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Sons of Guan Yu

Joined
Aug 27, 2009
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224
Son Province, Dai Viet


The roar of the monsoon rain blocked out all the noise of the jungle, the strong winds whipped through the trees as the crash of thunder lit up the sky. It had been raining for days, the constant buckets of water causing thousands of creeks to appear on the mountainsides, filling the riverbeds to their bursting points. As the sound of the rain made way for yet another lightning strike, a rumbling could be heard coming up the mountain. The whine of four IFVs became louder and louder as they struggled to climb the waterlogged road that twisted up towards a village that was nestled in between two peaks of the Dai Mau Tsu Mountain: The Great Mother.

As the vehicles crept closer and closer, eyes peered out from between the foliage of the trees, gun sights aimed at the wet soldiers standing in the open hatches. The storm clouds, already blocking out most of the sun, kept what would otherwise have been a beautiful sunset from sight, and instead darkness fell gradually over the men. The vehicles continued into the village, which seemed deserted, all who lived there having had gone inside to avoid the rain. A command vehicle pulled into the village square and out of it stepped Lieutenant Trang Hai Phoung, CO of Charlie platoon, 52nd Rifle Coy. The lieutenant stood, soaking wet, for several minutes until a door opened. Out stepped an older man who shuffled towards him, covering his head from the downpour with an old plastic sheet.

“Can I help you, sir?”

The lieutenant frowned at the mans tone

“Get everyone out here. We are looking for the rebels that attacked a convoy last night. We are going to search this village. Anyone left inside will be shot.”

Sir, we are simple villagers, there are no rebels here.”

Phoung pulled out his handgun

“Now, old man.”

The village elder shrugged, and started shuffling back towards his home, calling for his wife. It took several minutes but after a short while 46 people were standing in line, their clothes already soaked. It was a pathetic group of old men and women, children and the occasional mother. No men were there to be seen.

Where are all the men?” The lieutenant shouted

“They are in the fields working, sir.”

Bullshit! In this weather?”

“Rain or sunshine, we still have to eat, sir.”

His patience was gone. A child started to cry. He hated crying children. He lifted his gun and pointed it at the nearest woman. Seeing the signal, the rest of the soldiers jumped out of their vehicles and joined their boss, aiming their assault rifles at the villagers.

“I have been in the rain all day, and have nothing to show for it, old man. You tell me where the men are. I hope you realise what the alternative is.” He pressed the tip of the gun onto the woman’s forehead. Tears started falling from her eyes.

“Please, sir, I told you, there are no men here.”

The lieutenant didn’t flinch as he pulled the trigger, the woman falling, broken, into the mud. As the other villagers started to scream and cry, he thought to himself that it was one less dirty Son bitch to worry about. That was the last thought he had.

Guns erupted from the jungle and houses surrounding them, and a hail of bullets flew towards the soldiers. Within seconds over a dozen had been killed. As the squad commanders tried to rally their men, they realised that it was all over. The men jumped into their vehicles, and the cannon opened up into the trees. Eight AT guns exploded adding to the mayhem, striking the four IFVs in their weaker rear armour. 4 smouldering heaps of scrap metal were all that was left, and all that could be heard was the rain and the soft cries of the villagers. The lieutenant lay sprawled across the dirt, his brain seeping into the mud.
 
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
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Institute for Asymmetric Warfare, Mai Trinh, Dai Viet


In the centre of the sprawling metropolis that was Mai Trinh lay the Imperial district, home to important buildings such the Imperial Palace, the House of the Imperial Executariat, as well as the High Command of the Viettenne Armed Forces. Amidst these buildings lay the one building that had seen almost more activity than any other, the Institute for Asymmetric Warfare, know to most as just ‘the Institute’. The security levels around the Institute rivalled those of the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Intelligence Service, all of which were constantly garrisoned by one of the numerous honour regiments of the Imperial Guard. The building was the hub of all counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism and clandestine related operations, research and co-ordination for the entire LFS. Amongst the many vehicles that constantly could be found shuttling important persons around the district, one in particular was just arriving from the Mai Trinh Naval and Air Base. Arriving by limousine, a short but well built man reached the main lobby of the Institute, and stepped into the refreshing air-conditioned room. As soon as he was spotted several clerks arrived with refreshments, but were all pushed aside. The man did not have time for dilly-dallying, as he usually called it, and led his small party of aides towards the first of many security-checks before he would reach his final destination.

“Ah, General Tran, good to see you have finally arrived, please sit down, have a drink.”

“Thank you, sir”

The General sat down in the conference room to which he had been summoned from his operational HQ in the Son Province. Facing him was General Trieu Quang, the Imperial Secretary for Defense, General Vo, Supreme Commander of the Viettenne Armed Forces and the Imperial secretary for Public Security General Trieu Hong. He had come to brief the men on the developments in the Son province, and once again, he had mostly bad news.

“You may begin your briefing, General Tran”

“Very well, thank you, sir.

Gentlemen, last night yet another patrol was ambushed, and annihilated at the Great Mother Mountain. That’s the fourth in the past two weeks, and the 9th this month. The increased violence in this sector – which was considered pacified this summer – proves that the Son rebels are mounting a high intensity campaign against our forces in the region. Conversely, the sectors considered hostile have a seen a marked decrease in violence – the heavy fighting has diminished to sporadic firefights. Earlier we believed this was a sign that the rebels were losing heart, and indeed, the Ghurkas and Frontier Forces have seized key terrain and have destroyed several base camps. However, it seems that the rebels have learned that they stand little chance against our infantry, and have instead re-directed their focus on our mechanized troops. This means they have once again infiltrated the pacified sectors, and are hitting our vehicles faster than we can replace them on the ground. The armored battalions, which are ideal for maintaining a presence while increasing mobility in already pacified regions, do not stand a chance in the terrain if they are facing such dedicated assaults.

I am therefore obligated to tell you that the reports that we were close to a victory only a month ago were wrong. We are no closer to victory than we were in the spring. Rebel morale is high, and furthermore, they are well equipped. Finally, they are able to infiltrate and operate in all sectors of the province which means they have popular support. The QTS* are reporting that recruiting has increased, and that they are beginning to refine their strategy- it seems they have a new commander who knows what he is doing. The QTS are working on infiltrating the rebels further in order to identify him as we speak.”

Damn rebels”, Trieu Hong piped up, “can’t we just kill everyone in the whole fucking province? They don’t contribute anyway, nobody will miss them”.

“Sir, there are 423 thousand Viettenne citizens living in the Son province, sir.”

Wrong! There are 423 thousand traitors living in the Son Province!”

“Sir, the fact of the matter is that the increased civilian deaths are making the rebels stronger. Every Son Viet we kill makes us more hated amongst the people in the province. What we need to do is convince them that swearing fealty to his Imperial Majesty will bring them more prosperity. If the people won’t help the rebels, they cannot operate!”

“You listen to me, General. I will not tolerate that sort of talk.”

General Vo spoke

“He is right, the only way we can destroy the insurgency is to strike fear into the heart of every Son bastard. We will pull back the armoured and mechanized elements. You will initiate attacks, first in the Great Mother sector, using the Ghurkas and Frontier Forces. I want every village to know what happens when Imperial Soldiers are killed, and rebels are harboured. When you have secured the other outlying sectors you will report back here. Understood?”

“Yes, sir”

“Leave us”

The General packed up his papers and left the room, fuming. Pulling back from the central sectors would be seen as a victory in the province, and the insurgents would gain even more confidence. Recruitment would skyrocket. They would be granted safe areas where they could base their operations, and their own soldiers would lose heart at the retreat. They didn’t listen when he told them that bring armoured units into the jungle would be a disaster. They didn’t even care to listen to his operational plan now. The problem lay in the fact that nobody in that room actually cared about the insurgency at all. They were too busy worrying about external threats to realise that the greatest threat to the security of the Empire lay in their backyard. If only they would go about the insurgency the same way they did with foreign infiltrators and political dissidents, the war would be over within a year. And so he returned to his HQ, knowing that the only way he would keep his job was to continue giving the top brass body counts. “Secured” was just another way of saying killing everything that moved.




*Quang Tri Scouts (OOC info only): Highly secretive unit formed for the clandestine elimination of rebels, dissidents and insurgents both within and without the country. The Quang Tri Scouts act as a combat reconnaissance force, its mission in the Son province is to infiltrate Dai Viet’s tribal population and insurgent networks, pinpoint rebel groups and relay vital information back to the conventional forces earmarked to carry out the actual attacks, such as the SSOG, Frontier Forces and Ghurkas. Their secondary mission is to ambush and assasinate insurgents and insurgent leaders.
 
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
224
Phouc Sector, Son Province


Only the steep angle of the evening sun's rays made it possible to pick up the slight movement and vibrations in the leaves of the thick jungle. The day's rain rose like steam out of the leaves and ground due to the welcome break in weather. The sound of chicadas were deafening, yet there was an illusion of calm silence about the jungle as the various nocturnal animals woke up to begin their nighttime prowling under the cover of the thick undergrowth. 8 men walked softly on the damp leaves, only making noises slightly discernable from the insect's song. A branch that had been caught on a leg suddenly gave way, and the subsequent swish of the leaves resounded, almost echoing between the trees. Angry stares met the guilty offender, and all eight slowly knelt down, forced to wait in uncomfortable positions until they were sure nobody had heard them.

Fifty meters behind them, a stick of four knelt, noting the sound and the abrupt silence signaling the patrol's sudden halt. They could almost smell the men in front of them, but in the evening all they could rely on to keep on their trail were the minute signs of human passing, and the distant shivers in the foliage as the patrol brushed by. They only had another hour or so until night would fall, and they knew that the patrol would have to halt. They knew just as well as them that the darkness of the jungle was inpenetrable at night, and any light would only serve to signal their presence for anyone in the area.

Sure enough, as the last rays of sunlight pierced the canopy, the patrol spread out into a ring and set up their hammocks between conveniantly placed trees. The stick retreated another 50 meters, knowing that the inevitable sounds as the packed up would be more than enough to signal their continued march in the morning. Three of the men lay down, wrapping their ponchos around them to get some sleep, the fourth settling down to begin his watch. Four minutes later it was pitch dark. A snake slithered under the leaves and over one of the men's legs, searching for its first meal of the night.



----



Fort 556, Heu' Di, Border between the Man and Son Provinces


Two men in field uniforms, their combat webbing on, rifles at their sides, rushed towards the barracks built next to the helicopter staging area. Sandbags surrounded the 'ships, the only sign of them being the massive rotors that protruded from the top of the structures.


"When did the reports come in?"

"15 minutes ago, the Scouts radioed in the message with eyes on the prize. Estimated 60- odd rebels at the basecamp, with more expected to come in. Seems they are planning to stage an attack."

"Why did they call us?"

"The base is set up in a coffee plantation, nice fields for us to land in. There's a good chance to capture some of them. Besides, it's nice that the airforce doesn't get all the fun."


The men entered the barracks with a bang.


"Guns at your side and ready to kill, Gentlemen! Airborne in twenty minutes, squad commanders to me."



----



QTBR base, Kh'ng Village, Son Province


The sun would soon begin to set again over the jungle, but until then, preperations were being made for the next morning, when training would begin for the new recruits that had been escorted to the base over several days. The base commander, a combat veteran of several raids on Imperial Soldiers, sat leaned back in a chair, sipping some of the god-awful booze they called whiskey he had requisitioned from the villagers. He was in a good mood. Only one of the escorts had been attacked, and that had been a long way away. Other than that, all of the patrols reported that despite the new recruits, they had traveled here unnoticed. Once again the fact that kids grew up hunting deer in the jungle, and as such knew how to move silently through the trees would give them victory. All that was left was to teach them how to use an assault rifle and listen to orders and he would have a comptetent fighting force on his hands. The white sun will shine forever, he mused.

He was expecting two more groups before dark, and stood up to inspect the base area. It had been hastily set up, the location only chosen because of the open coffee fields would give them the chance to train tactics, and keep an eye on the recruits. He thought about the risk of being spotted by aircraft, or even the unmanned birds, but the risk of that was minute. Despite his reassurances he looked up at the sky, then laughed to himself. If there really was a fighter up there, they would all already be dead.

He was just turning the corner to check if any more groups had arrived when a chill was sent rushing down his spine, the hair at the back of his neck rising. Had he just imagined it? For a second he thought he had heard the slow chug of rotorblades. No, it was gone. He stood still for another moment, wishing that it would have just been a figment of his imagination. Nothing. He breathed out, realising that he had been holding his breath. He chuckled. You've been in this game for too long, old man. He managed to take a few more steps before the wind once again swept the sound of impending death over the camp, this time louder.


"To arms! Get the men out of the huts, we have incoming!"


His outbreak shocked those surrounding him, and as they recognized the sound, they were stung into action. The alarm was called out, and soon enough 67 men were rushing to meet the ghosts of Goung Ka - the Ghurkas. The 'ships, which had been flying low along the bottom of a valley to cover their approach, now rose to come into sight of the village. The commander watched as the brutal aircraft spread out into a line, the eight of them seemingly coming straight towards him. The first rocket was fired, hitting a hut only 50 meters away. The recruits were already firing back, despite the long range. Fifteen long seconds later, with explosions and dead bodies all around, the Ghurkas were on the ground, rushing towards them, their heavy machine guns blazing away. Tracers zipped through huts, trees and bodies, the constant warcry of the Ghurkas loud and clear despite the mayhem of the firefight.

It only took minutes until the first of the rebels started running. Two paths led down opposite sides of the mountain that was host to the plantation. The rebels lucky enough to escape the carnage of the camp were gunned down by Scouts positioned to cover the two routes as they fled. It was all over in 5 minutes. The Scouts moved out into the jungle to pick off those who had managed to escape into the jungle, while the commanding officer of the Ghurka company walked towards his second in command.


"Who have we got?"

"Some kids, some older guys, and someone we think was the commander."

"Excellent. Round up the prisoners, tend to our wounded, kill theirs, and talk to the village head. You let him know that we will be watching this place. If he ever decides to harbour terrorists again, we will burn his crops to the ground. Airborne in twenty minutes."


The rebel commander sat on his knees, tears falling down his eyes. The struggle was over for his part. He would not live for much longer than a week, even if he survived the torture. May the White Sun shine on forever in the hearts of others.
 
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