Post
by Imnotdannyboy » Tue Mar 31, 2015 10:03 am
The only mission I really got to take part in for any reasonable amount of time (dem mortars) was Lightning Strikes, but damn, it was a doozy.
I was AR of Bravo 2. I think we were mostly the backup. We saw a few contacts, but most of it was minimal. Ended up mostly driving and pulling over to avoid GMG fire, then situating ourselves back on the road. Dealing with the occasional traffic clog. Standard stuff.
Down the road we started taking fire from enemy infantry at an unknown position. Me and the gunner stayed in to provide fire support while our fireteam leader and AT hopped out to get a better view. WIthin seconds, POP POP and fireteam leader was dead, putting me in charge. Never a good sign.
When the threat was dealt with me and the gunner moved up slowly and our AT proceeded on foot, using the vehicle as cover. We dicked around on a hill for a bit before moving into the first objective.
.
We had orders to travel west through the town with AA occupation. An Alpha hummer parked in front of us as we recieved orders to wait, and we sat for what felt like hours doing seemingly nothing, failing to realize that we were about to receive orders that would change (read:end) our lives forever. Bravo Squad Lead told us to proceed northwest through town. Myself, not fully understanding the situation of Alpha, proceeded through the northwest road of town, straight into the Ifrit/AA/Tank combo that Alpha had been engaging for the past few minutes. OSHIT OSHIT OSHIT BACKUP. Somehow, by an act of god or a rusty tank swivel, we made it out without taking fire. Our AT said 'Imma go shoot it'. And really, who am I to argue? "Go for it" I said, and the brave soldier set out on the most dangerous mission of his life. He tossed some smoke, crept up to the building, and PATAPATAPATA dropped like a rock. "Shit" I thought, trying to formulate a plan for dealing with the scenario. Logically, the smart thing to do here is send my Assistant Autorifleman. That's what they're there for, right? Take the fall? Support the team to the grave?
Unfortunately I had a conscience in that moment. Or, more likely, I forgot I could abuse the guy in the backseat for my own nefarious purposes. "I'm gonna go grab his AT" I told my gunner. "Okay" he replied. "Make sure to use smoke.
"Gee, thanks mom" I thought to myself silently as I hopped out of the driver's seat and proceeded towards the looming doom before me. What I hadn't noticed was that the AA, our main objective, had taken three rockets and a satchel charge, and was still standing. The armored monster was a beast. Indestructible. Our only hope of survival would be to pull out and pray it didn't follow us. But of course, I noticed none of this.
I chucked two smokes towards where I thought I saw our AT drop, and began the sprint. And withing seconds, CRACK PAP PATATAPATAPATA bullets from the AA whizzed by my head, feet, and bounced off the building next to me. I hardly made it past the first smoke grenade before I was forced to nuzzle myself in a crack between two buildings, the flimsiest hard cover I had ever seen. Bullets continued to chip away at the corner in front of me, and the smoke was seconds away from fading. "What do I do" I thought to myself, spinning my mouse wheel in contemplation.
"Oh" I thought, examining the "pick up PCML" option in my action bar. "That's what". Turned out our AT was literally right around the corner.
So somehow I grabbed the whole launcher without taking a single bullet. I wasn't close enough to grab any additional ammo, so as any climax goes, I have only one shot. I poke around the corner, take a moment to check my aim realizing that lock on would take far too long, and fire. And just as the rocket leaves the tube, PIFF PAFF POFF! Three bullets go straight through my head. The rocket sails as my screen went black, and I'm left with one final message in the top right corner of my screen.
"The AA battery has been destroyed!"