Royals defeat Mariners 8-2, win Battle for Grass Creek

June 24th, 2015. Grass Creek, Wyoming. Dawn. Diary of Corporal Daniel "Gnar" Duffy.

The morning air is oppressive with fog. Heavy with the defeat of the previous night, the thoughts of my blue-crested soldiers were not quieted with a night of sleep. Through the haze, I can see a few of them assembling breakfast. It is joyless. I feel partly responsible. I was unable to take part in last night's battle due to infirmary orders, but I am cleared to join my brothers tonight. I am ready. I have been issued new mechanical equipment; I am not sure of its potential effects on the battlefield, but it is another weapon at our disposal.

The morning air is oppressive, but we must push through.

June 24th, 2015. One mile east of Grass Creek along...Grass Creek. Diary of Corporal Daniel "Gnar" Duffy. Late morning.

The air has cleared. General Yost has given us our orders. We are to march north along 4 Mile Road. There is a ridge not far. Our intel says the enemy is camped to the south and west of the ridge and does not have sentries. This ridge is to guard our right flank as we make our assault.

June 24th, 2015. Two miles north of Grass Creek. Diary of Corporal Daniel "Gnar" Duffy. Afternoon.

Our troops are in place. We have no reports of enemy movement. The heavy thoughts have all but dissipated. The blue-crested soldiers are ready for battle. Colonels Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, both fiery, intimidating, grizzled soldiers, have meticulously prepared the troops. Each man's bayonet is clean and polished. Canteens are full. Boots are in good condition. In a battle like this, so close to the dirt, having a solid pair of boots is worth a fortune in gold.

Now, we wait for the battle to begin.

June 24th, 2015. Two miles north of Grass Creek. Diary of General Ned "Frank" Yost. Early evening.

I have had scattered reports of the beginning of the battle. Despite my Colonels' meticulous preparations, the troops came out listless. My blue-crested soldiers were unable to cause any damage to the enemy in the initial skirmishes. Unfortunately, Corporal Duffy gave up some ground in those initial skirmishes. However, despite the stubbornness of the opposition, we are not in dire straits. Colonel Moustakas has a plan, the details of which I have sketched below.

Moustakas is to take the bulk of the blue-crested soldiers to attack across the plain. Protected by the ridge on their right, Privates Omar Infante and Alex Rios are to take horses and charge shortly after Moustakas has engaged the enemy. The goal is to push the enemy back into the corner behind them. They cannot escape. This plan hinges on Moustakas' frontal assault being effective. I pray that Colonel Moustakas' brazenness does not come back to haunt me.

June 24th, 2015. Two miles north of Grass Creek. Diary of Corporal Daniel "Gnar" Duffy. Early evening.

Colonel Moustakas hatched a plan to flank the enemy. Moustakas crashed the front with Private Alcides Escobar and others while Privates Infante and Rios took horses to ride around. Distracted by Moustakas' frontal assault, the enemy was not prepared.

The floodgates opened.

Escobar made the first foray against the enemy, and he was shortly followed by the bombast of Colonel Moustakas. He hit them hard, and he hit them fast. Moustakas drilled his attack through the enemy's front to score the first real victory of the day. No one could have predicted how quickly the enemy's defenses would falter. Colonel Hosmer brought Alex Gordon with him behind Moustakas, and they found an already retreating enemy.

It was then that Rios and Infante's flank attack arrived. Incensed by constant criticism back home for alleged poor performance in the Battle for Grass Creek, Rios and Infante charged the enemy's left side with such ferocity that the enemy became disorganized and fearful. Infante in particular stood among the enemy a giant. Infante's charge softened the enemy so much that even young Private Jarrod Dyson was able to participate.

As the enemy called for reinforcements, for their Corporal Roenis Elias was down, Moustakas' contingent and Infante's group met up. Escobar dealt the final blow of the early evening before we stopped pursuit of the enemy's retreat. By the end of all this, we had pushed the enemy back seven miles. They were inside an area from which there was no escape. Or so we thought.

June 24th, 2015. Two miles north of Grass Creek. Diary of General Ned "Frank" Yost. Evening.

Moustakas' plan worked to perfection. We pushed the enemy back, but the message was not relayed quickly enough to me. Moustakas and Hosmer halted pursuit of the enemy, which allowed them to regroup. They were not fully encapsulated inside the valley. Reorganized, they pushed back. A messenger arrived saying that Corporal Duffy, tired and perhaps not yet fully recovered from his injuries, needed to be pulled from the battlefield.

A valiant sacrifice from enemy newcomer Franklin Gutierrez and a critical error by my own Private Escobar led to my men giving up ground in the fight. I have chosen Corporal Ryan Madson as Duffy's replacement. Hopefully he will stop this assault before it gets worse.

June 24th, 2015. Five miles northwest of Grass Creek. Diary of Corporal Ryan Madson. Evening.

It has been a long time since I was in battle, though I have been in many battles. I do not have the bombast of Colonel Moustakas. I do not have the certainty of Wade Davis. However, I am a master of deception. The enemy does not know from where my attacks will come.

In the seven o'clock hour, Moustakas had another plan to push the enemy into the valley, though it was not to my taste. It lacked deception. It lacked grace. It was a simple charge at their front. The enemy, despite having called for reinforcements, was still weak. Private Escobar made some headway, but Moustakas and Private Kendrys Morales were unable to follow through. It was Colonel Hosmer who scored another victory for the blue-crested soldiers.

Despite the victory, I was soon recalled to base camp. Something about General Yost's coffee, which seems entirely insignificant. Nevertheless, I must follow orders. I am told Corporal Kelvin Herrera is my replacement. What he lacks in deception he makes up in pure aggressiveness. He will do well.

June 24th, 2015. Five miles northwest of Grass Creek. Diary of Corporal Kelvin Herrera. Late evening.

I am told that my role at this point in the battle is to put the enemy in a favorable position to be forced into the valley. Dark is coming, and the fighting will soon have to end. Corporal Franklin Morales is with me, and he is more suited for this type of manipulation. The plan is to engage in small skirmishes, but nothing significant. It is designed to induce subtle movements backward into the valley.

We are preparing the enemy for the vicegrip of defeat.

June 25th, 2015. Five miles northwest of Grass Creek. Diary of General Ned "Frank" Yost. Wee hours of morning.

I have accepted the enemy's surrender. I am thankful that I did not have to resort to deploying Wade Davis. At the end, they were so weak that they were subdued by my youngest corporal, Brandon Finnegan. The battle was swift and ferocious, but my blue-crested soldiers carried the day. Omar Infante stood tall today.

June 25th, 2015 06:34:25.2. 8.04672 kilometers northwest of Grass Creek. Memory banks of Wade Davis.

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Scuuuursh. Sceeeesh. These humans....continue....scuuuuursh....to fight over land...foolishly. They..scuuuursh...have...no idea. Sccccssssshhhhhh.

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