A/N: Combines elements from Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas canon. Certain elements I just straight-up created to make a more coherent story/out of personal preference.
Crystal Ridge
November 2, 2073
Northwest of Anchorage, Alaska
The wind had left with the sunset, but the bitter cold remained. The slightest breeze brought the fear that the wind was returning, or that another snow storm would come down upon the Earth. Even with the best winter gear the US Army had, Staff Sergeant Jean Balland could still feel the cold. He flexed his fingers whenever he could to keep them from sticking to his hiking poles. By now he'd managed to get himself hunched over just right so his pack wasn't too much of a pain. It was all exactly bearable, and no more or less so. His eyes remained fixed on one of his machine gunners, Corporal Gordon, as they ascended what'd once been a logging trail. Or a hiking trail. Or something; the path was barely that at all but it concealed the Americans. With each step Jean took, he had to take a second to make sure he had good footing. Much of the time, he simply mimicked the moves of those ahead.
The men of 2-27th Infantry were taking their turn as the spearhead of 7th Infantry's drive against the Chinese. Jean's Platoon was moving with the rest of Alpha Company to assault a piece of land known as Crystal Ridge. According to their Lieutenant, the commies used it to spot major attacks coming their way. Naturally, because it offered a good view that meant the US Army wanted it to direct heavy weapons. Stuff well above his pay grade, Jean thought. While his body went through the constant motions of snowshoeing through the woods, his brain played out his orders every few minutes. His Cherries especially, which was why he'd given them all to his most-trusted Fireteam Leader (and had them in the rear of the column!).
As the blonde Montana native navigated his way over another large rock, he heard a quick whistling like a bird's. Jean stopped and held up a hand, then motioned downwards as he took a knee. When there wasn't another whistle for a few seconds, he set down his snowshoeing poles and raised the sling of his M63E2 up and over his head. He waited another second before the chilling sound of incoming artillery reached his ears.
"Incoming!" He bellowed.
Jean hit the deck and curled up as the first salvo landed up ahead. As soon as the shockwave faded, he got up and hurried to the side, off the trail. He barked for his RTO (Radio Telephone Operator), Private First Class Lahnery, to bring the radio to him and ordered the rest of his squad off the trail and into a defensive position. Gordon set up his M246 "Bozar" LMG near a bush before the rest of his fireteam came hurrying up. A new series of explosions prompted Jean to order his troops deeper into the woods. He stopped again and looked back in search of the rest of his squad. Lahnery fell into the snow and frantically eased himself against a tree trunk.
"Fucking dammit, Lahnery...Calm. Down. You've been here three months, slightly less than me. Stop jumping all over the place." Jean barked.
"Sorry Sarge!" The man stammered.
He pulled the handset off his manpack radio and held it out for Jean. The man accepted it and eased down onto his stomach. He ordered his two fireteams to deploy and get ready for a possible attack by Chinese infantry.
"Alpha 1 Actual this is Alpha 1-2 Actual, come in." He called in a calm, formal tone. All he got was barely-audible static.
"Alpha 1 Actual this is Alpha 1-2 Actual, come in."
Still nothing.
"Any station, any station this is Alpha 1-2 Actual. Is anyone receiving me?...I can't get through. Check the thing and make sure it's on the right freq and undamaged."
His RTO accepted the handset back and started fiddling with the knobs and buttons atop the box while Jean raised his head to peer into the woods. He could see one of his fireteams positioned out ahead, and the mortars seemed to still be focused on the trail. He glanced back and saw a pair of individuals running up the trail, both with a red cross on the chest rig of their combat armor. The first one went prone just beside the trail while the second went for the infantry.
"Friendlies coming in!" Sergeant Holly Zweiherse announced as she hit the deck. Jean motioned her over as the mortars let up.
"You got any casualties, Staff Sergeant?" The medic added without missing a beat.
"About to find out, Doc. Who ain't dead?!"
He recognized those who said they were okay, though a few cries of medic and some less-than-amused wounded near the trail also chimed in. Zweiherse started to get up when the deep thump of a machine gun broke the growing quiet. Jean recognized the sound of a Chinese Type 23 and yanked the medic back to the ground.
"Copeland, Lopez, lay down suppressing fire and get your grenadiers forward!" He barked.
Jean pulled a flare gun from a holster on his hip and checked its load before raising it skyward. The illumination device soared above the treeline and bathed the whole forest in an orangish-red light. With that, he was able to spot the Type 23's position near some boulders further up the slope. Gordon and his other machine gunner, Corporal Barnes, started blasting away at the machine gun while it tried to focus on a target. Jean looked up and saw figures moving down from behind the nest. He took Lahnery forward with him and stopped next to PFC Julian Hanton, one of his Cherries.
"Hanton, change of plans: put your first rounds on those troops advancing down towards us. Two rounds HE, then ready a third for that nest." He instructed.
"Gotcha, Sarge." The man replied with a jerky nod.
"Just stay cool, use Gordon and Barnes's suppressing fire to your advantage."
Lahnery traded places with the man so he could give covering fire alongside Jean. The Staff Sergeant rose to a crouch behind a tree and let off a few bursts at the MG. He drew back and glanced towards the advancing infantry, who'd hit the deck and begun to crawl. Hanton raised his APW-25, took aim and fired. The round fell short, but got their attention. Maybe too much of it when they started pouring on the fire in that direction. Gordon shifted his fire to them until he called out a grenade. Jean moved to cover him just in time to watch the man get thrown forward into a tree. Hanton fired a second grenade at the Chinese troops while Jean hailed Zweiherse forward. She came forth with a pair of Gauss Rifle teams in tow.
"The M309 teams are moving up to help with 1st Squad, but I flagged these guys down to help." She winked.
"Zee I could kiss you right now." Jean replied.
"I'll take a nip of whiskey, but for now I need a clear path to your man."
"Right. You two, go down and join my second fireteam. The other team I want in position to destroy that MG nest. Hanton, reposition downslope and keep up the fire."
"Gotcha Sarge, bounding!"
Lahnery and Jean put down more fire as Hanton took off. The first Gauss team crawled up to the left and set up their weapon while the other followed Hanton. The Chinese infantry trying to reach the MG nest had stalled behind it, but hadn't been broken just yet. He fired a second flare to keep the area illuminated before he started hatching a way to break the deadlock.
"Lahnery, get working on the radio again. Doc, I'll cover you while you get Gordon." He explained breathlessly.
"Alright, I'll wait until you've started shooting." Zweihurst said, brandishing her own assault carbine.
Jean fed his M63 a fresh magazine and eased to his feet behind the tree. He came around it until he saw Chinese troops, then fired a handful of bursts at them. He timed it so that he'd be finishing off his magazine just as Zweihurst was dragging Gordon back to safety. At the same time, one of the rocks above the Type 23's position fell down after a Gauss round hit it. The Chinese infantry pushed for one final attack, preceded by a couple of "stick grenades" and a ferocious cry. Barnes tore into them while the Gauss teams repositioned again. When the attacking infantry were dead, Jean started forward and called the rest of his squad to form a skirmish line. Zweihurst and her fellow medics began collecting the dead and the wounded as 3rd brought up the rear. They halted amongst the dead commies and waited until the medics had collected everyone needing extensive attention. Jean was surprised how well he'd done this time: he had only one dead and two wounded. Even better, his best fireteam leader, Sergeant Lizzy Heine, was still on her feet. He brought her and Sergeant Lee Bellows in once he had a good enough fighting line.
"Okay, what can you guys give me?" He asked.
"My pointman and auto rifleman are out of it." Lee frowned.
"My grenadier is wounded pretty bad." Lizzy chimed in. Jean bit his lip and did some math before he spoke again.
"Okay, so that leaves us with nine. Lee, I'm gonna put you, Barnes and Hanton under Liz. Lee, go ahead and take Copeland's APW. If we can't get these Gauss teams to stick with us, I want to retain some degree of firepower."
"Sarge, radio's working again. Looks like it was jamming from the commies." Lahnery announced from down the slope.
"Just in time." Jean sighed. He sent the Sergeants away and slid down to his RTO, accepting the handset as he reached the bottom.
"Go for Alpha 1-2 Actual." He said.
"Alpha 1-2 Actual this is Alpha 1 Actual. Request SITREP." Second Lieutenant Frank Valendez replied.
"Alpha 1 Actual be advised I'm down three men. Request permission to keep Alpha 1-4's Gauss Teams with me."
"Granted; 3rd Squad will spearhead our flank attack if needed. Miner 2-1 is resuming advance. Proceed as planned once they link up with you."
"Copy that 1 Actual."
Jean took the sudden respite as a chance to tend to himself. He settled down next to the crushed MG nest and blankly stared at the hand vainly trying to reach out from under the boulder. Jean scowled as he fished a cereal bar from one of his trouser pockets and ripped it open.
"Sucks to be you, commie." He mumbled.
The bar was frozen, but if he let it sit in his mouth for a minute he could taste it. Just like breakfast back home he thought as he swallowed a bite and a chuckle. His big sis making sure the rest of the Balland siblings didn't eat all of his favorite cereal so he could at least have a bowl. Oh the growing up he had to do over his career, but at least here he felt like he was worth something. Like dad, granddad, and great granddad he was doing his time. He caught a glimpse of figures leaving the trail and heading to him. Like that, the nostalgia was gone. Jean waved over whom he presumed was Miner 2-1. One of them crouched next to Jean and looked him over.
"You Alpha 1-2?" The olive-skinned man asked.
"The one and only, led by Jean Balland. You Miner 2-1?" Jean asked.
"Yeah, brought a four-man demo team and a flamer team."
"Good...got a name? Or should I just call you 2-1 Actual?"
"...Flynn. Not that it matters, eh?"
"Yeah, fair...Alright, have your guys stay behind us until we reach the treeline. Once we find a way up to the caves, I want your flamethrower with my guys. Standard procedure from there."
"Will do."
Jean ordered his squad and its support up the slope, now without the help of their ski poles. The distant thunder of light artillery shifted back and forth to the left, but it never drew as close to them as it once had. Jean guessed that the company's main attack was gaining more attention than the flanks. They managed to ascend to the thinner groupings of trees quickly, where Jean placed his squad members amongst the increasing number of rocks. Finally they could do away with their snowshoes. Jean's eyes ran up a steep ascent to the ridge in search of caves nearby. The place seemed dead, dead enough that perhaps going in and tossing grenades and firing flame throwers into the entrances would be counterproductive. He waved Flynn over to share his observations, and once he was on the same page motioned for the Gauss teams to set up overlapping fields of fire. Liz would cross the (mostly) open ground from the right, then move up to the nearest cave entrance.
Liz sent her pointman and Lee across first. They got no more than a third of the way across when a single shot rang out. Someone called "sniper" and Barnes started hammering the ridge with fire. Jean snarled and rose to join in the shooting as the Gauss teams tried to single out where the shot had come from. He saw figures appear from the cave entrance and called them out, ordering a couple grenades on them. Jean bolted forward to the foot of the ascent and yanked a single Mk.7 "Pineapple" from his gear. He threw it as hard as he could and huddled behind a boulder. He heard a pained scream, but the slow and taunting beat of that sniper kept going. He rose to his feet again and fired a few more shots. While he did, he tried to see where the offending shooter might be. Not enough time to look, he realized. He drew back behind cover and looked back towards Liz and her fireteam. They'd deployed smoke to cover themselves but the Chinese were still pouring on the fire. An APW coughed again and sent a body tumbling down the rocks, but they were no closer to ascending the slope.
"Sniper! Sniper up on the ridge, two o'clock!" one of the Gauss gunners shouted.
Jean peeked over the top of his cover when he heard a bullet whip by. Lahnery started calling for a medic, and one less Gauss firing told Jean who'd been hit. He crouched over and ran towards their position. He admonished himself again when he heard another bullet pass by near him. Jean took cover behind some more rocks, then crawled towards the Gauss rifle. Its loader was trying to plug a large hole in the gunner's throat.
"Lahnerty, help that man! You, soldier, help me get this thing back in the fight." He ordered.
"Ye sir-Sarge, yes Sarge." The loader stuttered.
The soldier pulled the weapon back and yanked out the Micro Fusion cell on the side. Jean accepted the weapon and cycled the crank to make sure the MF cell was connected. The loader gave him a fresh magazine of projectiles and pulled out a thermal scope to help spot. Jean shouldered the weapon and set it back atop the rocks. Through the thermal scope, he spotted a Type 23 team moving down the rocks towards the fight. Jean immediately led them and yanked back the trigger. He shifted his attention to the top of the ridge and spotted a faint outline moving between boulders. Jean fired a second round, then a third, and called out the sighting to the other Gauss team. He leveled the weapon at Chinese infantry firing from near the cave and helped the grenadiers harass them until his RTO approached him.
"Sarge, El-Tee's on the horn." He said. The loader took over while Jean took the radio's handset.
"Go for 1-2 Actual." He said.
"Staff Sergeant, it sounds like you're stuck at the bottom of the ridge. I'm bringing up reinforcements with me. I want a better look."
"Copy, be advised we still possibly have a sniper up on the ridge."
"Noted, Alpha 1-2."
Jean lifted his M63 and got back to trying to gain fire superiority over the Chinese. A second Type 23 team had entered the fray, firing from the top of the ascent at the Americans as their smoke shroud started to dissipate. Barnes slid behind his cover to swap out drums for his 246 when a grenade exploded nearby, sending him onto his back. Jean spotted the offending communist soldier and emptied a third of his clip into the man. He was considering breaking off the attack when American voices shouted that reinforcements were coming in. Lieutenant Valendez practically leapt from the nearest concentration of trees and effortlessly ran down to Jean's position. With him was his RTO and fresh reinforcements.
"SITREP, Staff Sergeant?" He asked as he took cover next to the man.
"You got balls, sir." Jean commented in a second of awe.
"What kind of infantry lieutenant sits on his ass in the rear, huh?!" The man replied with a wild grin as he rose to fire a burst from his assault carbine.
Still needed to work on his choice of words, though. He talked like a fresh butterbar, he had the same Ivy-league background as a fresh butterbar, and he was a fresh butterbar...but he insisted on actually trying to be a good leader and listener.
"Now you got a SITREP for me?"
"The approach is too exposed to be moving under all this fire. We need support of some kind with resistance this bad." Jean explained.
"I'm working on that. Assemble a six-man fireteam, take the engineers with you and...move to that side of the ascent. I'll move a second group to assist. We'll cover you; move once we've got a solid base of fire. After that, Charlie Mike as briefed!"
Jean nodded and ran down the line towards Liz and Lee, who'd managed to pull their force back into proper cover. They left their rucksacks behind and redistributed ammo best they could so Valendez could get some suppressing fire down. A minute later, the sounds of mortar shells overtook the pop of small arms. Jean took that opportunity to move his unit forward towards the far right of the battle. They took up position as the second salvo came back down to earth. Despite the fire, muzzle flashes continued to twinkle all across the Chinese side of the line. Jean decided to make one final call before he advanced up the slope.
"Fix bayonets!"
He pulled his blade from its sheath and clipped it to the front of his rifle as a third salvo was followed by illumination rounds. Jean drew in a breath and clenched his teeth before he charged out and up the slope. His eyes locked onto an enemy soldier rising from behind a boulder almost immediately. He fired a quick burst from the hip, then sprayed some more shots across his intended path. They came across a small trench with a few Chinese infantry inside. Jean leapt down onto another soldier and aimed his bayonet at the man's chest. He drew it out and whacked the man across the face with the butt of his rifle; Liz pounced on a soldier to his left. A third soldier came from his right, roaring something in his native tongue. Jean put his rifle between the two of them and pushed the attacker back. The Chinese soldier surged forward again, bringing an officer's sword to bear. Jean made a swipe at the man's footing with his boot and the two fell atop one another. Jean scrambled to get control as he realized his enemy was the one on top. He twisted the lower half of his body as hard as he could. He threw the smaller man off and rose to his feet. He charged forward again as the enemy soldier started to roll onto his back. He kicked the man in the small of his back, then brought a second kick towards the man's head. He stumbled back and drew his N99 handgun. As the Chinese soldier was regaining his bearings, Jean unloaded half the magazine into the man. He stumbled back onto his rear and caught his breath.
He reclaimed his rifle and holstered his sidearm before he got to his feet. As he started forward, he stopped and looked down at the sword in the dead man's hand. He liberated that and the sheathe from his fallen foe and carried on. As the lights from the flares faded and his eyes adjusted, Jean went up the other side of the trench and put his back to the sheer rock face ahead. Flynn and his fellow engineers hurried up after him.
"Take point with my lead man. We'll move into the first cave after you've hosed the entrance." He said in a low voice.
"Gotcha." Flynn agreed, somewhat reluctantly.
The two men moved ahead while Jean led the others to a bend in the ridge. The fire down at the base shifted and slacked off as Valendez started moving more men into the opening that'd been secured. Jean searched the ridge until he saw a gaping hole in the view. Flynn and his pointman, Samuelson, were already scurrying over the rocks towards it. Jean moved his men forward again until they were overlooking the first ascent they'd tried. US troops were moving up to join them; Jean rose up and waved to make sure they knew where he was. He looked back as Flynn let loose on the cave with his flamethrower and ordered his soldiers to move in on the , He reckoned, they had PART of the ridge in their hands. It was a start for better or worse, but now they needed to take the caves themselves.