June 16th, 255211:51 AM

I stood by the entrance with the guards at the sleeping quarters waiting for Steve, Dave, and Jake while they got ready. I could hear a distant sound, it sounded like a low pitch squeaking. It soon turned into a thunderous noise. I looked off into the air a bit to my left, thats where it was coming from. I dashed to the wall and made my way to the top of it by the stationary guard. He too was looking out that way, everyone around me was.

The sound turned into a shriek, almost like a banshee and a squadron of about ten Longswords screamed by overhead. I turned my head around to follow them as everyone else did. The sound returned to a thunderous noise and began to quiet down into a squeak again, soon it was gone. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and I glanced over to find Steve, Dave and Jake coming up.

"What the hell was that noise?" Dave asked me.
"C709 Longswords." I replied. "Something big must be happening." I added.
We all looked out that way where the longswords had headed off to. The speakers sounded up, someone was tapping on the mic and we could hear it.
"Fifthteenth Airborne report to the firing range."

"Firing range?" asked Jake, "I didn't know there was a firing range?"
"There is." I replied. "Out there." I pointed to it. "They made it last night."
"Huh." replied Steve, he coughed a little afterward.

We made our way to the firing range. It was a lot bigger than I thought. It had been quickly made, it had sections of wood that stood out with gaps in between and down the range was a thick piece of wood about three-hundred feet long. "Where the hell did they find a tree was that long?" I asked.
"Shit if they know." I replied.
We stood around until a CO came up to us.

"What are you all standing around for!" he yelled. "Find a section that has your issued gun and start shooting!"
"Yes, sir." we barked back.
"We outta shoot him." Jake said. We laughed a bit.
I found a area with the gun I had been issued. It was beside the area with the M41. I looked out at the huge piece of tree and became curious. Where we to just shoot the wood, what kind of practice would that be.

I picked up my gun and didn't even take aim. I shot and struck the wood, others started shooting as well.
"Shoot only one clip!" yelled the CO and he started walking down our lines behind us.
I shot off my clip and reloaded and stood waiting. After we where all done, only Steve remained shooting.
"Alright, cease fire gunner!" The M41 went silent.

"Well. At least you can shoot!" yelled the CO. "Lets see about a target!" I looked out into the snow.
Pieces of wood shot up out of them from the ground, I was then able to make out the metal line that ran across the ground in front of the large piece of wood. I also noticed another metal line behind that one, it extended throughout the three-hundred feet of the firing line.

A target popped up in front of each of us on the first flipping rail. I fired. Soon after other began to as well. I tore though my target on full auto until my clip was gone. The thin piece of wood flew back down to the ground as well as the others.

"Alright, well it looks like you can hit a target thats standing still! How about moving!" Yelled the unknown CO. A person shaped piece of wood shot up on the far left end on the second rail.
"I want that piece of wood to be nothing but splinters by the time it reaches the other side!" Yelled the CO. "Fire!"
The man with the BR55 on the far left took aim and shot, the wood took off as great speed. The entire left side to the middle was shooting at it, soon I was and so was Steve with the MG beside me. It reached the end, only a few round had actually hit it.

"Thats was some of the saddest shooting i've ever seen!" Yelled the CO as he took off his helmet and slammed it into the snow. "Again!" He yelled.
The target on the rail at the far right by me suddenly shot off and into the air. We had been watching it that we didn't even notice the other piece making it way down. It made it to the end without even being shot at.

"What was that!" the CO screamed furious. "What the fuck was that!..." He started to walk up and down the line again. "If you don't shoot at it this time, I will have one of you run down that line and I will shoot at you myself!"
We all got ready quickly. The piece on the right shot off the rail and the target on the left popped into view and started to make its way down the line. I opened up on it as well as Steve. It made it to the end. Only the very bottom remained of it.

"Thats much better!" Yelled the CO. "It just took a little bit of motivation!...Again!" The piece shot out and the other made it way. This time only a extremely small bit of wooded remained, enough to slide under a door while it was standing up.
"There we go!" Yelled the CO.

I heard someone sneeze.
"Shit!" I heard Steve say, Jake broke into a mad laugh.
I couldn't see it, but I laughed at the thought of it.
"Is there something funny down there!" Yelled the CO. Steve stepped out.
"I sneezed in my helmet sir. May I go clean it out?" He asked.
Others began to laugh.
"No!" Yelled the CO and everyone became silent. "Do you think the EWCU is going to stop their assault on your position so you can go clean out your helmet!"
Steve looked at the man, I could see the spray of snot on his visor, even in the snowfall.
"No sir... but." He began to reply.
"Good then, where on the same page!" the CO interrupted. "Now man your weapon!"

"Stupid mother fucker." Steve said under his breath and kneeled down back into position to man the MG.
"Again!" yelled the CO.

We did this for about thirty minutes. Steve didn't preform as well. He was coughing a lot and couldn't see though the snot on his visor.
"Fall in!" Yelled the CO. We put the guns up and made our way to him, taking a knee when we where there.
"Tomorrow you are being deployed again." He started. "Nearly everyone at the fort here is being deployed... A few hours ago we got word that Australia and Germany have entered the war and as you should know, those are EWCU nations." We all began to chatter. "Shut it!" the CO yelled. "Do to this, Brazil and Mexico have entered on our side to help even the odds... Its officially been declared as the Third Great War, or World War Three."

I looked at the ground in disbelief, we all began chattering a bit. "Shut up!" the CO yelled again. "And stay quiet until I dismiss you!" He added. "You are being re-deployed back under the command of Ryan Smith."
I looked up, excited to the fact that I would get to see Ryan again, but still down and scared that the world was going into World War Three. Would it break out into nuclear warfare next? This though of nukes being used scared me even more.

"You are going back to the area where you where first deployed. Ryan will brief you when you get there. Just remember not to act so stupid on the field like you did during practice today. Dismissed!" the CO yelled and we got up and made our way back to the fortress gates.
I started imaging on the way to the gates. The snowfall we walked though now was a fall of ash from the nuclear fallout. The air, already cold got much colder and I would be walking this same path, though a wave of dead bodies. There would be some survivors but they would look disfigured and unhuman. The thought raced though my mind the entire day.

June 18th, 2552, Noon

I made my way into the dropship by Jake, Steve and Dave. I sat down and put my gun between my legs. The pilot looked out though the cockpit door to make sure everyone was on. We sat down and we where soon off for war.
"Oh man. My stomachs upset." Steve said and put his hands around his gut.
"Your probably ate something bad." Jake replied. "Its happened to me too at the camp." He finished, chuckling a bit.

We where moving rather quick. I glanced out the back and couldn't make out anything, it was flashing by to quick. It was like trying to count the lines in the middle of a highway when going about a hundred miles per hour. I leaned back in and put my head up against the wall.
"So, what to do you think it will be like this time." I said.
"Shit." said a soldier I didn't know. "It's going to more FUBAR than ever." he said.
"Well still win, well send them running again." another soldier said.
"Its going to be easy. May even be fun." said yet another man.
"Oh really, if it was so easy, then why are we being sent out." said Dave. The guy paused during his response.
"So... we don't... miss out on the fun..." He answered.
"Shit." said the one soldier and chuckled a bit.

"Ten minutes." Announced the pilot over the radio in our helmets.
"Whoa." replied the one soldier. Shit, something is FUBAR." And he was right.
Last time it took us awhile to get there, we would be arriving much sooner, we where in a rush.
"I wonder what's going on, that we have to be there so quick." The soldier added.
"Well lets see." said Jake. "Maybe because its World War Three."
Everyone became quiet and looked down at the floor. Only a few coughs broke the silence.

Jake was right, it was declared as World War Three now, those words changed everything we had previously thought about the war. Any means of peace or withdrawal where now gone.

We continued on silent for about eight minutes.
"LZ in sight." announced the pilot.
We all locked and loaded out guns and got ready to get off.
"We won't be touching down, you'll need to get off quick." The pilot added in.
We flew over a giant hill that had an artillery team on it and a minute later we entered the canyon. We descended to the LZ. About ten feet from the ground the Pelican went into a hover and we started jumping out. Dust kicked up and filled the air around us. We landed with a thump to the ground and set up a circle on the ground. The Pelican took off. Small rocks kicked up and hit my visor, then the air started to clear.

Like in a action movie, someone slowly made their way though the dust, his body coming into view little by little. He had a MA5B leaned up against his shoulder. We all had our eyes fixed on him. I looked at his insignia, it was Ryan.
"Ryan." I said and walked up to him and reached out to shake his hand.
"Well, well if it isn't Thomas." He replied happily and shook my hand. "Its good to see my team again." He said aloud.
I glanced around. We weren't at the are we had previous landed at. We where further back. I looked off to my right, and saw a troop defence line laying up against the top of a small mount and way out in the distance I could kind of make out the group of large rocks. I looked ahead of me and saw about four scorpion battle tanks sitting there. To my left was a structure, it had a M41 Stationary set up on the top level along with two snipers. "If you will all follow me." Ryan said and turned and walked off to the structure. We followed.

We entered the structure. It was a tad grayish-whited colored and narrow. We where at base level, there was a level below us where weapons, ammo, water, and food where stored and a uppers section where guards stood ready. We walked into the middle of the structure, the place was small be we could all 20 of us could fit.

Ryan sat down in the chair at a desk and we all stood in front of the desk, us crowding in around.
"Okay gentlemen, now to brief you on why your here." He pulled himself closer up to the desk. "In about a hour we will launch an artillery offensive on the enemy position about a mile down the way. They have an troop strength of about a three-hundred mechinized units. We will be launching the strike on them this time." He glanced down at the papers for a minute, I looked at them and noticed it was a map with a bunch of marks and arrows on it.

"Thomas." He said. I saluted and replied.
"Commander." He looked up at me.
"You will take command of this squad in the attack." He said.
"Sir?" I replied curious as to why he put me in such a position.
"You will take command. Organize your team and get ready. You will move up the right. Another squad will attack from the left and others with protect the armor as it advances though the middle. Are we understood?" He asked.
I snapped my heels together and stood even straighter than I had before, my shoulders started to cramp up on me.
"Yes, sir!" I replied. "When the artillery opens up, advance and take the position. Dismissed." He added, then stood up and saluted me.

I took the side entrance out. And headed to the upper level. I felt weird having everyone follow me. I glanced out toward the enemy position as best as I could. I couldn't see anything, I was corrected when a counter sniper shot went off. Me and my team dove to the ground, the gunner on the platform did as well.
"Don't worry, he's dead." One of the snipers said. The other sniper approached him and looked off onto a hillside though his sniper scope.
"Right through his scope and into his eye. Nice shot mate." The sniper said.
"Thank you." replied the shooter.

I got up and went down to the lower section, thinking it was best for us to not be up there. I went a bit into the open and turned to meet everyone following me. I looked over them, their lives where suddenly in my hands.
"Alright." I said. Everyone glanced at me.
I swallowed the knot in the throat and coughed.
"Alright." I said clearly. Everyone took a knee.

"Lets get organized." I said and clapped my hands together and then flew them back behind my back. "Those of you in red armor. I wasn't eight of you to step over to the left and six to step over to the right, two are to remain in the middle."
Everyone stayed where they where for a moment and looked at each other, finally little by little some stepped off to the sides. Soon it was how I wanted. All basic on the left and right, two in the middle. Steve, Jake, Dave stood in the middle with the two others.
"Dave." I called.
"Yeah." "Join the left squad please." Dave stepped over and joined the team to his left, though I meant my left, but it didn't really matter. I decided to put another two grunts on the team I issued Dave on and put them on the other team on the other side.

"Alright now, you guys on my left, you are team Alpha. You guys on my right, you are Bravo. And you guys here in the middle are Charlie."
Alpha consisted of eight riflemen, Bravo had six riflemen and a sniper, and Charlie had two riflemen and the M41 Mobile Machine Gun. Everything seemed fairly balanced. I also issued a team leader to Alpha and Bravo, the team leader would be in charge of that team while I was at another spot. The team leader controlled the team and I controlled the team leader.

We where all set.
"Alright everyone. At ease. You may do as you please, just stay around here. Meet up right at this sport as soon as the artillery starts firing."
"Yes, sir!" They replied and saluted. I saluted back and we all broke apart a bit.

Jake, Dave and Steve remained by my side.
"So..." Steve started. "Commander." He finished.
I chuckled a bit. We made our way toward the structure and sat down in the soft grass, leaning up against it. I looked among us, mainly at Jake, the new guy among our little group.
"So tell us a bit about yourself Jake?" I asked him.
He glanced over at me in his red armor.
"Like what?" He asked back.
"Just whatever." I replied.

"Me." He started. "Well my names Jake as you know and i'm from New York but had moved there from Texas. I've been a gunners mate in the Army for about eight months now. I first saw action and was used when a riot broke out in Texas about four months ago."
"I heard about that riot on TV." Dave interrupted. "The troops where ordered to shoot on the civilians when they attacked."
"Yes." Jake replied. "We where, we set up a M57 Mobile Machine Gun on a car hood in the street. The crowed came down the street with knives and where throwing rocks at us and peoples houses. Someone pulled out a pistol and started shooting at us... Thats when we where told to shoot. The gunner opened up and killed many people. The crowed broke apart and ran."
We where all looking at him, interested about what had happened.
"We went over the bodies. One of the dead we found was my sister..." He went quiet and looked down at the ground.

We stared at him, in shock of what had happened.
"I'm sorry for what happened." Steve said with compassion in his voice.
"No, don't be." Jake answered back and looked back up. "She knew what she was doing. They where told to stop and go home, but they continued to damage everything in their path... She was being stupid and I hate to say, but she had it coming. I would prefer her dead before she killed anyone herself."
He took off his helmet and sat it to the ground in front of him, between his knees by his gun. He looked over at us.

He was extremely different from what I thought he would look like. He had a scar that ran down from the top of his head and gapped by his eye and continued down to his chin and his face also had a rugged gray beard to it as it grew back in. His eyes where blue and strong looking, like he had been though hell and came back. He looked unbelievely strong just by his face, but had a wimp voice that hid it though his armor.

He glanced at us.
"So, tell me about yourself?" He asked.