Operation Condemnation Archive

Operation Condemnation: Day 17 Addendum

Rumors are spreading among the men. The talismans of the military chaplains and believers among the personnel grow hot and throw off a strange light in the presence of the corpse of the messenger of this "demon lord messenger".

Just what in the hell is coming our way?

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Day 32 of Operation Condemnation.

I knew we never should have let those halfass UN African troops go in first. The FFL and Swedish officers on loan were the only people who had half an inkling what they were doing and still failed to organize those grunts into anything better than a dinner party. Fucking politics.

We've received reports back through the gate, and our analysts are pouring over the sad semen-glued pages of "The Captive's Journal".

The boys from Fort Sill continue to shell the small monster camps in the surrounding forest while the rest of the taskforce establish a new beachhead. The infernal host was not here when we arrived. All we know is they haven't passed to our side of the gate. The not-knowing is the worst part.

Lastly, there's been a leak. The people back home know that the ones these locals call demons cause our own holy artifacts to react in the presence of the faithful. Some say we should find a way to block the gate. Others say we should crusade through it. The crazies say the end is here.

How are we supposed to fight a war when our own backs aren't safe from human politics?

We've taken special care to learn all we can from the locals. Some men have already taken to field modifications of their gear. We try to supervise them as best we can. We think many trophies taken by the first wave contributed to their fall, the fangs and hides dripping with the corrupting essence of these things.

Last is the secret order I've received from my Colonel. It came with a shipment of something liquid and unspeakable in hundreds of rounds that can be loaded onto planes or into artillery. "If they are not human, then we need not fight them like humans."

I must make extra sure the men are practiced with their protective gear, like a second skin.

I look at this sad world as the sound of shells echoes for miles. St. Christopher burns a blister upon my chest. Why we are even here?
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Day 34 of Operation Condemnation

The local humans are quickly getting out of hand. They're coming in from near and far like we're some kind of mecca, pilgrims and refugees. We've sequestered them in a large camp several kilometers from our base. Even with our own range of inoculations, disease and hygiene remains a constant concern. It's still difficult to communicate with them. Our linguists have only had a few months to crack and practice their common tongue. The deplorable literacy makes contact with anyone but the church even more difficult. Oddly, the church seems the only main human religion known throughout the continent.

Already imitation items from our world are finding traction among the locals, and our cultural experts are crying about contamination. Warrior monks and paladins of the church, well-educated and having long used flashes of holy light for signaling orders in battle, have taken like ducks to water to Morse code. They are quickly becoming the most fluent in our language. Their silent conversations reveal a very human soul and very human humor. It lends heart to the bloody work we must do.

We've had no new messages from the Demon Lord. Best guess is they assume we're a part of a different kingdom across the gate and are waiting to see our intentions. The limited remains we've been able to recover of the previous wave unsettle me. We have several special teams out in the wild following up on those concerns. Scout drones reveal little movement near our area, and the bigwigs have tied your hands on what's beyond "Need to know" fuckery. At least we have the time we need to complete our fortifications.

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Day 37 of Operation Condemnation

The previous wave were fools and never even cleared the forest away. With dozer blades fixed to some engineering vehicles, we've finally corrected that. The barren ground extends for a mile in every direction and development of the defensive earthworks is well underway. If the elves hated us before, they'll despise us now. Some men even spoke of weeping trees. The nerves must be getting to them. If not, than God forgive me. The timber is put to good use by our refugees.

Demonizing an enemy is usually difficult. Jerry, Tojo, Charlie, and so on. It's much easier with literal monsters, even if they are female. No contact with the enemy has allowed me to build up their villainous image among the men. They will fight when the time comes.

Today I met my first live monster in the flesh. It's more than reports and videos can tell. The rangers have been bringing back captured specimens for study that we hold at a detention center away from our secured base. This one is a juvenile snake, the kind tagged "lamia". The boys in the white coats call her "Little Hiss". I brought the Paladin "Din" along with me. He's the best translator we've got among the locals and truly his stout and kind heart reminds me of Gunga Din. I trust him to do the job more than the grad school hack assigned as my aid.

The young monster wailed behind the bars and mesh. She'd been treated well enough, given the necessities. The only thing that seemed to calm her is gentle music to which she likes to hiss along. It's how she earned her name.

I began my interview in the afternoon. St. Christopher warmed my chest and she shied from it. Din translated and my aid gives me real time translation of the code. I felt like a bad game of telephone was going on. The small monster just cried the same word over and over for the first few minutes. Din told me she was simply crying for her mother like any child would, abomination or not. It was a sobering experience.

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Day 40 of Operation Condemnation

Still no movement on the monster front. This whole operation has turned into the old military hurry up and wait.

I had to discipline the first soldier for fraternizing with the local women today. They are all over the men. They view us as something like demigods, one step below angels. Somehow this clean shaven look is tied in with their religious dogma. This type of contact was the mistake the first wave made, and I don't mean to repeat it.

We've also had our first converts, men asking for the protection of our powerful God. The Paladins say their light is dying even as ours blazes brighter than theirs during their grandfather's time. It's hard not to attribute this to the billions of believers in our world.

As a good Catholic, I can't help but notice the physical reaction of the denizens of this world to the god of Issac, Abraham, and Jacob. Call him Allah. Call him whatever you want. Something from our end is leaking through, and it weakens the god of the humans here at the same time. It worries me, even as our technological horrors play sentry for our men.

I don't have the bars to make these kind of decisions. I can only wait for orders higher up the foodchain. Guide me true, madre de dios, I beg you. Love. Love will see us through. Amen.

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Day 41 of Operation Condemnation

The special forces brought back something strange today. It had horns and a tail but dental records matched FFL Officer Albert from first wave. I sent it to the the lab for vivisection and examination. This could prove a massive complication.

The boys in lab coats tentatively describe his transformation as that of an "incubus", a dark legend that matches local's descriptions of men taken by powerful monsters. I can only wonder at the deep shit the black ops boys have put the rest of us in. What does the enemy know of us now?

In this war, with these natives, it must be a temptation to play God. Never has faith reminded me so much that we are but pieces in a larger game.

The aircav continue to to trickle in. It's one significant advantage we hold. It's one I mean to keep.

Offensive operations will begin soon. Are we ready? I have to believe it.
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Day 44 of Operation Condemnation.

Fortifications are completed and we're only waiting to receive our marching orders.

The scarcity of fuel out here kept the first wave from rolling in their fully-mechanized troops. We can't afford to halfass it this time.

Commandeering the local's coal mine, we've finished the set up of a coal coking and gassification station to provide us with fuel for our lowland transports and tanks. The aviation fuel we've been stockpiling from home will have to serve the birds we've been able to bring through, mostly choppers and navy gear due to the limited dimensions of the gate. We don't have a lot of tarmac to work with in any case. There's talk of a new gyrocopter model getting deployed with the German contingent that we're all anxious to see in action, road warrior jokes aside.

I caught Din singing Tom Petty's Refugee offkey today with some other Paladins. The lyrics seem to strike a chord with them. They all are keenly interested in our holy songs and chants but refrain from speaking them. It's blasphemy to praise another god as a knight of the church. That doesn't keep them away from our other music.

The most interesting thing is that the raw amount of metal we have is what impresses the humans the most. Technology is a lot like magic to them. It signals great power but is not necessarily alien. These people have seen floating castles and all sorts of sorcery. In a civilization who has yet to invent the blast furnace, the way we casually use and discard steel evokes awe.

Din asked me curiously about the lightness of his empty can after drinking a soda during a translation meeting with the church yesterday. When informed it was Aluminum, Din double-checked the translation. When assured that was not a mistake, he said he was not worthy of this much treasure. How could we possibly discard things of such value?

I feel like I'm trading in wampum.
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Day 46 of Operation Condemnation.

With our main force well-entrenched, I've been tasked with new orders. I've assigned several small cadres to secure additional areas for semi-permanent forward operating bases in the countryside.

We still haven't heard a peep from the demons and the monsters since the disastrous end of first wave and our minor cleanup when the spearhead of our wave arrived.

However, these new bases will be beyond the forest and the bounds of this human kingdom into demon lands. I think this will shake the hornet's nest. The locals agree, but church and the paladins offer to fight beside us. I've picked several to send as advisers and translators from the main translation group. Our main forces will standby to drop the hammer on whatever pops its head up.

In the best news I've had all week, I received information that the Air Force has taken control of one of the Space-X Falcon 1's and will be shipping it down here in pieces soon. That means we're getting a satellite, maybe more than one. We can finally learn some more about this rock than limited low-altitude drones can tell. Not a single one of the far range teams has reported back yet. Complications I'm sure or worse.

This would be so much damn easier if I knew what else was beyond my operating area. This information blackout is crippling. Do they even want us to win? Are we being hobbled on purpose by some machinations back home so we pull out? I can't think that way. I can't let the men think that way. We need a real fight and soon.
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Operation Condemnation Day 47

As a holdover command from first wave, we still have orders not to attack unarmed civilians.

Recommendation from up above is to tacitly classify anything monstrous as 'armed'. I refuse to apply those tactics right out of the gate. We dumped squawkers by drone into the few monster villages in our path with recorded messages by the locals saying to flee.

We're here to expand and protect the human domain. We need to to give them a refuge and arrest this situation that would soon result in their total extinction, not burn the whole world down.

I lost one of the new VTOL Shadows over the largest town to a dragon. She made good target practice for the rotar jocks before we dropped a few old M30's on the place. Still, I'd hate to fight a whole division of something like that. Reports say there's worse out here.

By nightfall we should have our area cleared. Recorded night attacks in the first wave have everyone on guard and our IR gear is deployed in force. These rolling hills make some ID difficult but our drones are doing their job. Even the church has set up one of their lookout balloons to keep watch.

Now we consolidate our territory. I hate this kind of war. It feels like old maps and lines and fronts. Where's the prime targets to airstrike, the strategic objectives? What are their supply lines, seats of government, areas of food production? Most of all, where did the demonic army go? I have nothing to work with. It's time I looked into supplementing my intelligence network.

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Operation Condemnation Day 48

The expected night attack came not from the ground but from the air.

A whole gross of harpies, some carrying pilfered equipment from the destroyed first wave flew in from the south. Some of those things even managed to loose a few PoS shoulder Stingers at our boys with their feet. We took several casualties near the radar station, none dead. Overall it was a turkey shoot. Just running the flyboys' radars in tracking mode was enough to knock them out of the sky. The radar had no effect on one bogey that crackled like lightning. Her large bolts, FM I think, zapped the ground station good and the current running through it is what hospitalized those men.

We took her down with plain old lead from a gunner in a Crash Hawk.

This is not the organized resistance I was led to expect. Luckily the dark and falls from great heights have rendered most of the remains as ugly as promised. It wouldn't do well for the men to see lifeless unblemished childish faces in the light of day.

This can't be what the church and the locals are afraid of. The Demon Lord is out there, and her forces wield much greater power than this.

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Operation Condemnation, Day 51

With our new forward bases operational, we can now observe the demon lands directly.

I've heard word from the chaplains that visions haunt their dreams. All of them say the same, rabbi, priests, ministers, and charlatans. The demon lord is coming. The very earth and air shall fight against us. Psychological warfare or a sign from god? I know not which in this place anymore. St. Christopher scorches my uniform. I can no longer lay him against my bare breast. None of these portents were recorded by first wave before their annihilation.

The first of my own scout teams returned today, local paladin in tow. The monster villages are forming militias against us. We still have seen no organized armies. It's pathetic to bring this might against peasants and farmers. But will will continue to drive the squatters back to the historical limits of this human kingdom. Man will have his sanctuary.

During their debriefing, I learned one new thing. The monsters call us the metal men. Even the locals are beginning to call us the Yewza instead of the strangers.