Zander strolls through the ruined center of the village. Squeaker and Sung-min follow behind in a diamond formation. Their rifles at the ready as Zander overlooks the situation. “Eish! There’s nothing left of this village. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were blown up into dust at this point.” He racks the charging handle of his Vector R4, a South African copy of a Galil assault rifle in 5.56. “It would seriously make my job a lot easier. Alright boys. Spread out and don’t leave any hole or rubble unchecked. If it moves, kill it.”
The squad splits up and starts looking around for Longhorn squad. Zander has a feeling they must have taken shelter from the bombardment. Surely they can’t be that stupid to say on the surface. “Zander! I found something!” Sung-min calls from his left side.
”Careful! Don’t fall for any booby traps!” Zander comes over to inspect what Sung-min found. Near a pile or rubble next to the road is an intact motion tracking device. It appears to have been tripped already. “Those cheeky bastards.” Zander pulls out his Browning Hi Power and shoots the motion tracker. “The cowards know we are here. Don’t let them pull a fast one on us….aaaahhh….piss.
Zander hears a high pitch whistle from up above. “Move your asses!” Zander and Sung-Min spread out as an artillery shell comes down upon them, nearly taking them out and exploding upon impact. Dirt and debris scatter all over them. “I thought Glam squad was done with their bombardment. What the hell?”
”That’s not Glam Squad! It’s the enemy’s own artillery! Fuck!” Zander lunges over more rubble as more shells start raining down upon his squad. “We need to find cover! A basement! Anything!”
”Yo! I found a basement over here! You should come see this! This is bussin’!” Squeaker yells from across the road of the village.
”Ag...whatever! That’s our spot! Move move move!” Zander and Sung-Min dash to Squeakers position Squeaker waves to his squad mates with his XM177 by his side as he holds up a steel door leading into an underground basement. They get inside as Zander closes the door shut. It’s pitch black in the basement but the squad activate their weapon lights. Their tactical torches illuminate what appears to be an ammo stash. Crates of ammo inside a dark basement. The ceiling above shakes from the impact of the shells impacting the surface above.
”Seesh! Looks like we hit the bag big time.” Squeaker gloats enthusiastically.
”How convenient.” Zander scoffs. “Those idiots didn’t even take shelter here. Stock up on any ammo you find. We wasted quite a bit at the logging camp.” The squad of mercenaries plunder through the crates looking for some ammo.
”This is worthless! There’s no 7.62 anywhere!”
”Didn’t I tell you to settle with 5.56? Don’t you know anything about logistics?” Zander scolds Sung-min.
”Huurr...muh stawpin powah.” Squeaker mocks Sung-min openly.
”I’ll show you stopping power with my fist if you don’t shut up you little shit!”
”Hey! Stop acting like drama queens and get your damn ammo already! Sung-min. Your Daewoo Pistol is in 9mm. There’s some over here!”
”Yo Zander! I found more 5.56!”
”That’s 5.45, Squeaker! Don’t even try shooting that out of your carbine!”
Zander’s squad tops off their magazines for most of their firearms with the except of Sung-min who couldn’t obtain ammo for his Mk47, an AR/AK hybrid style rifle that uses AKM mags. “Man...I figured 7.62 would be common place on the battlefield.”
”Times have changed Sung-min. Everyone is running AR style platforms and smaller intermediate rounds. Believe me, I would be using an R1 in 7.62x39 if I had my way.” Zander shrugs his shoulder. “Blame the meta-tards. Everyone wants to imitate Raptor squad and their fighting style. But that’s none of our concern right now. We’re going up against morons who think they are more clever than they actually are.”
Several minutes of bombardment go on with the mercenaries just sitting around waiting for the storm subside. When it does eventually come to a halt, Zander motions his squad to get back up their feet. “Alright, break times over. Time to get back on the payroll boys.” Squeaker opens the steel door of the basement allowing the squad to escape the secret ammo storage. Zander looks around at the numerous craters left by the new artillery barrage. “No more games. No prisoners. Shoot anything that moves.”
”Zander! Above us!” Squeaker shouts as he points to a C130 Hercules flying above them. Several soldiers jump out of the plane and deploy their parachutes.
”How inconvenient. Don’t let them touch the ground!” Zander and his squad aim their rifles and prepare to fire upon the airborne infantry. “Zander squeezes the trigger on his rifle once he has his sights on one of the parachutes but only gets a click on his rifle. “Dammit! Failure to fire!” He charges his rifle, ejecting the “bad round” and chambering the next round in his magazine. Another click. “Agggghh. What is this?!!!”
”My rifle is working perfectly fine, Zander!” Sung-min is the only one firing his rifle at the parachutes.
”I can’t fire my rifle either! This ain’t based at all!” Squeaker can’t get any of his rounds to ignite.
”Die sluwe verdomde klootzakke!!!” Zander shouts as he toss his bad magazine into the ground. He reloads another magazine and finds out that they are not firing either. “The primers are all bad in this ammo! They played us like a fucking banjo! ”
Sudden, Zander’s squad starts taking local fire from numerous directions. Rifle rounds, buckshot, and other small arms fire. Zander and Squeaker run for cover behind the remains of a wrecked transport truck. Sung-min is shot in the leg. “Shit! They got me Zander!”
Just from down the street of where Zander and Squeaker and taking cover, an M1A1 Abrams pulls up on the road. “Ah….hahaha….thank God! We got support.” Zander’s sense of relief was only brief when the tank starts to aim it’s turret towards them. “Forget it! Retreat!”
”But what about Sung-min?!”
”He’s done for! Forget him!” Zander and Squeaker run towards the hill where the twins are in position.
”Wait! Don’t leave me behind!!!” Sung-min shouts as he watches his squad run from the battlefield in disgrace. He sees the tank slowly moving up towards him. He’s unable to move out of the way. “Oh God! No no no no no no AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!”
Up on the hill, Bernadette and Cheyenne are watching in horror as their entire plan falls apart before their very eyes. Cheyenne is calling Zander over the radio, trying to bring order back on the battlefield. “What the hell do you think you are doing Zander! I thought your mercenaries were professionals!”
Gunfire could be heard over the radio and in the ambiance from the twin’s vantage point. “We were tricked and ambushed. Your artillery barrage didn’t do shit, and now your own team mates are firing at us with their tank! This whole battlefield has turned Fornite! Situation is FUBAR! Repeat! Situation is FUBAR! We’re retreating back to your position!”
Meanwhile, Bernadette is trying to make communications with the tank crew. “Alex! Reagan! Cease fire! You are firing on allies! I repeat! ” Nothing returns through the radio. “Alex! Reagan! Can you hear me?! Hellooo!?” She drops her radio in disbelief. “Oh no, Alex is down….Reagan is down. We’re all that’s left.”
”AH! Why is this happening to me?!! I was doing all I can to be cautious and everything is going completely wrong!” Cheyenne screams in frustration! Why couldn’t we eliminate them?! They are just a bunch of nobodies!” She picks up the radio and instructs Zander with a stern voice. “Continue your retreat. We’re going to make our last stand on this hill. And sort out your ammo situation! Move it!” She slouches down on her beach chair. “I suppose we got no choice now. We’re going to have to fight for our survival.”
The twins do their best to fortify their positions with makeshift ditches and sandbag covers. By the time Zander and Squeaker make it up to the hill, they have their defense all ready to go.
”This is cap….this is so cap….it’s so over!”
”Squeaker! Stop being demoralized. We can hold off the lot of them. We have the higher ground advantage. We can still win this if we hold our ground!”
As Zander finishes his “motivational speech”, something starts buzzing above the trench from a few feet away. “Oh...for the love of….”
The last remaining members of Glam and Kraken squad look up above them to the sight of a small, drone carrying a couple of fragmentation grenades on a wire harness. A cute female voice is projected through a tiny speaker on the drone. “Um...is this thing working…..oh hello there! I’m Fio! I’m the drone operator of Longhorn squad! You all look lovely from up here! It would be a real shame if I were to drop these grenades on you. Hehe!”
”You sick bastards left a bunch of faulty ammo in that basement! What the hell’s the matter with you?!” Zander shouts at the drone.
”Oh…...right….sorry about that. That was all Ramirez’ idea. We all sort of expected you to come find us but I guess we’re pretty good at playing hide and seek! Anyways, as you can probably tell, this battle has already been determined. So why prolong it?!”
”We’ll never surrender to the likes of you! What did you do with our tank crew!” Cheyenne frantically asks the drone.
”Me? My Squad? Naaah. That was all Armadillo Squad.”
”But I thought we took care of that problem...” Zander says disappointingly.
”Well...that didn’t turn out as you expected. In fact, we pretty much turned the tables on you as you can probably tell. But don’t worry, we won’t prolong your suffering anymore!” The voice from the drone says gleefully. “Surrender now, and not only will you not be droned for my amusement, but we won’t have to blow up your M1A1 Abrams tank into heaps of scraps. I know you all probably paid a pretty penny for it.” The voice giggles innocently through the drone’s speakers.
”You….. you wouldn’t! I bought that tank from the savings I made from the summer tournament…no….not like this!” Cheyenne drops to her knees are starts wailing into her palms.
”Sister, we have no choice. We might as well this call this match over. At the very least, we can sell off the tank and get our money back. There’s no point in prolonging all this and making it worse.” Bernadette says with sorrow in her voice. It’s a shame she wasn’t able to see her sister make a name for herself in this tournament ever since Cheyenne was booted out of Flamingo Squad after their final match.
Zander drops his rifle on the floor and raises his hands. “Yeah...sorry. I’m going to call it quits here.”
”Zander...no.”
”It’s alright Squeaker. We’ve already been paid to be here. We followed our orders and that’s all that matters. We’ll get them in the next tournament.” Squeaker hesitates before dropping his rifle and lifting his hands up.
”That’s the spirit. Now just walk downhill. We promise we won’t fire upon you. Alright girls… I’m waiting for your answer.” The drone calls from above them.
Bernadette lowers her M21 sniper rifle and places her arm around her sister. “It’s alright Sis...I’ll surrender with you.”
Cheyenne wipes her tears from her eyes. She lowers her trusty M16A2. The one rifle that got her all throughout the summer tournament. Now to be never fired for the Fall Tournament. She hugs her sister with her one arm and her other arm raises up in her final surrender. “I was too cautious for my own good Sis…” She mutters as she finally surrenders.
Tomio and Emi’s squad gather outside an intact shed within the city center as they await Fio to come out with her tablet. They see her emerge with a small smile on her face. “They accepted the terms of surrender. The battle of the woods is over everyone.” Everyone just looks at each other quietly for a moment. They’ve all gone through so much. The entire battle has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows for everyone. Tomio has lost Kimberly. Emi almost lost Chiara. But somehow, they were able to pull off a counter attack they didn’t even think they were going to be capable of. They were all cautious but daring towards the end, saving their support and firepower in a final attempt to throttle the enemy into submission, despite the odds. Tomio and Emi look at each briefly, their eyes locked onto each other.
”We did it Tomio...we actually won.” Emi says quietly. “You….you all were amazing.”
”We couldn’t have done it without your help Emi. That could have gone sideways for us too.”
The silences is finally broken as the the girls of Longhorn squad break into cheers along with Tomio’s Squad. Mai fires her Hi Point C9 into the air in a celebratory fire along. Hikari joins her by firing her rifle in the air too. “BANZAI!!!!!!!!!!!” Tomio and Emi embrace each other, laughing and dancing together while Fio and Chiara exchange high fives with each other. “That was incredibly brave of you to hijack a tank like that Chiara!” Fio compliment Chiara. “Everyone who’s going to watch our match is going to talk about your little stunt for weeks.”
”Ah...oh...it was nothing really.” Chiara blushes and chuckles to herself. “I just though it was the right thing to do since I was all alone. I got really lucky the tank crew weren’t paying attention.”
”Luck? That doesn’t mean much if you were able to pull it off so effectively. You really are a great scout Chiara! I am sure Kimberly told you that before you had her evacuated.” Fio pats her on the back. You’ve done well little mouse.
”You all exceeded my expectations girls.” Emi mentions to her squad mates. “Ever single one of us had a part in our victory.”
”Likewise from us, Armadillo squad.” Tomio adds before addressing his own squad. “Fio. Nice work on getting them to surrender. Rami. Your idea of using bad primers as a trap was incredible.”
”Thanks Tomio. It’s a shame Kimberly couldn’t be here to celebrate with us. She’s the reason we were able to get Emi’s squad to support us in the end.”
”No worries Ramirez.” Hikari assured him. “Miss Kimberly was able to do her duty to the very end. We’ll be hearing from here in the lobby real soon. She’s real proud of all the work we all done today. I promise you that.”
The girls then start to disintegrate into pixels as they are transported out of the Nordic battlefield. They’ll soon get a chance to re-unite with Kimberly and meet their opponents in the lobby.
”Congrats on winning the match! The way you executed that counter attack was incredibly executed!” Kimberly speaks to Armadillo and Longhorn Squad in a lobby, which differs from the previous lobby they hung out at when the two squads went up against each other. It’s a penthouse style living room area with large glass windows overlooking a dense forest outside and features a larger flat screen TV, a bar area with stools, and a interactive pool table. The room is decorated in high end Scandinavian furniture with a modern interior design and plenty of indoor plants. It’s almost reminiscence of the small dorm lobby Chiara and Emi would have lunch in but on a larger scale.
”We couldn’t have accomplished our victory without your sacrifice Kimberly.” Tomio replied. “I’d imagine your stay at this lobby was comfortable.”
”Oh yeah. The scenery here is just wonderful...oh and I had a chat with some of the POWs and baddies you all perished.” Kimberly points to the group of people sitting at a couch next to the flat screen. A girl with a side ponytail, a Korean player, and the two tank drivers from Glam squad in their woodland camo fatigues.
”Was it really necessary to run me over with the tank? That was very unsettling.” The Korean player commented.
”Oh...sorry about that.” Emi noted as she rubbed the back of her head. “We actually didn’t know you were on the ground in front of us. Nobody in our squad could even operate the cannon.”
”That’s still impressive that you were able to drive it at all. It takes special training to control a tank effectively. Your little pale friend over there had me drive to your outpost at gun point.” The tank crew pointed to Chiara who was standing next to Emi.
”N...no hard feelings right?” Chiara asked shyly.
”You were doing what was necessary for your squad’s victory. Shame about my partner not being able to make it.” The tank crew reassured her.
”I didn’t even hear you when shot me with that little pistol of yours.” The other tank crew member mentioned. “It was like everything went blank in a moments notice. It wasn’t even loud enough to alert my squad mate. You are quite the ace for a scout.”
”Aw….thanks you two. You two fought well in your tank.” Chiara bows her head smiling.
”That’s my friend Chiara alright. Quiet, kind, and nobody ever notices her!” Emi notes jokingly as she ruffles Chiara’s hair.
”Zander!!!!” Mai could be heard shouting across the lobby. “Come on! Show yourself!”
”I’m right here you blind mong.” Zander scoffs from his arm chair. “You’re still slinging around that decrepit rifle and busted up Hi-Point of yours? What’s the matter with you Mai?”
”I wouldn’t be talking trash, Zander. I beat you, when you told me I couldn’t. You kicked me out of the squad and now I kicked you out of the tournament.”
”Tsk. And now you’re full of yourself.” Zander shakes his head and sighs heavily. “You may had won this round, I’ll give you that, but don’t expect your next match to be a walk in the park. If we gave you a hard time, the next match up against your squad would really push the limits of what you and your squad are capable.”
”Kicking your ass was all I needed from this tournament, Zander. I could care less about the other squads participating. I got my wish. Anything else would just be spoiling me. I am a girl with very minimal desires.”
”I am sure you are Mai. Whatever. Go celebrate your victory with your friends or whatever.”
”Not until I set things right with you. I want an apology, Zander.”
”You what? Isn’t winning the match good enough for you?! Fine whatever. I’m sorry for kicking you out of Kraken squad. I severely underestimated your potential.” Zander says without any heart behind his words. “There. Happy now?”
”That was half-assed, but I’ll take it. Thank you, Zander.”
As Mai departs, Squeaker pops over from behind the couch, scaring Zander. “Ag, You little shit. What do you want?”
”What’s keeping bruh down?”
”It’s nothing Squeaker. But Mai is absolutely insufferable. Be glad she’s not in our squad. I swear I had never had the misfortune of dealing with such a reckless and stubborn girl in my life.
”You two had a thing before?” Squeaker smirks.
”Ha! Fuck no. Andjela is my lass. She’s wife material I’d tell you but her microphone on her headset is broken so you wouldn’t know.” Zander lets out a nervous laugh. “Mai has beef with me because I didn’t think she’d be cut out for our PMC. I guess I was proven wrong today, I hate to admit it.”
”Seriously? No cap?”
”Yeah Squeaker...no cap.”
While Mai was settling her score with Zander, Emi can see the twins sitting by themselves across the room. Bernadette was still trying to comfort Cheyenne after their loss. It’s a miserable sight to see for Emi so she breaks off from the group to confront them. She sits by the twin’s side on the couch and addresses them softly. “Hey...I just wanted to let you know that we still kept the Abrams tank intact. Just as we promised. You two fought wisely, even if it didn’t work out in the end. I’m honored to have such skilled opponents for my first match.”
”T...thank you…” Cheyenne sniffs as she tries to ease up her sobbing. “But...it’s my fault that we lost the match. I was too cautious for my own good.”
”Hey...that’s not a bad mindset to follow sometimes.”
”Yeah but...it all failed in the end because I didn’t take the opportunities I had to claim my victory. I should had never listened to my formers in Flamingo Squad.”
”They were critical of your combat skills weren’t they?” Emi asked in a comforting manner.
”I was always the one to go in head first into battle. But my recklessness cost my team the match against Raptor squad at the last moment.”
”I saw your last match against Raptor squad. Mai showed me the live stream the day before. You took out their sniper with your grenade launcher. And your squad’s outfits were on point.” Emi chuckled and smiled. You’re a good soldier Cheyenne, but we all occasionally make mistakes. That’s just the way we are built.
”I know...but this blunder was something I should had seen coming for my teammates.”
”That’s something that comes with every risk we take. We either win big or lose big. But if we let opportunities go by without doing anything, who knows if we’ll ever get that opportunity again.”
”Miss Emi is right, Sis.” Bernadette reassures Cheyenne as she rubs her back. “We can’t be so closed off from doing what we want to do. On the virtual battlefield or even back home. Do you remember how you told me you wanted to start up your VHS collection? We can focus on doing that now while the price of tapes are still affordable. We’re going to have the largest and most definitive collection of movies, Sis.”
”You...collect VHS movies?” Emi asks curiously.
”Y...yeah. My sister and I are film majors.” Cheyenne mentions quietly.
”That’s pretty cool. Are you two ever going make a film someday?”
”M...maybe.” Cheyenne mentions to Emi. “That would be a dream come true.”
”It’ll be the best movie ever produced by twins! At least that’s the plan once we’re done with film school.” Bernadette starts to daydream about their fictional release of their film.
”We’ll be the first to watch it whenever you two release it.” Emi assures the twins. “You have our support.”
”Thank you...Emi.” Cheyenne wipes her eyes and smiles at Emi with a new found purpose in her life. “You know...I have a feeling you and your squad mates are going to be destined for something amazing. Maybe you’ll go at it against Raptor Squad at some point. If you do...promise me one thing.”
”Of course, Cheyenne.”
”Avenge me and Flamingo squad. Make my sister and I proud. The whole Mil-Sim Story community will start keeping their eyes on you now. Your squad and your team has potential. I believe it.” Cheyenne reaches into her pocket and takes out a patch with a pink Flamingo on it. “Keep us in your hearts and in your battles...Emi.”
”Oh...thank you...this means so much to me.” Emi is visibly emotionally touched by their gesture. “I’ll make sure to fight for your sake and honor. Your defeat will not go down in vain.” Emi places the velcro patch on her plate carrier, next to her Armadillo patch. “I take it you two are from the United States. Zander’s squad seems all over the place from the looks of it but if you two ever stop by in the Texas area, contact me and I’ll be open to having lunch with you at Tomio’s place. He has a little Pizzeria in the area. I’ll be more than happy to offer you both a meal and some company. No expenses necessary
”We accept your offer, Emi.” Cheyenne and Bernadette both shake Emi’s hand. “We’re not in the state but if we ever stop by, we’ll let you know. We’d love to meet you in person.”
”Likewise. It’s not often I get to talk to a legend like you Cheyenne.”
”Oh that’s just being too flattering.” Cheyenne laughs.
”I do mean it. It’s a honor to meet someone as famous as you on Mil-Sim story. Come on. I have to introduce you the rest of the squad. Tomio and his squad are good people too. You and your sister will love them.” Emi waves at the twins to come over and join the rest of the group who are all chatting away, bantering and having a good time in this post-game party. It is within the spirit of the game, according to Emi, that good terms must be settled with your adversaries. Just as she did with Tomio, a guy who she left on bad terms years ago. Her eyes dart to Tomio who is chatting with the mercenaries and Zander. His eyes catch Emi looking at him which causes him to blush slightly and look away. Emi reacts the same way. She notices Zander elbowing him and making a joke. Seems like he knows what’s going on between the two and is trying to encourage him.
”Tomio is a good friend of yours Emi?” Cheyenne asks when she notices Emi’s change of behavior.
”Oh….uh yeah. We’ve been friends since childhood actually.” Emi says nervously.
”Good friends are hard to come by. I think you get closer with him. He seems like your match.”
”M...My match?!” Emi stutters which causes the twins to laugh.
”Ah...I see our opponent really did have a weakness in the end. So sweet.” Bernadette comments.
”Let them take it slow Sis. They’ll figure it out when they are ready.” Cheyenne smiles warmly at Emi.
”Y...Yeah. I’ll...give it some thought.” Emi notes to the twins nervously. “Thanks for the advice I guess.”
Thanks for reading this far! Enjoy this outro song! The girls of Armadillo squad will continue to be to fight on the virtual battlefield and expierence more adventures. The battle rages on in their heart but their spirit will stay strong no matter what. This is their Mil-Sim Story!