Re: Grand Battle S3G1! (Round Two: The Great Battlefield)
09-10-2011, 11:51 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Valter.
General Kerak surveyed the aftermath of yet another battle's carnage. His physical attributes were poorly suited to the politics of the battlefield, so to speak, as the effective range of all the weapons used here were well beyond his own. He found it hard to care, though; his leadership skills were more than suited well enough to give him dominance over the battlefield.
This point actually vexed him. He was embarrassingly unversed on the tenets of modern warfare, despite the constant barrage of questions he asked his soldiers. Why was it so easy to defeat his enemies, then? They had no tactical capacity, simply throwing their units at Kerak's, and so every ambush, every flanking maneuver, turned each 'battle' into a rout. His army was now at least five thousand strong.
It was the regeneration, it must be. The commanders were all fat and lazy, content with the fact that no blunder or massacre would have any permanent effect on the battlefield. Oh, Kerak had been elated when he first arrived, too- you don't encounter an atmosphere of casual murder like this very often! But already the gimmick's novelty had worn thin, and Kerak wasn't even allowed to eat his conquests. He consumed the MREs provided for every soldier, and they were... sub-satisfactory.
He was at least thankful that his first captures had been so lucky. The black ops were apparently the only warriors on the entire field capable of thinking for themselves, and they had provided a wealth of knowledge for Kerak to chew over. Finding information and technology that would be relevant to his tribe back home was difficult work, but he had already pieced some things together...
"Kerak! Figure approaching from the west!" called out Major Connaway, Kerak's second-in-command.
"Just one? Kill it."
"Uh, this one's flying green colors, sir. Appears to be a messenger."
"Oh! Uh, 'Welcome him with honor to our camp and offer him the finest of our rations, that he may be pleased during his stay among our people'."
"Close, sir. That's the code for welcoming diplomats."
"Just find him a fucking tent, okay?! I need to finish head count."
The messenger was a young man certainly not far out of his teenage years, skinny and nervous; apparently a more green member of green army. The tent he was offered had many seats, but he decided to forgo the chance for leisure in favor of fretting with the wrapped scroll he was charged to deliver. Kerak's eventual arrival did little to sooth his nerves; he had not received any advance warning of the general's monstrous appearance.
"Well? What have you got for me?"
The messenger held out the scroll silently. Kerak rolled his eyes. "Only thing I could do with that paper is shred it on my talons. There's a certain tempting quality to that, to be sure, but maybe you should just read it yourself." The messenger blushed and fumbled the scroll's seal open, only dropping it once before he had it unraveled.
"General Kerak, of the Esteemed Chartreuse Brigade-
Your efforts against the forces of Blue Army have not gone unnoticed by High Command. With regards to your request for Full Clearance to Green Army intelligence, you have been-
Rejected access. We look forward to future achievements from-"
Kerak perked up. "What? Back up. That can't be right."
"A-ah, you asked me to read t-th-the-"
Kerak sighed. "Oh well, it couldn't be helped. Walk to me, will you?" The hapless messenger obliged, and Kerak promptly tore his jugular out. "Connaway! Get in here!"
"You calle- Good god, sir! Do you know how many of your tents we've had to scrub clean by now?"
"Shut up. I had it on good faith from you that 'outstanding accomplishments' would get me in the Green Army's reliables list, right?"
"yes, but-"
"Our esteemed messenger just told me we were rejected intel access. Can you explain how that would happen after the show we've been putting on for Blue Army?"
"Really?" Connaway scratched his chin. "We've massively outperformed every other Green Army officer presently on the field. I don't know why we wouldn't have the full trust of High Command by now..."
"I have a hunch," Kerak said. "What do you think would happen if we were given full reign on the field?"
"The only thing I could see happening is total victory for Green Army!"
Kerak nodded. "Very patriotic of you. Now, if Green General doesn't want to give us full clearance..."
Connaway's jaw dropped. "The Generals don't actually want victory??"
This time Kerak shook his head. "Don't go jumping to conclusions, Connaway! One of my- associates- may have reached the Green General and convinced him to blackball us. That squid... thing... Mopey? wasn't too fond of me, last I checked."
"Really? Why, with your sunny disposition..."
"Shut it! This just means we have to do things the hard way. Have the scouts reported back yet?" 12 Chartreuse scouts were presently scattered throughout the battlefield, three for each Army. They were spread thin, but he hoped major news would trickle down the grapevine to him nonetheless.
"One of the scouts in Yellow Territory got converted. The other two have reported nothing out of the ordinary. Red territory scouts are reporting tha- oh, that's interesting. Red Army is no more. The entire side was converted within the last hour to a new color, 'Teal'."
"Full army conversion? I like that concept," Kerak mused. "Scofflaw's the only one who'd try something outlandish like that. I will need to confer with him before finishing the war, but that meeting can wait. Anything else?"
"No, sir. The other five scouts report nothing out of the ordinary."
"Six."
"What?"
"There are six 'other' scouts, Connaway. What happened to the last?"
"That's- oh shit!" Connaway slapped his forehead. "That's right! three for each territory!"
"Well?"
"I, uh. To be honest, sir, I have no idea what happened to her. No death report or anything. She's off the grid."
"Can you tell me where she last was before she disappeared?"
Connaway scoffed and drew out his map. "Of course, sir. Jessica was last spotted around... here."
Kerak examined the marked location. "Hmph. Right at the center of the Battlefield. If I had to fathom a guess, I'd say someone figured out some kind of technology to block the war's effects. That kind of science sounds like Dr. Tengeri's shtick."
"Another one of your 'associates', sir?"
"Yes! She abhors the... contract we were signed into. It seems likely that she would rebel against whatever situation she were put into. Even a fun one like this! It must be her," Kerak said cheerfully. "Send the order to pack up camp, Connaway! We're setting off for the center of the Battlefield!"
"Shall I send someone to dispose of the body?"
Kerak laughed. "Oh heavens no! Do you have any idea how long it's been since I last had a meal befitting of my rank? Meals don't present themselves often, and I wouldn't dream of eating one of the soldiers in my own army. Do send a private with a brush and some soap in a few minutes, though, would you?"
"Yes sir!" Major Connaway said emphatically, glad to leave the rotting smell of the commander's tent. A week ago he would have never considered the possibility of so thoroughly decimating Blue Army to begin with, though. He also would have balked at the order to abandon the expedition just before reaching Blue General's base of operations, but he was finally beginning to grow used to Kerak's esoteric style of command. And he knew that as long as he followed Kerak's lead, success would soon follow.
General Kerak surveyed the aftermath of yet another battle's carnage. His physical attributes were poorly suited to the politics of the battlefield, so to speak, as the effective range of all the weapons used here were well beyond his own. He found it hard to care, though; his leadership skills were more than suited well enough to give him dominance over the battlefield.
This point actually vexed him. He was embarrassingly unversed on the tenets of modern warfare, despite the constant barrage of questions he asked his soldiers. Why was it so easy to defeat his enemies, then? They had no tactical capacity, simply throwing their units at Kerak's, and so every ambush, every flanking maneuver, turned each 'battle' into a rout. His army was now at least five thousand strong.
It was the regeneration, it must be. The commanders were all fat and lazy, content with the fact that no blunder or massacre would have any permanent effect on the battlefield. Oh, Kerak had been elated when he first arrived, too- you don't encounter an atmosphere of casual murder like this very often! But already the gimmick's novelty had worn thin, and Kerak wasn't even allowed to eat his conquests. He consumed the MREs provided for every soldier, and they were... sub-satisfactory.
He was at least thankful that his first captures had been so lucky. The black ops were apparently the only warriors on the entire field capable of thinking for themselves, and they had provided a wealth of knowledge for Kerak to chew over. Finding information and technology that would be relevant to his tribe back home was difficult work, but he had already pieced some things together...
"Kerak! Figure approaching from the west!" called out Major Connaway, Kerak's second-in-command.
"Just one? Kill it."
"Uh, this one's flying green colors, sir. Appears to be a messenger."
"Oh! Uh, 'Welcome him with honor to our camp and offer him the finest of our rations, that he may be pleased during his stay among our people'."
"Close, sir. That's the code for welcoming diplomats."
"Just find him a fucking tent, okay?! I need to finish head count."
The messenger was a young man certainly not far out of his teenage years, skinny and nervous; apparently a more green member of green army. The tent he was offered had many seats, but he decided to forgo the chance for leisure in favor of fretting with the wrapped scroll he was charged to deliver. Kerak's eventual arrival did little to sooth his nerves; he had not received any advance warning of the general's monstrous appearance.
"Well? What have you got for me?"
The messenger held out the scroll silently. Kerak rolled his eyes. "Only thing I could do with that paper is shred it on my talons. There's a certain tempting quality to that, to be sure, but maybe you should just read it yourself." The messenger blushed and fumbled the scroll's seal open, only dropping it once before he had it unraveled.
"General Kerak, of the Esteemed Chartreuse Brigade-
Your efforts against the forces of Blue Army have not gone unnoticed by High Command. With regards to your request for Full Clearance to Green Army intelligence, you have been-
Rejected access. We look forward to future achievements from-"
Kerak perked up. "What? Back up. That can't be right."
"A-ah, you asked me to read t-th-the-"
Kerak sighed. "Oh well, it couldn't be helped. Walk to me, will you?" The hapless messenger obliged, and Kerak promptly tore his jugular out. "Connaway! Get in here!"
"You calle- Good god, sir! Do you know how many of your tents we've had to scrub clean by now?"
"Shut up. I had it on good faith from you that 'outstanding accomplishments' would get me in the Green Army's reliables list, right?"
"yes, but-"
"Our esteemed messenger just told me we were rejected intel access. Can you explain how that would happen after the show we've been putting on for Blue Army?"
"Really?" Connaway scratched his chin. "We've massively outperformed every other Green Army officer presently on the field. I don't know why we wouldn't have the full trust of High Command by now..."
"I have a hunch," Kerak said. "What do you think would happen if we were given full reign on the field?"
"The only thing I could see happening is total victory for Green Army!"
Kerak nodded. "Very patriotic of you. Now, if Green General doesn't want to give us full clearance..."
Connaway's jaw dropped. "The Generals don't actually want victory??"
This time Kerak shook his head. "Don't go jumping to conclusions, Connaway! One of my- associates- may have reached the Green General and convinced him to blackball us. That squid... thing... Mopey? wasn't too fond of me, last I checked."
"Really? Why, with your sunny disposition..."
"Shut it! This just means we have to do things the hard way. Have the scouts reported back yet?" 12 Chartreuse scouts were presently scattered throughout the battlefield, three for each Army. They were spread thin, but he hoped major news would trickle down the grapevine to him nonetheless.
"One of the scouts in Yellow Territory got converted. The other two have reported nothing out of the ordinary. Red territory scouts are reporting tha- oh, that's interesting. Red Army is no more. The entire side was converted within the last hour to a new color, 'Teal'."
"Full army conversion? I like that concept," Kerak mused. "Scofflaw's the only one who'd try something outlandish like that. I will need to confer with him before finishing the war, but that meeting can wait. Anything else?"
"No, sir. The other five scouts report nothing out of the ordinary."
"Six."
"What?"
"There are six 'other' scouts, Connaway. What happened to the last?"
"That's- oh shit!" Connaway slapped his forehead. "That's right! three for each territory!"
"Well?"
"I, uh. To be honest, sir, I have no idea what happened to her. No death report or anything. She's off the grid."
"Can you tell me where she last was before she disappeared?"
Connaway scoffed and drew out his map. "Of course, sir. Jessica was last spotted around... here."
Kerak examined the marked location. "Hmph. Right at the center of the Battlefield. If I had to fathom a guess, I'd say someone figured out some kind of technology to block the war's effects. That kind of science sounds like Dr. Tengeri's shtick."
"Another one of your 'associates', sir?"
"Yes! She abhors the... contract we were signed into. It seems likely that she would rebel against whatever situation she were put into. Even a fun one like this! It must be her," Kerak said cheerfully. "Send the order to pack up camp, Connaway! We're setting off for the center of the Battlefield!"
"Shall I send someone to dispose of the body?"
Kerak laughed. "Oh heavens no! Do you have any idea how long it's been since I last had a meal befitting of my rank? Meals don't present themselves often, and I wouldn't dream of eating one of the soldiers in my own army. Do send a private with a brush and some soap in a few minutes, though, would you?"
"Yes sir!" Major Connaway said emphatically, glad to leave the rotting smell of the commander's tent. A week ago he would have never considered the possibility of so thoroughly decimating Blue Army to begin with, though. He also would have balked at the order to abandon the expedition just before reaching Blue General's base of operations, but he was finally beginning to grow used to Kerak's esoteric style of command. And he knew that as long as he followed Kerak's lead, success would soon follow.