Lander #42, Orange Sea, 7/26/12
"I think I'm getting seasick," said a young soldier named Mike Theobald.
"Well whinin' about it isn't gonna help, is it?" said the Sergeant.
"No sir."
The lander rocked violently back and forth, splashing the crew with the occasional gush of frothy water. A loud alarm could be faintly heard from the ship to their right.
"What's goin' on up there?" asked Theobald.
"I dunno. Maybe a hull breach or somethin'," replied his friend.
"Will you two boys shut up? We're gonna be landing soon!" barked the Sergeant.
Loud explosions would now be heard among the ships guns. Flashes of light blinked among the massive floating cities.
"What the? We're firin!"
"What for?" asked Theobald.
"How the Hell do I know?"
A loud splash could be heard outside of the lander, and a large wave followed by a shower of water crashed down on the crew. The lander bounced and smacked up and down in the ocean.
"Holy crap! They're firin' back! This is gonna suck," said Theobald's friend.
"Soldiers!" yelled the Sarge. "Things are getting' a little rough out here, and I'm not sure this tub can take it. So get prepared to make a swim, okay?
All 20 faces nodded morosely. Soldiers strapped on their inflatable gear to hold them up against their 40 pounds of equipment. A volley of thumps sounded from the mainland, indication artillery fire. The crew braced themselves for the impact, and the plethora of shells crashed in the surf on all sides. Two landers went down next to them, and another two capsized. With a terrifying crash, a shell hit the back of their lander. It exploded right in the middle of several people, killing them all and blasting the entire back section off. The lander tilted back and dumped every soldier off. Theobald splashed into the water, three others on top of his. He struggled out from beneath and made a mad lunge towards the beach. It was about fifty yards down. The gentle current pushed him back, and he cringed as a petrol shell hit the waves a little behind him. Blue-hot shrapnel sprayed everywhere, scorching some of his comrades. He kept swimming on, getting closer and closer, little by little. He could now see the attacking guns farther up the beach.
He felt his friends, churning up the water around him. Hundreds of soldiers were now bobbing up and down in the water, diving and stroking to safety. Machine gun fire sprayed on all sides, showering little flecks of water everywhere. Theobald looked ahead to see a fellow soldier get hit in the head, spraying blood and God-knows-what onto his face. He wiped it off, the saltwater stinging his eyes. He now realized how frigid cold the water was, and it was darkening from the blood. Floating bodies were amassed among the waves, dead or alive, he couldn't tell. His felt someone grab his arm. He was about to tell the person off, when he saw that there was no person. The dismembered limb floated next to him, staining his uniform with blood. He brushed it away in disgust, and felt something bump his feet. Thinking it was the beach, he stepped up onto it, but it sank. Looking down, he saw the upper body of another man, his legs lying in the sand a couple feet below. He was disgusted. Organs leaked out, wrapping up his legs like an unholy squid. He tried to kick them away, and his feet finally hit solid ground. He leapt out of the water, stepping over another soldier's carcass, and ran up the beach. The sand squelched under his boots.
He ran off to the side, taking shelter behind trees. He saw the massive army crawl out of the surf, and duplex drive tanks, which loomed up and shed their amphibious equipment, followed them. The major shelling had stopped how, as most of the heavy artillery batteries had been destroyed. The tanks fired at the machine gun emplacements, silencing them for good. Theobald panted as he walked over to his Sergeant, who was gathering up their group.
"Sarge," he squeaked.
"Ah, Theobald. Glad to see you made it," the Sergeant replied.
"How many times? How many times did you do this before?"
"About four. Trust me, Theobald, this isn't the worst I'd seen by far. But it is the first time I'd had to swim, which makes it the worst I'd been through. Don't worry, we've destroyed just about all their defenses. Let's go." Theobald joined his group and marched on up the beach.
Vilna, Blue Moon, 7/26/12
"General Van Brendan, we've crushed the resistance. They were not even a handful," said Olaf to a tall man in a back uniform.
His name was Gerhard Van Brendan. He was an ex-member of the Germanic Green Earth Army, and he had risen to the rank of 3-star General in the Black Hole Republic.
"Good. Have you taken the eastern port as well?"
"Yes, General. In approximately seven days, we should be able to cut off one quarter of their nation, and the most important one, at that. It controls their shipping and most of their steel production. Once it is seized, they will be starved of resources, and will have no choice but to surrender completely."
"Great! I'm glad to see that your army is so functional!"
"Well, that's only the good news. The bad news is that Green Earth is seeing this as an act of massive aggression, and they are reacting in a very hostile manner, welling up troops on our boarder. If we keep this up, we may have a two-way war on our hands. And that may crush us in the end."
"I'll take care of it," answered the shady general. "My Senior Officer has a large, able army ready. We can even make it look like an Orange Star attack."
"That would be of utmost help. Try to do this as soon as possible, any skirmishes will use up valuable resources needed for the western war. I used to work for Orange Star, and I know that they are usually quick and brutal to respond to such things. Well, at least I tried to inspire that under my command."
"Don't worry, sir, we will suppress the Green Earth Army for as long as you need. But just remember failure is not an option. My Senior Commanding Officer will make sure of that." Olaf paused.
"Just who is your Senior Commanding Officer anyway? And why can't I talk to him about it in person?"
"My leader is troubled. He cannot be seen in public or by the press. It. just doesn't work."
"Ah. What is he, some sort of psychopath?"
"Well, he has very strict policies. He doesn't fly well with others."
---
Davenport, Orange Star, 7/26
"Oh, this is not good," said Nell to her round table of commanders. "I wasn't expecting such fierce fighting. Do we have any sort backup?"
"We've organized our Mark II light tanks into three light armored divisions, but we're afraid they might not be enough to stop the threat. The Blue Moon force has heavy tanks that vastly outclass ours, and what appears to be around 60,000 to 90,000 troops. They are advancing rapidly, and they've already penetrated our coastal defenses and are cutting off the most crucial of the nation's cities. If they succeed, they should reach the capitol in a couple weeks or so," said the personnel chief.
"But that's a worst-case scenario. It we combine artillery and air strikes, and concentrate our troops well, we should be able to break off the attack and greatly slow its momentum. This will buy us crucial time to set up another steel mine and port back where we are now," said the captain.
"Well, I guess we should do that, but we'll need to put out as much as we can before they break off the territory. I will also need for you to start preparing our economy for total war. Put more money into tank development as fast as possible. Train more troops, make more weapons, and increase our existing stockpile! It needs to happen now, or it won't happen. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am. We'll start right now," said the personnel chief.
"I think I'm getting seasick," said a young soldier named Mike Theobald.
"Well whinin' about it isn't gonna help, is it?" said the Sergeant.
"No sir."
The lander rocked violently back and forth, splashing the crew with the occasional gush of frothy water. A loud alarm could be faintly heard from the ship to their right.
"What's goin' on up there?" asked Theobald.
"I dunno. Maybe a hull breach or somethin'," replied his friend.
"Will you two boys shut up? We're gonna be landing soon!" barked the Sergeant.
Loud explosions would now be heard among the ships guns. Flashes of light blinked among the massive floating cities.
"What the? We're firin!"
"What for?" asked Theobald.
"How the Hell do I know?"
A loud splash could be heard outside of the lander, and a large wave followed by a shower of water crashed down on the crew. The lander bounced and smacked up and down in the ocean.
"Holy crap! They're firin' back! This is gonna suck," said Theobald's friend.
"Soldiers!" yelled the Sarge. "Things are getting' a little rough out here, and I'm not sure this tub can take it. So get prepared to make a swim, okay?
All 20 faces nodded morosely. Soldiers strapped on their inflatable gear to hold them up against their 40 pounds of equipment. A volley of thumps sounded from the mainland, indication artillery fire. The crew braced themselves for the impact, and the plethora of shells crashed in the surf on all sides. Two landers went down next to them, and another two capsized. With a terrifying crash, a shell hit the back of their lander. It exploded right in the middle of several people, killing them all and blasting the entire back section off. The lander tilted back and dumped every soldier off. Theobald splashed into the water, three others on top of his. He struggled out from beneath and made a mad lunge towards the beach. It was about fifty yards down. The gentle current pushed him back, and he cringed as a petrol shell hit the waves a little behind him. Blue-hot shrapnel sprayed everywhere, scorching some of his comrades. He kept swimming on, getting closer and closer, little by little. He could now see the attacking guns farther up the beach.
He felt his friends, churning up the water around him. Hundreds of soldiers were now bobbing up and down in the water, diving and stroking to safety. Machine gun fire sprayed on all sides, showering little flecks of water everywhere. Theobald looked ahead to see a fellow soldier get hit in the head, spraying blood and God-knows-what onto his face. He wiped it off, the saltwater stinging his eyes. He now realized how frigid cold the water was, and it was darkening from the blood. Floating bodies were amassed among the waves, dead or alive, he couldn't tell. His felt someone grab his arm. He was about to tell the person off, when he saw that there was no person. The dismembered limb floated next to him, staining his uniform with blood. He brushed it away in disgust, and felt something bump his feet. Thinking it was the beach, he stepped up onto it, but it sank. Looking down, he saw the upper body of another man, his legs lying in the sand a couple feet below. He was disgusted. Organs leaked out, wrapping up his legs like an unholy squid. He tried to kick them away, and his feet finally hit solid ground. He leapt out of the water, stepping over another soldier's carcass, and ran up the beach. The sand squelched under his boots.
He ran off to the side, taking shelter behind trees. He saw the massive army crawl out of the surf, and duplex drive tanks, which loomed up and shed their amphibious equipment, followed them. The major shelling had stopped how, as most of the heavy artillery batteries had been destroyed. The tanks fired at the machine gun emplacements, silencing them for good. Theobald panted as he walked over to his Sergeant, who was gathering up their group.
"Sarge," he squeaked.
"Ah, Theobald. Glad to see you made it," the Sergeant replied.
"How many times? How many times did you do this before?"
"About four. Trust me, Theobald, this isn't the worst I'd seen by far. But it is the first time I'd had to swim, which makes it the worst I'd been through. Don't worry, we've destroyed just about all their defenses. Let's go." Theobald joined his group and marched on up the beach.
Vilna, Blue Moon, 7/26/12
"General Van Brendan, we've crushed the resistance. They were not even a handful," said Olaf to a tall man in a back uniform.
His name was Gerhard Van Brendan. He was an ex-member of the Germanic Green Earth Army, and he had risen to the rank of 3-star General in the Black Hole Republic.
"Good. Have you taken the eastern port as well?"
"Yes, General. In approximately seven days, we should be able to cut off one quarter of their nation, and the most important one, at that. It controls their shipping and most of their steel production. Once it is seized, they will be starved of resources, and will have no choice but to surrender completely."
"Great! I'm glad to see that your army is so functional!"
"Well, that's only the good news. The bad news is that Green Earth is seeing this as an act of massive aggression, and they are reacting in a very hostile manner, welling up troops on our boarder. If we keep this up, we may have a two-way war on our hands. And that may crush us in the end."
"I'll take care of it," answered the shady general. "My Senior Officer has a large, able army ready. We can even make it look like an Orange Star attack."
"That would be of utmost help. Try to do this as soon as possible, any skirmishes will use up valuable resources needed for the western war. I used to work for Orange Star, and I know that they are usually quick and brutal to respond to such things. Well, at least I tried to inspire that under my command."
"Don't worry, sir, we will suppress the Green Earth Army for as long as you need. But just remember failure is not an option. My Senior Commanding Officer will make sure of that." Olaf paused.
"Just who is your Senior Commanding Officer anyway? And why can't I talk to him about it in person?"
"My leader is troubled. He cannot be seen in public or by the press. It. just doesn't work."
"Ah. What is he, some sort of psychopath?"
"Well, he has very strict policies. He doesn't fly well with others."
---
Davenport, Orange Star, 7/26
"Oh, this is not good," said Nell to her round table of commanders. "I wasn't expecting such fierce fighting. Do we have any sort backup?"
"We've organized our Mark II light tanks into three light armored divisions, but we're afraid they might not be enough to stop the threat. The Blue Moon force has heavy tanks that vastly outclass ours, and what appears to be around 60,000 to 90,000 troops. They are advancing rapidly, and they've already penetrated our coastal defenses and are cutting off the most crucial of the nation's cities. If they succeed, they should reach the capitol in a couple weeks or so," said the personnel chief.
"But that's a worst-case scenario. It we combine artillery and air strikes, and concentrate our troops well, we should be able to break off the attack and greatly slow its momentum. This will buy us crucial time to set up another steel mine and port back where we are now," said the captain.
"Well, I guess we should do that, but we'll need to put out as much as we can before they break off the territory. I will also need for you to start preparing our economy for total war. Put more money into tank development as fast as possible. Train more troops, make more weapons, and increase our existing stockpile! It needs to happen now, or it won't happen. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am. We'll start right now," said the personnel chief.