Max Velocity - Patriot Dawn - The Resistance Rises

After the initial fusillade the Resistance fighters began to conserve ammunition, watching and shooting, waiting for an enemy to reveal themselves. The enemy platoon had started to reposition itself, trying to get on line to orient its fire upslope, and they accomplished this by a mix of short dashes by individual soldiers or more safely by crawling up behind the trees. The shouts of squad and team leaders resonated in the trees along with the crackle of disjointed return fire.

The Regime platoon leader was assessing the situation, He realized that he was not in a position to assault the Resistance positions and relayed this in his contact report to the company tactical HQ. Captain Brookings told him to stay firm and establish a fire support position. He was preparing to assault with his second platoon left flanking, or from the north.

The Regime point platoon had started to consolidate into a rough line around fifty meters from 2nd Squad’s positions, but it seemed an insurmountable distance through the trees. Rounds continued to crack back and forth between the two forces, with the Regime point platoon hunkering down in as best cover as they could find due to the accuracy of the incoming rounds from the Resistance fighters. They started to take more casualties, at a steady rate.

As the remainder of Jack’s Company crested the ridge they heard the outbreak of gunfire, the furious staccato hammering of the firefight. Jack passed the word up the line: “Double time!” They had five miles to go on a steadily downwards trending incline, broken by slight uphill’s as the trail passed through draws and over small spurs.

The Company was in light fighting order, which really wasn’t light at all. They had their tactical vests, based either on body armor or plate carriers festooned with magazine pouches. They were not carrying their rucks, but their daypacks were loaded with ammunition, water, medical supplies and some rations. They carried around seventy pounds each, varying on each individual’s load and weapon system.

They were strung out along the trail in single file, a company snake. As the order to double time was received, none of the fighters had any doubt as to the urgency. They started to shuffle run down the trail. On the flats and the downhill’s they shuffled and jogged, on the uphill they leaned into it and drove themselves up the slope.

Those that started to drop back were passed. There were not many of them, some simply due to previous wounds sustained. Megan was at the rear with a small medical team for anyone that needed medical help, along with Jim who was kicking butts as required. The key was to get the majority of the Company’s combat power down the trail to rapidly reinforce 2nd Platoon. The others could catch up as they arrived.

As the Reaper drone circuited the area looking for targets, it picked up the activity at Victor Foxtrot. The Company was at that time cresting the ridge to head down to Zulu Delta, but a handful of the logistics guys were trying to rapidly load the last vehicles and bug out. The feed was relayed to the controlling RTOC video screens at the fusion center. Watching the video screens, Director Woods felt a surge of excitement and gave the order to engage.

As the last three vehicles took off down the driveway they were hit by AGM-114 Hellfire missiles fired from the Reaper, destroying the vehicles in flaming explosions. Shortly after, the two 500lb GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) carried by the Reaper were dropped, impacting into the farmhouse and barn and disintegrating them in massive explosions.

The blast freed the eight incarcerated defectors who had been locked in an outbuilding. The door was blown off and they came staggering out into the open. The Reaper picked them up and fired another two hellfire missiles, killing them instantly, the bloom of the explosion filling the operators TV screen.

Video games.

The damage was surveyed on the video at the RTOC, the Reaper circling overhead. Two and two were put together and at the advice of the senior Ranger liaison in the RTOC Director Woods ordered a second hunter killer company from the assigned Ranger Battalion to be dispatched in Chinooks to clear and secure the terrorist base.

Meanwhile, a third company was loaded onto Chinooks and sent to the LZ in the valley where the original hunter-killer company had landed, in order to reinforce the troops in contact.

At Zulu Delta the firefight still raged between the 2nd Squad and the enemy point platoon, consolidated in a linear position fifty meters downslope, sheltering behind trees.

The nature of the fight in the woods, close and personal, meant that indirect fire, or aerial barrage, was not an option. To hit Zulu Delta with such fires, the hunter-killer company would have to break contact and withdraw to a suitable distance, not easy under such circumstances.

The Regime hunter-killer company commander, Captain Brookings, had organized a flanking assault utilizing his second platoon. They pushed upslope and pushed down towards Zulu Delta from the north, effectively a left flanking assault from the enemy point of view, coming in at right angles to their point platoon downslope to the west.

The Regime assaulting platoon also adopted a skirmish line with flank protection. It was the best formation for fighting in the woods. They knew that contact was imminent so they came forward by bounding over-watch, working in pairs along the length of the line, in short rushes from tree to tree.

As they reached fifty meters from the front of 1st Squad’s line of foxholes, which remained unseen by the Regime troops, the fighters opened fire. The enemy immediately went to ground in their ragged skirmish line formation and a firefight developed between the two sides. Again the foxholes were hard to spot and the advantage remained with the defenders.

The Regime hunter-killer company was breaking like waves on the rock of the Resistance triangular defensive position. The flanking attack was bogged down, and casualties were screaming in the trees. Calls for medic were shouted along the line.

Captain Brookings pushed up towards the fighting in the center, his third platoon waiting in reserve. He had to be careful about deploying the third platoon to flank further round to the east of the Resistance position, because at some point they would end up opposite his point platoon to the west, with the Resistance position in between, and thus they would be in each other’s sectors of fire.

He decided to keep his third platoon in reserve for now, pushing them upslope to the north east a ways, but keeping them back from the action. Meanwhile, a stalemate developed at Zulu Delta. The enemy was taking steady casualties, but the fighters had to conserve ammunition. The fighters could not withdraw, but the enemy was unable to press the assault.

It took the Company fifty minutes to make the five miles down the trail. 1st Platoon emerged on the edge of the old Zulu ravine, breathing hard with sweat pouring off them. Caleb pushed them across the draw into a position lining the far side.

Jack joined him with his tactical HQ. 3rd Platoon pulled rear security while Alex Lambert joined the group. Three hundred meters ahead they could hear the firefight, the noise ebbing and flowing with the action.

Jack assessed the situation, listening and reading the battle as best as he could. Unfortunately, they had pulled out the landline communication between Zulu and Zulu Delta so they could not communicate with 2nd Platoon securely. Jack did not want to compromise his intent by asking for a situation report over the insecure net.

Jack gave his platoon leaders quick battle orders, giving them an opportunity to question and clarify. Once they were happy, he sent them back to their platoons. He then got on the net and briefly sent to Owen: “Got your back.” He got a double click response. This allowed Owen to pass out the news to his men to be on the lookout for friendlies from the south, thus reducing the chances of fratricide.