Winter 2106
Turn 10
Ian Wishart stood by the docks in Maputo, the polluted seas rolling up against the stained concrete. There was a time, they said, when this seas had been blue and clear filled with life and beauty. But that was in an age long past. Now the grey mass stretched out in front of him off to the Horizon; poisoned by thousands of tonnes of waste and hundreds of devastating wars. There was nothing left like the sea of ancient legend. There was nothing left of a natural world. Humanity had made its mark here, spoiling all, leaving nothing.
Even Major Wishart had been spoiled by humanity. After suffering a wound in the Vietnam conflict they had taken him back to their hospital and used him to try out new drugs designed for the Springheel Jacks. He now stood a bloated form, hardly even human anymore half metal, half muscle. He felt nothing left of humanity in his organic form. Part of him wanted to end it here; jump into the poison sea and die. But he knew that wasnt the plan that was meant for him.
During his treatments in the hospital rapid growth of muscle had been applied drastically increasing his body mass. His flesh had grown out expanding and engulfing all. But he could still feel it there, somewhere buried beneath an inch of muscly flesh there was a crucifix. Sometimes he could feel it deep inside. It was reassuring in a way, because it was something that could now never be taken away from him.
Across a stretch of putrid water stood his target, a large container ship with a loud Algae engine that was throwing off a lot of fumes. Its markings showed its origin to be Indonesia. It was a Bulk-Prod food carrier. Brining Algae bricks from the factories of Indonesia to the poisoned and barren landscape of Argentina where they needed it more than anywhere else. Malta had few trading partners, but out of necessity it bought food from Indonesia. Then again, Ian thought, so did the majority of the world. The factories of Indonesia were the breadbasket of Humanity.
He found a sung spot in the cargo hold. He didnt really like the idea of stowing away but hed never be able to pass of as a normal passenger; not with his abhorrent appearance. The journey was going to be long but there were many many crates of Bulk-Prod Food and just one bar of it was meant to be enough to sustain a family for a week. Ian curled up in a dark corner of the hold and began whispering to himself, something in Latin, hard to make out.
The blasted landscape was more dismal than he could have even imagined. During the 8 minute war The Eastertide Coalition had attempted wholeheartedly to destroy Argentina and Brazil completely. Ian was pretty sure they hadnt failed. The ground was grey, not just dirt or ash but ash coloured dirt and it spread out in every direction. The only things that broke the dismal landscape were a few huts that made up the settlement of Trerawson. One of them had above it a seal, a white cross on a red background. The white was a mouldy colour and the red was dull and faded but it was still a recognizable symbol.
Ian walked in through the door and a woman screamed. It was what he had come to expect over the past few weeks. Hed learned to have a mental as well as physical thick skin. He walked up to the desk where a small Argentine was visibly shaking he said in Latin Im here to join the Fellow-Soldiers.
World News!
The Winter War
Forces of the PAU entered the states of Idaho and Montana in late December. At the time the weather was deemed suitable for military operations with temperatures on average around -2 degrees C however by the end of the first week of the invasion temperatures had dropped by 20 degrees. The main cause of this is a phenomena called the Northern Winter Fluctuation Principle as discussed by Bardi (2089) and is believed to be caused by atmospheric disturbances caused by the Slow Bombs during the 8 Minute War. Meteorologists from Bermudia however have commented that this year it could be even worse due to climactic variance caused by the Caen Meteorite. By Mid-January temperatures had plummeted to around -40 degrees C.
The Northwestern American Union was non-confrontational during the initial advances but soon PAU troops were being harassed by Militia using Guerrilla tactics. The PAUs advanced weaponry helped to an extent but as temperatures continued to drop many of their weapons become less functional and many more died from frostbite than from any form of military conflict. The PAU made significant gains in the west however they were stopped from reaching their secondary objectives by the cold weather.
Romans Attempt to Oversee Overseas Election
An attempted Roman effort for free and fair elections in the UAC resulted in chaos with a dozen or so Roman soldiers ending up being shot outside the ballot stations. It is estimated that around 2% of the population voted whereas 12% engaged in protests outside the Roman embassy. The rest stayed in their homes enjoying what they normal enjoy.
Threats of intervention from the African Federation seem to been taken lightly by the residents of the UAC 8% of those asked their opinion agreed that there was nothing to worry about. 91% refused to answer the question or did not understand what was going on.
Japan continues to be just a generally Bad Place to be
General Takeshis forces have slowly decreased since the outbreak of civil war however on the 12th of January Ruchang was assassinated by agents of General Takeshi plunging the nation into even more turmoil. As another 5 million have died it seems that the Japanese situation has turned into something even direr. As of the 4th of February the Japanese government was dissolved, the Emperor abdicated and was shortly after killed. Many are saying that the supreme violence caused by the biological and chemical weapons used on Japan is comparable to the violence of the 21st century. Many wonder as to whether the death and destruction of humanity will ever come to an end and whether we can ever come of a state of final Peace.
Japan has been eliminated.
Christos is free to re-join the game.
Stats currently under reconstruction.