CHAPTER 04
Oreokastro, Republic of Altis and Stratis
17 August 2035 - 0826 Hours Local Time
"The siege on the town... my notes suggest it lasted for two weeks. How could that be?" Kate wondered out loud. Nathan replied, half-jokingly, "Divine intervention." Kate, both confused and chuckling a bit, asked for clarification, "Pardon me?" Nathan clarified, "The weather. It got in their way. Weeks of thick cloud cover had blanketed the town." Kate was still a little confused, "I'm still not sure I follow." to which Nathan further clarified, "It prevented the army from calling in close air support. As soon as that cleared, though? Well, you know about the cluster bomb strike..."
This train of thought was interrupted by a moderately high pitched buzzing approaching from nearby. Andrew confirmed what it was over the radio, "Hear that? Sounds like our delivery drone." Nathan replied, "I'm on it." Andrew then wanted to make sure of one thing, "Just, uh, check the box underneath for the toolkit." Realizing what he meant, Nathan made a half-whine, "I swear to God, Andy, if it's empty again..." to which Andrew tried reassuring him, "That was one time! Trust me, you'll be dicking around with landmines soon enough, Mac."
Walking out toward the small, abandoned street, Nathan saw the drone beginning to wait in a hover. As he approached, he prayed that it had the toolkit inside. Sure enough, to his relief, the toolkit was there. "Good. Toolkit's here." Grabbing it, he closed the payload bin, and said to himself, "See ya later, little buddy." Andrew, who heard that last bit, asked, "What's that?" Realizing his radio mic was still on, Nathan stammered, "Nothing. Just, um, talking to myself." Andrew then stated, jokingly, "Okay, 'little buddy'. Sure thing."
Kate's voice was the next thing he heard, "Hey. How are you getting on?" Nathan replied, "Not bad, not bad. Our gear's finally arrived from dispatch. I can start deactivating mines and leftover ordnance now." Kate, with a bit of relief in her voice, stated, "Ah, right." before she asked, "And do you do that by hand?" Nathan, who was beginning to walk toward where he found the nearest piece of un-exploded ordnance, replied, "Sure do. I crawl up close, identify it, then just, y'know, disarm the thing." Kate, a bit unsure, wondered out loud, "I'm sure it's more involved than that." Nathan, who didn't want to state this next part, continued, "Yeah, well, I may have skipped the part where... y'know... it can explode."
Getting down on his knees, and then on his stomach, Nathan crawled toward the nearest piece of un-exploded ordnance; more specifically, a sub-munition from the cluster bomb that devastated the town. Reaching out with his tools, he slowly and methodically began to disable the lethal device. While doing so, he made a silent prayer to God to make sure that this whole day goes without any further incident. Thankfully, his prayer was answered; at least, the first step of this slow process. The device was disabled. With a sigh of relief, he said to himself, "Gotcha." and put it into an EOD bin that he was carrying.
While heading over toward another identified device, Kate asked, "Hey, you free to talk right now?" Nathan replied, "Yeah, I am. I just disabled a UXO without incident. First piece in this lethally infested town." Kate then said, with a bit of relief, "Ah, good. I've been meaning to ask: After NATO pulled out, and CSAT stepped in, how did that affect your work?" Nathan was quick to reply, "Day-to-day? I mean, COIN-ops stepped up but, honestly? Things were already sliding that way; even with NATO at the helm. For the most part, CSAT were mindful of our activities. They were, no doubt, brutal, but at least... clinical. The whole thing felt like one big Public Relations exercise for them."
After disabling an anti-personnel mine with ease, he headed to the northwest, through an unlocked gate, and found an un-exploded sub-munition. This was was already stone dead, so, after checking with the toolkit, he put it in the bin with the two other lethal devices. Kate then asked through the call, curious, "Nathan, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't IDAP and NATO share some common goals? The training, for example? The Laws of Armed Conflict?" Nathan was a bit hesitant on this one, "Hmm... Sorta. It's a tough question, actually. It was important that we didn't overstep the mark." Kate, who was somewhat surprised by that answer, replied, "You had to be impartial." Nathan explained, "Precisely. In a conflict, we have to remain neutral -a partner to all parties- even those that, personally, we may object to."
Entering one of the houses, Nathan's detector started going off like mad. Looking down, he could not believe his eyes: He came across a booby trap; one that was comprised of an artillery shell connected to a tripwire running across a doorway. Carefully, he got down on his knee and slowly cut the tripwire. Thankfully, the device did not explode. Breathing a sigh of relief, he entered the home, which belonged to Alexis' brother that also doubled as his business. Kate then asked, "You mentioned that IDAP worked with a local mechanic; the one that was killed at the church. How did that come about?" Nathan replied, "Hollywood might call it 'serendipity' but, I dunno, he just saved our ass one time. And then another, and, so the story goes. There wasn't much special about his setup but, um, the guy knew the difference between a crank-shaft and a tire-iron." Kate replied with a question, "So, in other words, he was good at what he did then?" Nathan explained further, "There wasn't much he couldn't fix. Never asked for a receipt, though, if you know what I mean."
Exiting the home-slash-business, Nathan walked past the NATO's MRAP and transport truck. The U.S. and French soldiers were still busy identifying their dead soldiers. After heading down the main thoroughfare, he arriving at Alexis' house-slash-carpenter's shop, or what was left of it. He entered and decided to try pulling the UXO out of the wall next to the stairs. Thankfully, it was successful and he said to himself, "Well, you were one sneaky little bastard. Now, what were you hiding upstairs?" Slowly, Nathan walked up the steps toward the home's second floor. When he got up there, he saw the hole in the home's northwestern wall, revealing a view of the nearby homes and buildings.
Nathan carefully walked toward the hole in the wall as one of the first places to look for anything, either lethal or something that could help with Kate's article. Thankfully, he came across a small portrait. He said to himself, "There's an old photograph here. A picture of Alexis and his brother, Markos." Kate, who never heard the latter's name until now asked for clarification, "The civilian killed by the landmine at the church, right?" Nathan replied, with a bit of sadness in his voice, "Yeah. Although, honestly, it was a small miracle that he'd made it this far..."
Flashback: Oreokastro, Republic of Altis and Stratis
13 October 2034 - 0100 Hours Local Time
"Hmm. Tell me more about Markos." Kate requested out of curiosity, which Nathan explained, "The poor guy. Always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time... He made it through the airstrike, but, only to get caught up in the army's assault that followed right after..." Kate was astonished, "There were still guerrillas in the town? Even after the strike?" Nathan explained further, "Mhm... But Oreokastro? It wasn't just a town. It had become a symbol of the resistance against Akhanteros' military government. It was important for both sides; and government forces were making their final push. Alexis had apparently made it out. But his brother? Like I said: Markos was always shit outta luck. The guy had apparently been waiting at his brother's place."
Markos slowly regained consciousness, a piercing pain emanating from his right leg. It took a moment for him to get his bearings, and to realize what had happened. The town was hit hard by the A.A.F.'s cluster bomb strike. He gathered all his strength in order to stand up and try walking. It was even more painful, but he knew that if he didn't get help soon, he will bleed to death in his brother's home.
Groaning in pain, he remembered that the IDAP personnel were at the church. "Dammit... The church is at the other side of the town..." As he tried weighing his options, his fate seemed to get even more bleak. "Shit... I'll have to take my chances..." and started limping over in the church's general direction.
Nathan continued by stating, "Getting caught in the crossfire was a danger. He soon realized he had to keep his distance, or so he said when he eventually found me and the rest of IDAP. From what the IDAP doctors told me, he had been wounded; caught in the leg by shrapnel." Kate replied while trying to jot down notes, "I see..." A thought then came to her, "Do you think Markos went to Alexis' place to talk him into leaving the guerrillas? Or was it likely that he went there because Alexis wanted to try talking him into joining the cause?" Nathan continued to explain, "Markos told me that he was there to talk Alexis down, I think. He was only interested in survival; and that meant going to IDAP, at the church." Kate then stated, "He remained a non-combatant, then?" Nathan replied, "Protected by the Geneva Conventions; Article Fifty-One, to be more exact. But you gotta remember: Right after the airstrike? It was total chaos."
Slowly going up to one of the buildings, he passed an FN FAL that was laying on the ground next to a fallen guerrilla. Markos simply paid no heed to it, and continued limping to the church. He had no interest in putting himself in even more danger. Opening the door, he entered to try and protect himself for a short bit. The sound 7.62mm caliber rounds, the booming of grenades and mortars, the roaring of Altis Air Force jets flying overhead; they were just white noise at this point. Knowing the likelihood that he would be killed by the government's forces, Markos took a risk and opened the door that led to the main thoroughfare. Limping out onto the main road, he heard the A.A.F.'s soldiers gunning down unarmed F.I.A. prisoners, even a few non-combatants in the alleyways. The blood chilling screams of prisoners; men and women alike, and even the sight of the mutilated bodies, would stay with and haunt him for the rest of his life.
Upon seeing the wrecked offroads blocking his way, he turned to make a detour and shortcut through both the gated yard and through the inside of Father Gorgioupolis' home, he passed an F.I.A. guerrilla who ran out, armed with a British-built Mk.20 bullpup 5.56mm NATO caliber rifle, only for the guerrilla to get gunned down by A.A.F. soldiers half a minute afterward. As he passed through the priest's home, he could swear he was hearing church organ music in his head. Fearing that he was about to leave this world, he thought out loud, "No! I won't die! Not here in this hell!" The church was across the street from him. He continued limping forward, fighting the urge to lay down and embrace Death itself.
Markos passed by the IDAP truck, and, to his great relief, he saw Nathan at the church's entrance, running toward him. He felt an arm hold him up just as he was collapsing to the ground, and thus allowed Nathan to help him into the church; the latter trying to reassure him, "You're alright, Markos. You're safe now." Nathan helped him into the church, where he would get medical attention.
"I helped Markos into our camp, he was a bloodied mess. An hour or two later, the government sent a truck. The soldiers searched the civilians for hidden weapons." Kate, who sounded like she was starting to cry, asked, "But they didn't find any?" Nathan replied, "No, and we had already checked. It's vital that our camps are, and always will be, weapon-free spaces; safe havens." Kate agreed, "Hm..." before asking, "And Markos, he must've made it through, then?" Nathan replied, "Yeah, just about. We talked a few times after but, I dunno... He seemed... different." Kate, who was feeling somewhat depressed by this, said, "I can imagine why." She then asked, "And what did he do after?" Nathan replied with uncertainty and remorse, "Hard to tell. But, like I said: He kept looking for his brother, Alexis." Kate got a bit more depressed from this, "Of course. And... Markos... his body? It's still there; in the churchyard?" Nathan then said remorsefully, "Yeah. To think, he'd survived all that... just to return to the same place, less than a year later..."