Hey y'all,

Ethan Black has created a couple characters that will be having bit parts in the PW main storyline.

So, in order to flesh them out, he's written a short story, chaptered up for yer convenience.

Welcome to a different world, in dire straits . . .

Coalfired 04

All names/characters/vehicles/parts/systems are property of their respective owners/manufacturers/creators/players.
This particular pile of words is property of Ethan Black.



Ethan sat quietly on the infirmary bed and grimaced as a male nurse, a ginger cat, poked and prodded at his wounds with an antiseptic swab. Aside from a cluster of deep bruises and a mild concussion, the bunny was otherwise okay.
Andy was propped up on his elbows nearby, having been unconscious for a couple of hours. He was concussed, but they'd all experienced worse.
Leo, however, was a little bruised but entirely unaffected, used to the odd brawl.
"Y'alright, Andy?" Leo asked, sitting on the edge of the badger's bed.
"We won, right?" the badger replied, rubbing at his head and wincing.
"Pretty much." Ethan grumbled, stretching his shoulders. "Daz's yard is covered by CCTV, we've got blackmail material, unless Command decides they get to it first, in which case. . ."
Leo grinned and Andy nodded, Andy swinging his legs around and standing with the help of Leo.

"I swear, you guys are in here every time you get back into base." The nurse commented. "At least you keep making a good point."
"How so?" Leo questioned, drumming his paws on the nearby bed.
"Well. . ." the nurse hesitated. "My partner's a TG." He said softly, nodding slightly to Ethan, who in turn nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah, we all know how that can be." Ethan responded quietly, hopping down from his bed and groaning, rubbing his rear. "Knocked me on my arse. Ugh."
"They'll get what's coming to 'em." The nurse said with a smile. "They were in here earlier. I patched them up. Of course, I'm obliged to report any suspicious injuries." he laughed.
The trio nodded.
"Well." Ethan said tiredly. "Let's turn in. We've gotta report to the division commander at Zero-Eight."
"Aye." Leo said defeatedly and patted Andy on his shoulder. "Lets go home."
"Finally, a bed!" Andy said, sounding a little brighter than usual.
"That's right. A goddamn bed." Leo replied as they left the infirmary complex, a squat cluster of bunker-like prefabs.

They took a side alley between some stalls that were open late, the sky a very dark grey overhead, prepared to unleash the night's torrent. Market stalls were closing up shop, dropping storm shutters and covering their windows.
They weaved through the streets, crossing open storm drains that had been cut into old streets to allow the torrential nightly downpour to be directed out of the city proper.
Their house was on a third tier of a block of capsule appartments, unit 773 C, and it had been sitting empty for some time.
Ethan was there first, and opened the door, which swung out sideways and had a foot of extra space at the bottom sill, designed to be protected against flash floods. The three piled in and flicked on the lighting.
The inside of the apartment was about twenty feet long, by ten wide, had a large space at the back with a matress that took up a third of the floor. Between them was a kitchen and a TV on a wall bracket. A radio sat on a counter-top and near the door was a portable cartridge toilet, with an old shower curtain pinned to the ceiling for the sake of privacy and a set of lockers, for gear storage.
Dropping their backpacks down as they came in, Leo pulled the door shut and locked it from the inside. Ethan busied himself with the kettle on the small electric hob inside and Andy made a beeline for the matress and dropped himself square on the middle of it.
"Don't mind me, guys." he mumbled, sprawling.
"Tea?" Ethan asked nobody in particular.
"Silly question." came the reply from the other two, making the rabbit smile.
"Of course."

The three stepped back out into the streets at 07:30 hours and locked their abode behind them. Taking the same route they took to get home, they made for their local command, sidestepping the bustle of people shifting crates and merchandise through the back streets.
They began to pass an increasing amount of other assorted soldiers and vehicle crews, all standing around in their assorted uniforms, talking in small groups. They passed through several small inner-city checkpoints, before entering command proper.
A tall concrete tower stood between the two huge twin antennae of Hannover central, with tall fences and watchtowers guarding their perimiter. At the base of the concrete watchtower was the entrance, with two pillboxes flanking it, each armed with several mounted machineguns.

The group moved into the complex and headded into the entrance. They flashed their identification to the inner checkpoint, who waved them through after a moment. Making their way deeper, they took a stairwell down three floors, and followed a long series of snaking coridoors arranged like trenches, with choke points and many corners to prevent clear firing arcs from one end to the other.
They entered into a side room, and found themselves in a receptionliek area, except for the armed presence of guards.
"CQC Ethan Black, CH Leopold Buckley, LHC Andrew Foxworth, Blues and Royals." Ethan said officiously, passing over his papers. "We've been summoned. It's a code Grey."
The female wolverine behind the glass nodded and looked over the paper, before sliding it back. "You 'ave clearence. Welcome home boys." She reached a rather muscular arm under the desk and unlocked the gate that separated the sides of the room, allowing them through.
"Colonel is waiting for you all. I hope you don't be sent to Poland!" She grinned, showing large teeth.

The trio entered the spacious office of the Colonel and snapped to atention before the seated figure, saluting. "Reporting, Sir!" Ethan declared, as the Colonel stood and returned the salute.
The colonel was a middle-aged white-furred Scottish terrier, who seemed to have more moustache than face. He smiled in recognition. He had a gruff voice and excellent mind, but was often a comfortable man to be around, politeness was one of his most appreciated values, regardless of rank.
"At ease, boys." The Colonel replied, pacing.
The crew eased up, Ethan nodding curtly.
"You don't really know why we're dispatching you all, so we're going to clear that up." He turned to face them, having taken a thick file from a shelf to the edge of the room. "You know I've never been the kind of old sod who likes secrets."
The three nodded, smiling. "That's how we know it's serious, Sir." Ethan said, Andy nodding silently.
"Quite. Simply, you're not actually going to be guarding an LRU. We are mobilizing an armed contingent. There is a high profile target and we need our best."
"Sir?" Leo questioned. "We're attacking?"
"Yes. The higher-ups are impatient and simply put, they want Poland." The colonel floundered slightly, unsure how to continue.
"You'll be some of the first in. You'll be part of a mobile spearhead. Command is heading to take Warsaw. Chemical weapons will be employed on their reclamation camps."
"Good god." Ethan mouthed softly.
"I know." The Colonel replied. "Sadly, we have no choice. We're running out of time, gentlemen. Long term projections tell us that we can't maintain our current state of war. We have to win, or we have to surrender."
"By killing civillians!?" Andrew yelled suddenly, Ethan jumping, startled.
"Shut your mouth, Foxworth." The Colonel hissed." This is not common knowledge. But yes. Killing civillians."
The colonel rubbed his temples. "I'm going to see what we can do. Maybe they can be convinced to use conventional explosives, but they want to use every force multiplier in their posession."
"I'm deploying you and three other Scorpions. You're the best. The better you do, the more people we save. You form up at the Zone C gate at sixteen-hundred. Godspeed, boys. Do us proud. 'Honi soit qui mal y pense'."
"Honi soit qui mal y pense, Sir. I hope that evil doesn't become us." Ethan replied, saluting. "We'll do you proud."
The other pair saluted.
"Dismissed."


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