NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: My internet crashed twice again today, I can't be bothered to for the third time put as much effort into my post, so this might be a crappy one.


Master Corporal Ian Andrews was a short, well built man. He had joined the military at age 18 and only months later, saw combat in Throppe as a fireteam gunner. His unit was involved in two of few battles fought in Throppe, however one of them was the largest fought there. His actions in Throppe were noticed by an Air Calvary officer who recommended him to AC training. While in the Air Calvary he showed extreme skill and military leadership, eventually earning him the position of fireteam leader. Recently, Andrews lead his fireteam into battle in Orsa, their helicopter was one of many that secured the beachhead. Following this his unit was inserted in northern Orsa where he conducted patrolling duties for several weeks at a remote base until roads could be constructed and the regular army could take over. Following that he spent several boring weeks on a Wasp Class ship before he was offered the chance to bring his unit home to participate in a war game. Andrews accepted.

Now Andrews found himself sweating under his hot and heavy gear. He cursed himself for getting used to the slightly cooler climate in Orsa and the air conditioned insides of the ship. Now he would have to suffer. It mattered not though, he wasn't going to let sweat stop him from winning, after all, he was fairly certain that if he won, he would be promoted again and would become a section leader. Andrews crossed the ''starting line'', an invisible line he had drawn in his mind which brought him into the combat zone. His black combat boots kicked up dust as they made a dull thud each time he took a step.

Andrews held his rifle high, stealth likely wouldn't play a major role in the operation, so for the time being, he kept his silenced submachine gun slung over his back. Through the scope he watched the street as he slowed his pace down. His eagle eyes scanned every nook and hiding place, even those not large enough to conceal a soldier, after all, Andrews knew that in urban warfare, a trap could be anywhere. He decided to use the white car to his north as cover, he would have his unit cross the intersection he was approaching. He decided it was best to keep to the outside of the combat area, it meant less areas that they could be engaged from. He crouched behind the car and turned and faced his team. He flashed them hand signals, then popped back up, using the car as cover to watch the north.

Corporal Blue Jackson, the team's gunner kept his machine gun held high, despite its weight. He moved to the west, pressing himself against a building's wall and moved north, peering through his weapon's scope, checking for any sign of a contact. He was happy to have a shorter and lighter machine gun again, in Orsa he had been issued a regular length one. He reached the corner of the building and slowly went prone. Cautiously he inched himself around the wall, stopping every now and then to more carefully check the areas in his line of fire. Eventually he made it all the way around the wall and could see everything except the street to the west which was blocked by a building. He turned and flashed hand signals to Andrews, explaining without words that he couldn't see everything but what he could see was clear.

Corporal Patty Lousie, the team's second in command and rifleman, saw Jackson's signals and knew what to do. She moved up on the eastern side of the car, keeping low as she headed north. She reached the front right quarter panel, counted to three and ran, across the open to the building to her north. As she passed the corner of it, she let out a sign of relief. She crouched down, pointing her rifle north. She was a little uneasy about the way the wall went in, able to conceal someone but she couldn't do nothing but be prepared to engage any threat from the position she was in. Behind her, Private Bowlavara, the team's grenadier and breacher did the same as she had done and came to rest, crouching down behind her.

Andrews rose, moving to the eastern side of the car like his two comrades before him. He trained his rifle west, like Jackson and moved to the top of the car. He spoke softly through his headset, instructing Jackson to move.

Jackson rose to his feet and began running as fat as he could across the open and towards the building the other two team members were at. Before he had even completely reached it, Andrews had also began running and now the whole team stood or crouched pressed up against the eastern wall of the building.

Andrews tapped each person on their back, flashing them more hand signals. He ordered Private Bowlavara to get his shotgun and sling his rifle over his back. The Private did so. The Private took the lead, inching towards the edge of the wall that went in, Andrews following behind, also facing north while the other two faced south and walked slowly backwards.

Blue dots mark the position of my troops - http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/1787/crampedys5.png

Order of Battle
Fireteam Alpha
Master Corporal Andrews (Team Leader/Rifleman)
1 x AY-144B Carbine (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13933320&postcount=264)
1 x SMGY-16 Submachine Gun (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13499318&postcount=153) (Silenced)
1 x PY-57 Pistol (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13330215&postcount=45)
4 x Frag Grenades
3 x Smoke Grenades
1 x Gas Mask
1 x Bayonet
1 x Small Mirror
1 x Spool of Wire

Corporal Jackson (Gunner)
1 x LSWY-150B (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13335005&postcount=49) Machine Gun
1 x PY-57 Pistol (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13330215&postcount=45)
2 x Frag Grenades
1 x Smoke Grenade
1 x Gas Mask
1 x Bayonet
1 x Small Mirror
1 x Spool of Wire
2 x Replacement Barrels

Corporal Patty Lousie (2IC/Rifleman)
1 x AY-144B Carbine (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13933320&postcount=264)
1 x SMGY-16 Submachine Gun (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13499318&postcount=153) (Silenced)
1 x PY-57 Pistol (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13330215&postcount=45)
4 x Frag Grenades
3 x Smoke Grenades
1 x Gas Mask
1 x Bayonet
1 x Small Mirror
1 x Spool of Wire

Private Bowlavara (Grenadier/Breacher)
1 x AY-144A Assault Rifle (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13933320&postcount=264)
1 x Under barrel Grenade Launcher
1 x PY-57 Pistol (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13330215&postcount=45)
3 x Frag Grenades
1 x Smoke Grenades
4 x Rifle Grenades
1 x Gas Mask
1 x Bayonet
1 x Small Mirror
1 x Spool of Wire
2 x Door Breaching Charges
1 x Telescopic Ladder

OOC: I assume you mean the little blue dots, not the big huge ones. Also, the map's kind of small and hard to read, so I hope I'm not taking too many liberties with the details.

Corporal Blanc and his men, like most Zinairian soldiers, had never seen live combat. However, they made up for it as best they could with their intense training regimens and professionalism. Blanc had been training with this fireteam for much of his ten years in the army; Private Glenn, however, was a newer addition, having enlisted only four years ago.

The team was of standard Zinairian composition– a leader who also functioned as the grenadier, a "vanilla" rifleman, a support gunner with an LMG and a marksman who could also provide limited fire support with his automatic rifle. This exercise would be one of the first opportunities for troops to try out the military's fanciest– and most expensive– new toy: the BALCOTH Advanced Combat Helmet.

Blanc motioned for Dunn to advance south and take shelter behind a burnt-out car and cover the south. Dunn crouched low and ran to the car. Remaining under cover, he lifted his gun above the car and swung it around, receiving its video feed in his monocle. With nothing stirring, Dunn gave the all clear to the rest of the team.

Blanc crouched behind a pickup and used his BALCOTH uplink to check the area east of the team. With everything clear until a dividing wall about a dozen meters out, Blanc motioned for the team to advance.

Mercer covered Dunn as he crossed back to the rest of the team. Glenn covered both men as Mercer climbed onto Dunn's shoulders onto a narrow dividing wall. With his arms outstretched and his gun slung across his back, Mercer walked along the wall to the adjacent building. He heaved himself up onto the roof and took cover behind a stair access building, doing a quick scan with his uplink.

Dunn took cover behind a partially broken-down wall in order to cover the team against anyone attacking from the west.

Glenn holed up behind a dumpster to cover the south and Blanc crouched behind some crates to cover the east.

---

Positions are marked with red dots: http://img.skitch.com/20081218-m41pnune1x9e8rk9amatdp1n2k.png

ORBAT

Corporal David Blanc (Leader/Grenadier)
1 x AVIR SR (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13493153&postcount=1) w/ BALCOTH battle sight uplink
1 x LGFM.II underbarrel grenade launcher (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13336582&postcount=299)
1 x P270A Diablo Combat Pisol (http://z11.invisionfree.com/Sequoia_Defence/index.php?showtopic=1) (.40 S&W)
1 x BALCOTH Advanced Combat Helment (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14243928#post14243928)
1 x Dauntless Ballistic Armor (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13691710&postcount=1) (Arachne and Dauntless components, no hard inserts)
1 x Gas mask
1 x Utility knife
2 x Fragmentation grenades
2 x Smoke grenades
2 x Pistol magazines (28 rounds)
2 x Rifle magazines (100 rounds)
4 x 40mm grenades

Private Noah Glenn (Rifleman)
1 x AVIR SR (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13493153&postcount=1) w/ BALCOTH battle sight uplink
1 x P270A Diablo Combat Pisol (http://z11.invisionfree.com/Sequoia_Defence/index.php?showtopic=1) (.40 S&W)
1 x BALCOTH Advanced Combat Helment (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14243928#post14243928)
1 x Dauntless Ballistic Armor (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13691710&postcount=1) (Arachne and Dauntless components, no hard inserts)
1 x Gas mask
1 x Utility knife
2 x Fragmentation grenades
2 x Smoke grenades
2 x Pistol magazines (28 rounds)
2 x Rifle magazines (100 rounds)
1 x Coil of rope

Private Ryan Dunn (Gunner)
1 x ADEC light machine gun (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=554972) w/ BALCOTH battle sight uplink
1 x P270A Diablo Combat Pisol (http://z11.invisionfree.com/Sequoia_Defence/index.php?showtopic=1) (.40 S&W)
1 x BALCOTH Advanced Combat Helment (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14243928#post14243928)
1 x Dauntless Ballistic Armor (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13691710&postcount=1) (Arachne and Dauntless components, no hard inserts)
1 x Gas mask
1 x Utility knife
1 x Fragmentation grenades
1 x Smoke grenades
2 x Pistol magazines (28 rounds)

Private Sam Mercer (Marksman)
1 x AVIR IAR (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13493153&postcount=1) w/ BALCOTH battle sight uplink
1 x P270A Diablo Combat Pisol (http://z11.invisionfree.com/Sequoia_Defence/index.php?showtopic=1) (.40 S&W)
1 x BALCOTH Advanced Combat Helment (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14243928#post14243928)
1 x Dauntless Ballistic Armor (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13691710&postcount=1) (Arachne and Dauntless components, no hard inserts)
1 x Gas mask
1 x Utility knife
2 x Fragmentation grenades
2 x Smoke grenades
2 x Pistol magazines (28 rounds)
2 x Rifle magazines (100 rounds)

OOC: You are right, it is hard to see so it is ok to make things up if you can't see them properly. I also noticed I forgot the shotgun.

Bowlavara reached the corner and stopped, pulling a bayonet from his belt and fixing it to the shotgun. It might have seemed like overkill to some, however, Bowlavara wasn't taking any chances. He counted slowly and rounded the corner, half expecting to come face to face with an enemy combatant. He didn't and so Andrews overtook him, leading the fireteam further north until they reached the actual edge of the building.

Andrews didn't round the corner, but he spotted the HMMWV ahead and debated whether it was a trap or could provide cover. He decided not to use it unless he had too. He shot a signal to the Private who tapped on the grenadier's back and so on, passing the signal down to Jackson.

Jackson turned and with the Grenadier now the only person covering the rear, moved up past the other two to the corner, went prone and like before, slowly inched around the corner, scanning for any sign of a threat. Again he saw none, and this time he was able to see all the way down the street which made him feel much more at ease. He turned and gave Andrews the thumbs up.

Andrews motioned to Lousie, who sighed and held her breath. Seconds later her boots thudded against the pavement as she crossed the open, passed behind the rear of the humvee, crossed the open again and got behind the wall. She too went prone and rolled out into the street, using as much of the wall for cover as possible as she scanned for threats. After finding none, Bowlavara did the same, joining her for a split second before Andrews ordered Lousie and Jackson to move forward to the intersection.

Jackson moved forward, pressed against the wall, watching the east and then as he got closer to the intersection, the north. Lousie did the same, only she watched the south. Eventually they reached the intersection. They didn't slink around the corner, but rather waited as Andrews and Bowlavara joined them.

Then slowly they both peeked around the corner's, this time remaining standing. Things were becoming more tense, after all, they knew they would be encountering the enemy soon. Jackson was satisfied his zone was clear, Lousie wasn't happy, again there were positions for an enemy to hide, this time two. Despite that, Andrews chose to go north, wanting to stick to the battle zone's edges.

This time they split, Jackson and Bowlavara taking one side of the street, Lousie and Andrews taking the other. Again they advanced along the walls.

OOC2: Map - http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/6555/operationcrampedfc7.png

OOC: Made a slightly modified map with a white background, a directional marker and a scale (based off the size of the vehicles). Here's a blank version so you can add future positions to it: http://img.skitch.com/20081218-1n6as9gmw2pjgkekfj8hb7c5a4.png

The team did another check of the area with their uplink sights, then Blanc ordered Glenn into position to cover the eastern alley. Dunn had made the somewhat risky trip 20m south to cover the rest of the team against attacks from the west.

Mercer descended from the roof, this time hopping down onto a wall to the south of Blanc, then down again onto a dumpster adjacent to the wall. Finally, he dropped off the dumpster so that he was next to Blanc.

With both sides covered, Blanc and Mercer went south and with the team leader's help, Mercer climbed onto the awning of a large building. Being careful not to tear through the fabric, the marksman walked across the awning and climbed onto the roof of the building. He crouched low so he was mostly obscured by the ledge and crossed to the east side of the roof. Lying prone, he lifted his gun over the ledge to scope out the roofs opposite.

Blanc watched him and shook his head. He whispered into his headset:

"I don't think he can cover that whole roof himself, Glenn, help heave me up there."

Glenn left his post and helped Blanc climb onto the awning. Blanc climbed onto the roof and and crossed to the south side.

"Dunn, heave Glenn up then let your rope down for him to use."

Mercer covered the east from the roof as Dunn left his post and heaved Glenn onto the awning. Glenn climbed onto the roof than secured his rope to a pipe. He dropped it down and Dunn used it to help him climb up the building's wall.

With the whole team on the roof, Glenn pulled the roof back up then went to the east wall to cover the buildings diagonally across from theirs. Dunn stayed at the northwest corner to prevent any attacks from behind.

Map: http://img.skitch.com/20081218-mfnukdx3i1e8d1erys1gbrnqg4.png

The team continued up the street, stopping only momentarily to clear both areas where the wall went in. Andrews took the lead again and reached a corner, which, although he didn't know it, wasn't the actual end of the building. He called Jackson forward who inched around the corner again, chuckling to himself when all he saw was another wall.

''Alpha One, we haven't reached the street yet, there is another wall.''

Andrews ordered them forward, this time with Jackson taking point. They rounded the corner, pressing up against the wall of the building and headed towards a crumbling, three foot high wall, likely the remains of a walled off garden or something. Jackson again moved slowly around the corner and found another wall, and access into a courtyard which lead into the middle of the buildings. Andrews decided they had to clear it, after all, it made an excellent location for someone to hide and ambush them.

Jackson led them down the small pathway between the two buildings, himself pressed against the eastern wall. He reached the corner, Andrews covered the south while he slowly inched around the corner, checking for any sign of contacts.

''Shit, tango on the roof, across the street to the east.''

He had spotted one of the enemy combatants on the roof. He wasn't sure if he had been spotted. Andrews wasn't taking any chances, he didn't want his team stuck in the courtyard for a firefight.

''Jackson, head north, find cover in the alley, Lousie, cover Jackson and hold position at the north end of this buildings, Bowlavara, follow me.''

Lousie turned, headed for the corner, went prone and kept a quick and watchful eye out for any sign of movement. She didn't have time to cover the entire sector, Jackson stormed out, boots thudding as he ran for his life across the street and into the alley. He came to a rest behind the wall, unaware that one of the contacts of the roof had a clear line of sight on him, before he got behind the wall. Jackson and Bowlavara headed back the way they had came, using the two inlets in the walls as cover as they headed south.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6477/operationcrampedgi4.png

Mercer and Dunn had both picked up the clomping of boots thanks to the auditory enhancements in their helmets. They both went flat and raised their guns to scan the east– where the noise had come from.

"Can't see any, they've all taken cover." Dunn whispered.

"We should use these bridges." Blanc said. "We should either go east for a better shot or go south and get behind them."

"I don't think getting behind them will work."

"Alright, Dunn and I will take the eastern buildings. Mercer, Glenn, hold your positions."

Being careful to remain behind the ledge, Dunn and Blanc crawled across the roof to the eastern bridge. Mercer watched intently as Blanc carefully tested his weight on the boards. Satisfied that he wouldn't fall through, he crouched low and walked across– afraid that running would split the wood.

Blanc went prone as soon as he was on the other side. He lifted his gun to do a sweep of the area then motioned for Dunn to follow.

Once Dunn was across, Blanc directed him to take a position on the north roof, behind a large green recycling bin. Dunn climbed over the ledge diving the two roofs then crawled to the northern edge of the roof, obscured from enemy sight only by the green dumpster.

http://img.skitch.com/20081218-b9cwt3i2rt3eauk431tm4wyrh2.png

Jackson had slowly peeked out from behind the wall and spotted the movement. The angle he had meant that the contact disappeared from his line of sight within less than a second. It didn't mean that they had been spotted, but it was enough of a coincidence to make Jackson uneasy. He tried to remain calm as he spoke through his headset, but the upcoming battle was making him excited.

''I think we were spotted, one contact on the move, I can't see him anymore. I think they are all on the roofs.''

Lousie started sweating extra hard, she was prone and tight against the wall, in a fairly dark area, wearing an urban camouflage uniform, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be spotted.

''Jax, cover above me, I'll watch the street.''

Andrews and Bowlavara also received the message, they had checked the rooftops periodically before, but now they remained extra vigilant. They continued south, reaching the southern most corner of the building. Andrews slid around the corner, clearing the street before instructing Bowlavara to move to the other side. They proceeded east down the street.

Bowlavara kept his rifle held high, checked every available piece of cover and of course the roof tops. As he got closer to the intersection, more buildings to the east came into his line of sight. Suddenly he spotted something on one of the rooftops, he could make out a helmet, a face, an arm and a rifle. instinctively he reacted.

He raised his rifle, peering through the scope, lining up the scope with the front sight and both with the flesh of the man's face, which contrasted slightly against the darker background of his uniform. It was an easy shot, less than fifty meters and Bowlavara was a pretty good shot and had a fairly accurate rifle and a scope. Slowly he squeezed the trigger, minimizing the mount of movement his rifle made, keeping it on target.

''Crack..........Crack!.''

''Contact, 1'oclock high!''

He fired two shots, not quite close together but not along time apart either. After doing so he began to crouch down, keeping his rifle aimed and ready, waiting to see if the target responded.

Andrews heard the rifle fire first, flinching. Then he heard Bowlavara call out and his brain began to race. He too crouched down, aiming his rifle east. He though rapidly, he couldn't see Bowlavara's 1 high. He suspected that was the roof the enemy was on. Then he remembered Jackson telling him he had seen movement and the contact had disappeared. He tried to guess whether Jackson could see the rooftops of the block to his north. He guessed yes but he needed to know for sure.

''Jackson, can you see the tops of all the buildings in the block to your south?''

OOC: Map - http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/8888/opcrampedlb3.png

OOC: Sorry, I was waiting for the map then I totally forgot to post. By the way, what kind of armor/helmets do you soldiers have?

Glenn had briefly risen above the ledge to check for tangos. Then, a few dozen meters down the eastern alley, he saw an enemy soldier with his rifle raised. Instinctively, he ducked behind the ledge as the first shot came.

"Shit." He muttered to himself. Then he spoke into his radio, "I've been spotted. At least one tango in the eastern alley."

Remaining behind cover, Glenn raised his rifle over the ledge and spotted Bowlavara with his BALCOTH uplink. He fired two two-round bursts at the soldier's exposed face, hoping the additional shots would make up for his reduced accuracy.

Blanc, upon hearing Glenn's transmission, moved south and climbed onto a recycling bin. Then he clambered onto a two-story building bordering on the eastern alley. He commando crawled to the southern edge and pointed his rifle over the side, spotting both tangos.

"I'm looking down on the alley from the north. Looks like we've got two tangos, one on each side of the street."

Map: http://img.skitch.com/20081222-bs2q44cskqxe3ifn3wibk1kc77.png

OOC: These soldiers are not issued anything more than a basic flak vest. Helmet is the same as worn by the Canadian Forces.

Bowlavara had been watching the contact the entire time, from the time he'd fired until the time he spotted the man rise back up. He fired several more semi automatic shots, much less accurate as his shots before as he moved sideways, using the angle of the buildings to hide himself as four rifle shots, two bursts, impacted the area he had just been standing. He felt adrenaline surging through his body.

Andrews turned, watching as Bowlavara headed closer towards him, firing several shots while several shots impacted where he had just been. He focused on the sound coming from his headset, it was Jackson's voice.

''I can't see it all, there is a taller building blocking the view of the center area.''

Andrews was no alarmed, he felt they could be surrounded, after all, there was at least on contact on the building ahead, what was to say there wasn't one or more on the building's in the block to their north. He needed to know where the enemy was, but the only way to do that was from the west, and he wasn't about to stand around and wait for the other two members of his team to check things out. He pulled a smoke grenade from his tactical vest as he spoke through his headset,

''Bowlavara, fall back!''

He tossed the grenade a few feet forward.

''Jackson, move to a position that gives you a clear line of sight of the eastern section of the block, Lousie, move to Jackson's position and keep him covered while he covers the roof.''

Both men began moving quickly while nearly running backwards.

Jackson moved to the other side of the car, getting a clear line of sight on the eastern rooftops. Lousie crossed the street and went prone on the same side of the car as Jackson, crawling to put herself slightly exposed so she could watch the western road.

Map - http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/963/opcrampedlh3.png