The MUK Raker

Vince, I think you're having entirely too much fun.  Keep it up!

                                                                                                                              Logan

MAJOR RENOVATIONS PLANNED!

Sunken Valley Railroad announced the purchase of a new construction train that includes a working (manually operated) crane car. It will replace a Union Pacific freight train that was dismantled due to operating problems.

Because of the large amount of extra construction equipment included in the purchase, final construction is expected to take at least one week.

SUNKEN VALLEY RAILROAD COMPLETES NEW RAIL LINE!

PIRATE FLEET DISAPPEARS IN MASSIVE THUNDERSTORM!

A gigantic storm front has enveloped the entire area, leaving MUK Pack's military forces unable to track the pirate fleet to the north.

The pirate ships "Lucrezia Borgia," "Jezebel," "Cruella de Ville," and "Ma Barker," led by the heavily-armored dreadnought "Old Battleax" (named after the wives they left behind), along with a heavily-armed sea platform, make the pirates and MUK Pack about evenly matched. A surprise attack by either one would swing the military balance in the attacker's favor.

PIRATES SEIZE SEA OF MUK!

Mexican Navy Suffers Massive Defeat!

Just as a gigantic storm front began to clear, the Mexican warship " Vencedor" spotted the pirate fleet  north of the Sea of MUK. A WW2 heavy cruiser that had been converted to a support ship, the Vencedor opened fire with its two remaining guns, destroying a heavily-armed pirate railcar serving as a pirate observation post, and then opened fire on the fleet.

The five pirate ships sailed into the Sea of MUK, destroying a Mexican sea platform, but not before its two unarmed reconnaissance helicopters escaped. The fleet then sank the Vencedor, cutting off communications with MUK. Observers reported that the Vencedor's badly-damaged combat helicopter has landed safely on Treasure Island. Observers also reported that the pirate ship "Lucretia Borgia" was sunk, and the "Jezebel" is crippled and adrift.

The "Cruella de Vil" and "Ma Barker" then landed pirates on the western shore of Treasure Island. The pirates are heading north to the island's valuable dockyard facilities. The heavily-armored "Old Battleax" is also heading north, hoping to bombard the dockyard facilities tomorrow.

One day to the east, the Polish destroyer "Thunderbolt!" is heading west at full speed, but analysts noted that the "Thunderbolt!" is low on fuel. Two days to the east, the Israeli frigate "New Horizons" had just refueled and is heading west at full speed.

More news tomorrow!

PIRATE ATTACK STALLS!

Adversaries Fight To A Draw On Every Front!

On Land: Advancing pirates on Treasure Island were stopped by dock workers who activated Bruce Wayne's collection of obsolete Batmobiles. The workers gave battle, battering the battered pirates with a battery of weapons. But as the pirates fell back, they reached the cover provided by the guns of the "Cruella de Vil" and the "Ma Barker," which left the pirates in firm control of the western half of the island but unable to advance.

At sea: The Polish destroyer "Thunderbolt!" attacked the pirate dreadnought "Old Battleax" in a 58 minute battle fought in total darkness. The undamaged "Thunderbolt!" inflicted light damage to "Old Battleax" before withdrawing due to lack of fuel. The destroyer reached the Treasure Island dockyard, where it was joined by the Israeli frigate "New Horizons."

Underwater: An unarmed Mexican industrial submarine re-established contact with MUK. MUK reported that they had held off an attack from Fort Evil but were unable to advance because of the fort's large cannon. The submarine then cruised up to Fort Evil, seized its cannon with the sub's claw, and brought it to MUK.

More news tomorrow.

THE BATTLE OF MID DAY!

Muck Pack Wins Major Victories On Every Front!

Mexico's recently-repaired combat helicopter was joined by the Israeli attack helicopter in a surprise attack on the crippled pirate ship "Jezebel." After a ten minute attack with rockets and cannon fire, the two copters sank the "Jezebel" and returned safely to Treasure Island.

Minutes later, the Israeli frigate "New Horizons" entered the Sea of Muck unchallenged. Using its advanced radar, and guided by Mexico's two reconnaissance helicopters, "New Horizons" sank  the "Cruella de Vil" and "Ma Barker." As the frigate prepared to open fire on the western portion of Treasure Island, the pirates there surrendered.

Underwater, Mexico's construction submarine carried MUK's cannons within range of Fort Evil, but the fish fled before the net could be drawn. Although Baron Baracuda and Triggerfish escaped, MUK captured the fort intact. It has been renamed "Fort Good," and Sunken Valley Railroad is already building a rail line into the area.

IT'S OVER!

Muck Pack Sinks "Old Battleax"!

Guided by the advanced radar systems of Israel's "New Horizons" frigate, and assisted by two Mexican Navy reconnaissance helicopters, the Polish destroyer Thunderbolt" pounded the pirate ship "Old Battleax" into oblivion. Despite its superior firepower and armor, the pirate ship was unable to match the "Thunderbolt's" accuracy.

The two Muck Pack ships rescued a small number of pirate survivors, who will be given a fair trial before their hanging.

The pirates have no remaining forces.

ANALYSIS: Pirates Lost War on First Day

Business Outsider--The pirate strategy of secretly assembling their fleet just north of the Sea of MUK  was  a brilliant move, analysts say, but pirate intelligence collapsed after that.

While technically defeating the Mexican Navy, the pirates suffered more losses in the opening battle, giving MUK Pack military superiority.  And while MUK Pack was able to fall back to auxiliary weapons (obsolete Batmobiles and a construction submarine) the pirates had no reserves when their invasion of Treasure Island stalled.

So uncoordinated were the pirates that they abandoned a ship full of cannons and crew; while MUK Pack utilized each other's radar, helicopters, and cannons to pick off the pirates' scattered forces. And while technically allied, the pirates and Fort Evil gave each other no assistance after the first day.

We'll leave this thread with MUK and its allies in firm control of the entire area. I'm already disassembling MUK and will begin building V.I.P (Vincent's Industrial Park) on Friday.

"A Mexican helicopter reported unusual activity at the farthest edge of its scanning equipment. The MUK Pack-based reconnaissance copter was near the end of its patrol and had to return to base for refueling, without investigating further."

The unimportant news article had escaped the notice of all but two people who mattered. Clark Kent had a variety of search engines scanning reports on the Daily Planet's network. Unfortunately, by the time the obscure report had reached the media, several hours had passed. And by the time he was able to slip away and fly to the area, even more time had passed.

When he finally searched the area with his super-vision, a concerned Superman had found exactly what he had feared: absolutely nothing.

PIRATES OPEN FIRE ON MEXICAN  AIRCRAFT!                                                                                                    Reconnaissance Helicopter Returns Safely to MUK Pack. 

Like most major corporations, Wayne Industries had multiple sources of information, most of them legal. And every one of them told Bruce Wayne that no one was building pirate ships. So where were the pirate ships coming from?

The World's Greatest Detective rejected the common view that the pirates who had attacked MUK were incompetent bunglers whose luck ran out. Instead, the Caped Crusader believed that a brilliant leader had successfully guided the pirate fleet through heavy storms in order to launch a surprise attack. But when the Mexican Navy inflicted heavy losses on them, the leader abandoned the buccaneers. The  pirate ships then fought intelligently enough, but without anyone authorized to coordinate their actions. And now a second pirate fleet had appeared.

Who and where was the leader? Bruce Wayne had a suspect, but even Batman couldn't catch him: Prince Namor.

Unknown to the humans, the underwater kingdom of Atlantis had spent decades destroying itself in a civil war. Prince Namor led the forces that wanted war with the humans, while Aquaman led those who wanted peace.

Far, far too late, Namor had realized that his defeat was inevitable from the beginning. Having destroyed each other's most advanced machinery, along with the machines that could build new machinery, the shattered kingdom could not possibly go to war against the surface world. They had used up much of their mineral resources and destroyed each other's mining equipment, leaving Atlantis in a state of  poverty.

So the Submariner had abdicated, leaving Aquaman and his wrecked kingdom in peace. Leading some loyalists and their families who refused to leave him, the failed monarch found himself in an empty part of the ocean where starvation was imminent.

And now Superman had shown up, carrying tons of food, medical supplies, and survival equipment. And all he wanted in return was information about the pirates.

Surrounded by a bank of computers that were monitoring the underwater situation, Bruce Wayne conferred with his press secretary, Clark Kent.

"Namor swore that he had nothing to do with the pirates," Clark explained, "and I believe him." "But he did manage to examine some of the wrecked ships. His engineers told him that the pirate ships were a hodgepodge of different technologies, all were new, and all were  well-built. The Sub-Mariner also explained that all of Atlantis' scientists and engineers were accounted for, so they hadn't been involved."

The Man of Steel continued:" Namor believes that an air-breathing scientific genius is behind the pirate attacks. This leader knows plenty of technology but lacks the machinery to put it to use. His plan is to seize MUK and its mineral wealth, build new machinery, and then seize Atlantis while it is still wrecked up by its civil war.

The two super-heroes looked at each other briefly, and then said it at the same time: "Lex Luthor!"

Over the decades, the scientific genius had built a variety of hide-outs so well-hidden that even Superman couldn't find them. And Lex Luthor was glad he had built this one. Equipped with underwater mining machinery along with some manufacturing facilities, Luthor had easily built a pirate fleet.

A super-villain whose only super power was his incredible brain, the arch-criminal had so many back-up plans and alternate plans that his fading sanity could not grasp the fact that his schemes rarely worked. His wooden fleet had successfully blasted its way into MUK Pack's territory; he had gotten detailed scientific information on their defenses, machinery, and mineral wealth; and as for his pirate crews...dead men tell no tales.

In just a couple of months, he would advance on MUK, forcing its talking fish to accept him as "Protector." His starving machines would only need a few weeks to devour MUK's vast mineral wealth, and then he would force the shattered kingdom of Atlantis to "voluntarily" accept his benevolent rule. Then, equipped with minerals, machinery, and slaves, he would seize Treasure Island and Sodor Island (actually a heavily-industrialized territory of the real Sodor Island) and continue to expand his empire.

"I couldn't find Luthor's Lair," Superman explained, "but I did find this. To attack either MUK or Atlantis, Luthor has to pass over this underwater plain. And that plain has a small supply of concentrated mineral wealth right in his path. If Atlantis will build a small, fortified colony at that spot, they might be able to hold off Lex Luthor while rebuilding their military."

Aquaman, however, shook his head. "Atlantis is too shattered and poverty-stricken to build a colony that can defeat Lex Luthor," he explained. "We cannot afford to build a military fortification, even if we knew it would win. Not only that," the underwater monarch continued, "our military now consists of a hodgepodge of technology from centuries past, because we lost so much machinery in our civil war."

"I expected that problem," Batman replied. "However, I have contacts with Bruce Wayne, the billionaire industrialist. He has authorized me to offer Atlantis some financial incentives to build that colony."

The talking fish of MUK were happy to see their friend Aquaman. Dismayed by his warning of an immanent attack by Lex Luthor, they immediately agreed to his plan.

Superman secretly explained the situation to Israel, Mexico, and Poland. The super-heroes were unable to provide round-the-clock protection to MUK, and Lex Luthor had the know-how to sink all their naval vessels. The three nations unhappily agreed to the Man of Steel's plan.

Bruce Wayne personally flew to Sodor Island to explain the situation. He was abandoning Treasure Island, along with its extensive docking facilities, and the lightly-defended Sodor Island territory wouldn't have a chance. Reluctantly, the government agreed to his plan. 

The world was amazed when MUK withdrew from MUK Pack. With nothing to gain by staying, Israel, Mexico, and Poland also withdrew. The heavily-industrialized Sodor Island immediately annexed Treasure Island (with its extensive docking and repair facilities), but analysts agreed that the undefended island's actions would not accomplish anything.

And then quietly, secretly, Atlantis annexed all three of them. And now, having adequate minerals and machinery, the battered underwater kingdom began constructing a military mining colony directly in Lex Luthor's path.

Coming in January! "The Knights of Atlantis" train lay-out!

We've moved!

The MUK Raker has been absorbed by "Knight's Watch!', the official news source of the Knights of Atlantis.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/knight-s-watch