Colonel Ivanov woke before his alarm. Quickly rising from his bed and walking through his dark apartment to the bathroom. He flicked on the light, reaching for his razor.
The Colonel stared at the face staring back at him. A weary, wary, and paranoid young man stared back. The Colonel blinked, musing at his duties. He was the chief of staff to the most powerful man in the world, the commander in chief of all Soviet armed forces…
Ivanov changed into a clean uniform, grabbed his officer's cap and walked downstairs to the canteen. The buffet was just having its first meals laid out when the colonel walked in, a few other offices entering behind him. He grabbed a small plate and quickly ate, listening to the radio in the corner play some weird Hispanic music.
Colonel Tanya walked in, wiping at her eyes as she grabbed a plate and sat across from me. "Morning Ivanov, The General make any adjustments to our deployments last night?"
I looked at the badly overworked colonel that had been placed in charge of the entire's corps logistics. I shook my head as I finished my plate.
"The General went home around 2300." I replied.
"I don't know how he does it… juggling his personal life with our near constant and expanding operations." Tanya grumbled quietly.
"It's because he's the Commander in chief, Tanya." Another officer joined us, I repressed a frown. I'd wanted to eat in peace, not have a briefing over breakfast. Colonel Natasha, Corps artillery commander.
"It's not… there's just no one else like him…" Tanya grumbled. I repressed a sigh, this was turning into female gossip.
"Do you think either of us will have a chance with the General?" Tanya asked me. I gave her a long, confused look.
"General Reichenbacher is married." I replied.
"You aren't aware of the new law?" Natasha asked.
I leaned forward. What law? Was the premier doing something contrary to the General's wishes? "I've been busy assisting the General…"
"The marriage and divorce law?" The two looked at me. Like I'd missed the most important thing in the world. I shook my head, waiting for the two of them to elaborate.
"The law provides for different kinds of marriages. Sanctified, Convenience, Contract, Polygamy, Polyandry, Group, and arranged."
"That's… a mess…"
"It's not as horrible as you think Colonel… the Premier ensured to deny the gays the pleasure…"
"Thank god." I muttered quietly. At least the Premier had some intellect inside that rotten skull of his when he proposed the law to the senate.
"I don't think General Reichenbacher is at all interested in other women. He loves his wife too much to even think of betraying her like that." I mused aloud, more for the benefit of my company than myself. The two seemed disappointed by my remark.
I tried to think why the Premier would propose such a law though. It wasn't like… the sly Fox… almost every Ministry and department was led by a woman. The man was trying to make himself a harem. Fucker. I'll bring this up to the General, see if he approved of this. "Thank you for the report, I'll be on my way."
I left the apartment, walking the short distance to the headquarters. I nodded to the guard that checked my id, heading up to the top floor. Inside the headquarters was still sleepy. The war room had a few officers and ncos of the night shift moving around markers that represented the Union's troops.
"Captain Yefim, what's the morning report?" the captain looked up, eyes bloodshot and repressed a yawn.
"It wasn't a good night Colonel, where do you want me to start?" Yefim asked.
"The worst news first." I replied, bracing myself.
"TF South was virtually annihilated, between being engaged by an American submarine and the salvo of missiles they exchanged with those destroyers… a lone Krivak was reported limping back into San Diego harbor half an hour ago."
"What about the enemy forces?" I asked.
"The San Diego hunted and sunk the American sub, as for those destroyers, we do not know. Admiral Gena believes one was sunk and the other might have been damaged." I nodded, walking over to the map, looking at where several pins had been placed offshore.
"What of the submarine net?" I asked.
"TF-22 engaged and destroyed an enemy submarine south of Santa Rosa, we've not heard anything from TF-21, the San Francisco and its escorts will soon be in the area they were last reported in to look for survivors or any enemies."
"Other than that, the main fleet has successfully navigated the channel islands without being attacked, they are currently searching for the American carriers."
"We're placing our trust in the Admiral… What of Operation Assesio de Senuo?" I asked, turning my attention to San Francisco.
"The California national guard are fighting block by block, progress has slowed significantly, Major Ivan's headquarters has requested additional replacements. Casualties are far higher than expected."
"Are their supplies still getting through?" I asked.
"Yes, Colonel, General George's motor rifle division has continued to keep supply corridors open, however progress in clearing Bakersfield has all but stopped." Ivanov pursed his lips but didn't say anything.
"That concludes the night report Colonel." Captain Yefim took his leave as I sat, staring at the table. Our forces were just too overstretched. We just don't have enough troops. I glanced up at the quest list tacked to the wall. Some of those… I don't know what's holding them back from completion. For example…
'Quest issued, Assert Ground Dominance. Kill, Remove, or integrate all survivor groups and zombies within 25 miles of your main base. Reward, 1 MP company.'
'Quest issued! Fate of Mexico. Establish a safe camp in Mexico, gather sufficient survivors to make the camp self sustainable. Reward 50,000 credits, 20,000 xp.'
By all rights these quests should be complete by now. Maybe the General would walk in and cross them off. I glanced back at the map. Most of what was holding us back was General Reichenbachers rank… the sooner we could get enough xp to promote him…
I rubbed my forehead, so many things going on… was there any way to quickly get that xp we needed? We could get a few random battalions, but that was just a temporary solution. We also needed to completely replace all the vehicles the infantry used, either BTR80As or BMP3s… that was going to be a big chunk of credits…
"Headquarters Attention!" a private shouted as General Reichenbach walked into the room. Everyone jumped to their feet, stiffening on the spot.
"At ease…" The General sighed as he walked over to the list of quests, crossing the two I'd just been worrying over. He took a long sip from the coffee in his hands, going over the list of quests again. He then proceeded to cross off another quest. I walked over to see which one it was.
'Quest issued, Secure Soviet interests in California. Expand the reach and influence of the USSR across at least 45% of California, ensure Soviet control in critical regions is unchallenged. Reward, 30,000xp 20,000 credits.'
"Lot of battles finally ticked over… we're a bit over half way there." General Reichenbacher mumbled, staring at the list.
"What losses has the navy suffered so far?" he asked, looking at me.
"We've only confirmed TF-South has been reduced to a single frigate. We should hear more when she's taken into the shipyard." I replied.
"Fuck…" Andrew whispered.
"Sir, Major Ivan wanted another batch of replacements…" i said slowly.
"More casualties than expected?" Andrew asked quietly. I nodded, glancing over at the map behind us.
"It seems like the Californians don't want to give up without a fight…" I said.
"Black horse doing anything?" Andrew asked.
"They've started prodding at our supply lines south of Baersfeild, 2nd division has been forced to cease their clearing ops to shield the convoys…" I replied.
"3rd division finishes clearing up Irvine and San Bernardino?" he asked.
"We still expect them to finish by this afternoon sir." I answered.
"It's well war is so terrible Ivanov… We'd grow fond of it." the General muttered sadly before walking away. I watched the man go. Was that a rare glimpse at his internal thoughts? Was the General against this expansion? If so, why did he pursue it?
I made my way to my office, sitting down and staring at my reports. Hundreds of documents for me to look over… Just how hard was Andrew working for all of us? I thought my workload was heavy at times, but the General was rarely seen enjoying time for himself. Perhaps I could quickly get through my work, get the General home in time for dinner today…