Operation: Eagle Dawn

[tanyadams]

It is winter in Colorado: six inches of snow on the ground, and more falling still, snowflakes swirling with gusts of wind. The peaceful scenario of the suburban area is ruined by the sound of fighting in the distance as the small group steps in from the End of the Universe.

Comments

[tanyadams]

The base is, indeed, not situated far. During the trip Tanya mentioned the kind of technology that rose during WWII, and a purely soviet invention the allies adopted in short order: the Mobile Construction Vehicle.

An MCV is a massive truck, loaded with construction equipment and materiel, painfully slow on itself, but making up for its vulnerability in usefulness, since an MCV can deploy and set up a combat base in a matter of hours, and basic defensive positions in a matter of minutes.

Indeed, they are facing the former type right now: ten foot high concrete walls surrounding buildings. While they move into position, facing the south-east wall, the commando points out the two power plants. "Those are yours, Teja." And he indicates the six national guard troops following. "They will follow your lead; try to hit them dead center, if it takes damage enough, the systems shut down to prevent an explosion." It is a long shot, but the woman trusts the dead king to be able to make it

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods in agreement. "It sounds simple enough." Annabelle checks her rifle one final time time before combat begins again.

[ostro_goth]

Teja takes quite a long time to aim for the first power plant; then he shoots, and hits it dead centre.

It is quite a large explosion, and it seems to worry the enemy. A lot.

[tanyadams]

A large and beautiful explosion, since cracking the main generator causes bolts of lightning to arc and strike around. The Guardsmen add a few rockets to the mess, and the power plant shudders to a full halt, off the grid. The base's lights flicker a moment, but do not fail yet.

Tanya starts doing her job, shooting a couple sentinels on the walls and waiting for more to come up while Teja prepares to blow up the second plant.

[aeons_crackshot]

The trouble with standing on a wall is that the ground is quite some distance away. Annabelle picks off one sentinel, whose body crashes into another soldier and knocks him off the wall.

[ostro_goth]

Teja, in the meanwhile, is readying his rocket launcher again. This is his penultimate rocket -- he must hit the target, if he wants to keep a spare for defence.

[tanyadams]

Teja has very good ideas; the Guardsmen take aim for the second volley, waiting for his lead.

Tanya shoots down a couple more conscripts, and now all hell breaks loose: recovering from the surprise the Reds start rallying, breaking in fireteams as needed.

In a few moments the small group of attackers will be under fire.

[aeons_crackshot]

One conscript gets very lucky; his bullet hits Annabelle in the shoulder, knocking her off her feet and making her hiss in pain from the impact. Unfortunately for him, this seems to have used up his entire lifetime's allotment of luck. Annabelle's next shot removes most of his head and the head of the fellow behind him for good measure.

They may be under fire, but conscripts are still dying left, right, and center.

[ostro_goth]

Finally, Teja shoots.

And hits.

"Do we kill them all, or flee?" he asks.

[tanyadams]

The base's lights flicker, dim, brighten... and go off.

Low power.

A roar of jets in a crescendo should be warning enough, but Tanya calls out anyway while diving for cover. "We duck!"

A couple seconds later the rocketeers sweep by, opening fire against the base, attacking the conscripts' positions; at the same time, the rest of the meager Allied troops charges for the gates.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle ducks with great gusto. She grins when the rocketeers sweep by and the troops charge for the gates.

If there are no objections, she'll keep picking off any conscripts that are unfortunate enough to get in her line of sight.

[ostro_goth]

Teja puts the last rocket into the launcher, and slings it over his back, to be used when needed.

"May I have a rifle?" he then asks, politely.

[tanyadams]

Tanya laughs, merry, bright, handing Teja her rifle and standing again. "I think it is time to join the main party..." Said just as the assault group brings down the gates and invades the soviet base.

She will make her way to the wall, to help the others climb it and make their way in.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle grins as the gate comes down. "I think you're right."

She'll make her way to the wall, grumbling at the feeling of a possibly broken collarbone.

[ostro_goth]

Teja holds his rifle at the ready, and follows.

There shall be more personal death now, fights where he can see the opponent. The part of him that used to laugh in battle looks forwards to it.-

[tanyadams]

Over the wall, and once more into the fray. She has the eyes of someone who has taken lives: she heard bullets whip past and watched villages burn. People have tried to kill her and she has killed them first.

One lesson that Tanya learned soon is that marksman or not, gunfights are not what you see in the movies: they’re dirty, nasty and personal. The fight among the buildings is that way, when they fire most of the time they are close enough to see the realization in their enemy's eyes, that they are too slow, too weak to keep on living.

When her guns go off, when the bullets pierce flesh, there is blood, red and warm spattering blood. In a movie you see neat holes appearing and blood trickling out, in a real gunfight the blood gushes out with all the pressure of a racing heart: it is on her hands, on her guns, on her clothes, testimony of the up close and personal fight, of the fractions of a second that stood between the commando and death.

Fast is slow. Slow is fast. Watch your fields of fire, pick your targets, aim center