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Old 10-25-2022, 03:18 PM
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kcdusk kcdusk is offline
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New day.
Geddes spends a few hours looking for a way to steal an anti tank mine, or some other option to help protect the village from the suspected first enemy advance which he expects to arrive soon. The more Geddes thinks about it, the more he feels guilty for steeling even from the Ukraine army, even if it is in their best interests.

Finally, Geddes decides he cannot go through with it. He couldn’t live with himself if he got away with it, and if he was caught then he would likely face serious consequences and likely be out of the war.

Geddes wonders how best to continue? Heading into the warzone as a one-man-army made sense while he was sitting at home, but now here in theatre, he recognised how little influence he really has. Also, despite some successes such as being equipped from the pre-arranged arms supplier, finding this village, capturing (then loosing) a sniper and even immobilising (or destroying) an AFV Geddes had come close to death a number of times. What he was doing was not sustainable.

However, Geddes couldn’t shake the feeling he should be doing more.
Geddes finds his guide helping the village get some combined chores done, and is able to persuade the Guide to loan him his UHF radio. This will mean Geddes can contact the village from about 5km away. Geddes has decided to head back towards the road intersection where the sniper and AFVs were encountered, and radio back to the Officer at the Village if they are indeed coming this way, hopefully providing some amount of early warning for whatever “mechanisms” the Officer had to protect the village with.

Geddes begins walking back down the road away from the village. Stale bread and hard cheese in hand. Undergrowth turns to forest the further he travels. Dark clouds turn to misty rain. Then constant light drizzle. Life is not fair or easy.

Geddes shucks his wet weather jacket hood over his head and resolutely walks into the worsening rain. A bend in the road provides a good place to rest up. The bend provides good cover. And the long road stretching towards the enemy gives good site lines along the road, to provide plenty of advance warning of any vehicles. Geddes rests his pack about 50m off the road under a wet weather tarp to keep it dry. Geddes takes his FAL with scope back to his resting point. With his back against a tree, he waits. His wet weather gear is good. Frequent checks suggest he remains dry. And his body feels warm despite the conditions.

A few hours pass. Mentally Geddes is in a good space. This living outdoors business has been his life, and the mental game of dealing with the rain is easier because he has remained warm and dry. A boom in the distance indicates heavier rain may be on the way.

Or does it?

Two aircraft thunder out of nowhere, they pass overhead relatively low, and their trailing boom follows not far behind!

There are more thunderish like booms north and south of Geddes position. There must be many planes passing overhead towards the friendly village!

Then in the distant there are lower decibel rumbles. It’s a different sound to the enemy aircraft. Explosions maybe?

The attack has begun.

Geddes gets on the radio to the Officer back in the Village. The Officer takes a while to answer, and when he does he sounds confused and not present in the conversation. That’s as good as it gets, before the transmission turns to static.
Perhaps half an hour has passed since the first attack aircraft had passed overhead. Distant explosive booms can continue to be heard behind Geddes in all directions. Red and orange flashes can just be seen through the rain, reflecting off the low clouds. Explosive booms still occurring randomly. Somehow the rain has intensified making Geddes feel even more isolated, caught between going back to the village to help and waiting where he was.

Then the first AFV lurches into view some 300m away down the road.
Geddes is still getting static on the UHF. Can he assume the village has been bombed? Or are channels just being blocked? Its impossible to know the full picture.

The UHF magically comes to life! Geddes can hear the officer frantically giving orders, explosions still going off in the background. Responses to the Officers questions are coming fast and melding into one pot of confusion.

Geddes is still propped against his tree in the rain. The Armoured Fighting Vehicles continue along the road towards his position and eventually the village. And then, turning the corner behind the AFV’s, came the Main Battle Tanks. This was no longer a probing force. It was a full blown invasion.

Geddes slowly brought the UHF up to his mouth and keyed the mike “To the Officer at the Village, there is an invasion force coming your way, five clicks out. Good luck, your own your own …”.
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