Ak-84
Banned
XI Corps HQ, Peshawar Cantt. 20:35 hrs, May 1st 2011.
He was pissed off. Of that, anyone could tell. Or they would have if they had been around. In the event, there were only two other men present; both contractors who were doubtless being paid extra. No such amenities or bonuses would go his way, that at least was a certainty. In any case, they were in another part of the Raj era building; which had seen better days and which the Engineers had stated was "unfit for ordinary use". So, of course, it had been requisitioned for what was the Corps most important and most secret operation and the last few months had been spent in trying and failing to make it....comfortable....no.,that was obviously impossible.... tolerable. He was alone in his the control booth, which had been somehow been fitted inside, his eyes bloodshot as he looked over at the feed from the bird. It had been 4 hours and there were at least 4 more hours to go. More if fuel allowed.
The manual had specified that two operators must be present during normal operations, but like everything else in the Army, that had been ignored when convenient. Like today. He had been hoping to enjoy a long weekend back at home. After all for the first time in several years, the front was quiet. Despite that right after breakfast, he got the call. Intelligence reported that a large group of Tangos, based just across the border was planning to move today, so could he take a look at the area, please. His wife had been furious when he told her, that he had to go in. Making Major had its disadvantages; everyone senior was on higher priority tasks/out of station and he could not fob it off to someone junior, that would set a bad example. So it transpired, he was sitting in the booth looking at the LED at miles and miles of harsh brown Afghan countryside as the UAV flew over. The Tangos were nowhere to be found. Probably happily sitting in their huts, watching TV, jacking off to porn on the web, or reading a book. Anything but moving. Some asset had no doubt heard a rumour and reported it up, where it got more and more embellished as it travelled through the chain until it ruined his weekend and or his marriage.
The UAV was on autopilot at 12,000 feet. At this range, the horizon was nearly 200 km. He'd expanded the radius of its orbit, to well past Jalalabad, just in case the Tangos, wise to the fact of the aerial platforms and their clandestine observations, had decided to move on a less obvious axis. Once again, no result. It was, of course, definitive, the camera quality was top notch, and any movement would have been obvious. The Tangos were staying put tonight. The UAV had gone so far out, he could now see the "secret" ISAF base outside Jalalabad, a joint CIA, Special Ops site. Like most professional soldiers, he mistrusted and disliked both spies and commandos, but in this type of war, it had to be admitted they were useful.
And industrious from the looks of it. The base was positively teeming with activity. Maybe that's why the Tangos were staying put? But, no this was obviously far more than mere commando operations against a few militants. This was truly puzzling. He glanced at the latest activity reports.....no word on any ISAF or US operations being planned or any other activity more than normal. Strange. He gently retook manual control of the Drone as it turned away and put it back into view of the base. An uneasy thought went through his mind. The RADARS in this sector were down for repair. He had been told just before start of the mission by the Air Force Coordinator. He had paid little heed, not really relevant, but now? Hardly any coverage to speak off in the sector.
The Tangos retreated from his mind as he thought about his next steps. He could call it in....and make himself extremely unpopular with people in the detachment specifically and Corps HQ generally as everyone came back in over the next few hours. Especially since this was probably due to a missed line in the intel report or a drill at the base, or something equally as stupid. Just snap a few photos and write it up. Let the senior staff deal with it tomorrow, yes that's what he should do. And drink some tea. That sounded good. He looked for the phones on his left, a set of receivers with direct lines to various places and also to the support staff and reached forward..............
He was pissed off. Of that, anyone could tell. Or they would have if they had been around. In the event, there were only two other men present; both contractors who were doubtless being paid extra. No such amenities or bonuses would go his way, that at least was a certainty. In any case, they were in another part of the Raj era building; which had seen better days and which the Engineers had stated was "unfit for ordinary use". So, of course, it had been requisitioned for what was the Corps most important and most secret operation and the last few months had been spent in trying and failing to make it....comfortable....no.,that was obviously impossible.... tolerable. He was alone in his the control booth, which had been somehow been fitted inside, his eyes bloodshot as he looked over at the feed from the bird. It had been 4 hours and there were at least 4 more hours to go. More if fuel allowed.
The manual had specified that two operators must be present during normal operations, but like everything else in the Army, that had been ignored when convenient. Like today. He had been hoping to enjoy a long weekend back at home. After all for the first time in several years, the front was quiet. Despite that right after breakfast, he got the call. Intelligence reported that a large group of Tangos, based just across the border was planning to move today, so could he take a look at the area, please. His wife had been furious when he told her, that he had to go in. Making Major had its disadvantages; everyone senior was on higher priority tasks/out of station and he could not fob it off to someone junior, that would set a bad example. So it transpired, he was sitting in the booth looking at the LED at miles and miles of harsh brown Afghan countryside as the UAV flew over. The Tangos were nowhere to be found. Probably happily sitting in their huts, watching TV, jacking off to porn on the web, or reading a book. Anything but moving. Some asset had no doubt heard a rumour and reported it up, where it got more and more embellished as it travelled through the chain until it ruined his weekend and or his marriage.
The UAV was on autopilot at 12,000 feet. At this range, the horizon was nearly 200 km. He'd expanded the radius of its orbit, to well past Jalalabad, just in case the Tangos, wise to the fact of the aerial platforms and their clandestine observations, had decided to move on a less obvious axis. Once again, no result. It was, of course, definitive, the camera quality was top notch, and any movement would have been obvious. The Tangos were staying put tonight. The UAV had gone so far out, he could now see the "secret" ISAF base outside Jalalabad, a joint CIA, Special Ops site. Like most professional soldiers, he mistrusted and disliked both spies and commandos, but in this type of war, it had to be admitted they were useful.
And industrious from the looks of it. The base was positively teeming with activity. Maybe that's why the Tangos were staying put? But, no this was obviously far more than mere commando operations against a few militants. This was truly puzzling. He glanced at the latest activity reports.....no word on any ISAF or US operations being planned or any other activity more than normal. Strange. He gently retook manual control of the Drone as it turned away and put it back into view of the base. An uneasy thought went through his mind. The RADARS in this sector were down for repair. He had been told just before start of the mission by the Air Force Coordinator. He had paid little heed, not really relevant, but now? Hardly any coverage to speak off in the sector.
The Tangos retreated from his mind as he thought about his next steps. He could call it in....and make himself extremely unpopular with people in the detachment specifically and Corps HQ generally as everyone came back in over the next few hours. Especially since this was probably due to a missed line in the intel report or a drill at the base, or something equally as stupid. Just snap a few photos and write it up. Let the senior staff deal with it tomorrow, yes that's what he should do. And drink some tea. That sounded good. He looked for the phones on his left, a set of receivers with direct lines to various places and also to the support staff and reached forward..............