Prelude: Kord
Battalion HQ, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, UCAS Army located at Gary/Chicago International Airport on the southern perimeter of the Chicago Containment Zone
Mike Recon Team, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, UCAS Army
9th September, 2055
06:13
Staff Sergeant Jared Tranes slipped the chin strap of his combat helmet into position as he strode over to where the other five members of his recon team were waiting for him, sat on some white, plastic garden chairs they had scrounged from somewhere. The strap rubbed a cut on his chin and it itched a little but he didn't let it bother him. It was bound to scar when it finished healing up, as gashes on the chin always did, but he wasn't overly bothered. As an Ork his face had a rather battered look anyway so another small scar didn't make much of a difference to his appearance. He was never going to be described as handsome.
His conversation in the Battalion CP with the XO, Major Laubenstein, had been short and too the point, just some succinctly issued orders for his latest mission. Take his reconnaissance team on an extended patrol to investigate a series of potential locations where refugees escaping from the Zone could embark on vessels to cross Lake Michigan. That briefing sounded simple but the amount of ground they had to cover on foot was large and for parts of it they wouldn't have drone overwatch above them, spotting any threats and relaying their status up the command structure. That meant that there could be a delay before the Quick Reaction Force arrived to bail them out if they got into a situation they weren't able to cope with and that was something that Jared wasn't pleased to have been told. Organised people smugglers extracting paying civilians from Chicago tended to be well armed and prepared to fight it out with the UCAS forces maintaining the Zone's perimeter.
At least the Bugs, as the troops were now calling them, weren't found this far from Downtown Chicago.
His mood wasn't good and it showed on his face when he joined his team. They kept quiet, waiting for him to explain their latest mission, wondering whether they were chasing down refugees who had managed to get through the gaps in the wall that was being built round the CCZ. The bulk of their Battalion was deployed maintaining that perimeter and defending the teams of engineers constructing the wall but they, along with the other recon teams, had the unenviable job of tracking down those people who managed to evade the patrols and defensive positions in a bid to escape the hell that was Downtown Chicago. Arresting them and passing them over to the Military Police wasn't always possible. Many of the refugees were desperate enough to shoot it out rather than be taken prisoner and it had become a hideous task for the soldiers in some respects.
"OK guys, listen in to the latest Op," Jared said, despite the fact that the others were all staring at him, waiting for him to start talking. "Command are worried that some blockade runners have started up again, operating along the lake shore, smuggling people out of the Zone. This might be related to that rumor we heard a couple of days ago about a Panzer. They've got a load of drones scouting particular spots and generally keeping watch but we've been assigned a mission to check out some of those locations. I've marked some waypoints on your HUDs and our planned route but we'll start with Buffington Harbour and the Majestic Star Casino and then move on to the East Chicago Marina and the Ameristar Casino and Hotel. After that we've then got to patrol round the whole of the Indiana Harbor complex. That's gonna take us a little while so we need to draw some rations as well as spare batteries and plenty of ammo. Comms are as normal so I'm Mike Kilo One and so on. Our QRF is Charlie Company but if we get out stuck somewhere that the drones can't operate then they might take a while to get to us in their busses so we're gonna need to stay frosty at all times. Grab your gear and meet back here ASAP as our overwatch is scheduled for 06:35 and we need to maximise its duration."
At the appointed time Foxtrot Recon team set off, the point man taking the lead and Jared, as Team Leader, walking slack behind him, heading north west from the defensive perimeter around the airport. They were dressed in a standard manner, all of it UCAS Army issue equipment, uniforms and lightweight body armour in a forest camouflage pattern that wasn't much use in a mostly urban environment, assault vests festooned with grenades and pouches containing ammo clips and helmets with extensive awareness enhancement and comms suites. Only their weapons varied by soldier.
Jared noted the drone icon on his HUD as the camp's gate closed behind them. "Mike Kilo One reporting in to all call signs on this freq. Am now leaving the ball pen. Out."