I am Kang, a marksman, thats all you need to know.
~SPZ. Kang Liuming, a marksman of Freak's squad, now Qinglong Special Operation Brigade, Southern Military Region, TNAReality
J. Cuomo Intl. Airport
Torch City, Torch StateFederal States of Euphemie
5/12/2018
8:00am EST
Freak sat by the terminal gate, aimlessly staring at the distant Morhatten skyline. Since the operation on the day of their arrival, the Qinglong Brigade has been engaged in combat around the city, but so far, his team has not received any order yet. "Perhaps it's intended by Major Bai as a day off for the team?" Freak thought, after all, they spearheaded a missions on the first day right after their arrival, it is logical to think Bai quietly offered them a day off as a reward, judging by his personality.
What Kurtz did in the basement of the Savinkov Club continued to disturb Freak, he has seen friendly fires for countless times, but a professional soldier intentionally shooting one of his comrades, even though distant, is another story. He cannot help but wonder if there is something under the table that he doesn't know about the VDR. However, there is nothing he can do about it, he is merely a sergeant of the Tangaliroan National Army, after all.
The airport seems like a fairly nice place, the coalition forces kept it in shape pretty well. It seems like they will have a relatively pleasant time staying in the airport, he thought. As for their time outside, no one will know till the end of the war.
Suddenly, his radio crackled to life. "All personnels of the Qinglong Special Operation Brigade, please assemble at the conference room within 10 minutes, over." The voice on the other side of the radio announced. Usually, when that happens, it means a mission.
"Well, well." Freak stood up. "Time to go."
Like many other Tangaliroan personnels, upon hearing the message, Freak dashed toward the conference room.
Freak made it to the conference room in time, and took his seat next to his team.
"Ey, lads." He briefly greeted. The rest of the team nodded in response.
"Take your seats, comrades, the briefing is beginning now." Major Bai walked to the front of the room, cleared his throat, and began his briefing. "Since the beginning of the siege, the coalition force has made huge gains against the defending forces of the city, but there are still a lot to do before we can call this a victory." Bai pointed at the map, his finger landing on Lower Morhatten. "Our mission is to enter the front line from the Grey River Bridge, then we will split in half. The first, second and third battalions will be responsible for pushing southward to the other Savinkov Club in town, while the rest will be pushing northward toward the International Academy. That is all, any question?"
The Tangaliroan soldiers looked to each other and entered into quick discussions, then shook their heads, the briefing already covered all they need to know.
"If this is the case, then this is all for the briefing. Gear yourselves up, we will assemble at the entrance to the airport." Bai concluded.
"Lets go." Freak gestured the team to follow, then stood up, leaving the room.
Grey Water Bridge
Torch City, Torch State
5/12/2018
10:00am EST
The team is inside their ride, throughout the past few days, Tangaliro has been airlifting tactical assets into the city, infantry equipments, helicopters and some lighter armored transports. Thanks to the effort of the Tangaliroan airforce, they don't need to cross the bridge on foot. A fair share of the brigade has already crossed the bridge, and it is now their turn to enter Low Morhatten. They belong to the first group, which means that they will be responsible for securing the Savinkov Club. Freak personally is not very pleased about venturing into a Savinkov Club so soon, but a mission is a mission.
"This is the farthest we can lift you to." The pilot said, landing the TX-44 on the Morhatten side of the bridge. "Alright, team, on me." Freak said, hopping off the chopper. "Can't believe we are going to that tasteless place again." Wei whined. "Don't complain." Osas said, and Wei stopped her complaint.
The team proceeded to the front line. The Tangaliroan forces before them have already started pushing before their arrival, judging by the gunfire in the distant, the battle is pretty fierce. The platoon leader, Letnant Xu Zhong, gestured the platoon to start moving. The streets look relatively clean compared to those in Blume, but it might just be a matter of time before they deform into mere ruins of their former glory, the thought of that makes Freak slightly sad, but he quickly shrugged it off, it is not the time to think about these matters.
"Contact!" Busch yelled, before several bullets flew past Freak, hitting the ground behind him. "Get in cover!" Freak yelled, as the team scrambled to their nearest cover possible. "Busch, their position?" Freak turned to Busch, who is hiding behind a destroyed Euphemian APC not too far from him. "Behind that red sedan over there!" Busch responded, peeking out from his cover and returning fire. "Got it." Freak reached for one of his side pouches and took out a rifle grenade, loading it into his rifle's attached grenade launcher. He peeked out from his cover, seeing a red sedan sitting in the middle of the road, it seems the car has been intentionally moved and turned to act as a road block. "Have a nice day, motherfuckers." He rose from his cover, then fired the launcher directly at the window of the sedan. The grenade traveled through the window, hitting the door on the other side, then exploded, blowing up the car along with whoever hiding behind it.
The explosion sure attracted nearby Euphemian forces, soon, they can be seen pouring into this part of the street from nearby alleys. "Mow them down!" Freak ordered. Wei quickly reacted, and unleashed hell on those who rushed into the street without thinking. Meanwhile, Kang and his fellow marksmen of the platoon, under the help of the members of the other squads, has occupied several nearby buildings, picking off the incoming Euphemians one by one. "Sniper in building! 3-story building ,12 o'clock, third floor!" Busch alerted, but the sniper threat didn't last long. In seconds, a trace of bullet flew into that window, then the sniper fire stopped. It seems that the sniper teams on Tangaliroan side have already gotten into their positions.
The firefight did not last long, the platoon soon cleared the segment of street of hostiles. "Team B, check that block for the sniper. Team C, keep alert of anyone entering the perimeter. Team A, on me." Team B is the team of Freak, he gestured the squad's marksmen and gunners to get into position, then carefully led the riflemen toward the building.
In front of the building's entrance, Freak gestured the team to halt, then stood back and shot at the handle of the door, destroying the lock, then picked up a small piece of rubble and threw it at the door, knocking it open. "The place seems clear, but stay alert, they can be setting traps somewhere else." Chen Wu stepped into the building and carefully examined the surrounding. Freak nodded, leading half of the team up the stairway, while Chen's team checked for the other rooms.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"This room is clear as well!"
Soon, the team checked for every room of the building. Finding nothing but a blood trail, it seems the sniper has been heavily wounded, but managed to escape. The room where the sniper was in is in a mess, indicating that the former occupant left in panic.
"The building is clear, we didn't find the sniper, but it seems he is heavily wounded, he probably won't make it." Freak called through the radio. "Got it, leave that building, we are moving on." Xu Zhong replied.
The platoon continued to advance through the streets, constantly stopping to engage Euphemian units. They have met quite a lot of Euphemian resistance on their way, but not a lot of them are escorted by vehicles, as they are mainly crossing through smaller alleyways or streets filled with destroyed vehicles, where vehicles have a hard time entering. Whatever armored combat vehicles the guard divisions have, they will be left for the better equipped to deal with, light tanks, IFVs, ATGM teams, attack helicopters, you name it.
"We're close, keep up the work." Xu said, but no one bothered to respond, the whole platoon is busy keeping a watch on their surroundings, as the Euphemians can be popping up from anywhere at any second.
"Enemy chopper inbound!" Jin alerted, pointing at an Euphemian attack helicopter, it is flying toward them, preparing to attack. "Shit, get into cover!" Freak exclaimed. As the team spread out, rushing into nearby buildings, the chopper started firing its autocannon at the platoon. Several soldiers of the other team are unfortunate enough to be too slow to hide, and soon got cut into pieces by the line of fire. "Shit! Are you guys alright?" Freak looked back at his team, the team nodded in confirmation. "We need to take out that thing before it takes us out." Chen turned to the rest of the team, asking for ideas.
"Our best bet would be a rocket-propelled grenade." Kang suddenly started talking, the rest of the team turned to him. "Judging by that thing's look, anything lower than a FZ-06[1] would not even scratch it. FZ-08[2] would work as well, but it is too slow." Kang turned to Freak. "Your call, sierzant."
"Hold this for me." Freak handed his rifle Chen. "I want all of you to stay here, or whatever safer place you find, this is an order." He said, while putting down his FZ-08 from his back, setting it up. Since the introduction of FZ-84[3], the central command has begun equipping every member of a squad with a light single-use launcher in order to increase their odds against armored targets, the idea proved to be practical, at least for the current occasion, the squad is glad to have them by their sides. "Wait, you are doing it yourself!? Sierzant, thats too risky!" Wei exclaimed, apparently concerned about the safety of her superior. "Spezialist Wei, are you concerned about my safety?" Freak looked at Wei.
"Of course I am! You are the squad leader, what are we gonna do without you?"
"Don't we have Chen here? He's a far more competent person than me, I'm sure he can handle it in case I'm gone for good."
"B-but...!"
"Don't worry about it, spezialist, I'm just joking. Do I look like I'm gonna die here?" Freak laughed, then dashed for the stairway to the roof.
The chopper has lowered its attitude, searching for target. Freak carefully peeked out from the door to the roof, the chopper is facing another direction, attracted by another team's whereabouts. This is the perfect chance, Freak thought, carefully sneaking out onto the roof, aiming the launcher at the chopper.
*Swoosh*
Following the launch of the rocket, Freak quickly tossed away the tube and reached for the stairs. The chopper has noticed the rocket flying toward it, but it was too late, the rocket landed exactly on its weapon rack on the left, causing a chain explosion, downing the thing for good.
The huge sound of the explosion and the thud that followed tells Freak of his success. "How was that?" He asked his team. "Swift and clean, sierzant." Osas complimented.
Freak's radio crackles to life again. "Good work, sierzant Wei, we saw the downing of the chopper, who was that?" Xu Zhong asked. "No one but me, sir." Freak smiled, grabbing his rifle.
The platoon proceeds down the street, they can already see the Savinkov Club in the distance, it is as tastelessly decorated as the other one they infiltrated days ago, but that doesn't stop the team from being pleased at the sight of the club, knowing that their mission is coming to an end soon. The fighting at other streets are seeming to be coming to a conclusion as well, with the sound of gunfire slowly dying down. It either means that the resistance of Euphemian forces around this part of Lower Morhatten are breaking, or the other teams are failing.
The platoon slowly approached the club. Soon, other platoons of the battalion showed up from other alleyways as well, indicating that the offensive has been successful. However, Freak can clearly see that all teams have sustained losses, judging by their numbers. As they went closer and closer, the familiar LED sign of the Savinkov Club entered their vision. "You have been to that one in Blume last mission, is this the right one?" Xu Zhong asked. "Absolutely." Freak nodded.
The Tangaliroans stormed into the Savinkov Club, this time, the club is rather empty. The clubgoers probably learnt about what happened in the other club, or are scared away by the sound of the ongoing fighting nearby. It didn't take long to finish the fight, the Euphemian guards, heavily outgunned, almost immediately surrendered to their CS attackers.
"Well, I guess this is it." Freak looked at the surrounding as the Euphemian soldiers get escorted out. Lighting a cigarette up, he leaned to a nearby wall and started smoking. The Brigade is only responsible for storming into the place, the long term defense of the place will be handed to the rest of the coalition force, they are neither geared for, nor are capable of holding those grounds in the long run, so it is safe to say that with the capture of the club, their job here is finished.
Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot appeared from outside the club. Freak, startled, immediately took up his rifle and rushed outside, only to hear another gunshot. When he arrives at the source of the sound along with other the other soldiers, all he sees is a devastated Leonid, aiming his rifle at the body of a presumed Euphemian sniper while trying to hold back his tears. Next to him is Kang, lying in a pool of blood, unresponsive.
"Quick, get a fucking medic here!" Freak exclaimed at the crowd of soldiers behind him, a few men bearing medic patches quickly hurried to Kang. Freak stopped for a moment, adjusting himself, then approached Leonid.
"What the fuck happened here?"
Outside the Savinkov Club, Lower Morhatten
Torch City, Torch State
5/12/2018
6:30pm EST, before the gunshots
"Well, it seems the fighting is over for the day, sir!" Leonid told Kang. Like many others, Leonid is genuinely happy that he survived yet another battle, after all, no one wants to die. Kang quietly nodded with a smile, then took out a photo from his pouch, admiring it. "Who are the people in the photo." Leonid asked, pointing at a child and a woman in the photo, next to them is a young man, while it is not very obvious, one can still recognize that he is Kang at a younger age. "They are my family, Leonid." Kang said.
Kang first pointed at the child.
"This is my son. If I'm not wrong, he should be around your age now, he is a good boy, excelling in school. After this war, I am going to retire and return to them."
"Your son must have been pretty clever, unlike me. If I were more hardworking and clever back then, maybe I wouldn't have..." Leonid stopped, thinking about his sister again.
"Don't listen to your sis about it, boy, you are better than you think."
"Thank you, sir."
Suddenly, they hear a sound from not too far away, it is not very clear, but it sounded like a little girl's crying. The two looked at each other, then walked toward the source of the sound. When they found the source, a pitiful sight entered their eyes. In front of them is a little girl crying, leaning against a woman in a small pool of blood. It seems that during the fight in the area, a stray bullet or an unintentional shot hit the lady, killing the presumed mother of the child. Kang looked to his surroundings, then slowly approached the girl, as a father himself, he cannot stand leaving an innocent child alone in the middle of a war zone.
Suddenly, a trace of bullet flied past, and Kang fell to the ground. The gunshot is barely audible, so the firearm responsible for the gun must be silenced. Looking to the source of the gunshot, Leonid found a shadowy figure standing behind the window of a nearby building, he immediately returned fire, the figure dodged the first shot, and attempted to pick out Leonid as well while he still can, his greed cost him his life, as the second shot of Leonid landed on his forehead. He dropped out of the window, making a thud as the body hits the ground. The child, shocked by the sight, stopped crying, and instead just stared at her surroundings fearfully.
"What the fuck happened here?" A hand tapped Leonid in the shoulder, dragging him back to reality.
"Si-sir! Kang is-"
"I know." Freak nodded.
Leonid turned to Kang, seeing him surrounded by combat medics. He then turned to the child, she has resumed crying, not knowing what to do. He approached the child, but suddenly, loud sounds of crackling appeared from above, a huge piece of rubble broke loose from the wall of a nearby destroyed building, falling right onto the child. "No!" Leonid hurried to the child, but he was too late, the rubble dropped, crushing the child with her mother right below.
"No...no...no!" Over the months, Leonid learnt to adapt to the brutality on the battlefield, but the loss of a close comrade and the devastating sight combined was too much to him. He fell to his knees, and started crying. Freak quietly looked at Leonid and the pile of rubble, he wanted to say something, but he can't. Trying to soothe Leonid, he placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Lets end this war swiftly, so no more of this will happen again."
[1] -
FZ-06 (06式单兵反战车武器) - Standard issue single-use infantry anti-tank weapon of Tangaliro, an RPG developed by the Beiyang Arsenal (北洋兵工厂) under the SINATINco. (Sinican National Industrial Corporation | 华夏国民工业集团) based on the experience from developing FZ-84.[2] -
FZ-08 (06式反战车导弹) - Standard issue ATGM of Tangaliro, an RPG developed by the Beiyang Arsenal (北洋兵工厂) under the SINATINco. (Sinican National Industrial Corporation | 华夏国民工业集团), the current version used by Tangaliroan infantry is a heavily lightened variant of the original missile.[3] -
FZ-84 (84式单兵反战车武器) - Standard issue single-use infantry anti-tank weapon of Tangaliro, an RPG developed by the Beiyang Arsenal (北洋兵工厂) under the SINATINco. (Sinican National Industrial Corporation | 华夏国民工业集团). Current service variant is FZ-84B, mainly supplied to lighter units for its lighter weight.
