Thanks to Napoleon for giving me some awesome material to work into a really nice twist for this update.

"A" Company of the 75th Battalion of the Freistaat Pennsylvania Grenzschutz had been slogging through the same miserable New Jersey swamp for the past two hours, bearing down on the location where Hess' man reported the plane going down. The only GOOD thing was that most of the giant, mutated predators were smart enough to avoid such a large group of humans... Unfortunately, some weren't, but they were quickly dispatched without incident. Well, all of them except that one Dragon Snapper that bit a chunk out of one soldier's leg, but it was killed before it could do any further damage and the medics patched the man up good enough that he could limp along with the rest of the unit. The Dragon Snapper itself, since this particular area was rad-free (at least according to the RADIACs the company had along), was hung up from a tree for retrieval later: Like their normal-sized cousins, they made pretty good eating, and the men were getting tired of MREs (or as the men called them, Meals Rejected by the Enemy).

Major Lautenslager was somewhat lost in his thoughts when Oberwachtsmeister Mark Eichenlaub, leader of the point squad, motioned for the company to halt and get down. Hauptmann Sean McDowell crept up and whispered, "What is it, Oberwachtsmeister?"

"Movement at 10 o'clock, about 150 yards," Mark whispered back, "Looks like soldiers... I don't know of any bandits maintaining any kind of formation like that."

McDowell nodded and raised his low-light binoculars and scanned the area Mark indicated and murmured, "Yeah, I see them.... YUP! Definitely Soviets... I've never seen any bandits in these parts toting AK-47s. I'm going to tell the Major." Carl then crept back and relayed the news to Ryan.

Ryan nodded and whispered, "Thanks, Hauptmann, I guess I'd better make our presence known before they stumble on top of us and someone gets shot." He then pulled a megaphone out of his pack, pointed it in the direction of the Soviets and said, "Ahoy! Do I have the pleasure of addressing Comrade Premier Stalin?"

****

Ivan and Dead Silence had been trudging through the never-to-be sufficiently darned swamp for what seemed like an eternity... Ivan let out a muttered curse when they passed a tree that even he was sure they'd been by several times before. Just as he was about to launch into an angry tirade, a loud voice boomed across the swamp, "Ahoy! Do I have the pleasure of addressing Comrade Premier Stalin?"

Ivan nodded to Dead Silence, indicating that he should try and spot the speaker, then cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Who is it that want's to know?"

Ryan raised the megaphone back to his mouth and replied, "Major Ryan Lautenslager, 75th Battalion Pennsylvania Grenzschutz."

"Show yourself, then, Major," Ivan bellowed back, "But slowly, I wouldn't want any unfortunate misunderstandings." Ryan raised both hands and stepped forwards slowly until he came out from behind the bushes the rest of the company was hiding behind. Seeing the olive-green uniform, with its prominent Iron Cross, Ivan relaxed a bit, but squinted his eyes and demanded, "Comrade Major, where is the rest of your men?"

"Just behind those bushes, Comrade Premier," Ryan replied, nodding towards the thicket he came from, "An entire company, too... We figured you guys might need some assistance. The Diplomatic Liaison Officer the Governor assigned for you is with us as well, Comrade Premier."

Ivan nodded, "Then have this Diplomatic Liaison Officer come out."

Ryan turned his head and shouted, "Mr. Hess, the Comrade Premier requests your presence."

A few seconds later, a man wearing a tan trenchcoat, fedora and chomping an unlit cigar stepped out of the bushes, and it was all Ivan could do not to laugh: No doubt, if I were to cut this man in half, Ivan thought, He'd have 'SPY' written the whole way through him. Smiling for the first time in ages, Ivan snorted, "Ah I see you people get your diplomats from the same hiring pool as we do, Comrade Major." Waving his hand, he continued, "Now I'd be most happy to take this assistance of yours, if it means getting me away from this wretched swamp and closer to your governor's summit."

Ryan waved the "All Clear" signal, and the rest of the company filed out from their place of concealment and fell into position around the Soviet Premier, and his surviving men. Soon they were silently making their way back to the Grenzschutz base camp. The only time Ivan talked to Ryan or Hess was when he asked why they bothered to hang and then retrieve the Dragon Snapper that they killed earlier, only to find out that those living in relatively radiation-free areas were not only safe to eat, but considered a delicacy. "We'll be sure to pack some along for the summit, Comrade Premier," Agent Hess grinned, "The Governor will really love ya for it!"

By the time they got back to camp and got Stalin and Hess on their way to Harrisburg, Ryan found James, Bernie, Erik, Carl, Lt. Gunner Patterson and Special Agent Welch waiting for them, along with a priority message from the Governor.

"He says that we're being recalled and transferred to Fort Indiantown Gap... Well, except for McCoy, Von Blucher, Dietrich and Sofie, of course, they've been invaluable in convincing the various tribes to take our settlement offers," Welch said. The offers in question were fairly simple: In exchange for land in the border areas, access to the full suite of social services the Freistaat had to offer as well as pardons for past crimes committed, the tribes only had to take the pledge of alliegance and help defend the eastern border areas against other raiders and bandits as well as help with the decontamination work currently being undertaken at Philadelphia and surrounding areas. So far, almost a thousand New Jersey tribesmen had taken the Freistaat up on its offer.

"What? Why?" Ryan asked, "I thought things were going well!"

Welch sighed, "Oh, it isn't anything DIRECTLY to do with you, and the Governor's going to continue the project: He's sending the 45th Battalion to relieve us sometime tomorrow morning... They're also bringing Quonset Hut kits and such to convert our outpost into a permanent base in the area..."

"What is it, then?" Ryan asked, his patience starting to wear thin after everything else that happened during the day.

"My no-good traitorous, back-stabbing, murdering, girlfriend-stealing cousin's making his move," James growled, "The Governor got word from his spy network in Spruce County, at least what's left of it, that Harry is going to be marrying that sleazy tramp Sally McDowell before the week is out! Not only that, but his brother Bart is marrying one of the Flemmings!"

To everyone's surprise, Hauptmann McDowell and Ryan began laughing when they heard this news.

"What's so dadgum funny, uh, sir?!" James demanded of Hauptmann McDowell, "That's your relative Harry is going to be marrying!"

McDowell suddenly glared at James and snarled, "She is NOT any kin of MINE, Unteroffizer!"

Ryan put his hand on McDowell's shoulder and said, "Whoa, hoss! I don't think they know anything about ye olde blood feud between the 'true' McDowells and the turncoats." He then turns to James and asks, "This Sally is one of the 'Northumberland' McDowells, right?"

"Yeah, that's right, sir," James fumed, "She's the clan chief's daughter and she WAS going out with me until my lousy, no-good rat-fink cousin swiped her!"

"Actually, Harry just did you a favor," Ryan replied, "and at the same time, proved that he's not only a traitor and murderer, but also suicidally insane!"

"WHAT?!" James gaped, "What's that supposed to mean, sir?"

"What the good Major means," Hauptmann McDowell interjected, "is that the so-called 'clan chief' in Sunbury is just a figure head.... If you want the REAL leader of the Black McDowells, you'd be better off lookin' in Bloomfield."

Everyone in the tent blanched at the name of the infamous capitol of the dreaded Perry County Prowlers. James looked almost sick. "Jeebus H. Cripes! You're telling me that I was DATING a relative to the boss of one of the most ruthless buncha outlaws since the Hole in the Wall Gang?"

"Yup," Ryan replied, "I can see why the Governor is moving us to Indiantown Gap... That's our biggest Army base in the Northeast region and the closest one to Shuylki... er, Spruce County. Looks like Harry's making a land grab about the same time Governor Herndon is holding his summit to form a hopefully permanent union with some of the other key players in the state."

"Yes sir," McDowell added, "But it looks like ol' Harry managed to forge an alliance with someone who could almost make HITLER look nice... Granted, they won't do anything right away, but mark my words: As soon as Sally pops out a few kids," McDowell paused and pulled his finger across his neck in a throat cutting gesture, "Harry Robertson is going to fall victim of an 'unfortunate accident' and his kids will be raised up by the Perry County McDowells, and all the Robertson lands will become part of the Prowlers' turf!"

"How do you know all this?" Bernie asked.

McDowell nodded and said, "Right, you all had better sit down, because even the short version is a long story." As soon as everyone made themselves comfortable he continued, "The McDowell family is one of the oldest families in Pennsylvania... As a matter of fact, we still own the original farm that my first ancestors settled sometime around 1700... Grandpa Seamus has the original land grant framed on his wall, and I've seen it many times and I can tell you for a fact that it is signed by none other than William Penn himself! Anyways, this farm is located near the town of Markes, which is in Franklin County, one of the Freistaat's Core territories. During the French 'n' Indian War, there was a fort where the town was called 'Fort McDowell', and the road linking all the frontier forts together, including Fort Necessity and Fort Bedford, was called the McDowell road, so you can see how important my family was back in the day." When everyone nodded, he continued, "Well, during the Third Great War, and the Rebellion, it was my family that helped keep order in Franklin County, along with the Lautenslagers, Bonebrakes, Dortys and Brakes, and they're part of the reason why Franklin County was able to fortify its borders even before the Freistaat formed and kept the Fulton County Felons at bay during the worst of the war."

Sean then paused and said, "Of course, some members of my family didn't like the idea of the Freistaat, and figured the only good German, Pennsylvania or otherwise, was a dead German... So Great-Grandpa George exiled Black Bart McDowell and the other malcontents with the help of the Pennsylvania Grenzschutz. Things were hunky-dory for a couple of years, but then a new bandit gang started raiding Path Valley and parts of Cumberland County.... It didn't take long for us to figure out that Black Bart was leading this new mob, and the tipping point came when they sacked Newburg." Sean sighed, "They massacred the whole town: Women, children, babies, they even killed all the dogs and cats and put the rest to the torch. So what happened next was Governor Erlich decided to teach them a lesson: He got together an entire Battalion of his finest troops, including six Tiger tanks, and launched a reprisal raid against them under the command of Great-Grandpa George."

He looks around at his audience, seeing rapt attention on their faces and grimly continues, "Well, they was waiting for us... The battle was a long, bitter affair, with ghastly casualties on both sides, but since we had better training and equipment, we eventually sent 'em packing.... Of course, at this point Great-Grandpa George realized that we didn't have the kind of troops to actually HOLD any significant territory, so he just went Blitzkrieg on them, torching their factories and crops, and then pulled back to Duncannon, the old Perry County Seat, while the Luftschutz bombed Bloomfield, Blain and Millerstown. We still hold Marysville and Duncannon, but only because they're up against the river and surrounded by mountains. For a couple years after, there were some nasty battles fought along the border with Frankin and Cumberland county, as well as raids back and forth between Dauphin and Juniata counties, but since then both sides have gotten tired of all the killing for no particular gains... Last twenty years or so, the Prowlers would attack some border fort and raid Cumberland County or try to raid into Path Valley once or twice a year, and we'd bomb their factories. It was kind of like some kind of sick family tradition... Of course I was wondering why they hadn't did their usual raid this year... I guess their trying to expand into Schuylkill, I mean Spruce County would explain why things have been so quiet that way."

"This is bad," James said, "If the Robertson holdings fall to the Perry County Prowlers, they could possibly take out the Freistaat! I mean, there's all sort of hidden bunkers and who knows what else in Spruce County!"

"True that," Ryan Mused, "But there is some silver lining in this cloud: There is no love lost between the Perry County Prowlers and the other major outlaw gangs... Heck, the Felons, Bandits and Hooligans are even somewhat manageable, as long as you're willing to pay their 'tolls' for hauling goods on the turnpike through their territory. Just hearing that the Prowlers are making yet another land grab MIGHT convince them to join us if the Governor asks nicely... I guarantee that the Robber Baron will jump at the offer when he hears about this! He's been fighting with the Prowlers over control of Raystown Lake and its hydroelectric plant for years."

"Well, that's interesting and all," Gunner yawned, "but I think we'd all best turn in... We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Ryan nodded, "Right, I'm going to let the rest of the men know what's up... We'll be on our way to Fort Indiantown Gap Tomorrow... Good Night, and sweet sleep."

Note: The pre-revolutionary war history of the McDowell family is all true, including the part about the original Lang Grant signed by William Penn.... My dad, when he was still working as a general contractor, did some work for old Mr. McDowell, who showed it to my dad when he found out my dad was interested in colonial history.

Dude, that was awesome. Can't wait to see what happens!

Well, considering Harry, I'd be willing to bet that he DOES know, but is trying to use the situation to possibly wrest control of Perry County (as well as Juniata and Mifflin) away from the Prowlers... Of course, they are waiting for him to form his coallition and produce an heir to bump him off and make their move, while in the meantime, you've got the Governor trying to expand the Freistaat through diplomatic means and the various other factions who might be willing to go along with it if what they get in return is sweet enough to make it worth their while.... And of course, James is feeling like he just kissed Attila the Hun.

Oh dear, I think I'm going cross-eyed.

HAHA!

Excellent Chapter Mien Friend!

Sweet chapters! Expect an O:WC update (no new post unless someone would be so kind as to post in that thread, double posting is a no, no, so I may just have to edit)

Awesome chapters, I'm glad this is coming back!!

I'll edit this if it doesn't fit in with something.

Harry and his men sorted through the bunker. Everywhere, supplies, guns, ammo, equipment, and relics were strewn everywhere. Some were lying on the ground, others were in crates, and some were on shelves. Two dozen M1919's were neatly on a gunrack. Crates labeled "U.S. Army" contained a myriad of War-era weapons and ammunition. In a large side room, several hundred steel helmets lay strewn about. Some of them had a spade printed on the sides while others had the 101st Airborne insignia stamped on them, along with others. Several bazookas were in a large steel locker along with many shells. Other things also were spread around the bunker, like old radios, televisions, phones, etc.

After two hours of opening crates, a young clansman dashed in to deliver another report. "Sir! We believe we have discovered a resistance radio broadcasting station in a small tunnel off the helmet sideroom. We believe it's operational. Yessir, that's right; we might be able to broadcast 'Robertson Radio' across the land. We could reach the other clans. We could have propaganda, news, everything. We found some old records, too. Also, look at all the generators in here. Sure, we had to fiddle with 'em before you got here to get 'em to work, but they WORK. Real electricity. We could see how these work, get the right parts, and before you know it we're a NATION powered with electricity. What do you think, sir?"

"Victory. That's what I sense," said Harry with a gleam in his eyes. He slapped on a spade-printed helmet. "Work on those generators. Tell the men to step up truck hijackings. We need more material for uniforms. Oh, and keep raiding those forts the hooligans and thugs have set up west."

"Sir, that could push us into open hostilities with the nearby clans!"

Harry put a cigar in his mouth, the upper lip of which was sporting a growing Kaiser Bill mustache, and inserted a cartidge into a vintage Garand rifle. It made that metallic "chink" noise. "Let 'em come. By the time they're pushed t' attack, we'll be well-armed. Now, get to work on that radio!"

****************

Two Weeks Later...

"Good morning, Spruce County! Today is November 8th, 2014 and it's a cold day out there! Over a foot of snow has been dumped overnight and transportation is almost nonexistent. So, sit back and listen to some of these classic songs from before the war and during the resistance! First up is the smash hit "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones! The Stones came to America during the Nazi Invasion of Britain in 1961, and gave us some great songs. Here it is!"

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste..."

*********************

The Pennsylvania officers gathered around and listened in shock as the Stones played on the airwaves once again. In the Governor's headquarters, they speculated as to what in the world had happened. Reports had already come in of electricity powering Robertson houses, and the fact that a huge number of the clans had joined the Robertsons through marriage after Harry's wedding, thus forming what some wanted to call the "United Pennsylvania Republic." Scouts had even claimed seeing well-uniformed troopers now serving as the clan's army. It was shocking. The Freestate couldn't just bomb the Robertson's, as it would annihilate thousands of innocents. So, it was getting closer and closer to a ground war. It could get ugly. The Robertsons were also now engaging in a booming trade with the black market. Most of southern PA disliked or hated the United Pennsylvania Republic. Many in the north liked it or were neutral. Plus, the Nazis were now suspicious of the Dutch because of Harry's reports. Still, the Nazis would not break a treaty with the Freistaat to protect Harry alone, since Harry's fellow "countrymen" hated the Nazis with a passion and did not know he was in cahoot with them. So, the Fuhrer would just wait to see how it panned out and make the best of it. At the moment, the Dutch were on high alert and the army was fully mobilized.

As for the Black McDowells: Harry deliberately kept his wife out of public sight and kept armed bdyguards around her at all times to prevent her from contacting her clan to tell them Harry, Jr. would be born in ten months. This cleverly propped up Harry's reign and gave him valuable time to build up his defenses and equip his "army."

***************

"Been around for a long, long year, stole many a man's soul and faith! And I was around when Jesus Christ had His moment of doubt and pain! I made dang sure that Pilate washed his hands and sealed his fate! Pleased to meet you! Hope you guess my name!"

The Pennsylvania Republican truck convoy crossed into Del Toro territory with the speakers in their trucks blasting their newly-inaugurated radio station's record of the Rolling Stones.

"But I stuck around St. Petersburg when I saw it was time for a change!" sang Hawk Relyon of B Squad in the back of one of the trucks.

The others joined in. "Killed the Czar and his ministers, Anastasia screamed in vain!"

Hawk continued to lead them in the song, and it made the men even more "phsyced" for the coming battle. They stomped their rifle butts on the truck bed in cadence with the song.

Hawk had grown up among the PA Dutch, had turned coat and fought fort the Nazis, found them repugnant, and then signed up as a squad leader for the Robertson military. He had traded in his t-shirt for a brown "ace" style jacket with a rank emblem. He still sported his khakis, though, as pants were not regulated by Harry, nor were helmets, though it was not encouraged to leave the head bare. Hawk did not listen. He was known as "Hawk" for a reason: a short, blood-red mohawk adorned his scalp, giving him a fierce look. His hobbies were technology and music, which showed in his knowing ther Rolling Stones by heart.

The trucks pulled to a stop for a moment on a wooded hillside. Hawk hopped out with his binoculars like the other squad leaders and focused on the Del Toro clan's town below. The Del Toro's were the only Hispanics who carried weight in PA, and no one knew how in the blazes they got there. There was no history of a Del Toro family before the wars. Hawk scanned the streets. Not soul coulfd be seen. Then, an artillery shell whizzed overhead. Hawk thought he saw smoke come from an old schoolhouse, and he felt sure that several field pieces were inside. The other squads thought the same. They piled back in the trucks and slammed on the acceleration. With the Stones still blasting, they went into battle. Hawk checked his Garand and made sure it was ready. Then, after one truck took a direct hit from the Del Toros, killing the entire D Squad, Hawk's squad, and the others, deployed. A captain shouted orders. "A Squad, circle around the building! B Squad, take down the front door! E Squad, follow me!"

"Robertson! Robertson!" they yelled as they returned fire with the Del Toro's. Hawk watched the colonel, his name seemed like it was Albert Robertson, wave his machete forward like a Civil War general as he led the main charge.

Hawk tossed a grenade at the double-doors at the front of the schoolhouse. It went off and ripped them off their rusty hinges. Albert shouted for B Squad to join him and E Squad. They blazed away as they surged into the dark 50's building. It once had been nice, but it was now moldy and dirty, and signs of the Del Toros having fortified it were everywhere. The Del Toros were quickly put down by the amazingly well-equipped Robertsons. Before Sympathy for the Devil stopped playing, the building and its field pieces, old American artillery, were under Robertson control. As was their wont after winning a victory, a tradition stretching back to before Harry painted on the walls after the Battle of the Gas Station, they painted a V on the outside walls, along with "ROBERTSON!" in big, bold, red letters on the outside. After that, the Robertson's then continued to overwhelm the Del Toros, and after brief, bloody fighting, it was over. One more county was under Robertson control. Hawk and his men whooped and shouted, and then pillaged the Del Toro storehouses.

Excellent writing my dear boy!

I'm going to post something tomorrow night... Had a busy day today, but it was going to sort of mesh with what you had... The only northern faction that's likely to throw in with the Freistaat's coallition is the Bucktails (and not just because the Freistaat takes good care of their monument at Gettysburg)... Also, as you'll soon find out, the Freistaat military reserves are referred to as the "Civil Defense," "Civil Air Patrol" and "Coast Guard", which is just one of the ways they were able to fudge with the troop numbers they reported back to Berlin (or should I say Germania).

The 75th Battalion, 101st Infantry of the Freistaat Pennsylvania Grenzschutz had safely arrived at Fort Indiantown Gap, where they joined up with the rest of the 101st Regiment, as well as a battery from the 5th Artillerie Korps, and Delta Squadron of the 17th Luftschutz Fighter Wing. In addition, there was the 25th Panzer Division, the 25th Infantry, an additional Infantry regiment of mobilized "Civil Defense Volunteers" and another Fighter Squadron belonging to the "Civil Air Patrol."

The Civil Air Patrol squadron was made up of fighter/bombers based on an improved Messerschmidt ME-262, while the Delta Squadron fighters were something completely original: They were the fruit of various research and development projects spun off the Silbervoegel constrution program, and probably one of, if not the most formidable ground-attack fighters in the world. The Freistaat had managed to acquire the Fairchild Aircraft factory in Hagerstown, Maryland when they annexed Washington County, and the result of a 10-year development plan was the P-100 Donnerschlag, or "Pitbull" as the Luftschutz airmen and pilots nicknamed it. The P-100 earned that name because it was as mean as it was ugly, and its combat performance and reliability were pretty-much second to none. It featured a heavily armored cockpit, two over-sized turbofan engines mounted close to the fuselage, just forward of the dual-tail fins, allowing the plane to limp back to base with only one engine operational, wire-based backup controls if the hydraulics were ever disabled, and backup power units.

On the offensive end of things, it carried a massive 30mm gatling cannon that fired armor-piercing or fragmentation rounds (depending on the mission) and had hardpoints to mount 10 laser-guided bombs. All, in all, Unteroffizer James Robertson and Leutnant Gunner Patterson were quite impressed with them.

Gunner's wife Liz was drafted into the State Department, where her talents would be best used in the Governor's upcoming summit, and she spent her limited spare time getting the house in Harrisburg purchased for them by the governor fixed up nicely. More and more delegates filtered in to the summit at Harrisburg. In addition to Ivan Stalin, Don Francisco "Frankie" Corleone, Pittsburgh's delegate, John Huidekoper, delegate of the Bucktail Union, John Shuster, Delegate and brother of the Robber Baron, Jake Saunders, representative of the Fulton County Felons, Dan Kovalchick of the Huntington Hooligans, Ron Warford of the Bedford Bandits and even Commissioner Mark Stearns of the United Mine Workers of America (a.k.a. the West Virginia Mining Marshalls) had made it to Harrisburg as well. Now all that was left was for Pierre Lafayette, French Resistance leader, Cathrine Rommel, leader of the Crown Loyalist movement in Germany, Ernst Tell, Swiss Independence movement leader, Rembrandt, representative of the American Restorationists and Dwight D. Eisenhower II, the Australian representative to arrive for the summit to kick into full gear.

In the meantime, however, the governor made sure that everyone already there knew about Harry's latest marriage alliances, and the Prowlers' involvement. That news shook up the Robertson Old Guard POW's enough that they decided to throw their lot in with James and the 75th Battalion... While they were still skeptical about Harry's supposed Nazi ties, they were well aware that he had his eyes on Sally McDowell, and the evidence the governor provided was more than enough to convince them that Sally was, indeed, related to the infamous "PA Attila the Hun" of Perry County, and that Harry had to be stopped before he brought their family to ruin.

Meanwhile, the Freistaat moved to high alert and continued to mobilize its reserves (a.k.a. "Civil Defense" forces), and move them to strategic military bases and border forts/cities such as Reading, Carlisle, Letterkenney Army Depot, and Duncannon.

One day, Major Lautenslager was at a meeting with his Company Commanders and Platoon leaders at his Battalion HQ at Fort Indiantown Gap, when there was a furious pounding on the door. Ryan looked up from the table map showing the latest disposition of Freistaat forces and the latest intel on what the Robertsons and Prowlers were doing and growled, "Enter! ...But this had BETTER be good!"

Oberwachtsmeister Mark Eichenlaub burst in and saluted, "Sorry, sir, but you have got to hear this!" He ran over to the radio and turned it on.

After fiddling with the dial for a few seconds, a voice came in, "...morning, Spruce County! Today is November 8th, 2014 and it's a cold day out there! Over a foot of snow has been dumped overnight and transportation is almost nonexistent. So, sit back and listen to some of these classic songs from before the war and during the resistance! First up is the smash hit "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones! The Stones came to America during the Nazi Invasion of Britain in 1961, and gave us some great songs. Here it is!"

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste..."

Ryan stalked over and turned it off, "Well their rag-tag band of misfits might be hindered by a little snow, but our trains and tanks ain't, and neither are our telephones.... And I think the governor will want to hear about this ASAP."

Leutnant Gunner Patterson grunted, "Yeah, sir, especially since that was definitely Harry's voice... I'm good at remembering things like that... So the S.O.B. managed to get himself a working generator and radio station... This can't be good."

Ryan nodded, "You're definitely right about that! He must have found the old command bunker around Shenandoah... We would have gone looking for it, but we'd have had to go up against the Randalls.... Yeah, we could have mopped the floor with them, but that would have blown our cover way before we were ready." He then picked up the telephone and began dialing furiously, soon an answer was heard and he replied, "Hello, this is Major Ryan Lautenslager, commander of the 75th Battalion, 101st Infantry... I need to talk to the governor right away." After a few moments, another voice could be heard, to which Ryan responded, "Mr. Governor, sir, this is Major Ryan Lautenslager, your second cousin, I've just heard a...." His voice trailed off as the governor's garbled reply came back. "Oh, I see... You've already heard it? Yeah, that's what I thought, yes sir, I'll transfer you to Oberst Richter right away." He then pushed a few buttons on the phone and said, "Oberst Richter, Major Lautenslager, sir... Yes sir, the Governor wants to talk to you, he's on line 3, sir... Roger, that sir, good-bye." After hanging up the phone he turned to his assembled officers and said, "Well, looks like we're on standby for marching orders... It seems that the Governor is close to reaching some kind of agreement with most of the local parties, particularly the Robber Barony... Once he gets them on our side, he's going to ask the General Assembly for a declaration of war against Perry County." He looked at the faces of his officers, noting their grim expressions and growled, "Let's face it, men, we're going to be at war with Spruce County sooner or later, and when that happens, the Prowlers will attack our rear... It's best if we wipe out that scourge while Harry is busy taking over Northeast PA so we don't end up fighting a two-front war."

"Oh, I agree with you sir," Hauptmann McDowell replied, then snarled, "I've been waiting for a chance to finish what Great Grandpa George started for quite some time now.... And I know for dad-gum sure that my sister, Mary, er Oberst-Leutnant McDowell, will be more than happy to introduce them to the full fury of her P-100 Pitbulls."

Ryan nodded, "Right, anyone else have anything?" Getting no responses he said, "Right, pass down the new orders from the Governor to your men." Everyone then stood up and saluted, Ryan returned the salutes, "Meeting Dismissed!" The officers then filed out of the Battalion HQ and passed the orders down, just as the other units at the base were getting their orders from the Base Commander. Soon the entire Fort Indiantown Gap Complex was buzzing with activity as the soldiers and airmen made sure that they would be ready when the orders came down to invade Perry County.

Elsewhere, in military bases and fortified cities on or near the border with Perry county, the scene repeated itself as the Governor's orders arrived.

******

Note: I'll be continuing this story sometime Tuesday, and you will be seeing the PA Grenzschutz in action soon. Oh, and for those who haven't gotten it based on the description earlier, the P-100 Donnerschlag/Pitbull is basically the A-10 Thunderbolt II, but independently developed by the PA Grenzschutz in this alternate timeline... and yes, the Fairchild-Republic Aircraft factory in Hagerstown, Maryland was where many of the RL A-10's were made.