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115 - Blood in the Wells I

 
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 4:34 pm    Post subject: 115 - Blood in the Wells I Reply with quote Add User to Ignore List

[p:7sob7kwy]The great battle in Ohio, in which Akigiyama's armor units wiped out an entire One Nation regiment, took place that same night that Watts reported in to the Freedom Fighters. Early the next morning, as the Fighters were well on their way to Antarctica, Clarence Croft assessed the damage. The armor units that had so devastated his first wave were gone, unaccounted for, and without them Ohio was on the brink of collapse.[/p:7sob7kwy]
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[p:7sob7kwy]"A group of United Nations peacekeeping forces have arrived and request permission to speak to some of our soldiers."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Ah, I suppose given our position there is no honest reason to turn them back," Croft replied. He was standing in his usual attire, no body armor, just a white short sleeve dress shirt and black slacks. But he was not in his headquarters. Always the gung-ho type, he was standing in an abandoned house east of Hamilton, near the previous day's front.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Are you sure that's in our best interests?" the officer replied. There were three men in the room. The one speaking had just arrived.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"...How can I say no? I believe in the United Nations." Croft shrugged, and the officer did likewise. How could he respond to that? "Just see to it people don't leave their posts and congregate. It won't do to paint easy targets."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]The first officer nodded and left the room. Croft turned back to the other. "So, back to business. Have those armors really disappeared?" he asked.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"That's correct. All signs indicate that the enhanced personnel who wiped out our 5th Regiment are gone." The officer circled an area on the map that lay between them. "This whole area is empty. We've systematically searched each house. What's more, a recent defector reported that Ohio soldiers are growing concerned over the disappearance of the armor units. General Tzimisces and the inner officer corps may know what's going on, but the Ohio troops themselves are pretty confused."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"And did you get confirmation that contact in the 3rd and 4th is negative?" Croft asked.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Yes. Again, no signs of the armor units whatsoever. The only contact anyone's had in the last 24 hours was with retreating Ohio combatives. It's interesting too, among the bodies were found a number of Ohio soldiers who appear to have been killed by same units that wiped out the 5th." The officer tilted his head. "We were clearly the target, but it looks like the armors were fairly indiscriminate of who got caught in their line of fire."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Interesting... I wonder what Akigiyama are trying to prove." He turned to another map displaying his enemy's last known location. "Or rather who they were trying to convince... I am very concerned about how to progress from here Daniel, and not just as a strategist. A lot of good men were lost last night. A lot of them. I don't put my boys in the line of fire unless I know they can come back out of it. What motivation do you think Akigiyama would have to not finish us off?"[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Andrew Lizar perhaps? Many still suspect the Freedom Fighters are allied with us, regardless of the fact that you've publicly stated otherwise," Daniel pointed out.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Yes, but the Freedom Fighters are just the sort Akigiyama would be putting on that kind of show for. ...No, this is all getting too speculative. I don't know why they didn't finish the job last night, but until I can definitively rule out an ambush we're not going to prepare another assault." Croft shook his head.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Fair enough," Daniel nodded. "I should remind you that our scouts have confirmed General Tzimisces is still cornered between us and the river. He has nowhere to turn on foot, but Akigiyama could have air lifted him out at night and they didn't."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Again, I can't rule out a trap... unless..." Croft's eyes opened wide for a moment, and then mellowed back out. "Oh Kaiser you bastard. I understand now."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Hmm?" Daniel tilted his head.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Akigiyama want me to cut them a deal." Croft shook his head.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"You think they're playing both sides?" Daniel asked.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"It's simple. They want to establish a business monopoly in Ohio, right, and in the meantime they're not too fond of me. If they were to wipe us all out, we'd be martyrs, but if I cut a deal with them instead, then we'd be publicly discredited, made out to be crooks just like everyone else. The former option probably doesn't make them uneasy at all, but the latter has real benefits. Plus I think Kaiser has a personal grudge against me. We met once, and I told him to go to hell." Daniel grinned, and Croft did likewise, but it didn't last long. "I don't have much of a choice now though. I'm going to return to headquarters. If Kaiser wants to contact me, that's where he'll go. In the meantime, hold fast. If those armor units are still with Ohio then they aren't holding back out of caution. They're waiting for something. If they've left, Karn will have no choice but to eventually try to force an escape."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Good luck sir." Daniel saluted Croft.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"None of that shit..." Croft returned the gesture out of respect and headed out the door. A messenger was standing on the other side.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"An urgent classified report just got back from our scouts."[/p:7sob7kwy]
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[p:7sob7kwy]An old factory near the front line housed the dissenters, and there were a lot of them. Karn wasn't sure how to handle it. With a more conventional contingent he would have a few of them publicly executed - not a choice he was particularly disappointed to live without, but it could have at least instilled order. As things stood, men were leaving their ranks right and left and either turning to crime or just running away. Another three men were escorted up to the building as he discussed matters with the guards there.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"They were caught looting homes." The escort shook his head.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]Karn walked up to the first prisoner and slapped him across the face. "What do you think this is? What kind of low life are you, pillaging your own people? Don't you think you're going to get paid when this is all said and done? Victory is in our grasp."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]The man spit on him, and Karn pulled out a pistol. He had no intention of using it. The third looter in the procession spoke up. "Calm down you bastard. Don't you realize we've been abandoned."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]Karn turned red. He knew it was true. "That's no excuse to turn to petty crime."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Fuck off," the first man said. "Like we owe any loyalty to you."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]Karn motioned for the escort to take them inside, and they obliged. "What's that make? Close to a hundred now," he said to the officer in charge of the prisoners.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"What do you expect though?" the officer replied. "Our real forces were on the front line. They were dead before Akigiyama ever showed up. The mercenaries and civilian militiamen fled, and all we've got left are these thieves and bandits."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"We're still about two hundred strong," Karn noted. "Two hundred real men against a thousand or more remaining One Nation forces doesn't constitute a chance in hell, but surely Akigiyama will be back."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"If you haven't heard from them no one has. We should have never engaged in a conventional battle in the first place. Waging all on a promise by Akigiyama? There had to be a better solution," the officer stated.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Keep a level head soldier," Karn scolded. "That decision is in the past. We all know how Croft treats his enemies, so there's no point in even humoring thoughts of surrender. I came here to give orders, not chit-chat, and I showed up in person because your role is going to be significant in seeing us out of here alive."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]The officer stood up a little straighter and Karn went on. "We're going to hold it together until One Nation starts to advance, because I do think Akigiyama will come back, but supposing they don't, you're going to let all of these prisoners go and hightail it back to the main contingent. They should cause enough of a diversion to the advancing troops for us to make an organized move down the path of least resistance, break through, and disperse into the country-side. You can consider yourself discharged at that moment."[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"Now you're talking some goddamn sense," the officer said.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]"That's 'some goddamn sense sir!'"[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]The officer snapped to attention with a smile, and just about then the door smashed open behind him. A whole mess of prisoners began pouring out, the first few wielding the recent escort's arms.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]With about a dozen guards to only four armed prisoners, Karn at least had time to let off a few shots and retreat to his jeep before his men lost out by sheer number. He watched the officer he'd just spoken to fall to the ground out his rear view mirror. The engine roared, the gas pedal creaked as it slammed to the floor, and his right tire popped just as the jeep sprung forward.[/p:7sob7kwy]
[p:7sob7kwy]'Goddamn rednecks,' he thought as he lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a tree. 'If they had any sense of discipline they'd make great sharpshooters.'[/p:7sob7kwy]
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