Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:10 pm Post subject:
Written smth out of boredom
Subject description: Feel the true power of boredom!
Well, I thought I could spend my time more effective than starting stupid useless debates here, which was absolutely pointless.
But well, considering I've the feeling no one is posting anything or whatever, I thought I should write a short nameless story during my spare time to bring some life to this forum again .
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I was looking through an open window. My parents should be returning home from their job at this time. I saw how the barn on the opposing side on the road, which was been hit by a missile a year ago, became more and more something called a “ruin”. But my parents did not want to leave this house to settle somewhere else, where it is safer. I searched for my dad’s binocular and started looking down the road.
Then, I saw my parents returning far away. But a NOD patrol of eight soldiers stopped their car, and then I saw the bastards shooting through the car and killing my parents. “N-no… this can’t be.” I collapsed. My greatest fear became truth. I realized I had to leave my house, and quickly. Alone I wouldn’t survive in this rural area. And what would those NOD soldiers do once they find me; me, Samantha, a fourteen year old girl?
I grabbed one of my parents Heckler & Koch machineguns, sufficient ammunition, enough to drink, and then I left my home behind, shutting the door quietly. Without knowing where to go; the only thing I knew was that I had to stay out of hands of NOD patrols and to find either GDI or GloboTech. Fear took control of me, but I tried to ignore it.
I decided to take the roughest path; the patrols would most likely not take it and the mountains would give me the advantage of the “home-field” and protection as well, if I moved carefully. “The first few miles are actually the most dangerous because there is nowhere where I can hide,” I murmured to myself. And once I had survived those first few miles, I was on top of a large hill with both steep and safer ways down, and dense forests everywhere.
After some time passed, I saw some kind of tank hovering towards me from behind. It was a big thing, and appeared to have some form of tails. It closed the distance very fast, and I realized I started to run across the plains in order to reach the cliffs as soon as I could. It started to breathe fire even when I was still out of range. “N-no. This is my end.” Surrender,” a voice shouted. “You’ve nowhere to go! Join NOD, I’m sure you will be of some use.” I heard him laughing and ran even faster. “We’ll see if I got nowhere to go”, and I dashed down the hill. It was a steeper slope than I had anticipated, but I could prevent myself from falling. “I can always surrender if this doesn’t save me, but I think I’d kill myself if I really have to surrender.” I made a sharp turn to the left, and I saw the hell raining down behind me, followed by the vehicle, which made a jump it couldn’t make. I saw it falling behind me, but on a strange way... as if it was trying to fly but realized too late that it was too heavy. A second later, the vehicle crashed with a loud explosion which made the earth shudder. I felt the hot, air burning across my back. I looked down, and saw a large column of fire arising from the wreckage. I climbed down the hill even further, this time more slowly considering the main threat was gone.
Then, I felt a bullet zipping past my ears. “Damn it, mistress. Two of my comrades died because of you! DIE,” a NOD soldier shouted. It was the soldier who asked me to surrender moments ago.
He opened fire again. I returned fire, which filled him with shock and awe once he realized there was no escape. I felt some tears on my cheeks when my third salvo of bullets took his life. I never expected that I had to kill someone on my escape.
I realized how exhausted I became, and I couldn’t be more than three hours outside now. I walked slowly through the forest, always in the same direction so I wouldn’t walk in circles, but not knowing where to go or where to sleep.
A strange noise put an end to my worries. When I got back to my senses, I saw the most fearful creature I’ve ever seen. It was a bug with only four legs, but a bit larger than I was and it moved towards me. Quickly I opened fire, mostly out of fear and after a few shots it fell down. “I don’t think I can sleep if everything wants to kill me.” I moved away from the corpse. After it became dark.
I sat down on a tree trunk to rest for a while. I was hungry and tired. I realized how stupid I was because I did not take any food on my march. But despite my fears, I forced myself to think about happy times and tried to sleep for a while. Even if I slept only a few hours, I would be capable of marching on a few hours longer.
When I woke up again, I was surprised I actually fell asleep the day before. When I opened my eyes, it was still dark. The moon was the only source of light around. I realized how hungry I was, but forced myself to stand up and to move on. When walking, I tried to stay as silent as possible as long as it was still night. The moon would provide enough lighting for me to detect dangers early enough.
I started to realize I had left a burning beacon where NOD-forces will search for enemy presence and that, once NOD realized the patrolling tank did not return, they would search out the entire area and certainly find me.
My legs failed me after a while. My entire body was screaming for a comfortable place to eat and to rest. I forced myself again to stand up and to walk. Only seconds later, saw a NOD Venom scouting around, but it didn’t notice me at all. Still, a feeling of relief escaped me when it flew out of sight.. I forced myself to keep moving. The forest would provide enough cover to avoid detection from the air.
Then, I saw a GDI patrol consisting of some soldiers and a walking tank, and then I strapped the gun on my back, and ran towards them. A large GDI Soldier stopped me when I came too close. “What are you planning to do, little girl?”, he asked in a harsh voice.
“Coming with you, soldiers. That’s all.” “Sorry, but we aren’t allowed to take people not allied with GDI. We are here to scout and detect NOD presence.” “Look several miles away from here, then you will find a burning pile of steel from a NOD flaming hover tank or whatever it is. The driver thought he could follow me when moving down a steep hill, and then the vehicle exploded. One guy escaped the explosion, but I killed him before he could kill me.” I pointed to my gun. “But, little girl, how do I know if you speak the truth. However, if you do, I must admit, it is quite a feat what you’ve done.” “Thanks.” Then, I became dizzy and collapsed. Another soldier walked towards me, and pressed suit with me. Normally I would be very angry if a stranger did something like that, but after what I’ve been through, I couldn’t care less about it. “We can trust her, I think. She doesn’t carry anything in the form of explosives, and with the gun strapped on her back, she can’t be too dangerous,” he said. “We will just proceed as planned, and we can take her with us,” said the lieutenant, who seemed to be in charge. “Thanks,” I replied. “How can you be sure she is speaking the truth?”, asked one of the other soldiers. “Because I was listening to enemy short-range communications yesterday, and heard stuff about a crashed Inferno Hover Tank when most of us were having dinner. And this little girl is the answer to the questions arising. However, I want to know her name?” “My name is Samantha,” I replied.
“Shit. A NOD-patrol is closing in.” a soldier shouted. “Where?”, the lieutenant asked. “There!” “Shit! It seems to be a full infantry platoon. We’re outnumbered pretty badly.” “We’re outnumbered ten against thirty!” I grabbed my Heckler & Koch machinegun and opened fire before anyone else did, and to my surprise, I killed one of the enemy soldiers with my first salvo. My second burst of three bullets missed, but the third hit another soldier which was finished off by my fourth.
The Kazuar opened fire as well at this moment, and the other eight soldiers followed. I saw many enemy soldiers fall within only the first seconds. The remaining NOD-soldiers, somehow caught by surprise, finally opened fire. It couldn’t be more than seconds which passed, but every second felt like an hour. I noticed that an enemy RPG passed overhead, forced myself to ignore him and to keep on firing at the soldiers of the Brotherhood. Even before I had emptied my gun, however, there was no enemy left to kill.
“You were formidable, Samantha,” said the lieutenant. “Thanks… lieutenant.”
“Thank God they aimed almost solely at the Kazuar, which can resist small arms fire easily. And thank God they didn’t realize our presence until it was way too late.” “How did they not see that Kazuar until we opened fire?”, I asked. “I have no idea,” a soldier replied. I looked more closely to the Kazuar and saw many dents in the armor, but nothing really damaging. “We have one soldier wounded, but his wound isn’t too severe.“
I collapsed. “Are you alright, Samantha?” “I’m tired and hungry, that’s all.”
“We are going to a small GDI bunker nearby. We will arrive within half an hour, and there is enough you can eat once you arrive there, and don’t worry about accommodation. Everything will be fine, I’m sure.”
We walked towards a cave, and I noticed there were some barracks and a small repair facility inside. “Yes, it is only a small base. However, there is enough accommodation for everybody based here, and for the visitors we have once in a while. Your room is there, number twelve, and that room will be yours for as long as you stay here. Take a look, but return here within twenty minutes, when the cook will serve the dinner.” “Ok,” I replied, still unsure about the future, but delighted that I finally got to eat something. When I opened the door of my new room, I promptly realized that combat became a part of my past, and would become a part of my future as well.
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However (as always when i give feedback ) i found some things that could be improved a bit in my opinion.
1. You shouldn't instantly reveal that Samantha is a girl and her age. I think it would have been better to wait with that info until the GDI soldier asks her what's her name and age. This way the whole first part with the fight would be much more impressive afterwards, when you realize she is only a 14 year old girl.
2. Nod isn't that reasonless brutal to civilians. I think better would have been, if the parents were removed from the car and the car searched. Then you describe how the Nod soldiers take away the food the parents had brought with the car, the parents arguing loud with the Nod soldier in the far distance where Sam only hears some undefinable words, the parents suddenly involved in a hand fight with a Nod soldier, the parents running away and then finally shot by the Nod Soldiers.
Just a bit more explanation why Nod would shoot them you know.
Most civilians believe the propaganda of Nod and don't see them as terrorists.
3. Maybe a tad more detailed description of the already slightly mutated environment would be good. e.g. Let her see a few feet away a single big green tiberium crystal, which she carefully avoids in a high distance, as her parents have told her.
An alternative would be, that you now reveal, that her parents where already infected with tiberium and she was born already slightly infected and became adapted to tiberium, thus the crystal couldn't harm her. You could describe how a strange warm feeling is running through her body, the closer she walks to the crystal.
It might be also a good surprise having one of the soldiers back in the well lit bunker notice a small skin irritation on her and recognize it as a tiberium infection, which makes the previously quite friendly soldier turn into a bit more distanced behaviour.
If you continue the story, the natural resistance of Sam towards tiberium could play a bigger and bigger role. e.g. She gets a small combat training and is recognized to have superior senses which make her a formidable scout. On a later mission, a big tiberium field could block the patrols path and she would be the only one to pass it and receive surveillance information from the other side, where a Nod outpost is assumed to be located.
4. In the GDI Bunker, the room for Samantha shouldn't be only hers, but already occupied by 3 or 4 other soldiers/women. e.g. let one sleep in the bunk bed and the 2 or 3 others play cards around a shabby wooden table.
When Samantha steps in, let one of the soldiers show her an empty bed which she can use and an empty locker where she might even see some garbage/stuff from the previous owner, a fallen soldier.
Just a bit more detailed description of the bunker and that life isn't wonderful again now, but describe a bit the ugly war circumstances.
5. btw, Sams favorite TV-Show is the "Tibby and Noddy" show (internal staff info; will be revealed later to public ) and she's watching it in the beginning while waiting for her parents. Just some additional detail for the intro _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Yeah, the story isn't perfect ^^. I've written it out of boredom and more boredom. I think it is better to write short stories instead of starting (pointless) debates .
I am trying to learn English as if it were my native language, in terms of writing and hopefully speaking as well, which still isn't the case .
However, about point 4; Samantha is still a bit of a stranger in the base without much military experience, (and therefore, a guest, despite her feats in combat, and you don't put a guest in the same room as three/four other soldiers).
And about point 5: I never think about TV. Happens when you rarely watch TV yourself. QUICK_EDIT
concerning 4, you could also put her in a refugee room with several other civilians. It's just a bit strange that she would get her own room, when there is usually not much space in such a small military complex.
It could be also cool to describe how the small girl with the big gun on her back is slowly entering the room full of civilians which are all unarmed and quite helpless compared to Sam, who has gone already through so many dangerous situations and helped herself.
Somehow i imagine the GDI bunker to be like the Terminator 1 scene where Reese enters the tunnel base with the many poor civilians (some looking into the broken TV where instead a small fire is burning inside). _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
The three letters in "Nod" aren't all written in capitals. Yes, it was commonly written as NOD in Westwood's internal documents, INIs and manuals, possibly to highlight the name. However, since "Nod" isn't an acronym that stands for something (unlike GDI=Global Defense Inititative), we don't continue that practice.
Also, by "Venom" I think you mean the Hornet. Venom is the name of Nod's primary attack aircraft in C&C3; our equivalent is called Hornet. _________________ QUICK_EDIT
Depends on how big you expect her room to be, that is. It seems possible to make small rooms for each individual soldier; considering it is actually done on modern navy vessels if I recall correctly.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback guys. I appreciate it
Edit: Hornet's make me think of all other forms of planes (*points to RA2 and the F-18 Hornet*) being NOT Nod's VTOL. That also tells me I need to play Nod more often. QUICK_EDIT
Without really looking I sat onto my bunk, and only realized that my room was very small – I was only happy I didn’t have to share my room with others for now.
It was good to eat something. The dinner was a bit less standard than I had expected when being with soldiers, and it was quite healthy. I heard soldiers talking about the combat from this afternoon. It was the first serious combat in the past few weeks. The lieutenant was worried about the Inferno Hover Tanks, I noticed.
I asked why there were almost no other refugees in the base, and then a sergeant replied “Well, most civilians will be evacuated to a larger GloboTech base after a while. But maybe you are a different case. That is, if you want to stay here.” I nodded. Then, the lieutenant followed “Good, the sergeant will show you everything you need to know tonight – the armory and the hangar, most importantly. You might’ve already seen everything inside this bunker – the living quarters. There are also firing ports in these three bunkers, in case Nod realizes we are hiding here.”
After dinner, the platoon sergeant shown me the hangars. I saw a Kazuar – the other two hangars were empty. “You’ve already seen the Kazuar during combat. It is one of our new walkers, and it is fairly decent against infantry considering it is equipped with two 20mm machineguns. However, those are fairly useless against armor. We don’t have any heavy anti-armor vehicles, but most heavy armor units aren’t fast enough to chase the Kazuar. We used to have another Kazuar and a MBT, but both were destroyed recently during combat”
“The armory is usually our ammo and equipment depot. We store all ammunition we use here, and weapons we won’t take on patrol. Sometimes because they are obsolete, sometimes because we don’t expect to need them or because they are unsuited for the environment we’re about to patrol in. Especially the shotgun has a tendency to be useless outside of urban area’s considering its short effective range; sixty meters. In comparison, you opened fire at the Brotherhood’s soldiers with your Heckler & Koch at well over three hundred meters and we opened fire when the distance was only fifty meters shorter; and even crawling those fifty meters under enemy fire is lethal; especially if they have an aim like yours, taking down a soldier every other salvo. And that was even without sight equipment… your gun could fire almost twice as far if you had sight equipment mounted on your gun.” He smiled towards me when saying that. “I was just lucky,” I replied. Then, he said “Even if you were lucky, you’re quite the promising soldier. He handed a bulletproof vest over to me. “It fits, it seems. Did you work in a clothes shop during more peaceful times?” I asked. “No. But I have been working at a larger armory for several years until I got bored.” He smiled. “Good. Here is some other equipment you will need. A telescopic sight to mount on your weapon. You should also mount a bayonet on your weapon. This one will fit. I think you will keep using the gun you currently use, the G36, considering your weapon is of better quality and more modern than our weapons.” “Is it?” “Yes. It is also more expensive, which is why large armies don’t use it - and therefore production was stopped fairly quickly though there are still quite a few in civilian hands. You’re lucky; the other soldiers have to use the SA80, which has a shorter range and is less accurate, even though they use the same ammunition.”
We left the armory after he said that. “I think, Samantha, it is time for you to go to the living quarters and to meet the other soldiers. You know everything you need to know about this place. Tomorrow we’re going on patrol as well, and you will be with us. The combat today learned us there is a full Nod company here, mainly consisting of infantry. Therefore, tomorrow we will make a patrol again. Do you want to enlist and to fight again?” “Yes,” I replied without hesitating. It felt as the right thing to do. “Nod killed my parents, and it will be a cold day in hell when I shy away from a fight,” I followed. The sergeant was shocked at my reaction.
We parted ways, and I went towards the soldiers. “Sam, do you want to play poker with us?” I heard a soldier asking. “Ok,” I replied. I noticed a blonde soldier standing, and noticed I could look him straight into his eyes. “Prizes are disallowed by the lieutenant, so we just divide those fiches among us. The worth of each color is written there.” “Good.” “Domino, do you want to play as well?” “Yes,” she replied. A tall girl, I noticed, and to my relief, she decided to sit directly aside from me. “Oh, by the way, my name is Bill.” “My name is Olaf.” I noticed Olaf was a huge man, with long brown hear in a ponytail. “My name is Maxwell.” Another big man, but he looked more average compared to Olaf.
I was out third and went to bed directly afterwards, being tired enough to fall into sleep within moments. I didn’t even want to stay awake for “Tibby and Noddy” at TV.
Next morning, we had breakfast at 7 o’clock. Not much earlier as I used to go to school in the past, I thought. The soldiers were awfully silent especially when compared to previous evening; we would’ve a long patrol which would take six hours. On foot. We prepared for combat, and luckily I didn’t have to carry a huge backpack; the food was stored inside the Kazuar.
The first half hour went without incident. “Let’s see if the Tiberium field is still OK. Samantha, you know you should stay clear of the Tiberium crystals?” the sergeant said. “Yes, I do. It was told me countless times.” “I can remember a three year old boy in the neighborhood turning into a visceroid,” Domino said. And there the crystal field appeared. The green crystals were shining brightly, and could be seen from afar. But I felt something was wrong. Then I saw something yellow some few hundred meters ahead.
Then, only seconds later a large thing in the very same yellow color appeared in front of us.
“A floater! Fire at will!” It had to close some two-hundred meters since we opened fire early enough, but it moved very fast and seemed to ignore our bullets. It kept closing in at us. I was afraid. “Pouring enough bullets into it is the only way to kill it, Samantha,” Domino said, and her words calmed me down a bit. When it was as close as seventy meters, it finally fell and exploded, scattering green crystals around its corpse. “Retreat. The air will be too toxic to proceed. We will move around the field in a wider area.” “I’ve never seen a floater here before.” “Indeed strange. This area isn’t really damaged that much by Tiberium. Most Tiberium fields here were cleaned years ago, in fact, almost all. I have no idea where that Floater came from. But we probably don’t have to face one again.”
Then we moved onto some open plains. “I don’t really like this, but we don’t have much of a choice. Keep your eyes wide open, we need to detect enemy presence from afar. I don’t like Eclipses or Howitzers shooting at us from out of our range.”
I saw some trees around, but not enough to hide the Kazuar or even ourselves. We kept looking carefully, knowing danger could be everywhere and that we could be seen from afar. Then, we saw a trio of Eclipses closing the distance. “Damn, Eclipse’s invulnerable against all small arms unless we can hit the gun system. Which we can’t. Run! They started to open fire. One shot passed overhead, and another one passed to our left.” “Its main gun isn’t that accurate on these ranges,” Bill said. We kept running and running, and then the first few shots were passing overhead. “Luckily we are far out of the Eclipse’s maximum effective range, otherwise we would’ve been dead already. Despite that, I was still scared by those treaded monsters. I saw a tree exploding into pieces. Another shot exploded just meters behind me, throwing me into the sky like a doll. When I hit the ground, I only felt a large wave of pain running through my rib cage and my spine. And fear.
I grabbed my gun and forced myself to run again. I was afraid to lose track of the soldiers, but I managed to catch up with then, just before we escaped into dense woods.
“Are you OK, Sam? I saw how you were blown away,” Domino said. “I did not break any bones and don’t see any serious wounds, so I could be far worse off. It was a painful experience though.” I noticed we lost all other soldiers, somehow our group broke apart when entering the woods. “Where are the others?”, I asked. “I have no idea, but they can’t be far away. But in situations like this we should return to base.” “Lead the way, considering I’ve never been here before in my life.” “No problem. Mind your step.” “Indeed. Those Eclipses are still roaming around. If we make a sharp turn into either direction, there is a chance they don’t notice us.” “Good idea. Follow me,” she said. “Yes, ma’am,” I replied. I felt horrible and the question if the other soldiers were still alive or not was running through my head, but I saw Domino worrying about that too.
We’d ran again, in general direction of our cave base. After some time we saw the cave, without encountering any other troops of the Brotherhood. We were the first of the section to arrive. When I did no longer feel the adrenaline rush I felt when fleeing, I felt the pain again. It caused me to collapse, but Domino managed to catch me just in time.
The lieutenant started to shout in our direction. “Back already? That isn’t supposed to happen.”
“We’re back considering we got separated from the main patrol; three Eclipses hammered in at us from long range. We fled but had trouble escaping and our section scattered around,” Domino said. “Our patrol killed a Tiberium Floater at the field we had to scout, though, but then we had to avoid toxic gas and enemy troops.” “Bad news. And those Eclipses… I really hope the others of the patrol will return.”
“Chances are. The patrol got scattered, and maybe the Eclipses only destroy the Kazuar, but that’s a loss severe enough in this case.”
“I’ve requested the headquarters to send an armor battalion to deal with enemy armor. They agreed and sent in a full armor battalion, consisting of 24 Leopard 2A8 MBT’s and 12 Kazuar’s.” He shook his head. “Do they think they can stop the Nod armor with those modernized, but still old MBT’s and some anti-infantry tanks?” “Maybe they succeed, considering I haven’t seen any large groups of enemy armor here; only small numbers,” Domino replied. “I concur. The Eclipses we encountered were only in a group of three, and the Inferno I encountered myself was alone.” I felt Domino pressing suit with me. “Still, three Eclipses can make someone fly,” Domino said. “I just want to rest for a while after that experience. It does hurt, you know,” I said. I walked into my room, put off those heavy bulletproof clothes and fell onto my bunk.
I'm not that fond of the first part as Sam was imo too fast recruited as a Soldier.
Normally they would do a security and background check of her. Then put her at least in a several weeks (or at least days) long crash course in combat training.
They also would not show a stranger the vulnerable and important armory that early.
That fast they would also not take Sam with them on patrol.
The only reason why they might have taken her with them on the patrol, might be her knowledge about the area, as she was living there her whole live.
I think better would have been if a Globotech transporter came the other day to bring the refugees to the next bigger and safer camp, and Sam, supposed to be on the transport, sneaked off from the transport. So the last transport gone for a long time, the Soldiers had no alternative as to keep Sam there.
Then doing for a while the dirty work in the camp, she might have shown during one occasion her abilities to fight or her good reflexes and this way got her "ok" for the combat training.
Another thing is your explanation about the G36 being better what the soldiers use, which is very strange.
1. This is quite far in the future, maybe 20 to 30 years. In this time the G36 would be already quite outdated.
2. The soldiers would surely have much better weaponry than any civilian. Even if GDI lost the last war, they wouldn't equip their troops with weak/bad weapons.
You could have said, that Sam's gun might be outdated, but can still keep up with the new weapons the soldiers use.
To give a better impression of time going by, you should put sometimes a short sentence in it like "several days passed by, and things became quite monotonous. Every day doing first this, then that etc...".
However the fight against the floater and the eclipses was well written and i enjoyed that. Though the explanation that the floater goes down only after many shots, should have come after the floater was dead. During such a fight, no one would spend time to explain a 14 year old how these things work. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
I forgot about the background check. Though nowadays a background check doesn't take more than five minutes in case you're an USA citizen (in which case the FBI stores all information about you). This would be the case for Globotech and GDI as well. I should've written about it, though. Good point.
Military training was something I thought about, but if you think again, you know immidiately that it is impossible in this situation. Physical training area's don't take up too much space, but military combat trainings aren't done too often because they require a large area which can be used for the training. Recently, a part of the Dutch army held a large combat training, for the first time since ages in our own country, since our own country is a bit on the small size and too densely populated (which is why they did it here, I suppose), but still most of the 2600 km² was used by soldiers during the training.
Again, a good point, with a big question, namely: Where?
About the floater: Domino saw that Sam was a bit afraid and said that to calm her down - keep shooting and everything will be allright.
And guns... Guns. Well, the later versions of the SA80 are very reliable and has no real downsides, so no need for a replacement.
The G36 has a longer range (800m vs 650m requiring an expensive sight), is more accurate and a bit lighter than the SA80, but also a bit cost-inefficient and the additional range isn't always useful, but it has like the SA-80, no real downsides during combat
The FX-05 Xiuhcoatl, made in Mexico, is probably the most cost-efficient weapon around and probably also the best assault rifle in existance. Has a larger caliber but no recoil issues, AND can still use the NATO round of the smaller caliber (!), aside from its extreme range (even longer than the G36) possibility (923m max). QUICK_EDIT
GDI is a global organization. The story can take place everywhere.
Also consider that in a war disordered world, the civilians outside the protected "blue zones" aren't necessarily registered somewhere. In some regions there might not even be a police upholding law and some kind of government.
A physical training test can be also done in a laboratory where they simply measure the health and condition of a person in a stress test. (e.g. treadmill analysis) This is a bit in future so they might also have a technology which allows to scan a persons conditional abilities like strength, endurance in a matter of seconds.
Other theoretical parts of the training like military hand signs, behaviour in combat, military hierarchy, commands etc can all be trained in a small room too and might be done by one of the soldiers (e.g. Domino) in his free time, since there is not enough personnel there for this job. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
It doesn't has to be a complex laboratory. The small medical supply station for emergency treatment of wounded soldiers could have the necessary equipment too.
Just think a bit out of the box and improvise things as this is what happens first in a long war, they improvise to make the best out of the few they have. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
I heard a conversation outside, talking next to the door of my room. I don’t put much attention to it until I heard some knocking. “Yes?” I replied. “The lieutenant wanted me to explain you everything about the military organization; other things you need to know.” I recognized Domino’s voice and opened the door. I tried to make my voice sound as soft as possible. “Hm.” I didn’t really knew what to say. “Well, you know the military hierarchy?” No problem. “Yes. Corporal, Sergeant, Sergeant-major, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel, General,” I replied.
“A bit unrefined when talking about the higher-ranked officers, but in major lines, that is indeed correct. You won’t have anything to do with them, so well, I’d let it be. You should also know the general combat orders, but considering you reacted correctly on them, when we gave them during the patrol, I don’t see any problems here either. The lieutenant probably thinks you don’t know anything about the military, but with some common sense you don’t really have any worries. Do you have family members enlisted in the military?” “Yes. My uncle was a major in our army, but I haven’t seen him in the past two years. He told me a lot about the military and engagement rules. I always wanted to follow his example, so I trained and studied a lot about the military in the past.” “Why?” “I don’t really know, but the military always appealed me in these times.” “You’re not alone in that regard. Only my father is still alive, but I didn’t spoke to him since I joined GDI. The lieutenant also wanted to let you do a physical test, but I didn’t seem it necessary since you could catch up with us after falling and being some thirty meters behind. Also, he doesn’t like to improvise a test; it would take hours, if not days to do for results we already know. But he wants you to run ten minutes and see the distance you’ve ran to have a rough estimate of your condition himself, even though you are unable to run at your best at this moment. Follow me.” “Good.” The lieutenant had marked a white line in front of the vehicle hangar. He was in a grim and sorrowful mood, and it seemed to me he just wanted to do something which he would do in better times. “Run back and forth, as fast as you can, for ten minutes. I’ll count how many times you did, don’t worry about that.” Hm. “Good.” “Say when you’re ready.” “Ready.” He counted from five to zero. And I started. I didn’t think about the time when running. I didn’t think, and just ran. At a moment, I felt that my right side was hurting, but ignored it. “Done. Ten minutes did pass.” I was surprised, that I could run at such a speed for all ten minutes. “You did a good job, Sam. Three thousand meters. Well done!” “Thanks, lieutenant.” I felt how the pain returned to my body and fell over. Domino supported me and escorted me back to my room. “You’ve done well, but now I’d recommend you to rest until dinner,” she said. I followed her advice.
Then I heard that Olaf, Bill, Maxwell and James, the sergeant, managed to get back to the base unseen, and that meant only four men and the Kazuar still had to return. About ten minutes later, I heard the Kazuar returning, and that the Eclipses chased two other soldiers because they lost track of the Kazuar, but both soldiers were eventually killed. The lieutenant gave a fairly short speech about them and their bravery. The mood was grim, but there was no time for a funeral or any other form of ceremony, even though we lost four men today; two others, among them the corporal, did not return either and it was assumed they were killed as well. I saw the remaining members of our squad sobbing. I was only with them, not a formal member of the squad. Many soldiers keep dying during such intensive combat, and there is no time to worry about them. It is war.
After I ate dinner, I felt surprisingly well. I played poker with my surviving comrades – including James – and with a bluff, I gained the upper hand. Another round, I had a lucky four-of-a-kind, which allowed me to take out Maxwell and Olaf. They called it luck, but the others folded in time because they knew I had a strong hand. Then, Domino took out James and I took her out in return. Then, I used my massive stack – I had five times more fiches than he had - to simply overpower Bill and to win the round. But not that I cared much. We had lost four soldiers today. Four! There were other things we had to care about.
Another day passed, and I had no patrol duty that day, so I could stay at base. I spent the time with things needed to do at the base, and playing poker and watching TV during free time. During one of the games of poker, I saw Olaf and Bill sobbing. They could get well along with the four soldiers. Domino told me it was a major loss to the section. “I understand, even from my very rational point of view considering I’m here only for a few days now… fifty percent is a massive loss. If I’d knew them any better, I’m sure I would have reacted a bit different than I did now.” “Yes. I’d like to stay rational at all times, even now.” “Well, I’d like to have some emotions if something severe happens, like this. It can easily blur your mind during a patrol but when inside our base, I couldn’t care less.” Maxwell talked about his sister and also how worried he was about her safety now Nod was on the offense.
The fourth day I was at the base, I would have to go on patrol again, to scout a ten degree segment. With only six soldiers of us, and without the Kazuar because one of its guns was destroyed by a RPG.
“Whatever opposition we encounter, we’re outnumbered. We should stay close to each other, and we can only scout a small segment,” sergeant James said. “What if we encounter enemy armor again? We have nothing to deal with them, sergeant,” Domino asked. “We should stay in cover at all costs. The area we scout has no Tiberium presence, so it should be safe.” “Good. This is the path we have to walk. We won’t encounter any enemy I think. If we do, we will avoid combat unless it is an infantry squad.” “This is suicide, sergeant,” Olaf said. “Orders are orders, Olaf. I’m sorry.” “Yes, we’re outnumbered, but we might encounter no one,” Domino said. In the meanwhile, Maxwell was thinking about something else… the sergeant noticed and asked what was bothering Maxwell. “My sister is supposed to live in this segment. Do I have some time to talk when moving through this village, here?” “Yes.” I saw a smile on Maxwell’s face appearing… the first smile I had seen since previous patrol, I realized.
We walked out slowly. With only six machineguns at our disposal, we would be outgunned against any serious opponent. Despite that, everything went well, without encountering any soldiers of the Brotherhood or other things which shouldn’t be there. But after we scouted the fourth and last checkpoint, which was a major chokepoint, we saw an infantry section passing through. They were well below us, and fairly far away we had an advantageous position. “Fire at will once they’re into range” commanded sergeant James. I did as he asked, aiming first. My third burst hit a soldier at well over seven hundred meters. One of my later bursts finished him off, no longer really counting them like I did before. Then I heard the other machineguns firing as well. The soldiers could not pinpoint our position for some reason, and they were shot one by one. I could see where they were looking and how they could not see us. After another five of them fell, I saw the other ten or so soldiers fleeing away, but one of them could not escape my bullets.
I realized how their comrades would feel after losing so many comrades, but I couldn’t think about it too much. I had to do it. It was my duty. It was what I had to do.
Then, the sergeant said something. I didn’t care. I had killed. “Don’t worry about the kills you make, Sam,” Domino said. How did she notice where I was thinking about. “It is necessary. It is war. And realize they would’ve killed you as well… and if they take prisoners, you would have preferred to be killed.” “How did you know…” “Every soldier has such a period after they made their first kills. I can still remember mine. But don’t worry, you will get over it after a while. And sooner or later you won’t really have any special feelings when killing someone. Still, I doubt I could kill someone using my bare hands even though I killed many using my gun.”
Then, I saw the sergeant and Maxwell talking. Then, we moved through the village Maxwell was talking about. The village was surprisingly empty and abandoned. A bit later, we noticed a girl, probably only a bit older than I was, running towards us. “Amanda,” Maxwell said. “I missed you, brother,” she replied. I saw Maxwell and Amanda hugging each other. “Hm.” A Hornet flew over, but didn’t react at our presence. Maybe it did not see us when we were hiding between those buildings and trees. I heard how Amanda asked the sergeant to come with us. “Well, your background has been checked before so you can,” the sergeant replied. “Especially considering this place is no longer safe unlike previous time we were here, two months ago, now Nod went on the offensive and we are exposed to heavy combat in this region, actually for the first time since the first Tiberian War this region is disputed again. How many civilians are still here actually?” “All people registered as living here are evacuated,” sergeant, Amanda replied. “But you are not.” “Because I’m not registered here.”
“Somehow, I don’t feel as sure of myself as when I met Samantha, now. But my ECM suite doesn’t detect any electronics inside or around your body, and you are registered in the GDI database as his sister, and the daughter of an officer, so yes, you can come with us.” I saw her face clearing up.
Then we returned towards our base through the forest, and we managed to return safely and without being attacked. I asked myself how many soldiers of the Brotherhood really were around here...
I’d decided to take a look a look at the Kazuar, and I saw the weapons being stripped out and being replaced with two tri-barreled Browning M2 HMG’s. These six guns would provide about the same firepower as the weapons they replaced, and were built recently, but a technician told me the weapon was designed was already in 1918, which surprised me a bit. That design was, damn it, a century old. “Guns hardly, if ever, become obsolete. They only have to kill others effectively. Weapons can outclass other weapons, but always have disadvantages in order to gain those advantages unless the weapon type is still in the experimental stage. Your weapon is a bit lighter and has a longer range than the SA80, but it is much more expensive and is more prone to jam in full automatic.” “I never use full automatic. I never found a need for it and aside from that, the recoil of the full-auto mode throws off my aim, and I don’t like to reload my gun all the time either.” “In which case you have a weapon which does exactly what you want it to do, which is a good thing.”
When I walked out of the hangar, I saw an M113 APC rolling into our base. Four soldiers came out. The officer inside talked a bit with our lieutenant. I immediately realized the four soldiers were the replacements for the soldiers we had lost in the past few days. I noticed Domino walked towards me. “Hm. I’m hoping they have some combat experience,” she said. “Yes. Though I have no more combat experience than past week either. Let’s say: Let’s hope they know what they’re doing. Combat experience helps but isn’t a necessary requirement.” “True,” she replied. Maxwell, Bill and Olaf took a seat as well. “Good, they are our new comrades, aren’t they?” “It seems so.” Then, I saw the lieutenant pointing towards us, and then the newcomers were looking in our direction. “And you were correct,” James said from behind. Then, the two of the newcomers were walking towards us, the other two towards the housing of the third section. We all introduced ourselves. Hm. I noticed the two weren’t that old; in fact, they looked green as grass in their clean uniforms. The five of us were looking at each other. “Good, we are greatly outnumbered despite the presence of one of our army battalions here. You can die very easily in this environment especially considering Nod kills the wounded if left behind and tortures their prisoners,” sergeant James said. “Jessica and Douglas, you two come just from the training grounds and have zero combat experience. Considering we’re outnumbered two-to-one in engagements usually, you should realize you need to use your brain in order to survive, considering you don’t have the combat experience to rely on!” “Yes sergeant,” the four soldiers replied. “You should also realize, that none of our squads is at full strength; normally they consist of ten soldiers, a corporal and a sergeant, but here, they consist of six or seven soldiers, and a sergeant and a corporal. Our corporal just fell in combat, and the lieutenant allowed me to choose his replacement… I will appoint Domino as my new corporal.” “Thanks, sergeant, for the faith you have put into me,” she replied. “Congratulations, Domino,” I replied. She gave a short smile.
The sergeant said something to Maxwell I couldn’t hear, and afterwards we started to play a game of Monopoly, with Jessica and Douglas as well. “Normally, we play poker, which is our common way of spending time together, and to prevent getting bored too much,” Domino told to the newcomers. “It looks boring to play poker every day,” Jessica replied. “It isn’t that bad to play a game of poker after a patrol, you know, especially once you realize there isn’t much you need to do here, and that most of our common conversation takes place during those games of poker,” Bill said. “But today, now we have still enough time to spend, and we don’t have chores and I’m not in the mood to play poker, we play Monopoly,” Domino said. Amanda, Olaf, Maxwell and Douglas searched for a place around the table. Someone put a CD in the radio and I heard heavy guitar riffs and drums filling the room, soon followed by grunting men. A bit later I noticed it was sergeant James. It gave me a laugh. Douglas and Amanda turned around, frowning. “Uhm.” The volume was lowered. “Ah, sorry. Didn’t notice you guys. Ah well, is there still a pawn left? “No, sergeant,” Domino said. “Damn it. Well, there are other ways to scare some people away…” he said in a low voice. “Hrm. Somehow I don’t take you serious at this moment.”
“Hrm. Well, there is something I need to do anyway. I haven’t cleaned my office in ages.” I couldn’t believe he said that. He is our sergeant, and he just undermined his very own authority! When sergeant James went into his office, Domino then said to the surprised newcomers. Well, that’s sergeant James. He is trustworthy in battle and you should follow his orders on the battlefield. However, when we aren’t on a patrol and we are safe and sound here, he behaves like a random soldier and not so much like an officer. Though that would be disastrous when he is in a large army, he is the best sergeant we could get at this base especially considering we are so dependent on each other in a small base like this.” Some of us started to tell dirty jokes after a while, but when I felt it went too far, sergeant James came around and warned that the next one who tells a dirty joke would have to clean the toilets.
Edit: Improved and added more conversation and other stuff. Last edited by Vulture on Wed Nov 30, 2011 7:10 pm; edited 1 time in total QUICK_EDIT
It reads well, but (don't get me wrong) it has some kind of childish style. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's just missing a bit depth, like different characters for the soldiers. It reads a bit like a news-reporter post, just objective facts without any emotions, jokes, drama etc. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Exactly what I feared.
I'm going to write that out better, but it will be edited in this part, probably, considering this:
"Another day passed, and I had no patrol duty that day, so I could stay at base. I spent the time with things needed to do at the base, and playing poker and watching TV during free time. Still, everybody, even the other sections, were a bit upset about the loss previous day."
Which is obviously a little short while there is a lot of space to build characters there, considering the soldiers have some time together without much interfering. QUICK_EDIT
Maybe you should skip the next part of Sams story for a small introduction/background story of each soldier. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Also, previous part was exceptionally boring with that technician ranting about guns, but it is still a bit too important to ignore considering the guns return a bit too often and many don't know the differences between guns. QUICK_EDIT
Well. Last part partially rewritten. And part about characters has been finished.
For now, I'll introduce the first section and Amanda.
Samantha:
Age: 14
Lived in a rural area in central Europe. She went to the primary school where she proved to be an intelligent girl who could adapt easily to any given situation. Her parents are dead, but her uncle is still alive, being ranked a major in the GDI military, and he taught her some ways about combat and gave her some military training exercises.
Her creativity, her intelligence, and endurance, combined with her long-range weapon, make her a formidable soldier. She also wears full body armour unlike other soldiers, but she can still outrun them if necessary.
Domino:
Age: 19
A nice girl, living in a GloboTech secured area during her youth. She had enjoyed a better education than most people during these times. She can be very creative at times and has her heart at the right place, but since her parents were killed by Nod when they attacked the GloboTech village she lived in – something she only survived because she hid in a cupboard, she felt a need to fight for the common good and joined GDI quickly afterwards.
She was fifteen at this time, she went to military training, and went into combat when she was seventeen. She has fought for two years since then, and knows what to do on the battlefield.
Olaf:
Age: 22
One of the older soldiers, and a combat veteran. His past and his military experience don’t give him much of emotions. He knows no fear, and wants to avenge Nod for killing his family during a raid on the town where he lived during his youth.
Maxwell:
Age: 19
A soldier who went already to combat when he was sixteen. Enjoys playing poker and combat equally well, but he is a bit of a madman. He is only located at the outpost for two months now.
He did lose most of his family when Nod aircraft attacked the city he lived in four years ago, but he still has his sister, though she was raped and abused by Nod soldiers following up the air attack. He still dreams about her, and met her once since the attack.
His father was a brigadier-general in the GDI army, and the army officers keep an eye on him considering he has a knack for strategy inherited from his father.
Bill:
Age: 20
A friendly guy, and one of the few who doesn’t really want to avenge Nod but just wants to fight for a safe planet. He joined the armed forces when he was forced to move away due to an uncontrollable Tiberium- and thorn-infestation in his hometown. His parents both serve in the GDI military.
Jessica:
Age: 18
Came with Douglas from the Military Training Grounds. She is quite smart, but not that creative. She lived in a small GloboTech protected town, and went to the MTG when she was sixteen. She was rushed into combat when she was two years older since the training grounds proved no longer safe against Banshee Bombers and were consistently attacked.
Her dad researches Tiberium in a GloboTech labratory.
Her mother is a teacher on a primary school in a GloboTech protected city.
Douglas:
Age: 18
Came with Jessica from the Military Training Grounds. Has not much in the form of military experience or whatever, and he spent, before he went to the Training Grounds, more time drawing and painting then training.
His mother died due to cancer, but his father still does his job as an architect.
Sergeant James:
Age: 28
A combat veteran as well, having fought for over ten years. He knows what to do in any given situation through this experience, and has fought in large and small battles alike. His combat experience earned him promotion to corporal and later sergeant.
He keeps his thoughts to himself and does not tell anything he doesn’t see fit to tell, but he talks often about the military, and tells the soldiers whatever they need to know.
Amanda:
Age: 17
Maxwell’s sister. A traumatized girl, being haunted by nightmares of the Nod soldiers who raped her when she was only thirteen years old. She did not managed to escape like her brother, and was captured and subsequently scourged and battered several times to see if she knows something. She managed to escape after six weeks during a GDI attack. Since then, she lives in a quiet village in the countryside. She talked with her brother only once times since, when they met each other accidentally when Maxwell made a patrol after he was located at the hideout.
Nothing else is really known about her, except the fact that she is loyal to her brother and GDI. She has her secrets which she keeps to herself and where nobody knows about.
It's ok, but i think it lacks a bit versatility.
-they all seem to be quite young. There could be also an older man/woman (30-40 years) with already some experience. e.g. previously working as a normal civilian and being a reservist, he/she then joined GDI to do his/her duty when the new war broke out.
-the comedic guy who always has a joke, even in the middle of a fight (e.g. using phrases like a pro FPS-player "boom headshot" "i hate campers" etc)
-a closed and calm, but tough and big guy. e.g. he never speaks a word and all think already he is mute, but then on a rare occasion, he is speaking some wise words which is funny on one side and also thought-provoking on the other (e.g. after fight where some morale taboos had to be broken or bent a bit to win the fight). So you hear this guy only as a surprise after the most crucial points of the story
-the cowboy type of guy. loving guns and women. always having more than one extra magazine for his gun
-a commando would be cool. a single elite soldier who often works alone and separates himself from the others even in the camp. thus they all see him with mixed feelings as they don't know much about him and his missions (e.g. some are jealous or just dislike him because they don't know him, except Sam who seeks some friendship with him as she sees herself as a bit separate among the other soldiers as well).
If you know the movie starship troopers, you could also adapt some of the characters there (or just take another movie/book and use some of the characters)
-Ace Levy: the comedic guy
-Lieutenant Jean Rasczak: the former teacher and reservist, who is now working as the tough, experienced field commander who stops at nothing _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Well, there are three sections at the base, and so something about the commanders of the other sections will be told.
Also, would you really except a joker or a cowboy to fight in THIS envoriment? I can expect them in a large base, but that kind of people aren't exactly what you want in a base in a location like this.
Also, I don't want to spoil everything... yet. I haven't told much about the soldier's behavior (and nothing about Amanda and with several reasons for storyline purposes). _________________ Tales of War QUICK_EDIT
A roleplay. Hrm. It can be very boring if we all start on our own continent, though... If we do it, we should all start within close proximity to eachother if we want to have some frequent interaction. QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Location: Star Kingdom of Manticore
Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 9:39 am Post subject:
I remember we had one on TibWeb that ended in a fierce battle between GDI and Nod over Hammerfest. Nod was eventually victorious after an insane naval battle. My two characters were killed off by another Nod commander just shortly before the battle ended. It was an epic RPG
Oh, and we all started on different continents and came together _________________ "Reality is a lovely place, but I wouldn't want to live there." -Adam Young QUICK_EDIT
Lol, I remember one that was here years ago. Three times I tried to introduce Yuri to the story, but as I did, he immediately got killed. People must really dislike him. _________________ QUICK_EDIT
We talked a bit during the evening, sitting around the Monopoly board considering the game still wasn’t finished, only Maxwell, Bill and Jessica went bankrupt before dinner and there were still five players left, but around nine o’clock, Domino, Olaf and I went bankrupt, and Douglas won only a bit later. It was a boring game, but the soldiers told some interesting combat stories, though I felt they exaggerated a bit at times.
Domino walked towards me. She appeared somewhat uneasy, as if she had to say something she didn't want to say but had to. “Well, Samantha… you’re one of us, but you are also not one of us. You are in fact still a child, though one with combat experience and a good weapon. You know what you’re doing despite the horrors which happened to you. Still, you aren’t a soldier. A higher ranked GDI officer and several GloboTech office members will talk with you about how you want to go on once Nod is driven out of the area. This to protect you and to ensure you’re treated as if you were a soldier. Until that happens, you are a soldier, formally. Carry this badge on your uniform so everybody has a proof. It is most important when it happens that you get wounded, though.” Why do they want to decide about me? And why does it matter if you’re formally a soldier or not? I searched for a polite response especially considering Domino's uneasyness. “Good. I’ll survive it.” “Well, unless we are once outnumbered too badly. And, you should not surrender to Nod forces. Nod soldiers like to rape young, skinny girls with a slender build. So yes, the same goes more or less for me – or actually for most girls and young women, considering the food supply is alarmingly low nowadays.” As if I don’t know that. “I know, I know. My dad told it to me several times.” “There is still more you need to know. You should learn how to clean your weapon, in case you don’t know it already.” I didn’t knew that was necessary. “Indeed, I don’t know how to clean my weapon…” “I’ll explain it to you tomorrow. It is late now, and I guess you want to sleep.” “Good. Directly after breakfast, I suppose?” “I think so, Sam.” Hm. “Good night, Domino.” “May the stars watch over you, Samantha.”
The next morning, Domino taught me how to clean my weapon. I had to demount it, then I had to clean it carefully, and then I had to remount it again. “Once you get used to it, it is a ten minute job, but the first few times will take longer.” It wasn’t really difficult to demount and to remount my weapon. I expected it to be very difficult but it was actually surprisingly easy.
Two other soldiers were watching over Amanda, for who it was agreed at would at first just take over most of the chores until it was safe enough for a GloboTech transport to arrive considering she did not prove fit for combat duty.
Also, Domino told me I needed physical combat lessons. Domino handed a pair of muffles over to me and pointed to the punching bag hanging in the room. “Try to hit this punching bag as hard as you can,” she said. I did as she said, but the bag barely moved. “You can do better,” Domino said. I was not so sure of that, but I tried again. Again, the bag moved only a bit. Then, Domino gave a punch at the bag which went flying. Damn, I could never make that happen. “I expected you to be stronger, Samantha, but well, you can’t be good at anything,” she said. “You are still a good soldier, especially considering the days of hammering at each other with sticks and stones are over. You can wield a gun and you can hit, and in the end, that’s most important. And usually, when you can expect house-to-house combat, you have a bayonet mounted, so in case your enemy gets that close, you will be capable of dealing with him anyway. However, you should know how your weapon feels if you have your bayonet fixed. It will feel much heavier.” I did as she said. “Indeed. I didn’t expect the bayonet to make my weapon that much heavier.”
The afternoon went away easily. Everybody had to do his or her things, and in the evening we played poker. Some guys were contesting each other in a dirty jokes competition in the meanwhile.
In the evening, we heard an unsettling rumble of firing cannons and some other weapons, which died out after a few minutes however. The Lieutenant asked sergeant James and the other sergeants to come only shortly afterwards. It appeared as if something bad happened. “Our Leopards were forced to retreat by orders from the staff. This means enemy armor is still roaming around in this area. The Leopards did destroy a few tanks which the high command deemed sufficient… they were quickly needed elsewhere now a major battle is expected to take place.”
Next morning, we went on a patrol, through a rural area where no village lies.”If everything is alright, we won’t meet anyone,” the sergeant said during the mission briefing. The weather was clear, and the visibility very good, which could help us to prevent from getting ambushed, and most encounters would be at a fairly long range if we encountered any opposition. We were walking through the woods and the mountains with the Kazuar behind us. It was a boring patrol, for nothing happened. We kept walking for well over two hours without seeing any Nod troops, new Tiberium patches or anything else needed reporting, only noting the armor division and their Sonic Tanks did a great job at clearing a Tiberium Field a few days ago. This place struck me as died out and blackened due to the Tiberium presence, but I did not see any trace of new Tiberium growing, though Domino warned us that we should not walk on the blackened ground, though the sergeant seemed a bit ignorant and walked on the blackened ground.
After another two hours, Bill said these calmness was actually normal before Nod started its offensive and that he would like those times returned. We were only halfway the patrol at that time, but we kept walking steadily without encountering even a single Nod soldier, to my surprise. Another strange thing I noticed, was the sergeant’s behavior; he did not say anything for three hours now. Near the end of the patrol, I was tired and had a bit trouble keeping the pace of the experienced soldiers, and Domino said we nearly did it, but “Move on,” sergeant James, who was walking well ahead of us, shouted in our direction. He was a bit angry, I noticed. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said in a harsh tone.
Then we returned to base, having dinner directly afterwards.
I liked having dinner after such a long patrol. The patrol tired me and it made me hungry, but the restrictions allowed me only to eat so much, so I still felt a bit hungry after I finished my dinner. It was an uneasy feeling, but I did not think anything could be done about it. Sergeant James said he wanted to talk to us. “You guys should walk faster towards the end of the patrol. Sixty pushups.” Why, I asked myself. We looked towards each other with a questioning look. “Do as I say, soldiers.” What happened to him? He behaves different than he did before.
Those sixty pushups were tiring after such a long patrol, but I did them without much problems though I had the feeling my muscles would fail me after I did forty of them. My stomach protested after I stood up again. “Straggling behind is not what you need to do during a patrol, even if you are tired,” he said. “Walking eight hours through the forests and mountains is tiring, I know, but slowing down is no option. What if those Eclipses bore down on us again?” My mind was filled with questions, and I had trouble listening to what the sergeant was actually saying.
Afterwards, Domino told us sergeant James was probably a bit frustrated about the retreated armor battalion and some heavy losses occurring last night. I could not believe that was all what happened. Something else must have happened, but I had no clue what it could be. I kept pondering this question, but in the end I decided to put the matters to a rest and fell into a sleep. QUICK_EDIT
The sergeant was extremely rash when we woke up next morning, even worse than yesterday. He baffled to us something we did not understand, and we kept looking to each other, not knowing what to do. “What happened, sergeant?” Domino asked. “Nothing,” he replied. We had to do a short patrol this afternoon, and I did not know what to expect from our sergeant which made me feel a bit nervous.
Domino shifted her weight uneasily from one side to another which gave me the idea she was nervous as well, and the other soldiers were quite nervous too. “We will do ninety pushups before breakfast!” What? Did he just say ‘ninety’? We obeyed his order, but it was visible that most of us had their questions.
Tiring it was, and my muscles, which started to hurt terribly. Each pushup was more tiring than the last, and after number seventy, my arms failed and I fell down, panting heavily. “Get up, lazy girl, and do the remaining twenty plus an additional five.” I did as he said, heavily panting. “I withhold Samantha her breakfast for failing the first exercise. Samantha, you can come with me, the others can have breakfast.” Monster, was the only thing I thought at this moment. “Sergeant, isn’t that a bit cruel,” Domino asked. “She didn’t deserve to eat,” the sergeant said. Domino appeared baffled.
The sergeant escorted me to his room. “Fifty sit-ups, Samantha.” Why? “B-but…” “Quiet!” he shouted in an extremely harsh tone I did not hear from him before. There was no other option than doing as he said. Sit-ups were much more tiring and difficult than those pushups, but I succeeded. Panting, I had trouble in regaining my footing afterwards, but once I did. He ordered me to do three sets of ten squats, which surprised me considering squats were one of the more dangerous routines; hurting yourself is fairly easy. He gave me a fifteen-pound bar. My legs were sore from the beginning and almost every muscle hurt afterwards. I had the feeling I would faint after the third row. Then, he threw me at the ground. “Weakling,” he shouted. “Another thirty squats.” He growled. I managed to do only fifteen initially, but I did the remainder slowly much to the sergeants disgrace and fell backwards after the last one. When I stood up, he guided me to my room, where I should stay until eight o’clock. I cleared the sweat from my body and got rid myself of my wet clothes. My stomach growled constantly. The sergeant kept looking over me, and I forced myself to sit upright.
At eight o’clock, Domino walked into my room, and the sergeant left. “What did you have to do?” “Some exercises on an empty stomach.”
“The sergeant was not like this before. Now he is a bit cruel, but soon he will let us do exercises we can’t complete either. But don’t worry.” “How to do that patrol on an empty stomach?” I asked. “I don’t know if he withholds rations, but if he does, we will share ours if the sergeant is not looking, or find another way to give you some. If we cannot, we will take care of you if you faint.” “Thanks.” “Maybe he’ll keeps you at the base, but then you can go to the lieutenant and tell what happened.” “For now, I’m too tired to go on patrol, being only a burden especially if I faint,” I replied. I did not want to faint in presence of the soldiers, because that would make me look weak, but I felt dizzy and had the feeling I could faint at any moment. “Well, you should not worry. If you faint before we go, the lieutenant will keep you at the base anyway.” Domino pressed suit with me, which felt comforting and safe after the sergeants treatment. I closed my eyes… and faded away. Blackness.
When I woke up again, the first I saw were Domino and Amanda watching over me. “Are you alright, Sam?” Domino asked. “It could be better.” I wanted to sit upright, but Domino pushed me down to prevent that. “Please, lay down and rest, and don’t make haste. We have plenty of time.”
I noticed my muscles hurt from everything I had to do. I tried to ignore it and, after a while Domino and Amanda helped me to sit upright. I started to wonder why Amanda was in my room, but she explained it herself; “I felt something went wrong here and decided to take a look.” Domino excused herself, telling she needed to do something and left me with Amanda, who kept being around in case I fainted again.
Then, I prepared myself for the upcoming patrol. I didn’t want to look weak when facing the other soldiers. I would not give up. I would not give in. I would go on.
At eleven o’clock, we left the base. The sergeant ran fast, even faster than yesterday, and no one could keep up with him. Even at my fastest I couldn’t keep up with him longer than a minute or two, and I could not keep this pace for long especially not with hurting muscles and an empty stomach. I only felt dizzy after I ran and was forced to slow down. After a while, he had to wait for us every few minutes, which made him more angry every time it happened, and after a short while we were all tired and started to walk in the pace we walked in our earlier patrols, in the end even ignoring the sergeant. “Where did you obtain that speed and endurance, sergeant,” Bill asked after the sixth time the captain stopped. “I do not run any faster than I normally do, lazy jackass. You guys all became slower, up to the point even snails outrun you.” I felt I was panting already, and we were only outside for about twenty minutes. Then, the sergeant said that he would punish us once we returned to base, and then moved on at full speed, even faster than before, and we only gazed after him, not wanting to follow him. The sergeant did not stop anymore, and we lost track of him within only a few minutes. “What the hell… that isn’t human anymore,” Maxwell said. “Even a marathoner could not keep up that speed.” We followed the path we meant to walk on our own, completely ignoring the sergeant. Domino issued her orders, and we followed her lead. For now, I’d think she is the best commanding officer our squad can have, I thought. “I don’t want to know how angry the sergeant will be once we return, but we have no other choice,” she said. “Let us feed little Sam first before she faints, though,” Jessica said. ‘…again?’ Domino had apparently kept my faint silent. Then, she handed me gave me something to eat. “The lieutenant gave this risotto to me when I told him of your situation. Not too much, but if you would eat any more, you would end up being even more worse off than you are now. We should hope the sergeant does not return to take a look at us.” I ate the risotto right away, which settled my stomach and gave me new energy to proceed. And the sergeant did not return.
It was clearly we would be grateful to not find any Nod soldiers on this patrol considering the circumstances, but fate had other plans, since after we walked an hour, two Nod Attack bikes came our way.
They stood out of our guns range, and I expected they were reporting our presence to their base. “Open fire once you see fit, Samantha,” Domino said. “No problem, corporal,” I replied. They were at six hundred meters, so I kneeled, and sniped the driver of the left bike. I saw how he fell of his seat lay motionless at the ground. However, both gunners opened fire with their, aiming their RPG’s more or less in our direction. Both flew overhead, and once we returned our look to the bikes, one of them was gone, but the one of which I shot the driver opened fire again. I ignored the RPG aimed at us, and opened fire at the gunner, killing him. “Good job, Samantha. Can you immobilize that bike permanently, with aiming at the engine?” “Sure,” I said, confident I could hit the engine block at will. I aimed once more and shot several salvo’s through the engine. “Now Nod forces are coming our way, we will have to make a sharper turn than intended to not walk directly into their hands,” Domino said while looking at her compass. Her estimation was correct, as we saw a pair of Hornet’s flying overhead searching for us, but they were looking at the wrong places. The canopy protected us from detection from the air. An Inferno Hover Tank moved past us at a kilometer or so, but we did not see it again, though we kept in dense bushes for five minutes. We kept looking for Nod forces, and we all knew we could be found all in a sudden and be captured or killed. But none of such fates occurred to us, and to our relief, we returned to our base unharmed, however, only to see an angry sergeant waiting for us.
He shouted at us in a very angry tone, and his comments were filled with insults. However, Domino gave the quiet order to ignore him and walk straight to the lieutenant’s room, where Domino would write an official report about the sergeant.
We had our dinner. I was hungry, and ate my dinner away greedily. “Well, once the new supplies are brought, rations will be brought to normal amounts,” Domino said.
The Lieutenant came to us during our dinner, and told us he doesn’t know what to do with sergeant James, especially considering his combat experience, though he blatantly disobeyed the basic rules of being a sergeant.
The lieutenant tried to talk with sergeant James, but sergeant James did not reply at all. Such sort of answer found the lieutenant personally striking, but he found himself trapped in a corner, an expression we all could clearly see in his face.
He told us he decided to ask instructions on a major GDI base at some several hundred kilometers away, and to ask for additional troops and supplies to bring his platoon on full strength. He also told about the need of a first sergeant and a staff sergeant to complete the command structure, but I did not knew what the reply of the officer was or if anything was decided.
Afterwards, the lieutenant, called Domino to instruct her and to inform her of the current situation. After only a few minutes, Domino returned. My face cleared. Then, she gave me a thick envelope. Two rank emblems, with the sign of a Trooper. Being astonished, a “Thanks,” was the only thing I could say. “Congratulations, Sam. We decided to give you this rank since you were still a recruit, which is a rank you never deserved. Sergeant James would have disagreed since… something… happened to him recently.” “Do you know what actually happened, Domino?” “No. His behavior and unnatural speed seem to be related to a sort of Tiberium related mutation, but I did never see him standing into a Tiberium field, though he stood very close to the died out Tiberium field yesterday.” “I saw it, indeed. Since then, he changed like there was no tomorrow.” As a soldier, I couldn’t insult my superior, so forced myself I hold my tongue, even though I felt Domino would not tell anything about it. “True, Sam. However, getting rid of him can prove difficult. Probably he will be kicked upstairs, or he will get a court martial. Or he will be detached elsewhere, but for all three options, the lieutenant needs permission from someone at least colonel in rank.” I nodded. Then, I heard the sergeant was separated from us, and the lieutenant would lead us next patrol himself, appointing the sergeant of the third section to replace him in case he died during patrol.
Then, considering it was already ten o’clock, and I was as tired as could be, I decided to sleep, even though most of my questions, similar those which arose yesterday, were still left unanswered and kept rampaging through my head. Unlike yesterday, however, it took well over an hour before I finally fell asleep.
And I will introduce the lieutenant; he will be promoted in the near future though.
Lieutenant McGregor
Age: 25
The lieutenant of the base. He is a combat veteran, but he doesn’t have as much experience as his sergeants because he did not promote due to his battlefields accomplishments, but because he studied at the military academy. He finished the academy when he was nineteen, and started as a second lieutenant as a platoon leader. He was kicked upstairs to the cave base after he ignored the orders of a colonel but with very good results, being promoted to a first lieutenant, of the then newly built hideout, in the caves. He realized he was kicked upstairs, but decided to make the best of it with his troops, and his guerilla warfare proved effective.
Due to his consequent good results with few units, and his way of handling problems arising, he can be promoted to captain in the near future, but his complaints about supplies and troops keep his promotion suspended because it annoys the high-command a bit, even though he only wants his troops surviving the environment they're operating in.
Next part, I will introduce another batch of characters. QUICK_EDIT
good job. i'm eager to find out what happened to the sergeant.
I really like the more detailed description of each characters feelings and behaviour. Definitely an improvement from the first parts which lacked these and were more like an emotionless status report.
Maybe now only add a tad more infos describing the visual aspects: character clothes, terrain, certain objects. Not much and just where it fits so you can make a more clear picture of the location/situation/person in your mind. (e.g. a dark room; burned trees; clothes in tatters; a sparkle in the distance from a weapons metal case, revealed the enemy position etc) _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
I'll try to do that during the next parts.
What actually happened to the sergeant will become clear much later, and I won't spoil it yet.
The next day felt different without someone shouting at us, and everything went like my first few days at the base. Shortly after breakfast, the lieutenant came in and gave us good news: The replacement sergeant would tomorrow in the morning. He said we were lucky: “This sergeant lost a large part of his squad due to heavy attack by Banshee Bombers, but he is very experienced and appeared to have two experienced soldiers and a recruit with him. If this did not happen, we could have to wait days or even weeks for a replacement.
On the downside: Large groups of Nod forces appeared to come up out of nowhere, dealing blows to our forces everywhere.”
Hrm. I thought it would be better if we just had Domino as our squad leader for she knows us and who we are.
We would also have a staff sergeant becoming the second in command in the platoon, but what I considered really awesome, was that a commando would be operating from here, from now on. Her nickname was “Lionheart”, and she has nine years of combat experience. A real commando. I couldn’t believe it, and I felt very enthousiastic about it. They would be brought in with an Boxer APC, and would arrive at seven o’clock next morning. Also, they would bring new supplies with them including underslung grenade launchers and a supply of grenades for those weapons, aside from enough rations and other food to bring up our daily rations to normal amounts. I saw some smiles on all faces. “Still, I will lead the you guys, including the new soldiers, during the next patrol. The new sergeant has to do quite a bit of paperwork before he can take command.”
The day went away faster than previous day even though we did not have to go on patrol. During afternoon, Domino gave me physical training session like a drill sergeant does with recruits, which was very tiring, but Domino was more careful than sergeant James, and though I felt very tired and was panting afterwards, I also felt alright. I did not end up dizzy or fainting like yesterday, and it Domino cared about me unlike sergeant James yesterday.
She told me she had borrowed the equipment of sergeant James for some of the exercises, and what I found surprising, was that she did not knew there was any physical training equipment in the base until I told her about it yesterday. Even the lieutenant, whose name appeared to be McGregor, appeared surprised when he found out about the sergeant’s habit of doing some exercises every day. After a short discussion between all NCO’s and the lieutenant, the physical training equipment would be relocated to the not-used storage room, at least after sergeant James was gone, who was locked in there until he could be relocated elsewhere. I thought he would be already relocated tomorrow for research and interrogation, but I became a bit unsure of that, especially considering there was said not a word about him in the announcement of this morning.
We played poker during the evening, and talked about our new sergeant, and what kind of man we hoped to see. We also talked about the commando, but I noticed that Olaf and Bill having a grudge against commando’s because “they weren’t that special.” Domino replied that the combat experience could be very helpful in battle, but that did not help to reduce Olaf’s or Bill’s grudge. I would really like to meet her, because she should be awesome.
Next morning, we had breakfast an hour earlier at six o’clock. I wanted to keep laying in my bunk, but forced myself to wake up and to prepare myself for the oncoming day. Within an hour, the new guys would arrive. We ate our breakfast and I saw Domino being nervous. I was nervous myself too, though not in a bad way like a few days ago with sergeant James in command, and it became even more when I heard the engines of the Orca, probably a Carryall, flying overhead.
The lieutenant and Domino stood up, and Domino winked me, suggesting that I should follow her. I did so, and we had to welcome the newcomers, who would be outside, but might not find the cave so easily on foot in the dark.
“Welcome. I’m lieutenant McGregor.” A colonel walked towards us. “Captain McGregor, Captain.” The colonel gave him an envelope.” You got promoted. I wanted to tell you myself. I also want to see sergeant James.”
“Anyway, let me introduce Tamar, the staff sergeant you asked for. Sorry, I couldn’t find a first sergeant in time, but, I’ll give you permission to appoint one yourself, and to promote one of the soldiers of said squad to corporal and the corporal to sergeant.” “Thanks, colonel,” McGregor said in an unusually timid voice. Then, the three soldiers and the sergeant introduced themselves to Domino and me. Another girl stood alone, without saying a word... she had to be the commando, and this felt a bit disappointing. “Tsuki, come,” the new sergeant shouted. She came towards us. She didn’t seem to like it but came over. The male soldier, whose name was Victor, pressed suit with her, though it appeared to be much to her disliking. “Please, we don’t hurt you, Tsuki. And I don’t think those girls will.” Hm, he proved sensible. Also the two girls, which were clearly sisters, started to talk. The older sister was named Irina, and she had a tired look, but her sister, Maud, looked even worse. She did not manage to sleep for three days. Maud told me she had only a few days of combat experience, and she was unable to finish the academy because it got attacked. “Maud, Samantha does not have much combat experience either, but she proved a good soldier. I haven’t seen an aim like hers in ages, though I’m sure Tsuki can match it.” “I will not allow rivalry between the two of you though, whenever you two operate together,” said the sergeant, who was a “von”, and therefore from an old German nobility. His German accent was easy to recognize when he talked on a normal tone. “In this environment, squabbles are deadly,” Domino told. She paused, probably to make the newcomers think about what she just said. “Our previous sergeant probably got a Tiberium infection, so stay clear of it even if you think it is safe,” she followed. Again a pause. I took a look at Tsuki, who appeared to be surprisingly frail for a commando. She looked as if a small breeze could blow her away, especially now we stood in the dark, but she also had a certain gaze which convinced me that she had to endure a lot in the past and that she would never fail us in battle.
We walked back to our base, with the Boxer slowly tailing us. Captain McGregor told me Tsuki would sleep in the room next to mine, and I had to point her the room and tell her everything she need to know. Domino would tell the other soldiers.
When we arrived, we talked a lot, though Tsuki did not say much. Amanda and our section walked slowly in our direction, and everybody introduced him-/herself to the newcomers. I felt like I was meeting new friends and I had to introduce them to others. It was odd but familiar. Tsuki, however, did not say a word.
I pointed Tsuki her room, and Tsuki appeared to be relieved that she had to sleep alone, but it was only a guess because she still did not say a word, and then I noticed Amanda on her doorstep. “Sorry, Amanda, but I have to ask you to leave,” I said. She nodded and closed the door “Please… say something, Tsuki,” I said. “Hm.” “We don’t hurt you, you know.” “Young one, you don’t have to lie. Everybody always does.” “What?” “I prefer to be alone.” This would not be easy. She turned her head towards me. “I cannot understand why someone would hurt you. But you should know that you will always operate with one of the squads, at least Captain McGregor told me. Alone you are very vulnerable here, no matter how skilled you are.” “I saw a sort of fear upon her face.” “Do you want to tell why you are afraid of being hurt?” I asked. Tears appeared in her eyes. I felt a deep fear residing within her. “No,” she replied. More tears appeared. “Please, Samantha, leave.” We can’t do anything if you hide. “B-but…” I did not know what to say. “Please, leave…” I left, unsatisfied. Pain resided deep within her, and I was sure Amanda felt it too. It was why she stood on her doorstep.
Amanda indeed walked towards me. “Did you notice the commando’s feelings, Amanda?” I whispered to Amanda, in the hope no one else would hear me. “Yes,” she whispered back. I opened my room. “Well, Sam, I felt all sorts of pain and grief around her. She has been tortured or something, I think, somewhere within her past, and psychically, she did never heal from the wounds it caused.” I had trouble comprehending what Amanda meant, but I nodded. Amanda left after she said that, and I went to the main room of the first section.
I saw Bill and Olaf playing poker against each other, and Domino asked me to play chess against her. I accepted, considering this could allow me to put my mind elsewhere, and I used to play chess for five years until I was twelve. I chose the black pieces, and opened with a Sicilian Dragon, and gained a small advantage during the midgame, but I could not turn this into a victory easily. The match finally ended with a draw after a hour passed. For the moment, I cursed the fact that a bishop more is not enough to checkmate someone on an empty board.
Afterwards, Domino told me I should prepare for the next patrol, and I did as she said.
Domino told Tsuki she had to go on patrol this afternoon with the first section. It would be a relatively short one, but we were well equipped compared to previous patrols, and Victor’s recoilless rifle could prove useful against lighter enemy armor; it could deal with any vehicle’s armor except Eclipses.
We left the base at two o’clock. We were silent and captain McGregor gave his orders; sergeant von Stolberg had yet to take command formally. McGregor told he wanted to see us in action when working together. It was the first time, but McGregor could keep us together, even though we were more silent than usual. The Kazuar left late but moved with us.
I was nervous. I did not want to fail now, with a commando operating with us and with new soldiers and a new sergeant around. For the first three hours, we did not see anything, but then, enemy forces appeared, heading for us.
“Sjeez. Two platoons, each accompanied by a Light Tank,” McGregor said. “Why do we end up massively outnumbered if you are going with us, captain?” Domino asked. “I’m sorry, corporal,” he answered. I remembered when I met these guys that we faced an enemy platoon. The odds are now fairly horrible, but do we end just as lucky as back then? I had to put the question aside, now the distance had closed to eight-hundred yards. They moved onto a road, feeling safe but, though we were hiding in the bushes, they noticed our presence and increased their speed. The light tanks moved well ahead, their guns pointing at the Kazuar. “They noticed the Kazuar,” I said. Domino, who sat a few meters to my left, said that was indeed the case.
Tsuki and I opened fire at the center squad of soldiers. Two of them fell immediately but the rest took cover. Bill opened fire with his new UGL and a four centimeter grenade exploded right into the crowd of their third squad. Irina followed his example. Then, I saw a fire jet to my right, and only seconds later one of the light tanks exploded. I was astonished and stopped firing. I did not see any enemy soldier in the open anymore, but one of them revealed his position when he fired his bazooka in our direction. As the projectile passed overhead, I took my aim and fired a few bursts into his direction. Then, the remaining light tank opened fire. Its shell flew between us but did not hit anyone. “Victor! Kill that thing!” sergeant von Stolberg shouted. Another fire jet, to my right, and the light tank’s turret popped into the air. “Good job, Victor,” I said. And I meant it. Now, we only had the enemy soldiers to worry about, but they still outnumbered us with four of them for every one of us. I saw a small burst of fire coming from out of one of the trees, and while I aimed, Tsuki opened fire. Then, I saw the body fall out of the tree. She aimed really well. The enemy soldiers closed the distance while we took cover in a defensive position, the Kazuar being the only thing visible of our presence, and only from certain positions. McGregor ordered us to mount our bayonets.
Then, I saw a pair of Nod soldiers appearing in front of me. I was scared. They were incredibly close, probably only meters ahead. I had to kill them, and quickly, or they would notice me and kill me. I shot one of them, and I could not miss at this distance, and in the meanwhile I stormed into the other, with the bayonet pointing well ahead. His face was contorted with fear and disbelief, and then I sunk my bayonet into his chest. I pulled it out of him, and I saw the blood spurting out of his ribcage. The Nod soldier screamed something in French. Shit! This would attract too much attention. I shot him into his head. I felt this silencing had attracted some enemy attention. I was right, and sudden fears took control of me once a bullet zipped past my ears. Seconds later, another one rammed its way into my bulletproof vest, knocking me over. A third bullet smashed into my left arm. I feared this would be my end.
I crawled away, dizzied. Everything was looking a bit blurry. I crawled back to my original spot. Somehow, I was still alive. I had to kill. Or I would end up killed. I was more afraid than I had ever been in my life. I saw more enemy soldiers, luckily at a more normal combat range. With my vision being normal again, I shot another four of them, and then, somehow the battle was over. I could not believe it. I now realized the gunfire died out. I now realized I was panting. I now realized I was tired. All things I did not realize during battle; I even did not hear the gunfire that much. Did that mean I got used to the sound of firing guns?
“You did well, Samantha. That bayonet charge was incredible.” Who? I turned around, and I saw Victor telling me that. “Thanks, Victor.” “Are you alright? I saw you falling,” Domino said from out of the bushes. “Something struck me in my ribcage, and another bullet struck my left arm but both could not penetrate my bulletproof vest. So yes, I’m alright. I could’ve been off much worse,” I decided to reply. “You can be grateful you wear full armor,” Domino answered. “Yes,” I replied. My body hurt however, and I would like to rest, but I would not admit that. Everybody appeared around us, and no one of us appeared to be wounded. Olaf’s helm was dented by a bullet, though, but somehow he did not notice he had been hit. We all moved to complete the patrol and to retreat to base. The adrenaline was still running through our veins, and it was easily sensible in between us.
We kept on guard, but we did not encounter any opposition and returned to base safely. I never felt such a relief upon reaching our base.
We had dinner directly after we returned, and spent the evening talking together in front of the TV. The new guys were all quite nice, I noticed. Except Tsuki, who had returned to her bunk after dinner. She certainly was a girl where you could not have any fun with, as she is so silent and withdrawn.
At half past nine, I went to my room and fell asleep onto my bunk, being tired like hell.
I introduce the new characters too:
Sergeant-major Heinz “Bowser” von Stolberg:
Age: 27
The new sergeant of the first section. A combat veteran, who earned his promotions through combat. Replaces James after his Tiberium infection. He fought in many guerilla battles and at a major battle in Germany, known as the Battle of Hamburg where GDI won a major victory against Nod forces.
He just had his squad decimated in a battle where he was outnumbered three to one, but still they killed all opposing Nod soldiers without casualties, only to meet a terrible fate afterwards, when a trio of Nod Banshee Bombers killed eight of them with their bombs, only Irina and Victor surviving with him.
Irina and Victor were granted permission to follow him to his new appointment once he would obtain it, and after another short fight, Irina’s sister, Maud, would accompany them as well.
Only a bit later, “Bowser” was accompanied to the Cave, where he would lead the first section.
He has a lot of knowledge about tactics and knows how to deal with any opposition in almost any given situation.
Irina:
Age: 19
A soldier with some combat experience, and she fought in several battles. She has more technical knowledge than most soldiers.
She can get well along with her younger sister, but the two were separated since she was operational while her sister was in training, until they met each other by accident after a skirmish against Nod forces.
She carries a SA80 with 40mm underslung grenade launcher.
Maud:
Age: 17
Irina’s younger sister. She does not have much in the form of combat experience, but she was evacuated from her military training grounds since they were under attack by Nod forces. Since then, she fought for her life in two small skirmishes against Nod forces, but after the second of them, she met her older sister by accident.
Victor:
Age: 21
An experienced soldier who fought in numerous battles. He is fearless but rational and thinks logical. He has a major grudge against Nod, which only become bigger since he was the only one who escaped from an Inferno which roasted his entire squad.
Afterwards, he fought two other battles with the squad of a sergeant-major nicknamed “Bowser”.
He is, unlike most other soldiers, equipped with a newly developed reloadable 37mm recoilless rifle for anti-vehicle use.
Tsuki “Lionheart” Nishizo:
Age: 24
A Japanese soldier who travelled everywhere, fighting already for GDI since she turned fifteen. In the first Tiberium War she fought during many battles and everywhere on the planet as an elite soldier. Being tomboyish, she loves weapons and stuff. She also prefers to fight alone.
She’s equipped with a Xiuhcoatl rifle she obtained during a battle in Mexico, and she considers it the finest weapon she ever used. It is equipped with an underslung one-shot EMP she obtained in another battle. During that battle, she also obtained the nickname of being “Lionhearted” for her bravery.
She is a sort of commando, and is not bound to any squad.
She says very little, but a lot is known about her history before she joined GDI; her father was a General and her mother a colonel in the army.
She is traumatized, and she hardly talks about her past with other soldiers or commanding officers. She is very loyal to GDI as an organization, but mostly because she has a bitter hate against Nod.
When she was eleven, Nod soldiers conquered the village she lived in. The three of them were taken somewhere else, and placed in a sort of dungeon for interrogation.
There, Nod soldiers tortured her as a weapon against her parents, which were interrogated and only killed at the moment GDI forces knocked on the door of the jail. However, her parents did not tell anything during the interrogation which lasted weeks, and the crippled Tsuki was left for dead when the Nod soldiers had to flee.
When she recovered, she resumed school and started her military training, where she received some brutal punishment as well at times.
She finished both when she was fifteen, but then it was already clear she would never entirely recover from what she had to endure.
Staff Sergeant Tamar Bilaal:
Age: 39
He had been a reservist for a long while, but at the age of 37 he got command as a sergeant. Like McGregor, he got kicked upstairs for being correctly critical at an higher officer, being promoted to staff sergeant and sent to some faraway base.
He worked for ten years in an office and knows how to handle all paperwork, and his task is to help McGregor with the paperwork a commanding officer has to do.
He does not tell anything about his childhood, but both of his parents did work for GDI in the past, and his mother still works for GloboTech nowadays.
Not the best part I've written, but well... since these forums are so inactive nowadays...
The days were spent on an usual way, except for the fact we did not meet any Nod forces during the patrols. I could, like most of us, get well along with the new soldiers, though Tsuki kept being withdrawn, despite Domino’s efforts to make her feel more affiliated with the other soldiers.
I noticed I became used to the relatively low amounts of food served each day, and my weight finally stabilized. I also felt my endurance increased, and ninety push-ups were no longer a problem to do.
We did not hear anything about sergeant James though, who was taken to a major GDI base for research. It was something we disliked, but also something I decided to not think about, because it would prove ultimately useless.
The only thing that really changed was, that after this week, Tsuki did no longer withdraw to her room. She sat with us, and though she kept being silent, she started to show more faith in us.
Our new sergeant was experienced and battle hardened. His new duties with our squad seem to fit him perfectly, I noticed.
Later on, we had to go on another patrol, but from the beginning it was clear it wouldn’t be an ordinary patrol. Captain McGregor would lead us, and also the Third Squad, bringing the amount of soldiers we had up to twenty. Tsuki looked towards the Kazuar and muttered something dynamite sticks, and she knew that certainly a building had to be blown up. “We only go with two squads as a safety measure. We have to blow up a construction site, but since the MCV and the main escorts are already gone, we only have the base guards to deal with, most likely including a Laser Turret. It is only ten miles away from here. I will lead the operation myself.” “Yes sir,” the sergeants replied in unison.
The Kazuar walked out of the cave and we followed.
During the walk towards the site, nothing special happened. We encountered no enemy soldiers, and the construction site was guarded with a Laser turret, and two infantry squads. Tsuki and I prepared to snipe off some enemy soldiers, and we did. We fired at the soldiers, killing them as if it was a mechanical act. Victor opened fire at the laser, but his first grenade missed. However, the explosion and smoke trail attracted attention and gave away our position, and a Light Tank and fifteen remaining soldiers stormed towards us. The Kazuar came around from behind a large bush and opened fire at the soldiers, mowing down a few, and Victor opened fire at the Light Tank, blowing it up. From the Kazuar, a crate with recoilless rifle ammo was issued to Victor, so he should not have to worry about his ammo supply when dealing with the laser. After eight shots, twice his usual ammo supply, he finally managed to hit the small structure, leaving a large hole in it but not destroying it. In the meanwhile, I saw the construction workers abandoning the place and running away, scattering in all directions. Victor looked frustrated, while he fired again. “Take it calm, Victor. Aim carefully,” von Stolberg said. A few shots later, he succeeded in hitting it again, this time causing the laser to explode violently. Then, we moved around the construction site, and Tsuki placed her dynamite sticks into what would become a power plant and barracks. Then we ran, while Tsuki ignited the fuse. A large explosion marked the end of the base. “Now, get the hell out of here!” captain McGregor shouted. “Before they cut off our retreat, as they had plenty of time to warn other Nod forces.” Maud tripped over a root, to her sisters’ dismay, but Olaf acted immediately, and took her in his arms and managed catch up with us.
A Venom zipped overhead, but missed us as we were covered by dense trees while the Venom looked somewhere else… somehow, the Nod commanders thought we came from another direction. We kept running for a while, with the Kazuar covering our retreat. After twenty minutes, we had to rest a bit, and we walked the remainder of the return leg, again without encountering opposition. We praised our luck as we walked into our cave again. On the radio, the sergeant from the second squad came in laughing, saying he managed to eavesdrop on Nod communications, and that half a dozen Venoms are roaming the area at this moment, all checking the wrong area, and moreover, two of them crashed into each other. How stupid can you be? Crash into each other?, I thought…
After dinner, Tsuki came to me and talked to me. About her imprisoning, and about her battles, and how some of her superiors didn't mind hurting her either. She was afraid because she was sent so far away from where she lived, but now she finally realized why she was relocated. She was sent to a squad needing assistance and specialized knowledge, while the staff officer tasked with her future, knew there were half a dozen other girls in the platoon to prevent her from being hurt and decided to send her here. I nodded after she finished her talking, and we talked a bit more about more casual subjects, this time in the lobby with the others of the first squad. She finally started to trust us, it appeared. We played a game of poker with the other girls, and then went off to sleep after this day. QUICK_EDIT
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Written smth out of boredom
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