| From: | "Paul J. Adam" <shadowtk@********.DEMON.CO.UK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Imminent Collapse |
| Date: | Sat, 15 Nov 1997 10:37:10 +0000 |
+++++begin video
<The view is from an airborne camera, looking down at the battered
Hawker Mining compound. Two buildings and an eight-wheeled APC are
burning fitfully, the wind tugging a ragged smear of black smoke across
the enclosure, and the rampart of bulldozed rubble is beginning to give
way in places. As the camera watches, a salvo of mortar bombs explode in
puffs of grey-brown dust, and green tracers bounce and skip among the
defences.
The eight-wheeled LAV-30s in their hasty defensive positions are
returning fire with their cannon, but they're down to single shots to
conserve ammunition: at least one seems to be reduced to short bursts
from its coaxial machine gun. The troops in their shell scrapes,
scattered between the APCs and huddled under dusty grey-camouflaged flak
capes, are all but invisible, and also seem to be holding their fire.
Scattered around, and in a couple of cases on, the improvised walls can
be seen two dozen or more burned-out vehicles - mostly BMPs and BTRs,
and a few T-95s - some so twisted and blackened as to be barely
recognisable, a few still sullenly on fire, and there are scores of
Yemeni Jihad bodies around them.
Kelly Robson gives the voiceover.>
"This is Kelly Robson of Turner News Network, filming live above the
embattled Hawker Mining Base Two near Sana'a, Republic of Yemen. After
days of savage fighting, the forces of warlord Tariq Akbar appear to be
finally overwhelming the mercenary defenders, who have stubbornly held
out against attack after attack. It appears that the defences are
weakening under the remorseless pressure, and the exhausted mercenaries
- who must be critically short of ammunition by now, many of them having
made a fighting withdrawal here from Base One - are putting up less and
less resistance to the Yemeni Jihad's increasingly bold probing attacks.
I'd estimate the compound will be overrun tonight, or at latest tomorrow
morning."
<cut to studio shot of Don Greenhaigh>
"Kelly, what do you anticipate as being the impact of this?"
<cut to head shot of Kelly Robson, in the back of a military-type
helicopter>
"Well, Don, we can expect many of the corporations operating in the area
to strengthen their defences, and a surge of activity in the mercenary
markets as they hire the troops to do it. I'd also expect to see some of
the less militaristic corporate players to pull out until the situation
stabilises.
"It seems obvious that Akbar is going to become a force to be reckoned
with in the region, and we can expect to see negotiating teams from
various corps trying to arrange peace and stability. All this will
increase niobium prices significantly, as Hawker is forced to renege on
their sales and consumers negotiate new contracts with Akbar."
<cut back to Greenhaigh>
"Catch our Business Brief at seven-thirty EST for a full analysis of the
market impact. And we have managed to contact Colonel Rusanov, commander
of the embattled mercenary force, for an exclusive interview. Do we have
link?"
<picture fuzzes: cuts to poor-quality video shot - probably from an
ordinary vidphone - of a powerfully-built Elf in dusty grey camo gear,
indoors: comms gear is vaguely visible in the background. He looks
exhausted. The caption identifies him as Colonel Sergei Nikolai'ievich
Rusanov, commanding officer of Rusanov's Rebels>
"Colonel Rusanov, shouldn't you and your men be attempting to negotiate
a surrender? What will happen to you and your troops when the compound
falls? There are already allegations about the fate of your troops and
the civilians trapped when Base Three fell, shouldn't you be trying to
avert that?"
Rusanov smiles, tiredly and speaks with a pronounced Russian accent.
"This compound will hold while there is even one of my men still alive
inside. There is no surrender."
"But your defences are collapsing and you're running out of ammunition.
Surely you must realise your position is hopeless?"
The mercenary colonel leans forward. "We are poised for mother of all
counter-attacks and will drive aside Akbar's rabble, like wave sweeping
pebbles down beach. We will not be defeated. We will destroy our
enemies, drive them back as the cowardly rabble they are." Rusanov's
eyes burn with conviction: there is a faint rumble in the background,
the lights flicker and dust sifts down from above.
<cut back to Greenhaigh>
"A brave man, or a desperate one. We'll bring you updates as it happens.
Meanwhile, sports news. As the Timberwolves continue their winning
streak, rumours persist that..."
+++++end trideo
From the look of that compound, they're down to less than half strength
and their last few rounds. I guess they held so long and so hard that
when they began to collapse, it happened fast. Probably be over by
tomorrow morning.
Don't expect many survivors, Akbar will want to make examples of them as
"what happens to those who oppose me".
Poor Colonel Rusanov. Guess he just cracked under the pressure.]<<<<<
- Bungle <10:35:32/10-15-58>
