Hope you are enjoying the story so far. Just to makes things straight, I have no military experience in any form. I did try to enlist and I went throught physical training and medical examination and stuff in an army base, but I would not call that experience. I know a few things about weapons and military terms, but knowing it from games like ArmA, books or movie does not make you an expert. That is to say that there will surely be (I'm sure there is some already) languages and terms mistakes regarding military stuff, weapons, etc... and I apologize to those of you who have military experience and will (probably) cringe reading my mistakes.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter and if you have any remarks, do not hesitate.


The artillery outpost had been dug inside the mountain. Some of the walls were insulated with a large concrete and metal slab while other portions were made of rough stone. Damian and the soldier had just entered a room used as a warehouse. Several containers piled up in a corner of the bunker and stairs led up to the rest of the outpost.

There was a good chance that the shooting outside had alerted the Chinese soldiers, and although the simulation did not take this into account, Damian decided to play it safe. Moreover, he couldn't see how he could get through the bunker without being noticed.

As if to confirm his fears, Damian heard footsteps on one of the catwalks above him. He looked up and saw a Chinese soldier running towards them. The Chinese soldier shouted and aimed his rifle towards them. The American soldier was faster than him and fired a burst in his direction. Hit in the chest, the Chinese soldier collapsed backwards, pulling the trigger of his gun as he fell. A second Chinese soldier appeared and was immediately eliminated.

Silence fell again, quickly broken by a series of jolts and detonations. The artillery guns continued their slow and steady tempo, synonymous with a rain of steel falling on the American troops. With each jolt, Damian felt his body and belly vibrate.

Damian and the soldier crossed the warehouse and climbed up a staircase into a small maze of narrow corridors. A huge cave stretched out before their eyes. A metal footbridge ran along the edge of the precipice and led to the front of a concrete bunker with loopholes.

"What the hell..." mumbled the soldier.

Damian looked over his shoulder. His companion was looking at the cave. Damian noticed that he was staring at a specific point at the bottom of the cave. As he approached the edge, Damian noticed a small column of human figures moving slowly. Over the regular shaking of the cannons, he heard a metallic rattle and a rolling sound. Several black shapes appeared beside the soldiers. A large, slowly moving hull, topped by a rail where a cannon was attached.

"That's their Chimera tank," the soldier murmured.

Damian could read the apprehension in the soldier's eyes as he followed the slow movement of the tanks. Damian searched his memory and the many History books he had read in the Vault but could not remember what a Chimera tank might look like. He could still see clearly the images of an American armored column advancing through the ruins of Shanghai. The pre-war American tanks were very similar to those used in other conflicts between World War II and the Great War. Damian had also been able to see the remains of one of these tanks in the Capital Wasteland but could not remember what the Chinese tanks looked exactly like.

Movement to his left caught his attention. Three enemy soldiers were heading towards them. Damian took cover behind a wall while his companion opened fire on their attackers. Damian noted that the Chinese soldiers were all miraculously missing their shot when they fired at the soldier. The simulation had probably planned to make him invincible for the duration of this mission. Damian fired a few rounds towards the enemy soldiers. One by one, the enemy soldiers fell.

Their progress through the bunker was strangely easy. The fire support provided by the American soldier with Damian was a great help. From time to time, they came across locked doors, containing these intelligence briefcases and the holotapes. Damian left them behind, preferring to concentrate on the simulation, convinced that the collection of these briefcases, tapes and information terminals was not necessary for the success of the simulation. However, the simulation gave Damian a hard time. Although it was only a computer program, it seemed determined to kill him. It placed the Chinese soldiers in corners of tunnels or behind crates or containers and they would jump out and fire at him when he was close enough.

The situation became more difficult when they arrived in a room dedicated to storing artillery shells. A Chinese soldier ambushed them, hiding between the shelves where the shells were piled up. When Damian saw the soldier with him firing back without worrying about hitting a shell or the Chinese soldier, he had confirmation that the shells would not explode if they were hit by a bullet. The Battle of Anchorage simulation was realistic, but Damian was relieved that the designers had not thought of this detail when programming it.

They crossed several small ammunition storages room until they entered the main warehouse. The guns were probably have been right above their heads, as indicated by the detonations and rumble they heard.

Damian was amazed at the number of shells there. Despite his companion's comments that the Chinese were running out of ammunition for the howitzers, the number of large caliber shells piling up in this room indicated that the Chinese could fire for a long time before they ran out of ammunition. Seeing the warehouse, Damian was even happier that the programmers in the simulation did not plan to make them destructible in a firefight. With the number of shells present, there was a good chance that an internal explosion would raze the entire outpost and much of the mountain at the same time.

Looking up to see how far the warehouse extended, Damian noticed movement on one of the walkways that ran across the room. A human figure, dressed all in black, ran and stepped over the railing. Just before it hit the floor, it disappeared.

"Did you see that?" Damian asked, forgetting he was talking at a computer program.

"No, what?" replied the soldier.

Damian was surprised to hear the soldier react and respond to him like a human being. He looked at where he had seen the human figure.

"I saw someone on that catwalk, and he disappeared right after."

The soldier grunted and squinted, scanning the warehouse.

"Mmmh, let's move forward and be careful," he said.

Damian checked the ammunition in his assault rifle and followed the soldier. With their weapons ready, they inspected every nook and cranny. Damian watched for movement in his peripheral vision. He was sure he saw someone running before he disappeared. He was also sure that he heard the click he perceived when his Stealth Boy was activated.

He heard a scream in Chinese next to him. He turned around and an invisible, slightly deformed figure jump over him. Taken by surprise, Damian pointed his rifle at his assailant while firing. The field of invisibility of the silhouette ceased, revealing a man in a grey outfit with an orange visor helmet, covering his head and face completely. He was holding a sword and raised his arm to strike Damian.

His blow deflected Damian's shots. He withdrew his sword and prepared to drive the blade into his belly. Damian was able to parry the attack with his weapon. His enemy leapt back and a snap in the air made him disappear.

"Fucking Crimson Dragoon!" the soldier shouted as he swung around and pointed his rifle into the void.

Another attack came, this time from the front. The field of invisibility faded as the Chinese soldier struck. With surreal speed, the American soldier dodged the attack and crushed the barrel of his rifle in the back of his assailant before pulling the trigger. With his chest torn open, the Chinese soldier collapsed to the ground before disappearing in a bluish glow.

Damian looked all around him. He had placed the American soldier on his back so that no attack would come from that direction. He listened, desperately trying to spot the footsteps of his enemies, but their special suits would make them completely silent and the rumbling of the artillery guns above them covered almost all the sounds. Another gunshot roared behind him. His companion had just eliminated a second Chinese soldier.

A movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He turned his head and saw the contours of the Chinese soldier's silhouette, distorted by the field of invisibility, moving towards him. Damian slightly aimed his weapon and fired. The blue flash around the body appeared, meaning that his assailant was dead.

Damian caught his breath and looked nervously around him. Several seconds passed without any further attack. Judging that the way was clear, they resumed their crossing of the bunker, using the footbridges to get upstairs. They walked along a wide gate that separated them from a large concrete and metal structure. Shells were arranged in circles, resting on a kind of rail. In the middle, a chain carried the shells to the ceiling. A gigantic automated elevator, capable of feeding the artillery guns with shells, and probably loading them automatically, without the need for human assistance. With each detonation and jolt that announced a new shot, the elevator would move, and the shells would turn or rise, then the machine would stop until the next gun shot.

They climbed to the top of the warehouse to a metal door that led them outside. They had a great view of a big city, with its buildings, small houses, all surrounded by factories. Huge columns of smoke were rising from the city.

Suddenly, a terrible detonation sounded next to them. The ground shook beneath their feet and Damian felt as if his whole body had just vibrated. The gigantic muzzle of an artillery gun protruded over the mountain, spewing flames and lead. Each detonation was accompanied a few seconds later by a second, more distant, as a huge sheaf of earth and flame rose from the point of impact of the shell.

The guns were enthroned on the mountainside, pouring an iron storm into the skies. A system of footbridges and natural paths allowed the soldiers operating and protecting the guns to move between them. Each cannon was placed on a thick circular concrete base, where the gunners had to work hard to keep the cannon's rhythm and firing angle.

The area was heavily guarded, and it did not take long for the Chinese to spot their presence. The soldier pushed Damian forward toward a footbridge and began to fire back, allowing him to advance.

Damian walked along the cliff and came to the foot of one of the guns. The small space between the mountainside and the base of the artillery piece was guarded by a pillbox. The Chinese, sheltered inside, and fired at him, their shots adding to the surrounding hubbub.

Damian's entire body was shaking. He didn't know if it was due to adrenaline, fear or the rattle of the cannon fire. His companion was still at the top of the bridge and was insulting the Chinese soldiers while shooting at them.

Damian fired back at the soldiers in the pillbox as best as he could without exposing him too much. He had taken cover behind a kind of cooling system, attached to the base of the artillery piece. The metal piece was flashing red. Damian fired a burst towards the bunker and hit a Chinese soldier who crossed his range, probably to go around him and kill him. He grabbed a grenade from his belt and sent it carelessly towards the bunker. The cloud of dust was raised by the small explosion and the metal splinters that passed through the small bunker window gave him time to get one of the satchels charge out of his bag. A message appeared on his retina, telling him that by placing the charge there, he could destroy the cannon. However, he would have 20 seconds to move away before the explosion.

Damian grabbed the explosive device. He knew instantly how to use it. He pulled on a small string and smoke began to billow out of the satchel. He placed the charge between the pipes of the metal part of the artillery gun base and ran away.

He spotted a stairway in front of him. He ran towards it, throwing a few bursts towards the pillbox in case its occupants were still alive. A bullet whistled at his ears, then a second, at his feet, raising dust, snow and stones. Without bothering to look at where the shots came from, Damian continued his mad rush, zigzagging as Sarah had taught him to make the shooter's aim harder.

When he reached the stairs, Damian began to climb it four by four. Rising into the sky, he saw the black silhouette of one of those Crimson Dragoons, holding a sniper rifle. Perched on a ledge above the guns, the Chinese soldier placed Damian in his sights. At the same time, blood came out of his neck and he fell from his perch. Damian saw his companion, looking satisfied as the Chinese soldier tumbled down the rock.

Damian arrived at a second, unguarded cannon. He activated the charge and placed it in the same place as the first. At the same time, a loud bang resounded in his back. He looked over his shoulder and saw a column of flames and smoke rising from the location of the first gun.

He left the second howitzer behind him and made his way, by a small natural path, to the last gun. The last piece of artillery was protected by a pillbox. Damian had arrived on the rear of the last Chinese soldiers defending the artillery battery.

The door of the pillbox was facing him. The last surviving Chinese soldiers were starting to come out. Damian aimed his assault rifle and fired. He killed one Chinese soldier and the other two hid inside the small bunker. His magazine was empty. Damian dropped his rifle and grabbed the Gauss rifle from behind his back. He aimed and fired. One of the enemy soldiers had just come out of the bunker and was pointing a flamethrower in his direction. The projectile from the Gauss rifle pierced his chest and exploded the gas tank on his back. A large ball of fire engulfed him and the entire bunker, carbonizing the last defenders.

Damian moved towards the last cannon and placed the explosive charge on it. He ran away, counting in his head the seconds before the explosion. Hidden behind a large rock, he felt the blast and the heat wave of the explosion.

His companion's cries of joy reached him just before his vision became blurred and a white flash blinded him.

Damian's vision was back to normal. The mountain range and the bombed city had given way to a large grey tent. Several tables and computers occupied the tent and men and women in officer and soldier uniforms were busy in front of the terminal screens or on maps and field reports. Damian's weapons had disappeared, as had the buzzing in his ears. He could no longer feel the helmet on his head and when he looked around, he saw a tall man with white hair, dressed in a grey uniform and a white raincoat, leaning over an interactive table in the center of the tent.

The man turned his head towards Damian. His face was familiar, and before Damian could remember where he had seen him, the man addressed him in a martial tone.

"You did a good job destroying those guns, soldier. A real nice job!"

His voice was also familiar to Damian. He let the man continue as he remembered where he had seen and heard this man. In front of him was General Constantine Chase, the man leading the American operation to reclaim Anchorage from Chinese hands during the Sino-American War. Well, this General Chase was a computer reproduction of the famous officer. Damian had heard a lot about him in the Vault and had heard many of his speeches in Mr. Brotch's History class.

Come to think of it, Damian had also read Chase's name in one of Braun's computer files in the Tranquility Lane simulation.

The stern look on the General's avatar's face drew Damian out of his daydream. Chase was talking about his discontent over the severe losses that the Chinese artillery strikes had inflicted on the American troops and especially on Chase's command post.

While Chase was talking, Damian was doing his best to ignore the lights that lined the interior of the tent, a rather brutal reminder that he was immersed in a simulation, and the images of the battle he had just fought, seconds ago.

"Enough chatter, soldier. If I brought you here instead of sending you back to your unit, it's for a good reason."

Chase pulled a large cigar from the inside pocket of his trench coat and placed it between his teeth before lighting it.

"From now on, you're going to be commanding my Strike Team."

As naturally as if he had just announced this week's weather forecast, the simulation, through Chase, had just promoted Damian to lead a group of soldiers. The simulation was also used to train future soldiers for command, and it had to deal with the results on the orders and decisions that were given and made.

Chase blew out a grey and smelly smoke of his cigar. He motioned for Damian to approach the table in front of him. Damian stepped forward while Chase pressed a button on a keyboard at the table.

The black background of the table lit up blue and a map appeared on the screen, sizzling for a few seconds before becoming clearer, after Chase had slightly banged his fist on the table.

"You and your men will have three high value targets to deal with. Otherwise, Operation Anchorage will be dead in the water."

Chase pushed some keys on the small keyboard and a portion of the map grew larger, showing the location of the American Field Headquarters or the network of trenches that separated Chase's tent from the Chinese command post. Among everything he said, Damian noted several inconsistencies. In his recollections of his History classes, the American trenches were much further away from the American CP. The simulation may not have been powerful enough to cover a large area and judging by the map, Damian would have to fight over an already large area.

Chase showed him his three targets, while tapping on the keyboard to enlarge the satellite image, he pointed to various points on the map and made his little comment.

Damian was to destroy a camp and an armored depot, capture a Chinese outpost on a ridge near an old mining complex, and finally cross the trenches and deactivate a Pulse Field, encircling Chinese headquarters. In short, he had to kill all the Chinese soldiers in the simulation.

"There, you know everything. Now, go talk to Lieutenant Morgan if you have any questions about your targets," Chase said, turning off the computer table. "Hurry up and destroy those targets so we can launch the assault with the T-51b. Dismiss."

Damian looked around and saw a young African American man waiting in a corner of the tent with a notepad in his hand and staring at him. When Damian approached him, he stood at attention and introduced himself.

"Lieutenant Thomas Morgan, Intelligence and Logistics. At your service, Sir."

He looked at Damian from head to toe, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"So, you're the new commander of the suicide squad?"

Damian had an unpleasant impression. The two men stared at each other for a few seconds before Morgan spoke again.

"So, what do you need? I have information about your objectives if you don't want to advance blindly once you're in the field."

"First of all, how does a Strike Team work?" asked Damian.

"It's very simple."

Morgan gave him several holotapes. He looked at Damian, still clueless, and started explaining.

"These are recruitment markers. Basically, you use them to recruit soldiers for your Strike Team. For example, a grunt with R91 and frag grenades will cost you one marker, while a Sentry bot or a Mister Gutsy will cost more. You will have to deal with what you have for each mission. But as far as the command itself, you'll have to deal with Sergeant Montgomery, your new group leader. I'm sure he'll be happy to team up with you again after the artillery battery mission. If you have any questions, you should talk with him.

Damian asked Morgan several questions about his targets. He wanted to know as much as possible before venturing into the icy hell waiting outside. He questioned Morgan at length about the Chimera depot. The Chinese tanks were old mining machines converted into tanks, and according to Morgan, a particularly formidable weapon.

The mining facility near the outpost was controlled by the Crimson Dragoons, the same elite soldiers that Damian had met in the artillery outpost, with their special outfits allowing them to make themselves invisible. When Morgan described to him what a Pulse Field looked like, Damian couldn't help but find similarities with the force fields that the Enclave had set up around Project Purity.

"One more thing," Damian asked, pointing to the recruitment markers. "How do I recruit the members of the Strike Team and how do I get equipment?"

In response, Morgan pointed to a terminal in the corner of the tent.

"Place your recruitment markers in the computer, make your choices, and your men will wait outside with Montgomery. For your weapons, select a loadout and go to the Quartermaster."

Damian let the officer go back to his reports and approached the terminal. Military strategy was not his forte and he had no idea how to organize his team. He chose the option that seemed best to him, a group that could handle any situation.

Damian left the tent after selecting his loadout for the mission and found himself in the middle of the American Field headquarters. The camp was surrounded by several rocky hills and fir trees. The entrance was fortified with large metal walls and several bunkers and watchtowers.

The camp was bustling with activity. About a dozen of grey tents were set up within the camp and small groups of soldiers came and went. As Damian advanced through the camp, he passed a large tent with a red cross on it. The field hospital looked more like a slaughterhouse. Young men and women were lying on beds, covered with bandages. Nurses carried buckets or basins filled with blood, dirty bandages or human limbs. In the midst of all this, surrounded by canvas or beige screens, army surgeons and doctors worked on the wounded, injecting morphine, sedatives or amputating an arm or leg from the unfortunate.

Damian decided to enter. He scanned the tent, looking for the red flashes of the usable objects in the simulation. He found no Stimpaks, and the only red thing he could see was the stream of blood dripping from the operating tables or slowly freezing on the floor. As he was about to leave, he felt a hand resting on his arm.

An African American woman in her thirties in a white, blood-stained coat was facing him. She was holding a transparent box in her hand. Looking down, Damian saw that the box contained five large syringes. He had already seen similar syringes in the Wasteland, among Raiders, drug dealers, and at Silver's house in Springvale.

"Did you destroy those cannons on the mountain?" the woman asked. "Here's your chem ration, and if you need care between OPs, come see me."

Damian looked at the box again for a few seconds before taking it. The little arrow that had appeared every time he had picked up a weapon, appeared again. He was holding a box of Psycho in his hands. He remembered that Moriarty had told him about it when he had to do him a favor in exchange for information about his father.

Apparently, the US Army had decided to make its soldiers more combative by injecting them with combat drugs. Damian left the tent after a brief nod to the woman. Outside, he threw the box into a trash can overflowing with used medical supplies. He didn't know the effects of the drug and he didn't want to check if the simulation pod would make him addicted or if the effects would only be illusory.

He headed toward another tent, where a man with white hair and a winterized combat armor was standing guard. When he saw Damian, he stood at attention.

"Here for the Fire Team gear?" asked the man.

Damian nodded. The soldier entered the tent and came back a few seconds later with an assault rifle, a 10mm pistol and some grenades.

"Here you go, Sir. I you have a complain, make sure you lodge it in writing using the standard 10-78BGHCF Form."

"Yeah, yeah," answered Damian while strapping his rifle to his chest.

In the middle of the camp, he saw the soldier with whom he had destroyed the artillery battery. He was in the middle of a discussion with a small group of soldiers. Damian approached and when they saw him coming, they threw away their cigarette butts and readjusted their uniforms and armor.

"Looks like you and I are going to team up again," said the soldier. "I just saw General Chase and he informed me of my new assignment. Congratulations on the promotion, by the way."

The soldier stood at attention, as did the other members of the battle group. Damian sketched a military salute and looked at each of the soldiers.

In total, in addition to him and Sergeant Montgomery, there were three soldiers and one Mister Gutsy. The robot was an exact copy of all the other Mister Handy that Damian had come across so far, except for a few details. Covered with a layer of grey paint, the robot had a few scratches and battle marks and a white star had been painted on its shell. The Mister Gutsy was equipped with a flamethrower and a plasma gun.

The soldiers were all equipped with the standard US Army loadout, an R91, a handgun and some grenades. One of the soldiers carried a rocket launcher in his back and the one next to him, a woman judging by her hips and chest, had a metal harness on her back on which several rockets were laid and wrapped in a piece of grey cloth.

All except Montgomery had their faces hidden under a thick grey hood and protective glasses.

"What are our orders?" asked Montgomery.

Damian thought for a moment. As he was about to speak, he heard a rumbling in the sky. Everyone raised their heads. Several arrow-shaped aircrafts passed overhead, leaving a trail of condensation in their wake.

"That's it, boys, give them hell," smiled Montgomery as he watched the huge wave of American bombers moving slowly between the clouds.

Montgomery lowered his head towards Damian and cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry. It's just that the idea of drowning all those commies in a sea of flames makes me happy right away."

Despite himself, Damian smiled at the idea that the writers of this simulation were at a loss to think that the ocean of flames would soon manifest itself and drown indiscriminately, Chinese, American and the rest of the world.

He looked successively at Montgomery and the other soldiers in front of him. Damian had never felt like a leader, let alone a commander of a military unit, a role that suited Amata better, who Damian was convinced would one day make an outstanding Overseer for Vault 101.

The simulation would probably not consider his refusal to command these troops, but Damian relied on Montgomery's apparent invincibility and unlimited ammunition capacity to make his job easier.

"What are your orders, sir?" asked the Sergeant.

Damian thought for a moment. The simulation could very well allow him to treat each target separately, as it could give him an unpleasant surprise. Attacking the outpost near the mining complex could very well generate a response from the Chinese sub-programs and have them counterattack with their armor. There was no indication that the simulation would react in this way, but Damian remained cautious and chose to attack the most pressing and dangerous objective.

"Do you know the mission?" Damian asked.

Montgomery listed the different objectives, using the same terms as Chase.

"We should take care of the camp and the tanks first," Damian said.

"Copy that," Montgomery answered. "I'll feel more comfortable once we destroy the damn tanks."

The newly formed Strike Team walked to the camp entrance. Above their heads, waves of bombers continued to pass, forming a huge veil in the sky and in the distance, they could hear detonations as the planes dropped their deadly cargo.


Hope you enjoyed. Until next time.