Honeyland | Lore
The Battle of the Northern Desert
(Chapter 9: A Cocarro Tale)
General Jerome McBuzz looked out over the battlefield with relief. The fighting was over, finally. The Munchables had brought a large force to the Northern Desert and the fighting had begun seven weeks earlier. Or was it eight? McBuzz was so tired after that he’d lost count, one day of fighting looks much like another after more than a week.
To think, all this had kicked off when that Victoria Sponge had abandoned RoboDog down in those caves. If she hadn’t done that, to her so-called ‘best friend’, then the Munchables wouldn’t have to defend her actions to the point of irritation. The Imaginaries wouldn’t be fighting if only the Munchables would admit that what Victoria Sponge did was wrong.
It had been twenty years since the tensions between the two clans had turned into outright hostility. Twenty years since the threat of military conflict had been brewing in Cocarro. It had all come to a head two months earlier and the Munchable army had made its move.
The Munchables weren’t built for warfare, it had taken them years to create a battle-ready army, capable of withstanding some of the Imaginaries’ more potent firepower. In fact, the Imaginaries had never imagined that the Munchables could ever muster up a force that could compete with the raw power available to them.
McBuzz was impressed with their creativity. Letting the Bunmen harden into armored troops by training them in the sun. Sending in the Eggfolk with their strong shells as a crack unit. Even the elite parachute team of hotdogs they’d trained and sent into combat via launcher. It had been a shock at first, that the battle hadn’t been immediately won over by the Imaginaries’ better prepared force. Then, when it had dragged on for two weeks, then three, fascination turned into frustration and determination.
The general turned away from the window and sighed, loss of life never sat well with him. He looked up at the four captains standing around his table. Captain Anthony Lyon, who had single handedly faced down and defeated a unit of hotdogs that had been on a sabotage mission. Captain Cam E. Liyun, who is rumored to have carried out fifteen solo rescue missions to retrieve captured prisoners. McBuzz knew it was actually eighteen, with three being ultra secretive. Captain Lei DeBug, a tactical genius who once led her team of twelve through a nightmarish scenario where they were outnumbered ten to one. Not only did they escape, they suffered no casualties. And finally, Captain Katie Dydd, a sniper of extraordinary ability who once shot a target from 3,000 feet while blindfolded, just by hearing the target launcher fire.
These four captains represented the best of the Imaginaries’ military strength. Without them to rely upon, he’d have seen the Army suffer much more serious losses, even though they would have likely still been victorious. He paused for a moment, to remember those brave souls that they had lost.
He addressed the table, “Captains, it has been a long and difficult battle, but we have prevailed.” The others murmured in agreement. “The Munchables caught us off guard with their battle readiness, their surprise forces, and the generally aggressive nature of their attack. It is primarily thanks to your efforts, and your squads, that we were able to turn the tables and repel them. Now that the fighting is done, it is time for the five of us to debrief and prepare for any further engagements. Captain Lyon, please would you begin?”
The large captain saluted, “Sir! My pleasure. My squad suffered several casualties throughout the various battles and we lost Ramires back in week two. We were on a mission to plant mold spores in the bedding, to weaken the Bunmen platoons. He got caught in the open just as we were escaping the bread barracks. The mission was a success though and was the main reason that the Bunmen were severely depleted in the field after week four. The only other thing of note to report is that we captured several vegetable folk in the last two days who were claiming to be pacifists. They had no weapons and said that they wanted to negotiate a peace agreement. They’re being held in the barracks under guard as we speak. Their leader went by the name Sergeant Pepper, and he carried multiple bottles of a beer called ‘Marmalade Skies’. He said he brews it himself and that it’s a temporary antidote to the poison clouds that are found across the land. I suggest you talk to him at the earliest opportunity.”
“Thank you, Captain. I’m sorry to hear about Ramirez, he was a good soldier. Please let me review the condolence letter before you send it to his family.” Lyon nodded as the general continued, “Excellent work on the mold spores mission, that will have saved many lives. And I’m very interested in these vegetable folk, we can head there after debrief to see what they have to say. Captain Liyun, your report please.”
“General!” Looking at Liyun while he spoke was hard work, somehow his fatigues kept blending in with his surroundings. It made one’s eyes ache a little. “As usual General, I worked with minimal support or assistance, the better to keep a low profile. I was able to infiltrate deep into enemy territory and lay low within their general command center for several weeks. In that time I gathered a lot of critical information, but was unable to relay it back to you without blowing my cover. The most vital information that I collected were records of troop deployment, and the documents regarding a secret interplanetary travel base that they are building in the lettuce fields. By the latest memos, it looks like it’s almost ready. They expect it to be functional in about three weeks, and it’s the main reason they launched their offensive, so that they could focus our attention away from this base.”
Captain Lei spoke up at this point, “General, if I may?” Jerome waved his hand and she continued, “I believe that the Imaginaires are not looking to win this battle through pure combat. Their troop movements and placement suggest more diversionary tactics more than anything else. In fact, most of the actual fighting took place when we were able to outmaneuver them or take them by surprise. Those few occasions were where they saw their heaviest losses. In terms of our losses, we also saw the most casualties in those same battles, and any other losses seemed to be a result of opportunity rather than planning. I suspect that the importance of this interplanetary travel is of greater importance and that we might be well served by seeking more information on this.”
McBuzz rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he processed that information. “Hmmm, this is very interesting news. It makes the war no more fatal to those who have lost their lives, but I wonder what they’re hoping to achieve with this? And why is it so important that they would risk any losses at all. We wouldn’t have gone to fight if they hadn’t been gathering in such numbers. We need more information. DeBug, after this briefing, take your team and see what you can discover. Liyun, please put yourself at DeBug’s disposal for this mission. Captain Dydd, your report please.”
Dydd stood quietly for a moment, looking at the map. She noted the lettuce fields, where this base was being built. She looked at the Northern Desert, the site of this strange and relatively bloody battle. She thought about what she’d seen while perched in her sniper nests around the desert. “Sir, I concur. I must note that I have seen one thing that hasn’t yet been mentioned. I’ve spotted Victoria Sponge wandering around the area, always with an armed escort. However, she seems to be attempting to plug or block poison gas from venting into the atmosphere. It’s possible that there’s more to the story here than meets the eye.”
McBuzz rubbed his chin even harder. “Well, that changes things again. Dydd, I need you to find out more. See if you can get close enough to exchange messages with Sponge. We need to know what happened down there from her point of view. You all have your orders, I expect all of you to deliver your best, as usual. I’m off to talk to some vegetables. Good luck soldiers. Dismissed!”
Read the previous story: Chapter 8: A Cocarro Tale — The Gemstones of Cocarro
Read the previous story: Chapter 10: A Cocarro Tale — An Interdimensional Department Store
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