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Post by BG Anne McKenna on Feb 14, 2017 13:32:02 GMT -5
"One step at a time," Major McKenna whispered to the rest of her team, "one step at a time." They were proceeding up one of the stadium's numerous stairwells, pausing as they moved along - sometimes to make sure nothing was behind them, sometimes as gunfire rang out elsewhere and echoed around them - and keeping a sharp eye out on civilians.
After what seemed like a long time of climbing the stairs, they reached a door which read on it, GROUND LEVEL ONE, in big bold letters. "Jozy, Crystal, over here," McKenna said, motioning for them as she added, "Megan, you and Bobby, right behind 'em," all the while hearing more gunshots and the occasional explosion behind them. Reaching over to grab the door handle, she said, "Okay, when we go through, I want us go through in a 2-1-2 formation like we are now. Any civilians you see, direct them towards the stairwell and tell them to go straight down and through the service corridor and that they're not to stop for anything. Any bad guys you see, drop them...Mozambique Drill, okay?" tapping her chest twice and her head once as a reminder.
"Alright," she said, grasping the door handle, "one three...one, two, three!" Opening the door, they proceeded inside, unsure of what was ahead but knowing they wouldn't leave but they'd either gotten everyone out they could, killed every bad guy - or walker - that they encountered, or until none of them returned in the process.
Post by MG Laura McArthur on Feb 14, 2017 16:11:50 GMT -5
"Message coming over Guard, General," one of the radio operators aboard the River Rose said; General McArthur listened as the message came in... "Merchant Vessel River Rose, this is Katran 01 on UHF Guard frequency, responding to communication request and...aid offer acceptance," the message said.
Pausing as message relays between them and the ground force at Yankee Stadium went back-and-forth, McArthur quickly thought of her reply. "Katran 1, this is Brigadier General Laura McArthur, United States Army commanding search and rescue operations in New York City; welcome to United States territory. Our base of operations is just to the northwest of where the East River splits in half; will mark location with illumination and smoke flares."
Stepping outside, she called out to the mortar team, "Fire one illumination flare, followed by one smoke flare, both at ten degrees angle-of-launch." Stepping back inside the River Rose's bridge, she added, "Sergeant, step outside and run up the Stars and Stripes just to be safe."
"Thank you, ma'am. Understood, we'll watch for flares on our approach" said Captain Valodin as respectfully and politely as he could muster, not wanting to insult a foreign officer of such a rank in any way. With a gentle tilt of the stick and a tap of the pedal that turned the coaxial heavy scout helicopter in the direction that they needed to go in. Switching frequencies to the one shared by the two aircraft, he got in contact with the pilot of Katran 02, "It seems we'll have to talk things out with the Amerikanski before we can let Admiral Sokolov and Lieutenant Colonel Valentin do most of the talking."
"Da, sir," came the reply from his fellow pilot. "They don't look like they want a fight, or that they're unhappy to see us here. I'm sure it won't be a hard conversation." Valodin didn't agree entirely, he wasn't a diplomat and was worried that he would say the wrong thing, and he wasn't entirely sure the Amerikanski would be happy if they returned to their carried and brought the Admiral and the Lieutenant Colonel. Conversely, if this was a trap, it was better that he and his fellow pilots give their lives in springing it than the detachment lose two officers.
The two Ka-52Ks continued on their path, keeping low and moving in a southern vector toward the location the Brigadier General had mentioned, finding the two flares as they came in low over the immediate area. The crew of both aircraft could make out the signs of heavy fighting inside the famous Yankee Stadium as they lowered their landing gears and touched down with the rear of each aircraft facing each other. Valodin didn't get out yet, but instead picked up his AK-74SU and looked around for any sign of friendly forces.
Post by BG Anne McKenna on Feb 15, 2017 13:02:22 GMT -5
Making their way down the corridor, McKenna and her team began funneling civilians out of the stadium - mostly ones and twos - occasionally pausing to drop a marauder or walker as they got further along....eventually, though, they were no longer running into civilians but were now dropping marauders with precise shots, only pausing to reload. "How many civilians have we sent down the stairwell?" McKenna asked.
"About thirty or so, give or take," Sergeant Dunn replied in-between dropping a pair of marauders; without waiting, McKenna said back to her, "Then we'll take it; let's fall back, everyone." Grabbing the radio handset, McKenna spoke calmly and quickly to the rest of her section, letting them know they were on their way back out and to begin wiring the service corridor for demolition - likely the quickest demo job anyone's ever done, McKenna thought as the five of them withdrew back to the stairwell - but if done right, no one will be following us back out the service corridor.
Post by MG Laura McArthur on Feb 15, 2017 13:30:36 GMT -5
The difference, General McArthur thought, between American and Russian helicopters wasn't their design or their weaponry, pausing as she caught sight of the choppers as they descended out of the sky, like birds of prey, but in the sounds they make as the fly through the air.... The American helicopters, for some reason known only to the aviation gods, had kept their almost distinctive whop-whop-whop sound, a call-back to the Vietnam-era UH-1 Iroquois helicopter and the sound it made on approach (the sound came from the metal weights at the end of the main rotor blades as the rotors cut through the air, something carried over on future generations of U.S.-built military helicopters).
By contrast, the Russian helicopters sounded as though they weren't even in the air, despite the dual rotor blades above the cockpit and center-mass areas; it reminded McArthur of watching a cobra as it moved around its' target. Watching as the helicopters landed without incident - McArthur having ordered her troops to fall back to the 'boulevard' - the corridor between where McKenna's section had entered the stadium and where the River Rose had docked earlier - McArthur grabbed her helmet and body armor and quickly set them them over her head and around her frame, adjusting the straps with speed and skill...other than the single star affixed to the center-front of her helmet, along with her last name affixed across both her helmet and body armor, one would not know that she was in command unless one knew beforehand.
Looking over, she saw President Michner and Captain Torrance - along with everyone else aboard the riverboat's bridge - putting on their helmets, body armor and life vests; without waiting for anyone to say anything, McArthur calmly and quickly strode down off the bridge and, after pausing to let the first of what would be a small torrent of civilians aboard, quickly down the gangplank and onto solid ground. Finally, McArthur bemusedly thought - like most solders, she preferred dirt underfoot than water any day of the week - and began striding down the boulevard, pausing to point back down the way towards the riverboat as civilians passed by, a trickle at a time.
Looking over at the two Russian helicopters, McArthur waved towards them, pointed to one and began motioning for him to cut his engines, using the international aviation hand signal for him to do so...all the while hoping he didn't interpret it as something different altogether...
Captain Valodin squinted a little at the figure he saw approaching, confused momentarily but as it drew closer realized from the United States issue helmet and body armor, and the fact that they weren't being shot at that this was a friendly. From the way she walked, she screamed officer. Enlisted men and officers had a different gait about them, something that anyone with military service would be able to tell. However, even if she wasn't friendly, the Ka-52k was armored enough to take a 23mm shell to it's hull and still keep going. That was however when he saw her signal for him to cut his engines. He turned to his gunner and said, "Follow my lead. I'll handle the talking, understood Lieutenant?"
"Da, sir," replied his gunner. Nodding, he turned his attention to his controls, finding the switches for both engines and flicking them down, hearing the electronic whine that he was used to hearing die down as both rotor blades started slowing down. When the rotor blades had slowed down to a speed of his liking, he opened the cockpit side door and stepped out, AK-74SU slung over his shoulder. He didn't need to remind the other the crew of Katran 02 of what they needed to do if things went to hell.
Flicking up his visor, he began to make his way over to the figure and stopped around three to four feet away from here before he introduced himself, "Captain Pyotr Valodin, Russian Navy." He had a strong feeling that he was going to have to correct himself shortly, but without knowing the woman's rank, this was the best that he could do at the moment. Thankfully, the other helicopter had throttled down their engines to save fuel, as such there wasn't too much noise from the engines.
Post by MG Laura McArthur on Feb 16, 2017 23:14:23 GMT -5
Thank heavens the hand signals worked, General McArthur thought as she watched - and heard - the two Russian helicopters begin to wind down, their rotor blades - counter-rotating blades, McArthur mused with an engineer's eye - slowing down and coming to a stop. Making her way towards where the cockpit of the lead helicopter was located, McArthur nodded at one of the Russians as they climbed out; like McArthur, their rifles were slung over their shoulders but ready to go if need be....if one were to look from a distance, one could almost imagine their forebears - McArthur's and the Russians' - meeting at the Elbe River in 1945. Hopefully, McArthur mused, our common lineage as soldiers will help us both because my Russian language skills are so rusty I'd stumble the words if--
She needn't've worried about the language barrier, thankfully... "Captain Pyotr Valodin, Russian Navy." the man said, his English almost spot-perfect save for the accent. Taking her helmet off - a risk given the situation but a justified one since most all of the fighting was inside Yankee Stadium at present - McArthur nodded at the man and spoke. "Captain Valodin, I'm Brigadier General Laura McArthur, United States Army commanding the search and rescue operation unfolding as we speak....on behalf of the President of the Untied States, Andrew Michner, welcome to the United States of America.
Pausing as several stray rounds passed by them - plus what sounded like a heavier burst of gunfire from outside the stadium - McArthur said with a bit of Tennessee deadpan as she returned her helmet back on top of her head, "I'd continue with the pleasantries, Captain Valodin, but it would seem that whoever attacked the stadium doesn't want us to continue talking here." Pointing towards the helicopters, McArthur added, "Go ahead and take off from here, Captain; no sense letting your aircraft be sitting ducks for our mystery guests in the area....and stay on Guard frequency so that we can communicate between our respective sides, okay?"
Valodin's eyes widened and he quickly snapped off a salute as soon as the woman finished speaking, she wasn't his superior officer, but she was more advanced in rank. After all, she was the commanding officer here, and she seemed to have the backing of the President of the United States. Even in these days, that certainly meant something. "Thank you ma'am," he replied in accented English. "Understood, we'll get back in the air and prepare to assist in any way we can."
With that, he turned around and made for his helicopter, signalling for his gunner to follow with a hand motion. The veteran Navy pilot got aboard his Ka-52 with all the haste that he could muster, shutting the door as fast as he could. He keyed his mic with one hand as he used the other to flick the engine starters on, causing both of the Klimov VK-2500P turboshaft engines to come to life with a high pitched whine before both co-axial blades started spinning up. "Katran 02, prepare to perform CAS, and switch to UHF Guard frequency. The Amerikanski are ready to accept our help," said Valodin.
"Da, captain," came the reply, as both helicopters lifted off the ground and headed off in an easterly vector before turning around to face the stadium. Landing gears raised and the 24A2 30mm guns in their semi-rigid mounts in the nose of the craft turned from side to side as the gunners made sure their weapons were ready to fire. The aircraft's fire control radar began looking for any targets, while the FLIR system delivered the thermal data readout directly to each gunner's HUD system.
Valodin tuned his radio back to UHF Guard frequency and keyed his mic, "Katron flight on guard frequency, we are on station, and can provide close air support." As far as was possible, those chosen to take part in this mission were required to have at least a basic command of the English language, something that wasn't entirely too easy to find after what had happened to the world, something Russia was no exception to.
Post by MG Laura McArthur on Feb 17, 2017 14:16:28 GMT -5
While both Russian helicopters began spinning up their engines, General McArthur began running at full speed back towards where her infantry were lined up at, occasionally ducking as more rounds began coming in towards her and the others. Ahead of her, she could see a thin line of civilians moving away from the stadium, running towards the Harlem River and themselves have to duck every so often....reaching her infantry line, McArthur bellowed out, "Alright, talk to me, Lieutenant; what's going on?"
Pointing towards a line of Bronx brownstones about a half-block away, the infantryman began. "We're taking small-arms fire from those buildings," pausing as both he and McArthur, now joined by a radioman, low-walked on the street, "but its' been getting heavier and heavier. We haven't seen any bad guys outside, but that doesn't mean they're not around." Over the radio, they could hear the Russians over the Guard frequency as they joined their American counterparts overhead on-station; watching as more civilians streamed down the corridor towards the river, McArthur barked out orders as the opposing gunfire grew in strength. "Alright, contact Major McKenna and tell her to get her people out of the Stadium; if they haven't found any now friendlies by now, they're not going to, so she needs to get her people together and haul ass out of the stadium. While that's going on, I want Lenka to move her infantry up to that line of vehicles," pausing to point out the barrier - her assumption was that the inhabitants of Yankee Stadium had placed the barrier up a long time ago - in question, "and lay down suppressive fire on those brownstones. Saws and bloopers on the corners, riflemen from the middle outward.
"Once you do that, switch back over to Guard frequency and tell everyone to bring the rain." After pausing to catch her breath, McArthur added, "Now move, let's go."
The Ka-52Ks made a low pass around the stadium, with the second Ka-52 below but behind Valodin's. Their FLIRs picking up concentrations of signatures close to the stadium. However, the crew of the two Russian helicopters knew better than to just open fire without request to do so, especially when friendly infantry were in close proximity. So with one eye on his radar to make sure that they weren't being locked onto by something, and his eyes on the the scene below him, Valodin switched out of Guard and back to the frequency they used to communicate with the Kuznetsov.
Their radio communication equipment however, being as advanced as it was would continue to monitor the guard frequency. Valodin however was going to use this time to give his report to Admiral Sokolov. "Katran 01 to Admiral Kuznetsov, we have made contact with the Amerikanski, and are in the process of assisting them now, sir." Valodin held his breath for a moment as he waited for the reply from Admiral Sokolov.
"Acknowledged, do you require support or will you be able to handle this?" asked Admiral Sokolov, his familiar voice filtering in through the headset of both Valodin and his gunner. Sokolov could tell that they had the situation under control, and while he'd like to meet with the leader of the American forces as well as get a more detailed report he knew that this wasn't the time.
"Da, sir," said Valodin as the two helicopters finished their circuit of the stadium. "We'll report back in once we're done here." Valodin quickly checked if there was any traffic on UHF guard, and once he was satisfied that they hadn't missed any vital information he went back to waiting for the Admiral's response.
"Understood, good luck," was all the Admiral said. Valodin nodded to himself as he tuned the radio back to UHF guard. A smile formed on his face as he wondered what the American troops on the ground were thinking when they saw their two Ka-52s, proudly bearing the red star that denoted them as Russian aircraft, and what they were going to think when they saw their forces fully deploy.
Post by MG Laura McArthur on Feb 17, 2017 22:53:04 GMT -5
Looking up in the sky for a moment as the Russian Ka-52s orbited over the stadium, General McArthur couldn't help but think of how ironic it was that nearly a century after American forces had landed in Russia following the end of hostilities in World War 1, the Russians were returning the favor....of course, our predecessors didn't have to worry about walkers shambling about, she mused as her forces began unloading on the brownstones where they'd seen whoever was attacking the stadium had now located themselves at.
Snapping her fingers in the direction of the radio operator, McArthur got on the horn to the Apache crew orbiting overhead as well...."Apache 01, this is Rocky Top Actual. How copy, over?" she said, the din of gunfire in the background.
"Rocky Top Actual, this is Apache 01. Solid copy," came the reply from the Apache's pilot. "What's the dope?"
Motioning for one of her soldiers to break out a laser designator, McArthur continued. "Apache 01, be advised; marauders are located in that series of brownstones being lazed at this moment. Switch over to Guard and advise the Russian aircraft orbiting nearby of the location and your intentions; once you've unloaded on the target, break right and orbit the area. Over" As she handed the radio handset back to the radioman, she smiled and shook her head as Major McKenna and her section arrived, having rushed out of the stadium, civilians streaming past them towards the River Rose. "What took you so long, Major?" McArthur asked, pausing to fire a burst from her M4 at the brownstones as her section took up station in the infantry line....Meanwhile, orbiting over the area....
"Copy, Rocky Top Actual. Will advise our fellow pilots of the situation. Apache 01 out." Switching over to Guard, the pilot, CW4 Jake Preston, joked to his weapons officer, "And to think, my father once flew Cobras' along the inter-German border with Soviet Hinds' mirroring him the whole way," he said as he banked the attack helicopter into a steep dive, orientating it to the target ahead.
"Yeah, well," his weapons officer, Capt. Brad Little, replied, "I bet neither side had to deal with biters," as the pilot spoke into his helmet mic. "Katran 01, Katran 01, this is Apache 01 orbiting nearby on Guard. Ground forces illuminating target with laser designators; follow us in onto the target. Once we're past the designated target, break in opposite directions - Apache to the right, Katran to the left. Over." As the pilot relayed the info to his Russian counterparts, the weapons officer took the time to switch on the Apache's TADS (Target Acquistition & Designation System) so that they could pick up the laser signal from the ground designator. "TADS is up, acquiring laser system," the WSO said.
"I got laser range and direction," the pilot replied as they approached and then passed the inbound IP (initial point). "Weapons up."
"Hellfires green, chain gun slaved to your HUD," came the terse language from the WSO, signifying the Apache's onboard weapons - principally its' four AGM-114 Hellfire laser-guided missiles and its' 30mm chain gun - were ready to go and under the pilot's control.
"Copy that," the pilot said as they got closer to the target. "Squeezing off," he said, pressing the cyclic's trigger; on either side of the moncoque cockpit, a Hellfire lit off and roared out towards its target....seconds later, the other pair of Hellfires they carried lit off and roared out as well. "Missiles' away...."
"Roger that," said Valodin as he turned his helicopter in the direction that the American Apaches had turned, noticing how it dived down from a higher altitude. American attack helicopters, he'd learned operated at higher altitude than Russian attack helicopters, who tended to favor high speed low altitude attack runs. The two Ka-52s were sharing targeting data from his FLIR and ground radar. Unfortunately, their missile heads weren't coded to respond to the American target designators, however they could still use their own target designator systems and his attack run would in effect guide in the other Ka-52s.
The two Ka-52s approached their target nice and low, just as was the preferred engagement altitude for the two Russian helicopters. "Never thought I'd be flying alongside an Apache, I always pictured getting shot at or shooting at it," admitted Valodin, earning a slightly nervous but nonetheless amused chuckle from the systems operator. Unlike on American helicopters, the pilot and the systems operator had the same data fed to their HUD, the latter so that he could figure how to either pass this information on to another helicopter or headquarters and the pilot so that he could either avoid it or make sure that it did not exist any longer.
Valodin switched over to the high fragmentation rounds for their semi-rigid 30mm cannon while his systems operator fed their targeting information to the other Ka-52. Valodin didn't need to be told that targeting information for his missiles was acquired, however when the Apache let off with it's Hellfires, Valodin decided that perhaps he would stick to the S-8 rocket pods. Once the Apache had cleared off and given both Ka-52s open line of sight he quickly keyed his mic, "Puskha e racketa (cannons and rockets)."
A quick, "da, sir," was the response that he got from his fellow pilot before they both depressed the trigger, spitting 30mm high fragmentation rounds with a low pitched staccato as high velocity cannon rounds punched through the masonry. A volley of HE-frag rockets streaked out from both helicopters before they broke off their target, making a sharp roll to the left before leveling out and heading off.
Normally they would have engaged in circle strafing, and continued firing until there was nothing left of the target. However, they weren't operating alongside Russian Ground Forces, they were operating with the Amerikanski, they would have to do things their way. "I don't think there's anything left of those cyka, sir," laughed his systems operator, Lieutenant Andropovich.
"Don't worry, Lieutenant, we've got plenty of ammunition," he countered, a smile on his face now. He had no doubt that the other crew were no doubt congratulating themselves similarly. He had serious doubts the buildings themselves would stand for much longer after what they'd taken so far.
(OOC: Please ignore earlier mentions of the second crewmember that refer to him as the gunner. He's the systems operator.)
Post by BG Anne McKenna on Feb 18, 2017 23:03:45 GMT -5
Hearing McArthur's question, McKenna replied, "Busy getting civilians out of the stadium," in between breaths as she planted herself on the asphalt, her back against one of the vehicles they were all behind. "By my count, General, we got about 100 civilians out," pausing to look at her handwritten notes, dropped about twenty or so marauders and got the service corridor wired up and ready to blow."
"Outstanding, Major," General McArthur replied as the last of the civilians passed by their position; above them, they could see the Apache make its attack, blasting the brownstones with its' four Hellfire missiles, followed by both Russian Ka-52s' with their mix of missiles and cannon-fire. As they - and the rest of the infantry line - watched the aerial demolition job in the distance, McKenna quipped, "This has to be the first time I've seen those babies up close and personal," referring to the Kamovs' as they broke off from their run and began orbiting the area. "Well," she added rather jokingly in gallows-style humor, "I did see one at the Infantry School down in Georgia, though," referring to the United States Army's Infantry School at Fort Benning, where all infantry personnel - male and (beginning in 2004) female soldiers were sent to learn the lessons of the mudfoot, many of those lessons having been earned in blood at places such as Trenton, Gettysburg, the Meuse-Argonne forest, Pointe du Hoc, Bastogne, the Chosin Reservoir, Hue City, Mogadishu, Fallujah, Ramadi and Garmsir.
In-between firing her M4 carbine, McKenna heard General McArthur congratulate the Russians on their CAS; as she fired off several more rounds, she heard McArthur call out to them, "Alright, that should do it....let's get back to the riverbank...Major?"
"Yes, ma'am," McKenna replied, getting to a kneeling position and whistling as loud as she could to the troops manning the line. "Alright, you heard the general, let's move out by sections! Section leaders, move by overwatch...even sections first, then odd sections." Moments later she added, "Alright, let's move out!"
"Our pleasure, Brigadier General," said Valodin as he pulled the Ka-52 into a flat turn, something the Ka-52 could accomplish thanks to it's co-axial contra-rotating rotors. "Acknowledged, we'll cover your retreat," said Valodin, as he brought his Ka-52 just in front of McKenna's unit, joined by Katran 02 which took up position beside his helicopter. There was no point in retreating ahead of the infantry when they could provide support, and they weren't being paid to bring back the cannon rounds, missiles and rockets they were carrying. Even if they weren't being paid very much these days.
Valodin turned on the laser targeter and waited till the KH-25ML missiles on his stub wings were ready to fire, waiting for the all too familiar indicator light on the instrument panel to light up. A moment later it did, and instantly two pairs of missiles from both stub wings on both aircraft streaked out and impacted two of the buildings, one from each helicopter. Valodin and the Senior Lieutenant at the controls of Katran 02 then continued to fire cannon rounds liberally into the building.
He had little doubts about the fact that there were clearly a fair number of hostiles, he was confident however that his flight could keep them occupied until the evacuation well under way and the infantry behind him were long gone. It'd take a lot more firepower than their targets seemed to have to bring down their helicopters, and it was hard to aim when someone was firing 30mm cannon rounds and missiles/rockets at you."
Post by MG Laura McArthur on Feb 20, 2017 22:40:58 GMT -5
Falling back by sections, General McArthur was the last to leave the boulevard, pausing every so often to both direct civilians onto the River Rose and, when necessary, direct CAS onto the brownstones from earlier...watching as the combined force of Blackhawks (plus the one Apache) and Russian Kamovs' laid waste to the dozen or so residences, fires burning throughout them....even the Corsair got its chops in, letting loose with its' own arsenal of weapons.
One might be forgiven for watching in amazement as the aerial ballet continued in the skies above us, McArthur thought, but she had other concerns on her mind...namely, getting her small flotilla off the riverbank and headed back up the Hudson River. Climbing aboard one of the four assault craft, McArthur fell to the floor, her back resting up against the wood/metal side; taking in deep breaths as she sat there, she looked down the boat at the naval rating manning the controls and yelled, "Spin her up, Bosun, spin her up!" While the outboards purred to life, McArthur got on the horn to Captain Torrance onboard the River Rose..."Captain, go ahead and cast off; we've done everything we can here...Yankee Stadium is dead. McArthur out."
Taking in another long pause, she drank from a canteen someone handed her, taking a moment to pour some of the cool water over her head....after getting her breathing back to normal, she got up and walked around, seeing how the soldiers embarked aboard the LCA were doing; every so often, she'd glance back at the now-burning stadium and thinking to herself, One day we'll be back.....we'll be back.
The two Ka-52ks held position for a moment before they made a flat turn that pointed them toward the several watercraft on the riverbank, then tilting forward and flew toward the vessels. Valodin took a deep breath as he looked over their current ammunition load. They were down to eight KH-25ML semi-active laser guided missiles, seventy S-8 rockets left and about three hundred sixty 30mm cannon rounds left. It'd certainly last them in case they had to engage more hostiles on the way to wherever they were headed.
However, the fact was they were operating on little more than two thirds fuel load. He hoped that wherever it was that they were going, it wasn't too far from here. The last thing Valodin wanted was to be out in the middle of unknown territory with less than adequate fuel to get back to the Admiral Kuznetsov. A quick systems check followed, to see if any of the helicopter's systems had been damaged, but to his relief everything was in working order.
Knowing he'd get a report over the radio in the event that Katran 02's craft was damaged, he instead decided to check something over with Brigadier General McArthur, "Brigadier General McArthur, Captain Valodin here. While it was our pleasure to assist you in this matter, my superior officer will no doubt want to meet with you to discuss more permanent arrangements. We didn't make the trip for no reason after all." Valodin knew that what he'd said could be construed as not exactly following radio protocol, but if he was being honest then he'd admit that this was where the extent of his English speaking abilities went.
Post by MG Laura McArthur on Feb 22, 2017 13:47:34 GMT -5
"General, message from the Russians," a radioman called out to General McArthur; picking up the handset, she listened as the message came in.... "Brigadier General McArthur, Captain Valodin here. While it was our pleasure to assist you in this matter, my superior officer will no doubt want to meet with you to discuss more permanent arrangements. We didn't make the trip for no reason after all." the message said.
Pressing down on the handset button, McArthur spoke, her voice calm and circumspect. "Understood, Captain Valodin; thank you for the assistance there. I look forward to meeting with your superior at a time and place of common choosing. McArthur out." Handing the radio handset back to her RTO, McArthur stood and watched as the House That Ruth Built burned in the distance, explosions racking it as McKenna's charges began to do their deadly work; motioning to the RTO, McArthur said to him, "Send this message across our Milnet...message reads: River Rose and Corsair are to return to West Point; tell them to have medics stand by to check on all the civilians aboard. <break> I want the rest of our flotilla to dock at FOB Corrigidor overnight so that we can debrief and so that we can rest and recuperate for the time being; once first light comes, we'll depart for West Point." After a moment, she added, "Send it."
Valodin kept the helicopter straight and level as he followed the vessels on their path. "Understood, General. Thank you." Taking a deep breath to steady his thoughts, thoughts about how he'd gone from Captain in the Russian Naval Air Arm to liaison between a foreign officer and his commanding officer. However brief it was in any case. He tuned the radio back to the frequency used to communicate with the Kuznetsov, "Admiral Sokolov, we've completed our support of the Americans, and we're following them to their next stop, be it their base or wherever it might be. However, their commanding officer, Brigadier General McArthur has agreed to meet with you at a place and time of your choosing, over."
There were several moments of silence before Admiral Sokolov answered, "Very good, Captain. Continue following the Americans. I'll speak with their leader myself, but expect our arrival. I want to meet with them and make sure we can come to an understanding as quickly as possible. I will of course, require the frequency you've been communicating to them on, over."
"Sir, all communications have been on the UHF guard frequency," said Valodin. "We'll stay vigilant, over." Valodin held his breath, not wanting to show to his commanding officer that he wasn't exactly feeling confident about his current role in everything.
Thankfully however, Admiral Sokolov was quick to respond, "Nothing further, Captain. Sokolov, out." Valodin let out the breath that he was holding, as he went back to piloting the helicopter. It was, thankfully, now in the Admiral's hands. He now had a whole new level of respect for diplomats, and knew that no matter what anyone paid him he would prefer not to do such a job again.
Admiral Vadim Sokolov looked out at the flight deck once more, thinking about the task that lay ahead of him before he turned around to face his XO, "Captain Ryabov, kindly see to it that a transport is fueled and ready. Also please inform Lieutenant Colonel Valentin that I would appreciate it if he would meet me on the bridge."
"Aye, sir," said Ryabov, snapping off a salute as he went off to carry out his orders. Vadim was deep in thought about how he would phrase this without coming off as some kind of self-righteous sounding idiot, and decided that in a time like this, the truth was probably just the best thing. Of course, not over an unsecure communications channel such as this.
He looked to the officer in charge of communications, who nodded to him, signalling that it was ready for him. Putting on the headset, he took a deep breath before he keyed the mic, "Brigadier General McArthur, this is Admiral Vadim Sokolov of the Russian Navy. I believe you've already spoken to Captain Valodin, I am contacting you to put forward a formal request to meet with you in person. There is much to be discussed that can not be done over the radio. As you've been gracious enough to allow me to choose the time and place, I propose we meet at whatever your next stop is, over?"
(OOC: That moment when you realize that you've been completely forgetting about radio protocol. Irrespective of language.)
Post by MG Laura McArthur on Feb 23, 2017 18:10:12 GMT -5
(Aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov) He looked to the officer in charge of communications, who nodded to him, signalling that it was ready for him. Putting on the headset, he took a deep breath before he keyed the mic, "Brigadier General McArthur, this is Admiral Vadim Sokolov of the Russian Navy. I believe you've already spoken to Captain Valodin, I am contacting you to put forward a formal request to meet with you in person. There is much to be discussed that can not be done over the radio. As you've been gracious enough to allow me to choose the time and place, I propose we meet at whatever your next stop is, over?"
Listening to the radio traffic, McArthur knew they couldn't make a stopover at FOB Corrigidor overnight...after a quick back-and-forth between her, President Michner aboard the River Rose and her engineering teams at Corrigidor, she handed the one radio handset back to a radioman and picked up the one set to Guard frequency. "Admiral Sokolov, this is Brigadier General Laura McArthur of the United States Army. Request accepted; we'll meet at the United States Military Academy in West Point day after tomorrow," adding, "The reason for the delay, Admiral, is that we rescued nearly one hundred survivors from Yankee Stadium and we will need time to medically examine them." Pausing for a moment, she said, "We'll see you day after tomorrow, Admiral; I look forward to meeting you. McArthur out."
Admiral Sokolov took the headset off and took a deep breath before turning to the communications officer, "Tell Captain Ryabov to hold off on those orders, and send my apologies to Lieutenant Colonel Valentin. It seems perhaps I was a little too overzealous. Tell Captain Valodin that he's to return once he's escorted them to wherever they're examining their civilians. Inform Captain Ryabov we're going to proceed with our original plans, then in form the detachment, we're moving in." The communications officer nodded as he went about carrying out his orders. The bridge became a flurry of activity as the detachment prepared to move out, and the massive command an control station that was the Kuznetsov came to life.
It was a magnificent sight for anyone watching, or alternatively a terrifying one. White foam kicked up behind each of the ships as they began moving in toward New York city and the pre-decided mooring points for the vessels. Of course he expected it to be different than their last accurate satellite imagery, but they'd deal with that once they were actually close enough to do anything about it. For now however, their operations here had escalated from initial reconnaissance. This would either be the start of a good thing, or the biggest mistake they'll have ever made. If that was the case, he doubted that he'd life to see the full effects of their folly.
Shauna Kelly: That helped, thank you
Oct 4, 2021 14:40:44 GMT -5
Ayita Hunt: dang, January was my last post.. Jeez it's been a hot minute. o7 guys, sorry for the complete disappearance, life got.. a little interesting this year.
Oct 18, 2021 22:34:19 GMT -5