Battle of Si Satrakun
22.8.2010 13:25
Si Satrakun Unity Forward Base.
3.78 miles west of Sinyaphum.
Colonel Timkul commanding.
"Get the commies on the line, lieutenant," said the skinny colonel, his arms not quite the bulk of his peers. Asians in general were leaner than their western counterparts, but Timkul was more than just lean. That only took away from the authority of his rank by a fraction. The underling picked up a bulky phone that was likely twenty years old and often repaired with gum, and pushed his clumsy, fleshy fingers on the buttons that clicked under the pressure of the mans fat fingers. The lieutenant began talking to a man on the other end, but Timkul grabbed the phone from his hand. "I don't know, or care, who you are. I don't have god damned time for chit-chat. Give me your superior, or at least his secretary," the colonel used the word 'secretary' as an insult, ignoring any rank system in the communist hierarchy.
He held in his hand satellite imagery that bothered him more than anything the young pest on this phone could manage to conjure. Chain of command was bullshit he'd save for the SDF, he didn't care for the shit with these commie bastards. He tapped his foot and waited for a moment for a response on the other line.
"Yeah, is this Im Phirun?" The voice on the other end of the line indicated the affirmative. "I have a photo in my hands, and it's scaring the piss outta me, Phirun. Looks like those damned rebels are pushing south of Sinyaphum, through the mountains, and into the valley. I know you and your boys are getting into it in the rocks, so do you know anything about this intel?"
The man on the other line began talking, and a few eyes turned towards the colonel to gauge his expression. The colonel knew the eyes of the room were bearing down on him, testing him to see if the news he was hearing was not good. The colonel listened intently and controlled his expression heavily. Every muscle in his face struggled to hide his fear and his anger when the man on the other end stopped speaking.
"Very well, then, Im Phirun. If you and your boys can do anything to assist, I'd be greatly appreciative," the colonel's tone changed completely. The man on the other end replied, and the colonel said his goodbye and hung the phone up. He waited a moment for the eyes that bore into him to disappear before leaning down over the lieutenants shoulder. "If you would, get the JFC on the line for me, lieutenant."
The junior officer nodded and dialed a few numbers, waiting for a moment and giving the receiver the proper authentication codes before handing the phone to the colonel. "This is Colonel Timkul, commanding officer of Si Strakun UFB," the officer spoke almost softly, trying to not garner attention, "who am I speaking to?"
"This is Captain Tangtong. What is this about, colonel?"
"We have a slight issue, here, Captain. I need immediate recon at 9.8954 ° S 117.129 ° E. Satellite imagery suggests that this location will be cut off from major supply routes in a matter of days. I have eight thousand personnel stationed here, with another six at Sinyaphum. I need to know the level of threat posed to the south."
"Understood Colonel. Will relay your priority request to my superiors, hopefully you'll have your intel tonight. I'll tell you off the record, we have a lot of sorties engaged in operations, though, so not sure if they can pull a flight out to check out your zone."
"Thank you, Captain. I'll do what I can to take the initiative and pre-empt any attack on the valley."