Holy Marsh
01-04-2008, 14:04
Colonel Michelle Reighold led a life of constant motion. From dawn until dusk six days a week, she analyzed intelligence that was being gathered by the Marsh Investigative Division, which was run by the old man of St. Eversi, General-Cardinal Tod Krenzel. He could almost always be found in the rebuilt church, doing his duties as a member of the Great Religion. So, it was somewhat of a shock to see the elderly man inside of his office when the Colonel had been called in.
The office itself was, like most Marsh offices, houses, and bedrooms, bland and only elaborated more so when needed. Tourists loved Marsh architecture, but found the extreme utilitarianism in which Marsh people lived and decorated to be quite boring. They found it to not only be boring, but then again, they were tourists. How could they be expected to know much about Marsh culture? Almost every facet of it was geared to conserve resources. Sure you’d find consumer goods and plenty of them, but they weren’t the subject of praise like in other nations. They entertained the people, but the people were just as willing to throw them away and forget about them as they were to buy them.
The General-Cardinal was a product of the society. Even in his advanced age, he was fit and maintained it. His mind was still as sharp as a combat knife, and just as deadly; during the Eversi war, he had used just two companies of reserves in the opening hours to tie up three divisions of the Schantracian military. It had cemented his rise up into the ranks of the church, and he now led the church in St. Eversi. Bald with blue eyes, the skin was leathery and was wrapped tight around his frame. He was unremarkable under any circumstance.
“Colonel, don’t bother sitting down. I’ll cut to the chase, for you need to act immediately and it was only because you were in town that I called you in. Doomingsland and Space Union have increased their presence to the north of us. Here are the documents, now go.” The Cardinal said quickly, not pausing for the breath. He reached into his desk and handed the stunned Colonel the documents, then waved her out.
Reighold went to her car and started driving to the airport. At all Marsh airports, three or four small aircraft were on call for emergency use by church and government personnel. This allowed the rapid movement under any circumstance, and would be one of many reasons why the Colonel would arrive in the capital within two hours.
The documents detailed the deployments of APOC forces in the north, or what little Marsh knew. They were north of the Hitlion defensive range, and that was a plus. The mountain range was in the process of being turned into one massive fortification. Many parts of it, the areas where it was considered most vital, had been completed. Long tunnel networks with specially constructed closings were a vital part. The closings were made to mimic the aesthetics of the mountainside they had replaced and were made with materials to mask the heat signatures of the soldiers inside. Pillboxes and bunkers were set up along strategic routes, but most had been worked into the mountain itself and were connected to the tunnel networks. That meant resupply and reinforcement was difficult, but that the defensive positions were safe from indirect fire and top-attack air support. It also had the added benefit of somewhat masking the location of the bunker. Where the bunker began and the mountainside began would be a mystery at first, and while the bunker could be seriously damaged by tank fire, it would take that tank two shots to ht the bunker. Tank traps and other obstacles showered the paths up the mountain range, designed to hold up the enemy.
Of course, fortifications weren’t mobile and the military stressed mobility. The forces arrayed to man the many fortifications would not be extensive enough to limit them in any way. Plus, they were only one of the many defenses. Electronic warfare was to play a deadly part of the defense, and the anti-air defenses were being added to daily. The mountain paths were still being mined, mostly with large numbers of Cerebrus SHM mines. The Marsh military itself was ready to both launch hundreds of platoon and company size hit and run missions where needed while also launching massive assaults, all the while keeping enough men handy to defend any possible breakthrough in the paths and always able to defend the thirty points.
The defensive forces for the area were already set, the 3rd and 5th Armies were now stationed there. The 2nd and 8th armies were stationed less than six hours away, meaning 2.4 million soldiers operated in the area and could get there within six hours. Two more Armies, the 10th and 11th, had already been called up and prepped, and elements of both were in the area. By Friday, they could be there in full force. The 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 9th Armies had been called up as well but were active on other fronts. The 12th-20th Armies had not been called up for action yet, and reserve armies 21-45 were inactive as armies at the time, though many were active in their own local Municipal Defense Force. The 3rd Air Force was there already, but the 2nd, 4th, and 6th were located in Northern Holy Marsh and could act as support. Of course, any plane in the nation was within combat range of the Hitlions, wit the exceptions of the 18th Air Force that was located near the border with Cali. But that’s why you have tankers.
Reighold was happy that they had instituted Operation: Sovereign Justice earlier that year. They had “purchased” equipment from Illior, Malatose and Aleos, but all that had really happened was that the equipment had been delivered to the Holy Marsh. The second part of the Operation was sneaking the users of that equipment, the soldiers of Aleos, Malatose and Illior, into the nation under the guise of tourism. Of course, there had been plenty of tourists, and that is what made it so easy. Two planes per nation per hour per airport per day equaled many soldiers. However, they had to be taken out to their bases which had just been built by the people of the Holy Marsh. Yet again, the ruse was on; publicly, these bases were for the Marsh military, and no one had been the wiser. The only problem was that it had taken a while to sort the military forces sent to the nation out. Only now were they set.
But, that time had come to an end. They couldn’t pussyfoot around anymore. They didn’t know if Doom and Union had plans for the Holy Marsh, but they knew they were APOC and the Holy Marsh was NATO. That was reason enough to justify an overt build-up. Before, they had been worried about Granate. Now a larger fish needed frying, and they would need special cooking oil.
The office itself was, like most Marsh offices, houses, and bedrooms, bland and only elaborated more so when needed. Tourists loved Marsh architecture, but found the extreme utilitarianism in which Marsh people lived and decorated to be quite boring. They found it to not only be boring, but then again, they were tourists. How could they be expected to know much about Marsh culture? Almost every facet of it was geared to conserve resources. Sure you’d find consumer goods and plenty of them, but they weren’t the subject of praise like in other nations. They entertained the people, but the people were just as willing to throw them away and forget about them as they were to buy them.
The General-Cardinal was a product of the society. Even in his advanced age, he was fit and maintained it. His mind was still as sharp as a combat knife, and just as deadly; during the Eversi war, he had used just two companies of reserves in the opening hours to tie up three divisions of the Schantracian military. It had cemented his rise up into the ranks of the church, and he now led the church in St. Eversi. Bald with blue eyes, the skin was leathery and was wrapped tight around his frame. He was unremarkable under any circumstance.
“Colonel, don’t bother sitting down. I’ll cut to the chase, for you need to act immediately and it was only because you were in town that I called you in. Doomingsland and Space Union have increased their presence to the north of us. Here are the documents, now go.” The Cardinal said quickly, not pausing for the breath. He reached into his desk and handed the stunned Colonel the documents, then waved her out.
Reighold went to her car and started driving to the airport. At all Marsh airports, three or four small aircraft were on call for emergency use by church and government personnel. This allowed the rapid movement under any circumstance, and would be one of many reasons why the Colonel would arrive in the capital within two hours.
The documents detailed the deployments of APOC forces in the north, or what little Marsh knew. They were north of the Hitlion defensive range, and that was a plus. The mountain range was in the process of being turned into one massive fortification. Many parts of it, the areas where it was considered most vital, had been completed. Long tunnel networks with specially constructed closings were a vital part. The closings were made to mimic the aesthetics of the mountainside they had replaced and were made with materials to mask the heat signatures of the soldiers inside. Pillboxes and bunkers were set up along strategic routes, but most had been worked into the mountain itself and were connected to the tunnel networks. That meant resupply and reinforcement was difficult, but that the defensive positions were safe from indirect fire and top-attack air support. It also had the added benefit of somewhat masking the location of the bunker. Where the bunker began and the mountainside began would be a mystery at first, and while the bunker could be seriously damaged by tank fire, it would take that tank two shots to ht the bunker. Tank traps and other obstacles showered the paths up the mountain range, designed to hold up the enemy.
Of course, fortifications weren’t mobile and the military stressed mobility. The forces arrayed to man the many fortifications would not be extensive enough to limit them in any way. Plus, they were only one of the many defenses. Electronic warfare was to play a deadly part of the defense, and the anti-air defenses were being added to daily. The mountain paths were still being mined, mostly with large numbers of Cerebrus SHM mines. The Marsh military itself was ready to both launch hundreds of platoon and company size hit and run missions where needed while also launching massive assaults, all the while keeping enough men handy to defend any possible breakthrough in the paths and always able to defend the thirty points.
The defensive forces for the area were already set, the 3rd and 5th Armies were now stationed there. The 2nd and 8th armies were stationed less than six hours away, meaning 2.4 million soldiers operated in the area and could get there within six hours. Two more Armies, the 10th and 11th, had already been called up and prepped, and elements of both were in the area. By Friday, they could be there in full force. The 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 9th Armies had been called up as well but were active on other fronts. The 12th-20th Armies had not been called up for action yet, and reserve armies 21-45 were inactive as armies at the time, though many were active in their own local Municipal Defense Force. The 3rd Air Force was there already, but the 2nd, 4th, and 6th were located in Northern Holy Marsh and could act as support. Of course, any plane in the nation was within combat range of the Hitlions, wit the exceptions of the 18th Air Force that was located near the border with Cali. But that’s why you have tankers.
Reighold was happy that they had instituted Operation: Sovereign Justice earlier that year. They had “purchased” equipment from Illior, Malatose and Aleos, but all that had really happened was that the equipment had been delivered to the Holy Marsh. The second part of the Operation was sneaking the users of that equipment, the soldiers of Aleos, Malatose and Illior, into the nation under the guise of tourism. Of course, there had been plenty of tourists, and that is what made it so easy. Two planes per nation per hour per airport per day equaled many soldiers. However, they had to be taken out to their bases which had just been built by the people of the Holy Marsh. Yet again, the ruse was on; publicly, these bases were for the Marsh military, and no one had been the wiser. The only problem was that it had taken a while to sort the military forces sent to the nation out. Only now were they set.
But, that time had come to an end. They couldn’t pussyfoot around anymore. They didn’t know if Doom and Union had plans for the Holy Marsh, but they knew they were APOC and the Holy Marsh was NATO. That was reason enough to justify an overt build-up. Before, they had been worried about Granate. Now a larger fish needed frying, and they would need special cooking oil.