Geitlammer, Green Earth, 8/7
Green Earth had signature hot, wet summers. Not even the waterlogged Yellow Comet Empire could muster the humidity from the surrounding waters and the evaporated Blue Moon snow. The capitol of Geitlammer, right in the strongest of these weather patterns, faced routine monsoons and the occasional tsunami. Hurricanes were also likely to preside near the shore, and tornadoes frequently wreaked havoc in the spring when the tropical Green Earth winds met the frigid Blue Moon gust. Seismic conditions were unstable as well, with heavy fault lines running throughout the continent. The warm, pleasant breezes made it a favorite spot to visit during the spring and fall, when temperatures were not too extreme.
"Trouble in Orange Star, I hear?" asked Theodore Eagle, the stern, highest- ranking field marshal of the Green Earth army.
"Blue Moon has cut the nation in half quite terribly. They've probably reached the capital by now," said St. Chamond Drake, Eagle's portly second- in-command. They accented each other's attitudes clearly.
"If the Orange Star is destroyed, and Blue Moon acquires their army and weapons, they will easily be able to overpower us. How could anyone let this happen?"
"Don't worry, mate, Orange Star's been training and preparing like mad. They'll hold their bounty, tight and sure, or I'll be a swab," spat Drake.
"But what if they don't? That madman dictator Olaf will make no mistake in giving Orange Star all he's got. And he's a highly aggressive tactical opponent. He's attacked so hard and quickly, I doubt Orange Star has had even the time or strength to rearm. And his partner can turn a city to rubble from miles away."
"Hush, Eagle, I've read up on some of those officers. Tough as steel. They wouldn't ever give up for squat. They have the determination of me when I was a lad.
"You wore knickerbockers and a sailor's garb until you were commissioned into the academy."
"Its called tradition, old boy, and I'm not the slightest bit ashamed of it. Now pipe down, I'm trying to work."
The two tacticians argued frequently; they both thought nothing alike. Eagle was an ex-pilot. He flew one of the fastest, most well armed planes in the airforce of his time, and would not let anyone pilot less in the Green Earth army. His focus was Blitzkrieg-style bombing of the enemy's front line, and then the dispersal of troops right behind the enemy's wreck. But he never found an effective use for ships, since he'd rarely had to use them, due to Blue Moon, being the subject of most of their conflicts, neighbored them from above. Therefore, he'd budgeted the decaliburization of some of the ship's guns in order to save materials for powerful, slow-burning jet plane fuel and strong weapons and armor for his airforce.
Drake was laughably contrasted to Eagle, with the habit of using sailor's metaphors very often, and having a strong sense of tradition. Whereas Eagle might have skipped over something, Drake would search around and patch things up from behind. He was of buccaneer ancestry, and was raised accordingly so, on a ship. He'd never found much use for air strikes, so he let his planes fly with sub-standard munitions and smaller caliber guns. However, with that money, he would build state-of-the-art ship's engines that could send his vessels speeding beyond the enemy's, almost guaranteeing a first strike. He also reinforced his ship's armor with extra layers of steel, using torpedo nets to protect the hulls from submarine attacks.
Both of them had taken care of Green Earth for many years with great success when working together, and both preferred, in the proper Green Earth fashion, that their last names be pronounced first.
Eagle walked among the neat rows of consoles that lined his office. His phone rang. He briskly picked it up.
"Eagle, sir! This is Major Jackson at the Dire Range air base," said a militant but terrified voice.
"Ah. What is it, major?"
"We've been hit with a surprise attack. Our air units have been bombed on the ground, and artillery has wiped out almost all of our ground forces!"
This had shocked Eagle beyond comprehension. How could Blue Moon cut in half Orange Star and viciously attack his land at the same time?"
"Are you under siege?" he asked.
"No, they've bombed out our communications network. This is the emergency line."
"Have you tried hailing Blue Moon?"
"They're too busy to help us."
"Help? I mean asking them what the hell they're doing! They've broken the Lunar Treaty! This is an act of tremendous outrage!"
"It's not Blue Moon attacking us, sir! It's Orange Star, sir!"
"What? How is that."
"I don't know! They won't respond. I need reinforcements!"
"Alright, I'll send my secondary regiment. Do you know who is responsible for the attack?"
"Intelligence says it's their rookie commanding officer Andrew Klein."
"What? How the hell did he get over here so fast? They're working with a skeleton army! We'll be there as soon as possible!"
Eagle hung up, abashed, and turned to Drake.
"So they've taken the air base, eh, old boy?" said Drake matter-of-factly. "I guess I'll be needing to head up the Bounty River with my ol' tubs, since you've only got one air battalion."
"Sigh, damnit. We'll need to move our remaining battalions up there as soon as possible. We may even have to prepare our economy for total war. I think it might be good to continue development. But I guess we'll have to discuss that later," he drawled off.
"Alright. I think we should be heading out now," said Drake as he trotted as fast as his stubby legs could carry him to the stairwell of the building.
"Where are you going? Why don't we just take a transport chopper?"
"It's too dangerous, mate! A missile could hit us from five miles away! And who, might I ask, would suspect a bus?"
"Sigh," said Eagle as he followed his partner to the streets below.
Green Earth had signature hot, wet summers. Not even the waterlogged Yellow Comet Empire could muster the humidity from the surrounding waters and the evaporated Blue Moon snow. The capitol of Geitlammer, right in the strongest of these weather patterns, faced routine monsoons and the occasional tsunami. Hurricanes were also likely to preside near the shore, and tornadoes frequently wreaked havoc in the spring when the tropical Green Earth winds met the frigid Blue Moon gust. Seismic conditions were unstable as well, with heavy fault lines running throughout the continent. The warm, pleasant breezes made it a favorite spot to visit during the spring and fall, when temperatures were not too extreme.
"Trouble in Orange Star, I hear?" asked Theodore Eagle, the stern, highest- ranking field marshal of the Green Earth army.
"Blue Moon has cut the nation in half quite terribly. They've probably reached the capital by now," said St. Chamond Drake, Eagle's portly second- in-command. They accented each other's attitudes clearly.
"If the Orange Star is destroyed, and Blue Moon acquires their army and weapons, they will easily be able to overpower us. How could anyone let this happen?"
"Don't worry, mate, Orange Star's been training and preparing like mad. They'll hold their bounty, tight and sure, or I'll be a swab," spat Drake.
"But what if they don't? That madman dictator Olaf will make no mistake in giving Orange Star all he's got. And he's a highly aggressive tactical opponent. He's attacked so hard and quickly, I doubt Orange Star has had even the time or strength to rearm. And his partner can turn a city to rubble from miles away."
"Hush, Eagle, I've read up on some of those officers. Tough as steel. They wouldn't ever give up for squat. They have the determination of me when I was a lad.
"You wore knickerbockers and a sailor's garb until you were commissioned into the academy."
"Its called tradition, old boy, and I'm not the slightest bit ashamed of it. Now pipe down, I'm trying to work."
The two tacticians argued frequently; they both thought nothing alike. Eagle was an ex-pilot. He flew one of the fastest, most well armed planes in the airforce of his time, and would not let anyone pilot less in the Green Earth army. His focus was Blitzkrieg-style bombing of the enemy's front line, and then the dispersal of troops right behind the enemy's wreck. But he never found an effective use for ships, since he'd rarely had to use them, due to Blue Moon, being the subject of most of their conflicts, neighbored them from above. Therefore, he'd budgeted the decaliburization of some of the ship's guns in order to save materials for powerful, slow-burning jet plane fuel and strong weapons and armor for his airforce.
Drake was laughably contrasted to Eagle, with the habit of using sailor's metaphors very often, and having a strong sense of tradition. Whereas Eagle might have skipped over something, Drake would search around and patch things up from behind. He was of buccaneer ancestry, and was raised accordingly so, on a ship. He'd never found much use for air strikes, so he let his planes fly with sub-standard munitions and smaller caliber guns. However, with that money, he would build state-of-the-art ship's engines that could send his vessels speeding beyond the enemy's, almost guaranteeing a first strike. He also reinforced his ship's armor with extra layers of steel, using torpedo nets to protect the hulls from submarine attacks.
Both of them had taken care of Green Earth for many years with great success when working together, and both preferred, in the proper Green Earth fashion, that their last names be pronounced first.
Eagle walked among the neat rows of consoles that lined his office. His phone rang. He briskly picked it up.
"Eagle, sir! This is Major Jackson at the Dire Range air base," said a militant but terrified voice.
"Ah. What is it, major?"
"We've been hit with a surprise attack. Our air units have been bombed on the ground, and artillery has wiped out almost all of our ground forces!"
This had shocked Eagle beyond comprehension. How could Blue Moon cut in half Orange Star and viciously attack his land at the same time?"
"Are you under siege?" he asked.
"No, they've bombed out our communications network. This is the emergency line."
"Have you tried hailing Blue Moon?"
"They're too busy to help us."
"Help? I mean asking them what the hell they're doing! They've broken the Lunar Treaty! This is an act of tremendous outrage!"
"It's not Blue Moon attacking us, sir! It's Orange Star, sir!"
"What? How is that."
"I don't know! They won't respond. I need reinforcements!"
"Alright, I'll send my secondary regiment. Do you know who is responsible for the attack?"
"Intelligence says it's their rookie commanding officer Andrew Klein."
"What? How the hell did he get over here so fast? They're working with a skeleton army! We'll be there as soon as possible!"
Eagle hung up, abashed, and turned to Drake.
"So they've taken the air base, eh, old boy?" said Drake matter-of-factly. "I guess I'll be needing to head up the Bounty River with my ol' tubs, since you've only got one air battalion."
"Sigh, damnit. We'll need to move our remaining battalions up there as soon as possible. We may even have to prepare our economy for total war. I think it might be good to continue development. But I guess we'll have to discuss that later," he drawled off.
"Alright. I think we should be heading out now," said Drake as he trotted as fast as his stubby legs could carry him to the stairwell of the building.
"Where are you going? Why don't we just take a transport chopper?"
"It's too dangerous, mate! A missile could hit us from five miles away! And who, might I ask, would suspect a bus?"
"Sigh," said Eagle as he followed his partner to the streets below.