Re: RPG Game Thread
Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:39 pm
Dragograd
Novimaestrazhia
"This is an outrage!" thundered Sorceress-Major Vuka Rzevski. "You didn't tell us. And you did it on purpose!"
"Well, quite." Field Marshal Grigori Gusarov was his usual cold and collected self. "After all, it had to look good."
"Seven sisters did not rematerialize in the isolator chambers!" bristled Rzevski. The air around her black uniform snaked and boiled with her seething anger. "And you are preoccuppied with the looks of your petty deception!"
"Over seven hundred innocent civilians died as well, Major," Colonel General Yvanna Rachkovsky pointed out. "Where is your outrage for them?"
"They can get in line!" For a moment the sorceress' eyes came alive with flickers of blue werelight, then she got the better of her raging temper - if barely - and the inhuman glitter faded. "This is insanity! The Overcommand has deliberately withheld tracking information from the Left Hand! If we had received the information in time we would have intercepted-"
"But that is the point, Major." Marshal Chkalov sounded sympathetic. "If you had known in advance, the missile never would have made it to Dragograd. A split second decision was made, here, in this room, that it would be advantageous if it did."
"And what if we hadn't seen it in time? What if it had struck His Excellency's palace?"
"It was the most minor of risks." Chkalov shrugged lightly. "We were confident in your abilities to protect us from the worst of the impact. We only needed a few fires and a couple dozen dead."
"'Only'. Rzevski spat and shook her head in disgust. "And for what?"
"To justify the invasion of the East." Gusarov had steepled his fingers. "The ministry of Truth will see to it that it becomes known that is where the missile came from. The Overcommand will send the army into the Khedivate, which will allow us to deplete some of the... less reliable southern garrisons, and keep the public's focus on a just war of retaliation for months to come."
Comprehension dawned on the sorceress. Her face twisted bitterly. "This is a land-grab."
"That is one way to put it. I think the Ministry will go with... 'peace-keeping'." The Field Marshal permitted himself a fleeting smile. The propaganda ministry always liked its doublespeak. "One way or the other, the first combatcrawlers are set to cross into the Khedivate in three standard days. We expect primary pacification to take several weeks at least."
"And what does His Excellency think of this?"
"The President-for-Life has given us his sanction," the Field Marshal declaimed. "He wishes us to know he regrets the unfortunate loss of life, but understands its necessity-"
"Oh, no," the sorceress growled. "Don't you dare hide behind Drago's back. Not with me. I know you forced this decision, Gusarov. It has your fingerprints all over it. You are responsible for the deaths of my sisters. And I will hold you responsible."
The Field Marshal narrowed his eyes. "Is that a threat, Major?"
"It is a promise, Field Marshal. Oh, don't worry. The Left Hand will join your charade. Our kasters will do their duty. But they won't forget this. And there will come a time, Gusarov, be it weeks or months or years from now, when you will be made to remember why they call us the burning will of the State. And then you will regret the decision to squander our lives."
PUBLIC MORALE BROADCASTS TODAY:
Khedivate rebels behind beastly terror attack!
Egon Drago vows revenge!
Olympic athletes mourn Dragograd dead!
Novimaestrazhian competitors to wear black armbands!
Frontal Aviation aerodynes carry out devastating strikes against Khedivati positions!
Gray Army masses on the border!
Novimaestrazhia
"This is an outrage!" thundered Sorceress-Major Vuka Rzevski. "You didn't tell us. And you did it on purpose!"
"Well, quite." Field Marshal Grigori Gusarov was his usual cold and collected self. "After all, it had to look good."
"Seven sisters did not rematerialize in the isolator chambers!" bristled Rzevski. The air around her black uniform snaked and boiled with her seething anger. "And you are preoccuppied with the looks of your petty deception!"
"Over seven hundred innocent civilians died as well, Major," Colonel General Yvanna Rachkovsky pointed out. "Where is your outrage for them?"
"They can get in line!" For a moment the sorceress' eyes came alive with flickers of blue werelight, then she got the better of her raging temper - if barely - and the inhuman glitter faded. "This is insanity! The Overcommand has deliberately withheld tracking information from the Left Hand! If we had received the information in time we would have intercepted-"
"But that is the point, Major." Marshal Chkalov sounded sympathetic. "If you had known in advance, the missile never would have made it to Dragograd. A split second decision was made, here, in this room, that it would be advantageous if it did."
"And what if we hadn't seen it in time? What if it had struck His Excellency's palace?"
"It was the most minor of risks." Chkalov shrugged lightly. "We were confident in your abilities to protect us from the worst of the impact. We only needed a few fires and a couple dozen dead."
"'Only'. Rzevski spat and shook her head in disgust. "And for what?"
"To justify the invasion of the East." Gusarov had steepled his fingers. "The ministry of Truth will see to it that it becomes known that is where the missile came from. The Overcommand will send the army into the Khedivate, which will allow us to deplete some of the... less reliable southern garrisons, and keep the public's focus on a just war of retaliation for months to come."
Comprehension dawned on the sorceress. Her face twisted bitterly. "This is a land-grab."
"That is one way to put it. I think the Ministry will go with... 'peace-keeping'." The Field Marshal permitted himself a fleeting smile. The propaganda ministry always liked its doublespeak. "One way or the other, the first combatcrawlers are set to cross into the Khedivate in three standard days. We expect primary pacification to take several weeks at least."
"And what does His Excellency think of this?"
"The President-for-Life has given us his sanction," the Field Marshal declaimed. "He wishes us to know he regrets the unfortunate loss of life, but understands its necessity-"
"Oh, no," the sorceress growled. "Don't you dare hide behind Drago's back. Not with me. I know you forced this decision, Gusarov. It has your fingerprints all over it. You are responsible for the deaths of my sisters. And I will hold you responsible."
The Field Marshal narrowed his eyes. "Is that a threat, Major?"
"It is a promise, Field Marshal. Oh, don't worry. The Left Hand will join your charade. Our kasters will do their duty. But they won't forget this. And there will come a time, Gusarov, be it weeks or months or years from now, when you will be made to remember why they call us the burning will of the State. And then you will regret the decision to squander our lives."
PUBLIC MORALE BROADCASTS TODAY:
Khedivate rebels behind beastly terror attack!
Egon Drago vows revenge!
Olympic athletes mourn Dragograd dead!
Novimaestrazhian competitors to wear black armbands!
Frontal Aviation aerodynes carry out devastating strikes against Khedivati positions!
Gray Army masses on the border!