2023-02-04 08:45:39Soko then ordered us to clear the field of fire. That means we had to move the dead bodies so the next wave couldn’t use them as covers. He only needed two men from my squad, so I told Kris and Frank to do it. Also, he needed to report how many enemy combatants we had killed, so we had to count the dead.
I decided to join in, to help clear ordinances. I picked up weapons and ammunition on those bodies before the others could pick them up. We moved them and collected them by the mortared house. We need to be careful, as they could be tripped or boobied, both the weapons and the bodies. They could have left a grenade under them that explodes when the body is being moved.
One of the pairs of Marines who did this with us actually had one of these but put the body back down quick enough to muffle the grenade. Lucky bastards, they are. But then—
“What was that?!” Soko shouted towards us.
“It’s a—” BUB, BUB, BUB, BUB, BUB
“TAKE COVER!!”
A string of machine gun fire came in towards us. Planes? No. It was too small for their autocannons. Mortars? No, it was too precise, too straight of a line. Then what was—oh, great. A heavily armored technical had just fired on us from afar with their machine gun. It took out a few Marines and wounded Frank.
Soko told one of his men to get one of the technical’s cars. Some got a heavy machine gun on it, the .50 caliber—which we didn’t have—and it is the same as the one the technicals are firing at us. They racked the charging handle, aimed the gun, and started blasting. BUB-BUB-BUB-BUB it went. Those point-five-o projectiles went flying all around the rear of the vehicle, barely damaging it. Then it started moving towards us.
When it circled around, the gunners were ready. It was only a straight line between them and the .50 caliber. However, they had stopped moving and fired from a stationary position. Both machine guns barked back and forth. In-between the gunfire, I heard a faint shouting.
Get a rocket up here!
Then a few moments later, it thumped. Then it whizzed. Then it blew. The front left side of the vehicle was hit and it blew up. It veered off, rolled down and crashed into the mortared down house. And then one more rocket flew and hit it from the side. Finally, I thought.
“Here they come, enemy troops!” one Marine said.
“Return Fire!” Soko commanded.
It turned ugly real quick as several of the Marines were still out there clearing the fields of fire. The enemy fighters have managed to get a little closer to us thanks to the distraction caused by the armored vehicle. However, it didn’t last long.
Karl managed to put his grenade launcher into use, taking out bunched up enemy troops as they came in. Frank, wounded as he was, still put up a fight—strafing the enemy. I returned fire with my M16 as usual, and Red with her M4. Not even a magazine later, it was over.
“Send a search party and scan that area!” Soko ordered.
Four men ran towards the wreck. I followed suit, curious. As far as they’re concerned, they managed to down an armored vehicle.
Soko let off a big sigh, “I figured they were trying to surprise us,” he said after a few seconds of heavy breathing, “used the vehicle as shock value, confusing us a bit. Which worked by the way,”
That 2nd Squad Staff Sergeant Anfield was supposed to be the one replacing Larkwell. But he was wounded, hence unfit to take charge. Soko was an obvious option for me because he was quite stern. But he wasn’t even a Staff Sergeant or a Platoon Sergeant. So he shouldn’t be leading the rest of the guys. Maybe that’s why he was jumpy all the time. His responsibility now extends beyond his actual rank.
I checked in on Frank as he was taken care of. His left shoulder blade was pierced by a fragment from those rockets and his temple needed a stitch because it bumped on his machine gun. The feed cover had some blood on it. He bled a lot from that tear, even the ammunition belt was bloody.
“I think I need to rest for a while. I’ll be back with you guys. Sorry, Red,” he said, laying on the stretcher.
“It’s okay, Frank. Don’t worry about it,” Red said, while tapping on my shoulder, “We still have a spare gunner,”
“What, me?” I freaked out. I don’t want to be a machine gunner; I don’t like losing my 9-pound M16 to a 26-pound behemoth. “Hell no,”
“Dude, that’s an order,”
“What the hell do you appoint me for? We still have his assistant gunner,” I still don’t want to be a gunner. Besides, appointing Karl the assistant gunner to replace Frank is the recommended step.
“You think that scrawny little kid is gonna be able to hoist a MAG? He’s already struggling with the 203 as it is,” she refuted. I also don’t think Karl was used to the weight of the MAG. He carried the ammunition, not the gun itself.
“We’ll talk about it later,” I dismissed her, turning my attention to Frank. “Have some rest, dude,” I told him. He was confused.
Red then walked away towards Soko and talked a bit while I was still squatting beside Frank. The soon to be 2nd Lieutenant looked like he was thinking for a bit. I wondered what they were talking about. Not long after, she nodded off, as if she was thanking Soko. She then called me towards her.
“I spoke to Soko about the machine gun. You’re right, it’s Karl’s job now,” she said.
“Ah, no, you didn’t have to do that. I mean, I could, though I wouldn’t be as effective as a 2IC” I replied, “I still could’ve just humped that ‘58 anyway,”
“I know, Mickey. I just wanted to make sure I do things right,” she said, “Besides, it’s for us, too. I still need you as the second in command,”
“Alright, alright,” I dismissed. “Thank you,”
She nodded off and smiled. Something seemed to bother her mind. It felt like she still had this same problem with Soko, where she didn’t really want to bear responsibility, but she kinda had to. I feel sorry for her. But I trust her, I do.
I then stormed off to go find Soko. I was starting to think we’re running a little low on ammunition. But where would the guy be? I didn’t see him going anywhere, he just disappeared as I spoke to Red. I went into the house and out. I was about to look for him near the garage, when—
“Hey, Mick! What are you doing here?” he greeted.
“Oh, yes, uh… sir. I was…”
“Just… Soko, please. I don’t really think I qualify to be a sir yet,”
“Roger that,”
“What do you want, man?”
“Ammunition. I figure we need a few hundred more rounds,”
“I… just resupplied your squad with belts and bandoliers. Anna spoke to me earlier, I’m sure you saw it,”
“Well, my mistake,”
“Yeah, it’s okay, man. If you need anything else, just find me,”
“Alright, Soko, thank you,”
I saw an old M60 out of the corner of my eye when I went about face. Curious, I stopped and asked Soko about it.
“Oh, that? We’ve had it since day one. What do you mean?”
“I was thinking of replacing Frank’s gun with that M60,” I much prefer that than a MAG. It’s way lighter, but it fires the same ammunition, 7.62x51mm. The gun itself is still heavy, but not 26-pound heavy. Scrawny Karl will have easier time lugging that around.
“You think that’s gonna work?”
“Yeah, with the little dude replacing Frank, it’s gonna be easier for him to handle this thing than the MAG. Same manual of arms and everything, also,”
“Okay then, take it,”
“Roger, thank you,”
“And make sure to bring the MAG in,”
“Yes, sir,”
I took the gun to Frank’s original position. I then laid down his gun under the fence. His gun and ammo is still there, too. I then put my M16 across my back, trying to set up the M60. Red greeted me while I was getting busy with the machine gun.
“How’s it going? What’s that you have?”
“An M60,” I replied as I lifted up the gun by its carrying handle, “Lighter gun for both me and Karl. I cleared it with Soko,”
“It still looks heavy,”
“Yeah, but it’s lighter than that,” pointing towards Frank’s gun. “How are you?”
“Fine, I think. Just regret that Frank has to go through that. Should’ve been me,”
“And leave me to lead the guys? Come on,” I joked.
“Hahahah, of course, not. I mean—”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. You did your job, and you did it well. You managed to get us through an attack, and that’s enough for us, I tell you. We wouldn’t have made it without you,”
“How? I didn’t even take full control of the guys,”
“You executed our plan, right? You did improvise some things, too,”
“Well,”
“You did good, Red. We’re proud of you,”
“I know, it’s just,” she then took a cigarette out, lighting it up. A puff came out of her mouth as she exhaled the smoke out of her lungs, relieving tension on her end. “Thanks, Mouse,” she said as she walked off again.
I felt guilty for her, now. This was supposed to be an easy mission, to guard an outpost. A God damn house, which in it lives someone I once had a feeling for and her father. I gave Red the job, to lead us, but not like this; we were only civilians. Red suddenly felt uneasy. She seemed confident, but an explosion near a friend would change even the strongest person.
Dan suddenly approached me, curious as to why I was setting up an M60.
“Frank is wounded, so Red was telling Karl to replace him for a bit,” I replied.
“But why an M60? What’s with Frank’s gun?”
“It’s too heavy,” I answered, lifting up the gun to lay it on the fence. “By the way, how’s the body count? Hear any figures?”
“I heard it was a little more than thirty dead enemies for two of our own,” he answered, “but that’s before the LT was sent off,”
“Holy shit,” I was quite surprised. Thirty men? That’s worth an entire platoon. But there were more dead bodies around us than ourselves.
“After that, we had eight missing including the lieutenant,”
“Alright, man. Thanks,” I replied, “What are you doing here, do you want to ask me something or…?”
“Oh, yea, uh… I think Kris is having a little problem,”
“What problem?”
He took me to Kris to see how he was doing. He was shaking and hyperventilating—he didn’t really seem to hear me when I asked him what’s wrong. His ears were bleeding, that’s one reason. He also stared blankly at the distance. I think he was shell-shocked.
“Kris,” I tapped his shoulder, “You alright?”
He was startled, yet he slowly came back to his senses as he caught his breath. “Yeah, I’m good,”
“Give him time, or get him something to drink,” I told Dan, “Oh, and uh… you busy?”
“Not really, no,”
“Take Frank’s gun to Soko, would you?”
“Righty, Sarge,”
I went back to my position, as specified by Red. I ended up positioning the M60 around three yards off of Frank’s original position, setting every one of the ammunition cans we had on the fence ready to use.
In an emergency, however, the M60 is more maneuverable. At the end of the day, Karl was the one replacing Frank—not me. I was still the second in command in the squad. If I was the replacement gunner while being the 2IC, I’d be dead. I would still need to coordinate with Red every now and then. With that big of a gun, I wouldn’t be as mobile.
For the next couple of hours, there was a long silence where no sign of the enemy ever showed up. Red walked back and forth, worrying about anything that might come over the wall. Grace was fine and got out of the house occasionally, with scars all over her face. I guessed they would heal soon. Soko reconfirmed the body count he got from those Marines. I asked him about it, and he seemed to be not really sure.
“It was around…” he paused to check his note, “63 of them, 6 of us, at least within the compound,” he answered. “I mean… we were lucky you arrived just in time for this,”
I approached Red, who is now slowly pacing back and forth in front of the main house. That made me kind of worried. I shouldn’t have, I know. Had she not been as strong as she was, she’d be dead within days of this conflict. But something is bugging her, and it bugged me too. I don’t want her to snap, you know.
“Dude, what’s up?”
“Two platoons. two entire platoons of enemy troops are dead. I know there’s more of them coming, I just know. There’s no way that many men went missing and no one goes out looking for them,”
“Red,” I looked straight at her, “We’re okay. Alright? Even if they do come, I got this thing with me. We got your back,” I said. She nodded, taking out a cigarette from her pocket.
I stood by her for a couple hours, sharing cigarettes and having chit-chats. We even had some drinks, back in the house. Just beer, of course. We didn’t want to be drunk on duty. She seemed to calm down after a while, and made me sure she was okay. I felt dizzy for a moment. Not because we drank, however. I think it was my neck after getting blasted towards the sky by that old mortar. It shouldn’t have mattered, should it?
The night was calmer, but we needed to stay alert. Our defense had been weakened by losing a whole squad and then some. We don’t need any more casualties right now, and we tried to at least shoot first before the enemy could.
I woke up the next morning with my rifle still strapped to my chest. It looked like I fell asleep while sitting down on the porch, leaning on the pillar. I couldn’t feel my leg for a while because the rifle’s magazine was pressed up against my thigh. Red stood up beside me, looking a bit refreshed. I didn’t realize it was way over 7AM and apparently, no one had woken me up.
“How do you feel?” She asked me.
“Bad leg,” I answered, trying to stand up, “but I think I’d be fine,”
“What happened?”
“Pins,” I grunted as I got up on one leg, “and needles,”
-----
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Irregulaire Casualties
The next day. I was walking around the compound with my M16 when another explosion went off near the fence, followed by a bunch of gunfire. It was a little past 3AM. A little more probing, I think. Lucky, I had that gun locked and loaded. Let’s just hope they don’t come as far inside the perimeter now. But he did have his pistol ready. Red and I jumped out and stormed towards my position. We both noticed that the right flank machine gun was not firing.“GET THAT DAMN MACHINE GUN FIRING, MICKEY!” she commanded. I rushed towards the machine gun, then fired away almost immediately. You know, when you fire that thing, you’ll feel an overwhelming force pulling you into shape, protecting you. A steady stream of thumps hurt you a little at first, but it made you feel stronger over time. And with a cartridge that powerful, the weight seemed not to be a problem for a while. I kept pulling the trigger until I ran dry. That gun fires rather slowly, but 200 rounds don’t seem to be that much. I w
Irregulaire Refuge
“FUCKING BASTARDS!!” Red let it rip with her M4, switching it to full-auto mode, expending the rest of her magazine. I got back to the machine gun, handling it even more furiously. But the wave got so close I figured we would’ve needed to call in support—but we were alone. We didn’t have mortars either, and our grenades would’ve been less effective. Not long after that, two rockets flew past us. The Marines still had a few LAWs, it turned out. It was very much like Independence Day celebration, with bursts of explosion from the rockets lighting up the compound and the enemy positions around them. Now where is that can I left in the bushes? “Red! Last can! I need to find some ammo!” “Alright, Mickey, take off!” It was just a few steps towards my left, but it felt like yards. Enemy fire went above my head as I turned back to look at Red and Kris. Red had moved forward, taking cover behind the fence, beside the MG position. She kept firing and firing, magazine after magazine. When she
Irregulaire Last Glance
The rest of the squad were mostly okay. Mark’s ears were still bleeding, and Kris’ upper arm was scratched. But for the most part, they’re okay. We then gathered with the Major who then commanded us to clear the field of fire. The dead bodies of the enemy piled up again, and it needed to be torn down. “Why didn’t you just ride your way out to HQ?” I asked the Major.“I was waiting for you. I need an escort to move out, so I sent for you to stand guard in their place and take care of Grace while we leave,” he said, smoking his pipe. “But we didn’t get to take off because—well, you saw it yourselves. We couldn’t risk getting flanked. Every time I thought it would be clear for me to move out, they make a move on us,” “How about an airlift?” “We couldn’t send out a request,” he shook his head. I remember now that the tower cannot transmit anything. “That radio tower is busted. The last thing I sent for using the radio was you. Besides, it’s too hot of an LZ,” he concluded.A few minutes
Irregulaire Waves
“HERE THEY COME!” somebody shouted. Technicals rolled into the open fields, firing their .50 caliber machine guns towards anything they saw. Tracers and rockets were flying all over the place, tearing the skies with streaks of yellowish light. Explosions went off all over the ground inside the base, some of them hitting the Hesco gabions and the perimeter walls. Every time I tried to get a look on the enemy, their rounds went past so close to my head I had to duck. Red was just waiting there, patient. “Wait until the first line opens fire, then we follow,” she instructed. The hisses of near misses disturbed our ears, tearing through the air. I could hear bullets hitting the other side of where I took cover, and it was way more intense than any of our encounters with the enemy before. I went on and checked my new weapon, whether or not it really was locked and loaded. It’s way too late for that, I know. But I just had to. I pressed the button on the grenade launcher to open the tube,
Irregulaire Confused
Being stationed in the Major’s outpost made us feel the brunt of the enemy forces. We were a little protruding towards the enemy territory, making us more vulnerable. Not to mention, the isolation of the post meant that there was little support. Moving towards the FOB, we felt… more secure. There were a lot more people around, more firepower to back us up.The way I saw it, we were alone being in the Major’s outpost. No other units or even other marines to be around, even when we have this FOB close by. I think this is partly because such big attacks were not expected in that area, being hidden under canopies and among other houses. Plus, as the Major stated, their radio being unserviceable meant that they just couldn’t reach out to this base to support us. Now that we’re in a bigger base, we would be the ones sending support to other Marines as we had enough men. We went ahead and gathered around a few more minutes while the Major walked back inside. Sergeant Major then appeared out
Irregulaire Blurry
Sergeant Major Wilkins came out of nowhere all of a sudden, with a very visible frown on his forehead. He seemed to have argued with someone—most likely the Major. “Ah, there you are. The Major is looking for you guys. He’s just outside the door,” “Yes, Sergeant Major,” we said almost simultaneously. We went outside and saw Major Metford looking uneasy. I guess he was the one Wilkins had argued with afterall. He took out a cigarette and lit it up before he turned towards the door and saw us. “Michael,” he called out to us, “Gather your team and get over here. We have a situation,” he said, taking a drag of his cigarette after. Red went on towards the guys while I stayed with the Major. They joked around and laughed while resupplying themselves with ammunition. Red decided to resupply too while she’s at it. As they walked towards us, I tried to talk to the Major. “What is it, sir? Are we moving out?” “No. Not us. Just you. You’ll be assisting a platoon I’m sending out,” “Were yo
Irregulaire Rescue Mission
Two days later, the Major summoned us again quite late in the evening. Like before, we followed Sergeant Major Wilkins to where the Major was. It was a CP in the middle of the base. They manage every patrol and operation they have in that room. They have everything—maps, radio, sand tables, even coffee. “Alright, so, we have a situation,” the Major started. “There was a group of Marines who radioed in, asking for help. They said they are in bad condition and needed support. These Marines were sent out on a patrol and are on their way back. However, they were caught in a firefight. They say they are with civilians now, which worsens their condition,” “Where are they now, sir?” Red asked. “A residential complex called The Delta Residence, just—" “A mile north of here,” I jumped in. “Oh you know where it is?” The Major seemed surprised. I used to live there when I was in elementary school. “We need you to find the Marines and bring them back to the FOB,” the Major continued. “Any pr
Irregulaire Familiar Faces
“Gavin?” I called. “Is that who I think it is? The hell are you doing here?” “I should be the one asking questions, you son of a bitch! The fuck are you on, here? You with the Marines?” I laughed. “Yea, as a matter of fact I am a Civil Guard—or something. Hold on, are you a Marine?” “Nah, man, we’re Irregular Reserve. But we are with the Marines. Got some of my friends here, we got Red, Mark, Ryan, and Kris. How about you—wait a second. Are you with…?” I gestured, seemingly not wanting to say a name. But he got the idea. “Well come with me and see for yourself,” Gavin said. I followed Gavin to the room they had been in. When he opened the door, I couldn’t believe what I saw—or rather, who. She was looking after the wounded guy. It turned out the guy was their close friend, too. I grinned ear to ear before calling out to her. “Quinn Christensen,” I called her name. She then looked at me, wide-eyed. “Mike? MIKE! OH MY GOD, IT IS YOU!” She exclaimed, walking towards me. “I thought
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Thank You Note
Thank you for reading Recon: The Battle for Crawford! This was one of my many war story ideas, however only a few turned into a meaningful fruition, including this one. I usually draw instead of write, and this is my first ever completed writing. Like a lot of stories, it began with a “what if”. It did take inspiration behind an amalgamation of various historical wars involving irregular and paramilitary fighting and invading forces, such as the Vietnam War, Korean War, Russo-Georgian War of 2008, etc. The result was quite fun, with world-building (that had not yet been completed as of this publishing date) that takes ages to write and carefully spun-off historical events. I got to experiment with a lot of ideas for the storyline, and it turned out pretty good. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Cheers!
Glossary
2IC: Second in Command, i.e., assistant leader. AG-(number): Autorifle, Grieland (number of iteration). Locally developed service rifle.AK: Automatic Kalashnikov. Introduced in 1947, its design evolved into a wide variety of firearms. ALICE Gear: All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment. A setup of belts and pouches to carry ammunition and several other things an infantry might need.Bandolier: ammunition pouches sewn into belts or sling. Boobied: slang for booby-trapped Booby Trap: traps set up to maim or kill enemy soldiers. The term came from how it fools the enemy thinking it was safe, hence the term booby (=fool). C2: Command and Control center Cal.: slang/short for Caliber Carbine: short rifles.Company: a unit of soldiers consisting of roughly three to four platoons plus their commander Compound: a military encampment CP: Command Post det-cord: short for Detonation Cord. a type of explosive shaped like a cord to cut through various structuresDMR: Designa
Epilogue
I took Red to the casualty collection point near the temporary aid station. Blood was still dripping down her face. Q followed close behind, with Neil and Vic walking alongside her. That 50-meter trip felt like the longest walk I had ever walked my entire life. The fountain we passed by became crowded with wounded men as a temporary aid station was placed there. Bloomberg was reporting to Soko. Colonel Patterson was seen organizing the men, telling people where to go and stuff. I put Red down near the building on the east side of that fountain. A medic then approached us, asking whether or not he could’ve helped. After putting her down, I reached into one of her pockets to retrieve our gold pouch, figuring I would hold on to it, though I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it. Following her request, I also took Red’s leather-strapped watch off her wrist and pocketed it. I caressed her hair one last time before heading back to the rest of our squad. I’ll see you soon, I whispered.Near the f
The Last Push
“Vic, you got a couple of frags?” I asked, to which he responded by giving me two pineapple grenades. I pulled the pin on the grenades and let the spoon fly off before tossing it consecutively inside the house. I closed the door right after, containing the blast inside the room. Two loud thumps and a few screams later, I kicked the door down. We then opened fire towards the inside of the building, which turned out to be a bakery.“CLEAR!” I shouted after looking left, to which everyone responded by coming inside, with Bloomberg and Vic clearing the other rooms. I instructed Q to stay away from the windows and Neil to guard the entrance to the rear. I then took a good look at the enemies laying around and popped off a few rounds to make sure they’re dead. They were in uniform, and it’s the ANM. “Red,” I called out, “Marren troops,” “No, shit,” she exclaimed. “Where the hell are the rest of the Marines?” Yeah. Where the hell are the Marines? We’re sitting ducks here waiting for them
Surrounded
“GET THE HELL OUT OF THE STREETS! GO!” Soko commanded the rest of his men. “Get away from the windows! Mark!” Red instructed. The explosion then rang all around us, rattling windows and kicking dust. A few rounds landed really close to the building we were in—thankfully, none of those landed on top of us. The shelling lasted for only a couple minutes, but it surely scared the hell out of us. When it fell silent, we poked our heads out and looked out the windows. Most of the platoon seemed to be okay, and we got out to the streets again. Soko then told us to move across the intersection, then take the now empty machine gun nest and settle there.“We’ll stay here for the moment,” he said. Feeling too bunched up, he spread his men to cover more area. “Konan, take 1st squad and cover the intersection to the south. Hal, take the 2nd squad and face east. 3rd squad will cover our rear. They might be coming down on us really soon,” The platoon then took a little break from the fights, howe
Going out
“I thought you said we’re walking,” I said to Soko, who was getting the drivers ready. By 10.05, we were already out front, lining up for the vehicles we were boarding to head closer towards our objective. “I thought so, too,” he answered, “But the Colonel said we could use the vehicles halfway through. Didn’t want to tire this little lady over here,” he added, looking at Q. She grinned. Now, these trucks are big, and it could be a bullet magnet if we drive all the way up to the front. Besides, we’re supposed to be a surprise element. It makes sense if we were to be dropped halfway. “Oh, yeah. Tell your radio guy to leave his pack. I got one with me,” “Alright,” I said, “Neil!” I called him. “This is it, fellas,” Red announced up front, carrying a map of the area we were going to attack. “Everyone, check your equipment. Put your helmets on. Team leaders, gather around,” she waved at us.“Here we are, Red,”“Okay, here’s the deal. I want you guys to split into two sections at our en
The Father
8.00 am. Mufudzi was kneeling head slumped, mourning his deceased friend. Victor and Neil knelt beside him, as they had served together. With Benson gone, we’re down to only 12 men. That effectively makes Harrison’s team the only one with four men—a proper fire team. I mean, a team of three had sufficed so far, but four was the actual infantry standard. About an hour later, Soko gathered his sergeants—including us. Looks like a briefing, as we had just been under attack. I figured it’s about the plan to reconstruct the defense in case another attack comes, but I figured wrong.“Looks like we’re heading out. Not now, though. Word is we’ll take three blocks of housing complex about two kilometers towards the northwest of the Airport. Enemy activity in that area is still perceivably high, so take caution,” Soko briefed us. “Wait, just us?” Red frowned.“No, word is I’m going with you,” Soko explained, “but I’m not sure so don’t tell anyone yet,”“Are we gonna be on foot?” I asked. “I’
Rage
Out of anger, a few of the officers and NCOs took off to catch those three men, carrying only rifles. They had already gone into the tall grass towards the South at this point, and a few gunshots can be heard. An eager officer later, a handful of men had already run outside, carrying their rifles and what little ammunition they could immediately take with them. It soon erupted into a firefight, as they had been walking—or running, rather—straight into an ambush. They soon pull back, with the rest of them standing by near the outer fence providing cover. I turned my attention back to Red and Harrison. Red was kneeling beside the Major, putting her hand on the Major’s wound. Soko was both furious and panicking. “Fuck,” Soko exclaimed. “You guys get back to your men. I’ll handle the Major,” he said to crowding Marines.“What happened? I heard gunfire,” Kris asked while coming over towards us with the rest of the crew as we came near our quarters.“The Major was shot,” Red answered. “Wha
Guests
We then saw rolling dust moving in towards the gate. I hope it’s the rescue team returning, as I had left my rifle inside. As it closed in, the gate swung open and three intact vehicles came in. Well, that was quick. But hey, at least they’ve made it. We stood up and walked towards them, and saw the three survivors of the crash—or so I thought. They were all in uniform, although I don’t necessarily recognize them. They were armed as well, only minus armor vests. Look out, we got some hotshots over here. Soko and the Major welcomed them and had them debriefed. It turned out they were not survivors of the crash—they were Long Range Patrols, one of the branches of Army Special Forces. They might have run into the jeeps on their way back here. One of those spec-ops guys was taller than the others, and had strikingly messy hair—something unusual for soldiers, but I guess it’s fine since they’re SF. “Well shit, this base even has a hooker on board,” one of the three exclaimed, looking up
