Operation Coronado Crossroads

Operation Columbus, Phase II-III

The continent of Sanus, Remnant
Far South of the Ruins of Mountain Glenn
November 6, 1991/March 31, 90 AGW
0700 hours (PDT)/1220 hours (Sanus East Time)

~~~

The noon sun hangs high in the sky, sunlight filtering through the canopy of the trees, creating splotches of shadows throughout the forest, accompanied by the occasional rustling of leaves. The smell of pine and damp dirt fills the air, and a light breeze rustles through the treetops.

It was a pretty peaceful setting.

For the most part.

"Contact!" A marine yells out in the distance. The sound of nature is briefly interrupted by the crackle of gunfire as Marine companies engage in sporadic skirmishes with any Grimm approaching the perimeter.

The other Marines that aren't on patrol are currently set up in a makeshift base of operations, consisting mainly of tents. They've also set up a perimeter around the makeshift base in case the Grimm return with a vengeance. 

Some M113s have been converted into temporary shelters for those who wanted some excellent shade because none of them expected the time to be different in another world. Which hindsight they should have, other world and all that.

"Shit. Got one of them dehydrated beef MREs." an Afro-American marine grouched, currently inside one of the M113s. His eyes wandered to his buddy's MRE.

"No." His battle buddy, a marine of Caucasian descent, quickly replied when he saw his friend eye his MRE pack.

"But I didn't say shit." The first marine indignantly replied.

Which caused his buddy to raise an eyebrow, "Well, I saw you eyeballing my rations."

The two marines continued to argue as the rest did their assigned duties.

~~~

Centre of the Camp
Temporary Command Tent

The central command tent was a hive of activity. In the middle was the officer in charge of the USMC elements, his aides, and several other officers (CO and NCO) from the different companies. They were currently crouched and circled some images taken by an RQ-2 Pioneer drone, which formed a rough map of the area.

Then came the sound of a radio crackling to life, "HQ, this is Steel Actual. How copy?" Colonel Robert 'Steel' Jackson spoke into the radio, and a response came not a moment too soon.

"Steel actual, this is HQ. We read you loud and clear. What's your status? Over."

"HQ, we have secured the objective and eliminated all hostiles. I repeat, we have secured the objectives and eliminated all hostiles."

There was a brief pause before the voice on the other end responded. "Copy that, Steel actual. Good work out there. We're sending the 46th Engineers and logistics crews to your location. ETA is uhh... about 40 minutes, so sit tight. Over."

"Copy that, HQ." And the radio crackles out.

"Huh, looks like we did too good of a job." The colonel quipped, to which everyone else smiled or chuckled.

The officers in the tent were pleased to hear the news, and the colonel's quip added a touch of humour to the otherwise severe atmosphere. But they knew that the mission wasn't over yet. The arrival of the engineers and logistics crews meant that they would have to work quickly to set up a FOB, resupply the troops, and repair any equipment that had been damaged.

As they continued to study the map, the officers discussed the next steps of the mission. They knew they couldn't let their guard down, even though the immediate threat had been neutralized. They would have to maintain a high level of readiness and stay alert for any signs of increased Grimm activity.