| From: | shadowtk@********.demon.co.uk (Paul J. Adam) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | After Action |
| Date: | Mon, 11 Mar 1996 23:11:07 GMT |
>>>>>[Don't ask. Just... don't ask. Someone uploaded the simsense from one
of
my fellow HALO jumpers, read that for how things went. I have to say, I look
good. I *am* good. In fact, coming out of that still able to walk, fight, and
patch up wounded, I say I'm ab-so-fucking-lutely *incredible*. Lots of shrapnel
damage, five broken bones, and three bullet wounds that I never even noticed,
but nothing that won't get fixed or heal inside a couple of weeks.
Oh, yeah, the files. And my own video. Here.
+++++include file: simsense.record1
+++++include file: simsense.record2
+++++include file: simsense.record3
+++++include file: Lynch.video
I'm with Action Jackson at his clinic. The place is knee-deep in trauma cases.
I'm still mobile, so I'm helping to keep as many of our wounded alive as I can.
It was worse than I expected. Update for the files, AJ's a vampire. A well-
controlled and very restrained Dracula, hence nonthreat. Word to the wise, we
could use this guy, outstanding warrants be damned. Put it in the approvals
loop. He's a vampire, he'll still be alive next century when the
Congresscritters get round to answering. He'll probably throw it back in their
faces, but it's gotta be worth a try.
Uprate Maxim to ICEPICK in the threat database. They are hard-core, no two ways
about it. Highly professional, highly disciplined. I'm fucking amazed anyone
made it out alive, let alone that we achieved the mission. If we need to fight
them, make sure we have numbers and air superiority. Careful with arty, they
had their counterbattery outgoing before our first rounds splashed. We lost a
lot of people on the artillery team. My idea to do that.
My fault.
Shit, shit, shit.
Yeah, the mission. Sorry. All seven warheads trashed, thoroughly, then we
dropped the bunker on them with an ethylene-oxide mist bomb. Whumph. Some
leakage, not too bad, but the camo gear I was wearing will have to go to
Hanford for disposal and the filters in my mask are glowing in the dark. Just
close to the first surge. All seven out of action.
They had screamers in the nuke bunker. That's the second time I've been hit by
ultrasonics and I still don't like them. Nothing in me went down, except all
my comms gear recycled, don't know why. The Ares Alpha is not hardened against
ultrasound, but the fucker was nearly out of ammo by then anyway. I had a
neutraliser that seemed to help a lot, so I'm FedExing it to you.
You know, that was a really hot team. Not just the HALO squad, only three of
them - us - lived through the op, just the whole group's teamwork. We got
lifted out of the base by spirits, the perimeter defences were busy blowing
seven shades of hell out of a mob of corpses cadavres - yeah, zombies, we must
have had a houngun with us - AJ really managed to mate all our strengths to
cover each others' weaknesses. We should all be dead, El-Tee. I mean, we should
all be *dead*. I was closer to death then, than I have been in years.
I'll be here for another couple of days at least: I'm mobile, but not very, and
until I get my wrist set properly it's going to keep hurting. That's the
problem with bone lacing, the plastic probably saved me losing the hand, but
when it does break it doesn't heal properly. AJ may be able to deal with it,
until then I'm just having to work right-handed. Fucking spirit had to break
my *left* wrist! 88 per cent of the world would think they got off lightly.
Looks like I was wrong about Denver. Cairo and La Paz, for those two
"destroyed" nukes. Tell Wisburne he can kiss my ass. "Corporate Court
verification" of their destruction, right, sure, buddy.
+++++line inactive 30sec
As if you couldn't tell, I'm making the acquaintance of some fermented and
distilled Tennessee farm produce from a Mr. Jack Daniels, because it reacts
nicely with the painkillers and might let me get some sleep. Even if I can't
sleep, it helps. The painkillers stop the flesh from hurting, they don't stop
the screaming. Seven of us on that HALO drop, four dead, one crippled real bad,
Blade messed up, me fine. What does that tell you? I should have been able to
do something, El-Tee. They were good, they should have made it. Something I did
wrong, I don't know what. We left one of the team. Left him to die in a bunker
full of explosives and nuclear weapons, gave him a dead-man-switch and walked
away. We should have found a way to get him out. Instead we left him to die
alone.
Seven nukes. All ten to twenty kilotons. Ares design, based on our old W-91
design that they stole from us all those years ago. Fairly clean, tritium-
boosted, with lithium deuteride jacketing and DU shells they could pump out a
hundred kT each easily. All wrecked, disintegrated, buried, as gone as gone
gets.
I hope it was worth it. I hope the guys who said "direct action would be
provocative", sleep well knowing how many people died, taking those weapons
out, when we could have done it all with one Peacekeeper. The raiders on that
team didn't have anything like the stake those smug fucking bastards in their
expensive suits do, who just wanted to look out for their friends.
Fuck it, doesn't mean anything, just march on. Shit happens.
+++++line inactive 30sec
+++++line inactive 60sec
+++++line inactive 90sec
+++++line inactive 120sec: timeout]<<<<<
-- Lynch <23:02:15/03-11-57>
*****PRIVATE: Lynch
>>>>>[Lynch, it wasn't your fault. You were lucky, they weren't.
You knew this would happen. It's what you do best, you're *good* at it,
that's why you're alive.
Lynch?
Goddamn it. Lynch, you okay?]<<<<<
-- 1Lt DiAnnio <23:09:52/03-11-57>
Corporate Division
Strategic Intelligence Gathering Agency
