Post by Sen on Nov 25, 2023 20:07:51 GMT -5
"Name: Sen. Age: thirteen? Boy; don't you know the minimum age to enlist is eighteen? You might be big for your age but you're not fooling me. Come back in five years and maybe we'll have something for you." The grizzled Colonel had no time for Sen's antics, as eager as the young Tuffle was to prove himself. Already he had gained a name for himself amongst the barracks, showing up for recruitment every year since he was ten years old.
Even at his age now he was as big as most fully grown Tuffles would have been, though his face gave away his true age. "Sir! I've come to serve my nation against our greatest threat, Sir! All I need is an opportunity and I'll prove my worth. Sir!" The Colonel's badge bore the name Marion, but Sen knew better than to call him that. "You don't know the first goddamned thing about service, boy. Now get the Hell out of here before I decide to contact your parents!"
The Colonel wanted no more part of Sen; before the young Tuffle could get in another word he was already on his way out, with a gaggle of new recruits following along behind him. Sen didn't need to fear his threats; the Tuffle's parents died when he was young, or so he was told. He was raised in the kind of orphanage that didn't much care to look over their young so long as the government paychecks kept coming in. Sen was free to do as he pleased.
And today? Today he was pleased to be a solider, whether it was through official means or otherwise. He knew he had what it took to get there; he just needed the opportunity to prove himself. Doing things alone might be a little tough, but thankfully he wasn't the only one who was rejected by the Colonel today.
There were three other boys with him today; he called them boys though in truth they were all much older than he was, even if their bodies appeared less matured. There was Raza, who was an overweight Tuffle pushed into the military by his overbearing father in the hopes that service might straighten him out a it. Next was Cao, who like Sen was looking for an opportunity to serve his nation. Problem was that he failed the medical test for his vision; he couldn't hit Saiyan even if he had his hands on one. Finally there was Moya, who had a bit of a mean streak about him. A loose cannon that couldn't be trusted by the higher ups.
Before the trio could leave Sen had blocked off the entrance and learnt all of their stories. His 'questions' were practically an interrogation, but all four of them were desperate to prove themselves worthy of the military... well, three of them were. Raza didn't much want to press forward having already been officially rejected, but he was roped into things against his will. If the Colonel didn't think he could make a man out of Raza then that just another thing Sen would use to prove him wrong.
"Alright. Let's get one thing straight: The Colonel doesn't think we're good enough for him? Well tonight we're going to prove him wrong. You better be all prepared for what's coming next, because tonight we go big. Understand? We're going to get their attention, and we're going to find out place in the military. Is that understood?" The three looked at each other before two responded. "Understood." Said Moya. "Understood." Said Cao. "Uh... ah! Understood!" Said Raza, after a sharp elbow from Moya.
"Good. But before we continue we should head somewhere a little more private; I've got a place we can use." Sen lead the boys out of the recruitment site and into the disputed territory. The place in question was only a few hundred feet outside of Tuffle territory, but even that was enough to get Raza riled up again.
"So, uh... where is it that you're taking us again." Sen stopped, before crouching down and dusting away at a small metal hatch beneath their feet. "A bunker. What else? I found a set of coordinates written on one of the walls at my orphanage. One day I decided to follow them and it took me here. Not sure who it belongs to, but I've never known anyone else to come out here before. It was fully stocked with supplies the first time I opened her up."
Sen often wondered who it was the bunker once belonged to. Someone must have left those coordinates on the wall, yet no one seemed a likely candidate, and no one else barring him ever went out there. It was a question that deeply frustrated the young Tuffle, but it wasn't one likely to be solved any time soon.
Sen entered in the combination and popped the vault hatch open, before climbing down while the others followed suite. Once in doors he ushered the others into what he liked to call the operation room where on the table lay blueprints. "Gather round and take a good look at what's in front of you. Look familiar? I'm guessing not. About ten clicks south of here there's a Saiyan encampment within the ruins of some old village. They've been doing their best to try and keep it looking deserted, but they've not been doing good enough."
Sen took a marker and jotted down a few different spots on the map. "We're going to hit them tonight and overwhelm them. Once we capture then soldiers we'll be able to install a Tuffle garrison within their infrastructure, and once word hits the brass there'll be no way they can deny us." Moya looked excited, while Cao had his eyes practically on the paper as he attempted to decipher what was in front of him. Meanwhile Raza looked nervous, but Sen had important plans for them all.
"Don't wet yourself now, Raza. I can tell that you've not got the stomach for close quarters combat. I want you up here." Sen pointed to one of the crosses he had placed down, located a top a cliff overlooking the outpost. "You'll be on the sniper. Far away means you're in less danger, and if things go poorly then you'll have plenty of time to get away. I've been watching them for a few weeks now and have their patrols well known." Sen handed Raza a small piece of paper. "I want you to leave between these hours and get yourself settled."
Moving back over to the blueprint, Sen shifted his focus to a different cross. "Cao, let's face it: unless the enemy is within a foot of your eyes you're not going to do us any good. You'll be a close range fighter, so you'll be wanting this." Moving over to a small crate, Sen retrieved a large dagger and handed it over to the boy. "Military grade material. The Saiyans in this outpost have gotten a bit too... comfortable in their outpost. They don't believe that anyone knows about them, so often they don't even wear armor. You'll slice right through them."
Sen moved his finger over to the final cross. "You'll be our 'distraction expert' Moya. I want you armed with explosives that are to be detonated right over here." Sen tapped down three times on the cross. "It'll pull the patrol away from Raza and right into Cao who can take them out. It'll also provide an opening right here." Sen drew one final cross down over the center of the outpost. "The command center. The chiefs will let the grunts check out any noises, so I'll deal with whoever's left within by myself."
The instructions were clear, and his men understood their assignments. Raza was the first to head out, after being given a sniper put together by Sen. From afar the young soldiers watch him climb up the peak and get into position, albeit rather slowly. "Alright. Now that he's set up we have about... an hour before the patrol is supposed to head up there. Moya? You head out next." He might have instructed the man to take hold of some explosives, but he had already stuffed into his rucksack as many as it would hold.
Again using their position the two remaining Tuffles watched as Moya moved into his position, leaving nothing left for them to do but move. About halfway over to the outpost the two could hear the sound of a large explosion nearby. "Shit. What the Hell was that?" The two rushed forward and saw that Moya was unable to contain himself any longer; he was lobbing around grenades all over the place, practically operating as a mortar.
"That fool..." Looking over to the ridge Sen saw that the Saiyans who were supposedly to patrol were now rushing down in the direction of the explosives. Moya had moved too early, meaning that Cao wasn't in position to take the guards out which left things on Raza. Sen would have preferred not to put that weight on his shoulders, but the man was given a gun for a reason; time to hope that he could put it to good use. "Damnit. Alright... you follow me to the command center. Raza will cover us."
Sen advanced first, pushing forward through the outpost's thin line of defense that lay on the outside. The downside of trying to lay low like this was that any sort of advanced defenses would bring suspicion down upon you, so the Saiyans inside had to keep things fairly light. That worked to Sen's advantage as there was only a tattered wall with a miniscule layering of barded wire that he could easily maneuver past. From there it was a simple trek to the command center.
Or it would have been, if the six Saiyans hadn't been standing in his way. There were three Saiyans to a patrol, with two patrolling units in total. For some reason one of the units had taken the long away around which Sen hadn't been expecting, leaving him out in the open and heavily outnumbered. Even with Cao at his side they still had a strong advantage.
That's when a heavy shot coming from the west rung through their ears. Raza had finally found his courage, piercing one of the Saiyan's skulls with his sniper and rattling the others. Cao moved forward from there, tumbling with two Saiyans which left three for Sen. Still outnumbered, but that was fine with him. The Saiyans thought highly of themselves, but with his strength he'd be able to handle three lower level Saiyans any day of the week.
The first was swept off his feet with a throw from Sen, before a second was hoisted and and thrown down on top, before the Tuffle drove his fist through each of them. The third was middle class warrior, and required a little more effort on Sen's part. The two engaged in a melee, throwing strikes and forth without and clear advantage. Eventually Sen was able to overpower him though, taking advantage of his lack of armor by throwing him back onto a piece of his own outer defense.
As Sen predicted, the overconfident Saiyans had expected their grunts to be able to handle any disturbances, but they had failed. Cao had dealt with his own two Saiyans and had returned to Sen while Moya was finally done making a fool of himself and had run over to join them. When he did so Sen grabbed him by the collar and gave him a slap. "If you ever do anything so stupid again you'll receive much more than a slap, understand?" The Tuffle nodded in silence.
"Good. Now lets take care of what's left, shall we?" The trio had the command fort surrounded, while Raza provided cover from above. "There'll be at least one command officer inside. Probably an elite if I had to guess, though I suppose for a place like this they may have left it in the hands of a mid class Saiyan. By now they would have realized that their own grunts have failed, which means they'll be expecting us. Are you ready?"
The other Tuffles nodded in approval, giving Sen the signal to push the door open. Inside lay a single Saiyan solider, bearing the elite's signature armor. He didn't look very prepared for a fight; in fact the man was so old that it was a wonder he could even stand. Moya and Cao looked at Sen in confusion, wondering what it was they should do next. Sen left them out of the predicament, charging the Saiyan down before he could even react and delivering a fatal blow to the throat.
The old man collapsed and writhed for a few seconds before expiring. Cao and Moya again looked at each other in confusion, but Sen was feeling quite clear right now. The mission was a success, and the Tuffle government would be surely happy about what they had accomplished. "Cao: Go to Raza and pull him down from his ridge. Bring him to the center and guard it with him. Moya will come with me back to Hatchi. We'll return with reinforcements... and our ranks."
WC: 2,219
Even at his age now he was as big as most fully grown Tuffles would have been, though his face gave away his true age. "Sir! I've come to serve my nation against our greatest threat, Sir! All I need is an opportunity and I'll prove my worth. Sir!" The Colonel's badge bore the name Marion, but Sen knew better than to call him that. "You don't know the first goddamned thing about service, boy. Now get the Hell out of here before I decide to contact your parents!"
The Colonel wanted no more part of Sen; before the young Tuffle could get in another word he was already on his way out, with a gaggle of new recruits following along behind him. Sen didn't need to fear his threats; the Tuffle's parents died when he was young, or so he was told. He was raised in the kind of orphanage that didn't much care to look over their young so long as the government paychecks kept coming in. Sen was free to do as he pleased.
And today? Today he was pleased to be a solider, whether it was through official means or otherwise. He knew he had what it took to get there; he just needed the opportunity to prove himself. Doing things alone might be a little tough, but thankfully he wasn't the only one who was rejected by the Colonel today.
There were three other boys with him today; he called them boys though in truth they were all much older than he was, even if their bodies appeared less matured. There was Raza, who was an overweight Tuffle pushed into the military by his overbearing father in the hopes that service might straighten him out a it. Next was Cao, who like Sen was looking for an opportunity to serve his nation. Problem was that he failed the medical test for his vision; he couldn't hit Saiyan even if he had his hands on one. Finally there was Moya, who had a bit of a mean streak about him. A loose cannon that couldn't be trusted by the higher ups.
Before the trio could leave Sen had blocked off the entrance and learnt all of their stories. His 'questions' were practically an interrogation, but all four of them were desperate to prove themselves worthy of the military... well, three of them were. Raza didn't much want to press forward having already been officially rejected, but he was roped into things against his will. If the Colonel didn't think he could make a man out of Raza then that just another thing Sen would use to prove him wrong.
"Alright. Let's get one thing straight: The Colonel doesn't think we're good enough for him? Well tonight we're going to prove him wrong. You better be all prepared for what's coming next, because tonight we go big. Understand? We're going to get their attention, and we're going to find out place in the military. Is that understood?" The three looked at each other before two responded. "Understood." Said Moya. "Understood." Said Cao. "Uh... ah! Understood!" Said Raza, after a sharp elbow from Moya.
"Good. But before we continue we should head somewhere a little more private; I've got a place we can use." Sen lead the boys out of the recruitment site and into the disputed territory. The place in question was only a few hundred feet outside of Tuffle territory, but even that was enough to get Raza riled up again.
"So, uh... where is it that you're taking us again." Sen stopped, before crouching down and dusting away at a small metal hatch beneath their feet. "A bunker. What else? I found a set of coordinates written on one of the walls at my orphanage. One day I decided to follow them and it took me here. Not sure who it belongs to, but I've never known anyone else to come out here before. It was fully stocked with supplies the first time I opened her up."
Sen often wondered who it was the bunker once belonged to. Someone must have left those coordinates on the wall, yet no one seemed a likely candidate, and no one else barring him ever went out there. It was a question that deeply frustrated the young Tuffle, but it wasn't one likely to be solved any time soon.
Sen entered in the combination and popped the vault hatch open, before climbing down while the others followed suite. Once in doors he ushered the others into what he liked to call the operation room where on the table lay blueprints. "Gather round and take a good look at what's in front of you. Look familiar? I'm guessing not. About ten clicks south of here there's a Saiyan encampment within the ruins of some old village. They've been doing their best to try and keep it looking deserted, but they've not been doing good enough."
Sen took a marker and jotted down a few different spots on the map. "We're going to hit them tonight and overwhelm them. Once we capture then soldiers we'll be able to install a Tuffle garrison within their infrastructure, and once word hits the brass there'll be no way they can deny us." Moya looked excited, while Cao had his eyes practically on the paper as he attempted to decipher what was in front of him. Meanwhile Raza looked nervous, but Sen had important plans for them all.
"Don't wet yourself now, Raza. I can tell that you've not got the stomach for close quarters combat. I want you up here." Sen pointed to one of the crosses he had placed down, located a top a cliff overlooking the outpost. "You'll be on the sniper. Far away means you're in less danger, and if things go poorly then you'll have plenty of time to get away. I've been watching them for a few weeks now and have their patrols well known." Sen handed Raza a small piece of paper. "I want you to leave between these hours and get yourself settled."
Moving back over to the blueprint, Sen shifted his focus to a different cross. "Cao, let's face it: unless the enemy is within a foot of your eyes you're not going to do us any good. You'll be a close range fighter, so you'll be wanting this." Moving over to a small crate, Sen retrieved a large dagger and handed it over to the boy. "Military grade material. The Saiyans in this outpost have gotten a bit too... comfortable in their outpost. They don't believe that anyone knows about them, so often they don't even wear armor. You'll slice right through them."
Sen moved his finger over to the final cross. "You'll be our 'distraction expert' Moya. I want you armed with explosives that are to be detonated right over here." Sen tapped down three times on the cross. "It'll pull the patrol away from Raza and right into Cao who can take them out. It'll also provide an opening right here." Sen drew one final cross down over the center of the outpost. "The command center. The chiefs will let the grunts check out any noises, so I'll deal with whoever's left within by myself."
The instructions were clear, and his men understood their assignments. Raza was the first to head out, after being given a sniper put together by Sen. From afar the young soldiers watch him climb up the peak and get into position, albeit rather slowly. "Alright. Now that he's set up we have about... an hour before the patrol is supposed to head up there. Moya? You head out next." He might have instructed the man to take hold of some explosives, but he had already stuffed into his rucksack as many as it would hold.
Again using their position the two remaining Tuffles watched as Moya moved into his position, leaving nothing left for them to do but move. About halfway over to the outpost the two could hear the sound of a large explosion nearby. "Shit. What the Hell was that?" The two rushed forward and saw that Moya was unable to contain himself any longer; he was lobbing around grenades all over the place, practically operating as a mortar.
"That fool..." Looking over to the ridge Sen saw that the Saiyans who were supposedly to patrol were now rushing down in the direction of the explosives. Moya had moved too early, meaning that Cao wasn't in position to take the guards out which left things on Raza. Sen would have preferred not to put that weight on his shoulders, but the man was given a gun for a reason; time to hope that he could put it to good use. "Damnit. Alright... you follow me to the command center. Raza will cover us."
Sen advanced first, pushing forward through the outpost's thin line of defense that lay on the outside. The downside of trying to lay low like this was that any sort of advanced defenses would bring suspicion down upon you, so the Saiyans inside had to keep things fairly light. That worked to Sen's advantage as there was only a tattered wall with a miniscule layering of barded wire that he could easily maneuver past. From there it was a simple trek to the command center.
Or it would have been, if the six Saiyans hadn't been standing in his way. There were three Saiyans to a patrol, with two patrolling units in total. For some reason one of the units had taken the long away around which Sen hadn't been expecting, leaving him out in the open and heavily outnumbered. Even with Cao at his side they still had a strong advantage.
That's when a heavy shot coming from the west rung through their ears. Raza had finally found his courage, piercing one of the Saiyan's skulls with his sniper and rattling the others. Cao moved forward from there, tumbling with two Saiyans which left three for Sen. Still outnumbered, but that was fine with him. The Saiyans thought highly of themselves, but with his strength he'd be able to handle three lower level Saiyans any day of the week.
The first was swept off his feet with a throw from Sen, before a second was hoisted and and thrown down on top, before the Tuffle drove his fist through each of them. The third was middle class warrior, and required a little more effort on Sen's part. The two engaged in a melee, throwing strikes and forth without and clear advantage. Eventually Sen was able to overpower him though, taking advantage of his lack of armor by throwing him back onto a piece of his own outer defense.
As Sen predicted, the overconfident Saiyans had expected their grunts to be able to handle any disturbances, but they had failed. Cao had dealt with his own two Saiyans and had returned to Sen while Moya was finally done making a fool of himself and had run over to join them. When he did so Sen grabbed him by the collar and gave him a slap. "If you ever do anything so stupid again you'll receive much more than a slap, understand?" The Tuffle nodded in silence.
"Good. Now lets take care of what's left, shall we?" The trio had the command fort surrounded, while Raza provided cover from above. "There'll be at least one command officer inside. Probably an elite if I had to guess, though I suppose for a place like this they may have left it in the hands of a mid class Saiyan. By now they would have realized that their own grunts have failed, which means they'll be expecting us. Are you ready?"
The other Tuffles nodded in approval, giving Sen the signal to push the door open. Inside lay a single Saiyan solider, bearing the elite's signature armor. He didn't look very prepared for a fight; in fact the man was so old that it was a wonder he could even stand. Moya and Cao looked at Sen in confusion, wondering what it was they should do next. Sen left them out of the predicament, charging the Saiyan down before he could even react and delivering a fatal blow to the throat.
The old man collapsed and writhed for a few seconds before expiring. Cao and Moya again looked at each other in confusion, but Sen was feeling quite clear right now. The mission was a success, and the Tuffle government would be surely happy about what they had accomplished. "Cao: Go to Raza and pull him down from his ridge. Bring him to the center and guard it with him. Moya will come with me back to Hatchi. We'll return with reinforcements... and our ranks."
WC: 2,219