Chapter 4: Taking a City

July 27, 1994

Two days ago, they had flown from Misera to Gemort. Arriving late, they had set up tents, and had camped next to one of the refugee camps. The previous day had been a day of rest. With the refugee camp off limits to everyone, they had spent the time sitting around their camp double checking their gear. This morning, there had been an officers briefing over breakfast.

Now that Colonel Naff had some time to kill before the company level meeting, Sword Miquel had given him leave to inspect the refugee camp, suggesting that he might learn something important. Even if he hadn’t initially wanted to inspect it, the curiosity factor would have driven him to it.

Colonel Naff had walked around the refugee camp taking in the sights. It wasn’t pretty. They were living in tents. As a soldier, he had spent a lot of time in tents, but that was with the knowledge that a better place awaited him. This had a sense of finality to it. There were sanitary facilities that were more than enough for the size of the community, but that didn’t prevent lines from forming in the morning.

The refugees at this camp had just arrived within that past three weeks, brought there at gunpoint by Gemort troops. From their perspective, things were bad and getting worse. They had fled their homes with what few possessions they could carry, they had been picked up by Gemort soldiers, and then dumped in a camp in the middle of the desert. Jade Force, rather than being viewed as saviors, were looked upon as captors.

The majority of the refugees were from cities, and not the countryside. They were used to living in apartments and houses, not small little tents. There was plenty of food, but it was rather plain fare. The women were used to stoves and ovens, not little hibachi grills. The result was a low simmering anger about their situation.

Jade Force was well aware of the problems. Rather than allow the anger to be directed at them, they deflected it by putting people to work. These refugees weren’t the kind of people who would be satisfied with leveling an airfield or putting in a small farm. They needed a different kind of work of an appropriate degree of challenge.

There were committees for just about everything. If it was of concern to the refugees, there was a committee to study it. If it involved purchasing something, catalogs were piled high in a corner. If it involved researching something, magazines were piled high in a corner.

There was a kitchen committee that was tasked with coming up with a common kitchen area where people could cook the kind of meals they wanted. Jade Force required detailed lists of equipment to purchase. Catalogs were piled high in a corner.

There was an energy committee that was tasked with designing an energy solution for the primitive conditions. What kind of generators were available? Would they be too noisy? Where should the wires be run? There were a ton of questions to be answered. Catalogs were piled high in a corner.

There was a housing committee that was tasked with designing an appropriate housing solution given a set budget per household. There were lots of questions to be asked and answered. Catalogs were piled high in a corner.

Much to the surprise of the refugees, when a good suggestion was made, Jade Force implemented it. The committee to end boredom suggested that they watch movies at night. The next night, there was a movie being shown in front of the camp. It became a regular evening diversion from the misery of their situation.

The general consensus was that for captors, Jade Force wasn’t all that bad. The refugees suspected that it could have been worse. If they had met any of the refugees who had moved to Misera, they would have learned just how bad things could have been.

Colonel Naff listened in on one committee that was designing a truck stop. The men were really into the discussion, covering how many pumps they needed to serve some number of customers every hour. There was a major digression concerning how long it took to fill the gas tank of a truck. He listened to the discussion wondering why a refugee camp needed a truck stop.

After deciding that it was nothing more than a make work project, he glanced at his watch and discovered that it was time to head over for the company level mission briefing. He headed out towards the runway. The briefing area was a canopy near where the planes were parked. It was still early morning and already the temperature was nearly unbearable.

He couldn’t believe that Gemort would stick the refugees in a place like this. Then he thought about the reservations on which Misera had forced generations of Gangin to live. They were just as bad. He wondered why it took something like Jade Force to point that out to them.

He took a seat at the front of the briefing area facing Company B of the First Battalion. Sword Miquel was going to brief them on their mission before they were to board the plane and head into war. For the first time since hearing about the contract, Colonel Naff felt that he had a chance of surviving this.

It was uncomfortable sitting there in a new uniform. It wasn’t a Misera Army uniform, since Misera wasn’t at war with Sumar or Desera. Officially, he and his men were subcontracted to Jade Force as an auxiliary unit.

The shirt and trousers of the uniform were tan without any kind of camouflage. His shirt had Jade Force Aux sewn onto the left shoulder. On the left side of the uniform was a little parachute, denoting his role as a paratrooper. He did have his rank insignia on his collar.

Sword Miquel walked over, talking while he walked, “Gentlemen. In two hours, we invade Sumar. Our destination is the capital city.”

That opening surprised everyone except Colonel Naff. He knew it was going to get even better.

“Company B will be parachuting into an army depot. It’s a nice big area with a number of trucks parked there. We want the trucks. First Platoon, your job is to get the trucks. It also has a large weapons storage area. Second and Third Platoon, your job is to get the weapons loaded onto the trucks. Across the street from the depot is a bus station. We need four buses. Fourth Platoon, your job is to get buses. Fifth platoon, your job is to capture the personnel on duty and to provide security while everyone else does their job.

“Once we have trucks loaded with weapons and buses loaded with paratroopers, we will head down the street. At the end of the street is a supermarket. First and Second Platoon will provide security while the rest of you go shopping. Get lots of really good food. You’re feeding about three hundred for three days. In other words, clear the shelves.”

“Once you’ve got the groceries loaded, we’ll head down the main street right into the capital complex where we will meet up with the other companies of First Battalion. By the time we get there, Jade Warriors will have already secured the area and captured our targets.

“First Platoon, you did such a wonderful job with the cookout last time, you’ll get to do that this time. Meats and other perishables are to be used first. Then the canned crap.

“Everyone else will work with the other paratroopers to secure the area. Landmines are to be openly placed. We only want idiots to get hurt. Take good coverage positions if you’re left providing security. Some of you may be placed inside buildings to prevent civilians from leaving en mass. Once the area is secure, we will be releasing them.

“I understand there is a large parking lot with lots of fancy cars just begging to be used as barricades. They belong to high government officials, so don’t scratch them up too much. Company A is liberating some forklifts, so you should be able to make a barricade two cars high. Fancy cars on the bottom, and beat up old wrecks on the top.

“Are there any questions?”

“What kind of opposition can we expect?”

“We’re expecting only local police and law enforcement agencies for the first two hours. The nearest group of soldiers, outside those at the depot, will take at least two hours to arrive.”

“What about civilians?”

“Search any civilian you encounter for weapons. Don’t be aggressive with the women. I’ll shoot any man fondling a woman in an inappropriate manner. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Sir!” echoed across the area.

“Keep the civilians contained in manageable groups. Most of them will be government employees. If they complain, tell them to fill out the appropriate form in triplicate and then file it with the agency in charge of complaints about invading armies. That should keep them busy.”

“Are there any other questions?”

After a moment of silence, he said, “Get to the plane and double check your gear. Once you jump out of that plane, you’re gonna be stuck with what you got. You’re dismissed.”

“What do you think of this Jade Force threat?” President Jalleh asked.

“What kind of army has more women than men it? They aren’t a threat.”

“She said they were declaring war on us and Desera.”

General Conteh chuckled dismissively. He said, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

The Secretary of War said, “I have to agree with General Conteh. Who are they to declare war against us and Desera? They are nobody.”

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs said, “That was six days ago. We’ve haven’t seen or heard from them since.”

President Jalleh said, “She said that when they fight an army, they kill the Generals first.”

“I’m not worried,” General Conteh said contemptuously. “I think that woman was talking out of her ass. She probably wasn’t even a Jade Warrior.”

“They’ve got a reputation for being pretty nasty.”

The Secretary of War said, “What reputation? They went up against a band of thugs, some drug dealers, and some pirates. That doesn’t make them super-soldiers.”

“I’m worried.”

The Secretary of War said, “If you want to worry about something, worry about those bastards from Desera. Our intelligence reports suggest that they are about to make another big offensive.”

“Are you ready for them?”

“As ready as we can be,” General Conteh said. “They’re not going to take us by surprise.”

Four Jade Warriors walked into the room with rifles leveled. The four members of the Presidential Security Team could see that the guns were pointed directly at them. Everyone in the room turned to stare at them. General Conteh, thinking about them saying they killed Generals first, wished he had his gun with him. At least that way, he could go out fighting.

“Hello. We’re Jade Force. Is anyone here ready to surrender?”

“Where did you come from?”

“We just dropped in. So are you ready to surrender or do we have to starting shooting?”

In a voice that was much calmer than he actually felt, President Jalleh said, “Okay, so you’ve captured me and my cabinet. I’m just the President. Capturing me doesn’t mean that you’ve defeated Sumar. There’s a lot more to the government than just me.”

Sword Hang said, “We’ve captured the rest of your government. Your congressmen are sitting in their little congress chairs staring in shock at Jade Warriors. Your High Court is looking at Jade Warriors finding that they weren’t moved by being found in contempt of court. Even your government buildings have Jade Warriors in them. We’ve got all of you.”

President Jalleh sagged in his chair. He looked over at General Conteh and asked, “What do you think, General?”

“I think they’re bluffing.”

While the exchange was going on, one of the Jade Warriors had disarmed the security team and herded them to a corner where they were now sitting. The sudden appearance of the Jade Warriors had taken them totally by surprise. They were looking very unhappy.

Now that the room was under control, two of the Jade Warriors left the room to take care of other details.

“General Conteh, we are Jade Warriors. We don’t bluff our way to victory. We conquer. You are conquered.”

“You captured me. I’m an officer and I expect to be treated as specified in the...”

“Shut up. We didn’t sign that stupid treaty, so we aren’t bound by it. No warrior in his right mind would ever abide by that treaty. Warriors kill people who get in their way. We are Jade Warriors. Never forget that.”