Canalzone
Seven chapters of a battle loosely based on Canalzone (the original) and TF.
— [P]Asphyxia
Chapter 4
The Attack
We hold position for five minutes to ensure that the plane has not been detected and a welcoming party has not been sent to greet us. Peering through the night vision goggles, I see no movement towards us or near the building that we will use as a command post.
“Bounding overwatch, real quiet like. Objective one in sight. Move out.” I whisper in my headset. There is no response, but I see the troops comply. They do their best not to make a sound. Good. I like to see that. I switch my headset to channel three. “Sir, whenever you are ready.”
A quiet response comes back. “Roger. We are on our way. Will be in touch when point is secure.”
I acknowledge the Lieutenant and say nothing more. I change back to channel two and observe the movements of my unit. We slowly approach the building with no sign of resistance. Once we arrive, I signal to the engineer to dismantle the lock on the door and check for alarms. No sign of any, in fact, the door isn’t even locked. We open the door and file in.
An unexpected surprise this is. The enemy must be stupid not to defend this building. I think that their time of occupation and lack of resistance has made them careless. I hope so. This’ll be easy then. We establish our command post and our radio set back to base. I signal to HQ that we have taken control of the building. Time to move out into the town.
“All right, troops. Gather around and take a knee.” They all comply. “Now it’s time to earn your pay. We have eight points in this town that are vital to its control. I’m going to divide you into fire teams and each of you will be given your point to take.”
I divide the troops into teams of three. I try to balance it, but I have to make do with what is available. I assign a team leader and tell them to wait for my command. I inform them that I am going to support Delta Team. Once it’s secure, I’m going to patrol the town and do some ‘hunting’. I then poll the squads, “Any questions?”
A general response is heard. “No, Sergeant.” Why am I not sure of that? I give them ten minutes to plan their routes and inform me of their movements. After the time is up, we collaborate so everyone knows where everyone will be. I do this mainly to avoid mistakes. I think that guy Murphy said “The only thing more accurate than incoming fire is incoming friendly fire.” He must have been a grunt.
Team Alpha is assigned to take point one. They consist of 2 standard infantry soldiers, Pit Bull and Mangler, and a medic named Plague. Point one is located in a warehouse 150 meters north of our command center. It was a customs inspection station for traffic inbound from the west and served as a gate, more or less.
The makeup of Team Bravo is a soldier named Blaster, the engineer Q-Ball, and Lazarus, the flame trooper. I have assigned them the church that is located 350 meters to the Northeast. The advantage of that position is that it allows us a tower to overlook the town and maybe help us locate the enemy positions.
Charlie Team consists of BB, the Heavy Weapons specialist, Enforcer, a soldier, and a medic called Morphine. They will be taking the library located 600 meters to the East of here. We need them to take this point before we can advance further into town. The library is adjacent to the Town Square and its location is perfect for supporting any assault to the East.
Point four should not be that difficult, at least in my mind. It is a small warehouse that served as a transfer station for the canal. There is only one entrance into this warehouse, so I am assigning Banshee, the demolition expert and the scout, Razor, to Delta Team to secure this one. It is only 400 meters to the Southwest of here and can be accessed easily from the canal. I’ll be supporting this team.
Once I we have established plans and I have plotted everything on my map, I instruct the troops to maintain strict radio discipline during the initial stages of this assault. I don’t want the enemy to be alerted to our presence just yet. They don’t know we are here and I would like to keep it that way as long as possible. I look at my watch. 0535, one hour before dawn. We need to use as much of this darkness that we can to get into position.
“All right, men, listen up. We have an opportunity here to stick it to these bastards and make them pay for what they have done. If we are successful today, we are one large step closer to going home. I want every one of you to give your all. Take no prisoners and fight as if your mother’s life depended on it. We move out in five. Good luck, gentlemen!”
A silence follows my speech. I think that several of them have just defecated in their pants. I don’t blame them for being scared. I’d be a liar if I said that it didn’t bother me sending these kids out into a blender. The enemy is there in strength. We are outnumbered and outgunned. It’s times like these that I wondered why I even signed up for this. I pull a Marlboro out of my pocket and light it. Taking a deep drag, I exhale trying to steady my nerves. Sure, I get the jitters, but you show me a man who doesn’t and I’ll show you a fool.
Grabbing my rifle, I load 10 rounds into the magazine. Slapping the magazine into position, I pull back the bolt and lock it. I examine the chamber to ensure that it is clean and free of grit. Satisfied, I look at the troops and issue the command, “Lock and Load!” I release the latch for the lock and listen for the click of the bolt stripping a round from the magazine, chambering it, and locking it. Jessica is ready to deal pain.
I look around. They are about as ready as they can be. Time to go. “Remember commo discipline! Secure and report! Engage enemy only if necessary! Move out!” I see four teams move in separate directions. I wait for them to be on their way before I move out. I need to keep in touch with them so that I don’t startle them if I come in contact with them. Freelancing has its advantages, but on the other hand, some kid with an itchy trigger finger can blow you away before you can tell him who you are. I radio back to HQ our plans and head out.
I head out of the post towards the East. Taking a quick look around the town, all that I see is destruction. Piles of rubble and debris litter the town. Only a few buildings survived the attack, but just barely. It will take some time to rebuild this town once the war is over. It’s hard to believe that this town was one of the most important commercial centers in the world not two years ago. Fortunately, the smell of death and decay that usually comes with war has been swept away by the frequent winds that whistle through here. The wind is calm tonight. It makes for good shooting conditions, both friend and foe.
I move quietly between piles of rubble. I have not seen anyone at all since we arrived, which is very unusual. I would expect this place to be crawling with enemy troops. What the Hell is going on? Where are the patrols? My question will soon be answered.
A voice comes over the radio. It’s Pit Bull, commander of Alpha Team. “Alpha reporting point one secure. No enemy contact made, over.” That was quick. One down, seven to go.
“Standby for instructions, Pit Bull. Meantime, sit tight and watch yourselves. Asphyxia, out!” I reply. If things get dicey, I may need them elsewhere. I continue to move into town. Off to my right is a three story building that is still standing. I make my way over towards it and enter. It’s unoccupied. I climb the stairs to the third story and head to the southeastern corner to take a peek and cover Delta Team. There is a nice view of the town from here. Excellent fields of fire so I decide to camp up here for a while.
The sound of an approaching helicopter suddenly grabs my attention. It’s hard to isolate the direction of its approach due to the echoes caused by the canyon walls. I make myself as low as possible and begin to scan the skies. During my scan, I notice several infantry troops moving down a street towards Delta Team’s position and point four. This is not good. They will be lunchmeat if they find them. I duck behind a wall and call out to the team, “Banshee, this is Asphyxia! Hostile forces spotted enroute to your position! Fall back! MOVE!” I take another look out the window to see the helicopter hovering over the position that Delta would be in right now. A searchlight has them lit up.
They are in deep trouble. I see about 15 enemy troops running towards the helicopter, pointing and firing their weapons. Time to do something. I remove my night vision goggles and begin to take aim at the helicopter searchlight. The laser reports range at 250 meters. An easy shot, if the bastard will hold still. I take a deep breath, and hold it. Gently, I squeeze the trigger.
“KRACK!”
The searchlight sparks. A direct hit. The helicopter breaks off to the right and flies out of the area. No longer a threat, it’s time for some live targets. I scan the street to see that not one of the soldiers has taken cover. That will be their last mistake. I take aim at the lead soldier’s head. Let’s see if these rounds do what the engineers say they do. I pull the trigger. The soldier’s head explodes in a mist of blood, bone, and brain in a truly gruesome sight. His body takes another step before collapsing in a heap.
I see the rest of the troops diving for cover. I think that I woke them up. I then scan the street for my troops. I see both of them behind cover, but hurt. I can tell because they are writhing in pain. One has been shot in the leg. The other took one in the gut. He’s in trouble, even with medical attention. I radio to Alpha Team, “Enemy contact made. Two men down! Medic move to my position at coordinates 223459 quickly! I have them pinned down, but not for long!”
Just then, “Charlie Team reporting! We have engaged a small enemy force at point three! They are retreating!” I could barely hear him over the roar of the assault cannon. They sound like they have things well in hand. I reply, “Report when point is secure!” That’s a relief. At least a large group isn’t chasing them. I turn my attention back to the current situation.
I scan the street. Several of the troops are beginning to crawl and run between piles of rubble, advancing towards my troops. One pops up about 150 meters from the men, but is dropped by a bullet to his chest. I take out a few others before they realize that it’s not very smart to move. During the pause, I reload and call into my radio, “Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie! Report situation!” I then realize that I have not heard from the Lieutenant in some time. Odd, I figured that he’d have taken his position by now.
“Alpha reports position secure. Plague enroute to your position for assistance.”
“Charlie reports position secure. Standing by for instructions.”
“MEDIC! OH GOD! HELP!” No explanation needed on who that is.
“Hold on, Banshee! We’re coming! Just stay down and keep Razor steady!” I reply to try and calm him down. I know he is in pain. Leg wounds hurt. I then realize that Bravo Team has not replied. “Lazarus, report status, over.” Silence. I repeat the call. Nothing but static. This is not good. Two teams down and dawn is just breaking. Reinforcements aren’t due for at least three hours and there are more of them than anyone had expected. Military intelligence showing off it’s incompetence again! We are in very deep trouble.
 Back: Chapter 3: The Flight
 Next: Chapter 5: The Counterstrike
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