The Oligarchy's war with America Online had raged for over two weeks. The Oligarchy Army had been pushing AOL hard and had made some progress, but the enemy forces were just too strong for an in-and-out operation. It was becoming clear that this would be a long, difficult conflict, and something drastic would have to be done. On Day 15 of the AOL War, the
Co-Rulers of the World met to discuss their strategy.

"I know our forces can make a greater impression than they have," Wayland began. "We're moving closer to Dulles constantly, but the frontline is still too close to Raleigh for me to feel comfortable. We need to push farther into Virginia."

"I agree," said Cronan. "But to do so, we must execute a major offensive. Something along the lines of Tet or Endor."

"Unfortunately," replied Brendan, the only one with real military experience, "I don't believe our military's current leadership is capable of that at the moment. Most of our officers were originally in the U.S. Army or their respective nations of origin. They're not prepared for a ground war in Virginia. I propose that we replace the head of the whole operation."

"Hey!" yelled Bevin, the military's commander in chief, who was also present.

"I'm not talking about you, Bevin; I mean the field commander. For the past two weeks, General Elliot Beck has been in charge of the Virginia Theater. I plan to make him the deputy commander, and replace him with myself."

Cronan and Wayland stared at Brendan. "You want to personally go into combat?"

"Why not? I'm a General Purpose God, so it's not like they can kill me or anything. And I do have experience."

"You've never seen combat in your life. You were only in the Army for two years. What makes you think you can just jump in and lead a war?" Cronan argued.

Brendan glared back. "I was in Bosnia."

"You were a mechanic in Bosnia. You rented movies every night. You were there for six months and never even chambered a round."

"I'll have you know that I was badly injured when I was in Bosnia."

"Oh? How?"

"It must have been the worst shaving accident in military history. I should have been given the Purple Heart, but they must have misplaced the paperwork."

Cronan still wasn't convinced. "I'm not sure if this is a good idea, Brendan."

"Look, I know all about combat. I've seen _Saving Private Ryan_, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Well, I guess it's cool in that case," Cronan said, his doubts lifted away.

"Allrightythen. I'll contact Gen. Beck and get to the front immediately."

The meeting was adjourned and the Co-Rulers left for their respective offices.

To be continued.....