NationStates Jolt Archive

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/GMCMA/Eurusea/Fortress15ultratextsmall.jpg

Chopinburg, Eurusea, 19 years ago

As with many things in Eurusea, it began with a speech delivered by the Premier.

Vanya Kurchatov sighed slightly at his daughters standing either side of him, 'Nicole, Katyuska, will you not look so damned miserable for the cameras? Today is a great day!'

He smiled as he flicked the microphone on, the speakers humming a little, 'Yes, comrades, today is a great day for all of us! Too long have we suffered the evil menace that lurks among us, that takes away the very life blood of our workers to slake its foul thirst.'

'For comrades, is not the vampire the very essence of the capitalist, who takes without giving? And therefore, is it not truly a revolutionary struggle against their kind? Yes, comrades of Eurusea, destroying the vampire is the duty of every working man just as surely as overthrowing the oppressive bourgeoisie and taking back the factories!'

There was a cheer from the crowd, and Vanya waved his hand to cut it off, 'Comrades, Eurusea will do everything in her power to rid her lands of this menace! Our brave armed forces are even now preparing to eradicate this threat entirely! Such is the will of the people, the will of the Premier, and the will of God and Marx his prophet!'

The crowd began to cheer, and Vanya crossed his arms, grinning in satisfaction and turning to General Chernov, 'See that it is done, Comrade-General. Use any means you deem necessary.'

Chernov nodded, 'Yes, Comrade-Premier.'

Kosmar, Eurusea, 19 years ago

There was cheering all along the dockside from the schoolchildren who has been excused classes to watch the gigantic Floating Fortresses heading out. In the lead, her vast form still shining in some places from fresh paint, was the newly completed Allegretto, the largest ship in the Eurusean fleet by some margin; four vast hulls each covering over three thousand seven hundred feet of water.

On board, General Belenov flicked through the sheets on the clipboard irritably, 'What's the point of this mission, Commissar?'

Commissar Dulov looked up, a little confused at the question, 'Hm?'

'This is a job for armour and infantry, it's a waste of the Army's Floating Fortresses to deploy them against a little nonentity like Johanesgrad.'

Dulov shook his head, 'The naval base there is only nominally part of the Eurusean fleet's jurisdiction, you know that. There could be resistance-'

'Nothing the Air Force couldn't handle. This is about putting this ship through her paces because they're unsure of how the new Heart will perform, isn't it?'

The Commissar shrugged, 'You know you'd need to speak to the Biopreparat to get an answer to that, Comrade-General.'

Belenov sighed, 'Well, we'll have a fun few nights being totally useless, won't we?'

Johanesgrad, Eurusea

It was looking to be a cold night as Lidia walked home, her coat wrapped tightly around her little daughter in her arms. She had the slightly dubious honour of living in one of the older houses on the hill overlooking the bay; it was beautiful and her children loved it, but it wasn't so good at keeping the cold out on nights like this. It was quite a walk over to Nikita's house to fetch some blankets, but it was better than watching her children shivering.

The streets in this part of town were old and cobbled, occasional wooden benches and cast iron horse troughs lining the edge of the pavement. The lack of streetlamps wasn't really a problem; even when there wasn't a wonderful starry sky with a full moon like tonight, she and her neighbours could still see perfectly well. Their gift tended to make others afraid of them, so they stayed close as much for protection as anything else.

Stepping up to her porch, the old timbers of the steps creaking noisily even under her slight frame, Lidia fumbled for her keys, trying not to drop the blankets over her shoulder or Kara as she opened the door. She glanced back down at the dark waters of the bay before she stepped inside, the two massive carriers highlighted by the moonlight.

Lidia smiled and set the blankets down by the door, calling out for her other two daughters as she gently set Kara down on the battered sofa, smiling softly as she noticed she was already asleep.

Bastok Ocean, Eurusean territorial waters, 19 years ago

The battlegroups from Kosmar and Chopinburg had met up a few hours earlier, the gleaming hulls of hundreds of vessels clustering around the immense, dark shapes of a half-dozen Floating Fortresses; Allegretto and Fortissimo leading, with Vivace, Vibrato, Alternate and Lentissimo following behind. Overhead a squadron of massive Overlord airships kept pace with the fleet, their props droning the only sound in the otherwise calm night.

Stier Forest, 20 miles West of Johanesgrad

Storozhev sighed and ran a hand through her hair, glancing nervously from the open top of her IFV's turret into the darkness. The path through the forest was a perfect place for anti-tank mines, with all the fallen leaves and scrub, and since their unit's mine-clearing tank had broken down a couple of miles back she had an unpleasant feeling she'd be first to find out about any mines that had been set.

The rumble of the PS-11 Stalin tank following them had stopped, and after a moment Storozhev's headset crackled into life, 'This is Colonel Petrov. Request engineering units examine the ground ahead to make sure it's safe for us to cross. IFVs and APCs to continue ahead at current pace with the tanks following them.'

Storozhev picked up her microphone, 'Affirmative, comrade-colonel.'

Johanesgrad

Lidia woke with a start; naturally a light sleeper, she was used to it by now. She often had trouble sleeping during the day, so she'd have odd naps at night to catch up. She blinked as she heard the sound that had woken her again, rustling sounds coming from the forest to the West, and slid on her worn-out old dressing gown, sliding her feet into her slippers.

She hugged herself tightly as she stepped out into the cold night air, shivering and wishing she'd taken the time to get dressed. As she looked over at Stier Forest she saw a strange sight; dozens of birds taking off from the trees, as if spooked by something.

She sighed and shook her head...It was probably just a supply truck for the military base at Mursk that had taken a wrong turn somewhere. She resolved to stay awake in case the driver called by needing directions, and made her way back inside after picking up a couple of fresh logs for the fire.

Inside, she cuddled up on the sofa with Kara, Cesta and Galenka, the three little girls snuggling her happily as she went back to patching up a hole in Cesta's favourite dress. Galenka glanced up at her, 'Momma, when's daddy coming back home?'

Lidia smiled gently, 'Daddy does an important job down at the steel mill, honey, he sometimes has to stay on. He'll be back soon.' As the only non-vampire in the house, Alexei did have a rather strange duty to his wife and her children, though it wasn't one he resented. Lidia giggled as she recalled the time when she'd told him, and the nervous first time he'd let her bite his shoulder...These days he did it with hardly a second thought, now he knew it wasn't going to kill him.

She blinked and tapped Kara's shoulder, 'Oh, I finished fixing Comrade Stalin...' she fished around in her sewing box, retrieving a small handmade doll, 'Try not to be so rough with him this time, Kara.'

'Yay!' Kara smiled brightly and hugged the doll. She'd been a little sullen the last few days waiting for it to be fixed.

Lidia smiled, 'I should start getting dinner ready for when daddy gets home...Galenka, make sure Kara doesn't play too close to the fire.'

Galenka nodded.

Stier Forest

Storozhev raised her hand for the rest of the scout unit to stop, having dismounted from her IFV after the gearbox had given out. She muttered something about using third-line reserve units to do a job like this as she nervously cradled her submachinegun, 'Keep quiet...They say they have much better hearing than we do.'

Davidov sighed, the young man resting his rifle on the ground, 'I still don't understand...This mission is pointless.'

Storozhev rested her hand on his shoulder, 'It's the Premier's decision...' she looked unsure herself, 'He's always led us to victory before.'

Ivin put her binoculars down, nodding, 'I can see the fleet on the horizon, comrades...Are we to proceed?'

Storozhev sighed, 'Ok, one of you get word back to the artillery battery on the ridge to open fire when they see the flare...' she tapped the Verey pistol in her holster, 'And do it quickly. Tell comrade-Colonel Petrov he can bring his tanks up, there's no mines here.'

Auric Bay, near Johanesgrad

Alexei glanced out across the bay, having finally finished the late shift he'd taken to cover for the other foreman who was ill. The steel mill was right in front of the docks, the imposing forms of two aircraft carriers and a couple of dozen escort ships rearing up into the night. He rubbed his arms, shivering a little in the cold, and searched around in the dark yard for his bicycle. Since the mill was still waiting for a new box of bulbs for the outdoor lights, he only had the moonlight to find the battered old bicycle that had belonged to his grandfather, the tyres more patch than rubber these days.

As he began cycling home a small flare rose up from the forest near the ridge where his house was, followed moments later by dozens of flashes in the forest, the booms of artillery breaking the calm, shells wailing as they travelled overhead, massive explosions blooming as they landed. He felt a sick feeling in his stomach as he pedalled harder, 'My God...Lidia...'