'Mollamuradov, my Baron'
Hadjimehmetov looked the young recruit point blank in the eye. Leering so close to his face he could sense the young lad's fear at being this close to his commanding officer, the Baron ordered him with a shrill cry to salute when answering a superior officer.
'Forget that next time and you-shall-be sent to Lywind for re-education, do I make myself crystal clear!'
'Sir, yes sir'. A salute further embellished by a click of the recruit's heels.
Hadjimehmetov took up his baton, adjusted his kepi, moved askance atop his head from his animated infuriated screaming at the unruly conscript, and climbed the stairs to the podium in the central square of Brookshire Hamlet. Despite the state funds running dangerously low due to the amount of money poured into military rebuilding, the streets of the Barony's capital were awash with flags, symbols, statues, and parades of all concievable kind- slogans in Laqi urged support for the Kaiser against the perfidious rebels of Kildare, and the faces of the two fathers of the Laqi county, the former count Wolvin and the current one Hadjimehmetov, glared down at the onlookers- more intimidating that the secret police but at least they didn't breathe down your neck before you were taken away.
Hadjimehmetov cleared his throat and tapped the microphone. Ushering his bodyguards aside to clear room for him, he began his speech.
'Citizens of K'Tzuni- as your Baron, I salute you for your support and undying loyalty to His Supreme Niftiness the Kaiser of Shireroth. For none is niftier than he!
The rebels of Kildare in their arrogance may think they have the upper hand, but they lack courage, might, and the giant crispy blessing of B'Caw and the Cedrist pantheon of Gods! From the noble warrior races of the Laqi and Crestfallers to the slightly less noble but nonetheless loyal Lywinders, the people of K'Tzuni will not stand by and allow their Kaiser to be ridiculed in such a perverse and depraved manner as Nick Foghorn and the partisans would have him be- comrades, I urge you all in a call to arms to fight these scoundrels wherever they are- as long as we have a gun and knife in our hands and are not polluted by the scourge of Kildaro-Foghornism, there is not a chance they shall prevail! For valour!'
A roar of applause shook the square, and the brass band started playing.
'Now' announced the Baron 'Let us celebrate our impending victory with the parade and fireworks- I want to hear the sound of jackboot upon tarmac!'
With these words, a vast portrait of His Niftiness was unveiled and the National Anthem Played. Overhead, helicopter gunships dropped mangoes in parachutes to the rejoicing Laqi people, who ate and enjoyed and knew that the word of Malarbor was spoken.
'Let us tear open the flesh of these mangoes as we would tear open the flesh of the rebels of Kildare!' boomed the propaganda ministry's loudspeakers, mounted on trucks so as to ensure better coverage of His Niftiness' message around the city.
This was K'Tzuni's call to arms.
Meanwhile in an unnamed bunker somewhere beneath Lywind's plains, General Lyhampton of Lywind's Armed Forces took his pack of Malarboro Lights and lit up. Inhaling the acrid fumes, the General relayed the movement plans for K'Tzuni's forces to all the other regional HQs of K'Tzuni Barony.
++ Lyhampton- this is Lyhampton, Over
Recieving you loud and clear as a Lywinder can be understood, Lyhampton. This is General Burmakhmudkhanov of Modan-Lach HQ, please relay doccuments through, over.
Very funny, you Laqi git! Look, here are the movements for your county's forces, I'll be sending the Shimmerspring and Crestfall Downs movements to them in a few minutes. We reconvene in Crestfallen at 17:00 hrs tomorrow afternoon. Over++
Summary:
Modan-lach forces: 7,500 men including Cossack divisions and heavy AA and SAM batteries defend Laqi coast. All land-based guns faced to sea and trained on any enemy transports. Beaches have been mined and all non-essential reserves of petrol, as well as highways and train carriages, have been reserved for the implementation of these troop movements.
Lywind forces: 2,000 men in mobile defence APCs patrol Laqi plains supported by approx 1,000 men from the Laqi Cossack Brigade should they be needed. An additional 1,000 men are allocated in jeeps and armoured cars for patrolling the steppes and mining strategic beaches.
Shimmerspring forces: 6,250 men including 200 elite troops are sent to defend Shirekeep.
Crestfall Downs forces: 1,250 men sent to fortify and barrage the River entrances at Musica leading to Shirekeep and to meet up with the Ynnrailean troops there, where Operation Eggnog will be carried out post haste (Check PM, Yvain
Remaining Crestfall Downs troops are allocated in the following manner: 2,000 sent for home defence of Crestfall Downs and to patrol the middle reaches of the river valley leading from Musica to Shirekeep. Remaining 1,750 troops allocated to the 250 helicopter gunships at K'Tzuni's disposal for seek and destoy missions of any rebel vessels in the Shire Sea.
