Post by scarththegrim on Nov 4, 2009 23:29:39 GMT -5
It had been a fantastic start to Kasey's military career on Earth. His squad had been humiliated in a spar against a Schutzstaffel infantry unit and had failed to scout a nearby Federation installation. The ordeals had left their mark on Kasey, costing him a broken left arm and cracked rib. Kasey now laid back atop his squad's Weasel as their medic Colette checked his bandages.
“Your arm seems recovered for the most part.” Colette commented as she tightened Kasey's chest bandages. “You heal quick for a spacer.” Colette mocked Kasey offhandedly, barely batting an eye. “It's probably because our nurses lack such caring bedside manner.” Kasey chuckled at his own joke as he rose to a sitting position. He flexed his left arm to test the bone. A stinging sensation, like spilled coffee. Kasey bit down on his lip as he pivoted his weight to jump off the Weasel. The landing was less than smooth, another sharper pain shot up his side. “I said your arm was recovered, not your ribs. Stop being foolish.” Colette called down from the top of the Weasel. She was still packing up her medical supplies, not even looking at Kasey as she spoke. Kasey shook his head and walked over to his squad's mechanic Shawana.
The obese Shawana had a mat laid out by the rear of the Weasel. Vehicle and weapon parts were spread across the mat in various piles. Kasey walked up alongside Shawana, busy working on a disassembled turret. “Having a picnic?” Kasey asked. Shawana motioned towards her right hand. A sandwich was clenched tightly in its grip. “I don't want our AA guns jamming because a piece of turkey's stuck in the trigger.” Kasey tried to sound intimidating. “That's not how gun's work sugar. Sides, I can't work on an empty stomach.” Shawana was in the habit of making excuses for her gluttony.
Kasey plopped down on the mat and began fiddling with one of his own weapons, a bolt-action rifle. A shotgun-sniper by trade, he had yet to test his skills with either weapon since landing on Earth. He hoped to get a chance soon. With the war effort leaning more and more to mobile suits and battleships, he feared soon his entire squad would become nothing more than missile firing grunts. He noticed almost immediately that the scope was off center, and began working fervently on his rifle.
Shawana took notice, putting down her wrench. “Didn't know you knew how to fix weapons baby.” Shawana took another bite of her sandwich mid-sentence. “Back in space, I was part of a revolution. We didn't have much in the line of ships or mobile suits. Most of the combat occurred within the colonies, soldier against soldier. Those colonies are bigger than they look, but much of the combat still occurred in close quarters. In response, the local militias started training shotgun-snipers, individuals trained to be experts with both a sniper rifle and a shotgun. Obscure, but lethal combination.” Kasey explained, his gaze still fixed on his rifle.
“Sounds like it. You any good?” Shawana was listening intently. “I'm still alive aren't I? Anyway, the specialization was good, but was just that, a specialization. The obvious flaw to this style of combat is rate-of-fire. Needed to make every shot count, since the enemy could fire a dozen rounds for every one of yours. Not good when facing another squad single-handedly.” Kasey continued his tale. “That happened to you?” Colette joined the conversation. Her question lacked heart, sounding more like a medical examination than genuine interest.
“Once. It was towards the end of the Riah Revolution, just before the ZMF joined the combat. My squad was assigned to defend one of the civilian sections of the colony, as it housed one of the primary elevators within. A pair of Loyalist squads attacked. My commander and half my squad fell protecting the civilians, to say nothing of the elevator. With so many deaths, command of the squad fell to me. I ordered what was left of my squad to guard the elevator, while I took position in one of the stores to hold the enemy off.” Kasey's voice was getting slower as the faces of fallen friends and family flashed before his eyes. “How did you do?” Colette asked, slight interest now detectable. Shawana was listening intently, muching on popcorn. Kasey stopped.
“Where did you get popcorn?” he asked. “Don't worry about it sugar, keep talking.” Shawana replied. Kasey shrugged, but continued. “I landed two shots before a grenade was fired into the store. Explosion shot me clear out the window. Knocked unconscious.” Kasey was honest. Both women stared at his dismayed. “That's not much of a story.” they said in unison. Kasey shivered. The sound of unison voices irritated him.
“Well, that wasn't the end of the battle. I came around about an hour later, a few broken bones but nothing serious. Apparently, the debris from the building had hidden my body from the enemy as they occupied the section. Luckily, our commander had instructed our squad to rig the elevator shaft midway with explosives, in case the enemy had taken it. Clearly a last resort measure, considering it's inside a colony. Stumbling out of the debris, I snuck my way to where we had planted the detonator. Along the way, I found the corpses of my remaining squad members. The detonator had not been discovered. The only one left, I made the judgment call to blow the charges. The explosion was contained, better than we had hoped, with little to no damage spreading outside of the elevator itself.” Kasey set his rifle down.
“Reinforcements came soon after the detonation and secured the area. Spent the next few days getting patched up. Turns out, the explosion didn't kill many enemy soldiers, but one of the few it did kill was one of the top dogs for the loyalists. Got a medal for my 'quick thinking' and a commendation for my unit. Didn't see much combat after that event. Once the ZMF got involved the war ended pretty quickly. Spent the next two years serving in the Riah Republic's military. Stayed on until the Riah Republic declared itself neutral to the Federation/Zeon conflict. Felt we owed Zeon for our freedom, so I joined them. Paperwork error resulted in my being assigned to the TAF, and here I am.” Kasey finished his story as he finished fixing his rifle. “And on that note, I'm going into town to find the others. We've got a job to do.”
“Your arm seems recovered for the most part.” Colette commented as she tightened Kasey's chest bandages. “You heal quick for a spacer.” Colette mocked Kasey offhandedly, barely batting an eye. “It's probably because our nurses lack such caring bedside manner.” Kasey chuckled at his own joke as he rose to a sitting position. He flexed his left arm to test the bone. A stinging sensation, like spilled coffee. Kasey bit down on his lip as he pivoted his weight to jump off the Weasel. The landing was less than smooth, another sharper pain shot up his side. “I said your arm was recovered, not your ribs. Stop being foolish.” Colette called down from the top of the Weasel. She was still packing up her medical supplies, not even looking at Kasey as she spoke. Kasey shook his head and walked over to his squad's mechanic Shawana.
The obese Shawana had a mat laid out by the rear of the Weasel. Vehicle and weapon parts were spread across the mat in various piles. Kasey walked up alongside Shawana, busy working on a disassembled turret. “Having a picnic?” Kasey asked. Shawana motioned towards her right hand. A sandwich was clenched tightly in its grip. “I don't want our AA guns jamming because a piece of turkey's stuck in the trigger.” Kasey tried to sound intimidating. “That's not how gun's work sugar. Sides, I can't work on an empty stomach.” Shawana was in the habit of making excuses for her gluttony.
Kasey plopped down on the mat and began fiddling with one of his own weapons, a bolt-action rifle. A shotgun-sniper by trade, he had yet to test his skills with either weapon since landing on Earth. He hoped to get a chance soon. With the war effort leaning more and more to mobile suits and battleships, he feared soon his entire squad would become nothing more than missile firing grunts. He noticed almost immediately that the scope was off center, and began working fervently on his rifle.
Shawana took notice, putting down her wrench. “Didn't know you knew how to fix weapons baby.” Shawana took another bite of her sandwich mid-sentence. “Back in space, I was part of a revolution. We didn't have much in the line of ships or mobile suits. Most of the combat occurred within the colonies, soldier against soldier. Those colonies are bigger than they look, but much of the combat still occurred in close quarters. In response, the local militias started training shotgun-snipers, individuals trained to be experts with both a sniper rifle and a shotgun. Obscure, but lethal combination.” Kasey explained, his gaze still fixed on his rifle.
“Sounds like it. You any good?” Shawana was listening intently. “I'm still alive aren't I? Anyway, the specialization was good, but was just that, a specialization. The obvious flaw to this style of combat is rate-of-fire. Needed to make every shot count, since the enemy could fire a dozen rounds for every one of yours. Not good when facing another squad single-handedly.” Kasey continued his tale. “That happened to you?” Colette joined the conversation. Her question lacked heart, sounding more like a medical examination than genuine interest.
“Once. It was towards the end of the Riah Revolution, just before the ZMF joined the combat. My squad was assigned to defend one of the civilian sections of the colony, as it housed one of the primary elevators within. A pair of Loyalist squads attacked. My commander and half my squad fell protecting the civilians, to say nothing of the elevator. With so many deaths, command of the squad fell to me. I ordered what was left of my squad to guard the elevator, while I took position in one of the stores to hold the enemy off.” Kasey's voice was getting slower as the faces of fallen friends and family flashed before his eyes. “How did you do?” Colette asked, slight interest now detectable. Shawana was listening intently, muching on popcorn. Kasey stopped.
“Where did you get popcorn?” he asked. “Don't worry about it sugar, keep talking.” Shawana replied. Kasey shrugged, but continued. “I landed two shots before a grenade was fired into the store. Explosion shot me clear out the window. Knocked unconscious.” Kasey was honest. Both women stared at his dismayed. “That's not much of a story.” they said in unison. Kasey shivered. The sound of unison voices irritated him.
“Well, that wasn't the end of the battle. I came around about an hour later, a few broken bones but nothing serious. Apparently, the debris from the building had hidden my body from the enemy as they occupied the section. Luckily, our commander had instructed our squad to rig the elevator shaft midway with explosives, in case the enemy had taken it. Clearly a last resort measure, considering it's inside a colony. Stumbling out of the debris, I snuck my way to where we had planted the detonator. Along the way, I found the corpses of my remaining squad members. The detonator had not been discovered. The only one left, I made the judgment call to blow the charges. The explosion was contained, better than we had hoped, with little to no damage spreading outside of the elevator itself.” Kasey set his rifle down.
“Reinforcements came soon after the detonation and secured the area. Spent the next few days getting patched up. Turns out, the explosion didn't kill many enemy soldiers, but one of the few it did kill was one of the top dogs for the loyalists. Got a medal for my 'quick thinking' and a commendation for my unit. Didn't see much combat after that event. Once the ZMF got involved the war ended pretty quickly. Spent the next two years serving in the Riah Republic's military. Stayed on until the Riah Republic declared itself neutral to the Federation/Zeon conflict. Felt we owed Zeon for our freedom, so I joined them. Paperwork error resulted in my being assigned to the TAF, and here I am.” Kasey finished his story as he finished fixing his rifle. “And on that note, I'm going into town to find the others. We've got a job to do.”