» Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:14 pm
MIDWESTERN BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL
MICHIGAN FEDERATION TERRITORY
NEAR THE CITY OF DETROIT
A squadron of several dozen Midwestern Hellions sped towards the city of Detroit, the gaps in their formation being filled by a variety of flying hover bots. As the squadron passed over a large open expanse of land, looking down from the Hellions the ground below appeared to be completely filled with the forces of the Midwestern Michigan Expeditionary Force.
After having received the United States message that they would not intervene in the war which now gripped Michigan, the Joint Brotherhood had launched a full assault on the Michigan Federation, invading with a massive army under the orders of what was being called operation “Audacious Justice.”
It was this invasion force, made up of countless Behemoths, Hellions, Paladins, Humanoid robots, and even a couple Western ANGELS that now makes its way slowly towards the city of Detroit, with the intent of driving into the heart of Michigan and conquering it all for the Brotherhood.
As the squadron neared their target, the commander of the lead Hellion picked up his radio and began speaking into it,
“Command, this is MWAF Hellion Battlegroup “Ascended Piety” We are approaching the Michigan city and await orders for deployment.”
“Confirmed, stand by Ascended Piety,” a soft-spoken woman replied as the radio crackled back.
After a few moments, the radio came into life again with the voice of the woman,
“Orders received Ascended Piety; you are to hold position outside of the cities perimeter at 10,000 feet. Be advised, use of Skybolt rounds has been authorized.”
Upon hearing this, the Paladin leader grinned and turned back to face the waiting paladin force which was seated in the Hellion. As he did, one of the paladins seated in the closest jumpseat looked up with a surprised expression at the commander.
“Skybolts sir? Here?”
“Well its one way to get their attention,” the commander replied with a scoff as he gripped a nearby strap hanging from the ceiling, “Hang on to your helmets people. Its about to get a bit bumpy.”
Outside, a bright blue light emanated from the sky above as suddenly a large missile which had been launched from B.O.M.B. 001 struck the city with an incredible impact. Those within the immediate blast range of the orbital strike were vaporized instantly and much of the infrastructure of Detriot was leveled almost immediately. Shockwaves reverberated for miles in all directions.
The war had begun.
NORTHERN MICHIGAN
As a Behemoth marched through the streets of a destroyed town; a lone MF soldier hid behind a chunk of debris and gripped his assault rifle against his chest. He was breathing heavily and removed his combat helmet briefly to wipe the sweat off his brow. His entire platoon had been completely annihilated by the nigh unstoppable robot monstrosity and now all he wanted to do was get the hell away from the area. Whats more, the fight was over, and not just in this town. From what he had heard, the remaining forces of the Federation were in full retreat all over the country. The Midwest had completely steamrolled over their defenses and it wasn’t going to be much longer before what remained of the Federations forces were all driven right into the Great Lakes.
Risking a peek around the debris in order to take a look at the Behemoth, the soldier continued to watch the robot silently. When the massive robot turned its head to look in a different direction, the soldier decided that now was his best chance and began bolting away towards the nearby woods.
As he ran into the tree-line, he plunged smack dab into four Midwestern Paladins and a Humanoid robot. Immediately, one of the Paladins punched him with his power-armored fist and ripped his rifle out of his hand. The MF soldier, with his wind knocked out of him, fell to his knees. The Paladin who had punched the soldier came up to the man and gripped him tightly.
“Please….,” the soldier croaked out, “Just want…to go…home.”
“Let him go Paladin,” The leader of the squad ordered through his helmet comm, “He’s surrendered.” He then turned to the humanoid robot, “You are to take this man peacefully to the forward command post.”
“YES, COMMANDER,” The humanoid bot responded in a mechanical tone.
As the robot and the MF soldier began walking away, the Squad leader radioed in to his helmet comm,
“Sector clear, all hostiles eliminated. We are proceeding to the assigned rendezvous point.”
With that, the Paladin squad gripped their weapons and continued slugging through the forest underbrush.
NORTHERN MICHEGAN
RURAL ESTATE OF THE FEDERATION FOREIGN SECRETARY
A black car flanked by military humvees drove through the winding entrance road which led to the rural estate in the very tip of Northern Michigan. The land around them was well kept with well-trimmed grass and flowers everyone. Trees lined the road in front of them.
As the car made its way up the hill where the estate manor was located, Traven who was seated inside the car and dressed in an elegant variant of his inquisitorial robes, turned to look out the window at the passing scenery.
Across from him, an individual in dark gold Midwestern councilor robes crossed his arms and faced Traven.
“Quite the series of events if I must say so myself,” the man said, “with the complete and unconditional surrender of the Federation, these lands now belong to the Midwest.”
Traven grinned, “Indeed, and all which has transpired here was the result of a well-played diplomatic gamble, which still surprises me in its sheer boldness and execution.”
“Hmm yes,” the councilor replied as grabbed and then sipped on a glass of iced tea, “Tell me. How exactly did that all pan out.”
“Very simply, you see the Michigan Federation was initially allied with the United States in a protective group known as the Coalition. Thus, we were prevented from outright attacking the Federation as this would have risked war with this coalition force. We therefore crafted a series of political maneuvers. To begin with, the U.S. and those of the Ordinum pact were made to believe that the Federation had assaulted brotherhood positions in our northern lands. This, as you know, was a lie. However, it served the purpose of portraying the Federation as the aggressors, when in reality the opposite was true. With that in mind, an ultimatum was sent which ordered the U.S. to renee’ on its treaty obligations, with the understanding that they would be supporting an aggressive nation if they did not.”
Traven grinned and continued, “To our delight, they agreed to it. If they had not however, we still had the might of the Ordinum pact to fall back on. If the U.S. had attacked in the interest of protecting the Federation, the member nations of the Pact would have supported us, since we would be viewed as the ones currently on the defensive.”
The councilor sat back in the cushioned seat and chuckled, “Brilliant. Political manipulation at its best,” he replied, “And thus now we have all of Michigan and circumvented the United States in the process.”
“Quite so, and with our forces in the west expanding into the remnants of the Khan Empire, the Brotherhood has expanded its territory greatly in just one fell swoop,” Traven said as he turned to look at the car window once more.
With that, the convey of vehicles now made their way to the front courtyard of the estate and parked in front of a set of white stone steps which led to a grand looking old manor house, one which had been built long before even the Great War. Behind the house below the hill, the waters of Lake Huron slapped against the sunny shore.
As the men exited their vehicle and walked slowly up the steps flanked by Midwestern Honor Guard Paladins, Traven turned to the councilor,
“You know, I believe I’d like to make this estate my summer home,” He said with a grin, “Quite the cheery location.”
Both men then went inside. Within less than an hour, the Federation had officially signed over its sovereignty to the Midwest.
