Chapter 59

Six weeks later ... September 25, 2014
The War Council Chamber in the Defense Commissariat Offices
Haven, Province of Oregon, Commonwealth of Haven

“So, good news so far, then. Our battle reports indicate that the East Oregon Alliance is truly unraveling in real time. Alliance forces are being pushed back toward what they’re calling the ‘Hermiston Line.’ I believe that they mean to dig in there ... right along the outskirts of Hermiston, the only sizable city in eastern Oregon.

“The use of the Undead Guard as shock troops has helped, not to mention the use of Havenite sympathizers behind enemy lines and the sheer professionalism, discipline, cohesion, and morale of the Army of Western Oregon. It doesn’t hurt that as soon as we resurrect their troops, we send them back at their former comrades with a vengeance. Some might call them cannon fodder, but they’re undead, so can’t be killed or stopped, of course.

“The previous perimeter, the Donner Line, was sundered in four places, of course. So many local volunteers in a paltry excuse for a hastily recruited home guard ... it’s no surprise that they couldn’t hold. Many were armed well enough, but mustered with undue haste and sent into battle as green as frogs.

“Poor, unlucky bastards! The lads broke and ran at Burns and Hines, and then at Madras. It didn’t help them that we’ve secured the Cascade Mountains and could rain serious artillery fire down on them, of course,” Aengus explained to us now.

“In a nutshell, their geese are cooked and even the most obtuse leaders of the EOA must be rethinking their prospects. The Hermiston Line can’t hold indefinitely, especially as we’ve now managed to outflank them and surround them on three sides. That salient is badly exposed and they know it, but they fear to withdraw and evacuate Hermiston.

“They’re running out of cities, after all. I also feel badly for them ... but they’re being wasted in a bad cause by self-serving local bigwigs who fear losing their people ... and in some cases don’t like that Master is a Jew. He’s also seen as the Antichrist by some of them, so you know where that leads. Fanaticism, however, hasn’t produced the results that they want from such zeal. The esprit de corps is gone, if ever existed at all,” Katrina expressed honest empathy for the foe, in spite of her disgust with their bigotry.

“Yes, well, I have an answer to that. A proclamation, to be broadcast and distributed as much and quickly as possible, promising the following to the enemy troops. First, any who surrender or disperse shall be granted amnesty and allowed to go home. Second, they must fully disband all private militias and organizations within the EOA who don’t constitute or are not affiliated with Sheriff’s Departments and other law enforcement entities.

“Third, the EOA must be formally dissolved and divided into its constituent counties. All officers of the EOA must resign posthaste, but may be pardoned if they swear allegiance to the Commonwealth. We will evaluate their ... prospects for career advancement in time, but for now, they will need to get real jobs, though the relevant state relief agencies can aid in that.