NationStates Jolt Archive

The temperatures were beginning to plummet as the team reached the mountainside camp. The team leader, Lieutenant James Austin, led his seven team members into the Command Bunker, where he was to meet with the Colonel in charge and receive his team's mission assignments.

They were at Camp Anapurna, located at 18,000 vertical feet from sea level. The camp was small but deadly: eight 203mm Howitzers, six 155mm Howitzers, two PAC-3 anti-air systems, along with a single helipad for the occasional supply flight or Medevac. The camp was set on a small steppe just above a forty-five degree slope and just under a two-hundred foot, eighty-two degree vertical wall. It was one of the most secure locations in the whole of Nuptse.

Lieutenant Austin walked in, pulled off his goggles, and turned to watch the rest of his men do the same. The wind was beginning to kick up snow from outside and some blew in the bunker before the door could be closed. There was a fire going in a small vent on the far side of the bunker, with the Colonel sitting at a desk going through papers and a few other troops just sitting around the fire sipping on their canteens, speaking almost silently to one another. Lieutenant Austin walked towards the Colonel, who not so much as looked up at the eight member team.

"Lieutenant James Austin, sir."

"Austin...what unit?"

"The 405th Tundra. We're up here to scout for a location for that new camp, Camp Lhotse?"

"Oh yeah, I remember now. Yeah, you were due here six hours ago."

"Yessir, but as you may know, we expected to be lifted up here with the supply chopper, but the weather closed in and they sent us in on foot."

"Yeah, I know all about that flight," the Colonel said, standing up and glancing out the window. "I was supposed to get a resupply of medical supplies on that flight, but this damned weather!"

"Yessir, I understand. But if you don't mind, could we get our mission briefing out of the way? We've climbed all the way from eleven thousand feet to get up here since yesterday morning. We're worn out and need some rest."

"Sure, let's get on with that. Sorry we don't have anywhere for you guys to sit, things are a little cramped as you can see," the Colonel said again as he sat down behind his desk. He opened a manila folder and began to go over the mission with the team. "As you are aware, we are having constant intrusions by unknown outsiders. Over the past two weeks there has been a large increase in intrustions. Fortunately, none of these 'mystery' units have gotten anywhere to cause any real trouble. Every time they're spotted by overhead aircraft they call us to pound them with artillery. Now, when units such as yourselves go out and search the wreckage and all after we blow the crap out of them, we're finding that the units are becoming increasingly more powerful. Originally, they were coming in on us with simple trucks and maybe a HMMWV. But three days ago, when the last incident occured, we destroyed a T-55 tank, along with it's share of HMMWVs. Right now, Camp Anapurna is the only camp designated to watch the borders and take these intruders out. We need another camp to help do this.

"So your mission is to find another mountain within a five mile diameter of Camp Anapurna and a location at which we can post another camp of equal size as Anapurna. This camp is to be desginated Camp Lhotse. You will leave tomorrow morning at eleven. You'll decend into the valley below the West Ridge and receive supplies and such for a weeklong excursion. You will search the nearby mountains, above twenty thousand feet, for a face at which Camp Lhotse may be stationed. After your excursion is up, whether you are successful or not, you are to return here for your Rendezvous with the projected supply chopper for a ride home. But be careful. We aren't sure where these intruders are coming from and there is a chance we won't be able to help you if you get in trouble with them. Tonight we have accomodations for you in the Medical Station, on the far wing. It's heated and things are there for you already. Good luck."

The Colonel saluted, and the team members put their goggles back on. They opened the door, a blast of snow rushing in the door. Over the horizon, the sun was slowly setting, and the temperatures were quickly dropping. It was going to be a long week.

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It was morning time, and the men were all waking up at about the same time. Of course, Lieutenant Austin woke up long before to go over routes and plans and such with the Colonel. The rest of the men, however, chose to take advantage of the heat they had. They began looking over their weapons, mostly highly modified M14s, and making sure they had all their equipment in check. They began tearing into the roast beef sandwiches and water for breakfast. It was the first good meal they'd had in a while. Each man strapped into his harness, swept over his carabiners, crampons, and other things as to make sure they would survive in a fall.

At about 1030, Lieutenant Austin came back and told the men to gear up. Of course, they already were, and so they proceeded outside. Thing had heated up greatly since last night. In a far corner of the camp there was a small baseball game going on. Suddenly, an alarm started going off, and men began rushing around everywhere. The team members simply stood there, watching the commotion. Men began to man their guns and load them up. Soon after the alarm first sounded, the first volley of 203mm artillery rounds began to pour out of the cannons themselves. Then another, and another, and another. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the firing stopped. The Colonel came out and waved everyone off, signaling that the target had been destroyed. Lieutenant Austin walked over and asked the Colonel if the team needed to head off and take a look at the remains, but he was shrugged off and told another team would look into it.

On time, at 1100, the team headed off to the West Ridge, where it began to decend a ninety foot vertical wall, and then would proceed to decend another three thousand feet before making it to the rendezvous with the supply chopper.

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"It's about damn time," one of the operators mumbled as the supply helicopter appeared in the distance. The eight operators had dug into small holes in the snow and placed small tarps at the bottoms. The supply chopper was nearly an hour late, probably due to high winds and spindrift coming off the moutains.

As the helicopter approached, Lieutenant Austin stood and flagged it down to a landing. The troops offloaded two crates. The helicopter was waved off again as it took off and headed back for basecamp. The eight troops opened the crates and took out the rations and other assorted equipment and essentials for the excursion. They started pulling up their tarps and refilling their holes.

Suddenly, Sergeant McGee called for Lieutenant Austin to come over to his position. Austin walked over to McGee, and was shown something quite disturbing. In the near-distance, probably 800m, a large contingent of troops was moving towards the team's location. There was no vehicle support, but some fifty plus troops, all looking well fit for battle.

Lieutenant Austin called for all the team members to converge on him. He ordered snipers to take positions on the East and West Ridges, just twenty meters above the other's heads. He then ordered for all the others to dig in quickly in an extremely small trench, and wait.

The two snipers took position and watched as the contingent of troops closed in. Austin gave them permission to fire.

Bang. Bang.

Two men of the approaching troops fell as the snipers reloaded. Who were these guys?