DARING PARTISANRY IN THE FINGERS
WAR 113, DAY 217, FORT BARLEY, The Fingers --- Sitting at a terrace table not far from Colonial controlled Saltbrook Channel I was compiling my notes. It was then that my attention was drawn to commotion coming from a group of men on the docks. Believing at first that it was a simple dispute between dockers, the loud hurrahs dispersed these initial thoughts. Making my way to the gathering, I spotted two men in the centre of the crowd. Dressed in camouflage, they were busy shaking hands and collecting accolades. From what I could gather from the snippets of conversation, these two had just pulled off a pretty good move. Making my way over to them, I asked if it would be possible to talk somewhere calmer. Acquiescing, the senior officer told me to meet him at a base north of Iron junction in a few hours' time.
Making my way as evening settled, I reached the meeting point at the same time as the two soldiers. After a brief chat, we sat down on the banks of the river Styx, the calm ebb of water punctuating the background. They introduced themselves as Captain Solace and Warrant Officer 2nd Class Fencing Rabbit, both members of the Colonial [CROWS] Regiment. Whilst Rabbit is somewhat new to this, Solace is a long time partisan. He's been one for the better part of two years. Once the introductions were made, he began to tell me what had happened.
Departing from Saltbrook Channel's Shipyard with a barge filled to the brim with Tremolas GPb-1 Grenades on Day 217, they set sail off towards The Fingers. The original plan was a simple recon sortie, giving the newbie partisan Rabbit some experience. Landing south of Fort Barley, they made their way inland, clearing defences and watchtowers with their Lunaire F grenade launchers. Eventually they ended up near a Warden facility close to a coal field. Destroying a wall in order to sneak in, they spotted a series of fully loaded concrete pallets. Knowing the value of these resources to Warden defensive works the operation quickly transformed in nature.
Out of ammunition though and finding themselves under sudden enemy fire, they were forced to flee. With difficulty they returned to Saltbrook Channel, knowing time was of the essence. Their feet barely on the ground, they sprinted to the nearest base to replenish their explosives. With their pouches bursting at the seams, they commandeered a speedboat and headed back towards Fort Barley. While they were gone, the Wardens had started rebuilding their damaged and destroyed defences. Nevertheless, the two exploited the cover of nightfall, sneaking by the busy blues back towards the facility. Soon enough they found themselves in a nearby bush, the exposed palettes once more in sight. Loading their weapons they aimed and fired, landing grenades into the clearing of construction materials until their pockets were empty. In the end they aren't sure of the true tally. Albeit both were adamant in seeing at least eight pallets destroyed. Turning to me with grins they ended by telling me that Rabbit’s last two grenades had easily destroyed four before their hasty departure. This episode, albeit small in the grand scheme of things, shows that holding territory doesn’t make it immune to daring acts by Colonial partisans.
Writer: [PRESS] Jean Baricave
Sources: [CROWS] Solace, [CROWS] FencingRabbit
Editor: [PRESS] Henry Stewart
Published on: 8/06/2024