Summoning America

Chapter 123: Dawson Base (2)

Dawson Base, Mu

Dusk fell over the desert landscape, bringing an end to the scorching heat of the midday sun and ushering in a new, chilly atmosphere. Clouds consolidated, blocking the moon's light and providing a light drizzle to the parched ground below. All living creatures along the desert surface rejoiced that their drought had come to an end – all except for one.

"Fuckin' rain," a Gra Valkan operative muttered, his tone conveying clear annoyance.

"Fuckin' rain indeed, Lornz," another man said with a rather grateful tone. "Less visibility for the enemy is a positive for us," he said, using an infrared scope mounted on his sniper rifle to scan the base.

A large bright blotch came into view, surrounded by smaller, rectangular shaped blotches. While letting his partner peer into the main base with standard binoculars, he focused on the outlying vehicles, which were obscured by darkness and illuminated only by the heat of their engines and systems. He also spotted dozens of individuals roaming the desert by themselves, likely patrols or men armed with handheld launchers. He ignored them, since the hypothetical maximum altitude for these smaller weapons were about 10,000 feet, less than half of the height that their bombers would usually fly at.

The trucks however were a threat, and he marked down their grid locations in his notebook. He identified a total of twelve trucks scattered around in the desert. It was difficult to identify the missile cells themselves due to the poor resolution at this distance, but it didn't matter – the Eighth Army had more than enough artillery to strike all the positions. After marking down the positions of all twelve trucks surrounding the base, he analyzed the surrounding wilderness. Aside from the city of Kieleski itself, there were no other anti-air platforms to worry about.

Having completed his job, he checked in with his partner. He looked to his left and whispered at his comrade, who was still eyeing the base. "Lornz, have you found anything?"

"Yeah, Tolsen. I've identified four more launch platforms inside the base, as well as some standard anti-air flak cannons," Lornz replied. His face then shifted, revealing uncertainty. "Although, I'm not sure what these are," he said, handing the binoculars over to Tolsen and pointing at a specific area near the center of the base. "They're covered by some sort of tarp; it's hard to see what's underneath."

Tolsen took the binoculars and aimed it where Lornz was pointing. Sure enough, he saw the silhouettes of two contraptions under tarp, barely visible under the base's lighting. "They're right at the front door of that hangar. They don't look like aircraft though, and there's probably more of those things further back in that hangar."

"It's hard to tell from here, from this angle. Shall we get closer?" Lornz asked.

"Hmm," Tolsen hummed, thinking of a response while he looked around the base once more. He scanned the outer walls, but found nothing out of the ordinary. There were trenches and barbed wire, supported by fortified bunkers and anti-tank emplacements behind them. The rear of the base – that is, the side closest to the Malmund Mountain Range – was spacious and contained airfields. "It'll be impossible to tell unless we infiltrate the base itself. Let's report this back to command for now."

"Alright then," Lornz said with a bit of skepticism in his voice.

Sensing doubt in his partner's tone, Tolsen reassured him, "They're probably more anti-tank guns. In any case, they're nothing to worry about since they'll be wiped out once our bombers make their run."

Lornz nodded, believing in Tolsen's words. "Right then. Let's get back to base."

—-

Fourth Armored Division Forward Camp
50 miles from Dawson Base