Adam stretched as he stepped out, another long trip, another job. He sighed and looked at his reflection, he needed a bit of a shave, Adam looked forward at his hosts.
"So, what exactly are we needed for here?" He asked, figuring it was best to gain as much information as possible before exactly asking for weaponry.
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"Aye. You, too?" Everything about Amelia was small. She was dressed in plain khakis, a duffel bag slung over one shoulder, the tips of her straw-blonde hair peeking out from beneath the jauntily-tilted slouch hat; a name tag declared her to be Walewska. "Well, cheers, mate. Pleasedter meetcher, I'm Amelia."
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.
"Yes, we are." The man replied in English with a slight Harrawi accent.
"We need to ask for your passports."
The man was confused.
"It is our security check."
Why not? He handed in his passport while the man checked his name and ID against a checklist of names.
Meanwhile, another East Asian man and a Caucasian were seen running towards the parked bus, yelling things like "Sorry we're late".
"You two are reporters from the BBC, yes?" The second Harrawian man asked.
The two men nodded, feeling tired that they couldn't speak.
edited 8th Feb '15 6:44:45 PM by Ominae
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Amelia pulled out her passport, raising a hand to tip her hat to the BBC men. "You're our journos? Covering the Volunteers? Cheers, lads. You'll be going with us, then."
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.
Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did
Harrawi was about as far away from Anchorage as one could get, Brittaney mused, not for the first time, looking out at the runway and desert beyond. Having caught an earlier flight she had been able to acclimatise to the heat away from the bitter chill of Alaska, now she was taking in the people, the customs of this strange new land.
'People here are certainly pleasant enough.' Everyone had been welcoming, aside from a few who were cautious of her. Well that was to be expected, they probably didn't get many her height, certainly not women, she imagined. A basketball team, if they visited, one of the centers might come close.
"God, had it been that long?" Over twenty years ago Brittaney Anderson, former 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, was looking at a very different path. At times she had wondered what her life would be like if she did pursue that athletic scholarship. She did eventually, then moved on to college to fly, of course by which stage the whole world had changed. Over the years she had learned to as well, in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and the last ten years as a instructor. After she had asked for time off she had decided to come here, hearing about the conflict. Not that anyone at ORCA, the officer reassignment academy knew, but that could be excused. It helped that her boss was formally her CO back when America launched the war on terror.
"Three guards." Brittaney was in Tiger Team at the time, under the command of Major Krysa, having spotted the security outside where a member of the Taliban was meeting with an informant.
"I got'em." She peered through the scope of the Dragunov rifle, just watching for the moment, knowing that she would have been better off with a Light Fifty, but that wasn't exactly part of the armory of the warring clans. Arthur would have been a preferable choice for this, but she was inside wearing an abaya, invisible she suggested, and Brittaney would have stood out. "Anything?"
"No." Krysa looked through the binoculars for a moment, then keyed the radio. "Arthur, have three guards outside. Seems to be their outside perimeter. Have you eyes on target?" The woman's reply was barely a whisper, and Brittaney strained to hear.
"One. Cannot see the informant."
"Remain on guard," Krysa told her unnecessarily, taking another look over the hills for any sign of reinforcements. Satisfied there were none the Major began double checking the equipment for this op. They knew the informant was inside, somewhere. Arthur could go through, but that would raise suspecion, and the two were schedueled to meet. All she could do was follow the terrorist until they did.
"Only three." Brittaney didn't think that sounded right. Krysa picked up on the Lieutenant's concern.
"They're confident US forces won't venture this far."
"Well Tiger Team have a surprise in store for them," Brittaney replied. "I just hope we can get everyone out for the ETA, if you're pilot's as good as their word." She was capable on the ground, but for something this delicate she would have been happy to train up in whatever bird the squad had planned for this and leave the sniping to someone else.
"They are." Krysa would have said more but Arthur's voice came over the comms.
"Something's wrong." Krysa keyed the mike.
"Respond," the Major ordered.
"They're aborting," Brittaney heard after a moment, and tensed up over the sniper rifle watching the guards moving quickly.
"Pull back," Krysa ordered.
"Have a shot at the target." Before Krysa could respond they both heard and saw a bright flash, dust and sand kick up from it.
"We have to get her out of there," Brittaney said. Krysa nodded in agreement.
"Lieutenant, engage."
Brittaney's reverie was interrupted by the announcement, hearing the Arabic part of it and knowing enough to follow orders. The long standing joke about women was the amount of clothes they carried, in her case it turned out to be true. There was the flight suit, a couple of jackets for the night desert chill, jeans, BD Us, a blue and yellow Marine uniform, Brittaney herself was wearing a t shirt of her unit, a tiger clutching a globe, and khaki shorts, and as well as other odds and ends there were a few provisions as well. Wheeling the large case behind her she stepped outside the terminal, checked the time, looked for someone to tell her where to go from here and seeing no one dug into one of the outside pockets. Brittaney had been introduced to Kretek cigarettes six years ago and that was all she smoked since then. She couldn't even remember the harshness of the reds she used to favor, and as she lit up thought it was about time she checked the tablet she had been carrying for just as long, certain there was no messages as anything would have gone to her cell but it wouldn't hurt to check anyway. As she did she noticed a small cluster of people and thought to keep tabs on them, after her smoke. Tourists or terrorists, Brittaney quickly decided the former, but maybe they could give their view of the political climate at least, something to pass the time while she waited for whoever was picking her up.
edited 9th Feb '15 2:49:50 AM by tsstevens
Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours
Adam held up his passport and let out sort of a scoff. This was common to see.
"Ah yes. Michael Yu Chua of the BBC." Michael introduced himself to Amelia. "I'm dispatched from Singapore to do a documentary."
He pointed to the cameraman next to him. "This is Clark Gregson. My cameraman. Straight from London."
The blonde man simply waved at her. Both of them wore jeans and sneakers. But Michael wore a white shirt with a blue vest jacket while Clark wore a blue polo-type shirt while he held a video camcorder with other accessories in his shoulder bag.
"Here you are, Mr. Chung." The Harrawian man handed his passport back to him. "Welcome to Harrawi."
"I take it you two are military police?" Mark asked.
"Yes. We're here to pick you up and take you guys to the base." He then took Amelia's passport to inspect it. "We're expecting maybe one more volunteer."
The second Harrawian man double checked the BBC IDs of Micheal and Clark to make sure they were worn on their necks.
"Okay to get in." The second Harrawian man told the BBC employees.
While the two BBC men went in the bus, he gestured to the driver to get back at once.
"Here you are, Ms. Walewska." The plain clothes MP officer handed the passport back to her. "Welcome to Harrawi."
He then told Amelia and Mark. "Please get inside."
The driver opened the luggage compartment panel below the windows, showing some space in the bottom interior.
Mark nodded and thanked the driver when he placed his duffel bag in the compartment. He was about to go inside when he looked at Amelia to talk to her. "After you."
The MP got Adam's passport and inspected his name and picture before he looked at his face. He caught a glimpse of Brittaney and held up the sign to HMB Abdurashiabon, which was the name of the base where the volunteer brigade. He then pointed to the sign to see if she was also a volunteer or not.
"Here you are." The passport was handed back to Adam. "Welcome to Harrawi."
All Harrawian embassies/consulates have informed eligible volunteers that this is the place where they will spend most of their time when they sign up for service.
edited 10th Feb '15 4:45:24 AM by Ominae
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"Thanks, mate," said Amelia absently, transferring her duffel to the luggage compartment and taking a seat, looking out at a world of brown. The two tank transporters caught her eye; she thought she could make out the main gun extending beneath the tarp, locked horizontal on its travel rest.
Another year, another war. Absently she adjusted her cell phone, an ancient but hardy model that had survived three years without being shot, sat on, dropped on its screen, or eaten by the turret monster, and eyed the convoy. They seemed like mostly soft vehicles; with any luck this'd be a relatively secure route. Already she missed the comforting thickness of vehicle armor.
Then again, this ain't Afghanistan, she thought. She thought back to the briefing documents she'd read: at least according to the writer, the Harrawi military was supposed to be professional and depoliticized, if lacking in battle experience, and that alone filled her with some degree of hope.
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.
Adam whistled a bit as he stepped forward taking his passport pack. He quickly grabbed his luggage and headed over.
"Humid air. Gonna need light camoflauge for out here. A hardy lightweight carbine as well," He thought to himself observing his surroundings.
Some of the occupants inside, clearly men, whispered to themselves after they saw Amelia enter. It was clear that they didn't expect a woman to serve as a volunteer in a combat position.
Mark took a seat next to her. "You don't mind if I sit here? I think I'm running out of good seats on the bus."
"Ah. There you are." Michael gave his BBC business card to Mark and to Amelia. "You can take my business card."
The ex-commando saw the two BBC men sit down on the seats adjacent to him and Amelia after he kept the business card. "I wasn't expecting you guys to show up here. I thought no media was allowed."
"I was told that the BBC was allowed by the Harrawian Ministry of Defense to film a documentary without that much censoring. They're going to give us a hand with our accommodations while we stay in the base with you guys."
"That's... very kind of them. Makes me think that they want to use it as a good PR stunt."
Clark was now preparing to boot up the video camcorder.
"Say... are you going to film us with our faces censored?"
This question left Michael confused. "Is there a reason why?"
The Harrawian convoy was now driving towards HMB Abdurashiabon, now already in the main highway as they were now proceeding to drive to their destination with the path made clear by MP officers on traffic control duty to ensure a clear path was made.
The bus driver offered to take the bag from Adam so that he can place in the luggage compartment.
"Do you... want me to put it here?" The driver asked the American.
edited 10th Feb '15 4:59:24 AM by Ominae
"Ah, please wait!"
A young woman came running towards the bus, carrying a large and very blue North Face bag and an almost equally large backpack. She stood out slightly by wearing a stylish white sundress and sneakers, and she had not let the long flight from Cairo be any excuse to not apply perfect make-up that morning.
"Whew, made it. Was afraid I was running late."
Kristine Sverdrup got out her passport to show to the welcoming committee.
edited 10th Feb '15 5:15:35 AM by Lemurian
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
Adam looked at her, "What's up with the getup?" He asked confused as to why she was here. "You with the BBC?"
"Huh? Oh! No no." She grinned, showing off a row of perfect white teeth. "I'm a volunteer. My name is Kristine Sverdrup, from Norway."
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
The MP took the passport from Kristine and inspected it.
"Is everything all right," The man inspected her passport, looking at her face. "Ms. Sverdrup? I hope immigration did not give you a hard time."
The driver asked Kristine if she wanted to put her luggage at the bus' luggage compartment.
"May I?"
"Oh no, just had to wait ages for my luggage. Everything's fine now," Kristine replied with a smile. "And yes, thank you." That was to the driver, as she handed him the straps of the bag followed by her backpack. The luggage was heavier than it looked, thanks to the law books that made up larger parts of it.
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
Adam narrowed his eyes, glaring at Amelia. "So if you are a volunteer? Why the makeup and the dress? We're going to be headed into rough territory?"
He was honestly confused, he was wearing standard fatigues, so was everyone else.
The MP handed the passport back. "Here you are, Ms. Sverdrup. Welcome to Harrawi."
"If you two need to hand any baggage that you can't bring into the bus," The man told Adam and Kristine. "please tell the driver right away. Otherwise, we'll leave as soon as the last volunteer arrives."
<"Help them out with the luggage."> He told the driver in Harrawi.
"I must inform that two BBC employees are going to stay with the rest of you in HMB Abdurashiabon for a documentary. Just be sure to be mindful of what you say to them." The MP then continued. "You can head inside when you're done. There's a few seats left in the front part of the bus."
The driver nodded and took Kristine's luggage to the bus' compartment. He adjusted the strength of his arms so that he could place it inside.
The other MP whispered to his colleague in Harrawi that if the last volunteer did not show up, they were ordered to leave at once.
"And?" Kristine coolly arched an eyebrow at Adam, as if challenging him to finish his line of reasoning.
"The BBC, you say? How exciting. Thank you." She accepted the passport with another smile, and entered the bus. Her mood lifted from seeing another woman. She was sitting next to a guy in jeans, so Kristine couldn't really see what the guy outside's problem was with her clothes. There weren't many seats left free, and she hoped he wouldn't end up sitting next to her.
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
"Military uniform?" Adam suggested, he sat there, "I guess they must have drilled that standard acceptable gear on headed to a designated base into my head harder than I thought."
He sighed and sat back, now he was wondering how people at the base would be dressed up and whether or not he was too military.
Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did
'M Ps.' Observing the group Brittaney saw military police milling about them, it seemed to be more than routine. She wasn't carrying a weapon, but thought it would be worth checking out just the same. Tossing the cigarette aside and dragging the case along, Brittaney saw they began looking about, then noticed her.
"Ma'am," one of them said as she neared. Brittaney thought to take the initiative.
"Lieutenant Andersen," she said by way of introduction, "Can I help at all?"
"Lieutenant Anderson? One of the volunteers?" Brittaney smiled, finally someone had thought to guide her along.
"That's right. I caught an earlier flight and couldn't find anyone to help, sorry." Sounding contrite, she didn't add that asking about mercenaries or a Desert Bus for Hope might have been inappropriate, especially the latter.
"Any luggage?" she was asked, the case she had hard to miss.
"Just this," Brittaney replied seriously, hefting it up. "Check it if you like, I didn't bring any weapons."
Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours
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Amelia leaned over to Kristine. "Don't sweat it. You get used ta great bluidy C-17s out of Bagram packed with everyone from politicoes in Armani tae Pashtun emissaries bristlin' with empty sheathes cos the loadmaster wouldnae let them keep their knives, an' everyone under God's good sun in between." She glanced around. "True, more of us sheilas on this bus than usual."
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.
Kristine smiled at Amelia. "Thanks."
Indeed, her uniform and most other effects had been handed in after her time in the Norwegian Army was over, but it wasn't like she'd wear it voluntarily in this heat in any case. And she absolutely refused to buy any second-hand old junk from the surplus sales or cheap copies from Bjarne's Bootcamp. But if they weren't outfitted with uniforms in the Volunteers, she had other alternatives.
"I'm Kristine. Nice to meet you."
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
Adam sighed and looked back to the group "what weapons are you all proficient with?"
As soon as Kristine stepped into the bus, most of the male volunteers seated at the back of the bus gave a whistle to "praise her beauty" with colorful comments such as "She's a beauty", "My volunteer dreams are now coming true!", "My life's complete!!", "Is she a tourist or did she choose the wrong attire?" and "Whatta babe! She reminds me of a girl I once met in college/university."
Mark couldn't help, but sigh when he heard the comments. He turned to face Michael and said, "It's nothing. Just don't want to get startled when you start the camcorder rolling."
Michael immediately gave his BBC business card to Adam and Kristine. "A pleasure to meet you two..." He proceeded to introduce himself and his cameraman and told them that he's going to stick with them in the base to produce a documentary on the brigade in cooperation with the Harrawian government. Michael also told them that he hoped to get their help in getting the documentary done with their cooperation.
"I didn't expect women to be here as volunteers like you." Mark spoke to Kristine. "Well to be honest, I am wondering if you do have combat experience like him." He used his thumb to point to Adam nearby.
The MP asked for her passport once when the driver took Brittaney's luggage and placed it in the bus' luggage compartment. The other MP went upstairs to the bus.
"Your passport." The plainclothes MP officer spoke to Brittaney. "Needed for inspection."
"Your attention please!" The MP spoke to everyone on the bus. "The last volunteer has already arrived, so we're leaving for HMB Abdurashiabon in a few minutes. I'm sure everyone has questions, but can I ask all of you to save it until either later or tomorrow? My colleagues at the base will help you get settled in the barracks by tomorrow. Thank you."
edited 12th Feb '15 5:53:26 AM by Ominae
It's been two years ever since I left Harrawi after I was sent by the BBC to cover the conflict in the country and document the lives of the people in the Harrawi Foreign Volunteers Brigade. At the time, the military played a key role in defending the country from various enemies, ranging from Al-Qaeda factions, pro-royalist forces, pirates to their own hired mercenaries that plagued their internal security situation. These events began to take toll as the country changed from a kingdom to a republic.
I'd like to start by talking about the said unit. Created in the 1980s by the Harrawian Army and influenced by the French Foreign Legion, it initially took in Africans as a means of ensuring the sultan's rule from any invasion or rebellion after its independence from British colonial rule. Following the end of the Cold War, they have been mostly used in United Nations and African Union-backed peacekeeping operations throughout Africa. Due to the great rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the late 1990s and in the early 2000s, which gave rise to groups such as Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant and their actions towards anyone who tries to resist them, a number of recruits are increasingly coming from non-African states and territories. I shall talk more about this in the next few chapters.
Before I continue, I would like to go on record regarding the people I have interacted with during my stay with the brigade. Most of them come from all walks of life with various motivations in joining the fight with the Harrawian military. Most say that they want to make a big change in their lives and in the lives of ordinary Harrawians. Others say that they want to get in the thrill of having the biggest adventure of their lives or just to get a lot of money to support themselves or their families and loved ones. There is a small minority that are motivated to be recruited so that they can just shoot the bad guys and call it a day. But regardless of their reasons, they came to Harrawi to help the country overcome itself from conflict and ensure its stability. It was their esprit de corps that held the brigade, even in their darkest hours.
Outside of the arrivals area via the international terminal of the Oryaa International Airport in Harrawi, there was an Otokar Vection T tourist-type bus with the front entrance door left open with the driver missing with some people waiting inside. Two men were seen standing nearby in civilian clothes. One of them held up the sign "HMB Abdurashiabon".
"Today is May 10, 2020." An electronic sign displayed the date in English, followed by Harrawi, Arabic, Somali and Afar.
"Your attention please." A PA system announcement was heard outside the terminal building. "Please pay attention to your belongings at all times. If left unattended, airport police will confiscate it and subject it to search and seizure."
The message was repeated once again in five languages.
An East Asian man in his 20s was seen leaving the arrivals building with a black duffel bag in his right hand and a black tactical backpack worn over his shoulders. He appeared to be wearing a white shirt, jeans and black military-type boots with a well-shaved face and short hair. His head was covered by a black Tamiya ballcap.
Good thing I decided to eat dinner on that flight from Dubai to Oryaa. He looked at the time on his Kentex wristwatch. And it's close to 7 in the evening. The things I requested for should be in that base.
Seeing the bus on standby with the two men, he arrived and asked them.
"Pardon me," He asked in English with a slight Singaporean accent. "are you guys from the volunteer brigade?"
At the port of Heleg, two Oshkosh Global HET
"All right. Time to go! Our final destination's at Abdurashiabon!" One of the Harrawian soldiers manning the HET told his colleagues before he got inside the truck's cab.
A couple of Mercedes-Benz W460 military SUVs with army military police markings were seen ready to go with their engines turned on. Two MP officers were standing by, wearing Singaporean digital desert-type camo
◊ with MP armbands and leg holsters, as they were informed by radio that the path to their destination is clear of hostiles so far.
They began to drive out of the port, taking a slight detour to Oryaa, passing the airport due to intensive road maintenance work that the government is doing to improve the roads.
All of the Harrawian military vehicles were in desert yellow.
edited 9th Feb '15 9:39:38 PM by Ominae