Rotation Day
Date: June 1, 109 P.A.
Time: 0715; It is light. 0755 by end of post
Temp: 68 degrees, F but warming up.
Weather: It rained earlier, but aside from some wet pavement, you can't tell it now.
Ley Line info: Old Chicago is rife with ley lines, but Fort Resilience is one of the few areas with none within a mile of the base.
Location: Fort Resilience: The Ruins of Old Chicago - in a massive hanger attached to the barracks and off the runway.
Any more comment must be held as everyone on the stage stands as one. The time clicks to 0715 and Grimm rises and speaks into a microphone.
"Second Battalion, First Joseph Prosek Brigade, Seventh Corps, Fourth Army, Coalition States National Army. Stand fast for the Anthem of the Coalition States of America." The stirring bars of the music comes up, and every soldier joins in. Grimm moves back away from the microphone and into line beside a line of officers and senior NCOs. It is from there she speaks.
- OOC: This can be sung to the Russian National Anthem
Coalition States – our sacred state,
Coalition States – our beloved country.
A mighty will, a great glory –
Yours forever for all time!
<Chorus> Be glorious, our Coalition States,
Ancient union of brotherly peoples,
Ancestor-given wisdom of the people!
Be glorious, our country! We are proud of you!
From the southern seas to the polar lands
Spread are our forests and fields.
You are unique in the world, one of a kind –
This native land protected by the Emperor!
<Chorus>
Wide expanse for dreams and for living
Are opened for us by the coming years
Our loyalty to the Coalition States gives us strength.
So it was, so it is, and so it always will be!
<Chorus>
As the last chorus finishes, a loud and unanimous "hoo rah" is added. There are some cheers, but it all dies down within a minute as NCOs and Officers reign in their charges.
The microphone comes on and every person can hear the echo of Grimm's boots as they pund the stage. For those even remotely sensitive to the vibe, be they psychic or not, her aura of authority could be felt filling the massive room.
"Second Battalion, First Joseph Prosek Brigade, Seventh Corps, Fourth Army, Coalition States National Army, you are hereby introduced to your commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Riggs. Show your respect!" The last is definitely an order and as one nearly one thousand soldiers, including CSM Grimm, salute the man as he walks forward.
As he steps forward, Grim steps back from the mic, still in salute. He salutes her and she goes to rest. He nods and she steps back to the podium.
"Welcome Second Battalion. Welcome to Rotation Day. I would like to thank our supply department for another well excuted display of efficiency and planning. I would also like to thank the officers and NCOs who helped organize this today. And each of you, I welcome to Fort Resilence. Old Chicago has a storied history, from the last gasps of the Neman defenders, to the reclamation forces of General Prozek the First, for whom our Brigade is named. We are the Fighting Joes of First Brigade. We will hold the line and we will win. There are no other options. Never forget you hold the pride and determination of the entire Coalition States. Our loyalty gives us strength, as the anthem so correctly states. I expect great things from you Second Battalion." He steps back and a Major steps up in his place.
"Command and Headquarter Sections will rally on objective Omega, starting now. All other sections will stand fast for safety briefing."
The Headquarters of each Company and of the Battalion itself all file out in neat precision. They head for a series of buses which takes them away. It is 7:45 by the time those buses are away. Godmother is the only one on the stage at this point, aside from two Master Sergeants who are obviously her aids. Everyone over the rank of Captain has left the building. The mic kicks on as she stalks to the microphone. Her footsteps resound across the hall.
"Welcome to Old Chicago ladies." As she stands at the mic, her hands at ease together behind her back, the upper-middle-aged woman looked about the room in a slow pan, taking advantage of all the turned heads to take in all the new faces for future reference.
"Hell ain’t got nothing on this place. Of course, it doesn’t help that some of those critters out there actually do come from Hell. Oddly faith affirming really, but don’t tell the Emperor I said that." The woman waits for the brief laughs and giggles to stop before she continued.
"Everything that walks, flies, skitters, - hell, everything that teleports behind you the moment you aren’t paying attention - EVERYTHING out there in Old Chicago wants to kill you and scoop out your innards for their turkey dressing."
"I am Command Sergeant Major Grimm, and it is my goal to see each and every one of you survive this tour of duty. I regret to inform you that I will fail. Some of you will die out there. It’s just an unfortunate fact of life. For that I apologize in advance. What I do not apologize for is the ass kicking you will feel from my boot and those of your officers and NCOs when we catch you fucking up. Just keep in mind that ass kicking you receive comes from a place of love. And the beatings will continue until morale improves, I promise you." There are a few stifled chuckles at that, mostly from senior NCOs and line officers.
Grimm paused for a moment and the room darkens as shutters pull over several large windows. Several large lights also dim. The wall behind her becomes the backdrop for a video projection. She nods and slides appear; the first one plainly titled KNOW YOUR ENEMY. A voice over reads the title.
"Of interest out there, CSID has identified three factions who have a particular loathing of us, and has decided to bring the battle to us here in Old Chicago."
The screen flickered and behind appeared a picture of a Coalition soldier policing the body of what was clearly a Ley Line Walker, complete with the trademark robes and air-filter mask.
"The Federation of Magic has a team out there called Penumbra. They’re chiefly comprised of Shifters and Time Magic Specialists, and Intelligence believes they are responsible for the higher-than-usual rift activity in this area. Generally speaking, they do not engage their targets directly, but instead are content to rift in a pack of demon dogs to gnaw on your face. We have visual identification available of all known Penumbra operatives. If you bag one of these assholes, I will personally buy you a steak dinner! In addition to them, the Federation has a number of regular foot-soldiers and mages. No steak dinner for burning one of them, but they do count as a confirmed kill, which always looks nice on your record. Everyone you kill is a family safe back home." That last line is straight from basic, but it's an effective one, one repeated often to soldiers.
Grimm nods again, and the image behind her changed once again. This time it showed a Gargoyle being torn apart by a pack of Coalition Kill Hounds while a supporting platoon kills its buddies.
"The Devourers: they are a group of monsters mostly made up of mostly Gargoyles, Gurgoyles, and Brodkill. Considered extremely dangerous, they are tenaciously active marauders, and they are not afraid to attack right out in the open. Their favorite ploy is to ambush a patrol, rip our people apart, and make grizzly displays of guts and corpses for other patrols to find. These savages relish in sowing the seeds of fear, and CSID believes it is their mission to demoralize their enemies; that being us. Don't let them. Trust your officers, trust your NCOs, and trust yourselves. We will prevail and we will overcome and kill everyone one of these motherless bird fuckers."
The next image on the monitor behind Grimm showed a collage of pictures of a squad of Coalition Grunts capturing a mercenary troupe, and roughly stripping them of their gear.
"And we do get our fair share of tourists too. Ordinary scavenging and salvage teams, mercenary companies, and pirate scum. Don’t let your guard down around these groups. They will lure you in with a smile, kill you with the old Frag-in-a-birthday-cake trick, and brag about how stupid you were to all their buddies in Lazlo. They have no business in a shit hole like this, so don’t feel bad about giving them the boot, or if need be, the knife."
"Of course, this is far from a comprehensive list of D-trash and supernatural bowel movements you will come across, so stay sharp out there."
With a nod, the next image becomes a plain one with a simple title reading
KNOW YOURSELF, which is read by voiceover. But before continuing, Grimm paused as an addendum came to her mind.
"Oh, and there is one more I should mention. CSID hasn’t confirmed it yet, but scuttlebutt has it there’s a new player in town. Dragonwright Cultist intent on getting revenge for the pasting our grandmas and grandpas gave them and their" Grimm pauses to make exaggerated air-quotes with her fingers
"god a century ago. If true, they mean business. If true, that also means there may be at least one, if not more, full-on, big-daddy dragon or dragons in town. Report anything you see that may confirm this. Do it by the numbers people, I like heroes, but I like live soldiers too. If you have to choose one, choose the latter. But don't shirk your duty!"
Having finished her impromptu addendum, Grimm tapped the monitor with a hand as if to indicate they were getting back on track.
"With that said, let me clue you New Fucking Guys in on the Three Rules that will save your ass more times than not. If you follow the rules, then I get to sleep at night. If you do not follow the rules, then I or one of the people will have to give you one of those ass kickings I mentioned before."
At this point the next slide appears; a picture of a Cyborg Strike Trooper loaded down with a dozen rifles, pistols, and even a pair of heavy CTT-class cannons.
"Rule the First: Shoot first, don’t ask questions. As one of the great prior commanders of this facility once put it, ‘Our policy is the indiscriminate use of an overabundant amount of force.’ Heed his sage words and your odds of making it to a different assignment just doubled. Investigations have their place, and your officers and NCOs will tell you if that is the case. Otherwise use every tool at your disposal to bring the collective boot of the Coalition to the asses of our enemies."
The next picture in the presentation was that of a dog boy securing a stake in a obvious vampire and beheading it, and then burning both separately.
"Rule the Second: Respect, but do not hate. Hate and love are two sides of the same coin. There is no love in my heart for the scum out there, hence there is no room for hate. But if you respect them, you will not underestimate them. And underestimating your opponent will get you killed. Respect their ability to kill you, respect that they have the professionalism to carry it out, and that they indeed do use advanced tactics, oftentimes learned the hard way against us. You have better support. Use it. Everyone loves to hear the story of the lone squad that rushes in and secure the objective, but I'd much rather hear about the squad that actually survives by waiting for a skelebot platoon to come in and provide security for them while they do it! They are no less heroes for waiting. We have unmanned robot drones, artillery, air assets, and enough heavy ordinance to level this city twice. Don't be stupid!"
As the screen flickered again, an image appeared of an entire platoon of C.S. soldiers, laughing, drinking, and playing cards, pool, and ping pong in a recreation center.
"Rule the Third - love your brothers and sisters in arms. You don’t have to like everyone, but you do have to love them. Just like family, you're stuck with them no matter if you like them or not. Out there it is most assuredly an Us versus Them situation. You life is in their hands, and their life is in your hands. It’s as simple as that. And if you don’t love your beloved Coalition, and the soldiers who fight and die by your side, then raise your hand so I can put a vibro-knife through your skull."
The final slide appeared on the monitor, simply saying
ALWAYS BE VICTORIOUS, which is again read by voiceover.
"This last one is a bit obvious. Make no mistake you will lose out there. You will have to retreat. There is no dishonor in a tactical retreat. Real war is a dance. We step in, we step out. The goal is to make them retreat further and or drive them out. Don't be stupid and waste your lives and equipment on hubris! If you have any questions, ask your NCOs and Officers according to the chain of command." With that the presentation shuts off and the lights come back to full and the skylights are opened again.
Grim stands there and then raises her hand in salute.
"I look forward to hearing about your operations and how you will do the Coalition and the Emperor proud. You will now file out as directed by the officers and NCOs of your units. Food awaits. Enjoy!" She fires off the salute, and then begins cleaning up, grabbing her tablet, etc.