Tiger Troop grumbled as they learned that their next patrol would be to Corner Plains. On the one hand, it was not a swampy, boggy hellhole. On the other hand, it was a flat, wind-blasted hellhole. The wind constantly blew in from the sea and carried away everything that was not nailed down. At this time of year it was also icy cold, so they would freeze their arses off before they had got far at all. The only benefit to the constant wind was that it would not be raining... the clouds rarely got a chance to linger over Corner Plains.
The ops area was out in the boonies, even more so than usual for this area, with the only sign that people had been there being the roads through to other, better places, the standing stones by the crossroads and some nearby ruins. Much of the fertile farmland had been reclaimed by nature and ancient trees now stood where once there were cornfields and greenhouses.
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| A wind-blasted hellhole with nothing between it and the Arctic |
Of course, even though Corner Plains was less of a hellhole, that did not mean this would be a walk in the park. Nope. It was a babysitting exercise. An envoy from Goat Fjord needed to get to Fastbeck Island. Guess which bunch of losers got that job! And of those losers, Leaf Moondream was the biggest one, as far as she was concerned. She was doing research to aid the mission! What was that about? Still, she did manage to communicate some useful intel to the Sarge, so it was not all wasted, and the threat she had identified seemed real. Also, she had identified a package that the L.T. wanted them to retrieve.
The envoy's people had lent Tiger Troop horses to get them to the ops area more easily. When scouts reported that there were hostiles ahead, they dismounted and left the horses, advancing towards the crossroads ahead on foot.
"Watch out for those smaller ones. They are venomous! Of course, the big ones will just bite you in half, so watch out for them too!" the little goblin envoy declared.
Tiger Troop took heed and opened up with everything they had.
The hides of the beasts were thick, but quantity of firepower put the odds on Tiger Troop's side. On the right flank, judicious application of excessive firepower pacified the mob that was advancing on them. Those lizards that were not blown to bits soon lumbered in the opposite direction.
"That's right," yelled the little goblin, "you distract them and I shall run through to complete my mission. Lifting up his robes, the goblin ran for all he was worth and had soon sprinted far ahead of Tiger Troop.
On the left flank, Lance-Corporal Bonolo called in a mortar stonk that sent pieces of venomous lizard flying everywhere. The single lizard that nearly reached Bonolo's fire team was cut down by the team's assault rifles.
The single remaining mob of lizards charged out from behind the ruins and towards Bonolo's team. Three lizards reached the team. Two of them died to spear and sword thrusts, but the third snatched up New Guy, who had only joined Tiger Troop, while Leaf was working with the L.T. at HQ. The unfortunate soldier was already half eaten before the rest of Bonolo's team could cut it down.
Suddenly, a new mob of lizards emerged from behind the ruins. Corporal Adeyemi called the order, "Rapid Fire!" and the team blasted the lizards advancing on them. Private Osmaer unshipped the squad LAW and fired.
"Fuck me!" he muttered as the projectile ripped through the nearest lizard as if it wasn't there and then tore the one right behind it to shreds for good measure.
Firing again, Osmaer's LAW ripped two more lizards apart. The last one made it as far as Private Bjornsson and considered him to be a good meal. Unfortunately for the hungry beast's plans, Tarquin was ready for it. His dagger lashed out several times and the beast fell dead at his feet. B-Team breathed a momentary sigh of relief, only to see yet another mob of lizards emerge from the same ruins just as Pan was racing towards a nearby point of interest.
Pan cursed, "Is there no end to these critters?"
B-Team took care of three of them, but two charged her. She drew her hammer as they charged on her and brained the first to reach her. The second knocked her back and was about to pounce on her, when B-Team's combined fire cut it down. By now, Private Immaculada had managed to grab the package that the L.T. wanted and raced off towards the RVP.
The L.T.'s voice over the radio was unwelcome in the still after the firefight. There were no hostiles in sight, yet still they needed to occupy the ops area a while longer, instead of returning to base.
"Hold off all remaining hostiles until I confirm that the package has been recovered safely."
Tiger Troop retreated to form a firing line that could cover Immaculada and waited. It was some time before even more lizards streamed out of the ruins near the crossroads. The beasts must have had a lair under the ruins.
However, these lizards fared no better than those before them. Tiger Troop's blood was up now and they poured everything they had into the lizards, leaving nothing but bits of blasted apart carcass when they stopped shooting. Silence fell. Tiger Troop received authorisation to withdraw. They did so immediately.
That was easier than expected, although I did feel sorry for New Guy, whose name Tiger Troop never even got around to learning. This was also the first time that I have used the Troop's LAW. It was satisfyingly destructive and very helpful given the high Toughness of the lizards.
Thematically, having numerous lizards emerge from the same spot was nice too. I could just imagine a large lair of giant lizards in the basement of the ruins.
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