The War Out East: First strikes
Original forum post: #43917004 by The Way Sun Cooperation, 2026-09-10 15:39 (forum time). The text below is the author's post, copied verbatim.
The War Out East
First strikes
The roar of the engines was blunted by the set of headphones built into the helmet Misha wore as he walked down the length of the plane's cargo bay double and then triple checking each of the hulking pallets which they had been tasked with lugging around the skies above the cooperations eastern border for the last few hours. From all his checks everything looked good to go, each parachute ready and each pallet secured to the rails. With nothing more to check he flicked down a microphone from his helmet and spoke into it. “Final checks on the cargo have been complete. Should be ready to go.” A booming voice came over Misha’s headphones in response. “Got it Misha, I need you to head down to the rear cargo bay doors and prepare for the drop.” Misha began walking speaking only after he had clipped his harness to a handrail beside the door's controls. “Ready to go opening it up now.” A loud beeping noise could be heard even with his headphones as they began to blare across the plane. A growing slice of sky could be seen as the cargo bay door lowered providing a beautiful view of the cloud's tinted orange by the setting sun but also letting in the howling winds of northern Belmiria.
Misha shuddered slightly as he got used to the wind and had to fight against it as he spoke into his microphone. “Doors open good to release the first pallet.” Not a second later he watched as the first pallet rushed by to his right following rails until it flew off the edge of the ramp its parachute billowing open slowing the pallets fall. It was quickly followed by the other pallets until the plane's cargo bay was empty. As Misha went to close the cargo bay door, he could see each of the pallets swaying from their parachutes in the wind his view quickly blocked by the cargos bay door closing. When the wind was finally cut off, he detached himself from a handrail and began walking up to the cockpit ready for a cup of coffee to warm himself up as they turned to home to rearm.
From the ground the pallets were leisurely descending until something detached from one of the pallets. The sleek cruise missile extended its fins as it dived towards the ground using them to glide for a few moments before its engines kicked in. Flying just above the treetops the first missile was quickly joined by more missiles from the other pallets. All forty released from the pallets dropped from Misha’s cargo aircraft were screaming through the skies eastward. Their targets were located across Kumyesk the heart of Atlansk and for so longs its shield. Most of the city was unaware they were being targeted until sirens began to sound across the city and anti-aircraft systems were rolled out from cover. The evening sky was lit up by anti-aircraft guns as they unleashed torrents of bullets trying to intercept the missiles hurdling themselves over the city.
It was a terrifying couple of minutes as explosions and gunfire rocked the city but then everything fell silent if only for a split second before the sound of emergency sirens and car alarms rushed to fill the gap. People across the city could see towers of smoke rising into the sky which was no longer tinted orange by the setting sun but by flames. Most were too far to see any of the destruction wrought by this first attack. Those living on the streets near the building which once housed Kumyesks military command were shaken. Their windows had been shattered and clouds of dust met them as they walked outside looking at what once was Kumyesks military nerve centre. It clearly had been shattered by multiple hits leaving the building with gaping holes in its facade on the edge of collapse. The first responders arriving to the aftermath started a search for anyone seeking to try save some people. They rushed as they saw people start stumbling from the building bearing deep cuts from shrapnel which had been thrown in all directions by the blast. It became a race against time as they sifted through rubble keeping an ear out for anyone stuck in the basement levels below them.
It was a situation mirrored across the city from with the airport and a fuel depot on the city's edge engulfed in explosions and fires. At every sight there were attempts were being made to save who they could and assess the true extent of destruction. Air defences which had not been hit were put on their highest alert as reports from across the Eastern Provinces spoke of similar attacks no one knew whether this would be the only act of retaliation for the attack on Fort Lanko or if this was the start of something much worse.
Ramp up
At an airbase on the outskirts of Mosny the atmosphere had been growing heavier with anticipation with each passing minute as the men and aircraft of the eighth airborne were readying themselves for the largest airborne assault their division had conducted in at least a decade. On the airbases tarmac helicopters were sitting idle as their crews and the men who would be riding on them to battle were conducting any checks they could think of. Far from the clumps of soldiers waiting near the tarmac and under the shade of a camouflaged net a young man was sitting on a bunch of crates in a world of his own as people rushed by him. Sat on the crate Danylko could not help but glance down at his watch every minute or so it was an old watch with some scrapes across it paired with a simple leather strap but otherwise it was well polished. It was a gift from his father who had worn it during his time in the CDF every look at it made Danylko wish he could give him a call but he knew he’d not have a chance to talk to him until after his work was done. He had to reassure himself in the meantime that this was what he had been training for and this would just be when it would be put to the test. As he looked down at the watch once more, he nearly jumped out of his skin as two hands slammed down onto his shoulders. He swore as he jumped up turning around to see a shit eating grin plastered onto the face of his squad mate Pitor.
“You prick. What did you do that for?” Danylko stood up regaining his footing after the surprise.
Pitors smile did not fade as he responded. “Theres no need to thank me but I just gave you a refresher course on your awareness skills, and I got say there's lot to work on.”
“Is there any way I can opt out of your refresher courses?” Danylko asked as he grabbed his rifle.
Pitor shook his head. “No luck on that front as long as you need them, I’ll seize the opportunity to give them to you.”
“That's so kind of you.” Danylko glanced down at his watch seeing that the time till the operation was nearly up he looked up at Pitor saying. “We got to start moving.”
Looking at his own watch Pitor picked up his pace. “Yeah, don’t think anyone would look kindly on us for missing our ride.”
The two of them left the shade of the camouflaged net walking across tarmac towards an open area where men were falling into formation. As they walked Danylko could see a transport helicopter being loaded up with tracked UGVs he had no doubt they’d come in handy until the second wave came in. They’d offer extra firepower which would never be something he’d say no to, but it did make him wonder if their usefulness in training would carry over to the battlefield, he hoped it did. Danylko stood next to Pitor with a few ranks of men ahead of him and then forming behind him. When everyone was assembled a man in combat fatigues and an exoskeleton stood in front the assembled troops his booming voice picked up on a microphone and belted out over speakers.
“Today we are the spear head which will strike back at Atlansk. We will serve as the first wave of liberators for Skrelavosk and its people from the regime of terror they are being subjected to. It would be an insult to your skills to say the next few days will be an easy fight. As we secure the airbase for the second wave and await the ground forces to relieve us, we must fight relentlessly and without misunderstanding we are facing an enemy which hates us so completely that they do not care who they harm in the crossfire.” The commander speaking to them paused. Danylko thought it was an attempt by the commander to let his words settle in with the crowd before he continued. “We have a schedule to keep godspeed to you all and let's kill the bastards.”
Danylko could see one of the men standing beside the commander shake his head disapprovingly at these final remarks, but he did not speak up as the formation broke up and started to head over to their respective helicopters. Danylko followed the rest of his squad as they moved quickly across the tarmac heading to a transport helicopter which had its engine already spooling up its blades cutting through air as they took their seats in its belly. Danylko knew the ride would be a long one glancing over at Pitor who for reasons he could not phantom was tearing into a bag of jellies Pitor taking a handful from it before waving it in front of Danylkos face. All he could do is shake his head before looking out the window seeing the tarmac grown more distant while looking out towards cargo helicopters and attack helicopters joining them on the journey to Skrelavosk.
The Line (Written by The Manticoran Empire)
The checkpoint sat in the middle of a narrow valley, the only path through the range of mountains which separated Skrelavorsk from the Cooperate. In peacetime, it consisted of a fence and a few guards. Travel between the two countries was, in point of fact, so limited as to be a non-issue. What little travel there had dried up after the nuclear attack in the Cooperate and the City got busy fortifying the crossing. What had once been a pair of fences topped with razorwire and some traffic control bollards was now a defense zone thirty kilometers deep.
At the front remained the fences and bollards. Half a kilometer behind them, however, now sat a ditch, ten meters wide and four meters deep. Behind the ditch sat a barrier line, nearly a kilometer deep, made up of obstacles. Hedgehogs made out of criss-crossed steel beams, concrete dragons teeth, and steel Belgian Gates blocked the easiest paths forward, forcing any attacker to advance slowly and to constantly stop and move sideways to avoid obstacles. Anti-tank and anti-personnel landmines, as well as improvised explosive devices, were interspersed with the obstacles, placed in the apparently empty lanes between them.
About a hundred meters behind the obstacles had been constructed several bunkers which ran across the breadth of the valley. The pillboxes, made out of steel-reinforced concrete, were hexagonal and staggered in a checkerboard pattern, allowing each box to cover the others. Inside each were machine gun teams, established with interlocking fields of fire that covered the obstacles. The boxes were connected by covered trenches, allowing troops to pass between them and even withdraw without exposing themselves. A second line of pillboxes sat half a kilometer to the rear and the third line half a kilometer behind that.
A kilometer behind the last line of pillboxes were hardened mortar positions, with camouflage netting over them to hide them from aerial observation. The crews had dugouts, both for themselves and for the ammunition, and the engineers had sworn that the dugouts could resist the heaviest artillery bombardments.
Five kilometers further back were bunkers built into the mountains themselves which housed truck mounted howitzers. They could race out of their hiding positions to prepared positions and begin firing within five to ten minutes. Each gun had a total of three positions, allowing them to shoot and scoot between them to complicate counter-battery fire.
The final layer of the defense were the hardened depots thirty kilometers behind the border. A full division of Skrelavorsk’s regular mechanized infantry waited to counter-attack whatever force attacked the border defense brigade.
At least, that was the most obvious part of the defense. The valley was overlooked by mountains to both sides and the defenders had not ignored them. Gun and mortar positions had been built into the mountainsides over the years, with a network of tunnels connecting them. Past administrations had planned to use the mountainside tunnels to harass Cooperate columns, rather than fighting them directly in the valley. Recent events, including the Cooperate’s practice in airmobile operations in IverChekt, had forced a change in plans. The addition of the valley defenses were intended to slow a Cooperate advance more directly, hopefully allowing troops further back to overwhelm any airmobile attack force before the border fortifications fell.
The plan was a good one. Every square centimeter of the valley had been presighted for artillery, mortars, and small arms. Skrelavorsk had buried every single landmine it had and a goodly percentage of its improvised explosives along the border. And signal jammers had been erected to blanket the area with noise. Old fashioned fiber optic landlines would allow troops to communicate with each other.
It was a good plan. Unfortunately, the other side had its own plan..
Opening moves
On the Cooperate side of the border under the faint twilight of the approaching dawn final preparations were made. Troops readied themselves moving from under the cover of camouflaged tents they'd been waiting in as they filed onto their transports. Drivers ran final checks while orders were reiterated upon by officers as an air became awash with a mixture of apprehension and anticipation. Soldiers on both sides waiting for it all to kick off and to find out if carefully laid plans would survive contact with the enemy. Then in the distance the calm was broken by the dual barrels of several MCV-8A's dotted around each of which lobbed 120mm mortar rounds arcing through the sky at a frightening rate. Near the border there were smaller thumps from grenade launchers as a layer of thick smoke laden with particles of phosphorus began to billow laying a blanket of cover for advancing forces from the enemy's thermal sights. Explosions rocked the mountainsides throwing up dirt and stone to cover the advance of heavy UGVs controlled from a distance by combat engineers.
Their tracks tore up dirt as they advanced bringing down the fence with its dozer blade as they creeped forwards until pausing. Then with a loud roar they fired off mine clearing charges which rocketed forwards before settling on the ground detonating charges set along them triggered a few mines and IEDs forming a supposedly safe path for 200 meters ahead. The UGVs came under fire as they continued to advance with more shells falling from the sky from friendly and enemy positions. Drones guided by fibreoptic wire slammed themselves into mountain positions not already being harassed by the mortars and shelling by artillery. All this to cover the mad dash of armoured vehicles which charged towards the cleared paths across the border. The ditch became the most apparent obstacle as troops dismounted into the thunderous valley their augmented views providing them a view of the chaos. The enemy was far from them, but their presence was constant in the form of earth shattering IED explosions, the crack of gunfire whizzing by and the screams of those whose luck had ran dry. A heavy engineering UGV with sappers already were hard at work clearing pathways a few gaps in the ditch which had been heavily mined offered corridors to get across which came under fire from ATGMs and mortars as the columns rushed forwards.
At one of these corridors dismounted men were facing choking smoke from an MCV-8 which had taken multiple hits its crew dead it had to be dragged out of the way under fire to allow the stream of vehicles and troops to continue forwards the dragon teeth being pushed by dozer blades some dug into the ground but slow progress was being made under the cover of heavy guns their tracers streaking through the sky. As time marched on, they inched through the barriers coming under heavy fire from the bunkers which covered the bottom of the valley. Grenade launchers and the MCV-8s accompanying the dismounts fired off rounds towards the pillboxes suppressing them as they advanced. This finally brought the CDF face to face with their enemy and it was bloody. The machine gun nests overlapping views did well to create meat grinders leaving moaning bodies sprawled across the ground. But even under constant fire they took out enough pillboxes to pry a gap in which troops entered the covered trenches. Turning the battle into a close-quarters blitz with bullets being sprayed down the trench's lengths as grenades threw shrapnel in all directions.
Some soldiers looking at their watches and the sun hanging higher in the sky knew they were not moving according to plan. It was a brutal slog even to get to the first line of trenches, and the idea of two more lines lay behind it was a daunting prospect. But the march would continue until this bottleneck had been shattered and they could charge towards Skrelavosk to link up with the airborne troops likely already securing positions across the city. It would only be a matter of time before Skrelavosk broke but the same was true for their allies so they had to be sure to break this line first.
Distant strikes
A few kilometres from the edge of Wesker the Lohan Airport served as the city's largest airport. Built around two runways, it had a vast passenger terminal suited for an influx of passengers which never came and had modern hangers most empty except for a cluster inhabited by the few airlines which flew there. Lohan stood now as a glimmering symbol of a failed effort the modernisation started and fuelled by optimism of a unified east never seeing a payoff. But its vast untapped capacity made it ideal for the purposes of Weskers new allies in the Arachi Union of Socialist Republic. As the long-expected war began to the west Weskers new allies had already begun their efforts to aid the city through these uncertain times. Flight after flight bringing pallets of rations, greenhouses and weapons to secure the city. At the airport its self-hangers had been converted to warehouses to manage the influx of supplies as they unloaded the hulking cargo aircraft the ground crew could rest easy defended by a handful of mobile air defence systems graciously manned by comrades from the AUSR.
As the ground crew dragged a pallet of rations down the planes ramp, they were confused to hear the roar of a jet engine growing ever louder. Before they had a chance to look around to find the source in the distance a grey shard cut through the sky flying low there was a popping sound before a cacophony of explosions tore through one of the runways. Dirt was thrown up as charges exploded leaving craters in the runway leading people to scramble as another jet engine could be heard screaming in. This time two shards flew overhead unleashing their payload of cratering charges, and bombs which tore up the tarmac of the second runway. There was no break as another shard came over head the guns on the air defence systems opening up as it emptied its weapons on the terminal and followed up with a resounding bang as the fuel storage exploded into a fireball.
The ground crew as they rushed around for cover now had to avoid the deep craters in the ground as well as the mines which had been mixed alongside them. The air defence systems falling silent until the rush of a missile being fired off.
High above the airport a weapons systems officer was looking through a set of FPV goggles replaying the handy work of his unmanned wingmen speaking over the radio to the pilot to turn back homewards. As he kept an eye on the each of his drones' feeds, he was concerned to see a missile streak past one of the drone's camera view exploding against the drone ahead of it triggering a set of alarms to start blaring loudly in his ears. All he could do was order his drones to rejoin them later and start a mad rush upwards. He was pushed back in his seat as the pilot decided today was not the day to wait around to be found afterburners propelling them further from Lohan. He swore slightly as one of the drones lingered behind fuel dropping quickly, they had said they'd be dealing with some MANPADs which wouldn't act quick enough once they rushed in and out quickly not a bona fide air defence system which could keep up the pressure.
He let the drones autonomous programming mange the journey home as he focused on scrubbing back through the drone's recordings of the strike looking for what had hit them. It was only for a second but he could see a gun opening up and as the last drone rushed by a missile streaking off a rail to follow it. It was much more than they had expected from a target considered to a turkey shoot. Someone was helping them but for now he focused on that their job was done sure he’d have to write up a report about it but the airport was crippled and while the drone was worse for wear it would limp home this time.
Surrounded on all sides
As the helicopter door slid open Danylko and Pitor jumped to the ground throwing themselves to the ground laying prone as a few shots whizzed overhead. The rest of their squad fanned out running hunched over before diving to the ground to compensate for the lack of cover around the helicopter as it pulled away. Danylko began to shoot towards the rough direction the defenders must be as he took in where they had landed. If he had to guess he would say they were about three hundred meters of open concrete from them to the airport's hangers and a passenger terminal. It'd be a long sprint without cover, but they’d have to take it sometime soon. As he looked around, Pitor was firing towards some flashing police lights in the distance near the air traffic control tower when a MANPADs missile streaked upwards from near the hangers blasting the tail rotor of a transport helicopter which had been pulling up after divulging its squad onto the tarmac. It spun wildly before slamming into the ground right on top of the squad who dismounted it whose attempts to scatter to avoid the flaming wreck failed. Danylko was stunned as he saw a man screaming covered by fuel and on fire but was thrust back into focus as a shout came over his comms.
“Get your arses moving we are sitting ducks out here.” With that Danylko began to lay down covering fire as his squad moved into gear and started the run towards the shed which passed for a passenger terminal and the hangers. As they moved, they were joined by another squad and a tracked UGV which lugged around a heavy machine gun and a grenade launcher combined they’d provide some much-needed extra firepower to cover their advance. The UGVs grenade launcher thudded explosions rocking the distance as Danylko finally reached the passenger terminal. A simple prefabricated building it was a flat single story except for the tower at one end which housed the airports air traffic control tower the objective Danylkos squad was set to seize. He swung a door open throwing a grenade in ahead of himself he waited till its loud bang to charge in gun ready. But he was met by an empty passenger lounge and some luggage blasted to pieces by his grenade.
Pitor walked alongside him looking at the carnage he walked carefully sending a message over a text channel. What'd those suitcases do to you?. Danylko sighed not bothering to respond as he walked not in any mood to joke as they swept through the building as outside as rapid exchanges of gunfire could be heard. It was very empty inside not finding anyone until they came under fire. Danylko only caught a glimpse of the shooter as he rushed to cover. Watching as who had sprayed bullets at them darting around a corner. Looking towards the rest of the squad they had come off unscathed but moved ever more carefully towards the staff only section of the airport. Pitor took the lead with his light machine gun laying down fire as they moved encountering only a few airport security guards with assault rifles backed by local police. The next door he threw open led to a set of stairs to the air traffic control. Danylko lead the way walking carefully gun lifted towards upstairs he dived back as a grenade rolled down a few stairs. When it exploded there was a disorienting flash of light and noise, he was dragged backwards through the door into the secure corridor where he stared down at his leg's relief flooding him as he saw he was still intact.
"What the fuck was that?" He asked no one in particular as any response was drowned by the torrent of gunfire Pitor sprayed up the stair way. Regaining his bearing he followed the two other members of his fireteam as the rest of the squad secured the ground floor to clear the tower. Pitor did not leave much to clear in his wake Danylko having to step over a slumped body as he caught up with Pitor and two others at a barricaded door. When Pitor saw Danylko up and moving he smiled before kicking at the door, but when it did not budge and a few bullets flew through, he shouted. "Whose got the breaching shotgun?" Instead of waiting for an answer, he returned fire through the door when the gun fell silent the man behind him passed up a short shotgun. It took two shots at its hinges and a good slam, but the door fell alongside the body which had been blocking it.
They did not rush blindly in but threw a grenade thrown ahead of them waiting for it to explode before pre-firing the corners when they surveyed the sight it was a mess a moaning man torn up by shrapnel and suffering a shot to the gut being the only one left alive up in the now wrecked room. The computers were a write off and as they moved towards the windows Danylko stepped into a pool of blood leaving a trail of bloody footprints to a door outside where in the distant he could see smoke coming from the crashed helicopter, a nearby fire fight at the hangers and what they had been waiting on as a hulking transport aircraft in the distance divulged troops floating from parachutes in the wind as the second wave arrived far too early.
Airspace above the Cooperations far eastern border
The roar of the engines was blunted by the set of headphones built into the helmet Misha wore as he walked down the length of the plane's cargo bay double and then triple checking each of the hulking pallets which they had been tasked with lugging around the skies above the cooperations eastern border for the last few hours. From all his checks everything looked good to go, each parachute ready and each pallet secured to the rails. With nothing more to check he flicked down a microphone from his helmet and spoke into it. “Final checks on the cargo have been complete. Should be ready to go.” A booming voice came over Misha’s headphones in response. “Got it Misha, I need you to head down to the rear cargo bay doors and prepare for the drop.” Misha began walking speaking only after he had clipped his harness to a handrail beside the door's controls. “Ready to go opening it up now.” A loud beeping noise could be heard even with his headphones as they began to blare across the plane. A growing slice of sky could be seen as the cargo bay door lowered providing a beautiful view of the cloud's tinted orange by the setting sun but also letting in the howling winds of northern Belmiria.
Misha shuddered slightly as he got used to the wind and had to fight against it as he spoke into his microphone. “Doors open good to release the first pallet.” Not a second later he watched as the first pallet rushed by to his right following rails until it flew off the edge of the ramp its parachute billowing open slowing the pallets fall. It was quickly followed by the other pallets until the plane's cargo bay was empty. As Misha went to close the cargo bay door, he could see each of the pallets swaying from their parachutes in the wind his view quickly blocked by the cargos bay door closing. When the wind was finally cut off, he detached himself from a handrail and began walking up to the cockpit ready for a cup of coffee to warm himself up as they turned to home to rearm.
From the ground the pallets were leisurely descending until something detached from one of the pallets. The sleek cruise missile extended its fins as it dived towards the ground using them to glide for a few moments before its engines kicked in. Flying just above the treetops the first missile was quickly joined by more missiles from the other pallets. All forty released from the pallets dropped from Misha’s cargo aircraft were screaming through the skies eastward. Their targets were located across Kumyesk the heart of Atlansk and for so longs its shield. Most of the city was unaware they were being targeted until sirens began to sound across the city and anti-aircraft systems were rolled out from cover. The evening sky was lit up by anti-aircraft guns as they unleashed torrents of bullets trying to intercept the missiles hurdling themselves over the city.
It was a terrifying couple of minutes as explosions and gunfire rocked the city but then everything fell silent if only for a split second before the sound of emergency sirens and car alarms rushed to fill the gap. People across the city could see towers of smoke rising into the sky which was no longer tinted orange by the setting sun but by flames. Most were too far to see any of the destruction wrought by this first attack. Those living on the streets near the building which once housed Kumyesks military command were shaken. Their windows had been shattered and clouds of dust met them as they walked outside looking at what once was Kumyesks military nerve centre. It clearly had been shattered by multiple hits leaving the building with gaping holes in its facade on the edge of collapse. The first responders arriving to the aftermath started a search for anyone seeking to try save some people. They rushed as they saw people start stumbling from the building bearing deep cuts from shrapnel which had been thrown in all directions by the blast. It became a race against time as they sifted through rubble keeping an ear out for anyone stuck in the basement levels below them.
It was a situation mirrored across the city from with the airport and a fuel depot on the city's edge engulfed in explosions and fires. At every sight there were attempts were being made to save who they could and assess the true extent of destruction. Air defences which had not been hit were put on their highest alert as reports from across the Eastern Provinces spoke of similar attacks no one knew whether this would be the only act of retaliation for the attack on Fort Lanko or if this was the start of something much worse.
Ramp up
Outside of Mosnoy
At an airbase on the outskirts of Mosny the atmosphere had been growing heavier with anticipation with each passing minute as the men and aircraft of the eighth airborne were readying themselves for the largest airborne assault their division had conducted in at least a decade. On the airbases tarmac helicopters were sitting idle as their crews and the men who would be riding on them to battle were conducting any checks they could think of. Far from the clumps of soldiers waiting near the tarmac and under the shade of a camouflaged net a young man was sitting on a bunch of crates in a world of his own as people rushed by him. Sat on the crate Danylko could not help but glance down at his watch every minute or so it was an old watch with some scrapes across it paired with a simple leather strap but otherwise it was well polished. It was a gift from his father who had worn it during his time in the CDF every look at it made Danylko wish he could give him a call but he knew he’d not have a chance to talk to him until after his work was done. He had to reassure himself in the meantime that this was what he had been training for and this would just be when it would be put to the test. As he looked down at the watch once more, he nearly jumped out of his skin as two hands slammed down onto his shoulders. He swore as he jumped up turning around to see a shit eating grin plastered onto the face of his squad mate Pitor.
“You prick. What did you do that for?” Danylko stood up regaining his footing after the surprise.
Pitors smile did not fade as he responded. “Theres no need to thank me but I just gave you a refresher course on your awareness skills, and I got say there's lot to work on.”
“Is there any way I can opt out of your refresher courses?” Danylko asked as he grabbed his rifle.
Pitor shook his head. “No luck on that front as long as you need them, I’ll seize the opportunity to give them to you.”
“That's so kind of you.” Danylko glanced down at his watch seeing that the time till the operation was nearly up he looked up at Pitor saying. “We got to start moving.”
Looking at his own watch Pitor picked up his pace. “Yeah, don’t think anyone would look kindly on us for missing our ride.”
The two of them left the shade of the camouflaged net walking across tarmac towards an open area where men were falling into formation. As they walked Danylko could see a transport helicopter being loaded up with tracked UGVs he had no doubt they’d come in handy until the second wave came in. They’d offer extra firepower which would never be something he’d say no to, but it did make him wonder if their usefulness in training would carry over to the battlefield, he hoped it did. Danylko stood next to Pitor with a few ranks of men ahead of him and then forming behind him. When everyone was assembled a man in combat fatigues and an exoskeleton stood in front the assembled troops his booming voice picked up on a microphone and belted out over speakers.
“Today we are the spear head which will strike back at Atlansk. We will serve as the first wave of liberators for Skrelavosk and its people from the regime of terror they are being subjected to. It would be an insult to your skills to say the next few days will be an easy fight. As we secure the airbase for the second wave and await the ground forces to relieve us, we must fight relentlessly and without misunderstanding we are facing an enemy which hates us so completely that they do not care who they harm in the crossfire.” The commander speaking to them paused. Danylko thought it was an attempt by the commander to let his words settle in with the crowd before he continued. “We have a schedule to keep godspeed to you all and let's kill the bastards.”
Danylko could see one of the men standing beside the commander shake his head disapprovingly at these final remarks, but he did not speak up as the formation broke up and started to head over to their respective helicopters. Danylko followed the rest of his squad as they moved quickly across the tarmac heading to a transport helicopter which had its engine already spooling up its blades cutting through air as they took their seats in its belly. Danylko knew the ride would be a long one glancing over at Pitor who for reasons he could not phantom was tearing into a bag of jellies Pitor taking a handful from it before waving it in front of Danylkos face. All he could do is shake his head before looking out the window seeing the tarmac grown more distant while looking out towards cargo helicopters and attack helicopters joining them on the journey to Skrelavosk.
The Line (Written by The Manticoran Empire)
Eastern Boundary Zone, Checkpoint Skrel-Z371
The checkpoint sat in the middle of a narrow valley, the only path through the range of mountains which separated Skrelavorsk from the Cooperate. In peacetime, it consisted of a fence and a few guards. Travel between the two countries was, in point of fact, so limited as to be a non-issue. What little travel there had dried up after the nuclear attack in the Cooperate and the City got busy fortifying the crossing. What had once been a pair of fences topped with razorwire and some traffic control bollards was now a defense zone thirty kilometers deep.
At the front remained the fences and bollards. Half a kilometer behind them, however, now sat a ditch, ten meters wide and four meters deep. Behind the ditch sat a barrier line, nearly a kilometer deep, made up of obstacles. Hedgehogs made out of criss-crossed steel beams, concrete dragons teeth, and steel Belgian Gates blocked the easiest paths forward, forcing any attacker to advance slowly and to constantly stop and move sideways to avoid obstacles. Anti-tank and anti-personnel landmines, as well as improvised explosive devices, were interspersed with the obstacles, placed in the apparently empty lanes between them.
About a hundred meters behind the obstacles had been constructed several bunkers which ran across the breadth of the valley. The pillboxes, made out of steel-reinforced concrete, were hexagonal and staggered in a checkerboard pattern, allowing each box to cover the others. Inside each were machine gun teams, established with interlocking fields of fire that covered the obstacles. The boxes were connected by covered trenches, allowing troops to pass between them and even withdraw without exposing themselves. A second line of pillboxes sat half a kilometer to the rear and the third line half a kilometer behind that.
A kilometer behind the last line of pillboxes were hardened mortar positions, with camouflage netting over them to hide them from aerial observation. The crews had dugouts, both for themselves and for the ammunition, and the engineers had sworn that the dugouts could resist the heaviest artillery bombardments.
Five kilometers further back were bunkers built into the mountains themselves which housed truck mounted howitzers. They could race out of their hiding positions to prepared positions and begin firing within five to ten minutes. Each gun had a total of three positions, allowing them to shoot and scoot between them to complicate counter-battery fire.
The final layer of the defense were the hardened depots thirty kilometers behind the border. A full division of Skrelavorsk’s regular mechanized infantry waited to counter-attack whatever force attacked the border defense brigade.
At least, that was the most obvious part of the defense. The valley was overlooked by mountains to both sides and the defenders had not ignored them. Gun and mortar positions had been built into the mountainsides over the years, with a network of tunnels connecting them. Past administrations had planned to use the mountainside tunnels to harass Cooperate columns, rather than fighting them directly in the valley. Recent events, including the Cooperate’s practice in airmobile operations in IverChekt, had forced a change in plans. The addition of the valley defenses were intended to slow a Cooperate advance more directly, hopefully allowing troops further back to overwhelm any airmobile attack force before the border fortifications fell.
The plan was a good one. Every square centimeter of the valley had been presighted for artillery, mortars, and small arms. Skrelavorsk had buried every single landmine it had and a goodly percentage of its improvised explosives along the border. And signal jammers had been erected to blanket the area with noise. Old fashioned fiber optic landlines would allow troops to communicate with each other.
It was a good plan. Unfortunately, the other side had its own plan..
Opening moves
Eastern Boundary Zone, Checkpoint Skrel-Z371
On the Cooperate side of the border under the faint twilight of the approaching dawn final preparations were made. Troops readied themselves moving from under the cover of camouflaged tents they'd been waiting in as they filed onto their transports. Drivers ran final checks while orders were reiterated upon by officers as an air became awash with a mixture of apprehension and anticipation. Soldiers on both sides waiting for it all to kick off and to find out if carefully laid plans would survive contact with the enemy. Then in the distance the calm was broken by the dual barrels of several MCV-8A's dotted around each of which lobbed 120mm mortar rounds arcing through the sky at a frightening rate. Near the border there were smaller thumps from grenade launchers as a layer of thick smoke laden with particles of phosphorus began to billow laying a blanket of cover for advancing forces from the enemy's thermal sights. Explosions rocked the mountainsides throwing up dirt and stone to cover the advance of heavy UGVs controlled from a distance by combat engineers.
Their tracks tore up dirt as they advanced bringing down the fence with its dozer blade as they creeped forwards until pausing. Then with a loud roar they fired off mine clearing charges which rocketed forwards before settling on the ground detonating charges set along them triggered a few mines and IEDs forming a supposedly safe path for 200 meters ahead. The UGVs came under fire as they continued to advance with more shells falling from the sky from friendly and enemy positions. Drones guided by fibreoptic wire slammed themselves into mountain positions not already being harassed by the mortars and shelling by artillery. All this to cover the mad dash of armoured vehicles which charged towards the cleared paths across the border. The ditch became the most apparent obstacle as troops dismounted into the thunderous valley their augmented views providing them a view of the chaos. The enemy was far from them, but their presence was constant in the form of earth shattering IED explosions, the crack of gunfire whizzing by and the screams of those whose luck had ran dry. A heavy engineering UGV with sappers already were hard at work clearing pathways a few gaps in the ditch which had been heavily mined offered corridors to get across which came under fire from ATGMs and mortars as the columns rushed forwards.
At one of these corridors dismounted men were facing choking smoke from an MCV-8 which had taken multiple hits its crew dead it had to be dragged out of the way under fire to allow the stream of vehicles and troops to continue forwards the dragon teeth being pushed by dozer blades some dug into the ground but slow progress was being made under the cover of heavy guns their tracers streaking through the sky. As time marched on, they inched through the barriers coming under heavy fire from the bunkers which covered the bottom of the valley. Grenade launchers and the MCV-8s accompanying the dismounts fired off rounds towards the pillboxes suppressing them as they advanced. This finally brought the CDF face to face with their enemy and it was bloody. The machine gun nests overlapping views did well to create meat grinders leaving moaning bodies sprawled across the ground. But even under constant fire they took out enough pillboxes to pry a gap in which troops entered the covered trenches. Turning the battle into a close-quarters blitz with bullets being sprayed down the trench's lengths as grenades threw shrapnel in all directions.
Some soldiers looking at their watches and the sun hanging higher in the sky knew they were not moving according to plan. It was a brutal slog even to get to the first line of trenches, and the idea of two more lines lay behind it was a daunting prospect. But the march would continue until this bottleneck had been shattered and they could charge towards Skrelavosk to link up with the airborne troops likely already securing positions across the city. It would only be a matter of time before Skrelavosk broke but the same was true for their allies so they had to be sure to break this line first.
Distant strikes
Lohan Airport, Wesker
A few kilometres from the edge of Wesker the Lohan Airport served as the city's largest airport. Built around two runways, it had a vast passenger terminal suited for an influx of passengers which never came and had modern hangers most empty except for a cluster inhabited by the few airlines which flew there. Lohan stood now as a glimmering symbol of a failed effort the modernisation started and fuelled by optimism of a unified east never seeing a payoff. But its vast untapped capacity made it ideal for the purposes of Weskers new allies in the Arachi Union of Socialist Republic. As the long-expected war began to the west Weskers new allies had already begun their efforts to aid the city through these uncertain times. Flight after flight bringing pallets of rations, greenhouses and weapons to secure the city. At the airport its self-hangers had been converted to warehouses to manage the influx of supplies as they unloaded the hulking cargo aircraft the ground crew could rest easy defended by a handful of mobile air defence systems graciously manned by comrades from the AUSR.
As the ground crew dragged a pallet of rations down the planes ramp, they were confused to hear the roar of a jet engine growing ever louder. Before they had a chance to look around to find the source in the distance a grey shard cut through the sky flying low there was a popping sound before a cacophony of explosions tore through one of the runways. Dirt was thrown up as charges exploded leaving craters in the runway leading people to scramble as another jet engine could be heard screaming in. This time two shards flew overhead unleashing their payload of cratering charges, and bombs which tore up the tarmac of the second runway. There was no break as another shard came over head the guns on the air defence systems opening up as it emptied its weapons on the terminal and followed up with a resounding bang as the fuel storage exploded into a fireball.
The ground crew as they rushed around for cover now had to avoid the deep craters in the ground as well as the mines which had been mixed alongside them. The air defence systems falling silent until the rush of a missile being fired off.
High above the airport a weapons systems officer was looking through a set of FPV goggles replaying the handy work of his unmanned wingmen speaking over the radio to the pilot to turn back homewards. As he kept an eye on the each of his drones' feeds, he was concerned to see a missile streak past one of the drone's camera view exploding against the drone ahead of it triggering a set of alarms to start blaring loudly in his ears. All he could do was order his drones to rejoin them later and start a mad rush upwards. He was pushed back in his seat as the pilot decided today was not the day to wait around to be found afterburners propelling them further from Lohan. He swore slightly as one of the drones lingered behind fuel dropping quickly, they had said they'd be dealing with some MANPADs which wouldn't act quick enough once they rushed in and out quickly not a bona fide air defence system which could keep up the pressure.
He let the drones autonomous programming mange the journey home as he focused on scrubbing back through the drone's recordings of the strike looking for what had hit them. It was only for a second but he could see a gun opening up and as the last drone rushed by a missile streaking off a rail to follow it. It was much more than they had expected from a target considered to a turkey shoot. Someone was helping them but for now he focused on that their job was done sure he’d have to write up a report about it but the airport was crippled and while the drone was worse for wear it would limp home this time.
Surrounded on all sides
Skrelavosk
As the helicopter door slid open Danylko and Pitor jumped to the ground throwing themselves to the ground laying prone as a few shots whizzed overhead. The rest of their squad fanned out running hunched over before diving to the ground to compensate for the lack of cover around the helicopter as it pulled away. Danylko began to shoot towards the rough direction the defenders must be as he took in where they had landed. If he had to guess he would say they were about three hundred meters of open concrete from them to the airport's hangers and a passenger terminal. It'd be a long sprint without cover, but they’d have to take it sometime soon. As he looked around, Pitor was firing towards some flashing police lights in the distance near the air traffic control tower when a MANPADs missile streaked upwards from near the hangers blasting the tail rotor of a transport helicopter which had been pulling up after divulging its squad onto the tarmac. It spun wildly before slamming into the ground right on top of the squad who dismounted it whose attempts to scatter to avoid the flaming wreck failed. Danylko was stunned as he saw a man screaming covered by fuel and on fire but was thrust back into focus as a shout came over his comms.
“Get your arses moving we are sitting ducks out here.” With that Danylko began to lay down covering fire as his squad moved into gear and started the run towards the shed which passed for a passenger terminal and the hangers. As they moved, they were joined by another squad and a tracked UGV which lugged around a heavy machine gun and a grenade launcher combined they’d provide some much-needed extra firepower to cover their advance. The UGVs grenade launcher thudded explosions rocking the distance as Danylko finally reached the passenger terminal. A simple prefabricated building it was a flat single story except for the tower at one end which housed the airports air traffic control tower the objective Danylkos squad was set to seize. He swung a door open throwing a grenade in ahead of himself he waited till its loud bang to charge in gun ready. But he was met by an empty passenger lounge and some luggage blasted to pieces by his grenade.
Pitor walked alongside him looking at the carnage he walked carefully sending a message over a text channel. What'd those suitcases do to you?. Danylko sighed not bothering to respond as he walked not in any mood to joke as they swept through the building as outside as rapid exchanges of gunfire could be heard. It was very empty inside not finding anyone until they came under fire. Danylko only caught a glimpse of the shooter as he rushed to cover. Watching as who had sprayed bullets at them darting around a corner. Looking towards the rest of the squad they had come off unscathed but moved ever more carefully towards the staff only section of the airport. Pitor took the lead with his light machine gun laying down fire as they moved encountering only a few airport security guards with assault rifles backed by local police. The next door he threw open led to a set of stairs to the air traffic control. Danylko lead the way walking carefully gun lifted towards upstairs he dived back as a grenade rolled down a few stairs. When it exploded there was a disorienting flash of light and noise, he was dragged backwards through the door into the secure corridor where he stared down at his leg's relief flooding him as he saw he was still intact.
"What the fuck was that?" He asked no one in particular as any response was drowned by the torrent of gunfire Pitor sprayed up the stair way. Regaining his bearing he followed the two other members of his fireteam as the rest of the squad secured the ground floor to clear the tower. Pitor did not leave much to clear in his wake Danylko having to step over a slumped body as he caught up with Pitor and two others at a barricaded door. When Pitor saw Danylko up and moving he smiled before kicking at the door, but when it did not budge and a few bullets flew through, he shouted. "Whose got the breaching shotgun?" Instead of waiting for an answer, he returned fire through the door when the gun fell silent the man behind him passed up a short shotgun. It took two shots at its hinges and a good slam, but the door fell alongside the body which had been blocking it.
They did not rush blindly in but threw a grenade thrown ahead of them waiting for it to explode before pre-firing the corners when they surveyed the sight it was a mess a moaning man torn up by shrapnel and suffering a shot to the gut being the only one left alive up in the now wrecked room. The computers were a write off and as they moved towards the windows Danylko stepped into a pool of blood leaving a trail of bloody footprints to a door outside where in the distant he could see smoke coming from the crashed helicopter, a nearby fire fight at the hangers and what they had been waiting on as a hulking transport aircraft in the distance divulged troops floating from parachutes in the wind as the second wave arrived far too early.