Dagger Claw

DivineHeretic

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Black Blade
19:43 hours, Feb 21, 2022. Location: Classified (codename Demon).
Exercise: Black blade. Prelude to theatre exercise: Holy Mist.


Jagjit "Kulfi" breathed in, his first easy breath in 24 hours. He'd never thought doing absolutely nothing could be this stressful.

A veteran of 11 major exercises, He'd seen more in peace than men saw in actual wars. Even at the toughest of times, no one ever saw him hesitate, not his peers, not his superiors, and most certainly not his subordinates. He never lost his cool, and he never failed his tasks. Truly, the man of Ice.

And yet, today, just sitting and waiting had already taken its toll on him. This was a different exercise, the 'screw turner' the Commander of TACDE had promised.


20:18 hours:

The passive receivers picked up increased signals, something incredibly strong. "Sir, signal reception via passive trackers, one of ours, and its illuminating everything up, sir."

"This must be the ORACLE going full power", thought aloud Col. Jagjit. "But why", He had barely processed his thought when Lt. Ashique announced, "Sir, 37 Air defense regiment knocked out of exercise, only 2 remain now".

"What, How, When?" confusion gripped him. But he kept his confusion to himself. Confusion and hesitation were contagious. He couldn't risk showing weakness to his juniors
.
"That explains the activation of the Oracle. The ADC is throwing everything into the fight. Get on the land line and contact ORACLE commander; I need co-ordinates of the bastards", Ordered the Col.

"Sir, yes, Sir". A crisp Salute and the lt. took off. "Sharp kid", the col. thought to himself.

Seconds later, a set of co-ordinates were laid out on his table. His assistant spoke calmly "two bogies, 55 miles out. I'd say a baiting maneuver". The voice belonged to lt. Tanya, Sharp and quirky, a typical geek.

The dimly lit room was filled with nervous quiet. Around the three officers, three 32'' screens, one 54'' screen and a massive topographical map were positioned. Normally, the giant screen would be lit, casting hard shadows onto the room, but not today. Without active radar, the screen had no image to show.

"Well, let's take the bait. Hiding is getting the rest killed anyway", the Col. declared. He had enough of this slow death. "Get 2-6 unit, Order weapons ready, but no breaking cover. Fire up the tracking radar here, one 5-second burst only."

"With due respect, Sir. It's too risky, that too for two bogies. And in any case, the other batteries have tried, and failed." quipped Tanya. Lt. Ashique gave a quiet approval to her doubts.

"Lt. Tanya, just obey the goddamn orders, Time is not a luxury we have.", Col. Jagjit bristled.

"Sir", Tanya turned and pressed a handful of keys. The right 32'' screen warmed.

"2-6-1 & Prophet"¦. Bloom heat".
 

DivineHeretic

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This is just a part of a fiction I dreamt up. Somebody let me know if its worth pursuing.
Thanks
 

DivineHeretic

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"2-6 and Prophet activated, Sir", Tanya said, calm. But her voice betrayed her nervousness.

The primary screen warmed, revealing a topographical map. Two moving strobes indicated the positions of the bogeys. The screen cooled black again. The prophet radar array went dark.

"Sir, message from ORACLE. We have the full attention of the hostiles. Two bogeys, 40 miles out at Mach 1.4 moving for strike. Wide wavy pattern of movement. 6 more bogeys 62 miles out setting up circular kill zone." Lt. Tanya reported calmly over secure COM.

"Report status of passive arrays. Any contact?" Lt. Ashique enquired over COM. The opponents had demonstrated unusual discipline. Even after 24 hours, 3 AD regiment "kills", not even a single radio chatter, let alone a radar swipe. To top it off, it required max power on radar to even get a very low resolution detection.

"None", replied Lt. Tanya.

"Just who are these guys? What is with their flight pattern? And what AC are they using?" Lt Ashique pondered aloud. Col. Jagjit, showed no emotion, but even he was wondering the same questions.

"Sir, Message from ORACLE. Bogeys lost. Out of radar LOS. Reporting very dense EW jamming from unknown location. Triangulation failed." Tanya showed no further concern.

The bogeys dropped below the detection altitude of the ORACLE. "Good", smirked the Col. For once in this exercise, he held the advantage.

"2-6, this is Blackbeard. What's your status, over? "Col. asked over secure COM"¦.a land line, primitive by modern standards. But then, it was the only secure link left.

"Reporting blue blood", came the voice over COM. Blue blood meant all electronics cold but systems ready.

"Deactivate all active guidance circuits on the missiles. Disable datalink. guidance IR band only. Fire 4 on 1.Fire when ready". Col. said over COM.

Lt. Ashique took a full second to understand the plot. The bogeys were below 3000 ft. flying over flat desert. Further, the massive radar arrays, ORACLE and prophet could generate only very poor resolution of the bogeys, ruling out radar seekers.

The Col. had gambled on IR seekers.

20:28

The last Screen warmed. It was live feed from IRST sensors, detecting 8 simultaneous blooms of heat streak of in the distance, tearing towards nothing.

Then suddenly, The IRST detected 2 faint strobes ahead of the heat blooms. The ACs had turned around enough to reveal its thermal signature to the central IRST. Two blooms followed the lead trails, 4 went off course, another two trailed the lead group.

The lead strobes disappeared from screen.

The three pairs of eyes in the control room were glued to the screen. A deathly calm descended onto the room. Sweat trickled from their heads. The ACs had turned their engines away from the IRST.

But the blooms continued to track something, following a ghost. A full 9 seconds of hunting nothing.

Then suddenly, A shower of bright strobes filled the screen, Flare countermeasures.

"Passive sensors picking up enormous ECM activity, Sir. Origin unknown.", Tanya spoke in a tense voice.

The trailing blooms went for the bait"¦..

Two blooms tore off straight towards the missile launcher. The trailing 2 blooms disappeared, taking the bait.

Tanya twitched on her console. No air of calm on her face now. Lt. Ashique dared not let his eyes off the screen. Col. Jagjit chewed on his cigarette, not daring to light it.

The tailing two blooms continued straight through the glitter. They had managed to maintain solid lock on the original strobes.

"Message from bogeys, Sir. On open channel. They surrender." announced Lt Tanya.

"Disarm missiles". Col. Jagjit ordered Lt. Ashique.

"Message from ORACLE, Sir. Bogeys recaptured on radar. Leaving battle space at Mach 0.8".

Disarming keys pressed, the blooms disappeared.

The missiles carried no warhead, and were really not a threat to the AC. But strict instructions came from the very top to avoid missile-AC contact.

The Air Defense Command had its first kills in 24 hours. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

21: 34

The Sirens blared full .

"The Wargame stands suspended. All units prepare battlestations. Code IV alert. Repeat Code IV alert. Dispersion and arming protocols are in immediate effect. All systems are to report battle readiness by 22:05." The Speakers announced.

"Archangel, Catharsis, Widowmaker protocols in effect. Respective commanders are authorised to initiate active CAPS over their sectors. ADC is authorised to question all air traffic and order grounding of any and all civillian aircrafts over their airspace. Falling challenge, shoot down is authorised."

"All military air-traffic to declare IFF counter responses. All silent ACs are to be shot down.All commands, bases, secure sites initiate protocol iron fist. Absolute lockdown."
 
Last edited:

DivineHeretic

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Second Sunrise


[I]20:15 hours, 21 Feb, 2022. Location: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.[/I]

"Stupid Game", grumbled Nisha. Surrounded by a sea of humanity, sweat pouring off her forehead & staring at tiny dots 100 meters away was anything but her idea of 'fun'.

'It would be fun', her friends had said. She glared angrily at them, and then turned her attention to her email.

"Anywhere would be better than here", she messaged to her boyfriend.

20:18 hours, 21 Feb 2022. Location: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, control bunker.

"Sir, Seems Delhi will lose, again", smirked Constable Ganti Ramesh.

"Let's see what happens". Capt. Abhimanyu gave a calm glance to his subordinate and then onto his watch.

Fully clad in combat gear, He and his group of 20 NSG specialists were on station for CT response, should the need arise. The command bunker became their dressing room when deployed to the stadium.

Left with nothing to do, he stared at the screen showing the bird's eye view of the stadium.
It was a drone from CTC beaming the pictures, maintaining an over watch.

Suddenly he spotted a large truck, decorated in Pepsi colors enter the main gate on the monitor.
"Must be the Drink van", Capt. Said to himself.

Lance Naik Ayush was at the main entrance, his first assignment since joining the NSG from Rastriya Rifles. A veteran of COIN in Mizoram for 3 years, he took no chances.

"Halt now, identify yourself", he announced to the truck driver. He could see the Pepsi logo on the truck, but still he had to be sure. The explosives detection scanner showed no activity, but then it could easily be fooled.

Finger on the safety, ready to arm at a moment's notice, just the way he approached.

The manager rushed towards him, shooting the lance Naik with his sharp words "They are already late; the game will be delayed further because of you. Just let him pass."
"But, Saab, security protocols "¦..", replied Ayush, rather tersely.

The manager in the expensive suit waved him off"¦

"What an asshole!" quietly mouthed the lance naik. He did not like being ordered by a civilian one bit. But he was the authority here, best not to challenge his authority.

"Open the gates, package coming through. Confirm", he announced over COM.

As the vehicle marched off into the stadium, he noticed the ride height of the AMW tanker much lower than usual." The vehicle must be carrying something far heavier than Pepsi."

Something just felt wrong. But he could not order the vehicle to stop anymore. It had already entered the playing field.
"Gatekeeper to Overlord, over. We may have a situation here. Vehicle has dark entry. Also Ride height seems off. Please advise", Ayush announced over TEAMCOM. He needed his boss to know.

Dark entry meant unchecked entry.

Capt. Abhimanyu snapped out of his thoughts. Dark entry wasn't an uncommon occurrence here. VIPs often made such entry. The ride height could mean anything.
But despite his lack of conviction, he decided to cover all bases.

"Team 5, get onto the playing field. Get your eyes on target. Concealed weapons only. Sniper 2, get me a lock on the driver"
"Get me a connection to the driver", He ordered his communications specialist.

"Sir, Driver is refusing connection", relied the specialist.

The captain's eyes flew wide open. It was indeed a threat.

"Team 5, Driver has refused comms. Move to intercept. NOW".

Team 5 moved as fast as they could onto the surface. Pistols concealed, eyes wide open, prepared for anything.

Sniper shifted position. He needed a clear LOS.

20:20 hours"¦..

"Sir, Time out over. The vehicle is pulling back." The lance naik, who was staring onto the broadcaster screen announced.

"What just happened?", confusion gripped everyone.

"All units stand down. False alarm", announced the Captain over secure COM.

It was part relief, part embarrassment for team 5, caught with in the middle of the field with nothing to do. The Capt. Was confused about his own emotions.
[HR][/HR]
20:27 hours"¦.Nisha looked up from her transparent phone. There seemed to be a bit of confusion. 4 dots converging on the drinks van, then backing off.

The truck was now backing out of the stadium.

Nisha looked at the giant screen"¦..Players preparing to resume their game.

Suddenly, A world of white enveloped her, the brightness of a hundred Suns enveloping everything around her"¦..Everything else disappeared from her view.

A micro-second later, a gut wrenching shock slammed into her petite body. Vision blurred. She felt fire on her cheeks, just for an instant.
Then the world turned dark"¦.and silent.

XX:XX hours, location: Unknown.

Nisha woke up, her vision blurry and her body numb. She turned her head left and right, up and down. Everything was so calm, so quiet, and so dark except for bright orange streaks leaping around everywhere. Fires were screaming, screaming for blood.
"Where am I?"

She was dazed, confused and going into shock.

She turned her head straight forward. It was an alien world, metal twisting and melting around her.
She brought her hands up to shield her face from the heat"¦.

But nothing happened. Was it broken?
She looked at her body and convulsed into shock.

Only her midsection and her head remained"¦.everything else had melted away.

She tried to scream, but her world went dark before she could. Her heartbeat had flat lined.
 

TrueSpirit

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Definitely, a nice start. Could not read the full text today, but would let you for sure by Saturday.
 

DivineHeretic

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The Second Strike

[U]21:05 hours, 22 Feb, 2022. Location: Western Naval Command, Operations Command Centre (OCC), XXXXXXXXXX- (Name classified pending clearance level X-RAY)[/U]
"The Western naval command has the easier role of the three Naval Commands. For their role they are unnecessarily bloated", declared Ashutosh Sinha, A self-styled military Analyst on the TV debate.

The Vice Admiral let out a slight grin. These daily TV debates and the so-called analysts never failed to amuse him.


Bloated was certainly one way of explaining the WNC. Two fleets, two CBGs, 2 Carrier Aviation Wings, 3 LPDs and 517 drones made up the top shelf of the western Naval Command. A massive Naval arm indeed.

in front of his glass window laid the massive, cavernous room, 80m in diameter, cut deep into the ground. The roof of the structure lay 20 meters above the floor, held in place by colossal girders and massive columns. The roof itself lay 40 meters below ground, with alternating layers of concrete and steel protecting the OCC from bunker busters.

The chamber of the Vice-Admiral, the Odin's eye lay at the center of the cavern. Around him, in concentric circles lay a thousand workstations, each manned by the finest of the naval staff. Hundreds of displays warmed and cooled, showing information vital to national security. On the wall to the North, lay 3 massive 210'' displays at 10m height from the floor, surrounded by 10 smaller 51'' screens, showing the overview of the area under Western command.

Indeed every personnel who entered this classified facility for the first time had the classic wide eye and gaping mouth symptom. Every naval asset, whether flying, crawling swimming or sinking in the region was commanded from here.


21:11


The Door of the Vice-Admiral's chamber slammed open.

"Deepest apologies for the sudden entry, Sir. Signals interception unit has intercepted a distress signal at 21:10.You might want to hear it." Major Jahangir announced, at full attention. His eyes had that sharp intense look the Vice-Admiral instantly recognized. This was no ordinary distress call.

The Doors sealed, The Major ordered the tape to be played. The speakers crackled to life as a patchy voice began to speak.
"I'm Capt. Kuldeep Nair of CISF 18 battalion. `We are under attack by army commandoes. They have tanks and helicopters. Company strength plummeting. Heavy casualties. We cannot hold out much longer.(gun shots in the background) Requesting immediate assistance. We are stationed at "¦..r"¦. "

The voice broke off, too distorted to be understood.

"What did he just say? Army, tanks, helicopters," The Vice Admiral asked the Major, not believing his ears.

"Sir, SIU has triple checked the message. It's our AFNET securecom. Message appears authentic." The major replied.

"Well, what is their location?", the Vice Admiral. "We need to move, now"

"The message broke off towards the end. We don't know where the transmission came from, Sir" Major replied.

"Then link up with CISF DG and get the deployment of 18 battalion.", shot back the WNC commander. He had no time to guide these simple steps. He had a bad feeling about this.

"And initiate NERO, PESTILENCE & CORRUPTOR commands. I want them battle ready in 2 min flat."

NERO was the Navy drone command. PESTILENCE was the battle alert command for MARCOS Beaver Company. Two CT assets were put on alert.

21:14


"Sir, NERO & PESTILENCE initiated. All respective commands have declared deployment ability." Announced Lt. Shakshi , the subordinate to Major Jahangir.

"Good", said the VC to himself. "Standby for further orders".

The WNC Chief put on his jacket and tore out of his room. He took position by the aft center elliptical table and wore his headset. Six displays popped up from t the table.

Major Jahangir's voice spoke into the VC Admiral's ears, "We are unable to raise DG, CISF or for that matter any command. The Battle Net has refused us access, Sir."

"The Battle Net was designed to refuse access when it was overwhelmed by chatter. Was something the matter? Are we at War?" Doubts found their way into the Commander's mind. But whatever the case, the distress call had to be responded.

The massive 210" screen warmed. Huge speakers crackled to life.

"Attention everyone. This is the WNC Commander speaking. Major Jahangir has an important announcement to make. " The lively buzz of personnel working, walking, chatting halted as every pair of eyes turned to the screen. All silent and at full attention. The Major took the center stage.

"We have received a distress signal from a CISF unit, the 18 battalion. As of 21:11, they are under heavy attack. Possibly Tanks and gunships involved. Significant casualties reported"

The entire room filled with nervous energy. Tanks and gunships? Were they at war? A million questions popped up, but everyone held their quiet.

"We have, despite repeated attempts been unable to reacquire the sender. We do not know their location either."

The Vice Admiral hoped someone in the massive room would recognize the 18 bat of CISF. It was their fastest hope of locating the distraught force. He needed to locate them fast.

"Does anyone here know of the CISF deployment pattern in Western command?", asked the Vice Admiral in a weary yet confident voice.
No one spoke, The major sighed.
finally One voice broke over the silence. "Sir, Permission to speak?"

"Permission granted",

"Sir, if gunships are involved, radar will atleast identify bogies over the area. An IFF counter response request will identify it", the voice spoke.

He was right. The gunship, however low it flew, would be picked up by radar arrays covering every inch of the Western command.

"Authorize all radar stations, ships, AWACS, every asset with radar to order IFF counter responses on every aircraft in the region. And get it done fast", The Major ordered Lt. Shakshi, who in turn ordered the personnel responsible for radar operations management.

"6-3 array, authorize black wing protocol. Impose compliance"

"1-8 array, black wing protocol authorized"

"Phalcon 5, this is IN WNC OCC. Black Wing authorized"

Orders to various radar stations poured in.

The main screen and the secondary screens now warmed to show the combined radar view of the Western Theatre. One by one, small windows showing details of the aircraft appeared beside the blips.

21:17"¦.

"Sir, unknown bogey at low speed. Refusing counter response requests. We have our gunship." Declared Lt. Shakshi.

"Location Please", asked the Major.

She turned to her screen. This couldn't be right. She cross-referenced the address again. There was no mistake. Her eyes went wide.
"Sir, BARC is under attack. The co-ordinates belong to the BARC Centre", Alarm was clearly audible in her tone.

The Major and The Vice- Admiral's faced turned pale.
 

DivineHeretic

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Enter the Heroes.​

21:18 hours, Location: Western Naval Command, The OCC.

The Vice Admiral took a deep breath and calmed his rising nerves. The momentary panic that crept into his mind subsided. He knew what had to be done. BARC must be defended, whatever the cost.

"How long do we need to get eyes on target? I need those visuals, and I need them now. Get me the Air force commands or the Force 1." The VC Admiral ordered in a composed manner to the major.

"Sir, we have tried raising the AFB Lohegan & the FORCE 1. But Comms are completely crippled. We are on our own." The Major realized the urgency of the situation and the imminent danger pressing against the clock.

"We have MQ-4 patrolling the area, 3 minutes out. Diverting to target now." The major motioned the network controller to pass on the message.

"Get Beaver online." The Vice-Admiral couldn't wait for the Global hawk to take up position. He needed to make his moves fast. Time was most definitely not on their side.
[HR][/HR]

"Beaver, this is Major Jahangir, OCC QRT response coordinator, over. Confirming NERO. You are green for go." The voice over the intercom announced to Capt. Sandeep, CO, Beaver Company, MARCOS.

He had been waiting for this. His team sat inside the hanger, weapons tight, suit sealed and HUD set. All read to raise hell.

"Confirming last transmission over. Rules of engagements, Sir?".

"Just don't shoot the reactors. There are friendlies, status unknown. " The Capt. Realized it was not a joke. The single statement had more meaning than it appeared.

His team had always been trained and prepared for the unexpected. But as per standard protocols, "What hostiles can we expect, Sir? Numbers? Equipment?"

"Initial reports suggest Tanks & Helicopter gunships. Numbers unknown. Be advised. Heavy caliber fire expected. Will confirm details while en-route" The intercom answered.

The Capt. was momentarily taken back. Difficult situations were a norm for his troops, but this appeared more like an invasion than a terrorist attack. But he couldn't let those thoughts cloud his mind. He needed to order his troops to re-equip to face this threat.

"All units, we have an expensive welcoming party waiting for us. Expect Tanks and gunships. Load everything you can carry." The Capt. announced over TEAMCOM in the traditional arrogant way. No threat was too big to dampen their spirits.

"Are you sure this is not an invasion, Sir?" chuckled demolitions specialist Bhagat Verma. "I sure as hell won't be cheated out of my Param Vir Chakra after fighting Tanks".

The section leaders codenamed Bushmaster, Ghost, Viper, Pillager and Prowler ordered their troops to re-equip to face the threat. Everyone moved swiftly, efficiently, calmly. Weapons changed, granades packed, ammunition stocked and of course, AT and MANPAD carried, the soldiers force marched to their transports.

Following them were 5 droids, Unmanned combat support vehicle, re-configured to carry and fire AT missiles

10 tilt rotors whirred to life, as 5 Ospreys took to the air. Normally 2 Ospreys could easily carry the company, but today they moved in 5, just in case one or two was downed. Every Spec trooper knew this reality, but none spoke about it.
[HR][/HR]
"Sir, global hawk on target, getting live feed now", Said the major to the vice Admiral. The next instant, the massive primary screen warmed, as a bird's eye view of the BARC came on. The camera zoomed in and panned left until a trail of smoke was detected. A further zoom and the fierce gunbattle came into view.

"The MARCOS will need air support. There is no way they can deal with that on their own." The Vice-Admiral was astonished by what he saw.
"But Sir, We are not allowed to conduct air-strikes over our territory. We need clearance from Chief of Navy staff" the major pleaded with the Vice Admiral.

"There won't be a territory left to defend if those bastards get into the main complex." The Vice Admiral shot back.

"And we have had no comms with the centre or any other command. For all we know, Delhi might have been nuked and we are at war." A sudden chill ran down the Vice Admiral's spine as he registered his own words. Everyone in the vicinity cringed, nobody wanting to imagine such a possibility.

"So I don't care what the protocols say. My men need air support. The facility must not fall. Now, get me air support, Major". The Vice- Admiral said with absolute conviction.

"Black panthers, This is OCC Code III directive. I need air support on location 91-29-32 oH 6. Confirm over.", The major ordered through his headset.

"OCC-This is Black Panther squadron leader Flt. Commander Anushka. Confirming request. Are we at war?", came a soft voice over the intercom.
"Do what you are told, Squadron leader. And get it done fast. We might be in a far worse situation than war.", The Vice Admiral replied, harsh.
"Understood, sir", replied the female voice. She was the granddaughter of the Vice Admiral, and knew something had riled her ever-calm Grand-dad up. That was never good.


"Sir, 4 strike fighters, AMCA have taken off from INS Hansa. Configuration Precision attack." The flight coordinator announced over intercom.

"God speed, Men. Just make it in time", The major said to himself as he watched the unfolding nightmare on screen.
[HR][/HR]

"Overlord to Beaver, over. The enemy count stands as follows. 130 grunts, 6 APCs, 3 trailers and 2 helicopters. Our initial report was a bit off", said a voice to the headset of Capt. Sandeep and the section leaders. All nodded an approval.

"Hot drop in 2 mins", came the voice from the pilot of lead Osprey. This was their cue for final preparations.

"Sir, Ospreys in position, dropping off package. AMCA 2 mikes out", Flt. Coordinator announced over speakers. The Assault had begun.

As soon as the Ospreys came in for drop, The metal groaned and shivered and punctured. Bullets were penetrating the tilters.

"Go,Go,Go. Everyone out", The capt. screamed over the thuds and roar of the engine. The 1st section made a hot drop, followed by their Droid. They took up overwatch position, barely 200 meters from the hostiles. Bullets whizzed past them.

Team 1 on point, They made their way through the hail of bullets to a nearby wall. Section leader Ghost looked at the source of fire using his cornershot.

"Fire and maneuver. Do not get pinned down. Keep your heads down.Let nobody be dead today" The section commander, Ghost roared into the TEAMCOM.
 

DivineHeretic

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Ghost could hear the Tilt rotor Osprey taking off in the distance, the sound of its rotors dimming the intensity of the firefight. "Good, another team has been safely inserted".

He now counted 4 teams inserted. "What happened to the fifth?"
He had no time to worry about them. Defense of the complex was his first and foremost priority.

His team, 17 combat specialists, a demolitions specialist, a signals specialist and a combat engineer lay crouched in a straight file, behind a low guard wall, the only barrier separating the hail of bullets from them.

They could feel the dull thuds of the heavy caliber rounds ripping into the wall, spraying chunks of concrete.
"14.5mm or bigger", murmured gunner Satyadhik "Bean". This meant bad, very bad. Body armor not, those rounds would turn his teammates to Swiss cheese.

"Orders, Sir. We are waiting to get hit here, Sir", shouted specialist Virendra to get his voice through to the Section leader above the roar of machine gun fire. He knew the consequences of being suppressed and flanked.

Ghost quickly ran his mind through the tactical situation.

His team was barely 30m from the enemy, a mix of 4 APCs covering the main road, and 30-32 grunts holed up behind a row of trees, based on the thermal scan by his semi-autonomous Droid. The Droid also carried the team UAV, which now was defunct since data links were scrambled.
Behind him, 80m to the south east was the CIRIUS reactor building. That pretty much ruled out any withdrawal. Too risky to engage in fire fight near the reactor, even though the walls of the reactor building seemed impenetrable.

To his immediate south lay a large building, and seeing the ferocity of APCs riddling it with bullets, he knew that it was still in the control of the friendlies, Prowler section plus hopefully a few CISF. He had no time to establish contact with them though.

"Alright, listen up. We need to hold them here. There is no retreat. If they get into the reactor, it's over. How copy?" Ghost ordered his men, straining his voice to rise above the sound of gun fire.

"Solid Copy", Roared his team. They never let their CO down till now, and wouldn't start today.

Suddenly the lone APC targeting them ceased firing, reloading a 300 round box into the gun.

They had caught a lucky break. The team sprang up from their cover and began engaging the grunts. 6.8 mm steel tipped rounds whizzed from

their rifles as 3 grunts took hits. The grunts wore heavy Kevlar weave, excellent against most guns, except here the tips were steel, and they
sliced right through the protective jacket .They were dead before their heads hit the ground.

Section Sniper, Anurag, pulled out his MSMC side arm and let three shots into a bush. A scream followed by rustling of the bush. From this distance, he needed no Sniper rifle for perfect shots. 4 down.

Two frag grenades flew over the wall onto the section center, a very good throw. Everyone turned sideways, protecting the vulnerable face. The body armor, that covered the entire body of the troops, took the blast fragments without any effect.

Firing resumed. Specialist Virendra, who'd been crouching behind the wall and relocating to a spot further up, suddenly pulled his body up. In the confusion, no grunts spotted a shadow jump over the guard wall and behind them.
He went to prone position on the soft turf, placed the bipod of his machine gun on the ground, and let off a continuous burst, 100 rounds of death, onto his unsuspecting enemies. The grunts, engaging the MARCOS in front of them, never saw their killer. 7.62x51 rounds tore into their backs, the behind of their neck, the base of the skull and even the back of the skull.

Bones shattered, blood & brain squirted from open holes as 18 grunts collapsed onto the ground, some writhing in pain, most still. The remaining 8-10 grunts, stunned and shocked and disoriented by their fallen comrades, fled, exposing themselves to the MARCOS holed up behind the wall.
Another burst of 7.62x51 rounds filled the space between the MARCOS and the terrorists, this time from Gunner Bean and the Droid's mounted 20 mm chain gun.

In less than a minute, 32 grunts lay dead. Virendra, who'd taken this audacious risk, realized he was holding his breath, hands shaking with adrenaline. He breathed out, exhaling the air locked in his lungs.

The grunts had been crushed, but now where was the APC covering them? Virendra realized that the APC was missing from the scene. "Had it gone somewhere else, backed out?" Virendra had just finished his thought when he saw another APC roll down the streets. This one had a bigger gun, a much bigger gun. He shouted onto his COM, but there was no link.

Ghost had seen his opponents annihilated by his team, 32 kills for no losses. All this carnage in just 30 minutes of combat.
"The enemy can't take much more of this; they will have to pull back soon." He wondered, now planning how to push his advantage forward.

He felt the shockwave of a blast, the air in his lungs compressed and exploded out as he felt his body flying. His eyes went dark.

Virendra saw the 105mm main gun on the APC fire at his section, a HE round that smashed into the wall barrier, obliterating it. Smoke and dust descended on the area. Wall concrete rained on top of his friends.

They couldn't have seen the second APC due to the bushes, only Virendra could.
He rushed to the spot, fearing the worst.
[HR][/HR]

The main screen of OCC. Live feed from MQ-4 Global Hawk.Thermal imagery overlaid on day-time Sat image. All non IFF signatures marked hostile.



Legend :Red- Hostiles.
Blue-Friendlies.
Triangle(Red) -APC/IFV
Oval(Blue)- Droid.
 
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