The Far East War...

[I don't mind, its helps lighten the load off my shoulders and helps get the creative juices flowing, keep it up!]

Hearing the crazy Magnusson laughing as hes mowing down enemy troops Andriana can't figure out how he does it. After that thought she ran off to the direction of the hut at the norseman laid down suppression fire. Once she arrived at the hut she did a check of the surrounding jungle next to it. It was relatively thick, something she never expected to see in Japan of all places, worse yet she was wearing the wrong camouflage to go hunting in the jungle and knew she would stick out like a sore thumb if she wasn't careful. Switching her G36 for the M4 shotgun she was carrying for situations like this where she knew a close range weapon would serve her better in the thick forest and entered it.

She gave Newman a circle motion with her hand when she noticed what looked like spent 5.8x42mm brass casings on the ground, probably from a Chinese QBU-88 sniper rifle. "This must have been the snipers last known location. We need to find him and flush him out of the jungle and into the open if were going to have any taking this threat out." Bringing the shotgun up to her shoulder and prepared to move. "You go left and I'll go right and try to stay quiet. If you see him and can take him out then go for it, if not, try and spook out into the open.

---

Meanwhile, Magnusson's machine gun fire was starting to attract other NK squads to their position and it was only a matter of time before they would be overrun by enemy reinforcements and time was running out for the JDF squad they were suppose to rendezvous with.

Magnusson looked at where the Apache had been forced down. The pillar of black smoke was now high above the treetops, easy bait for the closing NK squads. The sniper must have still been relocating; another shot hadn't arrived for about three minutes. The sandbags were clear. It was time to pack up.

Magnusson heaved his MG4 off the stump and fired a few more rounds at the sandbag wall before sprinting off towards the woods, heading for the Apache. He vaulted over the North Koreans' sandbag, pulling out one of his Raging Bulls and moving off down the side street towards the Apache's wreck. Arriving there in record time, he analyzed the scene.

The Apache had tailspun into the side of a building, its tail bent around and embedded in the wall of the one-story building. The cockpit was turned on its side, with flames on one side and the windows facing Magnusson. Moving forward, he pulled a pickaxe from one of the carts arranged on the street corner and laid into the glass. After clearing a hole large enough to reach the latch, Gunnar lifted the cockpit window open and hauled the pilot out.

He was unconscious and bleeding from a wound across his right bicep where what may have been fragments from the smashed instrument panel had sliced it open. Taking a length of gauze bandage from his belt, Magnusson tied off the wound, stanching the bloodflow, and moved off towards the JDF's last known location in the hamlet after setting the pilot down in the destroyed building, laying him on a bedroll in the small attic.

Newman smiled, forest fighting was bread and butter for the NZDF and Newman hadn’t forgotten the lessons taught there, even if the radio didn’t lend itself to sneaking around. Readjusting his weapon he advanced silently into the forest, careful to make as little noise as possible.

Adriana was moving slowly in the underbrush trying not to make any noise with her shotgun at the ready. "The sniper couldn't have gone too far." Soon she approach what sounded like a waterfall up ahead about 12 feet in height on a cliff face that poured down into a shallow river below. Not letting her guard down she approached the river with caution when suddenly a shot from above rang and shot her in the chest and hitting the ceramic plate in her Dragon Skin body armor!

She quickly fell to the ground and tried to duck behind a fallen log nearby before the sniper could finish the job. Living flat on the ground and unable to make adequate return fire with the shotgun and unable to quickly switch to her G36, she instead pulled out the Heckler and and Koch USP 45 pistol from her thigh holster and fired over the cover of the log in a vain attempt to suppress but the sniper began firing at the log in an attempt to over penetrate to kill her. The sniper unsuppressed shots were echoing loud enough to be heard in Newman's direction.

---

Meanwhile back in the hamlet on the other side, a fire fight between a North Korean platoon and what was left of the JDF squad was still underway as AK and Type 89 assault rifle fire was continually exchanged. Despite being outnumbered the squad was able to hold off the NKs after establishing a stronghold inside a small barn in one of the outlying farms and holding them at bay with M249 machine gun fire.

Newman stiffened when he heard the first gunshot, over to his right? More gun fire, so obviously Shepard was still alive. He ran toward the noise, using an animal trail to make the going a little easier, he hadn’t gone that far into the forest and arrived where the corporal was pinned down. The sniper trying to push rifle bullets through a log and into her, from the remains of the log it looked like he wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

He considered running out and trying to gun the sniper down, but quickly dismissed it “screw that” he thought to himself as he took out one of the grenades hanging from his webbing, it was a high explosive, not much shrapnel but a big bang, at the very least it would distract the sniper for a few seconds. “Come on Jenkins, time to get your pay-back.” Newman prayed to the grenade. Pulling the pin he relied on trained instinct to see the grenade to its destination, breaking out from behind his tree to throw Jenkins vengeance. Just as the grenade left his hand there was a crack of rifle fire and Newman fell back with a cry of pain, his body sliding down the slope as the grenade spun through the air.

Magnusson watched the sniper exchange a few hundred thousand yards away from him, deep in the forewsts to the northwest. He then looked back towards the barn. SSeveral JDF corpses were scattered around the perimeter of the barn, concentrated heaviest at the back and side doors. He looked around, noted the JDF and NK firing lines were meshing well away from any area he would be concerned about, and ran for the side door of the barn.

He made the sprint in record time, leaping over a few scattered corpses before elbowing the door open and running inside, howling "FRIENDLY! ATS MASTER SERGEANT GUNNAR MAGNUSSON; I'M YOUR SUPPORT TEAM!"

Adriana yelped as she heard the sound of a small explosion coming from up the slope and then suddenly the sniper fire ceased. She got up slightly and peaked over the side ans heard nothing more except the trickle of water coming from the water fall. Getting up, she returned her pistol to her holster and started to walk around the slope to the other side to investigate the explosion. On her way climbing up however she spotted the body of Newman just lying there.

"Oh my god! Newman!!!" Adriana ran up to his body and looked him over. He was bleeding from from an abdominal injury, the bullet looked like went straight threw but doesn't look like it hit any vital organs. Taking out her emergency first-aid kit, she tried to treat the wound as best she could by first stopping the flow of blood with a tourniquet and staunched the world with a dressing. "Newman can you hear me? Are you alright?

---

The moment Magnusson barged into the barn and announcing his intentions, a half dozen Type 89 assault rifles were pointed at his direction with laser sights aimed directly at his head and the JDF troops getting a little antsy. One of them who looked to be there leader who still had his Type 89 pointed at was demanding something in Japanese to the unknown gajin and pointing at his weapon making numerous gestures with his hand to drop it,

Newman’s eyes flickered open, he raised his head looking at Adriana with a confused expression “Hey, you’re no angel?” he wheezed, his lungs and throat constricted from the angle. He’d bumped his head numerous times on the way down and was still a little confused, “Little s**t must’ve had a partner.” he thought to himself, in the heat of the moment he’d forgotten most snipers worked in pairs.

"What?" Magnusson shouted? "I can't understa-"

The officer continued gesturing at his gun and then the ground.

"I don't kno-"

The officer gestured again. By this point Magnusson was getting angry.

"I CAN'T FUCKING UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!"

The officer sighed out loud, placing his gun on the floor, making the gesture again. Magnusson, realization suddenly dawning on him, placed his MG4 on the floor.

Adriana cocked her head at angel remark but was otherwise glad to see Newman was alright, all things considered. She then looked back at the source of the explosion. All she could see were a pile of spent brass casing and some grenade fragments but no body. "Looks like you just managed to just scare them away." Helping Newman back on his feet and put his arm around her shoulder to help him walk.

"C'mon, we need to get you out here." They both then slowly and carefully made their way out of the jungle and back to the village to regroup. On the way, Adriana began tuning her radio to Magnusson's radio frequency and began talking threw the portable headset. "Sergean Magnusson, the is Corporal Shepard come in."

"I SAID I FUCKING CA-" Magnusson continued shouting through the radio reciever as Adriana chimed in. He immediately cleared his htroat and restarted his address. "Oh, sorry about that Adriana. Status report, please, have you killed that sniper yet?"

Adriana grabbed her ear the moment Magnusson shouted at her and tried to recompose herself. "That's a negative, the sniper got away ,looked like he got spooked and ran off however Newman's been hit and lost some blood but I manages to patch him up. I think he'll pull threw." She was still trying to keep her grip on Newman's arm thats around her shoulder and to keep him conscious. "Sir, should we regroup now?"

“You’ll never make it past that firefight supporting me like this.” said Newman, his teeth gritted, the walking wasn’t doing anything for his wound.

Magnusson's voice rumbled through the other end of the line in a long sigh. Then: "See what you can do to get Newman to the village; the JDF is holed up in a barn on the north side."

"Understood!" Adriana then turned to Newman and helped him to walk. "C'mon Newman, were getting you out of here." With that they both headed too the JDF's squads last known position. It didn't take them long because the battle between them and the JDF was still going on. Once they reached the perimeter of the barn they had to huff it inside which wasn't easy while carrying the wounded Newman.

Once they got inside, Adriana sat Newman on a nearby hay bail and continued to nurse him back to health. She then got up and reported thier status to Magnusson. "Sorry we took so long Sir, we almost didn't make it." Adriana then tried to change the subject. "Any luck with the Apache pilot?

While this was happening Newman whistled to one of the JDF soldiers, one who looked like he had a medic pack behind his waist, and made a gesture for a cigarette. The soldier looked at his friend and shrugged before kneeling over to offer him the tube of tobacco , Newman held the cigarette between two fingers while the soldier lit it for him, using his other hand to quickly lift a small pack of pain-killer syringes from the medics webbing.

Nodding in gratitude Newman thanked the soldier, who went back to whatever he was doing, as soon as his head was turned Newman coughed hurriedly and moved to extinguish the cigarette on the ground. “Fricken hate tobacco...” he mumbled to himself as he pocketed the pain killers for future use.

"Holed up in a building a little ways south of here. Unconscious, but otherwise safe." Magnusson smirked. "Had to damage the cockpit of the Apache a bit to get im out though." He retrieved the half-smoked cigarette from Newman before it hit the ground, bit it between his lips and took a drag, blowing the smoke through his nose.

"What's the sniper's situation? Dead or re-locating?"

“Prob’ly piss’in his pants.” joked Newman “and if he’s not I’ll see to it if I ever get my hands on him” to himself, snorting to himself, possibly a delayed reaction to shock, or he was just a little crazy. Newman began working on the straps of his pack before sliding sideways to get out. Holding his pack upright he put the receiver to his ear using a small clip in his helmet, listening for a second before fidgeting with the hole made by the snipers bullet with his other hand.

OOC: I hope you don't mind another mercenary.


"Bloody hell: they should have reported by now." Captain Ansel Barret said.

Rubbing a hand across the bridge of his nose he looked to the large radio pack with distain. The RTO looked up to his unit commander nervously as the seventy men of Whiskey Company all looked to their commander in between doing various other activities. The team in Than Tuk should have been delivering a radio report right now, or at least giving a SITREP. Did he not berate them enough? That was a rule within W Company, at least one SITREP per day if possible. For this kind of operation, if they couldn't afford that...

The combat-gear clad Australian shook his head and eliminated the thought as he turned to the Blackhawk helicopters all sitting around in the ankle-high grass with their crews waiting patiently...so patiently that some were doing everything from meals to naps in the helicopter so they could take off quicker in any sort of emergency. Placing his arm across the top of his AK-103, his index finger tapped on the metal of the rifle impatiently while he waited. By his feet was a rucksack wwith everything from a machete to a claymore mines. It was a bit long-term but as a member of an Air Assault unit, you never could tell if something might happen to your ride in and out to get you stranded.

He looked back to the radio with a look of distraught as he pushed his bush cap forward slightly. What the hell was taking Magnusson so long to send a situational report? This was getting bad.

((I don't. I just don't know where everyone is.))

Magnusson was still crouched in the barn, listening to the Japanese soldiers in the barn chatting back and forth while Adriana helped with the kid's injured leg. It was at this time that he felt like he was forgetting something. And it seemed like something important.

Something that was sitting in a pouch on the back of his Kevlar vest...

"Shit, gotta radio in to Command." Gunnar sighed. That was one of the advantages to Gungnir, you reported when the mission was done, or when Command called for you, and if you didn't report in someone went snooping for you. ATS had much more paperwork to wade through. He plucked the short-wave radio reciever out of the back of his belt and held down the transmitter button, then spoke.

"Whiskey One Charlie, Whiskey One Charlie, this is First Team reporting. We have two wounded, Than Tuk has been mostly suppressed. Currently holding position in a barn with the JSDF remnants."