Posted by Moore on May 02, 2003 at 05:25:51:
Phoenix adjusted the MOLLE Load-Bearing System, his kevlar body armor, and the AN/VRC-91A Singcars Secure Manpack. He looked to the rest of his section. Owl and Vulture were examining each other's ghillie suits. The snipers had already sighted in their SVD sniper rifles. The Russian semiautomatic weapons had been chosen because they had already been fitted with sound suppressers when they had been "liberated". Hawk and Eagle were making the belts of ammo for their M240G machine gun as quiet as possible. Peacock and Falcon were dividing the load of the MK 19 grenade launcher, its tripod, and the belt of fifty 40mm HVHE grenades. They worked in the calm, confident silence of professional soldiers. They double checked their gear: there was a lot of killing to be done before dawn. Penguin was staying behind to guard the "roost". Mother Hen was staying behind because he lacked the killer instinct, and would be organizing the weapons seized in the last raid.
Phoenix mounted up into the back of one of the LAV-25s, nicknamed "Porky Pig", as the last of the sunlight faded. The rest of the assault section followed suit. The other LAV-25 carried two four man machine gun squads. Following behind the LAV-25s was an old and battered Ural-375 6x6 truck, which would be used to haul the loot from the target. The engines, all of which had been repaired many times and patched from the parts salvaged from several other vehicles, sputtered to life. They started moving slowly. The liters of methanol fuel the engines were consuming did not have as much energy as gasoline, but since the nukes had made gasoline a thing of the past, methanol or ethanol was all they had.
Intel from the Polish 2nd Free Legion had revealed the existence of an intact dock on the west side of the Vistula river with a basin that would be deep enough for the patrol boat. Of course, they still had to capture the patrol boat, but tonight's mission was the secure the town of Nowe, without destroying the dock.
The trip east from Chojnice on route 240 then onto route 239 was uneventful. Scouts from the Polish 2nd Free Legion guided the force along back roads past Warlubie. Phoenix knew Major Sikorski was a conservative leader who didn't want to risk his own men unnecessarily. Quasi-mercs like Phoenix and his men were much more expendable. Phoenix knew Major Sikorski would not like his plan to capture the Soviet patrol boat. It was too risky. So Phoenix hadn't told him. Phoenix disliked having to pay the Poles to help him, but needed guides and intelligence information.
Dismounting from the LAV-25 three km north of Warlubie, Phoenix flipped on his generation 3 night vision goggles. He wished he had enough men he could sit out of the action. He knew sooner or later his luck would run out. Tonight's mission would morally trouble the man he had once been. But he couldn't leave anyone alive in Nowe who could radio or signal the Soviets as to where the patrol boat had gone. So a group of "marauders" would be attacking Nowe, killing and looting everyone, and everything. Maybe he had sunk so low that he had actually become a marauder. Whatever the cost to his soul, he was willing to pay it if it meant that Rachgee didn't have to. Besides, the patrol boat would open a lot of opportunities, and help keep Rachgee safe.
Phoenix and his section had about four kilometers to cover before they got close to their target Nowe. While their night vision goggle gave them an advantage, they did not take any chances as they headed up route 1 out of Warlubie. The rest of the men and vehicles would deploy to Nowe after Phoenix' section gathered information on the local ORMO's defenses and heavy weapons.
It took about two hours to cover the four km in the darkness. Owl took point, nearly invisible in the enveloping darkness. Phoenix, in the center, set the pace. The spring night was cold, and the trip was uneventful.