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Heretic said:
Rensslaer - Flat Stanley? eh? Was that the headbanging puppet in the car?

Rensslaer - yes, the Csar it still on the throne at the moment
Flat Stanley is a kid's story that I'm familiar with due to my work, where a kid gets crushed flat as a pancake, but finds that he can mail himself around the world for $.37. :D

As for the Czar, and my doubts... I'd seen some things that I'd allowed to lead me astray into suspecting this would be about Russian immigrants to America... But I'm glad to see it's in Russia. I know that you will do a great job with the gameplay and they storytelling!

Rensslaer
 
Good update... Is that Joseph a caricature on Stalin? And is the title supposed to be in Russian? It should be written like that then (look inside the yellow box)... Keep up the good job! ;)
 
Rensslaer,
thanks for the comment, oh dear, I have standards to live up to now

Papergut,
thanks for the help - I tried to get it right, but my Russian grammar is awfully rusty - you will see I have now updated the title.
Also, Jospeh is Armenian, not Georgian, so, not an exact link, but yes, something of an allusion.

ok,
on with the show

Heretic
 
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Butcher

The last of the carcasses was lifted from the cart by the suspiciously young looking soldier. Jospeh turned to speak to the Quartermaster as he departed.

“So will you be sailing to help the Mexican Emperor?”
“No, we are the Corps of the Guard, and have the honour of defending our great capital, should any armies make it past the great Baltic Imperial Fleet. Besides, there are plenty of Cossack armies out in Alaska that can support our allies.”

“Really? So many?”
“Oh yes, and the reserves are to be shipped out from Irkutsk too, should the regulars need a little support.”

“Ah, before I came north, I thought that the Empire went on for ever, but now I can see the Tsar wants a little more”
“Oh, no, it’s not greed, the Tsar must defend us all against these upstart states. It’s a case of supporting the status quo. Who knows where we would be if the sovereign of Mexico, or even, god forbid, of Russia, could be pushed around by some silly bunch of elected officials.
Oh, heavens above no, that would not do! We all need to know our place, and then the world will roll on smoothly.
Anyway, here is your pay, and make sure you keep bringing only the finest meat. We can’t have our officers eating anything but the best now!”

Shuffling backwards, and bowing slightly out of habit, Joseph accepted the bag of money, and made his way from the barracks. He mused about what the Quartermaster had just said. Surely he was right, the only way that the world went on was by everybody knowing their place.

As for the Mexican war, well, Mexico had been humbled into loosing a little land back in 1848, and now that the Tsar had made it his business to protect his neighbour, surely the American Congress would realise it was on to a loosing idea.

Joseph started to daydream a little about the wilds of Alaska, imagining the brave Cossacks riding out across the snow to drive out the enemies of the Tsar. Perhaps they would even have frost in their moustaches.
 
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A whole world left to explore!

I must wonder if I would get to see more of the world if I were a 5 kopek piece...

But thoughts such as this are not worth a plugged nickel, eh? :D

Rensslaer
 
Getting off to a great start, even if a little bloody. I'm sure it will get a lot more before the whole thing is through. ;)
 
((PETA Declares war on the Empire of Russia))
 
Butcher

Well, my little journey from the mint has now led me into quite low company I must say. When I was carried to the barracks, I thought I would soon be in some soldier’s pocket. To have been used to buy some meat, well, it is not quite what I expected.

Anyway, there are many other coins in this bag, some have been around a bit, I must say. Something that people don’t realise is it quite how fast money gets around. From talking to the other coins, I am now pretty well informed about events in every part of our great land.

There is a lot of talk of war, and the new frontier in the Amerussian lands. Some of the older coins say it is like the old days, when the Empire headed east. Frankly, I think some of them are getting a little senile, or at least exaggerating. All that must have happened ages ago, surely they can’t have been kicking around that long?

Well, as I said, I’m pretty fresh from the mint, but some of these coins have certainly been around the block a few times. It looks like the 40’s and 50’s have been pretty good years, all in all, with Mother Russia going from strength to strength. Peace reigns, with our science and industry leading the world.

1852factories.jpg


Russia has been free of the sort of local difficulties that have occurred abroad, like the little spat in the Lowlands that brought armies from much of Europe into the field.

Speaking of foreign parts, some of the coins here say they have met Pounds and Dollars and Francs. All the foreign coins have funny accents, but as we all know, the language that money speaks is universal!

I’ll tell you a little more, but it looks like Joseph’s cart has reached its destination, and I’d better keep quiet.
 
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Heretic said:
Some of the older coins say it is like the old days, when the Empire headed east. Frankly, I think some of them are getting a little senile, or at least exaggerating.
((laughs)) Senile money! That explains why my money doesn't go as far as it used to!

Intriguing update! I'll anticipate an interesting exchange ahead... so to speak.

Rensslaer
 
Butcher

Days and weeks passed quietly in the little butcher’s yard in the shabby settlement on the outskirts of Petersburg. Summer’s stifling heat and marauding mosquitoes fell gradually aside, replaced by the rains and browning leaves of autumn.

Whilst the “First War of the West” was raging, continents away, life in the great capital continued generally unchanged. Joseph was not amongst the crowds gathered to see the new steam warship the ‘Borodino’ formally launched, since life for the small trader allows little time for holidays. The continuing policy of the Tsar to support Pan-Slavic nationalism was also of little interest to an illiterate non-Russian.

What was surprising was news at the cattle market that some traveller from the south was looking for him. Joseph spent the rest of the day on edge, wondering who it might be. Returning to his yard, he saw a horse standing outside, with a saddle in the style of his hometown. Stepping through the gate, a familiar voice cried out;

“Joseph!”
“Viktor!”

With a warm embrace, the cousins were reunited. Viktor had clearly been travelling for some time, as the mud on his horse and boots attested. Now, Viktor was a different sort of character from Joseph, although the two had got on famously as children. Whilst Joseph had always been hardworking, Viktor was generally caught up in wild ideas, and schemes that came to nothing. Viktor was also a little closer to the angry young men who railed against Russian domination of the Caucuses.

Afternoon ran swiftly into evening although the pair of them did not notice. Years apart had to be filled in, and the rough bottle of vodka that Joseph had kept aside was emptying rapidly.

As his face grew a little more shiny, Viktor started to wax lyrical about the successes that the Bukkarans and the Khivans had enjoyed in remaining independent from Russia. He seemed to think that the feeble local militias that they had raised were, somehow, seeing off the might of the imperial army. Joseph completely failed to persuade him that now that thousands of miles of open land in Amerussia were up for grabs, the issue of some scrappy pieces of mountain was perhaps a little less pressing.

High above the butcher’s yard, through the gaps in the clouds, could be seen the brightest of the stars sparkling against the deep black of the sky.
 
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Great AAR so far, truly differnt than most AARs.
 
Butcher

Oh dear, I think Joseph will have a very sore head in the morning. I’m not so worried about Viktor, he looks like he has spent a bit more time carousing than his honest, upright cousin. It’s a pretty good job that Joseph didn’t mention that he supplies meat to the army, since Viktor seems to have quite a beef with them.

I seem to be a bit stuck in a crease at the bottom of Joseph’s money pouch. Every time he reaches for a coin, his fingers seem to brush me aside.

A two-kopek piece joined us yesterday, fresh off a merchant ship. He tells us that all is going fairly well out west for the Tsar, with the Cossacks covering lost of ground, although they have not met the standing army of the USA yet.

As for the infantry, well the 1st Amerussian Corps have recently landed in Portland. More divisions are just setting off from Irkutsk, and are hoping that the Pacific will remain calm.

1852alaska.jpg


September was brought to a happy end as Baker City and Prince George were liberated. The small populations of the towns looked on bemused as the regular army marched down the main street. They will all have to learn a few new words now like rouble and Tsar, but frontier people are generally pretty adaptable.

The campaign has been supported from the Motherland too, with the Imperial Northern Fleet sailing over to the icy seas in the north of Canada. Apparently the USA has a few outposts in the north. Next week they are certain to have a few less.

The Mexicans have brought many of the Central American states along to the party, although their armies are tiny, and they are unlikely to make a big difference.

Matters further south have been less simple, as the Mexicans try to establish a front line in their northern territories. Much ground has been lost, and the situation is still unclear.

1852mexico.jpg


Our allies, the Prussians, seem to have little interest in sending troops across the Atlantic, but they will also have little opportunity for gain in the war. I’ll have to ask a passing Thaler if they have any news.
 
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Cool... The scene is set for Red Dawn.

Although I suppose you're not communist... yet.

Rensslaer
 
"Wolveriiiiines!!!"

Oh, wait - it hasn't completely happened yet. And, of course, I suppose I should be rooting for the Russians in this story...hmmm...I'll try. ;)
 
Rensslaer,
red dawn? battleship aurara perhaps? no, far indeed from Communism at the moment, I think it is still a twinkle in papa Marx's eye.

Coz1,
I get the feeling that I am missing an X-Men related joke at the moment, but I just don't quite know what it is.

Anyway, here's another little slice of life in old Petersburg:
 
Butcher

Splatch!
The large iron cleaver thudded juicily into the side of the carcass, a rent opening between the ribs. The blow had been aimed with skill, and managed to avoid disturbing the intestines. Joseph pulled the meat apart with his brawny hands, and the entrails slithered out in a wet pile towards the floor.

Vanya watched from the door post, careful not to disobey his father’s instructions about entering the slaughterhouse, but keen to see all that went on.

“Don’t think I don’t know you are there” called Joseph, without turning round, “Make yourself useful, eh, and fill the bucket with water, we need to get this place cleaned up quickly.”

Quickly indeed, since Joseph needed to dash to the barracks. For the last few months, with the Guards off overseas, custom had been very slack. Joseph was keen to get back with the first deliveries, and rumour from the docks suggested that the Corps was unloading today.

Leaving little Vanya struggling with a full sized mop, the butcher’s cart headed off out of the yard. It did not take long to reach the barracks, driving over the muddy and rutted streets. Occasionally there were sentries posted in huts, since unrest had been widespread around the country, and attempts were being made to clamp down.

1853unresteconomy.jpg


The unrest was prevalent, with riots in small provincial towns being almost commonplace. If it was all predicated by the continuing war out west, then it was slightly unjustified. The situation in the north had certainly turned in Russia’s favour, even if the Emperor of Mexico was now beginning to find Yankee troops a little closer to his palace than he may like.

18541stWotW.jpg


Some Russian troops were even now acting under the control of the Mexican army, visiting increasingly dry and dusty locations.

1854centralplains.jpg


Jospeh’s musings about the ice on the moustaches of the Cossacks starting to melt as they reached the desert helped him as he waited in the barracks yard for the flustered quartermaster.

“Ah, Joseph, just the man, my goodness me, how good it is to see a helpful face! Get those sides of beef into the store on the double; the food on those ships was appalling. It may be alright for those navy lads, but it’s not enough to line the stomach of a Guardsman.”
“No problem, would you like more than your standard order?”

“Yes, yes, let’s get stocked up. It will be nice to eat some honest Russian meat after the stuff we could find over there.”
“Over there?”

“Oh yes, in the heart of those lily-livered democrat’s country, the gleaming heart, the big pineapple as they call it.”

1854guardsinUSA.jpg


“But surely a big city like that would have a little meat?”

“Well you might think so, but my lads could only find some rotten old stuff. The fact that nothing new was coming in past our barricades could have something to do with it. Anyway, all done and dusted now. Run along man, and I’ll see you next week with the additional order.”

Joseph could take that as nothing other than a direct dismissal, so he backed out of the office, wondering about where he would find a load of extra meat.
 
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Surely he could purchase it but then we might lose another of the stars of this story. ;)

And Wolverines is a reference to the name of the small band of American teenagers that fight back at the Soviets that invade the US in Red Dawn. Just seemed to fit after Renss mentioned it.
 
Yeah, like Coz mentioned, Red Dawn was an '80s movie where the Soviets invaded the USA. These kids from a high school (in Colorado, I might add!) fought back.

I like the fact that you're examining the lives of these common people -- not entirely common in an AAR! Doing a great job. Again. :D

Rensslaer