Before you head further, please view the new map. It was made specifically for this by me. Here's the link.

0240 Hours
Seven (7) days after recorded first contact

"Tell me why we're doing this again?" Kozlov demanded as their helicopter, a sturdy Russian Ka-60, lifted off into the air. It was past two in the morning; the group had been awoken two hours previously, briefed on a mission, and then given a short time to collect their weapons and ammunition before they were sent out on a small transport helicopter.

"Didn't you listen at the briefing, soldier?" Petrov asked with a longsuffering sigh.

"No, sir. I did not." Kozlov sarcastically replied. "I was too busy trying to wake myself up."

"God, you're an idiot." Petrov said. "Anyway, the Americans want us to plant some damn gadgets, and then turn them on to create a 'Net' relay so we won't lose coverage once we attack the damn city. Then we go inside of the city and set up on top of building H-12. For your information, that's the twelfth building in the city with eight floors."

"Damn it all, now it makes less sense." Kozlov said. "Are we really going to waste our time gaining ground instead of finding a way home so we can fight the damn war?"

"Are you fucking stupid, or did you lose more than your common sense in the crash?" Sokolov said as he checked his ammunition. Keeping his eyes on the magazine he was inspecting, he kept on talking. "Do you think we know how to get back? For all we know, we're dead, and this is only a mercy compared to what might have happened."

"The point is that we do not know, and it is better to do what we can until we have the time to test theories." Novikov said, finishing the argument.

Twelve minutes later, the Ka-60 landed softly on the grass in the clearing. Moments later, the six Russian squad members hopped out, weapons raised. They quickly scanned the area, their 'Net' units using their LCD glasses to magnify the light that came through them, giving the MVD soldiers a makeshift night vision.

"Clear, no sign of hostiles." Vasilyev said as the Russian helicopter lifted off, banking to the left and disappearing into the night.

"Objective is point six kilometers to the north-north-west, ridgeline overlooking the town." Petrov said, all business from the moment the helicopter had left them.

"Spread formation and follow me." Vasilyev said, waving the group forward.

"What's the deal with the ridges, anyway?" Kozlov asked impatiently as the group walked into the forest.

"They surround the town, all of them leading over to the mountain that overlooks it." Novikov replied. "You should remember to pay attention to the briefings."

"Why don't we just take over the damn mountain, so we can have the highest ground?" Kozlov demanded. "That might also save some damn time."

Vasilyev sighed. "Kozlov, there's an observatory on the hill. It is occupied. Three hours from now, an assault team is set to secure it. That is why we are not securing the hilltop. In addition, it is being secured for a different purpose. Now be quiet, we are approaching the area."

"Yes sir." Kozlov said glumly. Vasilyev knew he would have loved to argue further, but a direct order was one that even he was not going to disobey.

The six man group quickly walked through the forest uphill, warily scanning their surroundings the entire time. After ten minutes, the group emerged onto an open area near the top of the ridge, and they quickly scrambled to the top of it. The spot marked on their 'Net' units was a clear area of ground on a spot overlooking the town. Beyond the edge of the ridge, the forest stretched almost all of the way to the town, two kilometers away.

Vasilyev worked with Sokolov to quickly set up the equipment, consisting of a small box, a tripod, and a camera-like device with one end covered in glass. They quickly hooked them all up with several cables they had been provided, connecting all of the equipment to a small battery inside of a case.

Time at completion: 0258 Hours

When all was done, the group formed up on the ridge, looking over the city.

"First objective is done." Vasilyev said as he started to walk down the hill towards the city, taking care to place his feet so he would not fall. "The next one involves building H-12, marked on your 'Net' units."

A green triangle was superimposed on their 'Net' units on a building close to the edge of town. It was at least eight stories tall, while the buildings around it were only three to five stories tall. It looked more like an office building that anything else.

The team swiftly walked through the forest, reaching the end in fifteen minutes. At that point, only a kilometer of farmland separated them from the city, and only half a kilometer of city before they reached the building. The six men crossed the fields cautiously, watching carefully for movement. Thankfully, there were very few lights on, and there was not likely to be foot traffic of any kind out in this area at this time of night.

The transition from farm areas to urban was clear, with two- and three-story buildings rising out of the ground. Vasilyev quickly directed the team to an alleyway, walking through the narrow street. It was entirely devoid of any features aside from the windows of the buildings on both sides.

When the group reached the next street, Vasilyev held up a hand and slowly looked out. The streets were devoid of traffic, with only the occasional street lights to bring brightness to the dark. Vasilyev looked at the clock in the corner of his 'Net' glasses: 0322 Hours.

"Listen." He whispered. "We have four and a half hours until the first naval units arrive, and two more hours after that until the first units land. We have only three more hours until sunrise, and we need to be on that building before then. It's only three blocks to the west.

"We'll go across the street in intervals of two seconds. You first, Novikov. Go!"

With that, the private sprinted across the street, towards the alleyway on the other side. When he was halfway across, Vasilyev patted Sokolov on the back, who quickly started to run. Sixteen seconds later, Vasilyev arrived at the other alleyway, the last to go across.

Without another word, Vasilyev continued jogging down the alleyway, waving the others forward. They followed him down the length of the alley, repeating the procedure at the next street they came across. Ten minutes later, they arrived at the base of the marked building. It towered over the others in the area, but was small in comparison to the largest buildings in the city center, only a kilometer away. Many of them topped twenty stories, and the largest was thirty-six.

"So how do we get up?" Novikov asked. A moment later, Petrov pointed to a staircase along the side of the building, leading up. The group swiftly walked to it. The pull-down staircase would have been impossible for the ponies to reach, but for Vasilyev it was a simple matter of reaching up and pulling it down.

The six men quickly started climbing, emerging at the top two minutes later, Vasilyev noted how it overlooked much of the city by the water, being that it was only seven hundred meters from the edge of the water, which in this area was covered with sand as a beach.

"Overwatch, this is Felix-One-One." Vasilyev said over the radio in English. "We have planted the equipment, and are at the objective. Over."

"... Copy that, Felix-One-One." 'Overwatch', a MQ-4C Triton operator on the Gerald R. Ford, replied. "Call out any targets of opportunity you see, and we'll hit them with a laser. You'll be our eyes on the ground. Do you copy?"

"I copy, Overwatch." Vasilyev replied.

"Godspeed and good luck, Lieutenant." The radio link abruptly clicked off.

"Mark any targets of opportunity you see on the 'Net' units, and call them out." Vasilyev said, lying down at the edge of the building and scanning the streets.

"Do all of the houses count? Fuckin' ponies." Kozlov asked, muttering the last part.

"Stow the shit, Private." Petrov said, breaking out his SVU-A sniper rifle and screwing a silencer into the threaded barrel. "We're here to fight a war, not a slaughter. We are not in Chechnya anymore, so get that through your fucking head."

"Sergeant Petrov, I disagree-" Kozlov began.

"Not the time or the place, soldier." Vasilyev said from his perch, finishing the argument. "Disagree when we are not in the middle of an operation."

Kozlov quieted down with mild protest, although Vasilyev knew he would be at it again shortly. Yet again, the MVD Spetsnaz Lieutenant checked his clock: Only 0347. Still two hours until the attack on the observatory would begin. With a sigh, Vasilyev prepared himself for a long, long morning.

Author's Note

Well, I have a new map for this out. It should make more sense than the previous one. The link is at the top of the page, for those who missed it.

In the next chapter, stuff happens. I'm pretty sure you can guess.