Steel Shrooms operating in plain sight."
"They're used so often that they were bound to be spotted sooner or later. Besides, what does a 'loyal' Mushroomer have to fear from them?"
"During the Avena Dynasty, Sarasaland had a special force of soldiers intended to keep order. The troops were hand-picked by rulers at birth and trained to avoid any sort of emotion. They were the equivalent of Shiners."
"The Shiners were heroes!"
"My apologies. In Sarasaland, we are shown more of the Shiners' evil side than their good side. I have no doubt that they had a good side, but we are only taught of the evil side. I suppose it is typical of any nation to teach only history that glorifies the country and degrades her enemies. For example, I doubt the Mushroom Kingdom teaches about the Koopa Purge, how millions of Koopas and Koopa sympathizers were massacred in one of the most severe genocides in history."
"I never learned about it in Mushroom schools."
"So, you say your lover is fighting the Mushroom Kingdom?" Yosif asked.
"Yes, and I worry about her every time I think of her," Nathaniel said. "She hates war, but she is willing to fight."
"That sounds like Master Luigi," Viktor said. "In fact, I almost exploded with joy when I heard about Koopyev being free from the Mushroom occupation. Did you know Koopyev has the largest Iced Land population percentage of any city outside of Iced Land?"
"No, I did not. As for Master Luigi, he is an amazing fellow. Despite being raised by an extremely patriotic Mushroom family after his mother died, he was able to see the truth about the Mushroom Kingdom and actually fight his home country. Few have succeeded in overpowering such a firmly rooted philosophy."
"To be a powerful dictator, one must have the people fooled."
"Even despots know how important it is to have the people's support. While King Jacob certainly has some positive aspects, he will most likely go down in history as a despot. I do not endorse the idea, but King Bowser, King Boo, and the Thunder Alliance have agreed that the Mushroom Kingdom is no longer in a position to be simply defeated. The Koopa Kingdom, in particular, favors conquering the Mushroom Kingdom. Since Sarasaland got involved so late, we will not get any part of the Kingdom, but the other countries on the Star continent have already begun partitioning the Kingdom into separate territories. The Koopas will get Toad Town, of course, but the Boo Kingdom will claim most of the land to the east of there, with the Beanbean Kingdom taking the landlocked area that Queen Hope stole from her in 1846."
"The Mushroom Kingdom looks fine to her people," Bombette said, "but her victims can easily see that she is a fascist nation. To think I once fought to help that country."
"The Mushroom Kingdom will not win. In attacking the Koopa Kingdom, she has gained the opposition of nearly every country in the world. Even if the Koopa Kingdom loses (which seems impossible at the moment), the Mushroom Kingdom will have exhausted her army in doing so, and will not stand a chance against the many nations now involved in the war. I think the Mushroom Kingdom can come to her senses without being conquered, but I am outspoken on that issue."
"Conquest, defeat—as long as the fascist state is destroyed, I couldn't care less."
"I will admit that that is the top priority."
Flora had very mixed opinions about using Petalburg as a forward base, but the city provided good defensive cover—not to mention it had been evacuated shortly after the fall of Rogueport. The store had numerous items left behind by the owner, not to mention the city was large enough to house the entire battalion. The enemy, under the command of Major General Tom Starshade, had hoped to attack and recapture Rogueport, but was intercepted in Petal Meadows by Flora's troops and became trapped. Starshade's battalion was in Hooktail Castle, struggling constantly to escape, but with no success; Flora's troops had the castle surrounded and employed hit-and-run tactics to keep the Mushroomers on their feet and without sleep.
Harriet entered the office Flora was using, the expression on her face indicating that the reason was not social.
"Yes?" Flora asked.
"We have just received a communiqué from Major General Starshade," Harriet said, handing over the freshly-printed paper. Flora read it.
Commodore Ornilla,
I have reached the conclusion that this battle is quickly becoming a stalemate. Your troops continue to batter away at Hooktail Castle and get killed while my men starve on low rations. If you allow my army to retreat, I will promise not to attack your troops again.
Major General Tom Starshade
Flora gave the letter some consideration. Starshade had unknowingly dispensed some useful information: not only were his troops tired, but they were hungry. The battle would not be a difficult one with that information.
"Sub-Liuetenant," Flora started, "tell Starshade that I will continue my attacks unless he surrenders and enters our custody."
"Yes, ma'am."
Harriet walked out of the room.
"Commodore Ornilla," Flora thought. "Maybe I'll be an Admiral someday." After an amazing naval victory at Gwarhar Lagoon, Flora had been promoted to Second-Class Commodore and was given command of a Shigeru-class battleship. The war was quickly becoming one-sided as the Mushroom Kingdom suffered blow after blow on all fronts. A naval blockade kept all but the fastest ships from bringing fresh supplies into the Kingdom while the Mushroom Army's numbers plummeted in battle and in hospitals. The Koopas conquered land in the west and north, the Boos and the Thunder Alliance in the east, and Sarasaland in the south. The last Mushroom strongholds were Mushroom City and Toad Town now that Rogueport had fallen. Seaside Town was taken early in the war, which was a strategic victory for the Koopas as it opened up a new front. Despite only recently marching off to battle, many soldiers were talking about how they would be home again in about two years.
"Ma'am, Major General Starshade has refused to surrender," Harriet said, reentering. "Your orders?"
"Call the captains together. Continue the hit-and-run attacks, but it's time for us to flush Starshade out or crush him beneath the castle."
"Yes, Ma'am." Harriet paused for a moment before leaving. "You know, Flora, you're not the person I'd expect to be in command of an army."
"I hate war. The only reason I'm so vicious to the enemy is because I want to go home. The sooner the war is over, the sooner we can all leave this cursed country."
Flora motioned for Harriet to leave, which she did not hesitate to do. What did the Mushroomers think of having their country conquered? Surely they hated the violence, but what of their King? After their offensive was stopped at Koopva and driven back, the Mushroomers saw how utterly hopeless their situation was. Did they still support their King, the one who had lost a war for them? Countless cities in the west were functioning quite well under Koopsian control. Food was regularly shipped in from the Koopa Kingdom, soldiers almost completely stayed away from Mushroom cities, and many even warned cities of an approaching Mushroom attack. Luigi had even been awarded a mask by the Shy Guy Republic to commend his kind and honorable treatment of enemy civilians and prisoners. With Luigi controlling the western Mushroom Kingdom, it was amazing that there would be any support of the Mushroom cause in that region.
That was what most soldiers thought, though. Freedom cannot be forced on people, after all. Only by wanting it and achieving it for themselves can people truly be free. If the Koopsians were trying to force the Mushroomers to continue their normal lives, it was only natural that there would be a resistance. Besides, when the Mushroom Kingdom "freed" Desert Hill from Koopsian control, it was not truly freedom that came. Was it any surprise that the Desert Hill Rebellion occurred? Many despised the Mushroom-imposed monarchy and resented Mario and Luigi's "rescue" of the country.
The door opened again as several captains entered the office. Flora brushed aside the letter she was writing to her family and took out a map of the area. Deep thought would have to take a break.
"What's the plan, Commodore?" one of the captains asked.
"The artillery will fire the first shots," Flora said. "Captain Sanguinea will command them. The barrage will flush the enemy out of the castle.
"We surround the castle with infantry and tanks and kill anyone who tries to get out. Starshade's troops will have death in front of them and death behind them. The artillery shall stop firing once the castle collapses. From there, we'll tear the remainder of enemy battalion apart. Hopefully, Starshade has enough of a brain to surrender, but if not, he will join the rest of his troops.
"Naucina will take the hills to the east, Albissimus and Amarus will join forces on each side of the river, Podocnemis will lead his tanks in from the west, and I'll circle around to the north. Is all of that clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am," the captains responded.
"The hit-and-run attacks shall continue until I give the command for the artillery to open fire," Flora said. "By then, the hit-and-run battalion should be away from the castle."
It took the troops two hours to get organized, but the sound of artillery fire instantly terrified the enemy soldiers, at which point many fled from the castle, struck down quickly by a rain of sniper fire. The first barrage blasted apart the main tower, which fell and crushed the part of the castle beneath it. A charge was not necessary; most enemy soldiers, seeing the end at hand, jumped from their garrisons, some lucky enough to land in the river and live. Shortly after the second barrage had landed, a Mushroom soldier rose from the rubble and waved a white officer's jacket tied to his rifle.
Of the ten thousand soldiers Starshade had started out with, only forty-eight were confirmed as alive, only four of which had escaped capture by Flora's troops. The captives were promised whatever safety they requested. Second Lieutenant Abietis—the one who waved the uniform in surrender—said that Major General Starshade was so confident he would win that he didn't bother to bring a white flag in case surrender was necessary. Most of the Mushroom soldiers committed suicide, but the remaining eight—including Abietis—asked to leave the Mushroom Kingdom, knowing they would not be accepted as failures. Abietis was to go to some relatives in Muda, and the other seven asked to be sent to neutral countries.
The victory was not a sweet one for Flora. While her troops had a very low casualty rate, the battle was more so a massacre than a battle. About a week after the Sarasaland flag was raised above Hooktail Ruins, word reached Flora of the Hooktail Three, a trio of heroic Mushroom soldiers who survived the Petalburg Massacre, as the Mushroomers called it, and evaded capture by the troops of the evil, ruthless Commodore Ornilla. Of course, by that point, she was Sub-Admiral Ornilla. According to the reports, the body of the fourth escapee—Sergeant Starshade, Major General Starshade's younger brother—was found on the banks of the Bub-Ulb River near Riverside Station. Flora's marching orders came shortly after the news of the Hooktail Three. The Siege of Toad Town had begun.
