This is a narrative for the Battle of Arica Harbour, based off of the Rush game mode. I got the idea from playing with two friends on the map, along with a player called VernonKayKilla16. It isn't really true, but is a bit fun
Characters (and equipment)[]
Sergeant Vernon- M416 ACOG
Pvt Naylor (main character)- M416 Reflex/XM8 LMG
Pvt Chapman- SCAR-L, M2 CG
Pvt Berryman- Stg.77 AUG ACOG
Chapter 1- The Build-up[]
A pleasant summer's day. Sunlight glinting off of the water. Birds in the sky. Naylor's first day with his new squad looked to be a good one. Nicknamed 'Good-Company' due to their education, Sgt. Vernon's squad had the highest promotion rate of all squads in the Task Force. That trend would continue today, hoped Naylor. A cushy desk job he'd applied for, but Mother Fortune played her fickle ways once again. Now, Naylor had been posted to the 13th Armoured Combat team on the Chilean border. And today was going to be a very busy for the 13th. Bloody as well, but the men didn't know that. Right now though, he had a Recon patrol to do, and a Humvee to fix.
'Naylor, the Humvee ready to go yet?' asked Vernon. Naylor's blank face was the reply. 'If it isn't ready in five mins tops, you'll be on your way to Panama with your tail between your legs before you can blink.' Vernon's harsh nature was only temporary. When in combat, Vernon was the best man to be with. Kind, supportive, and not much of a bullet magnet. However, he did have a habit for picking the bad vehicles, so it wasn't all good news.
'Not yet Sarge, waiting on Berryman to get some gasoline. But the .50 cal's working fine and the transmission is as good as ever.'
'Good, let's go find Chapman, see whether he's got us our chow.' The two soldiers trudged over the sand towards the mess tent. However, it was guarded by two Marines wielding M16s. 'MPs' said Vernon. 'Must be something important inside.'
'Sure is Sarge' said Chapman, bounding in with a crate of rations. 'All they got spare. The rest's being made into an all-in-one meal.'
'Looks like we're gonna be moving soon then.' Vernon motioned towards their Humvee. 'Shall we?'
The heat at midday was unbearable. Chapman had it easy, riding up in the turret. The rest of the squad, well, they were cooked alive by the sun in what was simply a glass oven, listening to the static on the radio. The barren landscape of the Chilean border bored Naylor to the level that even the frozen Port Valdez seemed more inviting than here. Vernon stopped listening to the radio for one second, pronounced the patrol unsuccessful, and turned back.
'Hey Sarge, why we goin back?' asked Berryman.
'Because there's nothing to see here, and I want to get out of this oven, I mean Humvee.'
'OK, then why don't we ju-' PING! The bullet bounced off of the side armour, missing Naylor's window by an inch. Chapman swivelled the .50 Cal round as another bullet hit home on the rear mud flap. Cocking the MG, he opened fire, raking the surrounding terrain with .50BMG. The incoming stopped. Vernon hit the gas. Hard.
' Shite! Looks like there are hostiles in Arica. Bet we're gonna be flushin' them out as well.' said Vernon, as the squad pulled into the 13th ACT camp. The path to combat had started.
Chapter 2- Border Control[]
Naylor jumped out of the Humvee, running to the HQ tent. As if by luck, Colonel Bond stepped out of the tent, and almost bumped into the rookie soldier.
'Sir,' panted Naylor. 'We just got shot at by a hostile near Arica Harbour. M95 by the sound of it.'
'Well, that may just be what we need. Good work soldier.' Colonel Bond called the men of the3rd Battalion together. Men, it's time. I have given you, my best, the hardest task of all, taking the Border Control. We are expecting heavy armour and AT defences in the area. I'm sending G-Company in their Humvees with you for some extra support. Good luck, and God speed.' Naylor realised now what he'd be in for. An old fashioned assault on a fortified position. Without the Humvees, the chances of getting back for the ground troops were slim.
'Mount up gentlemen!' called Vernon.
'Back in that oven? To hells with that Sarge, I'm riding MG!' said Berryman.
'Simmer the F*** down! Naylor's riding MG.'
'Why not me? I stopped that sni-' protested Chapman
'Just get in the god-damn vehicle. We're Oscar Mike.'
The two A-10s flew in low, spooling up the autocannon on their noses. Letting rip, the planes tore apart the barricade blocking the entrance to the border control post. The Cobra idling away there took a hit to the fuel tank, ripping apart the men near it and sending shrapnel flying. Naylor checked the M213, readying the weapon for the battle ahead. Making sure the improvised cooling system was working, Naylor fitted a belt into the reciever, slammed the belt cover shut and pulled back the bolt twice. 'MG's kosher Sarge' called Naylor down into the driver's compartment. 'ETA?'
'30 seconds.' The convoy spread out, the three Abrams MBTs of Ingles Company taking the centre, Good Company on the left and How Company on the right. All of a sudden, the enemy lit up the lead M1A2.
'T-90! T-fucking-90!' screamed the CO of Ingles over the radio. 'All tanks return fire. Good, punch through the left and secure those Kornets! How, break through the right and secure objective Bravo! Move!' Naylor ducked into the driver's compartment as a sniper shot at his Humvee. Another gunner opened up on the hillside, suppressing the squad of snipers hidden there. Naylor re-mounted the MG, and started raking some of the buildings in front. Dropping three Russians, Naylor noticed some mines in front of the nearest Kornet.
'Sarge, mines at 12 o'clock!' shouted Naylor. Not hearing, Vernon plowed straight into one. A huge explosion ripped the front of the Humvee off, sending the back end flying. Naylor ducked down as the car toppled over, almost crushing his head. The squad disembarked, upside down, and very disorientated.
'Good spot soldier,' spluttered Vernon over the gunfire. Naylor extricated himself from the wreck, pulling his M416 with him. Pulling the charging handle, Naylor didn't realise something was wrong. He fired. The gun blew up in his face, cracking the protective goggles and ripping his shirt.
'Gawd-dammit!' shouted Naylor. Vernon pulled the goggles off of Naylor's face.
'You're OK. Take my pistol, I'll find you something.' Vernon handed Naylor his M9. 'Lets go!' The squad started out towards the Kornets. A Russian appeared round a corner. Naylor shot his face. Vernon followed up, hitting the Russian's back with a volley of bullets. 'Leave him, we gotta go!' Vernon ducked behind an abandoned Kornet. Three other soldiers were cowering there, one was wounded, the other two scared stiff.
'Hey Private,' shouted Naylor. 'You using that?' Naylor motioned to the XM8 LMG by the wounded soldier's hand.
'Nope. Take it if you want it.' Naylor did. The weapon felt odd to Naylor, but at least it was a gun that worked. Pulling back the bolt, Naylor lined up with a Kornet gunner. He pulled iron, launching 8 bullets towards the Russian. He buckled, letting go of the Kornet as a missile launched. Naylor watched as the missile flew upwards, and then speared down into the open hatch of a T-90. The tank exploded into a ball of flame, the turret smashing into a wall near Objective Alpha. The wall caved in, taking the objective with it.
'Ingles Actual, this is Good 2-Echo. Objective Alpha is down, repeat, Objective Alpha is down' said Vernon over the radio.
'What? How did that happen?' replied Ingles Actual.
'Naylor took down a Ru-' BANG! An explosion in the direction of Objective Bravo blocked out all sound. 'Sir, looks like How got Bravo.'
'Great! Ingles Actual to all units, both objectives are down and we're rolling out to the town. Let's go!'
Chapter 3- The Town[]
Naylor realised now how lucky he was. With the border post secure, the men of the 2nd Battalion moved up to the town in the valley. From his perch in a guard tower, Naylor watched as the 2nd Battalion charged headlong into the town, Abrams out in front.
'Sarge, you think they got mines in the town?' asked Berryman
Hell yeah son. They got mines all right.' An almighty bang sounded from the town. The M1A2 in the van of the attack had hit a string of mines, exploded, and taken the nearest platoon with it. In an instant, the 2nd Battalion had lost 30 soldiers, and it hadn't even reached the town. The rest of the battalion went to ground, the tanks withdrawing to a safe position. The staccato rythym of 12.7mm MGs blocked out the screams of the wounded men. The 2nd's sniper team worked their rifles, and called in a mass barrage of 120mm mortars, obliterating the enemy outer defences, sending the Russian gunners running.
'Ain't there something we can do?' asked Chapman. 'Something like using AT-4s to take out enemy emplacements? I would use the M2, but I've only one round spare'
'Not really, we're waiting for the 2nd to clear the town and the bridge before we hit the port facilities as one whole unit.'
'Hey Sarge,' called Berryman from the Russian armoury. 'I gotta stash of RPGs here! And some random pistol with bullets like a shotgun!'
'Naylor, check it out.' Naylor walked over to Berryman, who was inspecting the pistol.
'Look at this mate. It's wierd.' Berryman pulled the trigger, shooting a red ball at the wall. 'Doesn't do any damage at all!'
'Nah Berry, it isn't. That's a tracer gun. You can use them to guide RPGs into a target.'
'Sweet! Shall we give it a try?' The two soldiers grabbed a handful of RPGs and the tracer gun, and trudged over to the squad. 'Sarge. We think we have a way to help the 2nd.'
'This should be fun' muttered Vernon. Each member shouldered a loaded RPG, while Naylor shot a tracer at one of the Russain MGs.
'Right, now aim at that tracer and wait for 30 seconds' said Naylor. The squad aimed and waited. 'Now aim away, and squeeze on my 1. 3...2...1, let rip!' 4 RPGs flew out, angled back, flew straight towards the tracer and smashed into the building. Masonry and wood showered all over the Russians, who scattered. Another M1A2 braved the main road, driving into the town. Several US soldiers followed, guns blazing. The Russians tried to man the Kornets at the far end of town, but sniper fire drove them back.
'Good Company, we need you to reinforce the 2nd. They've taking heavy casualties in the town, over a platoon dead and more than 20 wounded' radioed Ingles Actual. Command knew that the 2nd was going to be taking even more casualties on the exposed bridge, so they were sending Good Company in to reinforce them.
'Good Company this is Good Actual. We're going to take the bridge at full pelt, so mount your Humvees.' Vernon found an empty Humvee, and Naylor mounted the MG. It was brand new, but without the essential cooling system that the rest had.
'Sarge, I havn't got a cooling system' shouted Naylor as the Humvees took off down the hill. 'SERGEANT!'
Chapter 4- The Bridge[]
Vernon drove round the south of the town, keeping the Humvee out of sight. The rest of Good drove down the side road to the north, where the Engineers had cleared out the Russian mines, and also where the fire was the heaviest. Vernon told Naylor to hold fire, so they would be able to sneak up on the Russian troops. How Vernon planned to do that in a Humvee with the noisiest gear change this side of a working Austin Metro. Berryman scanned the buildings with his AUG, making sure no-one got near to take the Humvee out.
'Berry, you sure there's anyone here?' asked Naylor.
'Could be stragglers' said Chapman. Vernon cut the engine suddenly. The squad jumped at the silence.
'Berry, Chapman, check that house out. Take your time. Be thorough.' The two soldiers dismounted, and crept towards the house. Vernon's voice didn't sound right.
'Why d'ya do that Sarge?' inquired Naylor.
'Because, because, I dunno' replied Vernon. 'I thought I saw a Russian in there, but it may just be me.'
'Sarge,' called Chapman. 'It's clear. We better get moving, the 2nd have set charges at objective Alpha already.'