Russian Woodlands

Lurk had been among the first to get off of the chopper, what exactly he did and where exactly he went were known only to himself. He wasn't going to respond to Wolfy at first, he was a professional and thought he would've been treated like he knew how to do his job. He watched Wolfy from the place he sat, one eye through his scope. He thought about how easy it might have been to shoot her if he was an enemy. Well, it was easy for him. Not many others could match his skill, he thought. "I'm here." He said into his radio, "Maintain radio silence unless you really need me. We're here to keep people from getting killed."

Lurked turned his rifle towards the other mercenaries, watching them for a moment or two. There was nothing going through his mind right now except the mission, all of the things that he knew he just had to keep from happening if he wanted them to take notice of his skills and offer him a promotion. He wanted, no, he needed to make a name for himself. That was how you brought in the big bucks. Get your own movie based on your life with Brad Pitt playing you.

Cassie stumbled when she hit the ground.

Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn...

Her head swam, there was nothing but hazy shapes around her. Their voices were muted, distant.

Stop it. Stop it!

Cassie bent down and picked up a handful of snow, rubbing it roughly in her face. That seemed to calm her down a little. Okay. So. She was definitely here, and she was definitely going to be joining these people on the mission. There was no way to change that. So the best thing would be to suck it up and do what she had to, right? She was no soldier, but she could definitely look out for herself.

She made her way over to the one who was supposed to be her squad leader. Whitesword, right? He told her to start walking. Well, fine so far. She knew how to walk...

The silence of the woods would only be broken by the shouting of officers and the odd accidental weapon malfunction. The land, one would note, was practically flat as Klein had told them. The woods were thick, meaning, save for the rare "clearings" of about twenty yards easier visibility, it would be difficult to spot anything.

Fortunately the squad had not moved up in its entirety yet, so the shouting, banging and use of communications devices likely wasn't a concern yet- but it soon would be. The troops would probably be traveling for roughly two hours if they moved cautiously towards the base, when they finally rallied and moved up.

The wind was currently coming from the west, which would further aid in carrying noises should anyone decide to start getting loud again on the advance. Another factor to note would be the cold- it was well below freezing temperatures, obviously, and as such anyone without proper attire would begin feeling adverse effects at the latest an hour into the trek. Hopefully, most of the squad would have worn winter gear when doing an op in Eastern Russia this close to winter. Fortunately, the rare spaces of clear air would allow the sun to provide minimal heat.

((I would like to make something very clear; I will not be tolerating God-Modding. This includes posts implying that you have done something before everyone else, or posts in which you invalidate someone elses' post for your own means. Your actions must be explained, even if nobody is able to see them- there's always the chance that somebody, such as an unseen enemy perhaps, is perceptive enough to see for one, and for another it helps to have a clear idea of where everyone is, especially for me. That said, I also would like to emphasize once again that your characters are not Rambo. Even if it's in their character to pretend to be Rambo, just know that they're just as susceptible to a bullet as anyone else. So when the bullets start flying, try to be realistic in just how much damage you can avoid or take.))

The entirety of the squad was, for the most part, slowly making its way through the woods by this point, one would expect. Through the leadership of the officers and Sergeants, things would finally be underway. Silence permeated around the squad, save for the crunching of snow under foot. If the soldier's weren't moving by this point, they would have to make sure to keep up- particularly with Sergeant Talisman and his fireteam, who seemed to be setting the pace for the rest of the squad.

Lurk scowls at Wolfy, having still been nearby when she started calling him a rogue. "I'm not a deserter, Sergeant," he drawls boredly. He was still using his communicator, despite their proximity and possible entry into the dark zone. Despite his claim, he wasn't making himself visible to the rest of the squad, and sighs inwardly. The incompetence of these people was getting to him. "I'm scouting ahead and going dark," he decides, shutting off his communicator and hefting his sniper rifle before flitting off into the woods. He'd complete the mission on his own if he had to.

(I am doing a time skip here. You folks can make your posts to get moving as you will, but things are moving forward.)
After Lurk makes his final communique and disappears into the woods, the silence becomes the most prominent feature of the woods once again- aside from the snow, and the constant crunch of boots going through it. Some time later, the first team would finally be nearing the base. Talisman and his team would be probably twenty minutes out from the perimeter defenses of the base, if they could see them- but they might notice, not far ahead at all, a small patrol's worth of men, six at least, walking in formation with their eyes peeled. Their first contacts of the mission.

Whitesword felt his legs tighten, his neck straighten and his eyes widen as the rush of computerized control seized his body. In a split second, his eye had sprang to life with a ten fold magnitude. The six man patrol appeared almost as a bad color in the forest. The cybernetic implant, linked to a powerful ruggedized laptop attached to his armor, was boosted tenfold through a small relay system; this logistical wizardy allowed Whitesword to have a unique interaction with computers utilizing his implant.
"Hold up, team -- Spotting six, armed, two o'clock. By the downed trees." Whitesword shifted into a crouch as he raised the AR-23 to his shoulder and sighted down the holographic. Hopefully, the others would be following suit and remaining in thier positions as well.
"All Frigtheners, armed hostiles spotted, stalling operations."


Basya was trudging along with his group, doing his best to keep them in line, when he heard the radio crackle to life with a brief message. Basya stopped and instantly listened to the broadcast, Whitesword's voice quickly depositing the information, the Lieutenant wrapped his hand through the sling of his rifle and ordered his own troop to stop.
"Whitesword's up ahead and occupying 'em ... We're going to prepare to flank, get vertical, everyone." Basya repeated quietly before pointing to a break in the woods to allow them off the path and pointing toward it.
"If we're gonna' move, we're gonna' move now."


Chotsky and his team, the farthest in the back, where busy moving along the rear, their Polish commander obviously content with bringing up the rear even when everyone else was moving forward. He was directed his way over a downed log when the radio sprang to life, the same voice broadcasting to every communication device the mercenaries were equipped with.
"Six armed hostiles! Six!! Whole fucking Chinese army!" Chotsky repeated helplessly as he scanned the trail, seeing Basya's group farther down the way, and then the bend away into a snow-choked ravine where the patrol must have been spotted.
"We ... shall ... do something." Chotsky continued to himself as he stepped over the downed log and swung the rail-caster, yanking the loading mechanism and putting a high-caliber round into place.
"All in favor of locating and terminating enemy, vote now."

Surprisingly, a few moments after Whitesword makes his call to arms, the soldiers ahead disperse into a combat formation, spreading out and finding cover. They did not seem to have spotted the unit yet, but it was only a matter of time- something had certainly blown their cover. Even more surprisingly, Lurk's voice crackles over the comm. "Sir. Our cover seems to be blown. Permission to engage?" Wherever he was, he apparently had eyes on the Chinese.

Anyone who was able to see a fair distance away, such as Whitesword, would see that the Chinese were armed with four Type 95 Assault Rifles, one Type 95 LMG, and one Type 88 DMR. From what they could tell, they were forming their defenses around an uncharacteristic mound of snow, roughly eight feet high and twenty feet wide. The area west-facing of the mound, the direction they were headed in from, was fairly clear of trees; which would provide at least passable visibility, and cover moving up from the occasional downed tree or stump, for as much worth as they would provide.

They were close enough to the base at this point that an open confrontation, if not resolved quickly, would likely result in a larger part of the Chinese force moving in against them. The tanks, fortunately, would have trouble moving through the thick woods, but there was still a considerable Infantry force inside the base proper. As soon as the fighting started, they would have to operate with the utmost efficiency. Of course, there were always other options.

Something that the squad would learn very soon, planning is best done quickly, or else in a posh office a million miles from the front lines. While they prepared themselves for the eventual combat, the Chinese decided to make the first move.
Lurk's voice breaks over the comms again. "Sir, enemy sniper." As soon as he says this, a single round flies through the air and shatters the trunk of a small tree near Celtic. The sniper was using tracer rounds, however, so if they were perceptive enough they might spot him before he relocates.

But, that would turn out to be the least of their worries. The front of the mound of snow bursts into flame as someone inside blasts out with a flamethrower, revealing one of the bunkers. This one was armed with a 40mm cannon, and was aimed straight at the Squad. It was flanked by two HMGs, and all three weapons were fully manned, plus the Infantry support, which was now fully aware of the Squad's position thanks to the sniper round.

The squad would have a split second to react before their position was littered with gunfire.
((AKA, only the first few posters are going to get anything done unless everyone is active, so no double posts until my next.))

After the split moment given the Legionnaire mercenaries during the moment of surprise, three or four of the Infantry had taken shots, falling behind their cover and not returning. The rest of the Chinese having sufficient cover to avoid being hit significantly, they returned fire immediately, firing in bursts at anywhere they saw fire approaching from.

The enemy sniper had slunk away from his position. Lurk's voice comes over the comm again. "The enemy sniper is changing positions. I'm moving to get a better shot."

Even as Lurk speaks, the Bunker's three gunners light up the area in front of them. A spray of 40mm rounds blankets the treeline, with the HMGs mowing down specific areas where the heaviest fire was coming from. The trees would provide little cover from the 40mm- anyone that wasn't in cover when the whole mess started would be hurting very much indeed, if they were even alive anymore. There was only one spray across the gunner's field of vision so far, but the HMG rounds would be gunning down anything that showed itself.

The grenade strikes would be doing damage to the bunker, fortunately. The first round hitting the top of the structure would blow the mound of snow away completely, and successive strikes would rattle the interior and cause debris to fall on the gunners- but they were still very active, much to the chagrin of the rest of the squad.

The front line of Mercs would possible be decimated, if they hadn't managed to find cover. This would namely be Whitesword and his squad. The second in line, Basya, would be having the most problems after them, as most of the 40mm fire would fall among their ranks. Chostsy and his fireteam would be the least damaged, if at all, due to their position near the back- as long as they were careful and not just walking in the open.

Half of the Chinese forces in the area were downed- the most dangerous of them were still active, but possibly wounded in the confusion of combat so far. Legionnaire casualties were unknown at the time, but less than half the squad reacted in a timely manner to the attack.

The only hint of reinforcements approaching would be a loud cracking not far away, towards the base, and a dull thud as something large impacted the snow.

Back at the Legion outpost, the Mi-8 had received the call for medical backup and, with its payload of a fresh Fireteam, takes off and makes its way to the LZ, assuming there was anything left by the time it got there.

The enemy tank comes to an abrupt halt practically on top of the vacated bunker as the left track is blown out completely. Halted and damaged but still very well armed- and now fully aware of the hiding place that the Mercenaries were- the tank brings its cannon to bear against their cover. The infantry, roughly twelve men carrying an assortment of standard armaments, similarly to the previous squad, spread out into flanking positions, making sure not to show themselves long. Despite full knowledge of the enemy position, they hold their fire for the moment. How long that was likely to last would be uncertain.

As some of the Mercenaries began to retreat, with others providing tactical cover and hopefully falling back as well, the Chinese decided to retaliate in kind. The infantry, most having moves a good ten yards out from the tank on either side, begin taking precision shots at any mercenaries they could see, the four LMG Squad gunners lighting up larger concentrations as able.

The tank was not idle either. Taking fire from a Squad Automatic Weapon near the rock cover, the turret shifts in that direction and sends a single 120mm HE round at the ground near Wolfy- the intent to kill her, and anyone that happened to be nearby. The shot was deafening, and the explosion would be ever louder. One of the men opens the topside hatch of the tank, grabbing the .50 caliber gun and turning to lay down fire on the direction that the explosive rail had come from. All the while, the infantry continue to spread out, intending to encircle the rest of the Mercenaries before they can escape- staying behind cover and taking shots carefully and precisely. One of the men took a round through the head as he popped up from cover, but that only served to make the rest that much more cautious.

The three missiles heading towards Virgil were unperturbed by the bullets sent in their direction. The hot lead did manage to make minute course imperfections to the missiles, but little else- it was the maneuvers that the Virgil took that managed to out the missiles, as they were old and not very maneuverable. They did however have a fair amount of fuel, so while the first session of maneuvers left the missiles flying into the sky, they would soon make the circle back down to try and strike Virgil. It was only a matter of time before a second volley was launched as well.

The Chinese that were being chased through the woods were running as fast as they could to get out of the line of fire, dodging between trees and avoiding the open path that the tank had created to reach the combat zone. Nevertheless, sustained fire would take down two or three more, until they were out of sight- the trees were still after all very thick. Silence would descend as Virgil leaves the immediate overhead area, and the Chinese were routed- for now. It seemed that no more were approaching the Mercenary position.

As Talisman would find, the Bunker was very much empty. Lights would occasionally flicker on in the dim passage, but generally it was only lit by what was filtering in from outside. A trail of blood from the wounded that were taken to safety through the tunnel would be seen, but nothing else. On one side there would be the caved in path to the bunker structure, and on the other, the dark corridor that presumably led into the base.

((My sincerest apologies for my comparatively late reply.))