David wrote:Western checkpoint
західні контрольно-пропускний пункт
Going past the rudimentary barriers of the checkpoint, the drone soon sees that there's more wreckage along the road, much like at the Northern area of the city. The officer stays silent as they pass along the outside streets of the suburb, more competant looking soldiers walking down the sidewalks either for patrols or clean up duty, most of which give the jeep and the drone a glance before resuming their duties. More BMP's and worryingly, T-72 tanks are rolling down the streets, accompanied by more specialised troops and transport trucks.
Eventually, the jeep circles back past what was once a school, but the drone can clearly see that the playground has an unusual mixture of adults and childen in it, specifically, sat at benches and working on what looks like a munitions loading bench each. Several armed guards are seen pacing up and down between he benches, ensuring that the "workers" keep working. "Impressive, da?" It's the first time the officer has spoke to the droid since the small tour began, now bypassing the school turned prison as he continues in a proud tone, "We have liberated the lazy паразит into earning their right to stay on our soil. They did after all try to claim it for themselves, now they can learn what it is like to have land taken away and of course, how to not be a lazy паразит."
With a far too happy sounding chortle, the jeep soon pulls up again at the Western checkpoint. The same gunshots the Eastern side heard are also heard in the West, but the officer shrugs it off "One of the workers must have been trying to revolt, it sounds like matters have been resolved so do not worry, російська."
Looking up from the passengar seat, the officer gives a proud smirk "There is nothing more for you here to report on, російська. I trust our efforts of reclaiming land are satisfactory?"
The drone simply follows along after the jeep, although it does take a few moments to linger outside of the schoolguard, looking over the "workers" and their guards. It then follows after the officer, until they finally return to the Western checkpoint. "Your efforts were definitely interesting to see, and I suspect my superiors will be most eager to receive this report. Is that the only site the паразит are working at? The number of workers seems somewhat small for an area of this size. Or were most of them killed during the occupation?"
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
Summer Bellisarius is seated in the somewhat cramped confines of one of the CTC's troops transports. She's been outfitted with the standard CTC battle dress uniform and light body armor, made of a nanoengineered polyweave that should offer decent protection against both edged weapons and light ranged fire, as well as a helmet with a visor that incorporates a liquid-crystal head's up display. A respirator hangs around her neck, as none of her companions have fully suited up, although the entire outfit can be made environmentally sealed if necessary. She's seated at the rear of the compartment, nearest the hatchway.
Opposite her is a young woman, perhaps in her late teens or early twenties, called Feets by the other troops in the transport. She's restless and fidgety, and most notably, a catgirl -- and has been busy fussing with her specially-designed helmet, trying to get it to fit her ears comfortably. Beside Feets is a young man named Sparks, who, judging from his additional technical gear, serves as the squad's tech and comm expert. Opposite Sparks, to Summer's left, is the seat of the squad's sergeant, an older woman whose body armor doesn't quite hide her generous figure. Finally, at the front of the compartment, on Summer's side is seated a massive man named Brick, who carries most of the squad's heavy weapons. Opposite him is seated a bulky android referred to as ED by the others. From her debriefing Summer will recognize it as an Enhanced Defense Unit, an adaptive nanoborg assigned to the unit.
"All right, missions gone to amber. Check your gear, and I'll update the information from the debriefing," the sergeant says, rising from her feet to stand as best she can in the middle of the compartment. "We've got updated information regarding the mission profile. The primary target is a school located within the occupied zone, where a number of nom-coms are being held prisoner. When we go green, the airborne squads will be moving to secure the site. We'll be accompanying the ground element to secure the western checkpoint for the evac vehicles. Once the checkpoint is secured, our mission will be two recon one of the two potential evac paths to and from the target."
Summer's head's-up display will light up, first revealing a false-color image of the checkpoint, with its various guards appearing as red figures amongst the blue wireframe form of the checkpoints defenses. "This is the latest update on the checkpoint from our drone. The forward elements and our IFVs will be mostly responsible for surpressing them, but we'll likely end up with a bit of mop-up work as we disembark." The image then shifts, pulling back to reveal an aerial image of the city, the occupied zone delinated with a green line. "This is the latest aerial info. The scattered cloud cover means that aerial coverage from our orbital and high-altitude support is a bit limited, although radar is fine." A red line indicates the two potential paths connecting the checkpoint to the school. "Data analysis suggests these two paths are our best bet to reaching the school quickly to meet up with the aerial insertion teams. We'll be responsible for doing recon along Path A, while Squad Beta recons Path B. We're to ensure the path is clear of any significant opposition or obstructions."
She glances over the soldiers in the compartment. "Because we've got Miss Bellisarius with us today, we'll be using a spear formation modified for the terrain, broken up into two elements, called 'Pet' and 'Cheerleader'. Feets, you'll be point for Pet, with ED as overwatch and Sparks in support.
"What? Why am I 'Pet', nya?" the catgirl protests. Sparks rolls his eyes. "Cheerleader is probably more insulting," he comments, which provokes a chuckle from Brick.
"Quiet. Summer will be point for Cheerleader, while Brick does overwatch and I'll bring up support. The two elements will move down the flanks of the designated path in a bounding overwatch. Be careful, though. You'll recall the basic equipment loadout we saw in the briefing, but our drone has detected armored support as well. ED and Brick are cleared for the use of anti-tank weapons if necessary."
"Armor... T-72s, huh? Looks like we're looking at stuff from the mid-80s," Sparks comments.
"Least it's not T-80s," Brick mutters. "If they've got that kind of equipment, though, they've got SAMs, most likely. I'm not envying the airborne element."
"Yeah, it's gonna be hot. Any idea if they've got air support? Probably not planes, given the lack of airfields in the area, but they might have vertol support. Kamovs, or maybe even Hinds."
"Hinds would be a pain. At least they don't NOE very well..."
"We've got our own anti-air support," the sergeant interjects. "We've also got armor and artillery staged outside of the zone. You all know the protocols for calling in fire support, if necessary." She motions to the grenade launchers on each team member's electrolaser. "Remember, pop red smoke for fire support, green for an evac. The spotters will be watching for it, even if our comms end up degraded within the field. Any questions?"
The other soldiers murmur a bit, but no questions come apparent at the moment. The sergeant glances at Summer as she sits down. "So, feeling ready, kid?" she asks, a slight smile playing across her lips.
