Of Terrorists and Territory (& Crumpets)

[Aztech]

Sergeant Jason Sykes touched down in sector E10 and was off his transport before the pilot slowed the engines. Immediatly he took in the surroundings;
Conditions: heavy rain. vision obscured.
Battlefield: Civilian area, plenty of cover and escape routes.
Allies: Lightly armed and armoured. Medium training, some specialists.
Enemy: Medium to high training, unconfirmed weaponry, though heavy arms unlikely and heavy armour impossible.
Chance of success: 50/50 at a guess.
Though his soldier's intuition told him they could easily be outgunned by the terrorists, failure would mean hundreds, if not thousands of civilian casualties. Failure was not an option. He scanned the rooftops from left to right, and caught a glimpse of lens flare on the third building.
"Command, this is Sergeant Sykes. Confirm friendly squad on a tall apartment building nor-east of the support pillars, over?"
"Sergeant Sykes, we confirm a sniper team on a dark apartment building at said position, over"
"Roger command. Over and out"

The aged "over and out" sign off was hardly necessary on the modern radio equipment, but Sykes had honed his battlefield instinct listening to the radio chatter on ancient machines, and the familiar phrase kept him relaxed, and therefore focused, and therefore alive. Jason told himself that if you wanted more than dumb luck getting you home for tea, you had to remain professional. He was rarely wrong about these things.

Sykes hoisted his automatic light railgun off the transport, clipped on his utility belt and filled the webbing pouches with smoke and tear gas grenades, as well as a few frags, just in case. He set off at a slow jog towards Commander Silsbury and the line of riot shields advancing on the enemy position. The weight of the ball bearing ammunition for his gun made anything faster impossible, despite the back bracing and feedback systems incorporated into his SRD armour.
"Commander Silsbury, this is Sergeant Sykes. I am on my way with a close quarters machine gun. Relay further orders, over" Sykes waited for a response while he ran.

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