Rogue (SSHQ)
	To: Mistmantle Do you require the assistance of Union forces in this conflict? ~Rogue --------------------

General Bodean finally heard what him and Parliament wanted to hear, a call for a much larger force. The Mazken were skilled, and no doubt the best soldiers for the job, but 1,200 could only hold out against 10,000 for some time. Plus, General Bodean knew that Mistmantle, whether they'd admit it or not, was depending on Val Verde, for the "all-powerful" WU hasn't even made a comment. G. Bodean was as much of the glory as he could get before or if the WU did show up. What General Bodean did know was his Mazken were anxious to get into the field. Finally, his Mistmantlean allies came into the room.

"Greetings, Generals, may Jyggalag bring order to your nation, as I am here not only from orders, but to help Jyggalag do so, and I am to be guided by the best of the best, Lord Molag Bal," General Bodean said. He was from Dementia, he didn't care that the Mistmantleans didn't believe in Corumism.

"Faster!" The militarists moved quickly, pulling along donitzers and smaller pounders. More tanks were on the surface now, and now the commies controlled a seventh of Mistmantle, from the southwestern tip of Booshka to just a few miles away from Belatona, a major city in Mistmantle. And the Araza now had reinforced their forces to 10000 troops out of Red Phantom. Communist hordes now took all metals and resources, burned and melted them, then used the remains to make weapons. Typical of them. In a few hours, they would be launching an attack on the Castellan Line, as the arrangement of troops across Mistmantle was now called. Soon the Araza would unleash their forces on Capitalist Mistmantle, and march straight to New Athens. Only time was an obstacle now.
*******************
The Castellan Line had grown very strong.

Now many tanks, donitzers, flamethrowers, soldiers, and machine guns lined up against a wall of shields and sandbags. Chief General Castellan and Major General Spiro had just left on a chopper to welcome the Val Verdian allies. Soon they would be joining the Mistmantleans at the Castellan Line. Reports saw that the Araza were planning to attack the line tomorrow or even tonight. The donitzers were loaded, rifles were aimed, flamethrowers swiveled, and soldiers watched. This war was becoming serious, indeed. Even in the capital, New Athens, was being prepared for an attack, with civilians building shelters, tuning up radios, and stuffing supplies into shelters.
The Communications Squad nearly fell asleep moderating the air, when an Araza message came through, intercepted by Mistmantlean monitors. The communications team suddenly were alert and cranked up the volume.....
"Do backwards dnes AP force to C-Lines....scare scrambled waya VV R-forcements....mixed up mombb them.....reverse worromot."
After twenty minutes, the codebreakers presented the decoded message:
"Send airplanes to Castellan Line......scare away Val Verdian reinforcements.....bomb them....tomorrow."

Val Verde

General Bodean was standing in the command room of the LSS Eldamil. He looked over the horizon, any minute now, a black strip should appear, and that would be the coast of Mistmantle, Val Verde's new investment. Lord Sheogorath had ordered General Bodean to make it expensive, Val Verde's nuclear program needed the money. It wasn't like Val Verde, or Lord Sheogorath for that matter, to throw Val Verde into war for money. Still, it wasn't Bodean's to question the great Lord Sheogorath. Then, he heard someone say "Mistmantle in sight." General Bodean looked over the coast, sure enough, there was the coast of Mistmantle. He could sense the disappointment of the Mazken, they were hoping to see ships coming towards them, but that's a man's dream. There was going to be fighting, and from how the situation seemed, Mistmantle was depending on Val Verde's arrival. General Bodean looked down, saw the city the ships were to talk port. "Prepare my helicopter," General Bodean ordered. "Yes sir," a sailor replied. General Bodean walked to the back of the destroyer and boarded a Helicopter. As he sat down, he said to himself, "The dice have been rolled, its time to play the game, may Molag Bal give me strength,"

General Castellan looked out at the calm Azure Sea. Soon, the harbor a few milesbaway would be filled with ships from Val Verde.
But not yet.
"They're not here yet," he said worriedly.
"They'll be here soon," said a voice. Castellan spun around to see Major Cudgeon behind him. The head of Company B stepped beside Castellan and breathed the ocean air. He glanced at Castellan and reassured him.
Castellan sighed. "Yes. I'm sure of that."

I said that you were democratic, and I get communism mixed up with socialism.

Rebaltion
	TO: Wysteria FROM: The New Seattle Pact RE: We Didn't Do It MESSAGE: "The NSP is democratic socialist, not communist. How would you like it if we got Mistmantle's democracy confused with dictatorship." Signed, President Joe Steele The Workers' Union of Rebaltion

TO: Members of the New Seattle Pact
FROM: President Maurin of Mistmantle
SUBJECT: Re: We Didn't Do It
MESSAGE:

President Steele and President Lark,

Mistmantle does not blame you at all. Communists you may be, you are very friendly and are democratic, which discounts the communist aspect. We accept your support, and will fight the Araza until they lay their weapons down and come to us for peace, or when they are defeated.

Regards,
President Maurin of The Free Land of Mistmantle
Let Freedom Reign!

Rebaltion
	TO: Wysteria FROM: The New Seattle Pact SUB: We Didn't Do It MESSAGE: "The New Seattle Pact has no involvement in the nation of Mistmantle concerning the communist revolution. All members of the NSP send their support to the true Mistmantle government; we will not have communist dictatorships besmirch our clean name." Signed, President Joe Steele The Workers' Union of Rebaltion

General Bodean was in the LSS Eldamil. He was planning out strategies for the war. He was disappointed in Parliament’s lack of commitment. Sending 1,200 soldiers, regardless of them being Mazken, some of the best of the best, it wasn’t enough. Reports from Mistmantle had told us that the communists were large in numbers. Bodean was sure Parliament expected that the communists would fall quickly to a well trained and armed military.

The Val Verdian fleet was made up of 2 amphibious assault ships, 1 battleship, 4 cruisers, 6 destroyers, 11 frigates, 4 corvettes, 10 fast coastal patrol ships, and 20 minesweepers. It wasn’t large, but it was sufficient. Plus, Parliament didn’t want to spend mass amounts of money on a war that could end quickly. Bodean was hoping on a quick easy victory, but after Rebaltion’s combat in the mountains, if these commies were similar, it would be interesting.

The Mazken were eager to fight, there hadn’t been any military operations since 1999. Most of the Mazken had sympathy for the Mistmantleans, for Val Verde has always had a problem with secessionist movements, but many of them thought that Mistmantle’s communist revolution was none of their concern. Still, it was their job to fight, and they were prepared to do it.

Everything was going as scheduled. The fleet had left in midday, and was making good progress. Only General Bodean, the High Chancellor, and Lord Sheogorath knew why Val Verde requested 25% of the war cost. It was because Val Verde’s nuclear warhead failed, and they needed money to continue the program. Mistmantle didn’t know it, and they perhaps never would, but if Val Verde succeeded in creating a nuclear bomb, Mistmantle would have been the reason. That was partly the reason for the war. Also, High Chancellor Benirus had told Bodean that Lord Sheogorath seems to be going Imperialistic, but Val Verde didn’t have the army to back that, so Bodean was unsure. Regardless, the fleet would arrive on Wednesday, if everything went well, hopefully there was still something to defend by the time they arrived.

8,000 soldiers dressed in black marched out of an opening in the ground. Red Pahntom had been emptied. Even though the Araza was 22,000 strong, 8,000 was still a lot to defeat Val Verde and Mistmantle. Yet only ten tanks rolled out of Red Phantom. Many antitank guns chugged along. The communist victory over the capitalist democratic Mistmantle was certain.
That is, if Val Verde didn't interfere.
*******************
The spy pilot flew his surveillance plane around just to make sure that no more Araza people were coming. Just as he was going to head back to base, a multitude of soldiers marched out. The pilot's eyes widened as fast as the communist army widened. General Castellan would be blowing his head out. He put Alpha Grid on a closed channel.
"This is Chief General Castellan. Name, reports, and rank."
"General, look at this. I'm sending you a loop."
Castellan and other officers crowded around the screen. The horde of soldiers came on screen. General Castellan was reeling. "Oh gods," he breathed, and rushed to get the other officers. "We've got a lot of Araza marching out against us. How much do you estimate?"
The pilot bit his lip. "I'd say......the scanner says.......*gulp*.......8000, sir."
The chief general nearly popped a vein. "8....8000?!?!" He turned to the four battalions before him, but only 3300 troops. "Okay, men. Arm our weapons, load your rifles, and build a defensive wall with sandbags and shields. And radio the rest of the division." The soldiers gasped. That was 10000 troops.
Castellan glared at them. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
"Yessir!" The men rushed out and loaded their dontizers and other weapons, while the communications squad radioed SOS to five other battalions
Officer Unnow marveled while he tied a donitzer to a pole. This was going to be a battle to remember. He hoped Val Verde came soon to their aid.

FYI: Booshka is Southern Mistmantle, Tetrius is Northern Mistmantle, and Central Mistmantle is Hermada, and Southeastern Mistmantle is Antonia. Booshka City is located on the coast of Booshka near the western edge. Tetrius is the state Val Verde should be landing in, and the Araza is only planning on occupying a very small part of the western half of Tetrius.

"Sir!"
General Yarron looks at the officer. This was not the Mistmanlean Headquarters. Quite the opposite.
The officer whispered in the General's ear, and the man swore, than calmly contained himself. " Very well. Send 200 men to the surface. It's all we can handle."
"But sir, that isn't enough to resist Mistmantle and Val Verde united together. It---"
"Silence! As soon we get those 1100 other men trained and armed, we can send them to the surface."
The communist officer brightened. " Yessir!"
"Now tell those 1600 aboveground currently to spread out and get in front of all of the Mistmantlean defense line. And I don't just mean Northern Booshka, I mean from Tetrius to outskirts of Booshka City."
The officer drooped. That was a sixth of Mistmantle. But he decided not to argue. He was sure that those 1600 men could control that 280 mile area.

Val Verde

General Bodean was onboard the LSS Eldamil. It would be the flagship of the Val Verdian force to Mistmantle. General Bodean had not fought a war in foreign land, but in 1999, he did put down the Kalsmo Rebellion, the 30th rebellion to come up since 1900. Val Verde, sadly, was known for it. For, when Mania and Dementia went on invasions, the countries that were conquered, were very, very upset, and continue to rebel to this day. Even though the fleet wasn’t supposed to leave till tomorrow, General Bodean decided he’d get his sea legs. A very small fleet was being sent, Parliament hadn’t made the official declaration of war yet, but they had ordered the assembly of the force. Tanks, Humvees, and other vehicles, supplies, etc. were being loaded onto ships in Lovern harbor. People took notice to the mobilization, and it wouldn’t be long before Parliament made the announcement, regardless, General Bodean sat back and looked at a map of Mistmantle. He wanted a quick and easy victory, just one more way to get an Imperialistic feel to Val Verde. ---------- Isaac Hall was full. Sir Benito Benirus looked around, seeing news reporters on the balcony, with cameras pointing at him, and representatives from Mania and Dementia were staring at him. He decided to speak. “Good evening citizens of Val Verde. Today, is the first time Val Verde has declared a war on foreign land since 1970. Since 1900, Val Verde has been plagued with secessionist attempts, and most recently, in 1999. We know of the horrors of a secessionist movement, we know the chaos they can form, we know the impact, not just during the war, but after it. Now, the Catalinian nation of Mistmantle is experiencing one of those rebellions. A communist revolt, and these communists have soviet views. They have made numerous strikes, and now one very large strike. The Parliament of Val Verde will not stand and watch as a nation suffers. Val Verde is sending an initial 1,200 Mazken elite to Mistmantle. If the rebels in Mistmantle turn out to be a larger, stronger, and more violent force, Val Verde will send more soldiers to the cause. Val Verde will be finished in Mistmantle when the government assumes complete control once again. Do not feel afraid citizens. We will be successful. Val Verde has not lost a war in decades, and we will not begin now. Love live the flag, and long live Lord Sheogorath.” Sir Benito Benirus said, it was a very short speech, but it was straight to the point. Views on the war were twisted. Why is Val Verde getting into this? Who cares about Mistmantle? Is Lord Sheogorath becoming a warmonger? Other things that were going around were: Finally, Val Verde can aid governments in the quest for order, Val Verde is taking the right stance in this world, Val Verde is the only nation brave enough to do this. Which was a false term to begin with, for Val Verde was diffidently not the strongest power in Wysteria. Regardless, it gave a new thing to talk about at the dinner table.

The Government of Val Verde,

The Araza communists are rebelling against us to form a dictatorship based on Soviet ideas. We have suffered two rebellions in the past hundred years. You are the first who has aided us in time of trouble. We have four infantry divisions and four Tiger Force divisions. Three infantry and one Tiger Force division is preparing for deployment, as a WU/ WC war is almost inevitable and Mistmantle is a WU member. Aid will be graciously received, for we will need it. Please send your 1200 troops to the northern coast on Wednesday, for Mistmantle is the northernmost nation on Catalina on the northern peninsula. A payment will be sent to Val Verde via plane within the next week.

Thanks to you forever,
President Maurin

By now both sides had come to a stalemate. The Araza had lost half their forces and had downgraded to 1400 militarists, and the Mistmantlean defenders now had only 3300 soldiers out of the original 5000. The forest had been pounded very, very fiercely by Mistmantlean donitzers and mortars. Screaming communists running out of the woods going insane was a common sight. 3 Araza tanks had arrived, and they blew apart the Mistmantlean left flank. Flamethrowers and bullets were no problem for the middle flank due to their fire-bulletproof shields mounted on the sandbags. But the Mistmantleans had lost a whole battalion to the Araza and almost a whole of another. A Tiger Force Division to aid the Mistmantleans was called in, but it was hours away. The Araza had retreated to the woods, and both sides took a wide rest to recuperate. The Araza now controlled parts of western Mistmantle, which would be a third of Hermada. Communist propaganda had only led a few people away from the government, which was not as successful as the commies had anticipated. The defensive line stretched from one side of the peninsula to the other. (Mistmantle was located at the tip of the northern peninsula of Catalina) Two more divisions were on their way. Newspapers had not reported on this news yet anywhere, except for Booshka, because they didn't want to frighten the population. But it seemed that the Mistmantleans were winning so far.
The Battle of Booshka was not over yet.

The communists knelt behind trees, loading their weapons and donitzers, and calling in for tanks---the Araza had 5 tanks only. But 2800 Araza people were under the cover of foliage, leaves, mounds, dirt, and logs. In plain sight if those things weren't there. 2800 militarists were surely enough to break through the defensive line. Were they?

******************
Captain Vein looked around the defensive line. Two other battalions had reached them just in time, and the front lines had just been greatly strengthened. 5000 brave soldiers were ready to meet the Araza head on. This arrangement of heavy donitzers, flamethrowers, mortars, rifles, and machine guns contained half of the 1st Infantry Division. If the communists were somewhere near them, they'd better be ready to feel the heat, literally.
Suddenly a soldier spotted a communist, dressed in black and red, sharp contrast to the Mistmantlean camouflage pattern. The discovered militarist swiped up his rifle and shot the soldier. In response, the Mistmantleans fired at the trees with a donitzer, and screams were heard. The 2800 Araza militarists had been discovered.
The commies took no chances. They rolled their weapons into the open, and fired on the Mistmantleans. The Mistmantleans rushed into the forest, armed with submachine guns, with the speed of deer. Almost immediately they stumbled upon the commies.
The battle had begun.

Captain Forbes inspected 11th Battalion defenses. The remains of the 6th Battalion had joined with the 11th Battalion to combat the incoming Araza militarists. The communists were pouring out of Red Phantom now; 1000 of the commies were moving eastward now. The 9th Battalion had also joined with them in defense, but the others were too far away for aid. Still, the three battalions had formed a formidable line of donitzers, mortars, fire-bulletproof shields, and soldiers armed with rifles. A wall of sandbags was lined up. Captain Forbes, Captain Kelp, and Captain Vein were sure that the defensive lines would repel the commies long enough until more battalions or even a whole division of battalions would come to their aid. The Mistmantleans scoured the grounds for the enemy.
All they had to do now was wait.

The militarists crept toward the army of Mistmantlean soldiers chatting with each other, armed only with pistols. They shot poison darts into each of the 32 men using a feudal Japanese blowgun. This occurred within a matter of seconds. The darts would kill the men in minutes. The communists then revealed hand grenades, rifles, dynamite, and semi-automatic machine guns, all stolen from captured Mistmantlean soldiers. The other soldiers spotted them and loaded their weapons, but the Araza people shot them down quickly. Young men clambering out of their tents just waking up were killed before they even knew what happened to them. The Araza soldiers ran through the camp, burning the tents with flamethrowers. Captains shouted orders, and the surviving Mistmantleans took up defensive positions.
Captain Kelp of the 6th Battalion ran behind a rock, where others sheltered. The men reacted quickly, firing at the Araza accurately. "Lock shields!" shouted Kelp, and the men raised their arms in front of them with fire-bulletproof shields strapped to their arm. The soldiers on the right and left flank fired at the Araza people with mortars. But the Araza had brought donitzers with them, and the blew the shields apart and fired direct hits with rifles. The 6th Battalion's casualties were too many, and Captain Kelp ordered his men to retreat. Before the Araza had reacted, the 143 remaining men of the 6th Battalion had disappeared, leaving supplies, ammunition, food, and clothes behind in their tents for the Araza.
The Araza had made it past the first checkpoint. They would encounter the remains of the 6th Battalion along with the 11th Battalion tomorrow.
The communsits had begun the first phase of their plans.