NOTE: This story is still a WIP, I am looking for feedback, if it's positive then I will continue. These chapters are the prologue to the Battle for Ineu Pass that destroyed the bunker. I don't know CG's official explanation so I made one up. The divisions used by the OTA are of another community I'm involved in but the important thing is the story itself. (Credits to Statua for creating the map thus inspiring this.)
Ante Bellum
21/06/2015
19:35
OW.SPEAR.DVC.9266
OTA SECTOR OUTPOST #075
The three Hunter Choppers landed in perfect unison; the sound of rotors beating as one against the stonewalls of the sinkhole, it was in this sinkhole that we were to gather. I waited, in the sheltered planning room, my regional map drawn and spread out creaseless on a foldable table. From the choppers came my Co-DvCs; ECHO-8498, STORM-0118 and VANGUARD-1470. ECHO who had an OTA Sniper slung tightly on his back, eyed my map, then me with an uncertainty before nodding dutifully and positioning himself by the door where he watched the other two Division Commanders enter. Once in, the metal doors slid shut and we were left in silence, hidden from the commotion of the staging area. I slowly spoke up; my voiced bathed in Union monotone.
'Welcome Divisional Commanders.' I started, eager not to lose the attention of STORM; whose mind moved across the map like a patrol. 'You have no doubt heard by now that ten Soldiers of varying Division have now been confirmed dead in the last four hours.' I paused and drew a circle on a large northern province. 'All of them were killed in the North Valley of Ineu Pass, a spot well within the Refugee Red-Zone.' I tapped the imaginary circle and then activated the holographic brief I had prepared earlier.
'As you can see,' I said with tangible shame. 'We have also recently found that our two heavy patrols to the pass, have gone dark.' At this point STORM; who had looked distant for this briefing so far, tilted his head to me and asked in a sardonic monotone.
'And where exactly, SPEAR, did the patrol go dark.' The other DvCs nodded in approval of the question. I sidetracked and answered.
'The abandoned road tunnel that links the town of Belles to the North Valley.' I quickly got back on topic.
'I have called you here to discuss a contingency plan, should our teams fail in this currant Operation to secure the Resistance Leader, codenamed "APEX".' My fingers danced across the keyboard, ECHO then spoke with a reassuring readiness.
'They will not fail. I have my best soldier leading the ECHO branch, we just need SPEAR to do their job at capturing him in the Villa, we will deal with any that try to escape.'
APEX had been scouted out for the last week but only now have we found his location; a pre-war Villa on the southern interlocking spur of the Valley, it is only approachable on foot by way of an exposed easterly path, fortunately, AIRWATCH are able to deploy Soldiers in all directions, cutting off any avenue of escape, under the cover of fog and with an all-seeing ECHO team providing recon, SPEAR will escort a single STORM team and VANGUARD team to the Villa where they will all breach and amputate all occupants excluding APEX who we will capture and bring back to base.
'With you all present I may inform the Commander, he should be in about-' I broke off as the door slid open; the figure that entered was tall, suited and imposing. The single oculus of the Commander studied us with disinterest as we struck firm salutes.
'Ease.' The Commander rasped from the darkest and deepest chambers of Unionised monotone, we lowered our arms but kept our disciplined postures as the CmD glanced over the map and tapped rhythmically at the side of the table with his fingers. The silence was tense, the sound of clicking and whirring from his helmet as the CmD processed the plan. At last, the Commander turned to VANGUARD; he once again locked his stance, ready to receive orders.
'One-Four, you and Nine-Two will lead this operation directly; my dropship will bring you to the phase line in good time. I will give the order when to begin.' We both made the chorus of "Yes sir." and headed from the room and out into the staging area, where the Commander's dropship sat on a prestigious landing pad; it's rotors humming in anticipation of flight.
We sat in a large cabin that shook as the dropship hurtled through the sky, deeper into the Red Zone, the cabin was empty say One-Four and I. There was silence for a long time; One-Four loaded a fresh batch of grenades into bandoliers that ran across his battle-scarred suit. I drew my CQC knife and began to sharpen its razor edge when the pilot spoke through our radios.
'Commanders, ETA thirty seconds, standby for deployment.'
I rose from my seat shortly followed by One-Four.
The dropship rear ramp lowered; revealing a thick, intense fog that clouded my vision, in the distance I heard the sound of boots running on the damp forest floor and the sounds of panic and frenzied pistol fire. The Rebels were still unaware of the force that was now dug in deep around the outpost, waiting for the attack signal.
I pressed on through the fog, my wayfinder tracking system guided me to SPEAR.EOW.6370 he explained that Overwatch had also deployed the additional force of a Hunter pack (five SYNTH Hunters). I noted this and assigned the pack to assist my squad and STORM in the final push to the house; an open slop at all sides, we have confirmed that the resistance group have indeed taken and put to use an OTA Pulse MG so a frontal assault without SYNTH hunters could prove costly, normally we would start a raid like this off with a shelling but we couldn't risk Parasite shelling due to the fact we needed APEX alive.
I opened the channel with the Commander and informed him of the Operation status.
'Commander, sir, all teams are in position and ready to inject.'
There was a quiet moment; in the silence I heard the sounds of shouting from the faintest foggy outline of the villa about one hundred metres away. Then the sign that the Commander was ready, he switched to all OTA frequencies and spoke with a calm but inhumane voice.
'All soldiers, execute.'
End of Part one.
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Ante Bellum
21/06/2015
20:22
OW.SPEAR.DVC.9266
Ineu Pass, North Valley
As the last of the light faded from the dark and foggy hill, we worked our way towards APEX; my team moved with robotic elegance to the next phase line from the house. The house in question; the pre-war Villa safe house in which APEX hid, was heavily fortified, a gunner manned a mounted AR3 at a window overlooking our frontal assault team, the refugee was old, I'd say around fifty, his hands could be seen trembling at the occasional sounds of synthetic growls, I used my OTA optical zoom to mark the target, moments later a single bullet whizzed over us and impacted into the brain of the gunner, killing him instantly.
'You're clear sir.' An ECHO sniper said over the radio as I gestured my team forward towards the villa.
We had reached the walls of the Villa; we were crouched low and in order, I motioned the STORM units to breach the door; a crudely barricaded entrance that quivered as the team leader slapped a breaching charge upon its hinges and detonated. The door erupted into fire and splinters as STORM charged through the haze, shotguns blazing in a frenzy of buckshot. SPEAR quickly fell in behind, snapping to targets and firing once in the head as they had been trained by me. The room was filled with panic and contact positions; I aliened my aim with a woman dressed in a torn citizen jumpsuit with several leather pouches sewn loosely on it, she held a jammed MP7, her eyes were watered and showed fear. In return, I showed no mercy; I fired off a couple disciplined rounds of my AR2, each round found its way to her brain, sending grey matter spraying from her skull and over the staircase to her back.
The Breach teams moved upstairs, towards where we had pinpointed APEX's strong room.
'STORM, take left side, SPEAR, stack on the right!' I ordered in powerful vocoded firmness. The teams stacked as instructed; my first door, behind which was a planning room for the resistance network, this room was one of the goals for the mission as it contained rebel-critical Intel. I kicked the door down with remarkably ease my Union augments granting me incredible strength. Inside were two unarmed refugees standing over a large table of maps and plans; one was a young man who scrambled to raise his hands in surrender, the other was an old man, by the looks of his uniform, a former CWU employee. My visor scrambled with identification profiles of the Worker, his name was "Hugh Darrow" and was a disavowed CWU member that was stamped HVT (High Value Target).
I ordered the unit to my right to kill the other refugee as I approached the CWU; I raised my AR2 rifle and struck him in the upper head with the butt of the gun, knocking him unconscious.
'Additional HVT acquired; Hugh Darrow, former CWU.' I radioed in and ordered a unit of my squad to stay and bag Darrow. I fell in behind my team who stacked on the final door. I was about to give the breach signal when I heard the Hunters enter the room through the windows by leaping up to them. I hurriedly ordered the breach; we funnelled in through the smoke of the charge to find the room devastated; the tables and chairs were broken, the plans were strew out across the splintered and punctured floorboards. Two Hunters were at the far end of the room; their torqued blades embedded in the spines of several fanatical bodyguards, in the corner of the room, APEX was fumbling at a barricade, forcing the stacked furniture aside so that he could move to the next room. With a sudden jolt I heard the roof above the room fail and from the ceiling burst STORM. DvC. 0118; his machete drawn fully by the time he landed onto the floor, ready to strike. 01 lunged towards the panicked APEX who struggled to move a flimsy mahogany wardrobe. 01 stabbed APEX in his left leg, APEX then crumbled to the ground cursing in agony and violently swearing at 0118 who shut him up by beating him in the chest with his AR2. I received the signal that VANGUARD had finished his end of the house the operation was a success.
'All units, disengage at once and return to base for debriefing, HVT is secure, repeat, HVT is secure. Excellent work units.' I called in to all operation frequencies; I then switched to the Commander's channel. 'Sir.' I began. 'The operation has been a success; APEX has been recovered along with another HVT on the Overwatch Blacklist.'
'Well done Commanders.' The CmD rasped. '0118's Dropship is coming back around to provide you and the HVT evac.'
'Copy that sir.' Said VANGUARD with a hint of pride.
The Dropship greeted us by way of an extending black access ramp opening up, motioning us inside, the DvCs and I dragged the two HVTs aboard and took off. We were now more than a couple minutes in the air when an alarm triggered in the cabin, the pilot spoke with monotoned panic.
'Commanders! Brace! Multiple rocket signatures inbound!'
The Dropship was struck twice in rapid succession, the cabin shook violently, the HVTs wailed in fear as we clung fast and ordered the pilot to evade the incoming projectiles, the pilot failed to do so as the craft was hit my a final rocket as hurtled quickly into the alpine below.
End of Part Two.
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