NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: I'm sorry...I'm really busy and can't think up an RP

Tagdenbar

[3 - 1 - 2004]

The large, dark-green-and-grey transport (C-240) touched down on the forward airbase ten miles from the outskirts of Tagdenbar. With it came all the soldiers needed for the upcoming assault on the city. The fifteen members of the special ops team were waiting.

The materials were slowly being assembled. Twenty M1A2s now formed lines at the outskirts of the airbase. The most capable battle tank in the world was ready for anything that the enemy decided to come with.

More transports arrived, but mostly they were KN-12s. The massive airlifter shipped the last M-12IFVs as well as the Mi-24 helicopters needed for the assault.

By six hour's time, the soldiers were fully ready.

[3 - 3 - 2004]

Henry woke up in an irritated sort of mood. The day was overcast, and it would be for about a week. "Wake up!" he barked at the units of his spec ops team - they grumbled. It was, after all, 4:00 a.m.

"I want to run through a few sessions of deployment with you," he told them. "Get your materials ready and head over to the Infiltrator."

The Infiltrator was what they had been calling the CH-47 used to send them into the city. Henry ran through several grueling sessions of insertion training, and what to do if anything that wasn't supposed to occur happened. Presently it began to rain. He ran five more sessions before calling it off and returning to base.

Later that night, F-35s rained more assaults on the enemy.
[3 -4 - 2004]

The invasion force was ready. All the armoured vehicles were proudly arrayed at the air force base being constructed; even the F-35s were out near the runway. The soldiers were being divided up into groups of six and placed next to their Mi-24s, while more began readying their infantry fighting vehicles and tanks for combat.

And just in case, two MLRS were ready to pound the living crap out of a significant block of resistance force.

At 6:45, four F/A-18E Hornets streaked through the air. The last bombing strikes were comencing - modified F/A-18D reconaissance aircraft had surveyed the city at 2:00 am, and returned with several high-priority targets. The goal of the Hornets was to take out the last means of serious defense.

As of now, it pretty much amounted to limited numbers of infantry fighting vehicles, and humvees. The lines of 7.62-machine guns would have to be individually taken out.

At noon, Henry's team set out. The tanks were already marching in a steady procession onto the city. Every once in a while the front line of tanks would stop and fire rounds simultaneously into the air - a clear warning sign.

Presently the Mi-24s took off, loaded with their soldiers. The Mi-24s were armed mostly with rockets, although some Hellfire missiles were used in case anything needed to be seriously blown up.

Henry's team, meanwhile, waited until the tanks were onto the city before taking flight.

"Our job today,' he said to nobody in particular. "Is to infiltrate the city from another direction, and move around, finding and destroying enemy snipers and soldiers. Anyone who wishes not to participate is free to do so."

He stopped; he knew everyone was perfectly willing.

"Alright, let's go."

Tagdenbar

The Chinook quickly sped to the city Tagdenbar. Slowly, it descended on the very outskirts of the main city, and Henry and his crew of fifteen left.

"Jenson, Jacobs, Derek, Holly," he said. "Make your way into the city."

The four soldiers quickly followed their orders, silently yet swiftly taking position next to a building. "Clear," they radioed, and more followed them.

"Williams, Mark," said Henry at last. "I want you to stay with me at all times. Now let's split up into groups of three and find and kill those terrorists. One machinegunmen in a group."

Williams was the one in his group that carried a 7.62-caliber machine gun to set up and fire into tougher enemy resistance. He also carried a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon, but he hadn't told anybody about it, except Henry.

Henry's team silently explored the city of Tagdenbar. Every so often he would hear the fire of allied tanks, but otherwise his section of the city was deathly silent.

"Sniper," he whispered, leaning flat against a warehouse building and nodding over to another. With the naked eye, the enemy soldier's green helmet was clearly visible. It was such an obvious mistake - the helmet receded from view shortly.

Mark had set up a sniper rifle. "He's got his helmet off," he noted, adjusting the aim. He fired - and a single gun dropped from the building.

"One delta tango," he said shortly. One dead terrorist.

They moved on, checking inside the warehouse for terrorists, although there were none. What they found was more to be prized - abandoned shoulder-launched weapons and machine guns.

"We may need these before day's end," said Henry grimly.

The team took up position in the warehouse. The sounds of war were slowly seeping through their section of the city. Ten resistance fighters were running around the streets, alerting their fellow Mu'dah.

From the top of the warehouse, Mark began to pick them off individually. Then a group of nearly fifteen Mu'dah soldiers began to swiftly roam the streets, hiding behind buildings.

They had one change - Williams was ready for them. From two stories down he had spotted them as well, and fired at them from less than a block a way. "Delta tangoes, dropping like flies," he radioed to his team.

Then a humvee zoomed by the street below them. "Ah, shooot," said Williams. He radioed in - "I can't get an aim on them...three ve-hi-cles just raced past, out of range..."

Henry heard and contacted one of the Mi-24s. "We have three ve-hi-cles, near the large warehouse on Baker street. Moving rapidly, full of soldiers and what appears to be anti-aircraft artillery. Be advised."

"Roger, vehicles spotted...engaging fire."

"More," radioed Williams from two floors down. "I got an aim on them..." he fired off an anti-tank weapon at an infantry fighting vehicle two blocks away, missing only by several feet. The IFV was seriously damaged.

Most of the rest of the day was spent in the warehouse - their job was to provide cover for the rest of the team, and indeed the invasion force. From their bird's eye view, enemy snipers and soldiers and vehicles were easily sighted. The rest of the spec ops team covered what they could not.

OOC: Good Lord, that's a dandy of a post. Well worth the wait, my friend...

IC:

Pre-dawn, Next day, northern outskirts of Tagdenbar

Mark Travis stood still as stone, his sister lying prone behind him. They had split up the team to sweep the corner of the street they were currently on. Arisson and Hamilton had swept into a building to secure it as a helicopter firebase. However, the two Travis' had run into a snag--a very large snag. Directly in front of them was a T-72 MBT, at least half a dozen Ma'dah soldiers were positioned around it. The air strikes had missed it completely.

"Andrews, where the hell are you?" Travis whispered into his headset.

"Checking the rooftops two buildings east of your position. We see your T-72 problem," he said.

"Then help us out. Thomas still has his AT-4, right?" Travis asked, dialing in on the head of a Ma'dah soldier with the scope of M-4.

"Affirmative sir," Thomas answered. "Loading HEAT round now," he said. "Brace yourselves."

Cicero Thomas loaded the HE round into the AT-4 shoulder-fired recoiliess rocket-launcher and lifted it to his right shoulder. He sighted in on the T-72 and aimed at the most vulnerable point--where the turret met the shell of the tank. A well-placed shot there would kill the tank and the crew inside. Thomas squeezed the trigger and the round flew off. The explosion that followed was intense. When Thomas could get a clear view of what he was seeing, he confirmed that he had destroyed the tank.

"Hoo-ah. Good shot," Travis shouted though the radio.

"Did Hamilton and Arisson find anything?" Andrews asked.

The radio waves crackled with Arisson's voice. "We found a weapons cache. They've been squirrling away some interesting stuff here, sir," he said.

"Interesting entails what?" Allie questioned.

"Everything from AK's to anti-aircraft artillary. A lot of what they have here is junk, though," he said.

"Arisson and Hamilton, finish the work on the helo support. Andrews, Thomas, keep us informed. You've got a view and a half from here," he instructed.

"Yes sir," was the unison call over the radio.

Travis flicked off his frequency to stand-by. He turned to Allie. She was exhausted, but ready. Her blondish-brown was thrown about her head, and she quickly brushed it out of her face.

"Where to now?" she asked.

"Well, A and H are setting up the helo support center there. T and A are--" he began, but was interrupted by his sister laughing.

"T and A are...?" she giggled.

"Funny," he joked in reply. "A and T are watching our moves from above and they're roof-jumping, so that's accounted for," he said.

Travis' headset radio buzzed. He flicked it off stand-by and listened to a communication soldier he was familar with, but her name was escaping him at the time.

"BrigGen Travis, this is Basely, over," Lezley Basely's voice echoed over the radio waves.

"Here. Redirection?" he said.

"In a way. We have a problem," she began.

"When isn't there one? Shoot me this first: Where in Demonio* is Bayle's team? We were supposed to route together, but he's a no-show. Sitrep on my ghost-friend?" Travis said.

"Victor's team got repositioned. No one gave you the redirect?" Basely asked.

"Negatively no, Lez. What's this problem you're fired up on?" he asked.

"We have a helo tagged and buried southwest of you. Three of our boys. Ma'dah found 'em and are closing the noose around their necks quick. Get there, get our boys--dead or alive--and bring back to the helo support center you have going. Redirect orders are from Faria, by the way," Lezly informed.

"Err," Travis let out. "Understood. Give Faria a nod for me," he said.

"I'll do that," Lezly said. "And Travis...you and your team come back in one piece, okay?"

"What happens, happens. Travis out."

"You, me, and A?" Allie asked.

"Which A?" Travis responded, half smiling.

"Take your pick. A-sub-one, or A-sub-two? Free up a guy, risk losing something or someone, or call back LezBase and rope in a new guy?" Allie said.

"I like the idea of dropping in someone new. I got an idea," he said.

Travis touched-toned Lezley's frequency. "Complications already, Travis?" Her voice was clear and crisp.

"Just one. If we pull one of our men from either hotspots we have going now, we're in for a serious cluster f*ck. It's best to rope in a new guy. You have any on fast deploy?" Travis asked.

"Yeah, actually I do. His name is Rhett Harmon--err, Colonel Rhett Harmon," she corrected herself, remembering to always address a ranking officer.

"How long will it take for him to get here?" Allie asked.

"Ah...I can have SkyR One drop him to you while you're en route to the crashsite. Fair enough?" Basely replied.

"Fair enough," Travis agreed.

Semi-IC: *=Demonio, referring to Isla Demonio, a small island off the coast of Colerica. It's commonly used as an alternate word signifying hell, as "demonio" does mean "demon" in Spanish.

True, but it didn't contain too much substance.

Even as the house-by-house fighting raged on, with scattered enemy resistance, there were three soldiers completely unoccupied by the sounds of war.

Jenson, Derek, and Holly were much too busy with something else - stealing an enemy humvee. Finding a humvee was no longer easy - there was enemy gunfire everywhere they turned.

And the only hmwwws they found was guarded as well...Jenson peeked around the corner. The vehicle was surrounded by at least ten enemy soldiers, who looked like they were assembling equipment on it.

"Derek," hissed Jenson. "How the hell are we going to get rid of them? We can't risk damaging that vehicle...who knows where we will find another one."

"Grenades," was the reply.

"We can't risk damage to - "

But Derek had already pulled out the pin of a hand grenade and tossed it - not around the corner, but straight ahead. Twenty feet in front of them it exploded - attracting plenty of attention from the guards.

"Okay, okay, that's good, that's very good, I'm going to strangle you if we get out alive..." Jenson then called for a Mi-24. "In need of Hinds...targets personell..." He barely had time to whisper it...voices were approaching quickly.

"Holly," he said, and the third in the group was already setting up their heavy machine gun.

Derek, meanwhile, had pulled out another grenade, ready to launch it when the others got there. Holly had set up under the cover of fallen roof tiles; Derek hid behind a trashcan. Jenson had little choice but to find a trashcan, roll it flat, and position his M-16 over it.

The footsteps echoed closer still...finally, out of the corner of his eye, Derek saw leather boots and an automatic rifle ... several pairs of boots followed, and before they had even turned to survey the situation, he had pulled the pin of his grenade.

One, two, five, he counted silently, and tossed it over.

Someone's voice shrieked a word in a foreign tongue, but it could have mattered less what language it was in - the shriek was so anguished that it would have been incoherent in any language, but its meaning crystal clear.

As Derek readied his rifle, Holly began to fire on the enemy...more shouts coming from around the corner cried out in alarm, and several more rushed towards them. Between the combined gunfire of Jenson and Holly, the enemy dropped.

Jenson called for Henry, requesting surveillance of the area. "Not clear," was the reply. "Repeat: not clear. Two armed men are taking off, we've got Jackson on them already, and three are still on the vehicle, not moving."

"Can you get them?"

"No."

"Crap."

They had to improvise.

Derek used a Lashugan XD9 pistol, diving out into the corner and manually taking down two with a couple of well-aimed shots. Jenson turned the corner and took out the third with a bullet from his M-16.

"Revision of request: Hind no longer required," said Jenson. "Vehicle acquired."

The machine gun that had been fitted to the Humvee would be most useful, they decided eventually. Jenson would drive the vehicle, while Derek would maintain a sniper rifle and Holly the machine gun.

The three began for the next hour, a route around the city, picking out targets as they chose...their vehicle had several dents by the end, but the three were fairly confident.

Then...

"Sniper," muttered Holly. The others turned, Jenson pulling the vehicle to a halt and looking back. "He's not doing anything, but it's obviously a sniper. Don't think he's spotted us."

"Right...crap." Derek had dropped his sniper's rifle over the edge, clattering to the ground. They waited nervously - a slight movement of the head, but no sign they had been seen.

Derek retrieved the gun and aimed carefully...to find to his dismay the ammunition was out. He then searched for another bolt, and reloaded. "Gone. Damn," he muttered. "Oh wait, no, there he is again...I'll get you this time, you - "

"REVERSE!" Holly's anguished screech ripped through the air. Derek got his shot off, but had no time to see whether or not the target was down, for Jenson had cried out in anguish and slammed the vehicle into reverse.

"There's a corner, we can make it there," Holly was saying to Jenson.

Derek was confused. "What ... " he turned around as the vehicle was furiously backpedaling. "Oh hell no, he said as he saw the turret of a black-and-green tank turn towards them. He reached for something to grab on to, as the vehicle was rocking very hard, and found an M-16 with its ammunition belt...Jenson's, he presumed. He wasn't counting on that - he fell over the side, pulling the gun with him, and the vehicle was still pulling backwards.

"Ah, sh--"

Again he had no time to finish his words. With horror he watched the 135-mm gun of the T-72 fire, and its round slam into the humvee, exploding it in a giant fireball...he saw his two comrades dive out of the car...or was it dive? He wasn't sure if they jumped out or were thrown out.

The last thought before he fainted was that he was still very alive and very armed.

Mark Travis sat silent as humanly possible. He, his sister, and Col. Rhett Harmon were en route to the downed helicopter when they had been sidetracked---scratch that---detoured by an advancing squad of Ma'dah Reborn soldiers. They were too well-armed and too many of them for the three of them to engage.

"This is suicide," Harmon whispered.

Travis acted as though he hadn't heard what Harmon even said. He flicked his headset radio on, and said into the mouthpiece, "SkyA Eleven. This is Travis, requesting a strike on a advancing unit of tangos. Over."

"This is SkyA Eleven. Already on my way. Over."

Travis clicked off the frequency and turned his head, ever so slightly, to his sister and Col. Harmon. "We're waiting it out. A gunship is en route," he commented softly.

"Yeah, but when?" Allie's whispering voice called.

"Jacobs! Get over here! Quickly!" a frantic voice cackled on the radio. Its owner couldn't respond. He was concentrating on targeting a single enemy, of high rank, it appeared.

Jacobs, you prick, get over here! We have two friendlies down!

Still he couldn't answer. Derek tried a different approach. "This is Illusion-C (third infiltration group), requesting MediVac immediately, we have two men injured."

"Roger, we have a Seahawk en route."

"I hear you. Hurry up." He clicked off his radio and muttered to himself. "Crap."

The Seahawk was going to be coming from the naval carrier...it would be almost an hour before it arrived...for now he just had to hang around and stay alive.

He surveyed the area. Sniper, he said to himself, repeating the all too familiar procedure.

The wind whipped up around the AH-64 Apache [SkyA Eleven] as it approached its target. The pilot, First Lieutenant Kalir Sasc, scanned the upcoming hostiles. A small group of perhaps fifteen or so Ma'dah soldiers. They had one jeep with them, but it looked badly damaged. He swooped over the tops and remains of buildings and barrelled down on his target.

A Ma'dah soldier looked up at the whirling metal bird coming in from above and shouted in Plataeese to his comrads. One of the men jumped up into the jeep and manned a mounted fifty caliber, but it was in vein. SkyA Eleven released a barrage of thirty millimeter bullets from its chain gun and pelted the soldiers below. The remaining Ma'dah soldiers scurried around like headless chickens. SkyA Eleven swooped back around and released a laser-guided AGM-114 Hellfire antitank missile. The Hellfire missile raced to its target, and obliterated the small jeep.

"This is SkyA Eleven to Brigadier General Travis. Targets destroyed, heading back. Over," he said.

"This is Travis. Good work," he said.

***

Mark, Allie, and Rhett moved their way as quick as they could through the back alleys and streets of Tagdenbar, en route to the downed helicopter. When they crossed over a burm of wreckage, they found what they were looking for. The downed UH-1H Huey helicopter lay tipped on its side, twisted and mangled. The two Travis' and Harmon laid silent as they saw Ma'dah soldiers had surrounded the opposite side of the helicopter.

"Shit," Allie said. "Ideas?"

"There's too many of them for us to engage," Harmon commented.

"Airstrike?" Travis asked, almost rhetorically.

"That's about the only thing that sounds reasonable," Allie answered. "Call the nearest Zoogies and tell them to blast this," she finished.

Travis flicked the frequency on his headset radio. "This is Brigadier General Mark Travis of the Imperial Army. Requesting Zoogie airstrike on the eastern vacinity of a downed UEC Huey. Over," Travis said.

Do you want me to blast the entire helicopter, or just the soldiers?This is Zoogie btw...I assume you mean the soldiers, and if so, then it'd have to be a helicopter attack.

OOC: I smell a puppet...hmmm.... Blast the soldiers, please...

Excellent sense of smell :P It's my 'evil' nation.

Lieutenant Eric Holven responded to the call. Destroying the soldiers required an aircraft manueverable in an urban environment, deadly, and yet not too effective.

His Mi-24 began to vector into position, going away from the armoured column.

"Prepare the gun," he told his co-pilot.

It would have to be quick...flying at full speed the helicopter rushed at the enemy soldiers, who upon seeing the helicopter, scattered to both sides. But the 30-mm cannon had already fired on them and took out the bulk of the enemy in mid-flight.

However, two or three were left, and running quickly in opposite directions. The Mi-24 gently flew towards the ground, and several feet away from touching the ground, its eight combat soldiers jumped out and began pursuit of two survivors...the helicopter began the pursuit the third, and fired twin rockets as the third was about to duck into a building, killing the terrorist and at the same time...destroying a ... door.

Holven then flew the helicopter back to the combat zone...the eight soldiers had taken down the two, but would remain in the area.

Mark, Allie, and Rhett moved quickly to the downed Huey as the Zoogie helicopter was mopping up the Ma'dah ground forces. Travis climbed over a chunk of debris that was blocking his path and crouched down as he got to the Huey. An exhausted Colerican soldier looked up at him with weary and relieved eyes.

"Thank God you guys came, I thought rescue was impossible after waiting so long," he said. "I'm Private First Class JiCal Bane," he added.

"Brigadier General Mark Travis, Colonel Alexis Travis, and Colonel Rhett Harmon," Travis said, pointing to himself, his sister, and Harmon, respectivly.

"Damn glad to see you three---Hell, I'm glad to see any friendlies right now," Bane said.

"Where's the rest of your group? We were informed that at least three had survived the crash," Allie said.

"I lost PFC Joas to injuries he suffered in the crash and those Ma'dah SOB's took out Lieutenant Illa, my squad commander," Bane replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that. We're here to EVAC you," Harmon informed.

"I sure as hell hope so," Bane remarked, standing up slowly.

"Allie, call SkyU Seven. Tell them to hurry up and get over here for EVAC," Travis ordered.

"Yes, sir," Allie responded.

Travis flicked his headset to the correct frequency. "To the pilots of the MI-24, good job and thanks. We owe you," he commented.

ooc: Just letting everyone know I didn't quit. I had some computer problems.

Skies above Tagdenbar, Captain Koichi Suzihiro

The Tomzillian Air Force had been keeping watch of the invasion of Tagdenbar. Suzihiro was one of the pilots helping Colerican forces deal with Ma'dah troops. He saw some Ma'dah infantry preparing for an attack. He dipped the nose of his A6M2 fighter and fired his machine guns towards the troops. He went back up as bullets started hiting the plane. "Damn idiots. They can't hur...WHAT THE!" he muttered. Black smoke started pouring out of his engine. "Air Command! Air Command! I'm going down! I'm going to try and land. I see some friendly troops nearby. Can't tell if they are Colerican or Zoogie." Suzihiro yelled over his radio. "This is Air Command. Good luck with the landing" a voice replied. As he tried to land on the street, it was too narrow and the wings were torn off. The airplane slammed into the ground, bounced a couple of times, and then skidded to a stop. Suzihiro was surprised he was alive. "Better check my surrounding" he thought as he got out of the plane.

No problem, call us any time... said the pilot of the Mi-24 to Travis. You guys get all the fun.

Col. Harvey, who had led the eight-men force that took down the last of the Ma'dah guards surrounding the vehicle, was scouting around the city, in an area of little opposition - so far.

He wheeled around as the roar of jet engines filled the sky.

"Jet engines?" he shouted to Lt. Jeffery, who stood next to him. "I thought we weren't going to have fixed wing aircraft? If they're not ours, whose -"

He couldn't finish the sentence; the eerie sound of metal shredding and of impact, combined with extremely loud jet engine thrust, slammed into the ground a block away...then skidded, and skidded, and skidded. He wheeled around.

An A6M2 fighter was lying in ruins, without wings, in the street, flames already spewing out. It had just bounced to a stop.

A dark figure was climbing out of the plane. "Who the hell? - " No markings were clearly visible from this distance; he doubted if they would get any better up close, with the wings gone and flames surrounding the plane.

The figure went to a safe area away from the flames. Harvey nodded, and Lt. Jeffrey ran a few paces and held his M-16A2 level. "Freeze!" he said.

The other seven cautiously advanced across the street, stopping behind trashcans and other obstacles, before finally they all reached the other side. The figure was frozen, and his dark silhouette against the flames only twenty feet away.

Harvey and Jeffrey advanced further, holding their M-16s level, while the rest of the team kept a look out and supported their position.

"Identify yourself!" barked Harvey. "Speak quickly!"

Harvey caught a look at the plane...its flag was not Mu'dah, that was certain. But what was it? He looked back at the figure. "Speak."

East of the Tomzillian plane crash, Tagdenbar

Colerican Lieutenant Jason Chance saw the Tomzillian plane screech the air. He watched in horror as the aircraft slammed into the pavement and bounce its way down the street until it finally stopped skidding. Chance didn't have a chance (no pun intended) to see if the pilot was alright, as Ma'dah Reborn troops were swarming his position.

Chance and his unit had been placed in charge of a fire-support base inside Tagdenbar. They had a large artillary cannon and a fortified defense perimeter, but every enemy soldier knew where they were. He had lost seven men, (out of sixteen), already and what troops he did have were low on both ammunition and morale. Fire-support bases, while they could provide great amounts of firepower to enemy positions, were suicide, generally speaking. There were an island in the middle of a Ma'dah ocean, so to speak. Enemy forces had completely surrounded them, cutting them off from outside help. It would only be a matter of time before they couldn't hold their defenses.

***

Brigadier General Mark Travis watched as SkyU Seven, a UH-60 Blackhawk, flew in from over the tops of buildings surrounding the downed U1-1H Huey helicopter. SkyU Seven slowed down and hovered above the torn-up ground until it made a gentle descent and touched the surface. Four Colerican soldiers leaped out from it, M-16A2's raised. They scanned for an sign of enemy soldiers, and then waived Travis, his sister, Harmon, and JiCal Bane to hurry over.

"General Travis, do you or any of your team need medical assistance?" one of the soldiers shouted over the roaring of SkyU Seven's rotors.

"No. Bane has some minor cuts and bruises, but they can be treated later," Travis said as he boarded SkyU Seven.

Allie followed right behind, tucking her HK36E under her shoulder as she boarded the bird. Harmon helped Bane up into the craft, and two of the soldiers reboarded.

"We'll stay here and secure this crash site," one of the soldiers shouted.

"Okay," his partner yelled back.

The helicopter took up into the air and made its way over the crash site and the surrounding buildings.

Suzihiro threw his arms into the air. "Don't shoot! I'm Captain Koichi Suzihiro, Tomzillian Air Force. I was strafing Ma'dah troops when my plane went down." he said quickly. He waited for what the men would do next.

"Tomzillian?" Harvey raised an eyebrow. "We haven't seen any Tomzillian forces for quite a while."

He went over to the jet, a part the flames had not yet devoured, and smeared some mud off. Sure enough, it was the Tomzillian flag.

"Well, Captain, I don't know what to say. How did your aircraft go down? What's your mission?"

"The Tomzillian Air Force has been attacking known pockets of Ma'dah troops. They only send in about one to three planes at a time. I was strafing Ma'dah troops when my plane was hit from ground fire. I crash landed and here I am before you." said Suzihiro.

"Interesting," said Harvey. "Well, captain, we're going to have to get you out of here. A combat zone is no place for a pilot."

"Interesting," said Harvey. "Well, captain, we're going to have to get you out of here. A combat zone is no place for a pilot."

Bumpo.......

Hm, nothing happened while I was gone....oh well.

"This is I-C, requesting MediVac, I thought you said Seahawk?"

It was not long after he had requested in the first place, and Derek already saw an approaching helicopter. No, it was definately painted in the army colors. Unless green and gray paint was sprayed on an SH-60...this was definately an army UH-60 Blackhawk.

"Uh...no, sorry, it's a Blackhawk."

That made all the difference in the world. An UH-60 was available from the nearby airstrip, greatly cutting time. It touched down and began the Medivac was begun.

The helicopter took off, and Derek began in search of one of the other groups scouting around the city.

He cautiously glanced around the corner, and turned back immediately - a lightly armoured jeep full of rebellion soldiers was headed down the road.

We may have a problem, he said in his radio.

OOC : Sorry don't have time to respond to your last post.

OOC: Sorry about the very long delay in RP'ing...I've been slowed down with an injury...

IC:

UEC Lieutenant Jason Chance ducked behind the dug-in defenses as bullets zipped through the air and peppered the AE-03 Howitzer behind him. The continued rain of enemy attacks has worn his defenses thin, and he had lost twelve men, (out of sixteen). Chance loaded a fresh magazine into his M-4 Carbine and shot, downing an advancing Ma'dah soldier.

If I don't my team and myself out of here quick, we're done for it, Chance thought. He picked up his radio and examined it, only to find that the front panel had been crushed in with a bullet hole.

"Damn it, radio's dead!" Chance shouted to his teammate, PFC. Zale.

***

Mark Travis looked out the window of the Blackhawk as it hovered above the forward command post Arisson and Hamilton had established beforehand. The helocopter gracefully landed on the roof of the building and Travis, his sister, Col. Harmon, and PFC JiCal Bane exited the craft. They walked down a set of narrow stairs and entered a make-shift command and control room. Arisson stood inside, adjusting something on an old Ma'dah computer display.

"Sir, you don't know how good it is to see you alive. We were shifting through radio traffic and we picked up on some of what the Ma'dah has been talking about. They said that they had killed Allied soldiers influxing into a downed UEC helo. I figured it had to be you guys," he said. Arisson looked at Allie and revised his statement by adding, "and girls."

"Just some of their propaganda. Where's Hamilton?" Travis asked.

"On the floor below, sifting through some of that weapons cache we told you about. Sir, we have a bigger problem," Arisson began.

"What now?" Harmon interrupted.

"I guess the Coalition made a dumb move by not attacking Mordga, too. Evvidentally, Mordga is where 'ole Mage Uraine has been stowing away all of his big toys. I guess he has dillusions of some final climatic fight. Word is that he has F-14's, 15's, and 22's, along with a slew of other planes. He's got his 'strongest' armor division there, as well. They're thinking he might abandon Mordga and charge us here, in Tagdenbar," Arisson said.

"If he did so, we could be in for some serious problems. He could cut through or at least bulge the Allied perimeter and force his way into the city. Considering that we still don't have the entire city contained, he could make it in relativiely unopposed. We'd have to call the Tomzillians down from Venkara, but it would days for them to arrive. Also, the Zoogie's would be hard-pressed to be put in combat with a smaller force than what Uraine would be attacking with. They'd have to haul in a heftier force, too, which would slow the process down even more," Hamilton started as he walked up the steps from the floor below them.

"So what's the top brass saying about all of this? We can't move without their directions," Allie asked.

"Not much. General Kayne and General Koren are still deliberating about all of this. They're yet to release anything, but from the sounds of what Faria and Lezley have been tellling us, it sounds like we're going to have another redirect. They're talking about potentially lifting over seventy percent of our forces here and plunking them down to take on Mordga, head on," Arisson answered.

"Plus, there's another problem. You know of the RAFC, right? Seemingly, they're getting more and more support among some of the government's officials. There's talk of a seccession," Hamilton informed.

"I don't there will ever be a Colerican Civil War, but this redirect to Mordga doesn't sound all too wise. Maybe we should just let Uraine take us on here in Tagdenbar. That way we could trench in and prepare for the worst," Harmon commented.

"Whatever happens, happens," Travis stated.

I'll assume you have relayed that information to me.

IC:

General Pilkington, in overall command of Zoogiedom forces in the area, was slightly disturbed by this latest piece of information. He was in the middle of deliberations with the military advisors and other generals in the area.

"F-14s and F-15s we can handle," a lieutenant General was saying. "But this is more serious. We need immediately to send in more armoured columns - "

"But that would take days," another argued. "Tagdenbar is far away enough from the nearest Army outpost that it would be ineffective..."

"Wait a minute...we are gearing in for a defensive battle from Tagdenbar. Colerican forces are estimating that we will have to dig in and wait for an assault from that M-city. What we need is a supply line."

It was cheif military advisor Mark Stimson who spoke. He usually waited for the lower ranking officers to argue amongst themselves before putting forth his idea. It was a good ploy - his ideas were almost always taken as good advice.

"So," continued Mark, "How many cargoes do we have housed down in the army/air force outpost?"

The other members of the meeting feverishly scrambled through their notes. Finally, one spoke up. "We have a single An-225 in the Outpost, six C-240s, and four C-71s."

"How many do we have in the air base ten miles from Tagdenbar's outskirts?'

"Let's see...we have here ten C-240s, six C-71s. I believe that's all the cargoes we have in the area...although, the two rear airbases might have several KN-12s..."

"That's good," said Mark. "Now, I want you to get every single armoured vehicle and personell you can find gathered at that army outpost ASAP. I want all excess personell around here moved into Tagdenbar, or moved into the rear. I also want all cargoes currently in the army outpost to ship men here right now - put supply and personel equipment. in the C-240s, and armoured vehicles in the others. Helicopters will fly themselves here, and hopefully load themselves full of equipped soldiers.

"It will take time for those cargoes to load. All the cargoes in the rear air base are to immediately report to the army outpost. We need every KN-12 we can get. Every cargo here, is to report to the army outpost as well, as soon as those cargoes get in the air. We're going to be shipping as many vehicles as we can right now, and by twelve hours I want to have several hundred more men here. We have C-240s for that job.

"Then, we are to establish a supply convoys. I want the navy to speed up those oil and supply shipments pronto, and every helicopter available to patrol these supply lines as long as necessary. We need to get supplies into Tagdenbar.

"Now, Tagdenbar. We have a good sized armoured column in there, yes? Not enough to fight off the M-forces, I know. Well, I want the armoured column and our Spec Ops guys to take care of resistance pronto...the Column is going to have to go to work now.

"Air Force. Every single ZF-27 we've got here - "

"Thirty-six."

"All thirty six of them are to go on patrols for the enemy. Wait, thirty six? What else do we have?"

"Well, sir, we've got a handful of Superhornets stationed in the air bases, and perhaps twenty Raptors, and twenty Flankers..."

"Excellent. All air superiority fighters, constant CAP to make sure we have air superiority. Get into contact with the Colerican and Tomzillian air forces - this is critical. Air superiority.

"All F-15Es and A-15s...get them armed and ready to go constantly within fifteen minute's notice. We have to be ready to kock out their last stronghold should the call come.

"Lastly, navy. I want those F-14s and F-18s to be flying CAP constantly as well. Have the F-35s ready for infiltration strikes if necessary. Oh, and one more thing: relay this strategy to the Colericans and Tomzillians, and ask them if cruise missile strikes on their stronghold in that M city is advisable. How quickly can we get cruise missiles there?"

"Well," said Pilkington, speaking for the first time. "We'd have to run a few spy scans on the city first, perferably a few Hornet reconaissance flights - with air superiority established - and then as soon as it takes for the crew on our Ticonderoga's to fire away."

"Excellent," said Stimson. "Now remember, this is our best shot. We may be able to get a supply line established, but it still won't be enough quick enough. We're counting on biding time for the Tomzillians and Colericans, and our other divisions, to arrive. Airlifting just does it quicker, but you can only fly so many Abrams in a cargo. Even if we fly constantly, we'll be short of armor. We need to give them something to worry about.

"Which is why I think beginning the air war a little early is adviseable. When is the next Naval ordinance shipment in?"

"Tomorrow night."

"By tomorrow night, A-15s and F-18s ought to be dropping Mark-99s on the city...as long as Colerica okays it."

"Yes sir."



* Mark 99 - Closely related to the Mark 80 HDD family, a gigantic high explosive 6000-lb munition...GBU-X is JDAM-guided variant; very effective explosive power; make sure aircraft are a good height in the air when this hits.

General Azben Koren, Supreme Commander of all UEC military forces, paced the room, anxiously. General Kayne sat at a table with an array of top-ranking Colerican brass staying seated, as well.

"Let's recap on our decisions, shall we?" Kayne started. "We've already decided to move the Xevven Jericho towards Mordga. We're putting tremendous pressure on our command post in the south for the supply lines to Tagdenbar. Mage Uraine is prepping for a mass charge of Tagdenbar. And we're still stuck in the middle of a plethera of major decisions."

"The Zoogies are establishing their supply lines and heavier convoys in prep for this," Major E. J. Anderson commented.

"They can handle their own on that, I'm sure. They've got some of the brightest minds behind their operations," Brigadier General Stanley Rilok replied.

"That is true. As for Tagdenbar, itself. The Coalition has the city taken, there's just a certain level of coordinated resistance that needs to be mopped up, but SpecOps can handle that," Kayne remarked.

"If we allow ourselves to dig in and fortify our defenses in Tagdenbar, we may be giving Uraine's Ma'dah forces the advantage. Their fighting for everything they've got left. This is going to be it for them, they realize that now. I suggest that we don't let them get that far. Cut them off as they're leaving Mordga. Allied airpower can and should decimate them," Major Anderson stated, his opinion held by some of the other officers, but detested by the remaining ones.

"We cannot just win the battle by air, it's impossible," an officer commented.

"Plus, we're overlooking the Ma'dah's AirForce," another voice let out.

"The Ma'dah's AirForce is nothing of concern. They fly, they die," General Kayne assured.

"What if we make a direct assault on Mordga?" one of the younger officers suggested.

"And risk the losses of that many men? Current estimates are suggesting that if we made a full-scale invasion of the city, we'd lose anywhere upwards to sixty thousand soldiers. That's unacceptable and not going to be allowed," Colonel Deva stated.

"The Zoogie's are asking about cruise missiles strikes on targets in Mordga. What's the final word on that?" Major Anderson questioned, looking at General Koren.

"The final word on that is that we're going to be doing so as soon as we position our vessels within firing range," Koren said. "Tell them that cruise missiles are a definate 'go' for this," he added.

"They're also asking about jumping the gun on the air war to Mordga," Anderson brought up, looking at the laptop screen in front of him. "They're suggesting as early as tommorow night."

"Tommorow night is perfectly acceptable for them. It's entirely in their discretion. Let them start the air campaign," Koren said.

"We've been getting pressure from Zachara to act with a new item in our arsenal. Apparently, the Emperor feels it's necessary to demonstrate our new battleship," Kayne stated.

"Is Tyrant ready, General?" Rilok asked.

"Of course. Admiral McCallum is thrilled of the news, I'm sure. Although, this could provide an excellent new point of attack. If we spearhead a heavy naval bombardment, it could open up another dimension to this assault. Not just with cruise missiles, but our Iowa-classers and Hellfire's could really lay it in on them. With Tyrant leading the attack, it's all the special. Special, that is, to the Emperor. He's eager to see his eleven billion dollar investment in action," Kayne answered, swiftly standing up.

"We've left the Tomzillians out of this situation, almost all-together. They've been sitting on their hands in Venkara for some time now. It's time to call them," Anderson said.

"I agree," Brigadier General Christian Faria spoke up from the end of the table.

"Have we decided on the best strategy to counter Uraine's plans?" another officer finally asked.

"The best strategy? No. I'm curious to know what the Zoogies believe the best strategy is. For the time being, save for something else arising, we are to hold our defenses in Tagdenbar and go foward with an air and sea assault on Mordga. We will also place Special Forces teams on quick deploy, when they're needed to enter Mordga, that is. We'll prepare a unit of ARC's*, as well," Koren stated.


*= An unashamed rip-off of George Lucas' ideas, I know. I'm out of original ideas for a group highly trained commandos.

The war room on the battleship, Godzillasaur , was silent. Admiral Shadle broke the silence.

"The Colericans have sent word to us that Mage Uraine is preparing an assault on Tagdenbar from Mordga. We must stop this from happening." he said loudly.

"But how admiral? My troops are in Venkara. It would take days to get to Mordga." said Gen. Ceasar.

"I know. I have a plan. We have to get most of our troops on this island to form a defensive ring around Mordga before Uraine makes his move on Tagdenbar. Tanks and Masers* should be at the front to fie at any troop movements coming out of Mordga. We also need to hold his armies in place for our plan to work. For this to happen, all combat aircraft in our invasion force need to attack all military positions constantly.

"My aircraft shouldn't be used in such large numbers. They would be easy prey for any Ma'dah aircraft left." said Gen. Yeager.

"I assure General Yeager, the Ma'dah airforce will be no problem. If we all agree to my plan, then the airstrike will start tonight." Shadle replied. All the generals there agreed to the plan.

"Then the attack starts tonight. Meeting dismissed." said Shadle

* masers are large tanks with a tesla ray insted of gun turret and are very easy to destroy if they are hit at the generator *

Semi-IC: Here's a new version of the map. This is a tactics-refereral. The purple lines indicate where Ma'dah forces are heading. The red line is where a UEC force is heading. The red broken line is where the UEC supply lines are to be heading, to better support the defense of Tagdenbar. All I need to know is the relative locations of where you're attacks are going to be heading at, and I can place the respective marks in. The colors, again, are:

UEC - Red
Zoogie - Cyan
Tomzilla - Yellow

Just tell me where you plan on sending your forces, and I'll stencile them in. I'll also post another map, later on.

http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/colerica/islaplatamapnew.jpg

http://home.ripway.com/2004-1/54396/islaplatamapnew.jpg

This map is my own reference map for my force movements.

The cyan points are air force bases - the primary air force base being very close to Tagdenbar, a secondary airbase on the beachhead, and two others (Further east beachhead and the other closer to Venkara) in 38% and 56% states of completion, respectively. The green dot is the army base, which has a runway strip and room to store the cargo aircraft necessary.

A supply line will be established into Tagdenbar, and forces from the army base will be airlifted via cargoes from the other airbases (hence the connecting lines between dots) to the primary air base near Tagdenbar.

More soldiers and vehicles will move on their own into Tagdenbar from the army base in groups - to reach Tagdenbar ASAP. We just need to stall for time.

Naval F/A-18E/Fs will perform SEAD and Reconaissance missions into Mordga, while land-based F/A-18E/Fs will perform CAP. In a recent alteration to plans, two AC-240 aircraft will launch cruise missiles - we have an available stockpile in the area of 80 air launched cruise missiles - and after that, we advise the Tomzillians to move in to strike the city itself. Immediately following cruise missile attacks, Zoogiedom aircraft - A-15s and F-35s - will perform strikes in Morgda, while all next day these same aircraft will be flying in front of Tagdenbar to eliminate the armoured columns...the only limit for us, ammunition.

ZF-27s will provide complete air superiority coverage - escorting our own fighters there and attacking the enemy fighters.

We would like to know who is at Renor.

OOC: Tomzillian troops are marching towards Mordga from Venkara to form a defensive ring around Mordga. From there they will close the proverbial noose on the city. All reenforcements are landing east of Mordga to help the defensive ring. These are the Tomzillian positions.

OOC: Okay, I like the map, glad you did that, as I predict it would have been impossible for you to describe it to me...

Semi-IC:

Fort Jace, in an established state of roughly 71% completion, is the main staging ground for all UEC actions in Isla De Plata. Presently, UEC forces have been in high gear to suit-up for the trek to Tagdenbar, in order to reinforce the city.

A seperate assualt, completely UEC, is being sprung to capture the port city of Renor. Renor holds oil reserves that were untouched during the air campaign. If Uraine secures these oil reserves before the Coalition does, it will further his war efforts. Colerican Special Forces (along with a unit of ARC's) will secure the oil reserves, before Uraine's forces can.

Fort Jace will also be pivotal is fueling the supply lines critical to keeping UEC forces equipped in Tagdenbar.

Un-placed on the map, a small fleet of UH-60 Blackhawks will rope in UEC Advanced Recon Commandos [ARC's] to Mordga. They will begin a series of sabotage and strategic strikes on key Ma'dah targets.

UEC fighters, F-15's in particular, will provide our own cover for the advancing enemy units heading to Tagdenbar. Colerican pilots have a fire at will status on any Tagdenbar-bound Ma'dah units, and they will exercise this status with liberal standards.

From McKenzy AirForce base [not included on the map, but I will add soon. Located on Isla Phantasmas, the small island off the coast of Isla De Plata, which the Colerican 9th ID secured last week.] will come the heart of the UEC aircampaign on Mordga. McKenzy AirForce base is nearing a 51% completion status and is capable of coordinating.

B-2 Spirits will be flying in from both the Colerican AirForce base on Isla Majo--(a small island off the coast of the Colerican mainland). B-52 Stratofortresses will be taking off from the Colerican Colony of Rilos to pound Mordga.

The UEC feels that the Zoogies have the edge on air superiorty, (as we're more focused on the army and navy), and will persume it's in their role to mop up the Ma'dah AirForce.

The 6th ID, (located in the vacinity of Venkara), will coordinate with Tomzillian forces and assist in striking Mordga, itself. This is while the 3rd Imperial Marine Expiditionary Force is being held on stand-by at their location in Fort Jace. They may be deployed to either the defense of Tagdenbar or the assault on Mordga.

Admiral Tenren looked as his watch. In just over one hour, Colerican Special Forces would land, via LCAC's, on the beaches of Renor. They'd swiftly proceed to lock down the oil reserves and secure them from enemy hands. This would happen as, secretly, an elite unit of ARC's deployed within Mordga for a mission of sabotage and demolition. They'd also move to rescue four Colerican soldiers being held as prisoners. As soon as he recieved the signal, the CSS Rilos and the CSS Isla Mago would release a barrage of Tomahawk cruise missiles that were to strike strategic military targets within Mordga. UEC airpower would begin its air campaign over the city, soon there after, once it was certain that the ARC's had extracted safely. The fall of Mordga was to begin shortly.

CSS Rilos--Off the coast of Renor

A hail of cruise missiles raced through the sky at break-neck speed, en route to their targets in Mordga. Admiral Tenren looked calm and collected as he watched the beggining of the operation take start.

***

Beaches of Renor

Two LCAC's glided over the water and rode right up onto the sandy shores. Elite UEC soldiers proceeded to deploy from the crafts. ARC unit commander, Captain Karr Krismar, shifted his silenced M-4 Carbine from off his shoulder, and signaled for his Lieutenant to come over to him.

"We make our move here," Krismar said, pointing to a spot on a map he held. "This is the first of the fuel reserves. Strike fast," he said.

"Yes sir," his Lieutenant responded.

"Lieutenant, make sure these Rangers in the other LCAC set up a defensive on this beach. Have them be prepared for a quick EXTRACT, though," Krismar continued.

The unit of five ARC's set off on foot, climbing up a small bluff that overlooked the beaches. To their right was a boardwalk that led to a dock farther down. Krismar and his fellow ARC's lay prone as they watched a lone sentry make his rounds down the boardwalk. Krismar signaled with his hand for his commandos to advance to the cover of a small boat house, located roughly twenty yards to their left. The night darkness was the ARC's biggest help as it was what hid their movemens the best. No amount of training would assist a soldier more than cover of nightfall.

OOC: Sorry, I thought I made a reply a few days ago but it seems it did not show up.

IC:

"Sir, the Colericans have just launched their cruise missiles," reported a petty officer to fleet Admiral Davis. "Shall I..."

"Yes, proceed with the strike."

Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers - seven in all; it was a small strike - and immediately F/A-18s began to take off from the carriers. F-35s took off vertically from the Wasp-class...

The operation had begun for Zoogiedom as well.

--

Air war situation:

Zoogie Aerospace ZaS-27s are flying in groups of four on air superiority missions in the area. Their job is to engage and destroy all enemy aircraft - every single one.

Two ZaS-27E strike Firebirds are operating independtly of one another and escorted by ZaS-27As with all wing hardpoints loaded, to strike as many armoured columns as possible.

F/A-18s will ensure air defense. F/A-18Gs will fly around for reconaissance and to jam enemy radar signals.

Bridge of the Yamato Class battleship, Godzillasaur positioned west of Mordga, Admiral Shadle

Radio technition: Admiral, the Colericans and Zooigies have launced air and missle attacks at Mordga.

Shadle: Radio all airfields and the Godzilla to launch all combat aircraft to attack Mordga. Also radio the cruiser Satsuma to have all cruisers in the area to fire cruise missles at Mordga, too.

Radio technition: Yes sir.

Second radio technition: Admiral! We are getting a message from some troops located south of Mordga. You might want to hear this.

Shadle walked over to the radio when a soldier began to talk.

Soldier: This is Coporal Donovan Alster. The soldiers here are south of Mordga on a route to Renor. We are being attacked by some divisons of Ma'dah tanks and troop carriers. The jungle is too dense for an air attack. We are getting hammered and are requesting immediate evac of any sort. The armor is moving towards Renor, probably to get the oil there. Notify the Colericans immediatly. Tanks coming this way. I'm out of here.

The radio then went dead.

Second radio technition: What should I do, admiral?

Shadle: Do what he said! Notify the Colerican fleet near Renor and get some helicoptors to drop special forces to get what troops remain out of there.

Second radio technition: Yes sir!

Bridge of the CSS Conqueror, off the coast of Renor

Admiral Roma Caxille gazed out the windows of the Wasp-class Amphibious Assault Ship. Suddenly, a junior officer burst through the door, frantically raving about Tomzillians and Ma'dah tanks.

"Calm down. Breath. Now, tell me what you came hear to say, but tell me it slowly and coherently," Caxille stated.

The officer caught his breath and said, "Sir, we've got word in from Tomzillian friendlies. They've got some soldiers south of Mordga, en route to Renor to lock down the city after our ARC's secure the oil. They've ran into Ma'dah armor and have been decimated by it. They need immediate EVAC," he said.

"Then do it, sailor. What are you waiting for? Send two Tomahawks out to fish up them up and bring them back here. Go," Caxille replied.

"What about the enemy armor heading towards Renor? We can't just ignore them," the sailor responded.

"We'll take care of it. First priority right now is to evacuate those pinned friendlies," Caxille informed.

***

Two Tomahawk Assault and Transport helicopters flew over the jungle, en route to the pinned down Tomzillian soldiers. They continued their flight overhead Renor and north of the small port city. The choppers hovered over the thick jungle and continued their flight towards the downed Tomzillians.

OOC: Tomzilla, you can take control of the choppers from there. Do as you wish with them.

Bump-o.....

OOC: Sorry...haven't been paying attention to this thread.

IC:

Delta Flight of four F-18Fs was the first to arrive within enemy airspace at Morgda. They sensed almost immediately that something was wrong. The enemy had much, much more SAMs than anticipated.

Each Hornet was incredibly well armed, loaded with eight AGM-88 HARM missiles, and two each of the standard AIM-120 and AIM-9 air intercept missiles. However, it didn't seem enough.

"This is delta lead, reporting to base. We've got about a hundred SAMs...repeat, there's a SAM around every corner, we're being tailed, requesting support!"

****

Back at aerial command, the plea for help was received. It was the only SEAD mission on that night, and the enormity of air defenses left shocked them.

"What have we got out there that can take out SAMs?"

"Nothing, sir...the Strike Firebirds have GBU-39s on their wings, nothing more."

"Then hell, get the Strike Firebirds to attack those SAMs and bring it down! How many Gecko's do we have on the ground?"

"There's twelve left on the other Wasp-class...right, sir."

****

Twelve ZaS-42 Gecko's were quickly rolled out, already on combat alert status. Re-armament was swift; GBU-39s exchanged for AIM-9s in the center bays, and AGM-88s put on pylons on the wings for nine of them; the remaining three were re-armed for aerial superiority, as the need to protect the strike force was now greater. As quickly as possible, they were loaded for takeoff.

One by one, they lifted off; the air attack configured ones vertically, the others, due to the weight of the HARM missiles (at over 1,000-lbs apiece), took off in short distances.

Afterburners were engaged and they were rushed towards Morgda, with EA-6B aircraft from the carriers following them with fuel retanking and ECM capabilities.

OOC: Sorry about lack of participation. Glad I was able to find this thread again. My computer's been acting very strange lately and it's been hit-and-miss to see whether I can get on the Internet....

Tagdenbar

Mark Travis surveyed the scene of the ruined cityscape below their foward command center. He placed the binoculars he was using on a table and walked towards his another table across the room. There, his sister and Colonel Rhett Harmon stood studying a map.

"What's the view like?" Allie asked.

"Nothing's different. We've got soldiers scurrying around like ants down there beefing up our defenses. What's the word on the Ma'dah force heading this way?" Travis said.

"I'm not sure. I know that some Ma'dah forces have begun to move this way, but were taken out by Coalition airpower. Mordga's the center of attention right now. The Coalition is pounding the living supreme daylights out of them," Harmon answered.

***

Renor

ARC Captain Karr Krismar and his small band of ARCs had snaked their way through Renor en route to their objective: the oil reserves. Finally within reach of them, they had ran into a chain of problems. The Ma'dah presence in the city was much more than anticipated. There was an entire enemy brigade in Renor. Swiftly sneaking past the enemy was the only way the ARC unit had been able to survive. They utilized their stealth training to carefully make their way to their objective point.

Krismar knelt down at near a stone fence and said to his fellow ARCs, "We've come this far. Let's finish this."

The group reached a chain-link fence. Beyond it were large warehouses, completely untouched by the hands of the war. This was the fuel reserve. Mage Uraine's last major depot in all of Isla De Plata. Capturing it would cripple the Ma'dah's last ditch effort against the Coalition. And capture it, the ARCs did.

Bump-o....

"Delta three is down," reported one radar operative in the command room. A second later, transmissions from Delta flight confirmed it. "We've lost Delta three." Delta two was the only F-18F left in the sky on SEAD mission - out of two squadrons (the other, six F-18Es), ten aircraft, three remained.

Indeed, SA-6 derivatives were firing seemingly endless salvos of missiles at Zoogiedom aircraft in the area, knocking several out of the sky before they had used even half of their anti-SAM munitions. Ejected pilots fell right into anti-aircraft fire; few survived, and those who did found themselves captive in the enemy's stronghold.

The two ZaS-27E Strike Firebirds took it upon themselves to perform an orderly and rapid relief of the Hornet squadron. Armoured and anti-aircraft fire were a-plenty; racks of the GBU-39 small diameter bomb were simply dropped down below into enemy armoured vehicles and air defense systems, and other targets of high priority.

About a minute after the order was received to relieve the Hornet squadrons, the two Firebirds began to attack back; just over a half-minute later, their wing pylons and a total of twenty-four small diameter bombs had been depleted. The aircraft were no longer detectable by radar and climbed to a higher altitude to systematically drop 500-lb guided munitions from their inner bays on enemy targets at their leisure.

Delta Two wasn't holding out quite so well; a shoulder-launched SAM had taken out some of the control surfaces of one of its wings; and heavy flak had hit the other side. He was still very airworthy - 74%, his HUD indicator told him. But he was spending more time dodging than attacking; he still had six AGM-88 stores to expend.

Another allied signature disappeared on radar. "Epsilon Three reporting in; Epsilon lead has just been downed; repeat, Epsilon lead has just been downed."

It was a most opportune time for the ZaS-42 flights to anonunce their ETA to the target at 2 minutes. "Okay, get the hell out of there," air command told the Hornets, who turned on afterburners and speed away even as SAMs criscrossed the skies. Both made it safely out of SAM airspace, but would have to go back in.

"Epsilon Three is out."

"Delta two is out. Right, turning back in."

This time, though, the tide was turning. Nine ZaS-42s arrived into 'SAM Zone,' and a third ZaS-27E joined them. The enemy air defenses were still a-plenty - a never ending supply, almost, as they kept rolling out. Allied aircraft would preform barrel rolls in the air, and by the time they finished, all four AGM-88 pylons would have been expended.

The fight was still not easy. Epsilon Three and Delta two both survived to return to base; both, barely. Three ZaS-42 aircraft were downed by the sheer amount of flak they flew into; two were on SEAD missions, the third on air superiority. More Hornets had been rushed in as quickly as possible when how dire the situation was truly presented itself.

The air war was equally brutal, but somewhat more leisurely for the pilots of the ZaS-27s flying patrol. The F-18s also flying patrol were quickly grounded and re-armed; and would soon be sent back in on SEAD, but the ZaS-27 was preforming sufficiently well even in the face of enemy adversaries such as the F-22 and F-15. The well armed aircraft (six Meteor BVRAAMs and four AIM-132 AAMs) had an incredibly first-shot-first-kill capability and demonstrated it in battle. Air superiority was not a problem.

A hundred SAMs and more AAA were.

Soon, nearly every aircraft available was engaged in SEAD. ZaS-27Es expended their plentiful stores very quickly, and would fly back and rearm. ZaS-42s were in short supply due to the flak damage taken by many; despite the excellent computer systems programmed to avoid it, the sky was literally filled with flak when they attempted their precision bombing runs. In total, five ZaS-42s were lost out of fourteen that eventually flew in the air; three were damaged beyond repair and two deemed no longer airworthy. Four would go through extensive repairs. Twenty-six F-18s took flight that day; fifteen were shot down and seven damaged extensively. Two made it out unscathed - two F-18Fs on reconaissance flights at 60,000 feet.

The three ZaS-27E Firebirds that flew on strike all survived; one had minor flak damage. Two A-15s were shot down out of three that were put in the air; the six AGM-88s loaded on their wings made their radar signature too evident. And of fourteen RAH-66 aircraft sent into the city's vicinity, three came back.

Air sorties would continue well through the night. At dawn, the last of the allied aircraft withdrew, their arms depleted, not to return until the next day. The greatest threat had been eliminated, but at the cost of twenty-two aircraft and eleven helicopters.

Morgda basically secure, estimated supreme air command. Air cover and assault still needed; reduced to precision strikes and close air support...armed columns may move in.

Captain Krismar talked into the radio comlink on his wrist, "The reserves are secure. Holding until extract is cleared."

"Understood. Tomzillian friendlies have been intercepted en route to your local. Back your team up with the army rangers who landed with you. Hold until further instructions are given," his CO instructed.

"Yes sir," Krismar said quetly.

As soon as Krismar looked up from talking to his commanding officer, he looked to one of his Lieutenants and said, "Something's wrong. Over there, check it out."

"Yes sir," the ARC whispered back.

He raised his rifle in preparation for any enemy and stood still as the Lieutenant approached the spot where Krismar had sent him. The ARC got within ten feet of the spot when a Ma'dah soldier made his presence known. Unfortunatly for the ARCs, the Ma'dah soldier made his presence known by triggering the RPG he was holding. Krismar and his ARCs fired but it was too late. The rocket-propelled grenade screamed through the air and slammed into the wall of the warehouse they stood in.

Krismar was blown away from the blast and hit the ground outside the building with a hard thud. He snapped his head to see the results of the attack. The warehouse had caught ablaze.

"Damnit," Krismar muttered. "Team move!" he shouted.

As the words slipped from his mouth, the fire engulfed the poorly constructed warehouse and the flames licked at the fuel containers. Instantly, a massive explosion occured. The whole warehouse erupted in a gigantic fireball that scorched high into the night sky. Krismar opened his eyes, realizing he was still alive. The explosion had thrown fuel everywhere and it was raining burning oil. Fire engulfed the surrounding area of the warehouse and soon spread to the other warehouses. They too, one by one, went up as if it were in a flash.

Krismar crawled his way to his feet. He, as quick as he humanly could, scanned for any of his fellow ARCs. He found one of them, a Lieutenant he recognized as LT. Sterling. Sterling shouted at him, but the sounds of the fire were too loud to make out what he had said. Krismar waved his hand, motioning him to follow. Sterling did not waste time in escaping the flames and following his Captain as they hurried their way from the remaining warehouses. As they ran, two more buildings violently exploded, showering the ground with burning fuel and debris. On their way out, one more ARC joined them and fled from the scene with his fellow UEC soldiers.

***

From his position aboard the CSS Rilos, Admiral Tenren could see a bright orange glow erupting from the heart of Renor.

"Sir," a communications officer said. "The fuel depot has been detonated."

Annoyed by the obvious, Tenren replied, "I'm aware of that. Where is the ARC group? Have we lost contact with them?"

"Yes, sir. No contact with the ARC unit," the sailor informed.

"Blast. Get our rangers on the horn. They must be wondering what the hell is happening," Tenren said.

"Yes, sir. Right away, sir," the sailor responded and left.

***

Mark Travis sat at the table, looking at the map inside the foward command center set up in Tagdenbar. Colonel Rhett Harmon paced the room, anxious about the reports that were coming in from across the island.

"Let's sort this mess out. Tomzillian forces sent to reenforce Renor have been intercepted and decimated by Ma'dah armor south of Mordga. The Zoogie AirForce had a hit-and-miss airwar up until last night or so. They're calling Mordga's air 'basically' secure. We're taking their word on it as they're the ones for the air domination. UEC forces have been engaged the 23rd Ma'dah Armored northeast of Mordga with varying reports on results. Uraine has sent out small forces to hit us here, but none have gotten through the barrier the Coalition AirForce has established. Some reports are circulating about the CSS Phantom firing outside the port of Nex -- which was never even considered a strategic target -- to kill off an attempt by some Ma'dah to flee to the ocean. What the hell do you make of all of this, Colonel?" Travis said.

"I'm not sure what to think, General. We've got a mixed bag here. It's a bloody nose to the Coalition to have Tomzillians wiped out north of Renor. The Zoogies have their domination of Mordga air established, but at the cost of several pilots. Anti-aircraft and SAM sites were far more plentiful than we had estimated. Official word is that Uraine's 23rd Armored, his second biggest division, was now wiped out by our 2nd Armored. And God knows about the Nex incident, which hasn't even been confirmed as fact yet -- the navy isn't saying much to us -- so we're running on uncollaberated rumors, at best," Harmon stated.

Major Eric Nelson, the pilot of what formerly was F/A-18F Delta 2, was now cruising through the skies of Morgda on aerial patrol in a newly assigned F/A-18E. He and a wingman were overseeing coordinated airstrikes that were now pounding at the heart of the enemy's armoured columns, with few losses in return.

It was a day after the day after the bloody SAM war, and he was once again flying SEAD - the only difference, there were barely any enemy air defenses to supress. Not nearly in the volume there had been - sure, there were isolated SAMs, shoulder-launched SAMs aplenty, but the bulk of the force had been shattered.

Other available aircraft, from A-15s to ZaS-27s to RAH-66s to ZaS-42s to other F-18s - the air and naval air corps were forced to draw on all their resources until the next incoming shipment - were now flying relatively leisurely.

RAH-66s and F-18s once again took a fair beating in comparison to other aircraft from the few remaining air superiority fighters they had. The F-15s were easily engaged and shot down, but F-22s, as they were invisible on radar, posed a slightly more difficult problem. The biggest loss so far today was an E-3C sentry, shot down by a pair of F-22s, but taking a good number of missiles. The crew limped back to base and crashed on the runway, but managed to escape with minor to fairly minor injuries. ZaS-42 aircraft, once they got a visual on the F-22s, were able to close in and out-dogfight them in a matter of minutes, effectively ending the air threat.

The focus has shifted to tanks; to attacking the armoured columns...

---------------

A single MH-53J 'Pave low' helicopter sat on the tarmac on the closest air base to Morgda. Assembled beside it were two AH-64D Apaches, four RAH-66 Commanches, six AH-1 Cobras, and three Mi-24 Hinds.

Marines began to rush out to the tarmac and assemble into the MH-53 and Mi-24s, while pilots began to climb into the cockpits. Their mission today was simple, as prescribed by Lt. General Camden.

Seven pilots had survived ejections the day before the day prior; five were now still alive. Messages broadcast from Morgda late last night gave our forces 24 hours to cease combat operations against them and pull out...therefore, naturally immediate plans were drawn up to hit them harder and assemble a special operations team to pull the captives out.

A second MH-53J 'Pave low' was dragged out and lifted up into the sky, with its own company of four Ka-58s, four Mi-24s, and six RAH-66s. This was the alternative rescue group - the group that would get the captives if any had not been retrieved, or if the first failed. Everything depended, basically, on the MH-53J, the largest and most advanced helicopter in the Zoogie Air Force (and of course the USAF).

Two teams of 21 marines, one led by Sgt. Ricker, the other by Sgt. Burns, would find and extract the captives in question with rough general locations already determined. AH-1s would fly in advance and knock out any potential clusters of troops/vehicles that would pose a problem; RAH-66s would fly in around the same time but not in the same place and remove tanks/heavier armoured vehicles, and the Mi-24s would just deliver a lot of firepower while allowing six troops to deploy right out of it for rescue operations...six marines who could simply hop into the MH-53 is anything went amiss and they couldn't get back to the Mi-24.

The two groups took off, and headed for two very different checkpoint A's...all flights were given orders to take down anything that could take down a helicopter, and very quickly.

-----------

Meanwhile, an even larger helicopter squadron deployed from an air force base closer to Renor. It consisted of (since I'm tired of saying This AND this AND this AS WELL as this...;))

10x AH-1 'Cobra' - fly in advance; SEAD/Anti-Tank/Scout
5x AH-64 'Apache' - take care of any 'problems' in advance; fly with the AH-1s

Soon to be followed by the main squadron:

6x RAH-66 - recon/scout; take over AH-1's job
6x Ka-58 - take care of any 'problems' that develop
4x Mi-24F - effectively eliminate anything and everything needed; deploy 6 soldiers apiece
4x MH-53J - send troops in to investigate; 26 soldiers each

An F-14 on reconaissance patrols spotted the sudden rising smoke that was the detonation of fuel depots in Renor, and quickly informed the air bases from which it took off from; the third team that had been planned to go into Morgda was cancelled (two deemed sufficient), relocated, and significantly added onto to investigate the situation and engage any enemy forces / evac any friendlies. The F-14 returned and circled around the area on low thrust, armed with two self defense missiles and six 1000-lb guided munitions, having just used up its 500-gallon fuel tank.

After a good deal of time flying towards Renor, the bright orange blaze was spotted. The AH-1s and Ah-64s were still circling around, thanks to a 200-gallong fuel tank that had been attatched to their centerline (despite warnings in the manuals). The fuel tanks had dropped off without hitch, however, and all aircraft were on station.

Finally, a RAH-66 pilot radioed something in....he was getting faint radar reads. There were speckles in the radar, some darker than others...the enemy was clearly there and about, and some of them were armed fairly well - such as what had evidently caused a fuel depot to explode.

"They aren't near the warehouses anymore," the pilot reported. "Those warehouses are basically gone...we'll try to guide you guys around."

"Right," said Lt. Andrews, as he hopped off the trailing edge of the lead MH-53. Soon the other elite army units followed suite. A large, large number of ground forces - all elite units left in that base, basically (the rest had gone to Tagdenbar) - were now deployed and on the ground by the warehouses. Still a good distance away, they sought places to hide, maintaining alertness.

Hopefully they would be able to figure out what had gone on in here; AH-1s couldn't get close enough to the warehouses, but they could...

(This would presumably be a four or five hours, or more after the incident started to assemble the team and such...your men would have probably cleared out long since...right?)

OOC: Yeah, my ARC team has long since gone back been extracted from the area. However, I still have a unit of army rangers -- 20 or so -- on the beach just outside of Renor.

IC:

The UEC's 2nd Armored divison, after dueling with the Ma'dah's 23rd Armored, have begun their push to Mordga. Following behind them is the 3rd Imperial Marine Expiditionary Force. They will follow up through the invasion of Mordga, which will later be fueled by the UEC 6th ID.

On a separate note, a small contingent of Advanced Recon Commandos was roped in north of Mordga. They've penetrated into the city and have taken up positions on the northeastern edge of the city. The unit of eleven ARCs is lead by Captain Victor Bayle.

Bayle kicked open the door of the small building and the ARCs forced their way in. Inside stood two Plataeese civillians sitting at a table. They both leaped into the air, terrified at the sight of the intruding soldiers. Bayle waived his rifle to signal them to move to the other side of the room.

"We're commandeering your home," he said from under his helmet.

The man said, "Please don't hurt us. We, err, we have one of your's."

Bayle looked to his fellow ARCs and said, "Show us."

The man told them to follow and Bayle did. They entered a side room and turned on the lights. Inside lay a wounded soldier. Bayle looked down at the trooper and said, "He's not Colerican. He's Zoogie. Note the insiginia."

"He's still one of you invaders!" the man said. "Please don't hurt us. We'll let you have the house and we'll leave. Just don't kill us," he said.

"We're not going to kill you. We need your home as a base of operations. And, now that you've showed us this soldier, we need it as a hospital," Bayle replied. "He's unconsious," he added, nodding to the injured Zoogie.

"We took him in when he landed across the street. We knew the Ma'dah would kill him if they caught him so we brought him in. He has a broken leg," the man said. "We've tried to keep him stable, but we don't have much of any medical supplies."

"We'll take care of it," Bayle responded.

Bayle walked out of the room and back to his fellow ARCs. He took off his helmet and said, "They saved a shot-down Zoogie pilot. He's in roughe condition, but he's alive. Get the Zoogies on the phone and give them a sitrep," he instructed.

"Yes, sir," one of the ARCs said.

[Double Post]

OOC: sitrep?

IC:

The report was received by General Camden. "Sir," said the aide who delivered the report. "The Colericans have recovered one of our soldiers."

"Oh?" he took the phone into his hand. "Hello?"

---

OOC: Sitrep = Situation Report.

"Hello General, this is UEC Captain Victor Bayle," he began, his voice came in and out with static intermixed over the phone. "We are on the northeast fringe of Mordga, held up in a house that we have commandeered for a base of operations. Inside the house, the locals had saved one of your downed pilots from the Ma'dah. He's unconcious and has suffered a broken leg and numerous lascerations. The owners of the house fixed him up as best they could, but that isn't saying much. We don't have the equipment with us to keep him stable. We have a mission to accomplish, and we're pressed for time. You're going to need to extract your pilot out of here," he finished.

Bump-o.....

The situation on-board the battleship Godzillasaur was tense. The report from the Colerican helocopters was that there seemed to be no survivors from the Ma'dah armored attack. That meant they had been captured or killed. "This war needs to end. We can't let this happen again." Admiral Shadle said bluntly. "We know, admiral. But how can we end the war quickly?" questioned Captain Hadrian. "Only one way... radio every missle cruiser, air field, and group of artillery thats near Mordga to launch a 3-hour precision bombardment of any military bases and/or enemy movement in Mordga. After the bombardment, send in all armor and troops around Mordga into Mordga." Shadle replied. "Yes, admiral." Hadrian replied. Within minutes, all missle cruisers, aircraft, and artillery began the bombardment.

General Kayne was enraged with the news of the Tomzillian bombardment. "This is absurd!" he shouted to the fellow UEC top brass in their command post. He tipped over a chair with frustration.

General Koren was first to speak. "Calm down. It matters little. We were planning for a quick end, too. Just not one so fire-driven. We're sick of fighting this, too. This war was supposed to be a push-over, but we underestimated Mage Uraine's power following the death of his father."

"Then what do we do about the Tomzillian shock and awe?" a younger Brigadier General asked.

"We tell them to watch their aim. We have an advanced unit on the northeastern fringe of the city. Any fire towards them will be too risky on the part of the Tomzillians," Kayne said, calming down.

"What is the ARCs mission there, anyway?" another officer asked. "I was never filled in."

Koren replied, "They are to disable the string of anti-aircraft units and enemy positions along their way to the Neadlai. Intelligence says that the Neadlai is where Mage Uraine is hiding. The Neadlai is his military compound. The ARCs will cut-off all exits to the building. Once the exits are cut-off, a Coalition team will rope in to set up a complete perimeter of the building. The ARCs will move into the building first, looking solely for Uraine. From the intelligence we've gathered, we know exactly what room he's in. It's a secured underground bunker."

"Why waste the men? Why not just strike him with a few JDAMs?" a General asked.

"Too risky. Zachara also wants Uraine alive, if at all possible. Bombs won't work this time with the limits that have been established on this mission. This, Operation Spectre, must go off without a hitch. This is selective strike on the leadership of the Ma'dah. If Uraine is captured or killed, preferrably captured, the will to fight for the rest of the Ma'dah will plummet," Kayne responded.

"How can you know that?" an officer asked.

"Look at the mass-surrenders we've been getting from them. Hundreds of Ma'dah soldiers are dropping their guns each day and are giving up the fight. Mage Uraine is not as liked or feared as his father was. If we take Uraine now, it's done," Koren said.

"Who's going to be in the group that's roping in?" a Lieutenant General asked.

"UEC Imperial Army Rangers, a handful of Advanced Recon Commandos. We're asking that the Zoogies and Tomzillians supply some of their own soldier to join this operation. It's not mandated, but the end result would run smoother if it were a joint operation amongst the Coalition," Brigadier General Christian Faria spoke up.

Bump-o.....

Bump-o Redux......

Sorry...been a bit busy. Will post tomorrow...[tag reference]

Zoogie forces will fly via helicopter to assist the UEC army rangers to take out Mage Uraine.

Meanwhile...

"Ok, Captain Bayle, our helicopter crews are heading over there immediately."

--

The MH-53J touched down softly, and the rear hatch opened to reveal roughly twenty marines, weapons poised and ready. Slowly they filtered out into the combat area, with sixteen stationed around the helicopter to guard it, and the other five heading into the building where the Zoogie pilot was being held.

"That's the building, sir," whispered a marine corps officer, and pointing at the small building they were ordered to enter. The door had been kicked open. Seargant Ricker walked inside first, his rifle ready.

Ricker approached the side door, and entered a room with its lights turned on. "Captain Bayle," he said, upon seeing the Colerican ARCs. "It's good to see you."

--

"It's good to see you, as well," Bayle replied. "Your injured pilot is in the first room down this hall," he added, pointing to the corridor attached to the right of the room. "Lieutenant Deva, bring him out," Bayle called out.

A few moments later, three ARCs brought the injured Zoogie pilot out on a makeshift strecher that they had assembled from materials within the household. The two owners of the house stood in the corner with frightened looks on their faces.

"He's your's now," Bayle said. "Good luck."

"Thanks," said Ricker. "And thank you," he added to the Palatese civilians, "for recovering him. Let's move out."

The other four soldiers took command of the strecher, and left the building, loading the injured pilot onto the MH-53, where a prepared strecher was ready and waiting. The makeshift strecher was returned to the household.

"We'll be staying in the area," said Ricker as he took leave of the Colerican ARC group. "Good luck."

Ricker boarded the helicopter, and soon it took off...only to have more Zoogie arrivals come in. Four Mi-24s appearded in the area, and landed, with army special forces coming out of them to search the area.

OOC: Sorry, Colerica, I've got to go on a fairly long break from NS, til the summer...all Zoogiedom forces have been transferred to your control for the remainder. You may contact me at zoogies@energymail.com if you wish to inform me of what's going on...

OOC: It's been a long time since I've updated this. Zoogie, that's okay (and would explain why I didn't recieve a telegram reply).

About the Neadlai -- picture it like this: It has a tall stone wall surrounding it, which serves as its perimeter. Inside the stone wall's perimeter are several buildings, ranging in size and shape. Most of the complex, however, is underground.



Outside of the Neadlai, Mordga, Isla De Plata -- Operation Spectre

Four UEC Tomahawk Assault and Transport helicopters hovered a few hundred yards away from the Neadlai, Mage Uraine's fortress. The Neadlai had been damaged slightly in the war, but had remained, overall, in good shape. The helicopters' doors opened, and scores of soldiers began to fast-rope out of them and deploy to the ground. The Coalition troops fanned out in an attacking pattern and advanced to the Neadlai, securing a few outposts around it.

"Squad one, move east to the secure that entrance to the Neadlai," ARC Captain Karr Krismar ordered.

"Yes sir," was the reply.

The squad of UEC Imperial Army Rangers moved quickly to the door, killing two Ma'dah guards on the way to it. There were only a handful of Ma'dah sentries that were patrolling the outside of the base and the Coalition forces were taking down the rest.

"Set the C-4," an UEC IAR Colonel said.

Soldiers rigged plastic explosives to the eastern wall of the Neadlai and detonated them. The thick stone wall was blown away, allowing for the Coalition forces to enter through it.

Krismar quickly scanned the area. There were Ma'dah soldiers running askew around the entire inside of the base. He raised his rifle and took down three enemy soldiers, while advancing toward a small shack. He kicked open the door and found one of the Ma'dah Lieutenants hiding in it.

"That's Vego Sadec, take him out," his fellow ARC said from under his helmet.

Sadec shifted his AK-47 to fire, but it was too late. He fell to the floor in a pool of his own blood after being shot several times by the four-man ARC squad, led by Capt. Krismar. They looked through the room and advanced elsewhere, climbing up a set of stone steps to the top of the stonewall.

The ARC unit downed seven snipers that stood perched along the wall, but one of the snipers managed to shoot a UEC IAR Colonel on the ground floor as his team searched one of the buildings. The bullet hit the Colonel in the throat, and he fell to the ground. As soon as that happened, Krismar and his team narrowly dodged heavy fire from a fifty caliber machine gun.

"Where's that fifty cal fire coming from?" one his Lieutenants asked.

"There," Krismar pointed to an Ma'dah Hind helicopter, which hovered over the Neadlai and rained down lead at the invading Coalition forces. Krismar clicked on his headset radio and shouted, "We need air support now. We've got an enemy Hind pinning down our advance."

"Roger," said one of the Tomahawk A & H pilots.

While the Tomahawk helicopters were not generally considered assault choppers, they did pack Hellfire missiles. One of the Tomahawks unleashed two Hellfires at the Hind and it exploded in a fireball.

"Inproper use of missiles, but it got the job done," the pilot called back to Krismar. "You're clear to move," he added.

The ARC unit filtered out across the top of the stonewall and to a small room. In the room was an elevator, which would lead them to the underground floors of the Neadlai. Krismar pushed the switch once his team was onboard the elevator and it carried them several floors down.

Level 9-B -- the Neadlai, Mordga, Isla De Plata

Mage Uraine stood in his sheltered quarters with his two most trusted generals beside him. Eight of Uraine's most elite guards stood in the room, as well. On a bed in the room sat Mage's wife, Sela Uraine. Her weary face carried the same emotion as that of everyone else in the room -- defeat. It was painfully obvious to the Ma'dah core leadership that this was the end of the line. The Coalition forces were engaging nine floors above them, on the ground level of the Neadlai, and would soon make their way to the lower floors. While there were scores of Ma'dah soldiers in the lower floors, it wouldn't make much of a difference as the Coalition would pour in more and more troops to accomplish their mission. And their mission was, the Ma'dah figured, to kill Mage Uraine.

"Are you sure about this, Mage?" Sela asked from her spot on the bed.

Mage slowly turned his head and gazed at his wife. "I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life. Who in hell were we kidding? We tried to fight against Colerica, Zoogiedom, and Tomzilla at the same time? We might have been able to hold our own against just one of the countries, but not all three at once."

"Are you sure that they will kill us, Executor Uraine?" General Ramdaien asked.

"More than likely. They'd want me alive, though, I'm sure. Just to use an embarrassment oppertunity. Well, we won't let them have that oppertunity," Uraine said.

"Can't you reconsider this? Can't you negotiate with them?" Sela asked, standing up.

"They'd never go for negotiations -- not any more, at least. And reconsider? What else is there that we can do? They're knocking on the door to this very room, my dear. Not long from this moment, enemy soldiers will burst in here and gun us all down," he stated.

"Couldn't you ask them for exile to another nation?" Sela desperatley questioned.

"Like they'd ever grant it to me," Mage replied. "Unless we didn't ask them," he said with a smile. "I have a plan. Send out a message, I don't care what you use to send it out with, just send it. Be it by phone, fax, e-mail, carrier pigeon -- hell, flying monkey, I don't care. Just send every nation in the entire world the same message. Give me safe passage and exile from Isla De Plata and give whatever nation it is that agrees anything they want," he instructed.

"Yes sir," General Zadem said. He saluted and went into an adjoining room to send out the message.

2-B -- The Neadlai, Mordga, Isla De Plata -- Operation Spectre

ARC Captain Karr Krismar and his group of ARCs had made their way down several of the floors, securing the first seven of them. However, Mage Uraine was yet to be located. A greater fear had arose since a covert transmission by Mage Uraine had been intercepted by the UEC. The transmission was a desperate plea by Uraine for any nation that would get him and his wife out of Isla De Plata alive. Mage was incredibly desperate and the UEC feared that he might take his own life and have his cronies blame it on the Coalition as murder, when the Coalition repeatedly stated they had intention of killing him. They had to reach Uraine fast or the entire purpose of the mission would be gone.

There was dim pulse of light, and a slight distortion in the air near the ground floor of the Neadlai, as if space had been pinched ever so slightly away from the observer, regardless of their angle of observation. Then, it snapped back, leaving in its wake five individuals, all wearing sleek black armor that gave them the appearance of highly technological and humanoid beetles. As soon as they arrived, all five of them dashed for cover around a low wall, hunkering down and hopefully out of sight of the occupying forces.

Field Commander Daleger hissed in frustration.
"Oh, for the love of Gold... The occupying forces weren't supposed to be this entrenched by the time we got here. I think that the Kalraanyen might have been a little too eager to start playing around in this dimension... sent us out without real intel."
"Bloody stupid way to run a rescue operation," growled Celenger. Her voice dripped with irritation. "When I get back, I'm going to remind them about the refusal clause. Not going to risk getting killed because the brass caught sight of silver..."
Czern Laughed, a rich baritone chuckle. "Don't worry too much, Cel. You've seen the Tech specs on the forces here. Unless they've brought anti-tank firepower into the building there isn't too much they can do to us. I'm a lot more worried about getting to the target before they get killed. Nine floors down, and who knows how many occupied."
"Right," said Dalegar, eyeing the entrance to the installation through his optics. It was guarded, obviously, but nothing that they couldn't handle... He made a decision. "Okay. Erale, Vilimor, you two create a distraction. Try not to kill the occupying troops if you don't have to, but I want them looking the other way when me, Celenger and Czern jump inside. On the count of three, we'll make a dead run for the entrance, get inside, and cut our way down to the customers. We'll signal you when we've got them, and again when we're ready to gate out. You can initiate return jump then. Ready? 1...2...3!"

As one, the five heavily armed and armored soldiers began running at the speed of a motorized vehicle toward the entrance. A third of the way there, Erale let fire with his Launcher, space warping to allow the 90mm shell to expand to full size once out of its launch tube, while Vilimor fired his energy torch, aiming a stream of coalesced plasma at over the heads of the nearby guards. Just as this happened, and just before the massive explosion went off, Czern, Celenger and Dalegor activated their SRJS, instantaneously skipping several hundred meters past the startled guards and into the installation.

OOC: Okay, that's my first post. I hope I'm not godmodding, I really hope so. I know I'm future tech/magic in a modern tech game, but they aren't invincible, I promise. And there's only 5 of them. If you want, a full description of the capabilities of the KEOC soldiers can be found at
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=152086&highlight=

OOC: Okay, that's my first post. I hope I'm not godmodding, I really hope so. I know I'm future tech/magic in a modern tech game, but they aren't invincible, I promise. And there's only 5 of them. If you want, a full description of the capabilities of the KEOC soldiers can be found at
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=152086&highlight=

OOC: No, I don't think you're godmodding. My ARCs wear armor, just not as advanced as that. I'm sort of a 2010-2015 nation as far my technology goes. Plus, this makes it more of a challenge...(For some reason or another, I'm picturing like Halo armor for your soldiers, but that's just me....)

4-B -- the Neadlai, Mordga, Isla De Plata -- Operation Spectre

ARC Captain Karr Krismar and a mixed group of ARCs and UEC Imperial Army Rangers had secured the first four floors. Suddenly, Lieutenant Sterling, an ARC under Krismar's command, approached him.

Sterling removed his helmet and said, "Captain, we've mixed reports filtering in of an unknown combat group. Two soldiers in the Eigth Squad swear on their lives that they saw something they didn't recognize enter the lower floors of the Neadlai."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Krismar asked, impatiently. "What kind of unknown combat group?"

"We don't know, sir. Moreover, this is just uncollaberated reports by a men in the field," Sterling replied.

"Exactly that. Uncollaberated reports by ragged men who have been runned down by the overstretched hours of fighting here. This op was supposed to be done by now and Uraine was supposed to be in cuffs by now. We don't even know if he's alive anymore. Ignore these ghost stories and focus on the mission at hand," Krismar ordered.

"Yes sir," Lt. Sterling said with a quick, raised-arm salute. He fitted his helmet back on and shifted his M-4 Carbine back into combat position.

OOC: Oh, good. Glad to hear it.

IC:
The three KEOC soldiers quickly managed to locate an unused office on the first floor, and holed up there, planning their next move.

"Celenger, I don't suppose that you've got a confirmation on whether Uraine and Sela are still free or not. Things are going to be a lot more difficult if they've been nabbed alreay." Dalegar whispered, taking care to allow sound amplification to do most of the work, so as not to give away their position to any guards that might be patrolling outside the room.
Celenger frowned, an expression completely unreadable inside the helmet of her S-138A suit. She was a recon expert, with more extensive sensory equipment than the rest. "No... According to info, they're nine floors down, and this place is reinforced. Not enough to block riftblades, but nine floors of this shit'll stop sensors just fine. And we don't have a scan on either of them to start with, so..." She shrugged.
"Right then..." Dalegar paused for a moment. "That rules out using our energy torches to just burn a hole all the way down there. Don't want to accidently kill them. That means riftblades, and cutting our way down one floor at a time." He removed his Solan Riftblade from its sheath, thumbed the activator and watched as the three and a half foot spatial distortion flared to life at the end of the handle. Blue light coruscated off it as oxygen molecules struck the blade and were neatly split. "Okay. Here's the plan. We cut squares, edged at 45* to keep the ceiling from falling in. Then we lower a camera limpet on the end of a tether, for observation, kay? If we've got an all clear, we levitate down, and head for the nearest unnocupied room. Rinse, repeat."
He waited for a few moments for any objections to surface, than reversed his blade, and began cutting.

-Meanwhile-

Erale looked out over the courtyard scene with an almost disappointed expression, before slumping back down next to Vilimor. "Not really observent are they. I mean, I let off a goddamn tank shell almost in their faces, and they're hardly moving."
Vilimor sighed. "Give 'em a little credit, will you? There is a battle going on here. If they got excited every time a boom went off, they'd be wetting themselves all night." He glanced at his timepiece. "Sure hope that the others get there on time. I really don't want to have to play run-and-duck all night if I don't have to."

4-B -- the Neadlai, Mordga, Isla De Plata -- Operation Spectre

"Sir," Lt. Sterling said with another quick angled-arm salute. "We have new information that needs you immediate attention."

"Make it quick," Krismar replied, impatiently.

"Thermal scans show unidentified heat signatures where they are not supposed to be any. We have no soldiers positioned where these are coming from. The signatures are faint, but they're definitely there," he stated, showing the ARC Captain a series of photos.

"Ma'dah soldiers who are hold up?" Krismar asked.

"Negative, sir. If they are Ma'dah, they're acting really strange. They're moving deeper and deeper into the complex, sir."

"They could be pulling back to protect Uraine," he argued.

"We highly doubt that. These heat signatures are following a deliberate path. At my best guess, I say that they are not Ma'dah soldiers at all," he countered.

Krismar sighed. "Then what are they?"

"Foreign agents. Elite mercenaries, is my best guess. We all know that Uraine contacted everyone in a plea for help. I think he got his help," Sterling said.

"Form a squad and check it out. If these are foreigners, treat them like Ma'dah and eliminate them," Krismar instructed.

"Yes, sir," Lt. Sterling said, saluted, and exited the room.

-The Neadlai, floor 4-B-

"Okay, so far so good..." murmered Dalegar, as he made a competent slice into the flooring of the office, and then levered the edge of the square upward, grasped it, and carefully set it to the side. The edges of the cut-out section of floor had an odd, waxy sheen to them, as though melted by some intense heat despite their obvious coolness. Beside him, Celenger shifted, frowning at the information appearing on the display on the inside of her helm visor.
"Commander... It looks like they may have finally noticed us. I'm showing increased troop activity throughout this floor, and the ones above and below as well. They're in search formation... Damn, they've noticed us alright."
Dalegar nodded. "Okay then. Have you got a fix on Uraine's location yet?"
Celenger hesitated. "Well, I've got something that 'might' be them..." She cut off at Dalegar level stare. "No, not confirmed," she finished.
"Right. So we continue. Remember, we shouldn't have to worry about small arms fire. They've got slug-throwers and grenades, but we haven't seen anything bigger yet. If they start shooting, don't shoot to kill unless your sensors detect something dangerous, a recoilless rifle or something like that."
Czern cocked his head to the side. "A recoilless rifle? Inside a building like this?"
Dalegar shrugged. "You never know. The point is, we don't want to cause too many casualties if we can help it. The occupying forces'll be pissed off enough as it is, without us slaughtering their men. But if you do see something dangerous, get them first, right?"
The others nodded. Dalegar opened at comm link to Erale and Vilimor. "Hey, you two. It looks like they've figured out that we're here. I want you two to make sure that no big munitions enter the building, okay? If you see them trying to transport HEAP rockets down here, get rid of 'em. I don't want them to have access to serious firepower if I can help it."
That done, he turned back toward the hole, and began lowering the camera limpet.

Level 4-B -- The Neadlai, Mordga, Isla De Plata -- Operation Spectre

Colonel Quar Resk, a UEC Imperial Army Ranger, walked slowly down a long corridor, his rifle raised. His team of five men were in their scanning positions around him. Col. Resk had been instructed to follow a series of faint heat signatures that his CO's believed were foreign soldiers -- a mercenary rescue party for Mage Uraine. Resk's group was advancing closer and closer to the unidentified heat signatures. Whoever these people were, the Colonel Resk had all intentions of not allowing them to move any further.

"What's the call when we find these guys? Tag 'em or cuff 'em?" Lieutentant TarLai asked.

"Whatever comes first," Col. Resk replied. "If they fire on you, you have my full authority to shoot to kill. If they shoot first, they better hope that they do not miss, because we get the oppertunity to fire back, we will not miss. If these are foreign agents, they're in for a serious surprise," he added.

"You got it, sir," Major Que-Saan Jimna said, one of his hands patting the M203 grenade launcher that was attached to his M-16A2.

"What are you packing with that, Major?" Resk asked as they continued to make their way down the winding corridor.

Major Jimna pointed to a compartment on his belt. "In there, I've got three M203 frags and three M203 HEATs. There ain't nothing that is gonna come in our way that I can't get past," he boasted.

"HEATs? Isn't anti-tank a bit much?" a private asked from behind them.

"Hell no, kid. We came here for war, and war is what we got. HEATs will keep the Ma'dah on their toes. And whoever these guys are that we're going for now," Jimna responded.

"What happens if these guys escape or flee to the upper or lower floors?" another private asked.

"They ain't going to," Jimna stated. "We ain't gonna give 'em that chance."

"If they do try to get to the elevators or stairs, they're in for a surprise. We've got four guards at each door to the steps. We've cut power to the elevators, as well. Unless they like to climb elevator cables, they're not getting out of here. Those were set in mind for Uraine fleeing, but they work just the same for anyone else," Col. Resk said.

"Like I said, they ain't getting out of here," Jimna chimed in as the group rounded a corner and continued to walk.

"Hold up," Resk said, raising his arm to signal his team to kneel down. His tone changed to a whisper when he said, "We're approaching the signatures now. Remember your training. Keep your wits about you. The United Empire is paying us to think on our feet, not just shoot off our guns."

"Lock and load, boys," Jimna said as they approached another corner.

"On my orders," Resk said. "TarLai, cut the power....now," he instructed in a hushed whisper.

Lieutenant TarLai accessed his wrist-pad comlink and gave the 'go ahead' to the men at the power station for the entire underground complex. Within a second, the lights to all the basement floors to the entire Neadlai shut off.

"Good. Now we, hopefully, have an advantage," Resk said, fitting his nightvision goggles on. "TarLai, check the thermal scans again. Let's see where these guys are hiding at."

TarLai did as he was told and quickly retrieved his thermal designator. The small device was shaped like an oversized pistol, but it allowed the user to see through any object, in order to see the heat signatures of any living being. No matter who you were, you gave off heat.

"The signatures are still weak, but they're there," he replied in a whisper.

"How many?" Jimna asked.

"Three," TarLai answered.

"Three's good," Jimna said.

"Doesn't matter. We move on my orders," Resk said as they stood just mere meters from the target room.

The camera limpet was retracted, and reattached to Dalegar's belt. "All clear. We jump down on my..."
"Commander, they're right outside the door. Six of them. And they've got some explosives that don't look too healthy for us..."
Celenger's monologue was interrupted by the sudden silence and darkness that accompanied the loss of power.
"Whoops," chuckled Czern, as his visor automatically compensated for the reduced light conditions. "Mistake number one. Unless their sensors are a lot better than we've seen so far, this is gonna hurt them a lot more than us."
Dalegar sighed. "They've got enough men in here that they can afford to make mistake number three if they have to. We can't afford mistake number 1/2."
He paused a moment, deciding whether or not to leave an explosive parting gift behind them, but then shook his head. It wouldn't help in the long run, and they might need their explosives later.
"Let's go," he said, and jumped down the hole, his levitation units silently activating to slow his fall. Celenger followed, but just as Czern was about to follow suit, the door to the room burst in, revealing the occupying soldiers beyond it. Czern gave them a jaunty salute, and then dropped down the hole.

Colonel Resk raised his rifle and shouted, "Freeze!" as Czern jumped down the hole. "Damn it," he added.

"Well let's follow 'em. Down that hole, right now, boys," Jimna said.

"Hold it," Resk interrupted. "Did you see them?"

"They looked like beetles or something," a private mentioned.

"Then let's crush 'em like the bugs they are," Jimna said and turned to the hole in the floor.

"TarLai, scan the lower floor. Where are they?" Resk asked.

"I can't see any signatures, sir. Wait! Found 'em. They're moving," Lt. TarLai replied.

"They're away from the hole, though, right?" another private asked.

"Forget about that, we're wasting time we don't have. Follow them," Jimna said.

Resk walked to the hole and slowly lowered himself down it, rifle trained to shoot, as he hung from the edge of the melted hole by one hand. His feet hit the floor and he signaled for his team to follow him. One by one, they jumped down the hole and into the room below.

"TarLai, what's their position?" Resk asked.

"They're moving down the east corridor," he answered. "Sir, I think we can catch them in a cross-fire if we hurry. Split the team and send them down the opposite corridors. The halls form a square here. One team would funnel them into the other group," he suggested.

"And we'd tear them to shreds, I hope. Do it. Jimna, take Andresa and Coras down the west corridor. We'll take the east and chase them straight to you," Resk ordered and the team split up.

As the Kalraan soldiers ran down the corridor, Dalegar muttered to Czern. "Quit playing around. We've got a job to do. You want to screw with the locals, wait till we aren't in a situation."

"Yes sir. No more fun." Czern's face was entirely hidden by his helmet, but from the tone of voice, it was a good bet that he was smiling.

"I'm serious. This whole incident has diplmatic cluster f**k written all over it. And don't think we won't be offered up as sacrificial lambs if the brass decides that..."

"Sir, more troop movement. Looks like they followed us down... They're splitting up. Going to catch us in a pincer, most likely." Celenger paused. "Might work too, especially if they manage to hit us with those explosives. Probably not kill us, from the readings, but they might make us unable to continue. If we stand and fight now, we'd only have to deal with half of them..."

"And they'd know that our sensors our sophisticated enough to track them. Not a good idea when we're outnumbered this bad. Their ignorance is one of our main advantages." Dalegar kept running, thinking to himself. "Okay, kick the speed up to 50 kmph. That should get us to the point of their trap quicker than they can. Then, when the first group comes into view, we jump behind them and continue. Then we hole up and cut down. If the explosives start going off, use shield time. Right? Let's go."

Colonel Resk, Lieutenant TarLai, and Private First Class Nibeq rounded the corner. They were not traveling as fast as they could have been, as their elite opponents were still out of sight from them. Resk figured that they had chased the mercenaries to the next bend in the corridor, which would funnel them right into Jemna's blockade of their path. A cross-fire would tear them to pieces, and Resk believed that these strange new advisaries would be smart enough to realize that. One shot from Jimna's M203, especially a HEAT round, would really light up the place, in more meanings than one.

Resk raised his wrist comlink and asked Jimna if he was in position or not. "We're hauling ass as fast as we can, sir," was the reply he recieved.

"Haul your asses faster then, Major," Resk said. "They're still in front of us. Go as fast as you can, Jimna," he ordered.

Resk could here Jimna's heavy breathing through the comlink. "As soon as this is over, sir, I'm going to personally kick your ass for making us work this hard, 'ya hear me?"

"I hear you, I hear you," Resk said. "Kick my ass later, move your's now."

*BUMP-O*