Part 3: Domestic Troubles
Update 2: Domestic Troubles
"Commander Vault, personal recording, situation summery.
The Tech boys have been playing with the control room and systems there. Something that had been bugging everyone was a lack of an official date. Honestly none of us really know what the date is. Even seasons are hard to make out since Twilight, I was partly right when I guessed the earth would cool down. So the techies have just decided to start a new calender with the first day the CoE was fully operational as January first, making today January 5th. I don't know about this, it doesn't seem right that suddenly we are making these sorts of decisions when previously we've always known what time, day, and year it is and always have. It is strange looking back and seeing how much of life we took for granted pre-nightfall. In any case, it will make recording events a lot easier then referring to things by saying 'three days after that last mission'.
The squad has been resting after their mission. They each have been given their own quarters and the squad as a whole has a rec. room. I imagine they are, and will continue to be, under a lot of stress so I'm trying to rest them as much as possible while back at the base. I've also sent a few guys to look through the refugees for a psychologist able to help out the squad if needed.
The attempt to repair our radar system has given us good news and bad news. We have a pair of dishes up and running, the bad news is that we're still not picking UFOs up with them. From what I'm told the biggest problem is that we have no idea what the UFOs are made of, and therefore no idea what we should be looking for, or configure the system to scan for or detect. I have put the matter before the CoE, but our lack of a production facility is still a major setback.
In addition to those developments, I have found another capable man to add to my service. While not a soldier type, Willum "Haggis" Canmore has a good knowlage of weapons and firearms, including maintenance and upkeep of them. He acts a bit funny and is hard to understand sometime but he does well in the armory and has been put in charge of the stores there.
I'm waiting for the squad to wake up from a well earned rest before I send them off on the next mission.
This might be a better chance then before to secure more territory as the mission site is right outside our current area of control, making it easier to extend our influence and borders if all goes well."
The squad doesn't get any time to set up. As soon as they set foot off the helicopter...
Booya: Okay folks, same drill as last time lets- hey a human, lets see what he knows.
Golden: Hey check out what he's carrying, got armor and a nice looking rifle. Wonder where he got that stuff?
Vallhallan: He's firing at me! Shoot first ask questions later! Attaaaack!
Vallhallan: #$%&*! I'm hit! It's not that bad... ah fuck it hurts.
The raider started retreating facing a four on one firefight. The squad pursued...
Hero: He's got a friend! Watch for fire coming from the alley!
The first enemy hid behind a nearby car...
Golden: Hostile down! Hero, grab his gun! See what is it.
Hero: Right!
Hero: Shit this thing is big and heavy.
Booya: Golden, with me. Dash across the alley and take cover. Ready, go!
Vallhallan: Here he comes you guys, get ready!
Hero: Got the gun, its a sniper rifle!
Golden: Target has a friend, two of them now.
Booya: Grenade out!
Vallhallan: Nice... oh crap, guys, more of them running this way!
Golden: How many of them are there? They are definitely have better guns then we do!
Booya: I'm hit! Not badly though, what about you guys?
Golden: I'm okay.
Booya: Hero? ...Hero?
Booya: Shit, she's wounded bad.
Hero: I'll... live...
Vallhallan: Bastards! I'll kill all of you night-vision goggle wearing mother fuckers!
Vallhallan rushes out from behind his cover and tackles one of the remaining hostiles and proceeds to strangle the life out of him while Booya and Golden deal with another enemy
Booya: Good gravy I love Grenades! Hey I made a rhyme, or a metaphor, or was it a syllogism... Hey Golden, what am I looking for here?
Golden: An alliteration?
Booya: Yeah, that's it. Where's Vall?
Booya and Golden find Vallhallan down the street a little ways, one more raider sprinting off firing shots behind him at random
Booya: Fuck, is he alright?
Golden: He's not breathing!
Booya: Booya to transport-1, get the copter down here now! We've secured the area but two of us are wounded, one critically!
"Commander Vault, January 6, 17 hundred hour Zulu time.
The Squad made it back to base, and mission accomplished. I wish that was the end of it right there, but the mission was full of bad news. Half the team was seriously injured, and Vallhallan is still in the medical lab in surgery. Hero was also seriously wounded, but is already out of medical, her armor stopped the worst of it and is up and walking around. Hero will be combat ready again reasonably soon, while the doctors told me Vallhallan is still 50-50 for survival.
Honestly I can say we were not prepared with what was out there today. We faced an intelligent, coordinated, and better equipped squad of raiders. It was at least a six man team, five are accounted dead and the last seen fleeing. They were armed with assault and sniper rifles, and wore thick body armor. Their presence presents us with the possibility we are not the only faction trying to take control. Or a simpler explanation is that we are correct in searching this area for a base, but have been beaten there by these raiders, and they have looted them selves better gear then we've seen thus far.
There are two pieces of good news at least. The mission was successful, and a follow up patrol by Tiger squad met with no hostile activity. We've established a foothold to expanding, and I'm sure we'll find a base nearby. Our map has been updated to reflect the effects of our efforts. The weakened outline show places we do not control, but are projecting our influence into.
I have no idea why the tech guys projected the border off into the pacific ocean...
The other good news is that like before, we have secured new weapons from our fallen foes. Haggis should be happy with this load, while we only got a few of them, they are high quality guns. The only limiting factor is again, ammo. Given how the last mission went, I am reversing my decision to hold back on weapon usage until we have a sufficient ammo reserve. I would rather my soldiers use the guns they need to stay alive, and this is a lesson I may have learned at the cost of Vallhallans life.
The newly secured weapons are as follows:
1 FN Five-Seven Tactical pistol
2 Desert Eagle Mark XIX .357 pistols (previously recovered)
1 Steyr Aug assault rifle
1 M82A1A Berrett .50 cal sniper rifle
1 Colt M4 assault rifle with under slung shotgun attachment
1 M249-Saw machine gun
Phoenix Company has been given time off until Hero is ready for action. Unfortunately I can not put the whole squad on hold until Vallhallan recovers, if he pulls through and I am hoping the Counsel finds me more able men and women. Right now we have set up a small barracks to train the willing in basic fire arms, combat situations, and survival techniques. I expect to get more men soon, but after the last mission I want to make sure anyone put into Phoenix Company is 100% ready for what they are getting into.
That is all to report on for now, end recording."
--Soldiers Logs--
Posted by lilljonas 'Hero'
Personal Log of Megan "Hero" Okembo. Part 2.
I guess I would be bitchin' and shoutin' about the slug they pulled out of my shoulder if it wasn't for Vallhallan still being on life support. Shit, this turned out so much worse than any of us thought it would. Since we can't get a signal on those UFO's, consolidating our area by chasing away scavangers souned like a simple task and all. And then we walked into that hail of bullets. I'm frankly amazed any of us came out of there alive, no less with them in body bags or fleeing. At least we got some equipment back, that strange fellow at the armoury seemed happy allright. Even treated me to some of that liquid that would have been used to clean out pipes before the Fall, but goes as 'liquor' nowadays. And what's that dialect? French? Spanish? I dunno, I just can't tell those foreigners apart. Sure speaks strange though, can't make out half of it.
We need a fuckin' medic out there. This missions makes that pretty clear. And some heavier firepower. If we can't handle these assholes, god knows what will happen when we meet worse resistance. Until then, I'm trying to get back in fighting condition, and keep a close eye on Vallhallan. I hope the doctor is doing as much as he can.
End of Entry
Posted by Canuck-Errant
Journal of Theodore Dherzhin [Undated]
Dear Journal:
Feel kind of silly writing this stuff to myself. Haven't seen a human in days, let alone anything living. I suppose I might have been happier to find some canned food over a journal, but... it just doesn't seem right to live without trying to keep a record of what's going on. For all I know, I'm the only living thing here; the occasional explosion in the distance is probably just another decaying gas station or slow gas leak - though I don't know how all that LNG can last in ruptured pipes. Long enough for me to set up a heater/stove, anyway. This block of buildings is mine - I've barricaded every entrance, every window, in case something is out there; I leave through the roof, using my trusty rope ladder - some of the rungs are a little loose, though.
Another nice thing was finding the gun store. A few weeks ago, I think - it was ransacked, bullet holes everywhere, desks and lockers torn apart. I was lucky to find this rifle - an HK G36 - in a locker hidden under some wrecked crates. Not much ammo, but I have my Glock as a backup. Hopefully I won't need it.
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Dear Journal:
Seems I wasn't as alone as I thought. I saw some explosions down the road and risked a peek with binoculars.
Soldiers. I hadn't thought there was anything left of the Army after the... I don't know what to call it, the bio-storm, I guess - two groups of them. I'm not sure what to think, or whether I want to risk leaving here, but it seems I'll have to pretty soon.
I'll make another pass at the gun store. Maybe someone hid some body armour. God, I hope so - I don't want to risk getting shot at without protection