2023-01-29 11:35:03I caught a glimpse of the blast just before I got thrown into the ground. The concussion forced air out of my lungs. My ears were ringing due to the blast. I could’ve been dead—but somehow I’m still here, breathing heavily with blood running through my nostrils. Dirt and mud was raining down all over my face.
I was trying to get up when I felt a sharp pain in my left side, around the ribs. A fragment from that mortar round had embedded itself into the vest where the armor plate did not reach. A similar piece scratched my left cheek. When I fully regained consciousness, another round had fallen right into Honé’s spot, killing him instantly.
“Grace,” I said to myself, still trying to get up while pieces of dirt fell all around me. “GRACE!” I screamed as I grabbed my rifle. She laid there with Ian trying to pick off shards of glass that’s been embedded into her skin. “IS SHE OKAY?!!”
“Yea!”
“Let’s get her inside!” I shouted as another round fell quite close to the house “RED!”
“Yea!?” she answered
“Organize the guys, I’ll be right with you!” I then proceeded to help Ian lift up Grace and moved her to her bedroom. I checked on her breathing. She was in shock. “Please take care of her, I’ll be back,” I said to Ian.
Just as I got out of the house, the first of what would be waves of charging enemy troops came. They had managed to make a hole in the southeast wall, and Frank was trying hard to stop them. Karl fired his grenades and stuff, but it was too close for the fuse to detonate. Others just climbed over the wall. I tried aiming my rifle, but there was no time. So there I was, crouching beside the pillar of the porch, trying to get a clear shot towards the enemy..
“Kris! Cover the top of the wall!” I said as Kris was still trying to take out those who made it in. “Dan, take Honé’s position!” I shouted as I tried to run towards Kris’ position, supporting him. Bullets flew in all directions—and shelling hadn’t stopped. It sounded like they had more than two mortars in two different calibers. That guy yesterday was a round-spotter, it turned out, and his friend did escape. Jimmy hastily got out of the tent with a bag of grenades, and then used the time fuse to his advantage.
Grenades usually have 4-5 second delay after pulling the pin before it explodes, and right timing can create a beautiful airburst. That’s what Jimmy was trying to accomplish. He pulled the pin, waited for 3 seconds, and threw it away. It exploded head-level, and as a result, that single grenade took out five enemy troops. Red mist came out as a by-product of that explosion; it was horrific yet satisfying. We kept returning fire for a solid 10 minutes. There was nowhere to run to anyway. The enemy just kept on coming. They, too, had something they brought on to the table.
Machine gun fire did not stop for anything except lack of targets or reloading. Suddenly, the southeastern section of the outermost wall blew up. It looked like someone fired a rocket towards the wall just to make that hole. From there, more Weasel fighters flooded in. That mortared house across the street made a good cover for those bastards. They returned fire with heavier ordnance than ours—technicals rolled in with their .50 caliber machine guns. LT shouted orders for anyone to get a bazooka. Not long after, Stevens got a hold of a LAW and neutralized them before they got a chance to pepper us with .50 caliber fire any longer.
I kept returning fire with my M16, rocking a couple of 40-rounders I found when we picked our weapons. I did everything—double tap, hip fire, blind fire, everything. Kris’s barrel almost turned red from continuous firing. Our ears, though plugged, were still not able to withstand prolonged gunfire. Added with that RPG fire, a technical car blown up on the other side of the streets, and all, you’d most likely hear a faint ringing for three hours or something. And with me lying really close to a Minimi, which is very loud, I almost thought I’d lose hearing.
Buck was running back and forth providing ammunition for Frank. He was about to take a few other cans of GPMG rounds as a round went through his left leg. He fell, bumping his head into the ammo cans, rendering him unconscious. “Buck!” Karl screamed, helping Buck up and laid him down on the fence. No other hole was found on his body, so he was going to live. Soko took the captured AK from the lookout last night and used it quite effectively on full auto—something the Marines have practiced for a long time now. LT then ordered a fire team from the 1st squad to guard the house close. Enemy troops kept on coming, though at a slower rate now. Shelling had also stopped.
The Marines in-between our position, who we were supposed to replace, managed to score some hits with indirect grenade launchers. I had no idea how that came to them. They just pointed their weapon up, fired, and grenades fell right on top of the enemy. Karl should try that, I guess. I then continue to fire my weapon—shot after shot, magazine after magazine. I was afraid that I was running out of ammo and out of the action, but then it came to a halt. Gunpowder smoke filled the air as it mixed with the stench of burnt gun lubes. Everyone started talking to each other. But still, they wanted to make sure that none of the Weasels were left alive. Dan, Jimmy, and I went up across the street into the mortared house, weapons reloaded.
There were still people in there trying to set us up. They tried firing their weapon but then were silenced quickly by Dan’s automatic fire. I circled the house and managed to take out two more guys trying to sneak up. When we searched the house, there were two teenagers wanting to surrender hiding in one of the bedrooms. Their dead comrade laid down by their feet. Soko, who followed us close behind, stripped them and sent them away. No prisoners allowed anymore.
Ryan fired that last shot of the skirmish. Just when everything started to seem calm, some enemy troops had been playing dead and planned to throw grenades towards us. Ryan saw it and took action. I joined in and let off a few rounds. After that continuous fire, my weapon was smoking again. I didn’t feel it at first, but it turned out enemy fire had grazed my left earlobe.
Red seemed to be hit—it was caught by her armor plate, however, and she managed to get back up. Mark’s ears were bleeding after a grenade blew near him while his hearing protection was off. He had almost totally lost his left hearing, while his right ear was still on.
“Is the Major okay?” LT asked the fire team. I was checking on Buck.
“I think so, sir,” said a Marine.
“Lieutenant, I’ll be checking in on the Major,” I intervened.
“Go ahead,” he said
I strolled down to the house, rifle in my right hand. I then slung my rifle to my back so that it goes across, muzzle pointing to my right. Red then joined in on me as her guys checked on Mark.
“Dude, are you okay? I saw you thrown back by that first shell,” she said.
“I’m okay. Just a piece of fragment to one of my ribs. It’s good, I think. How about you, you okay? Weren’t you hit?”
“Armor caught the bullet. I’m still breathing, though it felt like being punched in the gut,”
“Good to hear that, man,” I let out a sigh. “Grace was hit by a mortar,”
“Wanna check on her?” she asked. Of course, I did.
We entered the now shattered living room and looked for where Grace’s room was. There she sat, seemingly still in shock, with Ian by her side, cleaning up her wounds. The Major stood by, caressed her. She grunted and groaned a little. It wasn’t that bad, her injuries.
“Sir, the lieutenant is worrying about you,” I told him.
“I know. Gimme a second,”
I then crouched near the edge of Grace’s bed, trying to catch her attention. And there she was.
“How do you feel?”
“It hurts, dummy …Ow!” she grunted.
“Is your hearing fine?”
“Yes, it is. Is that blood on your ears?”
“That’s why I asked,” I said to her, getting closer. “You hang in there, okay? You’re going to be alright. I’ll see you later. Stay away from the window,” I added, as I turn to her father, “Lieutenant Larkwell is still looking for you, Major,”
Just as I walked outside, I saw Ian coming in with a tub of medical supplies; sulfa, morphine, bandages, etc. I actually wanted him to take care of this shrapnel and at least clean it, but he was still busy with his girlfriend. Red’s face then turned. She started to seem a bit more panicked. I guess the adrenalin wore off after several minutes. She tried to wipe her face off with her red flannel, stained by the soil kicked up by explosions and ricochets.
“That was intense,” she said. She slowly went back and forth on the porch with me squatting near the door. “I thought we were gonna die,” she was breathing heavily.
“I know, right. That mortar though,”
She kept moving back and forth. “This is bullshit,” she said, shaking her head.
I then stood up and got closer to her. “Hey,” I said as I grabbed her upper arms, near the shoulders, “You’re okay. Okay? We’re gonna be okay,” I said, trying to calm her down. She nodded.
“I think I need a smoke,” she said, stepping off after letting out a sigh.
“Can I have one of those?” I asked her as she unpacks her Luckies from her pocket.
“Yeah, yeah. Need a light?”
“Yea, thanks,” I leaned towards her to get that light. I then dragged a deep inhale, enjoying it. It calms me down, I tell you. It seemed to calm her down too.
“I want a casualty assessment right now, and LT, you take a squad, go beyond that fence for a click and clear out any remaining bogies, do it now,” The Major suddenly burst out of the front door. “What are you doing here, Mike?”
“Enjoying a smoke, sir,”
“Well, yeah. Okay. After that, I want you to take your squad back to your original positions,”
“The MG team is taking care of their commander, sir, but the rest of us haven’t moved a bit,” Red replied.
“Tell your MG team to get back immediately, this whole place could be surrounded,” He stormed back into the house. He probably got paranoid after his daughter got peppered all over her face.
“Relax, Red. You deserve a little time-out,”
“Thanks, Sergeant,” she let out a little chuckle. But seriously, this attack earlier had been the biggest each of us ever encountered.
“Hey, Red,”
“Yea?”
“Are you really okay with us calling you Red?”
“Well, aside from that one drill instructor that started it, I’m… fine with it. Why?" She seemed confused.
“I mean we’ve known you for years, we know your real name,”
“It’s alright. The last time I heard any of you call me Anne was before basic, so… I’m used to it now,”
“Well, Anne,” I teased her, “do you have a light?”
“Fuck you, Mickey Mouse,” she laughed. I followed. “Here,”
“Thanks,” I responded as I took the lighter, “hu-ha,”
“No, no, don’t try to be funny with me, now,” she laughed. Mickey Mouse, I thought to myself as I lit one up. I never would’ve thought that nickname would make a comeback.
“You know, it’s gonna be quite ironic for you to be called a mouse,”
“Yeah, I can see that,” I exhaled the smoke. “Are they settling down?” I looked around, “I think I’ll look for Ian, see what he can do about this,” I stood up, pointing to the little scratch on my waist.
I went inside to have my wounds looked at with the only Doctor in the house, Ian. The guy was still running back and forth trying to deliver medication to those who needed them. I had to wait for several more minutes before he finally came up to me.
“Alright, what do you want?”
“I just need this wound checked out, think you have the time?”
“Yes. One moment. Have a seat,”
I sat on the couch in the Major’s living room. It was tattered from the explosions and darkened from accumulated soot. He then came back with a box of kits, wearing latex gloves. I put my head back on the couch’s headrest and pulled my shirt up.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” Ian said. “ I don’t have to cut you open, I just need to take it out. Are you ready?”
Mind you, I was fully awake. Yet, I didn’t feel as much as a sting to that area where Ian is working. I felt like he had jabbed me in the leg before, though. Morphine, probably? I could hear the clattering he made while rummaging through his medical kit. Red and Dan came to see me as Ian was tending to my wound.
“There she is,” he showed me the fragment. “You’re good to go. Just make sure you don’t move too much,”
“Really? in a combat zone?” I quipped. He chuckled as he was dressing my wound. Dan kept asking me if I was okay. Moments later you could hear us talking about how we came across a hornet’s nest while hiking in the woods a few years ago. The drug wore off over time, and the wound became painful as I tried to sit up straight. But the wound did get patched up. Thanks, doc.
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Irregulaire Rank and File
Later that day, around 9.30-ish, the eleven of us gathered in front of the porch. Buck’s leg was fine, it turned out to be just a ricochet. Major Metford then joined us. He briefed us about what we should do with this squad. Or so I thought. “If we’re talking about Marine doctrine, the squad leader is best not to be part of a team. I mean, good job what you did here, but it’s gonna be better for you if you’re separate from the team. Second in command, however, is more flexible,” he said. I didn’t understand at first, but then, “If you are leading the squad, you don’t want the hassle of leading a team on top of that. Relegate the team to someone else, and you coordinate with that person,” he continued. “Roger that, Major,” Red said. “That means you lead the team, Ryan,” “Me? Oh, no, no, no,” Ryan said to Red. “Oh, yes, and that’s an order,” “I guess it’s time for you guys to have this,” Major chuckled as he handed out some patches. “Put these on your vests, those are your insignias
Irregulaire Body Count
Soko 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. P
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
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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