Episode 12 Downtime

Newton Defense Plan, Draft 5
SIGNED, FORCE COMMAND
Cmdr. Eva Cervantes, Capt. Charles Sheridan, Virgil Church, Sam Newton, Alexander "Dutch" Williams

ABSTRACT
Given the radical imbalance of forces between those defending Newton and those attacking, we feel that it is of grave importance to leverage our comparative advantages to their greatest extent. We feel that these advantages lie in four areas: first, terrain; second, equipment; third, unique skills of elite troops; fourth, psychological warfare.

The terrain of Newton is uniquely suited for defense. The enemy has two options for attack: they may enter the town through one of two mountain passes, both of which are narrow and easily defended, and which we have much experience defending. Their other options are to attack through the mountains, which present unique challenges for moving a large force and, most importantly, would preclude the use of the enemy's heaviest weapon, the tank. Either option works to our advantage.

The equipment recently discovered in the pre-cataclysm cache brings us up to rough parity with the Greer renegades in terms of average equipment. It also puts us clear in the technological lead over the New Eden mixed/irregular forces. We have discovered that there is enough light and medium weapons to equip approximately 100 troops with state of the art "Land Warrior" equipment, as well as allowing us to redistribute existing equipment and not rely on some of our older and less reliable gear. We feel this will act as a significant force multiplier, especially in light of some of our plans of attack (see below).

It is also worth noting that we recovered a tremendous amount of radio gear, which will give us communications unequaled among our enemies. We mean to use this to its full advantage.
In terms of elite troops, we have the 16 men of Church's Irregulars, all of whom are highly skilled in both defense operations as well at detached, asymmetrical warfare. They are also highly adept at moving quickly through inclement terrain. In addition, we have thirty men provided by Lucius Lessard-Newton, who are all rated as excellent marksmen and in individual combat. In addition, many of our recently-activate militia are former mercenaries and veterans of the Bandit Campaign. Less than 20% of our forces are unbloodied, bringing us to only a slight disadvantage in terms of overall experience of the Greer renegades.

We believe that the enemy's strength lies in their faith in the leader and the righteousness of their mission. They are on a mission from God, so they cannot fail. We will rid them of that notion through unpredictable and devastating surprise attacks, attacking targets of opportunity as well as officers, supplies, and gear. We will use leaflets to compound the effects of these actions.

PREPARATION
Barricades will be constructed on the Newton side of the northern pass sufficient for our entire regular force. These will be designed to counter heavy infantry and cavalry.

The Newton Outpost will be reinforced for the brief stand and feint.

Town Hall and Fort Newton will be reinforced for our last stand.

Church's Irregulars and Lessard-Newton's elite troops (whom we are dubbing the Commandos) will be outfitted with the best of the gear recently recovered from the Pre-Catalysm Cache. They will also set up an encryption scheme to cover communications between them and Force Command.

Sam Newton's steam engine will be made ready to attack. It will be armored to resist light weapons. An armored rail car equipped with heavy machine guns and grenades will be prepared for volunteers to man. They will cut it loose a few moments before impact and use the momentum to carry themselves in to the thick of the enemy.

Church's Irregulars and Commandos will be equipped with whatever anti-tank weapons we have in case the train fails.

PLAN OF ACTION
We foresee three distinct but related operations: first, skirmishes and harassment to slow down and demoralize the enemy, second, defense at the pass, and third, defense in the town itself.
In the first phase, our elite troops, moving quickly, will capitalize on our enemy's lack of mobility and attack them from forest and mountain at night or when they are otherwise unaware. There are no less than five places between the enemy's current location where following the track will lead them close to compromising terrain, which we can use to our advantage.

Our skirmishes will try to severe the enemy's supply lines wherever possible, or destroy his supply train. Furthermore, if the opportunity presents itself, they will try specifically to eliminate Colonel Sam Washington. According to Corwin's report to the council, he has built up a substantial cult of personality and his death, we believe, would deal a blow to morale without equal.

It is also recommended that the irregulars make every effort to carry the dead out of the combat zone, both to recover their equipment and to add an air of invincibility. We believe that this will provide a significant blow to morale.

A crucial part of the this plan lies in Sam Newton's steam engine. Although we believe that we have recovered sufficient anti-tank gear to defeat Greer's weapon, we believe that attacking it with the engine will be a surer and more demoralizing method of destroying it, in addition to providing excellent support for the first of our skirmishes. We will use our superior communications equipment to coordinate this attack, and it will be timed to attack when the terrain affords our enemy minimum warning.

During this initial skirmish, our irregular troops will attempt to assist those who have volunteered to man our ad-hoc armored train, though it is a secondary objective and those troops manning it are to be regarded as expendable.

During these skirmishes, our troops would also disperse leaflets in an attempt to wreak havoc with morale and motivation through psychological warfare. See below for recommendations regarding these leaflets.

Once they reach the Newton Outpost, our troops will put up a brief firefight and then fall back into the pass, leaving our enemy three options: stay put, in which case we will hit them with our artillery as best we are able, attack through the mountains, the disadvantages of which have already been discussed, and attack through the pass.

If they attack through the pass, troops stationed along it will use automatic fire and grenades on the tightly-packed troops, while snipers will attempt to pick off officers. At the far end of the pass, our troops will retreat to already-established barricades and hold their ground. The irregular troops, should any have survived, will move in the open end of the pass and either attack or pick off retreating troops. We will, however, not box them in - as Sun Tzu suggested, a cornered enemy will fight much harder than one who has means of escape.

If the enemy makes it through the pass, our forces will retreat and regroup at the Fort and town hall, these being the two most structurally sound buildings in the town, as well as occupying commanding terrain. At this point, auxiliaries will pass out our remaining equipment to anyone in town who wishes it. It is our hope that if things make it to this point, the enemy will be sufficiently few that this may turn the tide.
[Maps, etc. included]

LIST OF FORCES
[What follows is a long list of troops, divided by command and assignment]

SUMMARY
Use of terrain, elite troops, and psychological warfare will win the day if anything does. These facts are to be kept in mind at all times.

Note that this plan may work equally well when applied to the New Eden forces. However, being less experienced and further from home, we expect the psychological aspects to be even greater.

APPENDIX 1: LEAFLET DESIGN
The Reverend Stapleton contributed to the first portion of this leaflet.

"As a man who knew William Netwon though his entire life and had the solemn honor of overseeing his last rites and burial, it saddens me to see grievous actions being committed in his name. Separatism and blind obedience were anathema to him. He fought for himself and for God, not for leaders high on their plateau of command or hierarchs in their rich palaces. Consider, are you fighting for yourself? Are you making your own decisions, as he did? Or are you being blindly led to your own destruction?
-Reverend Wyatt Stapleton

Take heed of the Reverends words. If you choose not to, then, be aware that we will make every effort to defend that which we've worked and bled for. We will attack you at night, we will strike your flanks, we will use artillery to hit from beyond the horizon. There will be no defense. Our elite troops, skilled in mountain and forest warfare, are shadowing you as you read this. They may be watching and preparing an attack at this moment.

In William Newton's stead, however, we are prepared to be merciful. If you surrender by unloading your weapon, placing it barrel-first in the ground, and waving this leaflet or white flag, you will not be harmed. Indeed, our town is made up of diverse and eclectic individuals seeking their own wealth - if you are not her enemy, you are welcome to join her.

So consider your options: death at an unexpected moment, or a new life in a fast-growing town. Which seems like a better deal to you?"

Episode 11 Summary

April 27th
-Dutch gets a visit from Gerard, the mobster. He asks Dutch for any information he has about Chris Wall's disappearance. Dutch just tells him that he was knocked off by some civic-minded citizens. Gerard warns him he's sticking around until he figures out the whole truth.
-Lucius visits Eva; he has hired a few dozen mercenaries and brought in some high-quality weapons.
-Anders gets word that the Intel man wants to meet with him and someone wants Ophelia arrested. He brings in Ophelia to resolve this; Mr. Morton, the cousin of the man Ophelia stabbed, wants her arrested for his murder. For now he only has the rumors that his cousin was last seen going into the back room with Ophelia. Anders holds Ophelia for 24 hours while Mr. Morton is told to come back with names of trustworthy people who can confirm his information.
-Anders goes to meet Mr. Emerson, the Intel man. He runs into Thomas Newton on the way out, who tells him the council is meeting in an hour to talk to Cody's prime minister. Emerson tells Anders that in light of the current situation he's made other arrangements for the Intel corporation, through someone's connections in Cody.
-In the middle of the webcam conversation with Cody's prime minister, the connection cuts out at exactly 9am. It appears all the internet lines to Newton have been cut simultaneously.
-Cpt. Sheridan, scouting ahead, finds that the oncoming army is dragging a tank with them. He tries to send a message to Newton at a local town, finds that the lines to Newton are down. He sends a messenger and buys up a bunch of explosives and destroys sections of track in order to slow them down.
-In Newton, about 200 irregulars are mustered for the defense of Newton, and Virgil's band joins up. Meanwhile, Sam Newton sells weapons to the citizenry.
-The council gets word about the tank. Corwin goes to see Sam Newton about his steam engine; a plan is hatched to quickly try to make it functional and to send it down the tracks to destroy the tank.
-A message is sent off to Greer asking for help.

April 28th
-Virgil is out scouting; he finds that the enemy has repaired the tracks overnight and is still moving.
-Dutch watches the mobsters make the rounds, trying to get information.
-Mr. Morton returns to Anders with credible witnesses; Anders decides to launch an investigation. Just then Virgil arrives and tells Anders he's the one who killed the man, but points out that he's too important to Newton's defense to get arrested. Anders tells him he'll hold off on arresting him until the conflict is over.
-Ophelia, now released, gets word that a New Eden force is also on its way, picking up conscripts as it goes.
-A council of war is held in Newton. The plan is to rally around Fort Newton. A messenger arrives with a list of demands from Greer in exchange for help; the council decides to reject it.
-Sam Newton reports that his steam engine should be ready to go in time for the plan. The plan is expanded to include a rail car armed with machine guns; volunteers are found to go on this suicide mission.
-Solomon reports to Corwin that the field hospital has been set up. Also, a child playing in the wilderness somehow managed to inhale a bunch of nitrogen gas; Corwin sends Sheridan to figure out why.
-Corwin goes out alone to meet with Colonel Washington.
-Gerard Finner asks Ophelia for information; offers lots of money. He also offers Virgil work in the future.
-Virgil and Ophelia go to talk to Dutch about this; they find Dutch three sheets to the wind and with no idea how he's going to handle the situation.

April 29th
-Corwin meets with Colonel Washington, who reveals his motivations for joining with New Eden and attacking Newton; he became disillusioned with Greer as they became more and more greedy and less focused on Edenist ideals, and he sees the same thing happening to Newton since William Newton died. He wants to preserve Newton as it was before, not wanting to see the same thing happen as did to Greer, and if that means conquering it so be it. He does not detain Corwin but provides him with a fresh horse to return to Newton.
-Sheridan goes out and looks for the source of the nitrogen. What he finds is an underground military facility. He starts up the emergency generator and finds an armory full of well-preserved pre-cataclysm military hardware. He also finds a nuclear missile; the facility is a mothballed missile silo.

Downtime Episode 11

"I admit I'm curious, Colonel. You haven't ever fully explained your reasons, and you strike me as a man of principle. Why betray your oath to Greer?"

Colonel Sam Washington looked up from his glass of port and regarded Lorenzo with a raised eyebrow. "Interesting way to put that question, Hierarch. Very...direct."

"Well, they say a man who turns once might well turn again. I don't want to find myself in the position Greer does now."

Washington laughed and reclined further in his chair. The Hierarch's office was large and well-appointed, with original artwork, sculpture, and a few interesting machines framing the single largest desk that Washington had ever seen. "That's wise enough, I suppose. Well then," he leaned forward, "let me make this clear. I won't betray my oath to you because I'm not going to swear one."

Lorenzo sat up, looking surprised. "What? But you-"

"I don't even like you, Lorenzo; I think you're a petty bureaucrat with delusions of grandeur." Lorenzo sniffed at that but Washington didn't give him time to interrupt. "For better or worse, however, your delusions seems to be shared by a awful lot of people and, perhaps more importantly, your goals and mine are the same."

"So, what? All I've gained is a mercenary, loyal only to his paycheck?"

"Oh, not at all. What you've gained is a crusader, loyal to his cause, and that is the very best type of soldier to have." Washington stood and walked over to a miniature orrery and pushed on one of the planets, sending the entire system spinning around the miniature, gold-leafed sun.

"It became clear to me that the Greer to whom I'd sworn an oath no longer existed. They're not concerned with people or God anymore, just resources. Monopoly, leverage, supply, those are the watchwords of the government. I can't say that elicits a tremendous amount of sympathy from my...romantic heart." They shared a chuckle.

"So why me, then? What's your cause?"

"I'm a soldier second and a Christian first. An Edenist first, really. And as an Edenist, I believe as you do that William Newton is as near to a saint as you're likely to find nowadays. But, when the people of Newton put him in the ground, they must've buried his ideals with him because suddenly, they're acting much less like William and much more like Greer. And that will not do at all."

Lorenzo nodded. "Then you're right, we are agreed."

Washington turned back to Lorenzo. "I assume, then, that we're also agreed when I say that action is necessary, and soon. I didn't bring an army with me to keep them in camp."

Lorenzo smiled and finished off his glass. "We are agreed. Action it will be."

Episode 10 Summary

April 22nd
-The council talks over webcam with Floyd Barrows, Greer's ambassador, about a mutual protection alliance. Barrows says that for Greer's council to be willing, they would need something from Newton--they're confident they don't need Newton's help. They decide to make an overture to Cody instead.
-The man from Intel is still waiting for Anders to bring up his case to the council. Thomas Newton hears about him and takes an interest.
-Virgil has been spreading rumors that New Eden is trying to extort Newton, hoping to drum up business. There's a protest underway against New Eden in Newton. Bryant tells Corwin that he can only give the surveyors from New Eden the runaround for a little longer before they start to get suspicious.
-Lucius is pleased with the reports he's hearing of the insurgency in New Eden. He has his mercenaries make a delivery of a bunch of money in Greer dollars to the insurgents.
-Lorraine finds Thomas waiting for her in his office. He's pissed Lorraine is continuing to support Corwin and making little show of being Newton's leader. He says if she's not willing to lead she should step down in favor of someone who can. He calls her Corwin's lackey, they yell, she slaps him, he storms out.
-Dutch meets Virgil in Smacky's. He wants Virgil's help escorting his wife out of Newton and somewhere safe.
-Ophelia gets word that someone with a lot of money to burn is financing New Eden's rebels.

April 23rd
-The council meets with Cody's prime minister by webcam. He is in favor of an alliance with Newton, but says it'll be hard for it to pass parliament with the perception that Newton is in bed with New Eden. To dispel this perception, the coucil decides to send their refusal of New Eden's offers.

April 24th
-Newton's decision to cut ties with New Eden is all over the news.
-Anders takes an extremely angry call from Lorenzo.
-Virgil gets an offer from an anonymous source to disrupt Greer's supply caravans to the front line between New Eden and Greer (which are not currently in a shooting war, but getting close). He needs the money, but is not sure whether to take it or not.
-Dutch tells his wife he wants to send her away for now. She doesn't like it, but agrees for the sake of keeping their unborn child safe.
-Virgil decides to send a reply that he's not willing to take the job without meeting the person offering it in person.
-Dutch comes in, Virgil has a frend in Cody who has a house that should be safe for his wife. It'll cost Dutch a ton of money, but he agrees.

April 25th
-Dutch's wife leaves Newton.
-Dutch visits Ophelia. He wants any information she gets about the mobsters, and he wants it instead of Corwin (in breach of Ophelia's deal with Corwin). Again, it costs Dutch a ton of money. She reveals that some mobsters are already on their way to Newton.
-Ophelia bumps into one of her old informants who stopped feeding her information. It turns out he's in town looking for a new buyer for his information. They talk in the back room, he tells her that he won't deal with her any more because of her ties to Corwin, and that others feel the same way--she's not part of the underworld any more. She tells him she's just playing Corwin. He reveals that he's recording their conversation, but before he can get a word out to extort her she stabs him dead. Ophelia gets Virgil and his men to help her dispose of the body, and then goes on to decide to put out the rumor that what actually happened, happened to try and buy back some cred.
-Eva and Captain Sheridan are told to make ready for potential military action, even though they are now underfunded and undermanned. One of the remaining soldiers mentions that his cousin works for Lucius, who pays well. Eva goes and visits Lucius, asks him to help fund the militia; he agrees to support them, implicitly in exchange for favors.

April 26th
-Cody's parliament is in the middle of deliberations for the Newton support bill.
-Ophelia tells Dutch about a mobster named Gerard Finner who is looking for Dutch, just spotted two hours outside town.
-The news suddenly comes through that the Greer colonel in charge of the frontline defense against New Eden has defected to the other side, taking with him about 20% of Greer's forces and a substantial amount of Greer military hardware.