Chapter 231: You funny guy!
UNS Singapore, Conference Room, Operation Freedom Minus 25 days
"Orwell's Point has roughly 30,000 people in the city on average, but during winter and early spring, the number drops to half," Lieutenant Tavor said. "As merchants and slavers rarely do business due to the rivers and roads being closed due to winter."
"And at least 5,000 of those people in the city now are slaves, the reminder mostly guards, soldiers, and service providers," Tavor tapped on the overhead image of the city.
"2nd Battalion has to capture all the major points of the city, which will effectively allow them to control the residents of the city," Tavor detailed his plan.
"Control the food stores in the Warehouse, prevent information from being leaked out by taking the Merchant's Hall and Adventurer's Guild," Tavor listed out the important locations. "Take out the Stronghold which the elite of the Empire troops reside in and capture the Local Governor in his mansion."
"Hold the docks and the gates to prevent anyone from leaving or escaping," Tavor continued, "And hold each intersection of the streets to control movement."
"Once the city is in full control," Tavor's map changed colors, which divided the city into several sections. "Marines are to do a house to house search of any Imperials still hiding. With the streets cordoned off, the search parties will flush out any remanents of Imperial forces."
The map sectors slowly turned green one by one to indicate the area being cleared. "Once we have totally secured the whole city, the second part of the mission comes in."
"The Marines will dig in, and lure any trade or slave ships in," Tavor said. "And they will be impounded and the goods seized. Any other merchants coming in via the land route will also have their goods searched and confiscated if deemed valuable to our war effort."
"In the meantime, the city defenses will be upgraded and slaves will be given the option to leave or join us." Tavor looked up from his notes to the gathered upper brass. "Once the city is secured, the FB - 1 Mariners will come in to resupply the troops with ammunition."
"Once we have fortified the city," Tavor smiled coldly. "Short of a tactical nuke, nothing can dig the entrenched Marines out!"
"It's high time to stop being nice!"
-----
Orwell's Point, Operation Freedom Plus 3 hours
Sergeant Mills nodded to his team as they stacked up against the building walls with a stout wooden door between them. They were clearing the Western Sector of the city, when suddenly a volley of crossbow bolts was fired at them, resulting in two men getting injured.
Luckily the reinforced steel ballistic plates protected the vital points of the men and the bolts barely dented their armor. The two men that got injured were hit at the arm and leg and were dragged off under the cover of a building while they screamed for a medic.
The attacked platoon reacted swiftly and fired at the suspected building windows, the heavy bullets shattering the wooden windows and lime plaster. Mills quickly ordered some men to follow him and they advanced to the door of the building under the cover fire.
"BREACH IT!" Mills yelled at one of his men who rapidly fired his shotgun at the top and bottom hinges, shattering the iron and wood.
"GO!" He slapped the Orc next to him. "GO GO GO!"
Private Slow charged forward and with his full body weight behind the size 16 boots, he sent the wooden door flying off its broken hinges. He stomped in, taking three steps and kneeled down while sweeping his MG-1 to the left of the room while Mills entered right behind him and swept his weapon to the right.
The room was typical of a local dwelling, with a fireplace and dining table and chairs while a doorway led to the kitchens. A staircase sat on the right, leading up to the second story.
"Clear!"
Mills gestured towards to kitchen while he aimed his weapon at the stairs just as several footsteps stormed from the upper story and a pair of booted feet appeared at the stairs. An Imperial soldier dressed in half mail with a crossbow dangling at his side and holding a sword charged down the stairs only to have Mills popped a couple of shots into the Imperial's body, sending him toppling down the steps.
He stepped over the dead body and snapped his weapon up to the 2nd floor, covering the stairs. He heard the creaking of wood on the 2nd floor and he yelled in Common, "Drop your weapons and come down with your hands up! Surrender now!"
"DAMN YOU TO THE THIRTEEN HELLS!" Came back the reply and Mills looked at the Orc which he recognized as Slow and he gave a shrug.
"Well, I tried!" He gestured to the ceiling of the building to Slow who grinned. "Fire there!"
Slow shouldered his MG-1 and fired off a short burst at the spot where they heard the creak. The high powered 8.6 mm rounds easily punched through the plaster and wood, tearing fist sized holes in the ceiling.
Blood suddenly flowed down from the holes and Mills nodded and they advanced up the stairs carefully. Reaching the top, they saw a dead soldier pitched on the landing with a shattered crossbow on the side.
Mills gestured to Slow to cover his back while he checked one of the two rooms here. He ghosted in through the door and found an empty bedroom. Checking the next room, they found another dead Imperial soldier who most likely got killed by the return fire from the platoon on the streets.
"Clear!" He yelled before he went and yelled out from the window to the platoon on the streets. "ALL CLEAR!"
Mills turned to Slow who was checking the body of the dead Imperial. "Hey Slow, good thing you remember your three steps!"
-----
Captain Joesph walked into the great hall of the stronghold and grimaced. Bits of mortar and stone littered the carpentry of the hall and half dried bloodstains laid here and there.
He picked up an overturned chair and placed it properly next to a long wooden table on the side. He looked at the litter of goblets and plates and gestured to his staff. "Clear the tables and bring in the equipment. We set up shop here."
"Yes, Sir!" His staff quickly cleared up the hall and moved in all the equipment, turning the hall into a command center in just half an hour.
"What is the latest from HQ?" Joseph asked his radio operator as he looked at the tactical map of the city that spread out on the table with markers of friendly units' positions.
"Sir, they have acknowledged our sit rep," The operator replied. "Thunderchief is sending the Mariners in with ammunition supplies. ETA 5 hours."
Joseph nodded. "Tell Gryphon to check the warehouses, I want an inventory of what is in there."
"Yes, Sir!" The operator started to play with the dials on his radio and passed the command on.
"Next, I want all units to move any supplies, weapons, armors of the enemy to the courtyard outside," Joseph said next. "Keep a tally of what we got."
"Continue to keep the city in lockdown," Joseph continued. "Once we sort out the sheep from the wolves than we move on to dealing with the Governor and Merchants."
-----
By the time the sun reached the mid of the day, all the defenders of Orwell's Point had either surrendered or killed. The slaves were easily recognized by the collars they wore were kept under guard at the Slave Pens while the Marines double ensured there were no hidden threats lurking behind.
Weapons were confiscated and several huge piles of swords and spears were dumped at the Stronghold's courtyard. Teams of surrendered Imperial soldiers worked to clear the grisly remains of their former comrades. The bodies were dumped outside at an open pit to be burnt.
Joseph sat on a captured carriage and entered a pair of splendid looking gates that led to an impressive looking mansion. The lawn and gardens looked explicitly neat and tidy. And despite it was early spring, the plants in the garden looked green and flowers were blooming.
How much did this governer spend to have enchanted his garden to withstand winter? Thought Joseph as he stepped out of the carriage. Falcon Company's Lieutenant came up and saluted to Joseph.
"Sir, they are kept inside the main building," The Lieutenant reported as he led Joseph towards the Mansion doors. "We have secured the whole Mansion. All the servants, maids, and slaves are kept under watch at the servant's wing."
"The Governor and the Merchant's family we kept them separated in the other wing of the mansion." The Lieutenant said.
Joseph nodded and wondered how much money and slaves were used to build this mansion as he admired his surroundings.
"We found several storehouses at the back filled with tons of food and other supplies, not to mention also the Governor's treasury which is quite impressive," The Lieutenant continued his report. "We also found a couple of hidden tunnels, most likely for the family or the Governor to escape. We have sealed off the tunnels to prevent their use."
Walking through the double doors guarded by Marines, the LT brought Joseph to a day room were dozens of men in clothed in various sleepwear glared at him as they entered.
"What is the meaning of this!" A portly male in long pajamas yelled. "We are all respected men here!
The Marines guarding them snickered as they eyed the enraged half dressed merchant. They quickly snapped to attention when they saw Joseph entering. "Atten- shun!"
"At ease," Joseph waved the salutes away before turning to the group of men gathered before the fireplace.
"Do you know who are you offending by keeping us here?" The portly merchant stormed up to Joseph. "Release us at once! Or face th- MMMMM!!!?!"
Joseph's revolver clicked as he cocked the hammer back and jammed the muzzle of his sidearm into the babbling mouth of the merchant whose expression turned white.
"One more word out of you stinking mouth," Joseph gave a cold smile. "And I blow that mouth of yours away! Clear?"
"MMMMMMM!!!!" The merchant tried to back off, cold sweat forming all over his face while nodding his head in panic and pain.
"Good if you understand, better if you don't!" Joseph removed his revolver from the frightened merchant and picked up a cloth off the table and wiped the saliva off his gun.
"Now, you all listen carefully, no one is to talk till I give you permission," Joseph tossed the tablecloth back on the table. "This city is now under the control of the United Nations. Meaning, all your possessions is now the property of the UN!"
The group of people turned and looked at each other in confusion and shock. Joseph noticed one man seated on one of the chairs gave a sneer. "You," Joseph gestured to the sitting man. "You must be the Governor, yes?"
The Governor adjusted his sleeping gown like it was some court dress and stood up. "Yes, I am."
"So what is so funny?" Joseph sat down on one of the chairs and kicked his booted feet up on one of the ottomans.
The Governor frowned slightly as he saw the dirty boots of this brutish soldier on his furniture. He cleared his throat and smiled, "You seriously do not know who you are offending?"
"Of course, I know!" Joseph laughed. "Aren't you all from the Empire of Bluewood?"
"If you know, then stop this foolish!" The Governor jerked his head up proudly. "Surrender before the Emperor brings his wrath down on you!"
"Hahahaha," Joseph laughed and looked at the LT next to him while gesturing to the Governor. "You funny guy!"
"I kill you last!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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Sry for the late update, was and am still sick ...
Chapter 232: Slaves
Haven, Camp Alpha, Command Center, Operation Freedom, Day Five
"7 river barges impounded, over 200 other various types of small boats also held," Joseph's voice came through the speakers with some background static and slight chops to the audio feed. "Death toll as of now is over two thousand Imperial troops and slaver guards."
"2nd Battalion suffered two deaths and 22 injured," The 2nd Battalion commander reported. "Also there were 300 over collateral damage to civilians and slaves."
"Three thousand soldiers and guards captured and currently being imprisoned at the Slave Pens," Joseph continued. "We have taken major merchants leaders and the Governor as HVTs* (High Value Targets*) and will be sending them back for Intel to debrief on the Mariners."
"In total, there are over 3,376 civilian residents remaining in the city," Joseph's image said. "That's not counting the population of outlying farms and fishing villages. So far, the citizenry is following our orders without any issues."
"We seized over five thousand slaves, which more than half were so badly abused that they could only blindly follow orders," Joseph's expression hardened in the video link. "And over a thousand of those slaves are just children!"
"We found a slum about two kilometers away from the city that consisted of slaves too weak, ill, or crippled to work," Joseph's expression looked tired. "Battalion medics are warning all personnel to not approach the slums as it is overflowing with diseases and other viral infections."
"Its a dumping ground for unwanted slaves," Joseph gave a sigh. "Teams in protective gear checked out the slums and found hundreds of bodies, most in various stages of decay and some bodies are still thawing."
"Still there were two hundred survivors, all sick and malnutrition and half dead," Joseph looked deflated.
"Do what you can for them," Blake replied. "If they can be saved, do it."
Joseph nodded, "We can only do so much for them."
"Now, material goods ranging from winter food supplies are over 800 tons, enough to feed the whole city for a couple of weeks," Joseph continued. "We expect shipments of supplies to start coming in now that Spring is here."
"Over 27 tons of cold weapons and armor seized, two hundred war dragons taken from the stables and the valuables we confiscated from the merchants and nobles there, are still being tally. But current value estimated at over half a million gold crowns."
Someone whistled in the background, "Damn that's a lot of money!"
"We expect the figure to climb as seriously, some of the stuff here, we do not even know how much the true value is," Joseph admitted. "Just from the pay chest of the slavers, it's more than enough to equip a company of soldiers!"
An average layman in most kingdoms earns roughly one gold per year, the money plundered from Orwell's Point is more than enough for Blake to buy a dozen warships from the Isles!
"We are using the prisoners to help rebuilt the city and also to buff up the defense works," Joseph grinned. "We estimate another two days before traders and other travelers to start coming to the city as the weather turns warmer."
"Good, do what must be done," Blake nodded before turning to Major Frank who shook his head, indicating that he has nothing to add. "Alright, we will talk again later."
Joseph's image saluted and the video link cut off shortly. "So now, the easy part is completed. Here comes the hard part of holding the city."
"Sir, I still think we should ship a squadron of Cobras over via the Mariners in crates," Airforce Commander Tommy suggested. "The FA - 1 Cobras can be disassembled and reassembled easily. Having a fighter squadron would greatly help the troops there."
"Hmm, true," Blake nodded. "Ensure that the planes have a defendable location for the runways before giving Tactics a workable plan for that. There's no point to having the planes there but the runways get attacked and destroyed."
Commander Tommy nodded, "The Mariners will be down for major maintenance after this Op is over!"
Ford and Frank both nodded, "We really need a dedicated cargo hauler, just relying on the Mariners isn't gonna cut it in the long run."
Blake agreed, "Yeah, I agreed too. Still, we work with what we have now. Anyway, hows the defenses for all the outposts now that Spring is here?"
Frank gestured to the map on the wall and said, "Well, all the personnel at the mining outposts, farms, logging camps, and other works have completed their basic military training over the winter."
"They are all equipped with surplus M1s and the outposts are all fortified and holds enough supplies for them to hold for two weeks," Frank said. "We expect the feral goblins to start their usual attacks and raids within the week."
"All vehicles now are traveling in armed convoys and no one is to solo drive at any highway now," Frank added. "Even the new cargo trains have armed guards accompanying them."
"What happens if the goblins lay siege to any one of the outposts?" Ford asked.
"3rd Battalion is on rapid response duties," Frank replied. "The guys under siege at the outposts will hunker down and wait for the 3rd to come in and relieve them."
"The Air Force is also on full standby to provide close air support," Tommy added. "We can keep the pressure off the outposts till the 3rd comes and save the day."
Frank winked and bumped fists with Tommy. "1st Battalion will be holding the defenses for both Haven and Far Harbor."
"The Navy is also on standby for any sightings of goblin raiders," Ford said. "Intel has been throwing up UAVs and scout planes up to recce Goblin City for any ship movements. But so far they seemed to be trying to recover from the previous bombings."
"Good, everyone knows your assigned work and duties!" Blake smiled. "I can start relaxing and planning my honeymoon!"
"Yea right!" The guys laughed. "You are still the Boss!"
"Alright, jokes over," Blake grinned. "Great work all around. I want constant recce flights all over our area to spot any goblin movements. Hit them as they mass up, try to destroy them before they near any of our facilities!"
"Aye, aye Captain!"
-----
Dead Frontier
Teams of men carried several horned deers into the village to the cheers of the gathered. They managed to survive winter and now the wild game has reappeared due to warmer weather, the people won't starve anymore.
Borse smiled at the cheerful gaunt faces of the people and saw hope on their faces. The wild game they had caught will most likely be lean meat as the animals just came out of hibernation.
He needed to start building and repairing the palisades now that winter is over and also have the troops patrol their surroundings. So much work to be done, thought Borse. Food for the people, trees to be cut for lumber, the village to defend from Oerkin and goblin raiders.
And the constant threat of the Empire looming overhead, Borse felt very tired suddenly.
-----
Orwell's Point
Sergeant Mills jerked the black hooded merchant up from his knees as the roar of the flying boat engines grew in pitch. "Bring them all! Let's go!"
The frightened merchant cried and squirmed in his restraints as Mills and another Marine dragged him across the dock, his legs thumping over the gaps between the planks. They dumped the HVT to the Air Force who took over the slobbering merchant and secured him on to the seat.
Mills stood back and double check the head count of the HVTs been loaded onboard the Mariner and signed off his charges over to the Air Force crew chief. "All yours!" He yelled over the roar of the engines.
The crew chief gave a thumbs up and climbed into the plane and Mills helped the crew close the hatch of the flying boat. The crew gave a wave to the Marines on the dock before the pilot pushed the plane off the docks and headed towards the open stretch of water.
The engines of the plane grew louder as the pilot pushed the engines to the max and the craft roared its way across the wide river before it gently rosed into the air and it banked over slightly and disappeared into the sky.
"Alright! No more baby sitting!" Mills grinned to his men. "Now, get those prisoners to help move these supplies! I want them under cover before lunch time!"
-----
Joseph paced around the great hall of the stronghold as his staff manned radios and other command systems. "Sir, Dragon One has spotted two river barges on approach from the North East River."
"How long till they come in sight of the city?" Joseph stopped and asked.
"Four to five hours," The operator replied.
Joseph gestured the operator to enlarge the image taken by Blue Thunder. "Looks like a cargo runner."
"Most likely they are here to sell goods before picking up slaves and bringing them back," 2nd Battalion's tactical officer said. "Looking at the log books of the Governor and merchants here, seemed like slaves are brought in from the surrounding areas to be traded back to the Empire or other places."
Joseph nodded and grinned wickedly, "Hmmm, I wonder if we can trade off the prisoners for their goods?"
"Haha!" His staff laughed, "Well, Sir, we have to check with Higher Command about that!"
Joseph kept smiling, "Hmmm, well, how's the counting of the treasures we confiscated?"
"Sir, we are still going through all the stuff," One of his staff replied. "There are just too much and we are short handed."
"Alright, there is no rush," Joseph waved off his staff's concern. "We will load what has already being counted and weighed on the next flight back to Haven."
"Yes, Sir!"
"Any issues with the city populations?" Joseph asked next.
"There are several fights breaking out with the slaves and locals," Another staff reported. "We have a couple of stabbings, but not fatal."
"What happened?" Joseph's eyebrows rosed up.
"Seemed like the slaves were abused and treated badly but some of the locals," The staff replied. "The ex slaves returned to exact vengence on locals. We have arrested everyone who was involved, but these cases on the rise!"
Joseph frowned, "Issue out a statement to the slaves, tell them to report whatever abuses or injustice they had suffered to us, and we will investigate. I do not want public order to be disrupted."
"Ensure the slaves understand that. I will not hesitate to punish anyone harshly who breaks the law!" Joseph said.
Just at this moment, a Marine came in and saluted, "Captain! There is someone wishing to speak with you! Sir!"
"Who is it?" Joseph asked.
"Sir, the person calls himself as Mattew and he says he represents the slaves, Sir!" The Marine stood at attention while giving his report.
"Where is he now?" Joseph walked over to the Marine.
"Sir, he is outside the stronghold gates, sir!"
Joseph turned to his staff and shrugged, "Seems like we can save the trouble of issuing a statement to the slaves."
"Bring him into the parlor," Joseph said to the Marine who saluted and went off to carry out his orders. "Well, let's go see this Mattew guy and see what he wants."
Joseph was enjoying a goblet of fine red taken from the Governor's stores when there was a knock on the door. The Battalion Sergeant opened the door and a gaunt looking male with filthy red hair stood with two Marine escorts behind.
"Come in," The Sergeant gestured the man in and took up a position at the doorway, watching the ex slave like a hawk with his hand resting on his sidearm.
"Drink?" Joseph offered the slave who looked out of place in the finery of the parlor with his dirty and tattered clothing.
The man shook his head and stood there with a proud bearing facing Joseph and spoke in a serious manner.
"I like to propose an alliance!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Neobear
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dropping today's chapter before i get too giddy to do it... gimme more stones!
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