Re: Grand Battle S3G1! (Round Two: The Great Battlefield)
06-17-2011, 07:35 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Valter.
Brigadier Kerak and the fine soldiers of Chartreuse Battalion burst from the Northern Woods in smart formation. During his stay in the forest, Kerak had picked up a few more lessons on organized warfare, and also tripled the size of his army.
Oddly, he'd encountered soldiers from Blue, Yellow, and Green army during his exploration of the woods, there for much the same reason as the red company he'd converted. The Green soldiers he met couldn't be ordered around, apparently, despite being on his side, but they had pointed him toward Green Headquarters, so Kerak had decided to let them continue their work without biting all their heads off.
"Halt!" Kerak shouted, as soon as his soldiers fully gathered outside the heavy brush of the forest. "Sergeant! Do you have your binoculars with you?"
"Yes, sir. Are we returning to HQ?"
"Of course not!" Kerak said with genuine astonishment. "Where on earth did you get that idea?"
"You mentioned to the company we crossed paths with-"
"Nuts to them! We've got bigger fish to fry than the bigwigs back at HQ!"
Conaway hesitated. "Uh, are you talking about meeting up with hq, or fighting them, sir? The way you're saying it, I'm not really sure what-"
Kerak waved his arms. "Does it really matter? Now stop sassing and focus. I need your eyes for a bit."
"Yes sir," Conaway said with a sigh, and readied his binoculars. "What exactly am I looking for?"
"This 'dossier' thing you got on me mentioned a 'Grand Battle', right?"
"Right."
"Well, there's seven more contestants out there, and we're gonna need their help to really get this war off the ground."
Conaway started scanning the battlefield. The fields were dotted by several active skirmishes, but there didn't appear to be any major campaigns under way. "I'm gonna need specific details on appearance, sir. Lot of people out there."
"Hmm. Three of them mostly look like you. Humans, yes? But the rest are more distinct. Tengeri, she's an eel with wings, okay? And feathers."
"Uh...?"
"Then there's the squid. He calls himself a 'Meipi'. Well okay, he looks a bit like you all. But he's definitely got a bad case of squidhead."
"If you say so, sir..."
"Maybe you could look for Jetsam? He looks like- well okay, he doesn't really look like anything, on account of changing forms so often. Do you see any polymorphs out there?"
"..."
"Oh, whatever. I guess we can just go back to converting units..."
"You've only mentioned six of the seven contestants, sir."
"Oh right! Some kinda cuboid. His name's Velobo. He didn't do much that I saw last round, though. I doubt I'll even see him again until-"
"Actually, he's running across the field by himself right now."
"Really?" Kerak face split into a toothy smile. "I guess he'll be better than nothing. Pick out our twenty best soldiers, Sergeant, and order the rest to make camp. We've got some errands to run."
~~~
As endearing as it was to have a soldier suddenly under his command, the sudden bout of violence really wasn't doing Velobo any favors.
The revived CO stood up and quickly wiped down his uniform before saluting. His outfit was now olive green. "Reporting for duty, sir!"
"Not helping..." Velobo muttered at his enthusiastic charge. At least the other yellow soldiers weren't reacting yet. Maybe they needed a few moments to sort out their chain of command, now that their officer had converted? ...Maybe they would forgive him if he gave their CO back? "Uh, if you'll all just stop milling around and listen-"
"An excellent suggestion!" At least a dozen Green Army soldiers made their positions apparent from around the light cover dotting the battlefield. Velobo would have easily sensed them under other circumstances, but... well, he'd made an excellent distraction for himself and the rest of the yellow squadron.
Velobo's eyes narrowed just a touch as Kerak strode happily toward them. "I wouldn't make any sudden movements, gentlehumans! My boys and girls have you quite shamelessly surrounded, and if you try to fight back I can personally guarantee this'll be the last day you ever spend wearing yellow. Understood?"
"What are you playing at, Kerak?" Velobo demanded. "You've had time enough to convert us all already."
"I've no intention of killing any of you," Kerak said with a sly smile that suggested the opposite of his words. "Converted units follow orders exceptionally well, but that's not quite what I'm looking for right now. Come over here, Velobo. Away from yours and my units." He beckoned Velobo away from the corralled Yellow Army units. "You're headed off to war with Yellow Army, aren't you Velobo?"
Velobo approached Kerak cautiously. "I've no interest in murder, Kerak. Uh, no further interest, that is. I am going to negotiate peace!"
"I'm working toward peace too! This war doesn't need to continue, does it? If all the soldiers were united under a single color, the conflict would end. Right?
Kerak dropped his smile. "I'll give it to you straight, Velobo. This war's been going on for longer than any of my soldiers can remember. Decades spent shooting at each other with nothing to show for it! wasteful. How about we end it? We're the wild cards! we can change the face of the battlefield in a way none of the armies could possibly dreamed of."
Velobo just rolled his eyes. "Do you really think I've already forgotten what you tried to do to Murdoch? I have no intention of working with an established backstabber."
Kerak shook his head. "Velobo, I wouldn't dream of betraying you, but that's neither here nor there. I didn't intend to travel with you! I just wanted to help you along with your mission! And if you could convince Yellow Army to convert en masse to Green, my own work would be made a great deal simpler. "
"I would rather convince them to lay down their weapons entirely than simply change uniforms..."
"Oh?" Kerak ruffled his plumage a bit. "This war won't be ending without more bloodshed anyway, and doubling Green Army's size would guarantee victory! It's not like the soldiers actually dye, anyway! Not for long."
"Actually-"
"Look, it's clear you're not making a decision right now. I'll give you a tip anyway: order your shiny new CO to convert back to yellow and arrest you. He'll take you as far into HQ as his ranking allows."
Velobo frowned. "You can do that?"
"Oh, yes. There's almost no end to what you can order your units to do. This entire world runs on loyalty, Velobo. You could probably convince a few errant soldiers here and their to lay down their weapons, but if you want to stop an entire Army? You'll have to take your 'negotiations' straight to the top."
"Hmph. That was where I was planning to go anyway. And I should probably get moving." Not that the work ahead of Velobo was particularly appealing, but it was a welcome opportunity to put distance between him and Kerak.
Another smile from Kerak. "I wouldn't want to keep you waiting, then. Warriors!" Kerak shouted as Velobo worked his way back to the Yellow squadron. "This operations clearly a bust. Let's retreat!
"And Velobo: you can preach for peace if you want, but Green Army will be winning this war. Plan accordingly." A wink and a nod, and suddenly Kerak and his soldiers were gone, making their way posthaste out of the field and back over a nearby hillock. Leaving Velobo by himself with an angry, confused squadron of Yellow soldiers, one vassel CO, and, refreshingly enough, a plan.
Brigadier Kerak and the fine soldiers of Chartreuse Battalion burst from the Northern Woods in smart formation. During his stay in the forest, Kerak had picked up a few more lessons on organized warfare, and also tripled the size of his army.
Oddly, he'd encountered soldiers from Blue, Yellow, and Green army during his exploration of the woods, there for much the same reason as the red company he'd converted. The Green soldiers he met couldn't be ordered around, apparently, despite being on his side, but they had pointed him toward Green Headquarters, so Kerak had decided to let them continue their work without biting all their heads off.
"Halt!" Kerak shouted, as soon as his soldiers fully gathered outside the heavy brush of the forest. "Sergeant! Do you have your binoculars with you?"
"Yes, sir. Are we returning to HQ?"
"Of course not!" Kerak said with genuine astonishment. "Where on earth did you get that idea?"
"You mentioned to the company we crossed paths with-"
"Nuts to them! We've got bigger fish to fry than the bigwigs back at HQ!"
Conaway hesitated. "Uh, are you talking about meeting up with hq, or fighting them, sir? The way you're saying it, I'm not really sure what-"
Kerak waved his arms. "Does it really matter? Now stop sassing and focus. I need your eyes for a bit."
"Yes sir," Conaway said with a sigh, and readied his binoculars. "What exactly am I looking for?"
"This 'dossier' thing you got on me mentioned a 'Grand Battle', right?"
"Right."
"Well, there's seven more contestants out there, and we're gonna need their help to really get this war off the ground."
Conaway started scanning the battlefield. The fields were dotted by several active skirmishes, but there didn't appear to be any major campaigns under way. "I'm gonna need specific details on appearance, sir. Lot of people out there."
"Hmm. Three of them mostly look like you. Humans, yes? But the rest are more distinct. Tengeri, she's an eel with wings, okay? And feathers."
"Uh...?"
"Then there's the squid. He calls himself a 'Meipi'. Well okay, he looks a bit like you all. But he's definitely got a bad case of squidhead."
"If you say so, sir..."
"Maybe you could look for Jetsam? He looks like- well okay, he doesn't really look like anything, on account of changing forms so often. Do you see any polymorphs out there?"
"..."
"Oh, whatever. I guess we can just go back to converting units..."
"You've only mentioned six of the seven contestants, sir."
"Oh right! Some kinda cuboid. His name's Velobo. He didn't do much that I saw last round, though. I doubt I'll even see him again until-"
"Actually, he's running across the field by himself right now."
"Really?" Kerak face split into a toothy smile. "I guess he'll be better than nothing. Pick out our twenty best soldiers, Sergeant, and order the rest to make camp. We've got some errands to run."
~~~
As endearing as it was to have a soldier suddenly under his command, the sudden bout of violence really wasn't doing Velobo any favors.
The revived CO stood up and quickly wiped down his uniform before saluting. His outfit was now olive green. "Reporting for duty, sir!"
"Not helping..." Velobo muttered at his enthusiastic charge. At least the other yellow soldiers weren't reacting yet. Maybe they needed a few moments to sort out their chain of command, now that their officer had converted? ...Maybe they would forgive him if he gave their CO back? "Uh, if you'll all just stop milling around and listen-"
"An excellent suggestion!" At least a dozen Green Army soldiers made their positions apparent from around the light cover dotting the battlefield. Velobo would have easily sensed them under other circumstances, but... well, he'd made an excellent distraction for himself and the rest of the yellow squadron.
Velobo's eyes narrowed just a touch as Kerak strode happily toward them. "I wouldn't make any sudden movements, gentlehumans! My boys and girls have you quite shamelessly surrounded, and if you try to fight back I can personally guarantee this'll be the last day you ever spend wearing yellow. Understood?"
"What are you playing at, Kerak?" Velobo demanded. "You've had time enough to convert us all already."
"I've no intention of killing any of you," Kerak said with a sly smile that suggested the opposite of his words. "Converted units follow orders exceptionally well, but that's not quite what I'm looking for right now. Come over here, Velobo. Away from yours and my units." He beckoned Velobo away from the corralled Yellow Army units. "You're headed off to war with Yellow Army, aren't you Velobo?"
Velobo approached Kerak cautiously. "I've no interest in murder, Kerak. Uh, no further interest, that is. I am going to negotiate peace!"
"I'm working toward peace too! This war doesn't need to continue, does it? If all the soldiers were united under a single color, the conflict would end. Right?
Kerak dropped his smile. "I'll give it to you straight, Velobo. This war's been going on for longer than any of my soldiers can remember. Decades spent shooting at each other with nothing to show for it! wasteful. How about we end it? We're the wild cards! we can change the face of the battlefield in a way none of the armies could possibly dreamed of."
Velobo just rolled his eyes. "Do you really think I've already forgotten what you tried to do to Murdoch? I have no intention of working with an established backstabber."
Kerak shook his head. "Velobo, I wouldn't dream of betraying you, but that's neither here nor there. I didn't intend to travel with you! I just wanted to help you along with your mission! And if you could convince Yellow Army to convert en masse to Green, my own work would be made a great deal simpler. "
"I would rather convince them to lay down their weapons entirely than simply change uniforms..."
"Oh?" Kerak ruffled his plumage a bit. "This war won't be ending without more bloodshed anyway, and doubling Green Army's size would guarantee victory! It's not like the soldiers actually dye, anyway! Not for long."
"Actually-"
"Look, it's clear you're not making a decision right now. I'll give you a tip anyway: order your shiny new CO to convert back to yellow and arrest you. He'll take you as far into HQ as his ranking allows."
Velobo frowned. "You can do that?"
"Oh, yes. There's almost no end to what you can order your units to do. This entire world runs on loyalty, Velobo. You could probably convince a few errant soldiers here and their to lay down their weapons, but if you want to stop an entire Army? You'll have to take your 'negotiations' straight to the top."
"Hmph. That was where I was planning to go anyway. And I should probably get moving." Not that the work ahead of Velobo was particularly appealing, but it was a welcome opportunity to put distance between him and Kerak.
Another smile from Kerak. "I wouldn't want to keep you waiting, then. Warriors!" Kerak shouted as Velobo worked his way back to the Yellow squadron. "This operations clearly a bust. Let's retreat!
"And Velobo: you can preach for peace if you want, but Green Army will be winning this war. Plan accordingly." A wink and a nod, and suddenly Kerak and his soldiers were gone, making their way posthaste out of the field and back over a nearby hillock. Leaving Velobo by himself with an angry, confused squadron of Yellow soldiers, one vassel CO, and, refreshingly enough, a plan.