"Yeah, uh thanks, man. I'll, uh, see him, I guess."
From Create Your Own Story
You both salute again and turn on a heel. You begin to walk towards the CP, a jumbled assortment of tents and radio antennae. After saluting a few passing by enlisted soldiers, you make your way into the complex, heading towards Major Ellison's personal tent. It is a large, triangular structure complete with an attached air conditioner and refrigerator. The life you think to yourself. Taking a deep breath and dusting off your fatigues, you tap on the flap. "Come in!" a Midwestern accent calls.
You enter the dimly lit tent to find a few senior officers all talking around a table littered with maps. All of them looked unkempt and exhausted. Fending of the Tet Offensive had worn the forces to abysmal morale, yet the missions remained routine and unchanged. The major stood in the center, hunkered over the maps, his hand running through his graying hair. You remove your helmet, dropping it to your side. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
He looks up at you with, and you see the dark bags under his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, of course," he fumbles, "come over here Lieutenant." You make your way to the table and respectful acknowledge the other officers. The biggest map on the table is a topographical rendering of tri-border between Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam - a hotbed for Viet Cong and NVA activity. The map is dotted with hundreds of "X"s and other markings, all somehow stringing together into one massive representation of enemy activity.
"Recently," the major starts, gesturing to the map in your focus, "our contacts have discovered an increase in Northern Vietnamese border crossing, particularly in and around the village of Bi Lhan, here." He pointed to a small black dot that straddled the Laotian border, surrounded by woods and rivers. "The VC have created a system of tunnels and villages that let them move easily throughout the area. They've been hitting ARVN forces in the area pretty hard." He looked at me, dead in the eye. "We need you to take your platoon and perform recon of the area, and direct action if necessary. Though we don't know where the forces are specifically, the operation is in your hands. You could perform reconnaissance of the area and call in precise air strikes on known targets, a direct airborne assault of the village, or try to lure the enemy out of their hiding and into an ambush. It's your call. Keep in mind, the terrain is heavily wooded and hilly."
Do you:
