Should I keep posting here, or start a new thread?

Hmmm... Tell you what, post updates in a new thread, and if you stick to it and keep posting, maybe we'll add you to the alliance! We want as many people involved as possible, as long as they're stick-to-it-itive and keep writing.

"....And that's about when Harry's 'Old Guard' ran right, smack into your little ambush!" Gunner snorted, "I guess they weren't figuring on you guys having friends in the area... Idiots!" The Convoy had spent the past hour taking a long detour around Schuylkill (a.k.a. Spruce) County, and were now traveling along what was left of I-78 into Lebanon County.

Ryan nodded and said, "Yeah, it's a darn shame that a complete psycho, not to mention traitorous dog like Harry managed to take control of the Robertson clan... You guys would have been great allies! I mean we could have started funneling investments, quietly mind you, for improvements to your industrial and transportation infrastructure, and in return, you could have helped finally stabilize this region without us tipping our hand to our TRUE military strength."

"You know, it's kinda funny," James mused as he leaned back in his seat in the back of Ryan's Kubelwagen, "I grew up thinking you Pennsylvania Dutch types were the lousy, collaborating, rat-fink quislings, and our family the defenders of Truth, Justice and the American Way... Only to find out in just a few short days that everything I thought I knew was wrong!"

"That just goes to show you how convincing we've been at playing 'The Game'," Oberwachtmeister Mark Eichenlaub quipped from the driver's seat, "Of course, there IS a grain of truth to the whole 'collaborationist' accusation: We just got done delivering a shipment of guns and ammo to the garrison in New York City." Catching a glimpse of James and Gunner's suddenly stiffening postures out of the corner of his eye, he holds up his hand and continues, "However, the weapons and equipment we ship up to New York are only a relatively small fraction of the ones we ACTUALLY produce, not that the Nazis know any better! Just where do you think Welch 'finds' the doo-dads he sells to you all?"

"Yup," Ryan nodded, "what do you think the source of some of the 'excellently preserved' M-14 rifles and M1-A1 Thompson Submachineguns that seem to keep finding their way into the hands of various dissident groups is? The best part is that not only to we get paid for all this, but our delivery runs also allow us to get hold of some of the latest Nazi consumer electronics, reverse-engineer and even come up with new, improved stuff based on them..." He leaned forward, and ejected his "Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits" ALD from the dash-mounted ALD player (which was just barely missed by the bullet that had wrecked the radio) and handed it to James, "Case in point: You guys probably have heard of the digital "Audio Laser Disk" music recording format, but we have actually came up with a new technology based on it, for recording TV shows and vidoes... The new VLD players have not only become popular in the Freischteet Pennsilfaani, but also among our various trade partners, like West Virginia and Pittsburgh... And we just got a load of the lasted gadgets on this trip!"

Gunner just shook his head and chuckled, "Damn! I thought I was good at lying to the Krauts, but your whole faction seems to have me beat by a good country mile!"

Ryan smiled and said, "Well, we were pretty much railroaded into this role... I mean think about it, back when the invasion happened, just having a name like 'Lautenslager' or 'Eichenlaub' was more than enough to get branded as a traitor and collaborator by most idiots, and when Governor Erlich initially founded the Freischteet Pennsilfaani, he figured that it was better to be hung for stealing a sheep than a lamb, so he made the initial arrangements with the Nazis in order to buy some time and re-build the area, with the goal that eventually we'd be able to assert our independence and use the Nazi's own tools against them..."

He then began to tell his guests about how the area had become a refuge for the pacifistic Mennonites and Amish who were fleeing persecution at the hands of misguided patriots, thieves and New Jersey Mohawk Raiders.... How their skill at farming and cottage industry had helped stabilize what is now the core region of Franklin, Adams and York Counties, and this stability, in turn attracted other refugees, including Jews an Irish. Yes, the Freischteet obeyed the LETTER of the laws set forth by the Nazi government back in Germany, while flagrantly violating the spirit of those laws.... Yes, they had to speak German, but they chose the Pennsylvania German Dialect, which was not only difficult for Germans from Berlin to understand, but was also very close, linguistically to Yiddish, which, coupled with the similarities between the dress codes of both Orthodox Jews and Amish/Mennonites, allowed them to hide over a million Jews in plain sight.

He then told them about how over the past 50 years the Freischteet had decontaminated the entirety of Chester County, PA (despite constant raids by New Jersey tribesmen) as well as Havre De Grace and Perryville, Maryland. He described how they accomplished this by bulldozing off the irradiated topsoil, putting it on barges and dumping it in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and how they used the sediment dredged from the Susquehanna to replace it. He then pointed out how the Jersey Raiders and local Clans were still a constant threat as they passed by fortified towns and ransacked farm fields in Lebanon County.

Excitedly, he then went on to describe the various industrial projects, such as the biogas and biodiesal plants that turned the region's organic waste into fuel, and the various Coal-Gasification plants to produce Coke for their steel foundries, as well as additional natural gas and petrochemical products used in the area. Gunner and James listened attentively as Ryan, with some additions from Mark and Lewis regaled them with tales of creative fudging numbers and deceptive street-lighting tactics to keep the powers that be in Germany from discovering the TRUE population and production figures, providing relief from monotony as the convoy made its way along the relatively recently re-surfaced highway towards Harrisburg.

About half an hour later, Gunner and James were agape as the convoy rolled down the final stretch of I-81 to Harrisburg: The city was lit up like a Christmas tree, with clouds of vapor puffing out of the Coal Gassification plant, which was crowded by various industrial buildings jutting up along the river. It wasn't the size of the city that impressed them so much as the interlocking network of earthworks and trenches, bristling with guard towers, mortar pits and machinegun nests that surrounded the city in a huge arc from the Susquehanna river.

"So, you guys expecting trouble or something?" Gunner quipped.

"Not exactly," Ryan replied as the convoy drove through a Paw paw plantation that surrounded the highway on both sides, "It's just that, believe it or not, some of the Jersey Raiders and other assorted bandits have been bold enough to actually raid this far into our territory, and it's not like there's a whole lot we can do about it... Unlike the core counties, Dauphin and Lebanon don't have much in the way of natural defenses where we can hold them... I mean you've seen all the fortified towns we've passed surrounded by farm fields... Seriously, in the Eastern Regions, you won't find any lone farm houses in the country, unless they've been burned to the ground! It's almost like medieval times, what with the farmers living in fortified towns where they can retreat whenever raiders and bandits come looting through the area! I just wish there was something we could do about New Jersey so we could end this threat once and for all!"

As he said this, the convoy approached a large drawbridge set in the Interstate that spanned a deep anti-vehicle trench, with guard towers and more conventional toll-booth type guard shacks on the other side. The convoy rolled up to one of the guard shacks, and Hauptmann Lautenslager presented his ID and cargo manifests to the Unteroffizer who was manning it. The Unteroffizer saluted and said, "Herr Hauptmann, Governor Herndon is expecting you and told you to come immediately and bring along those people you rescued... We'll take care of the Prisoners you captured and he said that he's sure you can find someone to take care of the convoy from here, sir."

"Thanks, Unteroffizer," Ryan replied as he returned the salute (US military style, Gunner and James noted), "I guess I shouldn't keep the Governor waiting, especially considering it's almost 10 o'clock at night, now!" James and Gunner nodded, so Ryan handed over the command car to Leutnant Snyder, commandeered the truck that had the electronic devices to be handed over to Penn State for "analysis" and got in with the Robertsons, Gunner, Liz, Speical Agent Welch, and Obergefreiter Lewis Dorty. He then got in the front passenger seat with Mark taking his usual position at the wheel, and they headed down the road while MP's marched the Robertson Old Guard POW's into the checkpoint's holding facility.

Mark got off at the Front Street exit, and rolled down Harrisburg's main drag, and arrived at the Governor's Mansion a few minutes later. The gate guard saluted and waved them through after they turned over their weapons, and by the time the truck had been parked and they got out, the Governor's butler was waiting for them. He bowed and said, "Good evening, sirs, his excellency the Governor bids you welcome!" The butler then made a gesture with his hand and said, "Now if you'll follow me, the Governor has prepared some refreshments for you since you've all had a long, hard journey here."

James nodded and replied, "Thankee very much... I'm starved!" as the group followed the butler into the mansion. They were led into a large conference room next to the Governor's Office, the table of which was covered with snack trays and water glasses. The furniture was well-crafted and tastefully ornate, without the usual gaudiness that most people in power tended to prefer. What attracted Gunner's immediate attention, however, were the flags flanking the head of the table and the pictures on the wall at that end of the room: Instead of the typical Nazi Flags, one was an Imperial Reichskriegsflagge associated with the pre-WWI German Empire, and the other was an American flag, but with a single white Iron Cross in place of stars in the blue canton. Furthermore, the pictures were not the images of Adolph Hitler or the current Füher, Adolph Hitler III, but rather photographs of Kaiser Wilhelm I and Kaiser Wilhelm II.

As the Butler ushered them to their places, the Governor stepped out of his office and said, "Greetings, Hauptmann Lautenslager, Robertsons, everyone, please be seated and we can all get acquainted better over some food before we get down to business."

There was something about the governor that bothered Gunner as he took his seat at the table... His gaze followed the governor as he walked around the table and sat down at the head of the table, when he realized what is was! "Your excellency, you wouldn't happen to be related to them would you?" Gunner asked, nodding towards the photographs. The rest of the Roberstsons and Liz let out gasps as they noticed that there was, in fact a family resemblance between the Governor and the two men in the picture.

Special Agent Welch and the Pennsylvania Grenzschutz soldiers grinned like Cheshire cats, while the Governor smiled and said, "Good eye, there Mr.....?"

"Patterson, Gunner Patterson, Your Excellency," Gunner said.

"Yes, good eye, Mr. Patterson, I am in fact related to them.... My name, as you're no doubt well aware, is Joseph Herndon, but in fact, my family name was von Hohenzollern when my great-great-grandfather came to America in the 1890's, and he was Kaiser Wilhelm II's first Cousin. Of course, once the Nazi government started their purge of the old German Royal Family, my relatives here, with the help of the Freischteet, managed to smuggle many of them out of Germany... You could say that we're one of the trump cards the Freischteet has for when it's time to drop the masquerade."

"Would the other one be 'Raven Rock'?" Gunner asked.

"Yes, yes, but please, let's just introduce ourselves and eat for now... The serious matters can wait, especially since I'm expecting a report from Intel that both of Harry Robertson's Nazi contacts have been 'neutralized'... Now lets go around the table and introduce themselves... I already know Special Agent Welch and Hauptmann Lautenslager, and Mr. Patterson has already introduced himself, so who's next?" So the guests introduced themselves and dug into the food while making small talk. Liz Patterson was delighted to find out that the Governor shared her interest in exotic plants and herbology, while James was happy to find a shared interest in various high-tech gizmos with Hauptmann Lautenslager.

******

Meanwhile, at the PA Route 283 entrance into the Harrisburg Defensive Perimeter, Special Agent Tom Hess had just finished going through decontamination along with his "guests" and truck... Standard procedure for those coming from the irradiated ruins of Philadelphia, and was heading to the governor's mansion. When Erik von Blucher had woke up, it took the efforts of two of the other agents to subdue him long enough for Hess to explain that despite what it might look like, he wasn't going to be shot for deserting, as a matter of fact, quite the opposite, especially since Erik, Sophie, Dietrich and McCoy saved them the trouble of having to make up a cover story for the elimination of a Gestapo spy. He then had explained, briefly, the history of the Freischteet's masquerade and how they'd been only pretending to kiss Nazi butt while covertly stabbing them in the back. He then calmly stated that they basically now had two choices: They could either go see the Governor, who might just have a use for them and their skills, or he could just pull over and have them shot at some out of the way place where no one would find the bodies. Needless to say, they decided that the first choice was better, especially when Hess brought up the point of payment being likely.

The Governor, of course, was expecting them... Hess had already radioed in over a secure, encrypted channel. Needless to say, the Governor wasn't particularly happy about Lowenstein being killed, but he wasn't overly upset either: The Governor was a reasonable man who never issued inane orders like, "...And he must be taken alive." His orders tended to be more along the lines of, "....And try to take him alive if it's reasonably practical." Still, it would have been nice to suborn an enemy agent so as better to feed misinformation into the enemy's intelligence network, but oh well. The agent's truck pulled into the large driveway behind the Governor's Mansion, and Hess got out along with Erik, McCoy, Dietrich and Sophie, and once again, the Governor's butler led them to the conference room.

******

OK, I'm stopping for now, but I'll continue in a bit... I really need a break, plus I got some chores that need tending to, not to mention that I've almost got a revised map done.

Great job! That was exceptional.

I can't wait to see the map, but, by all means, live your life.

P.S. to everyone: Let's try to keep cussing at a minimum; we want everybody to be able to read it.

I'll this post in a minute with a new chapter...

EDIT:

Location: Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the Greenbrier Bunker... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greenbrier#The_Bunker

"Gopher, this is Kaiser, Gopher, this is Kaiser. Over."

Walther Weber picked up the comm mouthpiece. "Kaiser, this is Gopher. The moles are on the move again. Repeat: The moles are on the move!"

"Wow, that was quick. Progress?"

"Uh, good, sir. Very good." Walther dropped the code after he checked his monitor for bugs. "Those miners we brought up from McDowell County are... impressive. They've already dug out most of the controls."

The man at the other chuckled cheerfully. "All the money they're making, they better be impressive. Anyway, so just the controls were buried?"

Walther did a 360 in his swivel chair. "Affirmative. We'd never be able to trust It if it had been buried. We might be advanced for this age, but we have no idea how to put It back into operating conditions. We are very lucky. It was still on the pad and everything. Yes, sir, we were very lucky. Our technicians and some of the... impressed... Kraut scientists have been going over the stuff with a fine-tooth comb. We might not be able to fix stuff, but we can sure as heck detect if It's going to go boom. So far, everything's dandy, sir."

The man at the other end was quiet for a minute. It sounded as if he was looking at papers. Finally, he came back. "I'm pleased to hear this, Gopher. Very pleased, indeed. Now, uh, have the 'natives' been restless? The last thing we need is for the Mountaineers to figure out what we're doing."

"No, sir, they haven't given us problems. None at all. They'd have to be pretty dumb to try to, though. The Greenbrier is covered with guards and snipers. We've got barbed wire fences, several tanks, and a couple hundred men. If any of these country folk tried to get in here, they'd be dead quicker than you can say 'Johannes Bond is a 007.' I'd literally laugh to see even the Hatfields try to get in here."

"Very good!" The man made a clapping noise over the radio. "Very good! They must be doing something, though. What is it?"

"Oh, the typical. The Hatfields have been shooting up the Saundersons. Been bloody."

"Well, which side are we rooting for?"

"Both. We make a killing buying coal from them for weapons. Why take sides when there is profit to be made, I always say."

"What have the others been doing?"

"Oh, Rupert's a hell-hole right now. The Davis's have been having showdowns with the Mining Marshals. The laughable 'long arm of the law' is a joke here. Literally laughable. It's gotten so bad that positions have been reversed; the bad guys have to keep the good guys under control, heh. The capital, Lewisburg, is just as bad as Rupert. These people are unique. None of them have moved past the 1930's. For all they care, the bombs never fell. West Virginia had zero fallout. Very, very lucky for them. Of course, nothing here was valuable to Hitler, Himmler, or Adolph III... or so they thought. If they knew what was going on here, they'd wet their pants!"

"Well, I have visitors coming right now, Herr Weber, and I'm afraid I have to hang up. Good day to you."

"You to, sir. Tell Ryan Gopher says hey."

"Will-do. Herndon out."

" 'Heil Hitler!' " Walther said wryly.

"Oh, shut up," Herndon laughed. He hung up.

Walther took his headphones off and turned off the comm mouthpiece. He put on his Prussian-blue cap and stood up. He went down one of the Bunker's huge halls. At one end a Prussian flag was draped over an entrance to another room. Hinges were bolted into the cement wall, waiting for the Dutch to put a new steel door in. Walther went through the flag-door and into a very large room. Dozens of Freischteet soldiers wearing t-shirts, blue pants, and jackboots were doing jumping jacks in perfect unison. On one side of that room was a huge metal door that led deeper underground. He made his way through the groups of soldiers and knocked on the door. A muscular man wearing a muscle shirt, a mining helmet, and jeans strained and opened the enormous door. It was big enough to drive two golf-carts through side-by-side. Walther patted the McDowell County worker on the back and went down the tunnel. He passed a group of miners taking a break and playing cards and a group of soldiers giving a kidnapped German scientist a lesson in obedience. Finally, he neared the end of the tunnel. Dozens of men were painstakingly clearing out a control room. Another week and it'd be complete. He approached a maximum-security door and placed his hand on the ID panel. The doors slid open in a way that reminded Walther of a German science-fiction movie. In front of him, white-coated men hustled back and forth between one computer to another. He walked in front of a small, dresser mirror-sized window. In the enclosed room behind the window was It. An old American atomic bomb. The only one the US had. At the beginning of WWIII, the US had a spy leak info to them from Albert Speer's atomic research. The Germans thought they had all of the prototypes, and they did. But one real one existed. This was it. With just a little tinkering, the Dutch figured out how to put it together from the pieces made so long ago. The Krauts could have captured this, too, but they had not. All because they did not care about West Virginia.

Walther smiled to himself. Germany was going to get its just deserts really soon. Hitler would grant Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas independence, or "Germania," the newly completed German capital, was going to learn how New Jersey felt in '60.

Ok, I'm continuing now... BTW, don't worry, I'll keep it clean Oh, and I'm posting the map in the discussion thread. Now, on with the story!

"....and so, the horticulturists at Penn State have finally managed to figure out how to get a Banana crop in this area. Granted, due to having to use a rather rare type of banana and start them in cold frames means that instead of being once-a-year luxury fruits, they'll now be merely once-every-two months luxury fruits," the Governor said to Liz as he picked one of the aforementioned bananas from a fruit tray.

"That's fascinating!" Liz replied, "Still, I must say, having tried them, I actually like the Paw Paws better..."

She was interrupted by the Governor's Butler coming up, bowing and saying, "Your excellency, a certain other party you've been expecting has arrived."

"Splendid, Alfred! Show them in," the Governor exclaimed. As Alfred departed to usher Special Agent Tom Hess and his party in, Governor Herndon tapped a spoon against his glass to get everyone's attention and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry for the interruption, but it is nearly time to get down to business... I had some other 'guests' en route and they have just arrived, so I want everyone to introduce themselves to the newcomers."

All eyes at the table turned to the main entrance as a Freischteet Special Agent followed by a raggety-looking man a scroungy-looking boy, a ragged-looking girl and a Nazi soldier stepped into the room. Before anyone could say anything else, the raggety man caught a glimpse of Will and said, "Welch! What are YOU doing here?!"

Governor Herndon turned to Special Agent Welch and asked, "Special Agent Welch, do you know this fine fellow?"

"Yes, your excellency," Will replied, "As you know, my cover for the longest time was as an independent trader, and him and I partnered up quite a few times on the road... He's a good, honest man and I'll be more than happy to vouch for him... I don't recall him traveling with any kids or Nazi deserters, though."

The Governor nodded and said, "Excellent, this might make things even better!"

Erik, who was still a little befuddled with the whirlwind of events that had happened over the past few days said, "Wait a minute, how can you tell that I'm a deserter? I hadn't even SAID anything yet?"

"Well," Welch replied, "It's called 'simple deductive logic': You see, if you were an field agent, you'd have changed into something more apropriate for visiting the Governor, and if you were a bona-fide Nazi, then you wouldn't even be here in the first place, so what that leaves is you being a deserter. Q.E.D."

Erik nodded and said, "You're right: I am a deserter, but mainly because I finally realized ze trus about ze Nazi regime, or at least its hardcore fanatics... Dose guys can barely even be called human now, und I'm sick of ze racism und savagery. I refuse to further dishonor ze von Blücher family anymore by associating vis zem!"

"Ha!" the Governor shouted, "Is this the same von Blücher family as the one of General Gebhart Leberecht von Blücher?!"

"Yes it is," Erik replied, "not too many people know that."

"Ah, well, my friend," Governor Herndon grinned, "the reason I know is because your ancestor served one of my ancestors... You see, as I've already told my earlier guests, my family name, before my great-grandfather changed it around the time of WWI, was von Hohenzollern! It must have been divine providence that led you here tonight."

Erik and McCoy gaped, but then looking closer at the Governor's face, they realized that, if the governor would grow a handlebar mustache and put on a Prussian military uniform, he'd pretty much be a dead ringer for Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Governor waved his hand and said, "Please be seated, and I'll let everyone introduce themselves... You too, Special Agent Hess; this meeting involves your area of operations."

Once everyone had introduced themselves, Governor Herndon said, "Now, let's get down to business... I know that Agent Hess took the time to feed Gefreiter von Blucher, Mistress Sophie, Master Dietrich and Mr. McCoy, so they should be good for now, and I must say that was very generous of you Agent Hess."

"Not really, your excellency," Hess replied, "I put the tab on my expense voucher."

"Right, as I was saying," The Governor smirked, "It's time we got down to business.... Needless to say, the fact that the Robertsons were able to wipe out the Randalls was a significant development in the local geo-political climate, but it wouldn't have the urgency it did, were it not for other larger developments occurring at the same time. First of all, who here is familiar with what is going on in the larger world?"

"Well, I heard on K-Rock, VOA and other pirate stations that the Russians have been kicking the Nazi's tails up between their ears," James replied.

"Yes, und I haff alzo heard rumors zat ze Restorationists, or 'Crown Loyalists' as zey like to call zemselves haff been gaining ground in der Vaterland," Erik chimed in.

"Well, even though it's probably above both my pay grade AND secret security clearance, I've heard some hints and rumors that we've got something big going down at Rabenstein, er, Raven Rock," Ryan commented.

The governor smiled and said, "Well, you're all partially right, but yes, things ARE coming to a head..." Governor Herndon raised the index finger on his right hand, "First of all, the Russians are, indeed making a comeback, proving that the 'almighty invincible Wehrmacht' isn't so invincible after all... This, hopefully will encourage other oppressed peoples, such as the French and British to follow their lead." The middle finger came up to join the index finger, "Secondly, thanks to the high number of casualties in Russia, domestic unrest IS on the rise inside Germany, no matter WHAT Hitler and his propaganda goons say otherwise... As a matter of fact, the Freischteet has had agents inside Germany for YEARS now, who are in contact with various Crown Loyalsit cells... Even though I'm NOT the closest in line for succession, I am, more or less, the von Hohenzollern representative for America, and I've been coordinating with the Crown Loyalists so that when the time is ripe, we'll be able to work simultaneously to overthrow the usurper and restore the RIGHTFUL Kaiser of Germany to the throne, only THIS time, we'll do it right! Namely, a PROPER constitutional Monarchy, like Great Britain, not that ramshackle mess that my great-great grandfather's brother came up with!"

He paused as the guests broke into applause at that statement... Never mind the fact that most of them weren't particularly loyal to the Hohenzollern dynasty, one thing they could all agree on was the fact that Hitler had to go! As soon as the applause died down, Herndon raised his ring finger and said, "Thirdly... Thirdly, several long-term research & construction projects are either complete or nearing completion. Lautenslager mentioned Raven Rock, but who here knows what Raven Rock's original purpose was, besides any Freischteet personnel?"

Gunner cleared his throat, "I was a member of the Rebellion Marines and I heard rumors about it... It was also known as 'the Long Tunnel' or, more to the point, 'Little Pentagon'... It supposedly houses copies of every single secret and top secret document and computer file in the US government, and was built a mile underground so that it could survive a direct nuclear strike."

Governor Herndon nodded, "You're quite correct, and it just so happens to be hidden near a small army base in our core territory, and, as you said, it does, in fact house EVERY secret government document: The keys to the ENIGMA codes, data from the Manhattan project, plans leaked from German Nuclear research projects and top secret rocket designs."

He paused to let that sink in before continuing, "It even had the only surviving copy of the location of 'Trinity'." There were several gasps when he said that.

"You're telling me you've managed to find the fabled AMERICAN nuke?" Gunner asked, incredulous, "I thought it was just something the government propaganda types made up to keep the people's hopes up!"

"Oh, rest assured, Mr. Patterson," Governor Herndon smiled slyly, "not only is it real, but we are mere months from getting it operational! The best part is, even as impressive as THAT is, it's merely a failsafe for our MAIN attraction.... You ever hear of a Sanger Silbervogel?"

Nearly everyone in the room snarled at the mention of Germany's manned, orbital nuclear bombers, orbital bombers which delivered the nukes that wiped New Jersey, Philadelphia and DC off the map. The Governor raised his hand and said, "We have THREE of them, built in secret over the past 40 years, based on copies of stolen plans found at Raven Rock as well as improvements/input from the Penn State Engineering department. Unlike the originals, ours are vertically launched, and kept in well-camouflaged silos in widely separated locations in our territory. Furthermore, as you well know, having three orbital bombers is pretty pointless unless you have bombs to go with them... Well, our physicists have figured out that if you drop a bundle of six, half-ton tungsten rods from orbit, you'll get the same effect on a city as if you hit it with a large nuke, but minus the fallout." The Governor grins evilly at the last comment, but then his face drops and he says, "The only problem is that even though we've tested every individual component of the Silbervogels, and even done wind-tunnel tests on scale-models of both the orbiter and the completed launch vehicle, we haven't been able to do any actual flight tests of the actual vehicle, for obvious reasons. Additionally, Tungsten has been somewhat hard to come by in quantities we need, but we've been able to substitute depleted uranium, thanks to cleaning up all the fallout that we've been doing over the years."

"Fourthly and finally," he said as his pinky came up to join the other three fingers, "We're not alone here... We've managed to find a few allies who we can trust, including at least one of the West Virginia Clans and most importantly, Pittsburgh... Yes, I know, they're Mafia, or should I say, 'respectable businessmen looking out for the good of the community', but they're honorable in their own way, and they will be essential for when we finally deal with the outlaw gangs that infest Fulton, Bedford, Juniata, Mifflin, Blair, Huntington and Perry Counties... ESPECIALLY Perry County! The blasted 'Hole in the Wall Gang' is even so bold as to attack fortified outposts along the border of Cumberland County and THEN raid the area after they've broke through! ...Although even they aren't stupid enough to come anywhere near Mechanicsburg or the War College!" Most of the people seated at the table cringed at the mention of the infamous "Perry County Prowlers" or Hole in the Wall Gang, the most ruthless and gutsy gang of outlaws in the entire state.

He then looks around the table, seeing rapt attention on every face, and says, "The reason I'm telling you all of this is because, to quote a certain popular underground movie (especially so in Pittsburgh for some reason)," Governor Herndon's voice takes on a wheezy Italian accent, "I'm about to make you an offer you can't refuse: I want New Jersey cleaned up and the tribes neutralized... Preferably through diplomatic means, but by force if you have to. In return, I'm going to help Mr. James Robertson here get rid of that no-good psycho Nazi Harry, and I'll even go further: You guys have resources in Schuylkill, or rather, Spruce county, particularly Coal and Natural Gas, but thanks to the current state of things, not much is getting done with them... We can help develop those resources and improve your transportation and communications infrastructure, and we'll even be extra nice and give your family 51% of the stock in any company based out of Spruce County."

He then looks at McCoy and says, "You're from New Jersey, think about it: Wouldn't it be nice to put an end to the constant threat of raids by gangs of savage raiders or attacks by hideously mutated animals? If you help reclaim your home, we'll do just that: Remove the contaminated soil and replace it with clean soil dredged from the Susquehanna, just like we did with Chester County and most of Cecil County, Maryland. Again, we'll rebuild your infrastructure and invest in resource development."

His eyes took one final sweep of the room and he said, "I realize it's late, and I've just dropped a lot on you, but I will say this: if you refuse, you'll just have to sign a non-disclosure agreement, and you'll be set up with an ID and citizenship in the Freischteet, for those of you who are from the outside, or just go back to your previous duties for those who are already citizens and work for the Freischteet... However, I'm a fair and honorable man, so I'll let you get a good night's sleep before you have to make a decision. I've prepared the guest wing for you all, so good night, sleep tight, and let me know what your decision is by tomorrow afternoon."

With that, everyone stood, said their good nights and followed Alfred to the guest wing of the Governor's Mansion and settled down as best as they could.

Auugh! You guys post to fast!

Nice job on the chapters though! Thumbs up!

I'll have a large installment later, hopefully...

Hehehe, we're on a roll, aren't we?

All right! *looks forward* I'm wondering what's happening in Russia.

I can't think of what to add immediately... I'll let Hikaro do another.

Yis yis. Chapter'z up now!


---Russia---


Ivan Stalin awaited the arrival of his men. He had news for them. Ivan was currently located in the Russian's secret hideaway's gymnasium.

Half an hour later his men arrived looking sloppy and unkempt.

Ivan stood up from his seat amid rounds of applause and went to the podium. He silenced the crowd with a wave of his hand.

"Thank you all for your warm reception. I have good news, and not so good news. First of all Dead Silence has agreed to my terms and will fight alongside us."

Cheers reigned through the hall. Stalin again raised his hand for silence.

"The bad news is that this alliance has no order! None!"

The crowd just stared dumbly.

"WELL?!? ARE YOU JUST GOING TO GAWK AT ME?!? ON YOUR FEET!" Ivan roared.

The Russian army sprang up a one body.

Stalin nodded, "That's better. Now, salutes, all of you!"

Everyone saluted.

Ivan smiled evilly, "Good! You are good students."

The Russian alliance stood stock still for fearing they would anger their leader.

Stalin continued, "I have chosen some men to train you, and lead you into battle, I have more important matters to attend to! I am traveling to Pennsylvania with Dead Silence to attempt to ally with the Americans.

Boos and shouts of anger echoed around the gymnasium.

Ivan regained order with a wave of his hand, "I know we all hate the Americans, but! We cannot win this war on our own! We are surrounded by Germans on one side, sea on the others! We live in a Nuclear affected hell! Us Russians suffer mutant attacks, both animal and human! Now, who's with me?"

A few cheers sounded.

"WHO"S WITH ME?!?"

The whole gym erupted in one roar which was thousands of voices shouting:

"STALIN! STALIN!"

Ivan grinned, "Now, for your trainers. Colonel Josef Lenin, and Commander Vassili Zaitsev, step forward."

The two men who had been chosen walked forward.

Lenin was a smaller man, but he radiated with a commanding aura.

Zaitsev on the other hand was Mr. T the second, in larger form. His neck was about the size of Lenin's waist, and his muscles were expansive. A very noticeable fellow.

Stalin again spoke, "Here are your commanders. I will now bid you farewell!"

The large room echoed once again with shouts of, "STALIN! STALIN! STALIN!"

You guys like?

Ok, here's my overdue chapter. NOTE: In this timeline, Penn State University has re-located to what, in Real Life would be where Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) is located, but HACC wasn't built until 1964, i.e. well after the invasion....

The guests of Governor Joseph Herndon were sitting around the dining room table eating breakfast the next morning and talking. Somehow, new clothes that fit Dietrich, Sophie, McCoy and von Blucher had been delivered to their rooms overnight, and they were sporting the new threads. Towards the center of the table, James and Gunner were detailing their exploits in taking out the Randalls and the subsequent betrayal by Harry. Ryan just shook his head during the part about the discovery of the contents of the diner and said, "Whoa! You're telling me you found a WHOLE JUKEBOX worth of Elvis songs?!"

"Ayup!" Gunner replied, "probably still there."

"Dang! Too bad they're in Harry's hands," Ryan replied, "The Visual and Recording Arts Department of Penn State would have LOVED to get hold of them, especially since there was probably some songs they didn't have ANY copies of!"

"They got ELVIS recordings at the college?" James asked, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but still, I'm trying to get my head around the idea that the biggest 'collaborators' would be keeping something that, um, incriminating in their capitol!"

Mark grinned, "Well, you can't accuse us of not having balls!" He leaned closer and said, "I hear tell that in one of their secret vaults below the studio, they actually have some of Elvis' original TAPES, smuggled up from Tennessee by Governor Erlich himself, and they were what K-Rock and the VoA used for their 'bootleg' records, at least until we managed to get and reverse-engineer the ALD technology."

James just shook his head as Gunner laughed, "Cripes, man! That must have cost him a fortune!!"

Mark shrugged, "That's what I heard, but since the governor was paying out of his own pocket, nobody said anything... Well, actually, I seem to remember he was paying for it out of the 'Füher's' pocket, but had fudged the numbers so it didn't look like routine expenses and such...."

This time both James and Gunner just gaped, before starting to laugh. Ryan pushed back his plate and stood up. "So," he said, "If you all are finished, and since we've got some time to kill, I was wondering if anyone wanted to come with me to the College when I drop off the latest Nazi electronics we picked up on our recent trip to New York City... There's something there that I'd like you all to see. If you want to come along, meet me out back in five minutes."

Pretty much everyone was unfamiliar with Harrisburg and figured that they had nothing much better to do, they'd see what Ryan was so hepped-up about. So, five minutes later, everyone was hanging around the truck that Ryan, James, Gunner, Liz, Mark, Dorty and the other Robertsons had arrived on the previous night. Ryan walked over, climbed into the driver's seat and said, "Hop in!" Everyone piled into the back of the truck with the crate loaded with various electronic gizmos, and Ryan put it in gear and headed out the gate and up Second Street, towards I-81. A short trip up Front Street to 81, and less than a mile to the Cameron Street exit, and the truck was rolling down Cameron Street towards the Penn State Main Campus.

James noticed something strange about the trees lining the street as he looked out the back of the truck, and shouted, "Wait a minute! Are those friggin' PALM TREES planted along the street!"

"No, they're some kinda Yucca," Liz interjected, "but I aint never heard of them growing around these parts, leastways, not this big."

"Wait," James replied, "You're telling me that these TREES are the same kind of plants that Grandpaw Rick had planted in front of the house?! You're right they don't get that big... Normally they's just a mound of green leaves close to the ground, and during the summer they'd put up MAYBE six-foot flower stalks, but these things are at LEAST twenty-five foot tall!"

"They're mutants," Ryan said from up front, "One of the Penn State Botany Department's first ever plant survey crews went into the Rad Wastes in the New Jersey Pine Barrens about forty years ago to see what kind of effect the radiation had on plants.... Turns out that SOME species mutated into giant forms, and they found a small grove of these giant Yucca filamentosa plants and brought back half a dozen offsets... Of course they found out that OTHER plants had grown super-huge when they had to cut one of the student volunteers out of a giant Sundew plant that decided to try eating him... Lucky thing the kid had his rad-suit on, otherwise he'd have been half digested by the time they got him out! Anyways, they cleaned off as much of the radiated soil as they could and planted the offsets in their experimental plant facility, and started selling the offsets and seedlings of the originals... All these ones, and ones planted in other places were started from the same six offsets collected those forty years ago."

Liz blinked and said, "But why? Seems like a lot of trouble for something that’s just an ornamental….”

“Well, I guess that the survey team just wanted to prove that there was SOMETHING good that came out of the Nazis nuking us,” Ryan replied as the truck turned down the main drive into the campus, opposite of the Farm Show complex/Penn State Agricultural Campus. He shrugged and then said, “Then again, it might be because they DO look kinda like funky palm trees…. You see, folks around here don’t usually get to travel very far outside the ares under Freischteet control. ….At least not if they want to keep their hides intact! That’s one of the reasons I jumped at the chance to lead convoys, when a slot became available: It gave me a chance to see some of the wider world outside the ‘core areas’…. That’s why I think these Yuccas are so popular as garden and street plants: They remind people of the places that they can only see in pictures in old National Geographic magazines or dioramas at the museum. …Definitely made the University a pretty penny selling them over the years.”

“Is this related to what you wanted to show us?” Liz asked.

“Yep, but after I drop this stuff off,” Ryan nodded as he pulled up to a loadind dock behind the Engineering building. A young woman came out and walked up to the front of the truck, and Ryan said, “I’ve got some more goodies for you today, cuteness!”

The lady blushed and replied, “Ok, Handsome! Nice to see you back in town… Are you staying long this time?”

Ryan frowned and replied, “I’m sorry Rachel, but unfortunately not… I’ve got a priority assignment from the Governor himself that I’ll most likely be leaving tomorrow. Looks like the long-awaited day is approaching soon, and the Governor has decided to make hay while the sun is shining, as they say.”

Rachel pouted and said, “Oh, well, I was expecting to spend some time with you… I’ll guess I’ll just get these new goodies taken care of.”

“Actually, if you aren’t too busy, I was wondering if you could maybe join us at the Conservatory, and then lunch,” Ryan hastily replied.

“OK, Will do!” Rachel said. Once the crate was removed from the truck, Rachel hopped in and Ryan drove it back out the main entrance and directly across the street to the Farm Show Complex/Agricutural and Botanical campus. The truck drove through the parking lot around the main arenas/lecture halls and towards a large conservatory/greenhouse complex behind the main buildings.

He then parked the truck and introduced the crew to his girlfriend Rachel and said, “Well, we’re here! The Penn State Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, or as I like to call them, ‘my mini-vacation spot.’” He swept the buildings and outdoor gardens with a gesture and said, “This is where the botanists and horticulturalists experiment with new plant breeds and test potentially beneficial mutant plants discovered in the Rad Wastes…. This is where they first started growing the Mutant Corn, that gets close to 30 feet tall and has three-foot ears, the Giant Tomato plants, which have average sized tomatoes, but get almost 50’ tall and have LOTS of em, and the giga-onions that get about the size of a bowling ball.”

So they spent the next two hours looking at the different rare, exotic, experimental and mutant plants growing in the gardens and greenhouses. Many of the newest mutants had radiation warnings and shielding between the public access walkways and where they were planted. Ryan then said, “This is what it’s really about…” He paused an then continued, “Well, not necessarily THIS specifically, but freedom and civilization in general: I mean the Nazis, with their emphasis on ‘racial purity’ and ‘absolute order’ would never even have CONCIEVED of something like this! To them, all mutants, plant and animal, are just like the ‘untermenschen’: abominations that need to be purged, without even once giving thought to the possibility that they may have traits and abilities that are actually USEFUL to society!” He then smiled grimly and continued, “And that is the reason that they are ultimately doomed to fail: They only know how to use fear and pain to maintain their insane idea of ‘order’ without considering even once that they may have screwed up by the numbers somewhere.”

“It is much safer to be feared than loved, when of the two, either must be dispensed with. Nevertheless a prince outght to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated, which will always be as long as he abstains from the property of his citizens and subjects, and from their women.”

The group turned and stared at McCoy with mouths wide open, while Oberwachtmeister Eichenlaub said, “That’s Machiavelli! ‘The Prince’ is required reading for Freischteet Armed Forces members attaining the rank of NCO or higher… Well, that and ‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu and ‘On War’ by Clausewitz.”

Ryan nodded vigorously and said, “How does a wastelander know so much about Political Science and history?”

“It’s a hobby of mine,” McCoy replied.

“He is a man of hidden depths,” Erik chimed in, “He already knew a lot about my ancestor when we first met.”

Ryan cocked his head to the side and said, “Interesting…. Anyways, as I was saying and as McCoy pointed out, the Nazis are already doomed by their own intolerance: History is replete with tyrannical empires that collapsed in less than a hundred years' time due to either the sheer amount of oppression making the people desperate enough to risk everything, the leadership falling into the trap of believing their own propaganda or some combination thereof, both of which the Nazis have been doing for the past 50 years!" He pauses and then says, "Now, what do you all say we go to the Farmer’s Market on Verbeke Street? The Amish and Mennonites usually have good, home-cooked food there…”

After getting a chorus of affirmative replies, everyone piles into the truck and Ryan drives them to the Broad Street Market for some typical Pennsylvania Dutch fare (he has some of the Hogmaw, while Gunner and Liz share a large order of slippery noodle pot pie). After lunch and dropping Rachel off at the University, they return to the Governor’s mansion.

At 4 PM, they file into the main briefing room, where the Governor is already waiting. The Governor looks around and says, “Well, the appointed hour has arrived. Are you in or not.” As his gaze swept around the table, he recived a string of affirmative replies. When the last person in the group had indicated that they were in on the venture, the Governor said, “Excellent! Now, if you’ll turn and face the flag and repeat after me: ‘I pledge allegience to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

When everyone had finished reciting the Pledge of Alegience, the Governor said, “Very Good! You are all now officially citizens of the Freischteet Pennsilfaani… Now, Gunner Patterson, James Robertson and Erik von Blucher, front and center!”

When Erik, James and Gunner stepped forward, the Governor said, “I have a proposition for you boys: The Pennsylvania Grenzschutz, or as it will soon be known, the United States Army, could use good, experienced men like you. Now, I’m willing and able to offer Gunner a commission at his old rank of Lieutenant that he held in the Rebellion Marines, Herr von Blucher his current rank of Private First Class, or Gefreiter, and Mr. Robertson the rank of Corporal, or Unteroffizer. Do you accept?”

“I’m in.” Gunner replied

“I’ll accept, your excellency,” Erik saluted.

“I’ll take your offer as well, Mr. Governor,” James replied.

“Good, now I’ll administer the Oath of Office to Mr. Patterson, while Hauptmann Lautenslager administers the Oath of Enlistment to Mr. Von Blucher and Mr. Robertson…”

So, Gunner, Erik and James were sworn in as special operations soldiers in the Pennsylvania Grenzschutz, and once the oaths were administered, the Governor said, “Well, that’s all for today… I recommend getting to bed early, because tomorrow is a big day! You’ll be leaving here following supper and spending the night at the Mechanicsburg Supply Depot, where you’ll be issued any gear necessary for the assignment. In addition, you’ll be receiving reinforcements as well. Good luck and God bless!”

After all the military personnel, both old and newly minted saluted, everyone filed out of the room and began packing up their belongings… Soon their journey would begin.

Sorry it took so long, but I’ve been crazy busy lately… I’ll try to post at least one chapter a week, even with all the stuff going on (like family coming in from out of town and house-hunting)….

Very nice chapter, it was worth the wait.