New Toys and Invasion Plans
I wake up slightly dazed in a hospital. I’m tired but not hurting so I must be on some pain medication. Before I can size up the room further a doctor walks in.
“Good you're awake, How are you feeling” The doctor must be into his sixties and probably a master at what he does. “I feel just fine everything considered”
The doctor nods “good, good. Now I am your doctor Heinrich I’d like to ask a few questions to make sure you're of sound mind before we continue”
I groan and cut him off “Listen I made my mind up a while ago. Just replace the arm and get me out of here”
Heinrich smiles “We’ll count that as confirmation that you're clear-headed… and the arm isn’t the only issue There is also a new treatment that you can choose for your radiation sickness”
I look at my arm, not seeing anything different “What do you mean a new treatment”
He pulls up a chair and sits “I’m glad you asked. We will be modifying your DNA to be more resilient and to be able to repair itself more effectively”
I furrow my brows a few thoughts come to mind “That will have other benefits won’t it”
Heinrich nods “Indeed though most are mundane like you’ll age slower and never get cancer”
After some thought, I come to my decision that unbeknownst to me at the time would have dramatic effects “fuck it just do it get me my arm and get me out of here”
He nods “Then we’ll begin immediately starting with the arm”
The next day is pure agony as microfibers burrow through flesh to connect to my nerves compounded by my radiation sickness. The injections to modify my DNA went pretty smoothly surprisingly so.
The next day I woke up still in the hospital. They said I should be fine but want to keep an eye on me for a few days just in case.
The entire time I was bored out of my mind, Against direction I worked out to pass the time though it was light on the arms just in case. That changed on the fifth day.
I was doing burpees with the news on. The segment I was listening to made me stop. “The entire western world has declared war on the Elysium Republic, an action that they say is in retaliation to the Republic’s unprovoked attack and subsequent destruction on one of their allies”
I stand up and watch stunned as they announce that we are shifting into the war economy “fuck” no more going easy on the arms, I get into a vertical handstand and proceed to do push-ups.
This more extreme workout routine continues until the seventh day and a doctor comes in around noon as usual though this time Tanya is with him “Well general despite his insistence to push his arm he’s perfectly fine I believe we can release him now” she nods “good if you could forward their records for their stay to me I’ll look at them when I get time”
The doctor nods and leaves. “Are you ready to get out of here major” I roll my new arm and stand up “Sure am general and did you say major” She throws a duffel bag onto the hospital bed “Sure did I got a promotion too, the 104th got even bigger. We’ll have a month if we are lucky to refamiliarize with our equipment. New armor weapons everything plus the new troops were going to be busy”
I quickly change into the casual uniform in the bag and pin on the new major pin. “Let’s roll, have you decided on a battalion name yet” She shakes her head in the negative “Not yet though I’m changing yours to archangel… oh and one more thing I have a few people for you to meet” she opens the door and a tall hairy humanoid walks in wearing a nice suit and carrying a saxophone “I must still be on some pain medicine because I’m sure Bigfoot just walked in”
Tanya laughs for a moment then collects herself “your not far off griffin. Allow me to introduce Dave. Kell rescued him from America and after some thinking, he decided to become a musician and apparently after hearing about you and the rest of Angel wants to interview you all to write some songs. It’s up to you” I extend my hand to shake and Dave accepts with a perfect balance of firm yet gentle “Nice to meet you Dave I don’t think I have time right now but once I get some free time feel free to stop by”
He smiles and I’m a little taken aback by his voice “Thank you Major I look forward to the opportunity. Now I shouldn’t keep you from your business” he steps out and leaves.
“He seems nice though Please tell me the other people you brought aren’t other cryptids” She shakes her head and gestures outside to leave “That wouldn’t be a bad thing as these two are my new designated assistants, Meet Ornstein and Smo” the first man is built fairly large while the other reminds me of rabbit. They salute me and I return the gesture “Now then let’s get our new equipment”
I decide to talk while we walk “So how much of our equipment is new” Tanya looks at me with a huge smile “All of it” That’s a lot of armor and rifles… but “what do you mean all of it we’re not exactly a standard battalion” her huge smile remains and she nods “exactly eventually everyone will get the new equipment but we’re first up so we can field test it while production catches up, so yes everything is new”
The rest of the walk and tram ride consists of unit organization. Willy is now an armored platoon leader. Rosa is still a squad leader while Snorble moved into a platoon leader. I’m in charge of a company now with my original squads under me still plus new blood to fill the slots.
Somehow living up to her reputation the T.Rex has managed to keep with our standard of volunteer only with experience so we are as top-heavy as ever.
We finally arrived at the new dedicated 104th storage hangers and attached ranges and barracks. There are a few dozen of these on the mainland in the various underground cities. The idea of them is to provide storage for all the needed equipment and ranges to practice or test equipment with barracks for the unit to stay in case they are needed.
“The first set is in range five” Tanya says leading the way while I look at all the new vehicles and taking note that we have air vehicles now. Six fighters and three bombers. I smile at their emblem they all share painted on the nose of each craft. It’s a fairy carrying a bomb flying away from a mushroom cloud.
“Atomic fairies” Tanya states as we move past them. It’s a safe assumption that dropped the bombs.
Inside range five I see a few dozen people in armor though it looks different which I guess should be expected. Set aside are four sets of armor with the names Griffin, T. Rex, Ornstein, and finally Smo. Tanya has teeth painted on her visor and her previous modifications from her last suit.
Next to them is a man holding a tablet. He gives off the air of an engineer. Tanya walks up to him “You must be Steve Sorry I’m late go ahead and explain away while we put it all on”
He nods and we set to work. “One of the most notable differences is the underlying layer of the armor, it is a Tri-layer of carbon crystal lattice and impact gel. This is nearly impossible to cut with a blade as it almost immediately renders all but the hardest of blades dull. It stops 9mm in its entirety nearly no force is felt thanks to the gel”
He glances at the tablet briefly “It can stop the bullet up to a 308 armor-piercing round but the forces traveling through the gel can be catastrophic depending on the area of impact”
We are just about done putting it all on now. “The hard plates are the same as before. Next are the specializations of the suits. Heavy weapons specialists now have fully powered skeletal assist allowing for heavier plates and a shoulder 40mm grenade launcher on top of hand-carried weapons”
That will be a nearly biblical amount of firepower from a single person “Marksmans now also have a quick attachment point for reactors for Gauss rifles and all but the heavy’s have the newest mobility systems and added jump jets to assist with vertical movement”
I stop and look at the man with my helmet half on. That opens up so much. “Next there are many minor changes such as an up-armored visor on all helmets”
He starts to drone on about the small changes though none should really affect how the armor is used. Most are like the visor where it’s more armored on the outside save for a small gap of clear material though the inside you can’t see the armor.
Quality of life changes really. The guns are much the same, and ergonomic changes and issues are fixed. As we all pick a booth to shoot from I notice the recoil on everything feels way lighter. That will help mainly with full auto or quickly changing targets.
Next, we move to an obstacle course and I’m actually one of the last to go through. Most everyone runs it like they would without armor but a few use the mobility assist at a few points.
Finally, it’s my turn and I tune my radio to Tanya before I start “What’s the battalion's record with mobility assistance” Without pause “Seven minutes good luck”
The buzzer goes off signaling the start and I blast off from the start. I had the jump jets rotate to push forward giving me a huge initial boost. The first segment is a hundred-meter sprint so I kept the jump jets on clearing the first segment in five seconds.
This is followed by a five-meter tall wall that you're normally supposed to have a buddy for, this has led to separate records for solo and team runs, I just use my moment and tap the mobility assist thrusters to kick me up as I step up the wall and essentially hurdle it.
I tuck and roll the other side which is a ten-meter gap between the wall and a razer wire crawl. I smile at my stupid idea and push myself into a sprint and at the last second drop down into a low slide pushing the thrusters to the max to push me through.
As I cleanly up and move on I glance at the fuel gages. Twenty percent left. I’ve burned through it all fast. The next obstacle is a platform jump followed by a salmon ladder. I won’t need assistance to clear these fast. I clear the platforms fast and catch the salmon ladder to stop my momentum.
I heave myself up the first rung and begin to think I’ll need assistance because this armor is heavy. I’d find out after but in full kit I’d weigh nearly 600 pounds in the armor. In that moment though I push through saving my fuel and in 30 seconds get to the top of the ladder my arms burning.
The next part is a cargo net crawl down to the floor then a rope climb back up. I groan and push forward. The cargo net as usual is an issue by design but the rope. Oh my god, the rope. Thankfully the finger joints in this new armor can lock on demand because I had to lock them to keep my grip.
Tanya replaced the rope I know it so it’s harder to hold on to. Plus the heavy armor and my arms already being tired. I used the last bit of my fuel to jump the last bit to the ending platform.
“Griffin you finished is” she pauses to extend my suffering “Four minutes and twenty seconds Congratulations on the new record” I simply nod and go down the slide. Yes, there is an actual slide at the end which I specifically asked for.
After all, why shouldn’t there be something fun to look forward to at the end? Next, we visit the vehicles. Basically, every single one has a new chassis design.
The light reconnaissance vehicles are slightly lower and remind me of a Puma. Turns out it is referred to as a puma and its center of gravity is below the vehicle so it’s incredibly stable even at 150 miles per hour.
The main battle tank Chassi is next, It still has four sets of tracks but now they are beside the hull not under it, and can rotate to match the terrain. The cannon is now rear of the center and the main hull is fairly high off the ground yet excluding the turret it’s much lower than the previous model.
The armored personnel carriers have general upgrades and again the chassis is completely new. The vehicle introductions continue the rest of the day. Strangely the air vehicles are the same except for minor changes. Something about the new chassis are not ready yet.
The next week is a mix of training to make sure we’re up to speed on everything and also familiarizing myself with my new troops. Surprisingly I have the only private in the entire bloated battalion.
His name is Private Jed Washington and he’s my radio carrier. This is partly an excuse to keep him close as he’s fresh out of basic.
The day he was assigned to me he came looking for me in my new office the same night. He had some questions one of which was why our gear was so different than what he had to use in basic.
The short answer was we are just the first to get it. Deep down I had the feeling that it was because there was something big planned for us.
“You’re an immigrant aren’t you,” I asked him. “From Idaho in the States… this place is so different” I frown a little “I hear it’s a complete police state now” he was silent for nearly a minute before he replied just above a whisper.
“I barely got out with my wife I watched several others get arrested” I realized that for now this topic should be avoided so changed the direction slightly. “How’s your wife liking it here” he seems to notice what I’m doing but rolls with it. “She loves the architecture and how friendly everyone is. Sadly she won’t be a full citizen like me but the immigration officer said we'll both be comfortable enough with just me”
I nod “Everyone I know that’s retired only one person is working while the other stays home, with you being in the 104th once you're out you’ll have no end to opportunity… It’s no secret the requirements to get in”
He tilted his head “I was wondering about that, Everyone at basic seemed jealous when we all shared our deployments” I laughed “They wouldn’t if we added that you have to be willing to have a nuke dropped on you” I continued to laugh as his face pales.
“That’s a joke right” he asked nervously “Kind of, A week ago my platoon had a nuke dropped on us after we held off an entire army and slagged an entire mountain pass” he seemed to get more pale for a brief moment “you were in the east then. Does that happen to the 104th often”
I laugh a little bit “I’m surprised no one has told you stories when they found out about your posting… we conquered a nation in a day, then for a while, we patrolled the frontier of Africa taking out tribes that practiced in human sacrifice than the whole situation of the United east … and now we are getting geared up for something big the few people above the T.Rex have given her a near biblical amount of gear and independence she’s basically her own fully supplied military at this point”
Jed looks down for a moment “So we’re going to be sent into the thick of it” I catch the undertones “You’ll be fine Stay close to me and all you’ll have to worry about is where to put all the medals. Now it’s getting late I’m sure your wife would like for you to join her for dinner”
We got lucky with our time. I got the entire month we were hoping for to get everyone reacquainted. The new armor is honestly the most valuable piece of equipment a soldier has now. The power disparity between what our soldiers have versus what our new enemies are reported to have is staggering but just like how that poor attempt of a walker was a surprise I’m sure there’s something else.
I’m looking over a map of the globe and all the now red countries that are at war with us. I need a plan for those under my command and those who command me but I’m spoiled for choice on where to make the first strike. I have a few plans but I feel they are all half-baked.
A knock on the door draws my attention. “It’s bliss may I come in Major General” Bliss what is she doing here “Come in it’s unlocked” She smoothly enters in full dress uniform and I notice how her eyes also are drawn to the map. “To what do I owe the pleasure” I say.
She smiles warmly “I’m here to offer assistance and it seems you could indeed require it” Assistance from the pillar of war? Of course, I’ll take it. “I’m spoiled for choice I have nearly a dozen invasion plans but none feel right” She nods and looks at the map again.
“No plan survives first contact with the enemy so rather than focusing on a perfect plan instead enact a good plan swiftly and with utmost violence” I nearly facepalm. The invasion of beachhead was a perfect example Basically no plan just executed brutally and it worked perfectly. “And what better an opening strike than one that eliminates an enemy” she continues.
“Of course, that would be ideal but what nation would you suggest” I reply, Without hesitation she points at the Russian Federation. Gears start turning in my head. “Ugh it was so obvious they’ve been fighting border skirmishes for years and their population is fairly centralized” I make rapid changes to the map placing different units and their routes of invasion and objectives.
Once I’m finished Bliss looks at it and nods approval “Ambitious but… I believe it will work” With that she turns and leaves. After that I have Ornstein and Smo call a battalion meeting in the vehicle bay.
A short while later everyone is gathered and I’m in full armor with my helmet on both for the visual effect and also so I can slave the speakers to my helmet.
“Gentlemen the time has come once again to topple a nation. In two days we will deploy from the capital and make our way to the Russian Federation. We will perform a stratosphere drop on Moscow and take the capital while the 108th steel wall and the 82nd bad company invade from the south from the United East.”
Now for the fun part of the speech, I think while I take a breath “This time we are not fighting for our fatherland or for territory. No, we are fighting for the very soul of humanity we are fighting for the freedom of our species our sons and daughters, our friends. We are fighting to preserve everything we know and love against an endless wave of darkness. We are the last hope for humanity so let’s show those basterds just who they are fucking with. hic manebimus optimum”
The chamber is filled with defining cheers and battle cries.
New Toys and Invasion Plans
I wake up slightly dazed in a hospital. I’m tired but not hurting so I must be on some pain medication. Before I can size up the room further a doctor walks in.
“Good you're awake, How are you feeling” The doctor must be into his sixties and probably a master at what he does. “I feel just fine everything considered”
The doctor nods “good, good. Now I am your doctor Heinrich I’d like to ask a few questions to make sure you're of sound mind before we continue”
I groan and cut him off “Listen I made my mind up a while ago. Just replace the arm and get me out of here”
Heinrich smiles “We’ll count that as confirmation that you're clear-headed… and the arm isn’t the only issue There is also a new treatment that you can choose for your radiation sickness”
I look at my arm, not seeing anything different “What do you mean a new treatment”
He pulls up a chair and sits “I’m glad you asked. We will be modifying your DNA to be more resilient and to be able to repair itself more effectively”
I furrow my brows a few thoughts come to mind “That will have other benefits won’t it”
Heinrich nods “Indeed though most are mundane like you’ll age slower and never get cancer”
After some thought, I come to my decision that unbeknownst to me at the time would have dramatic effects “fuck it just do it get me my arm and get me out of here”
He nods “Then we’ll begin immediately starting with the arm”
The next day is pure agony as microfibers burrow through flesh to connect to my nerves compounded by my radiation sickness. The injections to modify my DNA went pretty smoothly surprisingly so.
The next day I woke up still in the hospital. They said I should be fine but want to keep an eye on me for a few days just in case.
The entire time I was bored out of my mind, Against direction I worked out to pass the time though it was light on the arms just in case. That changed on the fifth day.
I was doing burpees with the news on. The segment I was listening to made me stop. “The entire western world has declared war on the Elysium Republic, an action that they say is in retaliation to the Republic’s unprovoked attack and subsequent destruction on one of their allies”
I stand up and watch stunned as they announce that we are shifting into the war economy “fuck” no more going easy on the arms, I get into a vertical handstand and proceed to do push-ups.
This more extreme workout routine continues until the seventh day and a doctor comes in around noon as usual though this time Tanya is with him “Well general despite his insistence to push his arm he’s perfectly fine I believe we can release him now” she nods “good if you could forward their records for their stay to me I’ll look at them when I get time”
The doctor nods and leaves. “Are you ready to get out of here major” I roll my new arm and stand up “Sure am general and did you say major” She throws a duffel bag onto the hospital bed “Sure did I got a promotion too, the 104th got even bigger. We’ll have a month if we are lucky to refamiliarize with our equipment. New armor weapons everything plus the new troops were going to be busy”
I quickly change into the casual uniform in the bag and pin on the new major pin. “Let’s roll, have you decided on a battalion name yet” She shakes her head in the negative “Not yet though I’m changing yours to archangel… oh and one more thing I have a few people for you to meet” she opens the door and a tall hairy humanoid walks in wearing a nice suit and carrying a saxophone “I must still be on some pain medicine because I’m sure Bigfoot just walked in”
Tanya laughs for a moment then collects herself “your not far off griffin. Allow me to introduce Dave. Kell rescued him from America and after some thinking, he decided to become a musician and apparently after hearing about you and the rest of Angel wants to interview you all to write some songs. It’s up to you” I extend my hand to shake and Dave accepts with a perfect balance of firm yet gentle “Nice to meet you Dave I don’t think I have time right now but once I get some free time feel free to stop by”
He smiles and I’m a little taken aback by his voice “Thank you Major I look forward to the opportunity. Now I shouldn’t keep you from your business” he steps out and leaves.
“He seems nice though Please tell me the other people you brought aren’t other cryptids” She shakes her head and gestures outside to leave “That wouldn’t be a bad thing as these two are my new designated assistants, Meet Ornstein and Smo” the first man is built fairly large while the other reminds me of rabbit. They salute me and I return the gesture “Now then let’s get our new equipment”
I decide to talk while we walk “So how much of our equipment is new” Tanya looks at me with a huge smile “All of it” That’s a lot of armor and rifles… but “what do you mean all of it we’re not exactly a standard battalion” her huge smile remains and she nods “exactly eventually everyone will get the new equipment but we’re first up so we can field test it while production catches up, so yes everything is new”
The rest of the walk and tram ride consists of unit organization. Willy is now an armored platoon leader. Rosa is still a squad leader while Snorble moved into a platoon leader. I’m in charge of a company now with my original squads under me still plus new blood to fill the slots.
Somehow living up to her reputation the T.Rex has managed to keep with our standard of volunteer only with experience so we are as top-heavy as ever.
We finally arrived at the new dedicated 104th storage hangers and attached ranges and barracks. There are a few dozen of these on the mainland in the various underground cities. The idea of them is to provide storage for all the needed equipment and ranges to practice or test equipment with barracks for the unit to stay in case they are needed.
“The first set is in range five” Tanya says leading the way while I look at all the new vehicles and taking note that we have air vehicles now. Six fighters and three bombers. I smile at their emblem they all share painted on the nose of each craft. It’s a fairy carrying a bomb flying away from a mushroom cloud.
“Atomic fairies” Tanya states as we move past them. It’s a safe assumption that dropped the bombs.
Inside range five I see a few dozen people in armor though it looks different which I guess should be expected. Set aside are four sets of armor with the names Griffin, T. Rex, Ornstein, and finally Smo. Tanya has teeth painted on her visor and her previous modifications from her last suit.
Next to them is a man holding a tablet. He gives off the air of an engineer. Tanya walks up to him “You must be Steve Sorry I’m late go ahead and explain away while we put it all on”
He nods and we set to work. “One of the most notable differences is the underlying layer of the armor, it is a Tri-layer of carbon crystal lattice and impact gel. This is nearly impossible to cut with a blade as it almost immediately renders all but the hardest of blades dull. It stops 9mm in its entirety nearly no force is felt thanks to the gel”
He glances at the tablet briefly “It can stop the bullet up to a 308 armor-piercing round but the forces traveling through the gel can be catastrophic depending on the area of impact”
We are just about done putting it all on now. “The hard plates are the same as before. Next are the specializations of the suits. Heavy weapons specialists now have fully powered skeletal assist allowing for heavier plates and a shoulder 40mm grenade launcher on top of hand-carried weapons”
That will be a nearly biblical amount of firepower from a single person “Marksmans now also have a quick attachment point for reactors for Gauss rifles and all but the heavy’s have the newest mobility systems and added jump jets to assist with vertical movement”
I stop and look at the man with my helmet half on. That opens up so much. “Next there are many minor changes such as an up-armored visor on all helmets”
He starts to drone on about the small changes though none should really affect how the armor is used. Most are like the visor where it’s more armored on the outside save for a small gap of clear material though the inside you can’t see the armor.
Quality of life changes really. The guns are much the same, and ergonomic changes and issues are fixed. As we all pick a booth to shoot from I notice the recoil on everything feels way lighter. That will help mainly with full auto or quickly changing targets.
Next, we move to an obstacle course and I’m actually one of the last to go through. Most everyone runs it like they would without armor but a few use the mobility assist at a few points.
Finally, it’s my turn and I tune my radio to Tanya before I start “What’s the battalion's record with mobility assistance” Without pause “Seven minutes good luck”
The buzzer goes off signaling the start and I blast off from the start. I had the jump jets rotate to push forward giving me a huge initial boost. The first segment is a hundred-meter sprint so I kept the jump jets on clearing the first segment in five seconds.
This is followed by a five-meter tall wall that you're normally supposed to have a buddy for, this has led to separate records for solo and team runs, I just use my moment and tap the mobility assist thrusters to kick me up as I step up the wall and essentially hurdle it.
I tuck and roll the other side which is a ten-meter gap between the wall and a razer wire crawl. I smile at my stupid idea and push myself into a sprint and at the last second drop down into a low slide pushing the thrusters to the max to push me through.
As I cleanly up and move on I glance at the fuel gages. Twenty percent left. I’ve burned through it all fast. The next obstacle is a platform jump followed by a salmon ladder. I won’t need assistance to clear these fast. I clear the platforms fast and catch the salmon ladder to stop my momentum.
I heave myself up the first rung and begin to think I’ll need assistance because this armor is heavy. I’d find out after but in full kit I’d weigh nearly 600 pounds in the armor. In that moment though I push through saving my fuel and in 30 seconds get to the top of the ladder my arms burning.
The next part is a cargo net crawl down to the floor then a rope climb back up. I groan and push forward. The cargo net as usual is an issue by design but the rope. Oh my god, the rope. Thankfully the finger joints in this new armor can lock on demand because I had to lock them to keep my grip.
Tanya replaced the rope I know it so it’s harder to hold on to. Plus the heavy armor and my arms already being tired. I used the last bit of my fuel to jump the last bit to the ending platform.
“Griffin you finished is” she pauses to extend my suffering “Four minutes and twenty seconds Congratulations on the new record” I simply nod and go down the slide. Yes, there is an actual slide at the end which I specifically asked for.
After all, why shouldn’t there be something fun to look forward to at the end? Next, we visit the vehicles. Basically, every single one has a new chassis design.
The light reconnaissance vehicles are slightly lower and remind me of a Puma. Turns out it is referred to as a puma and its center of gravity is below the vehicle so it’s incredibly stable even at 150 miles per hour.
The main battle tank Chassi is next, It still has four sets of tracks but now they are beside the hull not under it, and can rotate to match the terrain. The cannon is now rear of the center and the main hull is fairly high off the ground yet excluding the turret it’s much lower than the previous model.
The armored personnel carriers have general upgrades and again the chassis is completely new. The vehicle introductions continue the rest of the day. Strangely the air vehicles are the same except for minor changes. Something about the new chassis are not ready yet.
The next week is a mix of training to make sure we’re up to speed on everything and also familiarizing myself with my new troops. Surprisingly I have the only private in the entire bloated battalion.
His name is Private Jed Washington and he’s my radio carrier. This is partly an excuse to keep him close as he’s fresh out of basic.
The day he was assigned to me he came looking for me in my new office the same night. He had some questions one of which was why our gear was so different than what he had to use in basic.
The short answer was we are just the first to get it. Deep down I had the feeling that it was because there was something big planned for us.
“You’re an immigrant aren’t you,” I asked him. “From Idaho in the States… this place is so different” I frown a little “I hear it’s a complete police state now” he was silent for nearly a minute before he replied just above a whisper.
“I barely got out with my wife I watched several others get arrested” I realized that for now this topic should be avoided so changed the direction slightly. “How’s your wife liking it here” he seems to notice what I’m doing but rolls with it. “She loves the architecture and how friendly everyone is. Sadly she won’t be a full citizen like me but the immigration officer said we'll both be comfortable enough with just me”
I nod “Everyone I know that’s retired only one person is working while the other stays home, with you being in the 104th once you're out you’ll have no end to opportunity… It’s no secret the requirements to get in”
He tilted his head “I was wondering about that, Everyone at basic seemed jealous when we all shared our deployments” I laughed “They wouldn’t if we added that you have to be willing to have a nuke dropped on you” I continued to laugh as his face pales.
“That’s a joke right” he asked nervously “Kind of, A week ago my platoon had a nuke dropped on us after we held off an entire army and slagged an entire mountain pass” he seemed to get more pale for a brief moment “you were in the east then. Does that happen to the 104th often”
I laugh a little bit “I’m surprised no one has told you stories when they found out about your posting… we conquered a nation in a day, then for a while, we patrolled the frontier of Africa taking out tribes that practiced in human sacrifice than the whole situation of the United east … and now we are getting geared up for something big the few people above the T.Rex have given her a near biblical amount of gear and independence she’s basically her own fully supplied military at this point”
Jed looks down for a moment “So we’re going to be sent into the thick of it” I catch the undertones “You’ll be fine Stay close to me and all you’ll have to worry about is where to put all the medals. Now it’s getting late I’m sure your wife would like for you to join her for dinner”
We got lucky with our time. I got the entire month we were hoping for to get everyone reacquainted. The new armor is honestly the most valuable piece of equipment a soldier has now. The power disparity between what our soldiers have versus what our new enemies are reported to have is staggering but just like how that poor attempt of a walker was a surprise I’m sure there’s something else.
I’m looking over a map of the globe and all the now red countries that are at war with us. I need a plan for those under my command and those who command me but I’m spoiled for choice on where to make the first strike. I have a few plans but I feel they are all half-baked.
A knock on the door draws my attention. “It’s bliss may I come in Major General” Bliss what is she doing here “Come in it’s unlocked” She smoothly enters in full dress uniform and I notice how her eyes also are drawn to the map. “To what do I owe the pleasure” I say.
She smiles warmly “I’m here to offer assistance and it seems you could indeed require it” Assistance from the pillar of war? Of course, I’ll take it. “I’m spoiled for choice I have nearly a dozen invasion plans but none feel right” She nods and looks at the map again.
“No plan survives first contact with the enemy so rather than focusing on a perfect plan instead enact a good plan swiftly and with utmost violence” I nearly facepalm. The invasion of beachhead was a perfect example Basically no plan just executed brutally and it worked perfectly. “And what better an opening strike than one that eliminates an enemy” she continues.
“Of course, that would be ideal but what nation would you suggest” I reply, Without hesitation she points at the Russian Federation. Gears start turning in my head. “Ugh it was so obvious they’ve been fighting border skirmishes for years and their population is fairly centralized” I make rapid changes to the map placing different units and their routes of invasion and objectives.
Once I’m finished Bliss looks at it and nods approval “Ambitious but… I believe it will work” With that she turns and leaves. After that I have Ornstein and Smo call a battalion meeting in the vehicle bay.
A short while later everyone is gathered and I’m in full armor with my helmet on both for the visual effect and also so I can slave the speakers to my helmet.
“Gentlemen the time has come once again to topple a nation. In two days we will deploy from the capital and make our way to the Russian Federation. We will perform a stratosphere drop on Moscow and take the capital while the 108th steel wall and the 82nd bad company invade from the south from the United East.”
Now for the fun part of the speech, I think while I take a breath “This time we are not fighting for our fatherland or for territory. No, we are fighting for the very soul of humanity we are fighting for the freedom of our species our sons and daughters, our friends. We are fighting to preserve everything we know and love against an endless wave of darkness. We are the last hope for humanity so let’s show those basterds just who they are fucking with. hic manebimus optimum”
The chamber is filled with defining cheers and battle cries.
