…"We all exited the helicopter, and it took off as quickly as it had landed. I didn’t have time to wait for a transport, so we continued west along the dirt jungle path we had discovered…surely it would lead to the combat area.
We walked down this road for about two hours, until we stumbled upon a small artillery emplacement. A group of wachovian soldiers were kneeling in a low ditch, loading and aiming a large howitzer over a nearby wooded hill. We approached them, and they were obviously startled. The commander of the group turned to me and greeted us, and I proceeded to ask hima few questions.
‘What is happening here? Where is the front line?’
‘There is no front line, sir. The Packs are beginning to advance through the jungle here, but they’ve got mercenaries and guerrillas penetrating our positions even now. We here’re trying to hold back an attack by the Packilvanian…134th, was it?, on an infantry battalion. We’re getting thrown back at a few points on the line, but so far everyone’s managed to hold. Problem is, the Packs have got air superiority, so we gotta stay under these tarpaulins or we’re dead meat.’
‘Interesting. Captain, how do you feel about Krechzianko’s involvement in this conflict, for the viewers at home?’
‘Well, I gotta say, they’re being too damn indecisive. It’s like, get in the war or leave! Uh, no disrespect, sir. (you’ll notice that he’s afraid to offend me; I was given the temporary rank of Colonel for clearance purposes.) I mean, they send in a few troops one day, they’re threatening to bomb us the next!’
‘I believe my military is planning to bomb Wachovia as a defensive measure against Packilvania…’
‘Well, defensive or not, they could make up their minds.’
So I departed this little position, and decided to try and get a little closer to the action. We waited along the roadside for a little while, when we saw a Humm-V coming down the road. I signalled that we needed a ride, and we got one. It was a vehicle from the 7th Wachovian Light Cavalry. A few soldiers were inside, tired and dirty. They said they’d just returned from a firefight with Packilvanian troops, and were on their way to attack a small village.
The battle was planned to be an easy one. A few hummers full of men would move into the village’s outskirts, then the soldiers would disembark and attack on foot. Altogether, we had 5 vehicles and about 30 men. So we drove down the jungle path until we came across a wide clearing in the woods. Within the clearing was a very small town made of wooden huts. The vehicles stopped about 100 yards from the town, and the soldiers got out. The cameramen and I disembarked as well. We set up the cameras and waited to see what would happen.
the platoon of wachovian troops got low and began to run to the town. A few covered the others’ advance with their assault rifles. One man was armed with a large machinegun. The advance group checked into a hut, and signalled that it was clear. As they mmade their way to the next, disaster struck. As sudden burst of machinegun fire could be heard coming from the village, and 2 men flew to the ground. Thr rest jumped and ducked down. Then the battle started. The man with the heavy weapon opened up on the town, only to be silenced in a hail of bullets. I threw myself behind one of our hummers, and the cameramen followed. sporadic rifle fire could be heard everywhere, and it was obvious things were getting bad. I heard a man nearby shout into his radio,
‘We need a goddamn airstrike in here NOW! We’re getting murdered, for Chrissakes! Broken Arrow! Broken Arrow! Coordinates 12-R56 by 7-913, Romeo Foxtrot Zulu! Get this town levelled!’
I knew that we had to leave quickly. We hopped into a vehicle, followed by several exhausted and scared men. The pattering of bullets against the Hummer’s armor was audible, and we were all terrified. The vehicle quickly turned around and sped off, but the airstrike began before we left the clearing. I peeked out the top , only to see a terrible sight: Napalm was devestating the entire town. Helicopters and jet planes circled above, blasting apart every hut.
[OOC: Play The Doors’ “The End” in the background for effect.]
The concussion and deoxygenation of the blast knocked the wing out of my lungs, and for a moment I thought I had died…
A napalm strike in Western Wachovia
http://rotored.arc.nasa.gov/images/blackhawk.jpg
A blackhawk helicopter, backbone of Krechianko’s Aircav units
http://asiatours.net/press/en/images-laos/Rice-Fields-in-Central-Laos.jpg
A rice paddy in Western Wachovia.
