NationStates Jolt Archive

From the back of the truck, Gunny Strauss loaded a 40 mm grenade into the M320 launcher under his rifle's barrel. He took aim and fired the round into the swarm approaching the truck. Trosky fired a burst from his SAW, mowing down a group that was coming fro mthe left flank. Where the Hell is that exfil bird, the Gunny thought.

OOC: Sorry Caliz, apologies. And damn I've missed a lot!

"Damnit!" Cursed the Skgorrian Captain as he ran out of ammunition for his AEK. He quickly pulled out his pistol and double-tapped a zombie who was getting far too close to the truck for comfort. "How are you doing for ammunition Gorobets?"

"Down to my last box sir!" Gorobets called out as she reloaded her weapon. She continued firing into the horde, it was hard to miss such a large target: perfect for a heavy automatic weapon.

"Any more of this and we'll have to play with our bayonets," grumled Petersen as he sighted on the head of a particularly fat zombies and pulled the trigger.

IC:

John said "This is getting a little close for comfort!, I'm down to two boxes of 9mm, then I'll have to use my 1911A1!" He realized that he had also brought a Springfield 1903 with the Petersen Device, and he had it slung over his shoulder! He took it off, and feed some 30-06 ammo into the Petersen device, and started firing at zombies.

He said "Captain Petersen, feel free to take the M-4A1 Carbine, I have my rifle, and I think Steve's using the last of his Uzi ammo.."

OOC Note:
The Pederson attachment fired a special .30 caliber pistol bullet, not .30-06.

Standard M1903s were altered to accept a so called Pedersen device, officially know as a "US pistol, semi-automatic, .30 caliber, M1918". This device was inserted into the modified M1903 action instead of the standard bolt, and featured a semi-automatic action with box magazine, that fired a specially-designed .30 caliber (7.62mm) straight-wall cartridges of relatively low power, allowing to every soldier equipped with modified M1903 to fire rapidly from the hip while advancing onto the enemy positions. The device was fed from 40 rounds magazines, and required an ejection port to be cut in the left wall of the receiver. The Pedersen device was later found ineffective and with numerous drawbacks, and in 1920s almost all "M1918 pistols" were scrapped and Mark 1 rifles converted to the standard pattern

Not sure if people can just instantly 'remember' having left smething lung on their back...

OOC Note:
The Pederson attachment fired a special .30 caliber pistol bullet, not .30-06.

Not sure if people can just instantly 'remember' having left smething lung on their back...

OOC: Oops! Oh well, well I'll edit it, and do it correctly next time. Just pretend I didn't have it..

Edward pulled the trigger to elt out a burst and all he got was the click of the bolt hitting nothing. "Dammit, out of this to!" He handed it back to John and pulled out his M1911. "Only got one last clip here, then I gotta get friendly with the locals."

Edward pulled the trigger to elt out a burst and all he got was the click of the bolt hitting nothing. "Dammit, out of this to!" He handed it back to John and pulled out his M1911. "Only got one last clip here, then I gotta get friendly with the locals."

John nodded and he grabbed one more box of the ammo for the Hali-53, and he fixed a bayonet to the Hail-53, and he fired a couple of bursts at the undead, and he said "I hope the exfiltration helicopter comes soon!, or this will be like the Battle of Big Horn!, I don't want to go down in history like Custer!"

"I'll stick with the pistol, but thanks for the offer," called out Petersen as he carefully picked off zombies with the pistol. After 15 shots the clip ran out and Petersen let the empty magazine fall to the floor, replacing it with a full one from his webbing.

Gorobets had stopped firing for a few seconds to let the barrel of her weapon cool down after it had heated from so much automatic fire.

"What's the matter Colonel, afraid to live forever?" She grinned as she pulled out her bayonet, just in case any of the undead came close.

The Gunny fired another grenade from his launcher and was preparing to fire another one as Grant threw an M-67 grenade into the mob before returning to his sniping. Trosky mowed down another gaggle before throwing one of his own grenades.

"Changing mags!" Strauss shouted, loading another clip into his rifle. He only had two left, and he glanced at his sidearm, a .45 MEU pistol. He just hoped the bird got there before it came to that.

"I'll stick with the pistol, but thanks for the offer," called out Petersen as he carefully picked off zombies with the pistol. After 15 shots the clip ran out and Petersen let the empty magazine fall to the floor, replacing it with a full one from his webbing.

Gorobets had stopped firing for a few seconds to let the barrel of her weapon cool down after it had heated from so much automatic fire.

"What's the matter Colonel, afraid to live forever?" She grinned as she pulled out her bayonet, just in case any of the undead came close.

John said "No, I don't want to live forever! I want to be remembered in good faith, as the man who fought to the last! Over the truck men!" Using his great uncle's rallying cry from the First Calizorinstanian Civil War, he affixed the bayonet to the Hali-53, and stabbed an undead who came too close.

He said "I sure hope though that the exfil heli comes though.."

"Actually, being custer doesn't sound to bad, at least we get to be remebered as heroes instead of just food." He flipped his knife out of his sheath then stabbed an afflicted through its temple. "Where the hell is that exfil chopper? All the years of zombie killing, I've never had to wait for exfil, right John?"

"Thank God," Kirk murmurred, then reopened the channel, "Affirmative, sit tight."

He continued plunging the now rapidly dulling knife into the skulls of zombies in his way, grunting in alarm when the occasional one turned and engaged him. Fortunately their numbers were thinning and very few outside had found their in at this point.

He reached the top of the stairs and before turning the corner (years of policework taught him to always be cautious when guns were involved) called out, "STF team, this is Officer Victor Kirk of the Dominion Civil Authority, currently serving in the Alfa Teams. If you folks don't mind I'm here to get you out of here.

Listening carefully, you'll hear rotors over the moaning of the dead. Gunships are waiting on the roof to get us all the heck out of here. I'm turning the corner now, please hold your fire."

With that he slowly lowered his gun, began turning the corner, and-

OOC: -and I can't go any further until GWO comes back.

The remaining pilot fired a shot, but the round went wild. U74 quickly hit the pilot's slide release, and the slide fell to the floor with a clang. "Sorry about that, he won't shoot anymore," said U98. "Our sniper is on the roof, let's go."

The two S.T.F. Agents and petrified helicopter pilot began heading for the roof, where the sniper sat, wondering what cut off the supply of zombies. "And also, the helicopter we were on had several ammunition crates on board, as well as medical supplies. It's possible to salvage, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it, it's probably covered in even more inflicted."

"Actually, being custer doesn't sound to bad, at least we get to be remebered as heroes instead of just food." He flipped his knife out of his sheath then stabbed an afflicted through its temple. "Where the hell is that exfil chopper? All the years of zombie killing, I've never had to wait for exfil, right John?"

John was about to reply when his radio crackled "Alfa Team, this is Caliz Heli 2, we've been ordered to pick you guys up over, the original exfil helicopter has had difficulties, we are near your position over.." John replied "Alright Heli 2, we're awaiting you.."

OOC: Shen, is that okay to have my heli come in as the replacement exfil helicopter instead of yours?, it's to explain the long wait..

IC:

John saw the UH-65 Rogue helicopter come in near their spot, and he said "Let's alert the others of the new exfil heli.." He bayonetted a zombie in the temple, and he said to Ed "In all of my missions, we've never had to wait for an exfil.."

"Cover me," the Gunny said.

"Oorah," Trosky said, drawing his 9mm Beretta.

The Gunny ran behind their position and set up a Claymore, fixing it to a radio detonator rather than a trip wire. He set up others along a path to a pair of exfil bird.

"All right!" he shouted to the Teams. "I've set up a path to the bird! Use 'em as cover and we'll hold them back w/ the Claymores!" To emphasize the point, Strauss launched another 40mm grenade into the crowd of zombies.

John was about to reply when his radio crackled "Alfa Team, this is Caliz Heli 2, we've been ordered to pick you guys up over, the original exfil helicopter has had difficulties, we are near your position over.." John replied "Alright Heli 2, we're awaiting you.."

OOC: Shen, is that okay to have my heli come in as the replacement exfil helicopter instead of yours?, it's to explain the long wait..

IC:

John saw the UH-65 Rogue helicopter come in near their spot, and he said "Let's alert the others of the new exfil heli.." He bayonetted a zombie in the temple, and he said to Ed "In all of my missions, we've never had to wait for an exfil.."

OOC: i'll edit the path to the chopper instead...

IC:

John said to the rest of the team in the truck "C'mon, let's get going!, I'm tired of hanging out with this crowd,I'll give you covering fire from the chopper.." He ran to the chopper, and manned the M-60 that was mounted on the door, and fired at the zombies that were attempting to get at the Alfa Team.

He thought wryly "If I ever make Commandant, I'll have the most interesting history ever.."

"All right," Grant said from the roof. "You heard the man, @$$holes and elbows! Let's get outta here!" He fired off two more shots before vaulting from the truck and taking a knee halfway to the chopper as he gave covering fire for the other squads. Trosky was next, taking a knee further behind Grant and opening up with his SAW. They leapfrogged again as they made it towards the chopper.

"All right," Grant said from the roof. "You heard the man, @$$holes and elbows! Let's get outta here!" He fired off two more shots before vaulting from the truck and taking a knee halfway to the chopper as he gave covering fire for the other squads. Trosky was next, taking a knee further behind Grant and opening up with his SAW. They leapfrogged again as they made it towards the chopper.

John kept firing his M-60 door mounted gun to give covering fire as the squads headed towards the chopper. John yelled "Let it be said that this Alfa Team all of the Alfa Team, preformed above and beyond the call of duty, whilst surrounded by the enemy! I will suggest to whomever commanded this operation to let one of us vets help plan!" He continued to fire away, and Grant, and Trosky were soon in the chopper.

The rest of the Teams were piling in, but the Gunny, who was still waiting outside of the chopper, noticed John was still firing away on the M60.

"C'mon!" Strauss shouted to John. "Time to go home!" he leveled his rifle and gave covering fire, hoping that he got the hint. "I'll blow the first Claymore as you cross it!"

The rest of the Teams were piling in, but the Gunny, who was still waiting outside of the chopper, noticed John was still firing away on the M60.

"C'mon!" Strauss shouted to John. "Time to go home!" he leveled his rifle and gave covering fire, hoping that he got the hint. "I'll blow the first Claymore as you cross it!"

OOC: The other members of the team are offline, to those members, we've decided to cut straight to the chase, and all of the team is in the UH-65..

IC:

Now that all of the members of the team had been accounted for, John yelled to the pilot "Let's RTB!" The pilot replied "Roger that Colonel, I'm ready to RTB!" The UH-65 started to lift off, and the second UH-65 was still covering fire, with some of the other Alfa Team members getting in the second one.

John sighed and he said "That was more close to death then I've ever come, and man, that mission was the worst of all of the ones in my whole undead fighting career.."

The exfil had gone smoothly, the Claymore's had protected their sixes as they got to the chopper, so there was only one more thing to do. Strauss flipped the safty latch off of the detonator and depressed the trigger. A huge fireball erupted from the street corner, the flame raching almost as high as the helicopter. A shockwave of hellfire scorched the nearby undead, and the blast simply threw the rest like rag dolls. That outta get their attention, the Gunny thought.

OOC: well, i guess we finished mission 1, Cal. now what?

Kirk followed the STF to the waiting helos and helped secure them to the skids. He then himself hopped on and tied down.

"Alright, take us up!"

He checked his watch. Only minutes to spare; this one would be close.

IC:

John sighed as they flew off, wiping his brow with a wet rag he said "Am I glad to be out of that joint. I just hope the next mission doesn't cut this close.."

The Dropship ran fast back to base, trying to get as much distance between it and the QZ as possible. It touched down and the two COs stepped off onto the tarmac, weapons almost empty. They immediately headed for the hastilly constructed medical facility, really little more than a pair of quonset huts, but inside it had all the facilities of a top flight military field hospital.

After being given clean bills of health they headed back to the command building. The speakers within the base were blaring with some kind of music, apparently some form of Shenyangi rock, but the tune was barely recognizable through the static of the hasty system.

Talisman reached the briefing room first, he'd debrief the team if they showed, otherwise he'd write his AAO, this would be a tough mission to justify, with the loss of a chopper and all.

The Dropship ran fast back to base, trying to get as much distance between it and the QZ as possible. It touched down and the two COs stepped off onto the tarmac, weapons almost empty. They immediately headed for the hastilly constructed medical facility, really little more than a pair of quonset huts, but inside it had all the facilities of a top flight military field hospital.

After being given clean bills of health they headed back to the command building. The speakers within the base were blaring with some kind of music, apparently some form of Shenyangi rock, but the tune was barely recognizable through the static of the hasty system.

Talisman reached the briefing room first, he'd debrief the team if they showed, otherwise he'd write his AAO, this would be a tough mission to justify, with the loss of a chopper and all.


The UH-65's set down at the base, as soon as they came to a full and complete stop, and John was the first one out of the chopper and into the building.

The Colonel and Steve were the second to reach the briefing room, their faces were dirty and John wiped the soot off his face from the various explosions.

He said to Talisman "The others are coming, we did not lose a man in the mission."

Kirk stepped off a second dropship, still a little winded from the very fast flight from the roof of the building to the exfiltration area. However, other matters were on his mind. He jogged up to a soldier posting guard and asked,

"Soldier, I need to go into immediate decon. My armor's been bitten and there may still be saliva samples for the techhies to collect. That and after nearly getting smothered me and my stuff could use a good thorough shower."

Edward followed John into the building. "You know, you forgot to take back your rifle." He looked at Talisman. "Not quite what you expected, eh? Then again, we weren't any different, try not to go to hard on the people who didn't follow protocol."

Edward followed John into the building. "You know, you forgot to take back your rifle." He looked at Talisman. "Not quite what you expected, eh? Then again, we weren't any different, try not to go to hard on the people who didn't follow protocol."

John said "Oh, thank you.." He took back the Hali-53, and he said "I've sent an email to headquarters to send 53 more boxes of ammo, and more .45 ACP ammo. Ed, that was I must say the longest I've ever gone without exfil, and I hope this won't be the norm wait for an exfiltration.."

"It was damn well what I expected, I went in for that exact same scenario near Sierra-077 with ALFA Team 2 and 3 exactly 2 weeks ago."

He noted something on the After Action Overview.

"We were lucky this time, nothing more, nothing less. Next time I can't even guarantee we'll be able to get exfil, much less that we'll make it out, reardless how 'good' we are at this."

Behind his mirrored goggles he closed his eyes, then took them off, and without opening his light-senitive eyes, he cleaned the dirt and surface damage from the lenses. Relatively sure that they were clean, he replaced them over his eyes and opened them again. They were clear, a few minor scratches, but nothing too bad.

He looked upward at the lights above him and pulled a small bottle of pills from his gear. He dumped 2 pills into his palm and swallowed them without looking. The stress of the entire campaign was causing hs compromised immune system to slowly lapse entirely. As a result, his usual course of immune boosters had been boosted. What no one knew, was that it had been boosted to 9 pills a day, not the 12 he was taking. He had enough medication to fake the time frame necessary between refills, but that many pills ran the severe risk of causing an immune response to his own body. He didn't care. The temporary calming effects, an unreported side-effect of the latest formula, helped him through the day. He knew he was verging on addiction, and that he should stop. He knew that he was running the risk of killing himself. He knew that if SSOCOM got even a hint of this he'd be relieved of duty and dishonorably discharged.

He knew all the dangers, but for the moment, he didn't care.

"It only gets worse from here, and if they can't take it, they'll break under pressure, or die."

It was a callous thing to say, but he knew full well that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park, that people would be dying, and most importantly, that there would be no storybook ending for this tale.

The years of conflict had gotten to him, taking a jaded but skilled and soldier and turning him into a pessimistic shell of his former self.

He looked at the page of the AAO he was writing; an operative assessment, for Victor Kirk. Scribbled onto the page were a few semi-coherent sentences. Two were underlined.

"Experienced Mental Collapse. Requires Psychological Evaluation."

He filled out the rest of the page and continued on to the next page.

Edward took off his helmet and dropped it unceremoniously on the floor and sighed. "These guys lack the instinct for it, they're to used to human battlefields." He flipped the photo of the original QCS onto the table. "We weren't that different, but we faced a failed genetics program and a conspiracy, not an unknown virus." Edward ran his hands through his hair. "And Vic, if he had a psyche breakdown, anyone can. These past years haven't been the easiest of my life,suppose I should fill you in on why I got busted down to Liuetenet and reassigned here."

"Why not?"

Talisman finished the AAO and closed the folder. He would submit it as soon as he was done with any debriefings.

"I need people with their heads in the game. If I have to send people home, then god damn it I will. I'm not in this business to kill my subordinates, I'm in this to save my family from that."

He gestured toward the QZ. For all his patriotism, the threat to his family far outweighed any abstract sense that 'his country needed him.' His family was under the threat of death if they failed, and he couldn't live with himself if he failed them, Shenyang, sure, but not his family.

"So, what happened?"

Edward rubbed the back of his neck. "Where to begin... two years after the TCBS fiasco, the QCS got sent on a routine sweep of the wasteland, recon said small town for activity, report back. Except this one was different. The remaining UH fueled puppets were hiding out in said small town, all hell broke loose and most of the rooks were killed. Crispy and I managed to save who we could, and in the end, they couldn't be dislodged, so we plastered the town with napalm. But, the real clincher was that Patrick pulled on me. He said I was to valuable, that I should turn myself into section zero for further analysis, ad to prove he ment business, he shot me in the leg. Now, thats about the worst thing you can do to a marine, because in boot we learn to shoot automatically at whatever the threat is, and I ended up plugging no less then four holes in crispy before I hit the dirt. So, I end up getting dragged before a military tribunal, charge of disobeying a direct order and murdering a fellow officer. But, section zero probably pulled some strings and the verdict came out guilty on order charge, so they busted my ass down to Liutenet, stripped me of my command and sent me into field work. So that's how I came here." He took the photo off the desk. "Believe me, if I still had any favors to call in I'd try and get at least a decent fly boy, but everything ran dry right after that, hell, the only favors I have are with Frank. And so, thats it. In the eyes of the Union i'm an insubordinate officer who might have murdered another."

"The hell music is this?" Grant asked as they stepped out of the chopper. He slung his rifle on his shoulder and headed into the medical tent.

The Gunny and Trosky were still inside when Grant snuck out, searching for the overhead speaker system. He found it, and within moments, had shut off the rock music. He replaced it with his 'return' song; St. James' Infirmary ( http://youtube.com/watch?v=bECMNNFxgoE&feature=related ).

"He needs evaluation, and quickly," spoke up Petersen, referring to Kirk. The two Skgorrians had been remarkably quiet on the chopper and had silently marched into the debriefing room, their gas masks off and so their faces were showing. They looked tired and dirty.

"I cannot doubt his skills, but if he is unreliable then it is best that he be taken off the team post-haste."

"He-he's right," added Gorobets, wiping some grime from her face. She looked shattered, but happy to be alive. "If-if he loses the plot when we need him the-then we could all end up dead."

Petersen took out a ration bar and started chewing. "Also sir, I didn't have a clue what was going on half the time. Comms were all over the place, I didn't know where the rest of the team was and half the time, I didn't know where you were. For a deep-insertion team that's bad news."

Trosky and the Gunny had taken off in search of Grant after noticing he'd hijacked the radio. Not that either one really minded, but they didn't want their teammate getting in trouble so soon. They were passing the Skgorrians when Trosky overheard their conversation. Gorobets seemed to have returned to her normal self, but as to what constituted normal to her...the young Marine private had no idea. He noticed the grime she was trying to clean off herself, and decided now was as good a time as any.

"Here," he said, approaching them. He offered a handkerchief emblazoned with the CMMC insignia-a globe and anchor topped with the crossed hammer and sickle. "You missed a spot," Trosky added, referring to smudges on Gorobets face.

After going through decontamination and giving the scientists enough samples to keep them happy through Christmas, he found the nearest chair and collapsed. He held his head in his hands, reflecting what he had just gone through.

Looking down at the breastplate at his feet, he realized just how close he'd come to dying.

"Why? What's wrong with me? Could it really be taking its toll on my sanity? I mean, it's only been a few years..."

"He needs evaluation, and quickly," spoke up Petersen, referring to Kirk. The two Skgorrians had been remarkably quiet on the chopper and had silently marched into the debriefing room, their gas masks off and so their faces were showing. They looked tired and dirty.

"I cannot doubt his skills, but if he is unreliable then it is best that he be taken off the team post-haste."

"He-he's right," added Gorobets, wiping some grime from her face. She looked shattered, but happy to be alive. "If-if he loses the plot when we need him the-then we could all end up dead."

Petersen took out a ration bar and started chewing. "Also sir, I didn't have a clue what was going on half the time. Comms were all over the place, I didn't know where the rest of the team was and half the time, I didn't know where you were. For a deep-insertion team that's bad news."

John said "Yeah, I had no clue what the S.T.F team were doing or where they were, I only knew where Captain Petersen, Gorobets, Joker, and Ed where, and that's bad news."

"Its not your place to pass judgement, its mine. I'll get the psyche on it, and see what he turns up. If he says he's okay, then I'll accept it, but if he freezes again I'm sending his ass home."

A call came in on Talisman's personal phone. He pulled the gun metal RAZR (a common choice among Shenyangi spec ops) and whipped it open.

"Hello... good to hear from you Lieutenant... You all made it, I'll get you a resupply ASAP. Good job today. Dismissed."

He closed the phone and replaced it on his belt.

"Commanding officer of the chekpoint we bailed out. They ended up facing the vanguard of the mob, but in the end they only had to deal with a hundred or so, he wanted to thank us for our work."

"Its not your place to pass judgement, its mine. I'll get the psyche on it, and see what he turns up. If he says he's okay, then I'll accept it, but if he freezes again I'm sending his ass home."

A call came in on Talisman's personal phone. He pulled the gun metal RAZR (a common choice among Shenyangi spec ops) and whipped it open.

"Hello... good to hear from you Lieutenant... You all made it, I'll get you a resupply ASAP. Good job today. Dismissed."

He closed the phone and replaced it on his belt.

"Commanding officer of the chekpoint we bailed out. They ended up facing the vanguard of the mob, but in the end they only had to deal with a hundred or so, he wanted to thank us for our work."

John said "I'm glad he's thankful, we risked our skin for him!" He got a call on his phone, which was a HTC Mogul, and he said "Hello, Colonel Macked speaking! Oh, Mr.Arnold! Good to hear from you again!, no I can't tell you where I am, and the chances of me getting out alive from this affair don't look good.."

"Everybodys getting calls, I'll probably be next in line." Sure enough, as soon as he had said that his cell phone pulsed in his pocket. Edward slid it out and brought it to his ear. "Harrison. You heard? That big of a splash, eh? Yeah, I think we might. Wait- you did what? Bad move Frank, bad move." He clicked the cell phone shut then cleared his throat. "Well, I have good news, we just got an offer for an insertion and exfil pilot, John, Alex, Nikolai, you might remebr him. Frank Green, our old guy, bad thing is, he's gone merc now that his commisions up, other bit of good news, he'll do it for free." His cell phone pulsed again and Edward sighed. "Must be popular." He muttered. He flipped his cell phone out again. "Harrison. Who is this?" Edwards faced paled to an ashen grey. "No." His face paled again, this time to pure white. "Thats- I understand. No, not now, call later." he hung up and his face rapidly regained its color. "T-telemarketer." He stammered. "I-i-i need some fresh air." He half walked, half dashed for the door.

IC:

John sighed and he said "I have a feeling that I might be recalled for active command of the 15th Infantry Battalion within a week. There's conflict brewing in our colony of Romania with Kroando that they require my services. But, I may be able to stay."

Edward walked back into the room a wiped a bit of bile from his lips. "Sorry, think I might have eaten something that didn't agree with me." He gave a small cough then walked over to John. "Recalled to active duty? Lucky bastard, I'd rather fight a human any day, but someones gotta do this."

A chirp came from a small pocket on Kirk's vest and he pulled out the tiny headset, putting it into his ear and hitting a button.

"Officer Kirk, DCA. Colonel Hawkins, good to hear from you. Things are going well on the border? Good, good. Well sir to tell you the truth I-," he smiled briefly, "Yeah, I'm glad I'm still alive too. But sir I...I froze. I told Granger it was too much for and-alright. Alright, yeah they'll probably stick me with a shrink anyway. Well, that's for the shrink to decide. I've gotta go, talk to you."

He hit the button again and stuffed the headset back into his pocket. His mood hadn't improved any.

Edward walked back into the room a wiped a bit of bile from his lips. "Sorry, think I might have eaten something that didn't agree with me." He gave a small cough then walked over to John. "Recalled to active duty? Lucky bastard, I'd rather fight a human any day, but someones gotta do this."

John said "I said I might be recalled to active duty. I don't know for sure yet, but there's been some clashes between the rebels. Though I think the fighting is mostly over, I'm replacing my friend Lieutenant Colonel Dan Caryle as the commander of the 15th Infantry Battalion. Lt.Col Caryle was at several key battles of the Romanian Campaign.." He handed Ed the book about the Romanian Campaign (http://nationstates.wikia.com/wiki/Romanian_Campaign) by the former, from after action reports of the battles and first hand account.

Edward turned toward Kirk. "Vic, my advice to you is to not let that breakdown get to you. if it does, well, you get the point. a shrink will help for a bit, but a nice long leave usually clears up everything."

John said "I said I might be recalled to active duty. I don't know for sure yet, but there's been some clashes between the rebels. Though I think the fighting is mostly over, I'm replacing my friend Lieutenant Colonel Dan Caryle as the commander of the 15th Infantry Battalion. Lt.Col Caryle was at several key battles of the Romanian Campaign.." He handed Ed the book about the Romanian Campaign (http://nationstates.wikia.com/wiki/Romanian_Campaign) by the former, from after action reports of the battles and first hand account.

Edward eyed the book. 'now i've got something to suppliment my reading, thank you." He looked over at Kirk. "What do you think we should do with him?"

Edward eyed the book. 'now i've got something to suppliment my reading, thank you." He looked over at Kirk. "What do you think we should do with him?"

John said "Send him home, I couldn't bear him breaking down and then becoming infected." John sighed and he said "I sure hope we get back from the next one alive."

"No kidding, a lot of the rooks split off from the main group early on, I think the only guys who stuck with us were te WTO soldiers and the Skgorians. I doubt we'll go next mission casuality free."

"No kidding, a lot of the rooks split off from the main group early on, I think the only guys who stuck with us were te WTO soldiers and the Skgorians. I doubt we'll go next mission casuality free."

John shook his head and he said "Man, if this is what Joker is counting on, then this "Alfa Team" will all but be eliminated in a couple of weeks. I am suspecting it'll be the rooks that go first, and then we vets will make a slip. That's why, as soon as I can, I'm going back to Romania, at least I fight humans there.."

"I'm sticking around, if Shenyang has a major outbreak, how long before the world does? After all, thats nearly how it started in First city years ago."

"I'm sticking around, if Shenyang has a major outbreak, how long before the world does? After all, thats nearly how it started in First city years ago."

John said "Yes, but I don't want to become infected. There is a very high risk of that, so, I believe I'll stick around for four more missions, and if I survive, I'll leave. You see, if I get offered a command of an Infantry Battalion, that most likely means I'll get promoted all the way up to Commandant if I play my cards right."

"ive already dealt with command position, look what its got me." He sighed. "When this is over, I'm getting out of the Union, I'll probably head here, see if they can use my experience."

"ive already dealt with command position, look what its got me." He sighed. "When this is over, I'm getting out of the Union, I'll probably head here, see if they can use my experience."

John said "When this is over, I'm running for President in 2012, or whenever this joint ends."

"Well, good luck. And If I happen to end up in Calizoristan, you got my vote."

John said "My two brothers are currently running for the presidency, I support my elder brother Barry, he was the Commandant of the Marine Corps."

John said "When this is over, I'm running for President in 2012, or whenever this joint ends."

"Well, good luck. And If I happen to end up in Calizoristan, you got my vote."

John said "My two brothers are currently running for the presidency, I support my elder brother Barry, he was the Commandant of the Marine Corps."

"Looks like political and military tendencies run in the family. I'm going to stay an old war horse, I never understood politicians."

"Looks like political and military tendencies run in the family. I'm going to stay an old war horse, I never understood politicians."

John said "Yes, I am in fact the direct descendant of the first leader of Calizorinstan, who was a king by the way."

"Royalty, huh? I'm not decended from anyone importnat, other wise I wouldn'ts have been born in Rotstadt.

"Royalty, huh? I'm not decended from anyone importnat, other wise I wouldn'ts have been born in Rotstadt.

John said "I didn't mean to brag, just explaining where my military and political heritage comes from."

John said "I didn't mean to brag, just explaining where my military and political heritage comes from."

"Ah, I never had any heritage what so ever, not to be offensive, but I don't like it when people climb the ranks through favors. Not that you did, did you?"

"Ah, I never had any heritage what so ever, not to be offensive, but I don't like it when people climb the ranks through favors. Not that you did, did you?"

John said "I never did. I climbed through the ranks on my skill alone, was the basis for my promotions. After the QCS, that's when my superiors started to notice me. Heh, I can't believe that hardly any of the QCS joined. I suspect Saya is retired though.."

John said "I never did. I climbed through the ranks on my skill alone, was the basis for my promotions. After the QCS, that's when my superiors started to notice me. Heh, I can't believe that hardly any of the QCS joined. I suspect Saya is retired though.."

"Well, she is married to one of the dags, and Alex is to much of a fighter to retire. As for the QCS, the only thing that really interested the Union is that I'm the sole remaining stable host for UH, if I wasn't, I'd still be in command of the QCS, section zero wouldn't have forced Crispys hand, and I wouldn't have killed him, simple as that."

"Well, she is married to one of the dags, and Alex is to much of a fighter to retire. As for the QCS, the only thing that really interested the Union is that I'm the sole remaining stable host for UH, if I wasn't, I'd still be in command of the QCS, section zero wouldn't have forced Crispys hand, and I wouldn't have killed him, simple as that."

John said "There's still things I can't remember about the QCS, what happened to Crispy anyway?"

John said "There's still things I can't remember about the QCS, what happened to Crispy anyway?"

"Well, I dug a bit deeper. Right after the TCBS he got married, about a year later his wife had a daughter. I think due to the fact that he was the second in command of the QCS and a close firned, section zero started to pull him in every direction, I think what really got him over was maybe a threat against his family. And you know Crispy, he's the guy who'll defend anyone to the death, but when his family is threatened, he began to take drastic steps. First off was stealing samples of my genetic material from a Union med lab, second step lead to his death, the attempted kidnapping of me. Section Zero must've been desperate. But, he did the one thing nobody should ever do to a Union marine, he pointed a gun at me and pulled the trigger. Like I told you, its ground into every marines head in boot to autmatically fire back at a threat, and thats what I did."

"Well, I dug a bit deeper. Right after the TCBS he got married, about a year later his wife had a daughter. I think due to the fact that he was the second in command of the QCS and a close firned, section zero started to pull him in every direction, I think what really got him over was maybe a threat against his family. And you know Crispy, he's the guy who'll defend anyone to the death, but when his family is threatened, he began to take drastic steps. First off was stealing samples of my genetic material from a Union med lab, second step lead to his death, the attempted kidnapping of me. Section Zero must've been desperate. But, he did the one thing nobody should ever do to a Union marine, he pointed a gun at me and pulled the trigger. Like I told you, its ground into every marines head in boot to autmatically fire back at a threat, and thats what I did."

John said "That is a shame. I wish that he was still alive." He sighed and he said "Who else in the QCS or the TCBS is dead?"

"Well, William Lawrence went off the radar after the QCS, Frank Green's commision expired and he went merc, Evan Grey got himself blown up in a failed uprising. And most of the Arkheim knights, you know, the Union guys with future tech in first city, well, most of them are missing, the rest have gone into hiding. Somethings not right in the Union, anyone can smell it."

John said "Interesting, I was the only Calizorinstani in the QCS, I mean, there were two Shenyangis."

John said "That is a shame. I wish that he was still alive." He sighed and he said "Who else in the QCS or the TCBS is dead?"

"Well, William Lawrence went off the radar after the QCS, Frank Green's commision expired and he went merc, Evan Grey got himself blown up in a failed uprising. And most of the Arkheim knights, you know, the Union guys with future tech in first city, well, most of them are missing, the rest have gone into hiding. Somethings not right in the Union, anyone can smell it."

John said "Interesting, I was the only Calizorinstani in the QCS, I mean, there were two Shenyangis."

"Well, I'm refering to strictly Union casualities, I know Vic, both Dags and Saya are still alive, so most of the QCS is still alive."

"Boy, dontcha feel left out," Grant joked to the Gunny.

"We're Marines. We fight where and when we're told," Strauss answered. "Wonder if Trosky got a lucky break."

"Y' mean with that Gorobets?" Grant chuckled. "Dunno which one is crazier."

"Well, there's gotta be something for us beyond war," Strauss concluded.

The breakroom thread is up, its for all the down time between missions, I'll use it to announce each new mission as well, so if everyone could transit over I'd appreciate it.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=547292