Durgama Takeover

The major tossed the dossier files onto the display table in front of him. He leaned forward over the table, his arms passing through some of the holographic structures displayed on its surface. The dim lights lit up parts of his arms and chin as they phased through the illuminating structures. He cocked an eyebrow at the soldier across from him, asking in a stern tone “Lieutenant, do you mind telling me what you’re doing fighting the 35th Ranger Battalion on the starboard battery?”

The faint glow of the table reflected off the pins and buttons of Lieutenant Dennis Osman's blue coat while he stood at ease. “It was a training exercise, sir.” Osman answered obediently. He kept his gaze looking slightly below the major’s face, focusing more on the peaks of the holographic display between them. “We just touched down on Raveneye yesterday and my boys were hoping to get in some practice before coming into contact with the enemy.”

Dennis Osman was assigned as commanding officer of an O-12 security squad designed for entry denial and countering enemy advancements. While he and his men may have been designated as a reserves force, they were no less eager to meet the enemies at Durgama. Now that they’re being called in to help with the campaign, Lieutenant Osman couldn’t shake the feeling that something big is about to happen. Although he believed that he and his men were ready, they were in for a rough introduction.

The major continued his questioning. “And you went to the Ariadnans?”

“The Ariadnans came to us, sir.” Osman answered, his voice unwavering. “One of their liaisons: Dennis Wilson, requested an OPFOR to help his men with handling low-gravity situations. No one answered the request, so I put my team forward in the name of promoting cooperation in the ICAF. We agreed to a simple exercise in territory domination.”

Osman looked over the table between him and the major. Small lights flickered between the holographic buildings displayed on the table. It was replaying parts of the training operation that had just taken place between them and the Rangers. He winced as some of the tiny holographic representations of his teammates fell. It was only an exercise, but that doesn’t mean dummy rounds are any less painful.

“Lieutenant Wilson and I saw it as a win-win, sir. His men got to adjust to zero-G combat, and we got an opportunity to train with the big boys.”

The major lifted his weight from the table, moving a hand over to a side panel next to the table’s display. He stared down Osman for a moment before he spoke once more. “And how’d that work out for you, Lieutenant?” He twisted one of the panel’s knobs, followed by a press of some buttons. The table’s display responded by rewinding the small holographic show until it paused. Osman’s team were on one side of the training grounds and those of the Ranger Battalion on the other.

“Alright then, Lieutenant. I want you to start from the top.”

- - - -
MISSION DEBRIEF
- - - -

Either out of ignorance, or cautiousness, we gave USARF the green light to go first. Andromeda was deep behind enemy lines in a corridor overlooking the courtyard where they had a Blackjack fireteam. We were hoping to sabotage the nearby array for one of our hidden objectives, but she ended up being flanked by a Beasthunter. He came running up the stairs in front of her and hit her with his pistol. Between that and a possible mine, we could only hope for her to dodge out of it and regroup. We weren’t expecting this assault to be followed up with a heavy flamethrower. She returned fire this time, but it was best outcome we could have hoped for that she took him down with her. It wasn’t our plan for her to go down so quickly, but we were unaware of truly eager these men were for this. Further down the hallway, some additional exchanges were made between one of their grunts and our Gangbuster. The Gangbuster went down after the dust had settled.

The previously mentioned Blackjack team advanced forward, exchanging some fire between a Gamma we had on overwatch. Even with the Feuerbach, he couldn’t handle the exchange and fell as well. Our Millicent bot was shortly downed following our Gamma unit.

Regarding first floor engagements, the Rangers had two desperado units moving up the mid-field to nail our Epsilon who was monitoring the hallway. They made it too far up the field for us to be comfortable, but our sniper reliably took out the more eager one of the pair. The other one hid further back near the center of the field for now.

By the time we even understood what was going on, we had lost a significant number of our fighting force. The best we could do was push some of our Varangians up the field in hopes of securing the area. Our hacker Kappa was fortunate enough to get a data scan on one of the desperados, securing us a point regarding hidden objectives.

Before we could make any further advances, the Rangers gave another push, this time dropping one Captain Van Zant behind our forces. Between the confusion of the two desperados heading up, our men were too spun around to confirm Van Zant’s location and he was able to thin our numbers even further. Both our Kappas were downed, and Van Zant took down our Epsilon from behind in close quarters.

We tried our best to recuperate, but things were dire. Our Delta parachuted in with his yudbot. We were hoping to secure one more objective with the Rangers’ HVT, but between smoke and the Desperado pushing the bot into a corner, it didn’t stand a chance. Van Zant continued his “slaughter” of our men by further taking our our Varangians and our Delta.

By the time I had realized what happened, I was by myself, sir. I radioed in to the Rangers to let them that we wanted to concede and that the exercise was over. I’d like to believe that we gave them hell, but it seemed like we had a tougher time adjusting to them in zero-G han they did to us.

- - - -
END DEBRIEF
- - - -

As the last few men in Osman’s group fell, the display stuttered, frozen on the last frame it captured of the event.
The major did not attempt to hide his sigh. “Good thing for you, it was only an exercise. The Combined army will not be nearly as forgiving.”
Lieutenant Osman stood still; his front face frozen as he heard the major’s feedback. His hands however could not help tighten their grip and whiten his knuckles.

The major picked up the dossier he had previously tossed to the table, walking around the display and planted it against Osman’s chest. “That being said, you understand where you and your men need improvement. You have potential, and we can’t afford to let anyone stand by while the Combined fight over this station, let alone this planet.” He gestured Osman to the door as he turned back towards his desk. “I need you and your men recovered and on standby. We’re moving forward in our operations and need every hand on deck. That will be all for now, lieutenant.”

Osman gripped the dossier files, glancing between them and the major. He nodded, before saluting his superior and marched towards the door.

“And Lieutenant-“ the major spoke once more as Osman activated the door panel, a dull swishing noise interrupting them as it opened.

“Sir?” Osman asked.

“Welcome to Durgama.”