January 28th, 2017
3:27 PM Pacific Standard Time
Le Brea Tarpits
The parking lot is completely full, and the parking garages nearby near to overflowing. Families traverse the green grass and walkways between the pits and the lake pit, some heading to the museum, others looking at the bubbling tar.
In the circular grass area between the lake and the parking lot, next to the museum, those families begin to notice that the light pouring down from the afternoon sun seems to be gathering into bars.
People begin to take pictures of the phenomenon, the dust in the air being pulled in by odd winds, almost forming pillars. Videos begin to go viral.
3:32 PM PST
The pillars of dust begin to take on a more solid looking form, almost a greek aspect in it's appearance. Cable news stations begin to carry amateur video of it, and local TV stations divert helicopters to film it from the air. Police cars begin to arrive, but the throngs of people witnessing the spectacle make it nearly impossible for the police to close in on the area.
3:38 PM PST
The pillars begin to solidify rapidly, forming a gateway, open from one side, and sealed off with stone from the other side. Light floods through the gateway, showing toward the tar lake. The gate is a little over 8 ft wide, and about the same height.
3:40 PM PST
As people begin to recover, out of the light march strange humanoid creatures, between six and seven feet tall, armed with swords, maces, axes, and other implements of destruction. They march 3 abreast, and almost immediately begin to attack the crowd indescriminately, men, women, children, with no concern. The crowd begins to panic and flee, resulting in more people being stampeded and crushed in the panic.
3:50 PM PST
Police, directing civilians away from the sudden attack, are confronted by thousands of these creatures pouring out of the gateway, attacking everything in their sight. Then mounted humans in much finer armor and clothing burst out of the gateway, two abreast, and begin to form the creatures up into squads, moving out to secure the area.
3:57 PM PST
Creatures with wings, each the size of a horse, come walking awkwardly out of the gate after the horsemen, and then take to the skies, seemingly struggling to fly. But they do get into the air, and begin attacking the crowds, and then the news helicopters, breathing fire in various colors. One camera gets an up close view of a reptilian face as it smashes through the helicopter's side door window, screeching and opening it's mouth to belch out green fire before the camera goes out, the helicopter already crashing.
4:23 PM PST
Emergency mobilized National Guard troops begin to arrive on the scene in armed transport helicopters. Vulcan guns begin to chew the flying creatures out of the sky, tearing huge gobbets from their flesh.
Below in the city, nearly five thousand enemy troops have arrived via the gate and spread out into the city, attacking civilians, looting businesses, killing and raping with abandon.
4:42 PM PST
Air force jets, scrambled from nearby bases begin to patrol over the area, shooting down any creatures that take flight. Armed helicopters begin to attack ground forces, firing off smaller explosive rounds or chain guns.
National Guard units begin to arrive in force, setting up a perimeter.
5:27 PM PST
Army, police, and national guard forces complete a perimeter around the enemy force, now over 10,000 strong. Drones begin to fly over, and the mixed forces begin to advance on the enemy, using their superior weapons to take down the enemy in droves.
Civilians are also fighting back now against the invaders, using small arms to kill them.
6:48 PM PST
In a last push the forces the enemy back into the tarpit park, the US forces unleash high explosive ordinance from the Air Force craft flying overhead, slaughtering the milling invaders in huge swaths. The remains of the enemy force flee back through the gateway, only a few hundred survivors.
7:23 PM PST
The new president issues a state of emergency, and the Tarpits area is sealed off except for military search and rescue, looking for survivors, both citizens and invaders.
January 31st, 2017
The Le Brea Tarpits area is sealed off permanently, and a military blockade set up around the gateway. Steel plates are erected in front of the gateway, to block any entry.
The death toll continues to climb, with the confirmed death toll at 1,153, nearly a third children. The count of those missing hovers in the mid 2,000's.
March 1st, 2017
The final death toll is confirmed at 1,785. There are still 743 people missing, presumed either dead and unrecoverable or taken through the gate.
World tension continues to climb. The US vows to investigate the gate, and send troops to rescue any citizens taken by the invaders. Worldwide objection begins to grow, citing concerns that the US will use force of arms to take the territory on the other side of the gate, fueld by tweets from the president.
June 14th, 2017
Plans to enter the gate are delayed due to impeachment proceedings against the current US president. World wide outcry results in the new president, the former vice president, signing the Los Angeles Accords. Only domestic forces can be sent through the gateway to retrieve the citizens, and the US agrees not to take any more territory than is needed for that purpose, and for their own self defense.
September 18th, 2017
California Civil Defense forces are given overall command of the operation, reporting direclty to Congress. Authorization is given for the forces to be comprised of a combination of National Guard units (from any state), Navel Militia Units (from any state), and Police units (from any state). California's CDF is given ultimate control over the makeup of the forces sent through.
November 8th, 2017
Four thousand California Civil Defense personnel are sent through the gateway to secure a beachhead on the other side.
November 6th, 2017 14:05 PST
Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos
Los Alamitos, CA
A large hanger has been cleared out of aircraft and filled with row after row of folding metal chairs. A single red carpet leads up to a low stage with a podium on it.
California Civil Defense Force Scout Battalion One, 1st Company, slowly files in. The squads and platoons have been hastily assembled, and many squad members have not met each other before today.
The seats are marked to indicate who is assigned to them, at least to the squad level, although individual names are not on the chairs. Due to the upheaval in D.C. over the last few months, things are behind schedule, and CCDF is pushing things to get back on schedule.
On the stage, a row of brass is sitting, while a Lt. Col steps up to the mike. "Everyone find your squad assigned seats, and get settled in. The briefing will start at 14:30, and I expect you all seated by that time. Keep chatter muted." The Lt. Col then moves back over to the brass seated on the stage, and they talk in hushed tones while waiting for the rank and file to rank and file.
Laine finds his squad seat and sits down, he doesn't recognise anybody in his squad, but he has seen a few army buddies in some other squads. "Looks like they got home safe also. He sits ready to hear the briefing.
Dawn walks through the area following the designations. She slaps Laine on the shoulder, must be desperate to drag you into this mess. How's it hanging Horatio?
Dawn grins and grabs the seat next to Laine.
Laine grins "Well well, look at what the cat dragged in. Didn't expect to see you here Red. I guessed we would need a good engineer going it, I hope you don't burn everything down." He says with a wink. "To answer your question I volunteered to go to new hunting grounds, like to see what kind of beast they have on the otherside." Laine adds taking a puff on his cigar.
Nadezdha watched the rolling scenery outside her bus's window. She had a small box in her lap, her last homemade meal to go from her house. In her ears, underneath her black beret, were two white headphones connected to a relatively cheap mp3 player. The rocking of the bus jostled her and the others, each thinking about different things. But Nadezhda pulled out some polished dog tags and looked them over. They read Zubarev, Vitaly and her music had cycled to a song that she liked to sing quietly. Staring out the window, "How can I learn..to say goodbye? No, my sweet girl. Don't pout, don't cry." With a soft sigh, "Don't cry." She unplugged her headphones and stashed them into her pack, holding the off button of her mp3 player.
She took her bag up off the floor and put it between her and the window as she rested her head against it. Time passed and eventually the bus came to a stop to be let into the compound. Letting others pass before her, she gathered her pack and shouldered it, lifting a hand to adjust her cap and smooth stray strands of hair.
She made her way into the main room after stopping at the name registrar. He asked for her name, "Nadezhda King." He pointed to where she was to sit and she followed suit, seating herself behind the two already there, settling her pack at her feet. They weren't known to her, but she studied them intently with her sharp eyebrows. Or rather, the sides of their faces and the way the moved. As Lt. Col gave his short announcement, she sunk into her seat and folded her hands near her waist. Even in her waiting, she looked on with the right mixture of disinterest and cool-headedness.
A very short PFC with a neatly pressed uniform takes a seat next to Dawn, and then takes the briefing packet from the back of the seat in front of her. She reads the 'DO NOT OPEN UNTIL INSTRUCTED' on it, and then returns it to the pocket on the back of the folding chair. On her chest, a nametag reads Morton, E.
A dark skinned, bald with a Corporal's insignia files into the squad's area and takes a seat next to Laine. He gives a tight nod to the others and sits at attention quietly while waiting for the briefing.
Nadezhda was busily waiting for further instruction, but she couldn't help let her eyes fall from the podium to the short lady directly in front of her. Her hair...if it had a tail and some cute ears, it could be a...She clears her throat and looks away, partially red in the cheeks. In time, she returns to her cool looks and quietly leans forward if she wasn't noticed, speaking very quietly to M-mm--Morton snickers"I do not mean to pry, but who does your hair?"
The woman looks at King, and shrugs. "Barber shop at the Naval Air Station Alameda."
A sudden rush of additional soldiers file in and fill up the remaining seats, and then the Lt. Colonel steps back up. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, attention! Adjutant General David S. Baldwin."
The Lt. Colonel steps back, and a heavyset man in his 50's with a chest full of confetti and Major General insignia on his uniform steps up, setting a note pad on the podium before clearing his throat. "At ease, and return to your seats. This is intended to be a general briefing on our current deployment. At 14:23 tomorrow, we will open the sealing doors again to the Gate, and we will begin infiltration of the enemy territory. We will utilize missile ordinance to soften the defenses of the enemy, and then send through our LAV-25's to secure a forward position." The Adjutant of California's National Guard goes into the briefing immediately, in a very no nonsense manner. "That will be the duty of Scout Company 1 and 2. Our LAV's will be at a disadvantage at first, due to restrictions on size of our access tunnel. The turrets have been removed from the LAVs, and temporary caps placed over the turret pit. The turrets will be re-attached on the other side. We will not have air cover until we can set up a base of operations for drone controls and also reassemble helicopters, which must be disassembled to fit through the tunnel. Until that happens, our focus is to secure the valley on the other side of the gate from the enemy. Once the first and second companies have taken their LAV's through, company 3 will move through in their HMMWV's and join the battle, pushing out to secure the arena of engagement. Once the valley is secured, Company 4 and the 1st Engineers Battalion will cross over, with our Engineers running fiberoptic cables through the tunnel to secure communications."
He pauses, and looks up. "Our overall strategy is to secure a foothold, determine the location of the political organization or organizations that attacked us, and then force a treaty with them. We are also tasked with retrieving any prisoners that were taken from our world, and also securing any personnel from the enemy that committed anything we consider a war crime, that includes rape and murder of non-combatants in violation of the articles of war. While the enemy is not a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, we have received orders to hold them to that standard anyway." He pauses to let that sink in.
"Make no mistake, these people attacked our civilians without provocation, and murdered many of them with no remorse. However, We will not lower ourselves to their level, and I will personally courtmartial anyone in my command who does. Having said that, we are not going to let them weasel out of what they did either. There are parents looking to us to punish those who killed their children, and I will be damned if I am going to look into the eyes of a bereaved mother and tell her I let the bastard who killed her child get away with it for political reasons. They will be caught if they surrender, or killed if they do not. Any settlement with the enemy will require them to hand over everyone involved in the invasion, regardless of rank or position for trial." He says clearly and firmly.
"Now, Major Montinegro will give you a briefing on the enemy."
The AG steps back, and a female Major with dark hair and skin steps up, and the screen behind her lights up. "We have identified two species who attacked us. The first, the Kel'Ree, as they seem to call themselves." On the screen, a humanoid with heavy muscles and armored skin appears. "As you can see, the males are massive and heavily muscled. Most male Kel'Ree are between 7'5" and 8'3" tall. Females are, on average, half a foot shorter. The species is endothermic, that is, cold blooded. Their body temperature is the same as the ambient temperature. This makes it impossible to pick them up on infrared, so keep that in mind. They are also significantly stronger than a human, and also have a higher top speed than a human. Keep both of these in mind. They have the ability to see heat, and will be able to pick you out in complete darkness. Their fingernails are very tough, and can be used as weapons if they get into hand to hand combat. However, they do seem to be... slower mentall, on average, than humans. Their heavy skin is impregnated with a bone like sub-layer, giving them natural resistance. They are also a very hardy people, and have shrugged off any diseases they've contracted so far from us." She pauses, reads a note, and then continues. "It is unlikely they can swim well, based on their body density index, and seem to have issues with a sense of touch, the bone in their skin renders their sense of touch less sensitive. Of those who attacked us, 8 out of 10 were Kel'Ree."
The images on the screen changes, and this time is replaced with a human male who's arm is in a sling, with long black hair and a mustache. "The other 20% of the attackers were Human. And I am quite certain of that, DNA tests confirm it. However, their DNA is sufficiently diffused from ours to indicate they may have been humans from our world who traveled through the gate sometime between 2 and 4 thousand years ago. The DNA reveals a strong European base, and all the humans we tested had the same DNA profile, indicating they all originated from the same root stock. They speak a language that seems to have it's roots in Latin, similar to English, but the influence of other languages has rendered it too different for us to understand without training. They call themselves Alsations. We don't have a lot of information on their culture yet, they are not very cooperative. It seems to be feudal however, with royalty and serfdom."
Major Montinegro steps back, and a male Lt. Colonel steps up. "Lt. Colonel Ames." The tall bespectacled blonde man introduces himself. "In general, the enemy's technological level is roughly equivalent to 18th century. Bows, crossbows, siege engines, plate armor, horses. However, we have discovered some anomalies, and you should be careful when dealing with the enemy, they may surprise you. They also have animals indigionous the other world."
"As you can see, this creature is a large animal that superficially resembles a wolf. However, it has claws like a cat, and bone extensions growing from it's head and neck. They seem to be trainable, and highly intelligent, although not self aware. Despite looking kind of like a wolf, they are no more canine than they are feline, and we have not given them a taxonomy yet. We can, however, see the Alsation influence as the Kel'Ree refer to them as Ossalupi, which is likely a corruption of the Latin Ossis Lupi or 'bone wolves'. They are extremely dangerous, and the bone on their head and neck is thick and strong enough to deflect small arms fire. Either use heavy weapons or shoot for the soft belly and back. They are extremely fast, so beware of that. We think they have excellent night vision, although we have no living specimens to confirm with. The Kel'Ree seem to keep them as both pets and military weapons."
The AG steps back up, letting Ames return to his seat. "That is all for this briefing, return to your barracks, double check your equipment, read over the briefing packet in front of you, and turn in. Some of you may have extra duties tomorrow, if so, you will be contacted this evening with those instructions. Those of you with Secret or higher clearance are to stay for a separate briefing. For those without that clearance, you are Dismissed."
With that, people begin to file out. Morton remains seated, but Robertson stands up and begins to head out.
A much smaller group moves up to the stage. Ames takes over again. "If you will all follow me?" He leads them behind the stage, to a curtained off area where examples of the enemy equipment are laid out. "These are typical examples of their equipment." He passes around swords and knives and lets everyone examine the armor. Much of it is much too big for a human, although a very fancy set of plate armor is human shaped. "As you can see, the human equipment is of much higher quality, the humans seem to be in charge, with the Kel'Ree used as cannon fodder and shock troops." At the end of the display area, a piece of LAV plate armor has been suspended from chains. A female sargeant picks up a compound bow, and takes a rather primitive looking wooden arrow from the table and fires it at the armor plate. There's a dull 'Ting' as the arrow shatters against the armor, barely making a nick. "Almost all their weapons simply bounce off anything approaching vehicular armor." The sargeant then takes a different arrow and holds it up, the metal on the tip of the arrow is a bloody red color. Then she draws the bow and fires the arrow at the armor. There's a softer 'tink' sound as the arrow punches through the armor and vanishes, leaving the armor plate swinging lightly. "We are unable to identify this metal, or how what it's made of. It seems to be a quasi-crystal metal, and is able to maintain a molecular edge, despite heavy use." He waves at the plate. "Obviously, it seems to cut through even hardened armor like a knife through butter." The sargeant then picks up a sword with a red blade from the table, and walks down to the plate. She swings the sword takes a 40 pound chunk of metal off with a 'SHING' sound, slicing through the hardened armor with little appreciable effort. The metal gives a loud BANG sound as it falls to the floor. "Needless to say, our body armor and vehicle armor will do little good against this metal. It is vital that you watch for this, and once in theater, warn your squads about any enemies with this type of weapon. They must be considered High Priority targets."
The sargeant then returns to the table with the sword, setting it down carefully, and moves to pick up an M4. Next to the armor plating is a breastplate the size of a horse, no doubt for a Kel'Ree. Next to it is a human set of armor that's made of fine green links. She puts the M4 to her shoulder and fires single shot, punching holes in the Kel'Ree breast plate. The sand bags behind them absorbing the rounds.
Then she points at the green armor, and fires. Rounds hit the green armor and fall to the ground, flattened and spent. No apparent damage occurs. Then she picks up a .50 caliber Desert Eagle and fires it, and while the armor and the dummy it's draped on jiggle and vibrate, the heavier rounds to not penetrate. Turning around she puts the gun down.
"This green armor is also made from a similar type of metal to the red sword, however, the crystaline metal has been created in threads and woven together. Only the red metal swords seem to be able to penetrate it, the two acting to each other similarly to how steel swords and breast plate would act. As far as our weapons, you're going to need at least an LMG round to penetrate. Sniper rounds should work as well, and obviously heavier weapons such as a Ma Deuce or an RPG would work."
He looks to the smaller group. "Any questions?"
Laine steps forth to ask "I got one question. Private Horatio, this valley we are to take. Do we know what kind of terrain we are going to be in? And do we know anything about the local wildlife we may encounter once we are through the gate? Other than those we've seen the enemy use." "Most of my questions got answer in the breifing."
Dawn gave her squad mates a shooing motion as she sat back to await further news.
How much of this stuff do we have? There going to be allowances for field expediency utilization of op-for equipment? She walks up, looks for approval, and pops the magazine from the M4 to look at the shells. What about AP?
The packet, when Laine looks it over, has a few pictures of what looks like a valley with trees and mountains on all sides. Per the packet, it's woodlands, cool temperate, with mountains all around. It's estimated to be approximately 3 miles long, and 2 wide at it's widest point, although it tapers down rapidly, giving it a roughly diamond shape. The Gate is at what is believed to be the southern end of the valley, with the exit at the northern end.
"Right now, we have the sword, and five arrows. And the one set of armor. There may be additional anomalous equipment in the enemies hands. While you may use it if needed to retrieve it, current policy is that all unusual equipment is to be returned to command for analysis upon return to base. AP ammo seems to work better on the green armor, but not as well as it would on normal armor. It's only about half as effective as we'd expect it to be."
Nadezhda accepted Mo--pff...Morton's answer with a firm nod, quickly standing up to salute as the Major called the meeting to attention. Seating herself afterward, she set her hands on her lap and sat straight up. Taking in all the information, she only looked away to watch the others leave. Once they had all left the room, she asks her questions with her accented English, "This armor is very sturdy. But does it allow full movement? Can we expect enemies with this armor to rush our position?" With further inspection, "This armor doesn't cover the head on its own. Have we recovered any helmets?"
Running her eyes over the samples, "How long, as an estimated amount of time, would someone need to wear this armor? And if high caliber rounds and concussive force works well, will we have access to grenades and LMG tripods to secure our footing in enemy territory?"
The sargeant moves to the green armor, and bends the sleeve in multiple places, indicating it's flexible.
Ames nods. "The weave we're seeing here is roughly as flexible as the chain defense used by divers to stop shark bites. I would expect a fighter to be able to move without issue. We're unsure if the armor had a helmet or not... the body was found without it's head, it seems to have taken a rocket round from an Apache gunship. It's possible the helmet was taken by a survivor back through, or they didn't have one. We don't have a lot of experience with armor this primitive to be able to answer that question. The best guess we have is someone could wear this all day, and even possibly sleep in it for a few days without issue." He then nods. "Each squad has at least one heavy weapons person in it, for this reason. And they will have at least SAWs, if not RPGs and LMGs. We've also tried to put a sniper in most squads as well."
Nadezhda finished eyeing the armor, "But not forever. They must have a place that creates this armor, and possibly another to store it for further use. If such a place is found, between or after securing our position, will we be granted permission to raid the enemies' supplies?" Upon hearing of her squad compilation, "I will make certain that they stay living. It should not be that hard." Oho, yes! Showing off and talking mighty.
Ames frowns. "I'm not sure that armor would be much good, or even legal, in civilian life. And I'm sure it would not be considered standard kit in the military. Almost certainly if it was certified for field use, it would be assigned to special forces and Navy Seal teams."
Nadezhda shook her head, "I was not clear. I wish to secure the arms and armor of the enemy, but not for use. If we were to have many more samples, it would be easier to research and develop weapons of our own to combat the enemy." Shrugging a little, "In the least, disrupting enemy supplies will push this fight in our favor. I assume these weapons are not found fully intact. They must acquire this metal somewhere." She shakes her head, "I am thinking ahead of myself. Already, in head, I have secured the first objective. But I am ready."
Laine studies his packet very closely, learning the terrain to think of good hiding spots and camouflage ideas he can use scout unseen. He sits on his chair with a block of white paper drawing up his ideas.
Ames nods. "I see, yes, if you can procure more samples, HQ would appreciate it, but only if you can do so without putting our primary missions at risk. I suspect we can demand samples or even details on manufacturing as part of any settlement."
Corporal Johnston, from the briefing, comes in, and nods at Laine. "PFC Horatio, at ease, no need to stand. I understand you're our squad Sniper? Former police and former military?"
Nadezhda had that familiar half-smile creep into her face, "Understood. I will see that it gets done, as no task is unsurmountable." Her tone and the way she stood added the silent for me at the end of her sentence. Looking towards the others, she stood at attention, "I have no further questions, sir."
At his request Laine remains seated, but salutes him quickly. "That would be right sir, former military, but despite the summoned to the national guard, I like to still think of myself as a SWAT sniper. I've developed a taste for hunting where I have practised making my camouflage."
The corporal nods. "Good to hear. My understanding is they will send us ghillie suits if we need them, but they've held off due to a lack of knowledge on exactly what is on the other side. You may need to make your own out of local fauna." He reaches into a satchel on his hip and pulls out an envelope. "Per HQ, you're part of the opening fireworks tomorrow. You'll report to the Gate at 9AM, in field dress with your sniper rifle, but without other gear. Make sure you get the rest of your gear on the GMV outside before you go to bed, you won't have time in the morning. Your rifle is waiting for you at the firing range, you're to get it set and zeroed in tonight. After you finish with your sniper duties, hoof it back to our vehicles ASAP. We'll be 35th and 36th in line."
I think I speak for all my squad, we'd like to have some AP issued. maybe 1/4 our load.
Dawn listens to the others. when can we share this info with our squads?
"We don't know how widely used this equipment is currently. Our supply of APDS is limited currently due to... political realities. Snipers are being issued APDS rounds, and your squad should have at least one sniper. We'll be issuing APDS to those who need it as fast as we can get it. As to when you can share with your squad, once you are in theater, we leave it up to you. However, we would like to keep this under wraps if we can, so, we expect you to use your best judgement. If you see someone with green armor or red weapons, share obviously."
Nadezhda nods an affirmative, "I trust in this limited selection as those with the most capacity to stay quiet. Your trust in me will never be misplaced, sir. A need-to-know-basis does not escape me." I am the greatest. She still stood at the ready, waiting to be dismissed most likely.
Timm just kept his mouth shut, in the back, still trying to understand what was going on. He was already far from being someone talkative at all, but in this group he'd maybe pass as invisible - despite his considerable size.
The fire brigade man simply limited himself to stay inspecting the equipment, hoping to find something heavy to carry around. They didn't even go in the mission yet and he was already missing his family - and, worse, couldn't help but to look around and analyze his own "squad" itself. That's gotta be the strangest mission ever, he thought, so I guess I should already expect the strangest soldiers ever...
Laine nods to the corporal "I prefer to make my own out of the local fauna, that way I'm sure it'll fit nicely with the enviroment." He accepts the envelope "Understood sir, I'll head to the firing range as soon as we are done here, and get a feel for my new sniper and zeroed to my eyesight and learn it's recoil." he pauses for a moment "Corporal one last question. Do we know if the gravity acts differently on the other side? Would like to know if I need to aim a little differently than we do here."
"Not that I've been made aware of, but you should keep it in mind." The Corporal says, shaking his head. As Tones comes in, the Corporal waves off any salutes. "At ease, Private Tones. Your gear is over there, get your pack packed. Your firearms are at the armory, make sure you get over there and get them tonight. It'll be open all night, but if you get there early you'll get more sleep. You're on the Ma Deuce in the lead humvee tomorrow. I'll be taking the M249 on the second humvee."
Dawn valiantly tries not to roll her eyes at the blatant brown-nosing.
What kind of resupply schedule are we going to have, and how big of a foothold are we trying to push out? A handful of bobcats would be really nice for a quick build encampment. I hope we got a bunch of hesco bastions. We're gonna need to secure the portal real quick.
Dawn decides now's the time to get as much info as she can. Do we have any info on why this valley was selected for the indigs to create the portal? Any idea how long their logistics train was? Any buildings or technology at the portal site to maintain it? It would really suck to get to the other side and find out the battery ran dry and the poral closes.
"Resupply should be routine, especially for ammunition, food, and medical supplies. Heavy equipment will be problematic due to the restrictions on how big a component we can send through the Gate. A lot of our tanks can't be disassembled small enough to fit. Some air craft can, but then require all the infrastructure to rebuild them on the other side. The 1st Engineers Batallion has a significant amount of raw materials to build buildings and defensive redoubts, including concrete, hesco bastions, and small utility vehicles. Full sized bulldozers have the same issue that our tanks do. We're working with Caterpillar to build us a few custom dozers that can be disassembled and sent through. We expect them within 3 months." One of the Lt's in the retinue replies to the first question, then looks at the person who gave the details on the indigs originally.
She shakes her head. "We have no idea why they chose this valley, although it is easily defended against from the outside, so it could have been strategic. We only have limited information on the other side, gathered from small drones before they were shot down. We aren't even sure they are the ones who made it, it seems extremely advanced for most of their technology. One of the leading theories is that the indigs are actually utilizing advanced technology left behind by a previous civilization, and don't actually understand how it all works."
3 months?! Why not just go down to a yard store and get a couple of commercial bobcats? They're smaller than a hummer.
How hi were those drones flying when they got shot down? Will we continue to have this kind of problem going in?
Have the initial scouts seen if the indigs are keeping the portal under observation?
Daniel takes his packet and leaves when dismissed with the rest of the non-cleared folks. He was used to being dismissed but still thought it foolish. If you have intel, share it with those you ask to risk their lives. Pretty strait forward, but not the army way. he thinks. Looking about he sees no one he knows and wonders, not for the last time about the wisdom of joining the guard. But he was here, and knew that soon a group of near total strangers would be like brothers and sisters to him, again. What a strange way to live. finding is barracks he settles in and delves into the material provided, hoping for a topo map. I wonder if they will have me driving or on the gun?
3 months?! Why not just go down to a yard store and get a couple of commercial bobcats? They're smaller than a hummer.
How hi were those drones flying when they got shot down? Will we continue to have this kind of problem going in?
Have the initial scouts seen if the indigs are keeping the portal under observation?
The man frowns. "I already said the engineers will have those, I said it would take 3 months to get full sized bulldozers... Private." He reminds her of her rank. "The indigs have built up a defensive position, and have, at current estimates, a couple of thousand defenders scattered throughout the valley. We plan on softening them up with missile strikes first. They are.. in a poorly planned position to avoid large area explosions."
Nadezhda cracks a smile, just the tip of her lip, at the outbreak. She can stand at attention forever, but she did return to the conversation, They are watching it, good. Should make things interesting. So we are sieging, before preparing to be besieged."
"Ofcourse sir, I'll keep it in mind. Guess it's easy to feel once we go through just liked to be prepared if we already knew anything. I'll go and get a feel for my rifle now, catch you on the morrow."
Roger roger. - says the fire brigade giant, more worried about other type of supplies for such a long engagement than weapons and vehicles.
Dawn apologizes sorry for the excess enthusiasm, sir. just wanting to get in and get the job done.
She decides that a tactical withdrawal is probably a good idea and remains quiet for the remainder of the briefing.
The briefing breaks up soon after, and everyone is dismissed.
Members who attended the security briefing begin to trickle in.
Dawn returns to the barracks after stopping to pick up her gear. She spends the evening meticulously going over everything in her packs.
She looks up at their corporal sir, it might be a good idea to see if we can finagle being 'accidentally' over supplied with ammunition.