June 16th, 2552, 12:10 PM

"That's why I joined the service." Steve said. "That's all I can think of to say about my life."
Steve had gone down into every bit of detail about the way he grew up, we had listened to him for the past thirty-five minutes.
"You've lived quit an interesting life." Jake said laughing a bit.
"Yeah, I suppose I have." Steve replied, deep in thought.
Jake tossed out the cigarette he had been smoking. We sat there thinking to ourself.
"You've lived a mixed life." Jake added in.
"Yeah." Steve replied with a slight smile.

I looked over at Dave, he had leaned out a bit and was asleep. I pulled an apple out of my pouch and removed my helmet. I pulled out my bayonet and sliced it into pieces.
"You all want a slice?" I asked Steve and Jake, they accepted and thanked me.
I put a slice back in my pouch for Dave. We ate the pieces of apple and sat there.

"I remember one time." Jake started up as he put his helmet on along with Steve, I put mine on as well.
"My dad got angry with me. I was in my room and 'BAM' he kicked the door open..."
"Wow." I interrupted. "Nice effects."
"What?" Jake asked.
A faint explosion filled the air out by the enemy base. We looked out in the direction. There was another 'BAM' followed soon by an explosion, it sped up and got louder. The artillery team had begun to fire.

Another explosion followed and Dave awoke with a small jump.
"I'm up." He said, not quite with what was going on.
"Lets go." I said and got off and jogged off to where I set the rally point.
Steve, Dave, and Jakob, followed behind me. I turned, other from my squad where making there way to us.
"Squad leaders, head count on your teams." I ordered.
All checked out, everyone was here.

"Form column in squad line behind me!" I yelled, trying to speak over the sound of the artillery explosions.
The teamed formed up. Alpha was to my left in a line, Bravo to my right, and Charlie was right behind me.
"Move out!" I yelled and began to walk.
The others walked behind me, their guns leaned up against their shoulders and held in their hands, moving their left arm back and forth as they walked. We looked every organized and ready, finally doing as we where taught during training.

I looked at the other teams, they where scattered and plain bolting off. It made me feel professional to have my team organized and ready to go while the other commanders didn't.

We marched on for about ten minutes. We where soon half way between our camp and the group of large rocks that lay ahead. I began to make out movement ahead, the enemy was hiding in the rocks. I didn't think the hour was fully up, but it seemed that the enemy was instead launching a probe attack.
"Form a firing line on that rocky position!" I barked. "And get that MG up here now!"
The team commanders organized their men along a small hill line and ordered everyone to fire. Jake came up to the top of the hill and slammed the tripod down into the grassy hill mount. Steve slammed the M41 on the tripod and hooked in the lock as Jake loaded the gun. Within second they where firing. The enemy took cover and was unable to fire back.

"Bravo!" I called out.
"Bravo team leader!" Yelled a soldier. "What do you want me to do!"
"Take the far right and move up that basive fire!" I yelled.
"What!" He replied not hearing me over an artillery explosion.
"I said go up the far right and move up the line of fire!" I yelled again, trying to express the order with my hands as well.
"Yes, sir!" He yelled. "Bravo form up!" He yelled and soon they where making there way down the extreme far right and started to move up onto the enemy position. I started walking down behind our firing line.
"Alpha, Charlie, keep that fire on them! Don't stop shooting!" I yelled.
About four minutes later the enemy bolted out from cover and started heading out into the open.

The middle troop came up over the hill and spotted them, the tanks opened up and chewed them all down as they tried to find new cover against the Bravos flanking attack.
"Charlie, pack it up!" I yelled and Jake and Steve began to undo the MG.
"Lets go, to Bravo's position, now!" I yelled. We all bolted out though the open grounds to the rocky region where Bravo waited for us.
Bullets rang at us from the other side to our left, but we continued to bolt though until we reached Bravo.

We reached Bravo's position and took up defences among the rocks.
"Were going to hold here until the guided artillery stops." I said over the com.
All team leader replied and we set up our defences. Enemy armor soon rose up over the hills in the middle, ours and theirs coming to a stop as they took aim. Their tank shot, a round struck our middle tank. All three of our scorpions fired back and the enemy tank turned into a dancing fireball.

Soon after a ATV ramped off the hills by the destroyed enemy tank. I glanced at it for a second and noticed it was a kamikaze soldier, he had c4 on the front of his ATV and was heading straight for our armor. The tanks cannons where facing off in other directions at this point and couldn't stop him. He soon rammed into the middle tank and his c4 went off. Our middle tank exploded, already having been damaged by the enemy armor.

The flanking tanks a bit off to the sides went on the move. I looked out and noticed the guided artillery bombardment had started to quit and had died down greatly.

The area ahead held plenty of cover by the newly created foxholes caused by the artillery. I couldn't see the enemy structure yet, or may not, for all I knew it was in pieces. I turned on my com on my helmet, having forgotten that it was off and realized that the team commanders may of been trying to contact me though it.
"New orders, you will follow these orders directly." I started. "Alpha, you will continue straight ahead, attack and if the structure remains standing, breach the position when possible. Charlie, take the MG and set it up on the cliff side up ahead."
"Right where we had it before we retreated the first time?" Steve's voice asked over the radio.
"Yes, that will do fine." I answered. "Bravo, make your way around the cliff at the bottom. Follow it around the next ben and flank the structure from the right. Move in and breach when possible. Are we all clear?"
"Yes, sir." came the replies of everyone, not just the team leaders.

The shelling had fully stopped. Ahead the ground was covered with holes. I began to wonder how command planned to get the armor across it now. I glanced over at the tanks, the tank commander popped his head out of one of the tanks and view the land ahead. He yelled something around, but I was to far to hear what he was saying. He shut the lid of the hatch and the tanks started to move again.

"Go, go, go!" I said over the com.
We took off. I decided to make my way up the cliff side and make my way down the other side and join Bravo. Within three minutes we made it to the top, the structure remained standing. We set up the MG on the hill overlooking its position. Lots of the holes contained parts of bodies, mainly arms and legs. Easily over a hundred pieces of people laid around, intact bodies lay dead in the surrounding areas as well.

Jeeps sat on fire as well as tanks and filled the air with smoke. A enemy Pelican even sat destroyed on the ground. I guess they didn't expect we had artillery in the vicinity. Enemy infantry fired at us from the foxholes below and at other teams moving around. They still had enough troops to circle their bases and fill the foxholes with people to defend themselves, infantry as began to poor out of the structure. Steve opened up on nearby targets with his MG and began to shread the nearest ones with it.
"Alpha reporting contacts." The team leader announced over the com.
"Bravo on the flank, well have them down in a few seconds."
"Copy that Bravo." Replied Alpha.

The enemy hid behind the smoke and risen dust and made it hard to find the ones a bit further out. Some craters literally where created where two rounds dropped in the same spot and the holes where deep enough to hide the enemy from sight, even from us up on the thirty foot or so hillside. The enemy fired back from the craters.
"Fix bayonets!" Yelled the Bravo team leader over the com.
I glanced to my right to see the enemy break though the smoke and charging Bravos position as they took cover in the outer foxholes. Hand-to-hand combat broke out between Bravo and the Russian troops.
"Attack!" Yelled Alpha team leader and Alpha began to charge into the smoke.

Steve started shooting in small controlled burst, trying to pick off the enemies he could see, Dave picked off troops that where in hand-to-hand combat with Bravo with his sniper. I hoped over the ledge and slid down the dirt and rocky side. I ended up on my back on the ground in the end. I got up and rushed into the smoke. A russian soldier stepped out into view and I put ten rounds in his visor. The visor busted and blood flew out, he reached up to grab what he could of his face.
"Ýòî ïîâðåæäàåò!" He yelled.
I slammed the butt of my gun into his gut and he bent over forward splashing blood on the ground and my foot. I finished his life with a smack with the butt of my gun to the back of his head.

A soldier bolted at me, I dodged with a spin and slammed my gun into his side as he went by and fell face first into the ground. I put a few rounds in him, he didn't get back up. I began to wonder how many there actually where. Someone grabbed me from behind in a bear hug. I dropped my gun.
"ß ïîëó÷èë Âàñ òåïåðü!" A voice yelled.
I was lifted up into the air and slammed to the ground on my back. The man picked up my gun and took aim on me. I raised my hand to cover my face when a sniper round shot though his visor and out the back of his helmet. He dropped to the ground dead.

I glanced back behind me, Dave was laying on the ground on the cliff side and had a smoking sniper rifle in his hands. I looked and saw Bravo break into the smoke, bayonets at the ready and attacked the few remaining Russian soldiers around. I got to my feet and retrieved my gun and entered the structures base level.

A guy jumped out from around the corner to ambush me but was put down by a spray of bullets. I soon had made my way in one said and out the other, only the one man had been inside. I exited as one of our tanks drove by. A spray of gunfire flew in by me, I stepped back into the building door for cover.

I peaked out and glanced at the back upper hills. The enemy had stopped at the top and had set up a machine gun nest with some spare infantry. They held their ground rather than continue on and retreat from the lands. I bolted out and took cover in behind the nearby tank. I peaked around and shot up at the opposition, the tank soon opened up with its machine gun fired its cannon at them, destroying their defences.

Pockets of our troops soon began charging up the hill. I watched as they ran up the hill shooting at those who continued to fight back until they took the position. We had won the fight. My team began taunting the enemy over the com so we could all hear. I walked back around to the other side where my team was.

I walked around and found Dave.
"I owe you one." I said catching my breath a bit.
"No, where even." He said back. "For getting us off that hill last time."
I smiled at him though my visor and pated him on the shoulder.

I glanced around, other task teams started making their way back down the back hill and toward the rest of us. The ones around here shot the dead to make sure they weren't faking. I took my eyes away from everyone else and looked at Dave and reached into my pouch.
"Apple?" I asked Dave as I handed the squashed thing out to him.