Riikka v. 2.0

story written by me & posted in another Paste by "TRYAGAINBRAGG", typos fixed & missing parts added
(part 2: https://pastebin.com/crap1WXs)
(part 3: https://pastebin.com/0cvmytDM)

PART 1

>the impossible has happened, Finnish Parliament has passed a law allowing reservists to keep assault rifles at home
>they'll still be government property but that's OK
>you receive a letter informing you that you can go pick up your personal weapon at the base nearby, you are to bring your own rifle case because open carry is still a touchy subject
>you go to the base in uniform because why not since technically picking up the rifle is official military business & carrying a rifle case around in a military base in civvies would probably make the conscript MPs more than just a bit nervous
>the armory is in an area you can't access on your own so you go to the MP station to get someone to open the gate
>the security chief himself comes to open the gate, asks where your car is
>"I came on foot, is that a problem?"
>the SSgt scratches his head and says: "technically not, but it might be best if I give you a ride home"
>"sorry for the trouble"
>you get in his patrol van and go to the armory
>the armorer checks your papers and goes in the back, returning with an Rk 62 with the M76 -style furniture & proceeds to read the number out loud for you
>mfw you immediately recognize the number
>it's the same rifle you were issued at the beginning of your mandatory service
>you check the number for yourself to make sure there's no mistake and sign the papers proving that you have been issued 762 Rk 62 number 804XXX along with cleaning kit, three magazines and a sealed box of ammo
>wait a minute a box of ammo? That's news to you
>the armorer, as if reading your mind, says "yeah FDF interprets that the spirit of the new law mandates issuing a box of ammo with the rifle, just don't go telling the whole world about it" and hands you a box of ammo
>you put everything you were issued in the case and walk back to the van with the SSgt & he drives you home

>you get inside and open the rifle case, you inspect every nook and cranny, finding the rifle to be in exactly the same condition she was when you returned her to the armory at the end of your service
>"no-one has shot you in almost seven years, have they?" you say, feeling embarassed for talking to your rifle, when suddenly you hear a voice behind you
>"no, they haven't"
>startled, you turn around to see a cute 20-something girl with long, light-brown hair
>"wha-" you begin to say but you are interrupted by the girl pouncing on you
>"long time no see anon! I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am to see you! I've missed you!" she practically screams at approximately 720 words per minute
>you start to figure out what's going on
>"...804XXX?"
>"...that reminds me, you never gave me a name", the girl says and pouts
>"...sorry, I don't know why I didn't, I have missed you too" you say, trying to appease her
>"really!? You mean that?" She asks with a tone mixed with astonishment and happines
>"well of course, after all we went through & you never failed me, how could I not have missed you?"
>you spend the rest of the day talking about the time you spent together, she appears to be a tomboy & full of energy
>"...so have you always been a waffengeist?" you ask
>"well yes, no, wait, I don't know, it's like I remember every detail of our time together, but at the same time I can't remember ever interracting with anyone until you took me out of the rifle case, now that I think about it it's like I fell asleep when you turned me in at the armory & when I woke up you were checking my serial number at the armory" she says with a hint of confusion and embarassment in her voice
>"...anyway, as embarassing as it is to admit, I have no idea what to do, I mean you are the first waffengeist I have encountered" you say, intending to continue when she interrupts

>"as well as the first girl who's not your relative who you have been this close to without either side being weirded out, right?" she says with a mischievous smile
>"...well there was one girl before my service, but then again things *were* weird between us, probably because both of us were and still are weird" you say before continuing from where you were interrupted
>"but as I said, this is all new to me, so, what do you think we should do about this?"
>"about what?" she asks, puzzled
>"well, you are a rifle, but you are also a girl, I'd feel bad locking you up in a gun safe but I can't exactly leave you laying around, plus I don't know anything about waffengeists other than that they exist, do you eat human food, does your body...like...function...like-"
>"you want to know if I pee and shit, don't you?" she asks demandingly
>"...among other things"
>"well to be completely hones, I have no idea" she says with a smile on her face
>this girl is going to be a handfull you think, when you realise that you still haven't agreed upon a name for her
>"you mentioned I didn't give you a name during my service, should I give you one now?"
>"what do you think?" she asks as if talking to an idiot, well you *are* an idiot so fair enough
>you start thinking about a name, remembering how you once joked that you should have named your rifle after your sister since when either one starts making noice you won't want to be on the receiving end
>"...and don't even _think_ about naming me after your sister!" she says menacingly
>"...you can read my thoughts, can't you?"
>"not really, I just somehow knew you were about to suggest naming me after your sister because of some lame joke you came up with in the past"
>"...what do you think about "Riikka"?" you ask after think for a while, now that you think about it, how did you end up suggesting that name? Right, Rk = Riikka, that's it
>her face lights up "what do I think about it? It's great!" she shouts as she pounces

>_way_ too energetic you think, oh well, at least she likes you (for the time being anyway...)
>"so, again, what do you think we should do?"
>"well babies are obviously out of question" she says, then grins
>dirty sense of humor and absolutely no shame, I have a feeling we'll get along just fine after all...
>"har har, now seriously what should we do about your storage?"
>"haven't you figured it out already? I have two separate bodies so to speak, keeping the rifle-me in a gun safe has no effect on human-me" she says with annoyed tone
>"well I figured I should check before placing rifle-you in the safe and locking the door" you reply
>"...oh, right, didn't think of it that way" she says
>so she's also a bit of an airhead, huh. This combination of characteristics is starting to sound like an anime...
>"well that's settled then, we'll figure out the rest as we go" you say, then you remember that you hadn't completed the inspection & start wondering if you should proceed with field-stripping her when she blushes and says
>"...geez, it's still too early to think about that you perv!"
>"...you _are_ reading my mind"
>"I didn't have to, it was written all over your face" she proclaims
>"...ok, we'll get back to that at a later time, your sling seems to still be the same "just-about-to-snap" -one it was seven years ago, and I was thinking of getting a three-point sling anyway, what do you think?" you ask
>her face brightens as she seems as if she's about to explode and says "really? can we go right now? Please please please say we'll go right now pretty please?" she begs with puppy-eyes
>"...I doubt the one gun store in this town has anything like that, we'd better go to varusteleka in Helsinki"
>"then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" she shouts, intent on going immediately
>you check the time and notice there's plenty of time to get to Helsinki before Varusteleka closes, you have been thinking about visiting anyway

>"...fine, will it be ok to leave rifle-you here?"
>"why should we?" human-Riikka asks as she pick up the rifle-Riikka & rifle-Riikka vanishes
>"...so you can make either one of your forms to appear and disappear at will?" you ask like the autist you are
>"well of course, actually it's exhausting to maintain both forms simultaneously, now less talking and more going!" she exclaims as she drags you to the hallway
>"ok I'm coming!" you say while a thought crosses your mind: aside from her face you haven't really taken a good look at her, will she stand out in public?
>you take a step back and check her from head to toes while she wraps her arms around her chest and blushes
>"geez, don't look at me so intensively!" she complains but her expression suggests she had been waiting for you to do this
>yfw she's a solid 10/10 even though the hoodie she's now wearing hides her figure from neck down to her hips (when did she change clothes, you could have sworn that a moment ago she was wearing a white shirt with two buttons open, black V-neck sweater, relatively short pleated black skirt and black pantyhose, wait, you did notice what she was wearing after all? how ADD can you be?) for bottom she's wearing ladyfit BDUs with woodland pattern, actually now that you think about it she actually looks more like she's in her late teens, it's the aura she's emitting that makes her appear 20-something
>...wait a second, now that you _really_ think about it her apparent age seems to alter depending on god knows what, but you'll figure it out soon enough...
>in any case nothing wrong with her appearance, damn that long, light-brown ponytail looks good on her
>Riikka blushes again but doesn't say anything, you start putting on your shoes when you realise you have no idea what the weather is like, you put on combat boots just in case, grab your cap and step out with Riikka following you, she grabs your arm as you close the door and she's once again full of energy

>you notice on the train that she's shy around other people, how can she go from energetic to dirty to energetic again followed by shy to energetic to shy again in just a few hours?
>Riikka kicks your foot and looks at you angrily, she seems seriously pissed
>if she isn't reading your mind, then what _is_ it that she's doing?
>"...what does it matter, all you need to know is that I _will_ know what you are thinking when you think about me" she says quietly
>oh, so that's what's going on, not that knowing that helps very much, you'll still have to be careful with your thoughts, this girl can actually kill yo-oh shit!
>"...no I can't, we can only hurt humans when we are used by them, but not on our own" she says grimly, you panic while you try to come up with some sort of distraction, when suddenly some jock forces his way past you to the window seat across from Riikka, he's drunk and even you can tell what he's thinking while he's checking Riikka out. Things are _really_ going south right now...
>"So, what is a cutie like you doing with this loser?" the jock says while bringing his face closer to Riikka's his breath smells of booze, not beer or liquor, straight-up vodka or brännvin, and he has taken a fair amount you think when you are reminded of an incident half a year ago when another guy in more or less the same condition jumped you just because you happened to look at him at the wrong moment
>this is seriously going south you think when another drunk guy appears and drags the other guy away while apologizing. Crisis averted.
>You look at Riikka as you let out a sigh of relief, and she says "would you _really_ have done that had he actually touched me?" she asks
>you freeze as you think back to the moment he started talking to Riikka, you realize that for a split second before his buddy came to take him away you were considering grabbing the fire-extinguisher from under your seat and swinging it at him.
>"...all that matters is that I didn't have to"

>"well if something like this happens again, don't, I'd rather not be forced to give a statement when I don't have any form of ID, also if you were to get charged with a battery you might end up in prison and I wouldn't see you again in a long time" she says
>"if I were charged with battery I'd be kicked out of the Local Defence troops and you'd be taken away for good, but yeah I see your point" you say, checking the time as arrival to the Pasila station is announced
>"this is our stop, are you hungry?" you ask while getting up
>"I-I don't know, I mean my belly feels strange & it's as if it's being pulled inside" she says, flustered
>"That means "yes, I am hungry", let's go get something to eat" you say exiting the train and walking towards escalators while Riikka rushes after you and grabs your arm again
>"wait for me, I can't keep up with you!" she protests and continues:
>"wait, what about our connection?" she asks
>"our tickets are still valid for another 50 minutes or so, eating takes less than 20 and trains have 30-minute intervals" you explain as you grab her waist with your free hand and move her to the same side of the escalator with you so that people who are in a hurry can pass you.
>Riikka is taken by surprise by your sudden action but doesn't seem to mind you putting your hand on her waist without warning like you feared, once again you notice your carelessnes and start cursing yourself when she chuckles
>"you are an idiot, you know that?" she says and smiles
>"I have been told that before, strangely enough" you say as you get to the top & step off the escalator. Riikka holds your arm more tightly as she looks around the vast, open space that is the Pasila station building
>How can an assault rifle be so cute you think as you lead the way towards a burger joint, Riikka blushes slighly but doesn't say anything

>if you thought shy Riikka was cute, you have seen nothing yet as you come to realise as you eat and see Riikka's reaction when she takes her first bite from her cheeseburger, you are starting to think that you really _are_ characters in an anime.
>The only way you can describe her reaction to hesburger's cheeseburger is "a puppy exploding with excitement over a new experience", you can almost see her wagging her tail while she eats the cheeseburger, then as soon as the burger is no more she gets depressed. Resigned to you fate you go order another cheeseburger for her, then a third one. She has also eaten both her and your fries while waiting for her cheeseburgers, is her stomach a black hole or something? You are a bit jealous as she seems to be able to keep on eating the deliciousness that is hesburger's cheeseburger without getting stuffed.
>After the third burger the two of you agree that you have to get going before your tickets expire, at Varusteleka her puppy-mode activates once again as she looks around, she's attracting more than little attention but you don't care because she looks so happy, at least this puppy won't be eating your shoes or destroying the couch you think when you, once again too late, remember her telepathy as she turns towards you pouting.
>You flag down an employee and ask about the slings, it turns out they only have two- and one-point slings, after some back and forth with the employee you decide on a one point sling & do some browsing with Riikka before going to the checkout. She seems frustrated she hadn't been updated to M -standard before being issued to you, brightens up but once you quietly remind her that if she had been updated she'd probably never have been issued to you.
>With your shopping trip finished you walk back to the station to wait for the train back to Pasila, Riikka isn't quite as shy anymore but she's not letting go of your arm either. You didn't really notice it earlier but she's rather well-equippe-

>as soon as you realize what you just did Riikka reacts, though her reaction is anything but what you expected as she smiles sadistically and whispers
>"just you wait, in two hours I'll have my revenge"
>you are puzzled as she winks and acts as if nothing special had happened, your mind races as you try to figure out what she means, is she mad? What was that wink? She wouldn't happen to mean...
>"...seriously anon? That's some 4chan -level shit right there" she says while looking away, is that amusement you are hearing in her voice?
>"...should I be worried you even know what 4chan is, left alone what kind of shit is posted there?"
>"your thoughts have told me everything I need to know about that site" she replies before suddenly moving in front of you and hugging you, wait, what is she doing with her hands...
>"I changed my mind, my revenge starts right now" she says while fondling you, not caring about the dozen or so onlookers around you. Time is of essence, if you don't do something quickly things will be too awkward to do anything until Riikka decides she has tortured you enough, so you decide just as the window to act is closing, you are launching a counterattack.
>Just as you are about to act the announcement about the train's arrival comes out and Riikka lets go, but her reaction at the last moment before the announcement & her mischievous smile afterwards say that not only is she going to strike the moment you drop your guard, but also that she'll be disappointed if you don't counterattack.
>You feel oddly aroused as the two of you step into the train back to Pasila. The next two hours are going to be the longest in your life, but all you can think of is what it is you find at the end of those two hours.

>two hours later you are back at your apartment, you take out the sling and ask for rifle-Riikka, human-Riikka is suspicious, asking
>"what are you going to do?"
>you act innocent and say "don't you want to replace the sling?" and human-Riikka immediately brings out rifle-Riikka
>you take the rifle and carefully remove the sling and put it safely away before putting in the new sling, Riikka is excited and doesn't notice you have taken out another thing you also purchased when she wasn't looking
>quickly, before Riikka can react, you remove the dust cover, flip the selector to "fire", pull out the recoil spring and bolt carrier, followed by taking off the gas tube
>"anon what are you doing?" Riikka exclaims as she's stripped down
>"like you didn't know what was going to happen" you say while you show her the item you had secretly bought: a 7.62mm boresnake
>Riikka goes beet-red as you spray some gun oil in the barrel and pull the bore snake through the barrel swiftly yet gently
>Riikka's legs give away and she starts to fall when you catch her and lay her down. You insert the boresnake into the chamber once again and pull it through the barrel a second time, this time far more slowly while Riikka moans loudly. You take out a tissue & few q-tips and wipe off the storage grease from the receiver, bolt carrier and the bolt & proceed to cleaning every nook and cranny of any gunk that has accumulated inside the receiver.
>"I don't remember you ever having been so good at this in the past" Riikka says while breathing heavily
>"I may have learned a trick or two in seven years" you reply before saying
>"but we aren't done yet, you see this wasn't the only bore snake I bought" and produce the second one, this one being for 20-gauge shotgun
>"wh-what are you going to do with that?" Riikka asks trembling
>you smile and reply "this is for the gas tube"
>Riikka goes pale and says "no, please don't not right after what you just did"

>you smile and say "we need to be thorough with your cleaning, don't worry, I won't do anything bad like scraping powder residue from the piston head with a knife or anything like that, just relax while I take care of you"
>you spray some gun oil in the gas tube and insert the 20-gauge snake in the tube, Riikka holds her breath waiting for the pull, but you stop, Riikka looks at you, her eyes half-relieved, half-begging you to pull the snake through the tube
>"you know what, you are right, cleaning the gas tube is too much after what you have just been through" you say as you start taking the snake out
>Riikka is puzzled, her eyes are begging you to pull the bore snake through the tube
>"should I clean the tube? or should I stop for the day and put you back together?" you ask
>"...please clean my gas tube" she finally says before being overtaken by pleasure as you oblige.
>after finishing with the gas tube you put rifle-Riikka back together, wipe her once more with paper towels and sit next to human-Riikka who's still breathing heavily.
>Human-Riikka grabs rifle-Riikka with shaky hands and rifle-Riikka disappears again. Riikka looks you in the eye and asks "is this your revenge for what happened on the return-trip?"
>You look at her with surprised expression and say "of course not, I just couldn't bear having you covered in that storage grease, I have seen what happens when a firearm is left in FDF's storage grease for too long"
>"I can't tell if you are telling the truth or not" she says while pulling you down before continuing
>"but one thing is certain; I must thank you for the good care you have given me"
>you are tired, but somehow you know you're not getting much sleep tonight

>You had seen many sides of Riikka in the last 12 hours, now you are about to see the rest of one that so far she had only hinted at
>having recovered surprisingly quickly from the cleaning, Riikka forces herself on top, she sits on top of your pelvis and takes off her hair tie, followed by slowly taking off her hoodie, her 10/10 body turns out to be 11/10.
>Your hands start instinctively moving towards her chest, but Riikka grabs your wrists and guides your hands to her hips as she starts grinding. Her perfect breasts distract you so you don't notice what's happening until her face is inches away from yours.
>Before you can react she grabs hold of your head and starts kissing you with primal ferocity. You lose track of time until she finally pulls away, out of breath, she takes off your shirt and kisses you again before starting to move down to your neck, to your chest and keeping going down until she reaches your pants.
>"Should I take off your pants? Should I not take off your pants?" she asks, but you both know the question is rhetorical & without waiting for your reply she proceeds to open your belt and pull down your pants.
>"My God, you should be ashamed, keeping this hidden from the women of the World!" she exclaims as she starts stroking your dick, for someone who has only had a human body for 12 hours she's incredibly skilled with her hands, and her mouth...you are torn between reaching down to her and pulling her back up to kiss her again and letting her to proceed to teh next stage,
>In the end you let her do as she pleases & things move to the next stage with her sucking on your dick as if her life depended on it. You are already past 7th Heaven and can't even imagine that things could get any better. You should know better than that by now.
>Just as you feel you are half-way there Riikka stops. Puzzled, you look down to her and see her taking off her pants. It's time for the main event.

>Riikka moves up and sits on top of your lower abdomen, she takes your dick in her hand and places it between her cheeks and starts grinding, after teasing you this way for a while she guides your dick to her lips and starts slowly taking it in.
>Once you are completely inside she starts moving her hips slowly, then a bit faster, she keeps speeding up until just as you start fearing that either one of you is going to get injured the two of you reach climax simultaneously, but you don't notice as you are no longer in this world.
>An unknown period of time later as you come to Riikka is cuddled up next to you, she's drawing something on your chest while look it at your face
>"what are you looking at so intensely?" you ask
>"well I _was_ looking at your funny sleeping face" she says
>"do I have to punish you?" you ask
>"what, you have enough strength to move?!" she asks, full of hope
>"...probably not" you reply
>"then I guess I'll just have to take the lead during the second round as well" she says and starts getting on top again
>you can't decide if you should be happy or worried.
>You really aren't going to sleep tonight.

>the next morning you are both too tired to get up before afternoon, as you muster the strength to get up you talk about the last night, you both agree things got out of hand, but neither one of you wants to pretend that last night didn't happen.
>After you finally get up and are making coffee your phone rings, it's a friend from your Local Defence troops company telling you that he and some others from the company are going to pick up some ammo and go to the range to practice with their Rks & asks if you'd like to come along.
>Knowing perfectly well what the answer will be, you mute your phone and ask Riikka if she wants to go.
>"We are going to the range? Why are you still standing there, let's go already!" she exclaims as she runs in circles between hallway and the kitchen. You notice something new about her as you watch her running around; she has pointed dog ears and a bushy tail.
>You recall hearing about waffengeists sharing both external as well as behaviorial characteristics with certain animals, it seems like Riikka's come from Finnish Spitz, at least that would explain a lot.
>You manage to calm her down and finish the phone call by telling your friend that you'll be coming along. You and Riikka finish preparing and eating your late breakfast and make preparations for the trip to the range. Riikka isn't too happy about having to appear in her rifle form during the trip, but in the end agrees that it's unavoidable, however she does make you promise that the two of you will be going to the range alone in the near future so that she can enjoy the range in her human form.
>"And one more thing", Riikka says as she's about to bring out her rifle form and disappear her human form
>"Don't you dare to try and feed me some cheap-ass, Russian-made, steel-cased ammo, I want Lapua!" she states her demands.
>"That will depend on what the store has available, though I think A will be shooting Lapua, maybe he has extra"

>Just as A's car appears in the driveway you agree on a compromise: if there is no Lapua available, any non-Russian, brass-cased ammo will do.
>"What a spoiled girl I have been issued with" you think, "though I guess when, as an assault rifle made for the FDF, all anyone has ever fed her, with the possible exception of Russian-made tracers, has been Lapua, or VPT as the manufacturer was called back when she was made, her preferences cannot be influenced."
>You put Riikka in the rifle case and go outside & step in the car, after a brief exchange of greetings you head for the gun store to get ammo before proceeding to the range.
>At the gun store you find yourself in luck as they do in fact have Lapua, you cringe upon seeing the price tag but it can't be helped, Riikka might make your shooting practice fruitless if you don't get the Lapua.
>At range you notice almost everyone is shooting Lapua, stating that Rk deserves only the best. You wonder if everyone present has been issued with a waffengeist, but asking about it would probably be pointless as so far very few gun owners seem to believe waffengeists even exist.
>All in all the practice is a success, Riikka is just as accurate as you remember, in fact everyone seems to have been issued with a properly maintained Rk, the two guys who were issued 62Ms due to their tasks in the company are especially pleased with their rifles.
>You'd like to try one of them, but are afraid Riikka might get upset (no, she most certainly _would_ get upset-) if you were to shoot any other Rk when she's there...
>Now that you think about it, no-one is touching each others' rifles, I guess it's almost certain there _are_ other waffengeists in the range...

>after shooting for a few hours you pack up, agree to meet later at your home town's reservists' union chapter's club house for sauna and 'refreshments' once everyone has cleaned their rifles and changed clothes.
>You hitch a ride with another friend who lives near you but couldn't pick you up. You spend the return trip talking about the new law & how much easier it makes shooting practice for the reservists. He gives you a knowing wink when the discussion shifts to cleaning your rifle & you mention the bore snakes you had bought the day before. He almost certainly knows about waffengeists & at least suspects that Riikka is one of them, but neither one of you mentions them directly.
>At home you take Riikka out and start preparing her for cleaning by oiling her thoroughly so that you can just wipe the powder residue and/or other gunk off, human-Riikka appears and tries talking you into staying at home with her instead of going to the club, she really is clingy and knows which strings to pull, but you stay headstrong and go after cleaning her a little bit so that she doesn't feel like you are abandoning her.
>The night at the club passes like all the previous meetups have; sauna, grill sausages, couple beers (or a dozen-) & random discussion about FDF, gun laws, various problems that have been on the media recently, past and coming exercises as well as politics.
>Uncharacteristically for you, you are among the first to leave & at home Riikka sticks to you like a shadow, a very noisy, needy & cute shadow, she obviously wants you to clean her, but you find her so cute you decide to tease her & pretend you don't notice her less-than-subtle hints.
>In the end you can't keep a straight face any more & clean her with great care. While in the morning she was a hyperactive puppy, now she's like a cat pestering you for rubs, and you have never been able to resist when a cat has pestered you for rubs, so soon enough Riikka is practically purring in your lap.

>You are unsure how you actually feel about Riikka, is she just your rifle, a friend, girlfriend, a pet or something else? What is the nature of _her_ feelings for _you_? Your pondering is interrupted by Riikka's demand for attention (by the way, she hasn't shown any kind of reaction to your thoughts about her since last night, has she somehow turned her telepathy off, or is she simply ignoring your thoughts about her?)
>"I'm sure everything will work out" you think to yourself as you stroke Riikka's hair while she cuddles next to you. After a while Riikka falls asleep and as you carry her to bed you realize the two of you haven't talked about sleeping arrangements & your bed is the only one in the house that's ready & you don't feel like making a second one this late at night.
>"Meh, I spent weeks in a cramped tent innawoods practically cuddling with Riikka during my mandatory service, it's not that different situation" you reason while you lay her on one side of the bed & occupy the other side by yourself, if she has a problem with this arrangement you'll know about it within seconds when she wakes up...
>In the morning you are the last one to wake up, or rather Riikka wakes you up by jumping on top of you.
>"So, are you a house cat now or what?" you ask her while looking for your glasses on the nightstand.
>"Hihii, not telling you!" she replies with a mischievous smile.
>...what ever, she's probably just bored & using you as a live toy
>"I so am not!" she protests
>Oh, the telepathy works after all
>You still can't believe this is Rk 62, an incredibly reliable precision tool of war, but then again an average foreigner probably wouldn believe that you are an infantry NCO either, so there's that...
>"Isn't causing massive casualties and humiliating defeats to our enemies by simply being full of nasty surprises more or less the very reason our country oves her freedom to?" Riikka asks while tilting her head.
>"...You truly are a "Sako", Riikka" you reply
>"How come?" she asks
>"Hihii, not telling!" you mimick her earlier reply to you.

>Few weeks later
>It's been a few weeks now & you have figured out a routine that works for both of you. The parliament has passed a number of new laws regarding FDF & apparently they are going to vote on an extra budget for materiel acquisitions. No-one is saying it out loud, but it looks like Finland is preparing for war.
>"Hey hey, let's go to the range again" Riikka says while wagging her tail
>Ever since the commander of the military district declared FDF's shooting ranges open to reservists to practice on at their own expense last week the two of you have already spent three days practicing in the nearby base, and Riikka seems determined to go today as well.
>"Again? I'm not made out of money you know" you say when someone rings the doorbell. You go to the door to find a motorbike "runner" with a very familiar envelope in hand.
>"Corporal Anon?" the runner asks while standing to attention and saluting.
>"I am" you reply while returning the salute
>"Letter for you from the military district, sir!" says the runner and extends the hand holding the envelope towards you. In Finnish Army you address everyone senior to you in rank as "sir", or that's how it's supposed to go anyway, reservists like you only bother to do it on formal occasions or as a joke between friends, but this runner is a conscript & doesn't dare to ignore the regulations.
>"At ease, do you have any instructions regarding the delivery of this letter?" you ask while accepting the letter, you can see through the window on the envelope that it's the white & green call-up order that you have known to expect.
>"Only that I am to deliver it sir!" the runner replies.
>"Very well, carry on private" you say and salute, the runner returns the salute, does a flawless about-face and leaves.
>You close the door and walk to the living room where Riikka is waiting anxiously.

>"Was that a runner?" she asks.
>"Yes, looks like Local Defence troops are finally being called up" you reply while opening the envelope.
>"That means mobilisation will follow within a forthnight, doesn't it?" she asks
>"Possibly, it could also be that only the category 1 and 3 forces are being called up & category 2 will follow later if necessary" you say while you read your orders. Category 1 forces means the two Mechanized battlegroups, special forces, Air force, Navy & other strategic forces, category 3 are the Local forces that defend their own local areas as well as facilitate & secure the mobilisation of the other two categories.
>"This friday, 0800 at latest in Armoured brigade, I guess they want to keep "the Yellow State" guessing where the call-up centers for category 2 will be established, as of the moment I finish reading these orders I am permitted to open the sealed box of ammo & use it to defend myself, government property and/or municipality/government officials as well as military personnel and members of emergency services" you say as you finish reading the orders.
>You walk to the gun safe and take out the ammo box you were issued along with Riikka, you don't open it yet, instead you put it in your pocket & instead load all except one of your magazines with ammo you bought yourself, you'll load the last one with the sealed ammo on friday morning & mark the magazine with tape in case the government wants the issued ammo back. If you have to resort to using your rifle before friday it makes no difference are you using issued ammo or ammo you bought yourself.
>"...color me surprised, you spend too much time planning your actions in unlikely scenarios" Riikka says while observing you.
>"Well this time I got to actually put one of those plans into effect" you reply as you put extra magazine pouches on your modular vest & put the full magazines in them.
>"Does this mean you'll spend the rest of the week walking around in full combat kit?"

>"of course not, though I will be bringing full mags with me where ever we go" you say while trying to recall if there is something you'd need to get before friday
>""We", as in the two of us?" Riikka asks
>"Yes, the two of us, if the FDF gives me permission to use lethal force in self-defence, things have reached the point where I'd better have my service rifle with me at all times, scared citizens and peacetime laws be damned, don't you think?" you reply, expecting her to agree and/or be happy about the fact that from now on you'll be taking her with you where ever you go, instead she frowns and says:
>"Is that what I am to you, your service rifle and nothing else?"
>"What? Of course not, what are you talking about?" you ask, wondering what's gone into her.
>"You only ever take me to the range, when ever someone comes to visit I have to disappear my human form, if someone happens to see me you make something up..." she starts listing different things
>"That's only because if we are constantly seen together people will start asking questions, very few people know about waffengeists and even fewer believe they exist, so either I introduce you as my girlfriend or something like that & risk getting us into messy situations, or we try to limit the number who know about you to the bare minimum"
>"Well what's wrong about people thinking I am your girlfriend? Were you perhaps planning on picking up girls at a bar and bringing them here?" she nearly screams at you.
>"Actually I was worried that if we said that you are my girlfriend, we'd end up in situations where you'd have to act the part even if you don't want to, and I can't allow that" you explain, hoping shebelieves you since that's the truth, so far she doesn't seem convinced.
>"And why wouldn't I want to act the part of your girlfriend? Are you seriously so blind to what's happening right in front of you?" She asks

>"...I didn't want to make assumptions about the nature of our relationship & at the same time I was too afraid to ask" you explain, and it seems to do the trick because Riikka goes from pissed to...well, being Riikka:
>"You really are a hopeless idiot" she laughs before suddenly pinning you against the wall
>"Shall I answer your questions by showing you?" she asks with a tempting tone you haven't heard since the day the two of you were reunited.
>"...As tempting as that sounds, I'll have to take a rain check for the time being", you say while trying to figure out how to get out of this situation without stepping into a figurative mine.
>"Tsck! You are no fun today...", she complains as she lets go of you, but she's still sort-of smiling, this seems like as good opportunity as they come so you go on the offensive:
>"In any case I still think pretending that you are my girlfriend is still wrong", you say and wait a second while she processes what you said, and as she's about to say something you continue:
>"the key word here is "pretending"", you finish and observe her reaction, which is that of initial confusion, followed by slight blush, then her customary pounce.
>"You better say right now if you are joking, because if you don't and it turns out later that you were in fact joking, I'm going to kill you" she says with a dead-serious tone, but you have no intention what so ever to take back what you just said:
>"I'm not joking Riikka."
>Riikka goes...well, Riikka, running around & trying to pounce you every time she passes you, but you have gained enough experience with her to dodge her most of the time & after a while, once she's calmed down, you go back to checking the orders to see if you missed anything & notice the sheet is double-sided, you start reading the other side and realize that your observation at the range with the others from your company weren't just your imagination:

>"...everyone issued with a rifle containing a spirit commonly knowns as "waffengeist" is to inform company commander about it at number XXX-XXX-XXXX, so I really am not the only one", you say as you look at Riikka.
>"Duh, I already knew as much", she says as if there was never a question about it.
>"You knew? Why didn't you say anything?" you ask, puzzled.
>"You didn't ask", she replies as if it was nothing special.
>As you think about your reply your phone rings, it's your FO-team leader.
>"Anon", you say as you answer the phone.
>"Hi, did the runner already bring you the orders?" your team leader asks.
>"Yes, I was just about to call company commander" you reply, wondering what it is he's calling about.
>"Your's as well, huh...in any case do you have a weather-proof notepad?" he asks as he changes the subject and gets to the point.
>"I don't think so, why?" you ask even though you already know what he's going to say.
>"Go get one where ever you can, we don't have enough FO -trained NCOs so you might be assigned as one" he explains.
>"My primary job is signals though, and we have even direr shortage of trained radio-operators" you reply, knowing you are going to lose the argument anyway.
>"I know, but it's easier to train a rifleman to use the radio and the encryption/messaging device than it is to train a new FO-NCO"
>"Point taken, anything else I should get while I am shopping for supplies?" you ask.
>"Nothing that comes to mind right now, think you can handle the job?" he asks.
>"I think so, I think you and the artillery liaison officer trained me well enough" you reply.
>"Ok, I trust I don't need to tell you how important it is that from now on you keep your rifle with you at all times"
>"Thought as much as well" you reply.
>"Ok, that is all, over and out" he finishes with a little joke.
>"Over and out", you play along.
>"Ok Riikka, we have our first item on our "things we need to get" -list" you say as you dial the company commander's number.

>The rest of the week goes in a flash as you finish your preparations for active duty, from what Riikka has told you it seems dozens of the guys in your company have waffengeists, apparently they only need food when they maintain their human forms for extended periods of time, but that's a problem for the company staff and above to figure out.
>By friday you have just finished preparing your Defender for military service & are picking up the rest of your team on your way to Armoured brigade. The police have established a number of checkpoints to conduct "sobriety checks", but judging from the fact that as soon as they see a Defender full of soldiers they just wave you through it appears that's just a cover for some-what discreet surveillance of traffic on major roads while full mobilisation is underway. At the main gate of the base the change from peace-time operations to preparations for war couldn't be more much more obvious; not only are the MPs at the gate in full kit complete with rifles that are almost certainly loaded, there is now a dedicated soldier checking the undersides of the entering vehicles with a mirror & there's a dog-handler checking anyone trying to enter on foot, you can also see armed MPs patrolling the perimeter on foot in pairs, the only thing missing are "stoppers" armed with GPMGs and/or AT -weapons covering the gate, but then again it might be they are simply out of sight just as they should be.
>After entering the base you drive straight to the designated rally point where you are immediately directed to the company sergeant major to fill the paperwork for recquisitioning of your Defender into military service. There is some back-and-forth about the practical arrangements regarding your car as you haven't finished your required training course to be allowed to drive military vehicles, but in the end it is decided that what ever it is you may lack in knowledge regarding operating a military vehicle you'll learn on the job.

>after the paperwork is done you rush to the auditorium where the company is slowly gathering for the starting briefing, as usual there's coffee & as usual the line of people waiting to get their caffeine fix is almost out the door. The briefing consists of a summary of the current situation & the program for the day, after which the rest of the company's equipment is received & distributed, as the designated driver in your team you get to sign for the trailer for your team's equipment under your own name, but you don't really care about the added responsibility, at least now you don't have to hitch a ride in the first vehicle that has room for another passenger & you know for a fact that your car is in better condition than any of its siblings that were already government property when this all started.
>After the team's equipment is loaded on the trailer you go to the CSM to get the rest of the individual gear that you haven't been issued & haven't acquired on your own, CSM curses your team over everyone having their own modular vests & how having to cross out the vest from everyone's "gear issued" -papers is giving him a headache.
>You are reminded of the downsides of being in FO -team as you are issued flak vests with a pair of class III ceramic inserts weighing a ton each. Riikka makes an appearance in her human form just to laugh at your misery as you try to figure out where to stuff the flak vest as you can't wear it while driving (seriously who did the Britbongs have in mind when they designed this SUV? Certainly not a car-load of Nordic men in full kit, that's for sure) & you still have to have it on hand on a moment's notice.

>After all the preparations are complete the company is declared war-ready & assigned to support the MPs in patrolling the base & the surrounding area your team is attached to the mortar platoon in order to bond with them as, unlike the rest of the company who are all volunteers, the mortar platoon consists of regular reservists who just got assigned to the company & have had little interaction with the rest of the company aside from a few bigger exercises.
>The members of the mortar platoon are busy lining up to buy the officially unofficial company patch as practically everyone else has it & they don't wnat to be left out when they are also part of the same company, the supply the warrant officer who arranged them has brought with him soon dries out & those of the volunteers who have spare ones are selling them at an inflated price, and as you also have a couple extra just in case you decide to cash in on the opportunity as well.
>The mortar platoon is assigned to provide security for the barracks the company is staying in for the time being, meaning your team is getting a better deal than the rest of the company who have to provide foot- and car patrols in the area 24/7 until further notice.
>As usual your sentry duty starts at stupid-o'clock-thirty but with Riikka to keep you company it's less dull than usual, though after the first hour you start wishing you were assigned to the foot patrol instead as Riikka, being Riikka, has trouble staying put, luckily you are stationed otside at the main entrance so the ruckus she's causing doesn't keep the whole company awake.
>Every now and then through your shift people would come outside for a smoke, technically smoking outside of designated smoking areas is forbidden, but as with all the other peace-time regulations that one has also been discarded & it's starting to show as the bucket reserved for the cigarette butts is overflowing & you just know that someone in the company staff is going to throw a fit.

>As Monday morning comes the routine has settled in just to be broken by the arrival of the first category 1 troops, a mechanized jäger company who, it appears, will be inheriting your quarters by dinner which means you'll have to vacate the barracks by then & move to another location which in all likelihood will be innawoods somewhere in the province.
>You are a bit torn between having to leave "the civilization" for the woods & all the extra misery that comes with it, but on the other hand you have missed the experience of having a tent heated by a stove & lit by a kerosene lamp for accommodation. As an added bonus your team has its own tent that nominally houses 10, but as your team has five members (plus waffengeists, of which your team has three) you'll have plenty of room even if the waffengeists decide to appear in their human forms.
>Speaking of waffengeists, they are all young women & excepting yourself each one of them has been issued to a married man, a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed. While none of the others is anywhere close to Riikka (you think she's special with her hyperactivity-) they all seem to have dirty minds & twisted sense of humor (which, knowing the men in your company, might be a traits learned form their 'owners'-) which is a source of endless entertainment for everyone else but the person whose waffengeist it is that is providing the entertainment at any given time.
>Everyone has already noticed Riikka's special characteristics & are constantly trying to fan the flames when ever it looks like Riikka is about to do something entertaining, and even though you are a corporal, in this company you might as well be a private because aside from the mortar platoon practically everyone else has chevrons on their uniform & most of them at least as much as you, meaning you can't really pull rank on anyone when they are making fun of you, not that you could even if you did outrank them as that's how Finnish reserve units generally roll

>After breakfast the company commander calls all drivers to a briefing for the motor march to your next location, it turns out the company will be establishing its base of operations in your childhood home town close to a strip of highway earmarked for use as a highway base by the air force.
>While there are plenty of people from the area, the company commander remembers your personal history with the area especially well & as such grills you for any details you can remember about the area surrounding the highway base, but as it turns out your knowledge about the vicinity of the highway base is limited to what you can see while driving through it, but luckily there are a few usefull details about the wider area around the highway you can share with your chain of command that don't show on official maps.
>In the end you aren't being assigned as an NCO in another FO -team after all, which is fine by you as you have come to know your team as intimately as possible without it being gay & as such your team work is seamless.
>The next item on the agenda as far as you are concerned is a briefing with the artillery liaison officer from battalion staff along with your company's forward observers & mortar platoon's commanding officer who all want to know everything you can tell about the area.
>You aren't alone in this; there are a couple of others who know the area, but the area they are most interested in happens to be the neighborhood you grew up in & they grill you about the details; how close to certain point on the highway can the mortars be brought so that they can be both used to rain death upon any unfriendly traffic on the highway as well as evacuated within minutes after firing.
>You scratch your head as you think, the terrain in that neighborhood is about as uneven as it can be & any level ground has a house with a huge lawn on it, meaning the mortars would be out in the open there. After much deliberation you come up with a couple possible sites.

>Couple of days later
>Your company has established its base of operations in the woods near the highway base & men have been assigned to conduct random checks on passing vehicles. You wish the chair force would send their own men to take over covering the highway base already, that's their job after all.
>The waffengeists found a cat and are now petting it, company commander tried to tell them that we can't allow pets due to hygiene reasons but was promptly defeated, besides now they are preoccupied with the cat so maybe they'll leave you guys alone for the time being.
>"I joined this company in order to occasionally escape from my wife, then I get issued this waffengeist who acts like a second wife, and now there are twenty of them all around me!" one guy from 1st platoon complains.
>"Keep it down, they'll hear you!" you say half-jokingly, but you know how he feels, the only thing scarier than a woman is a group of women, and these women are all armed...

>Your team leader comes out of the commander's tent and gestures you to go start the car as he starts looking for the rest of the team. You go get Riikka and start folding the camouflage nets covering the car and removing the card-board covering windows & hood.
>As the team assembles around the team leader he starts talking:
>"Ok, we are ordered to go to relieve the second FO team who are currently covering this bridge", he says as he show a spot on the map where two highways meet.
>"Let me guess; we aren't as much making sure the bridge remains intact as we are making sure it's our guys who get to blow it up", you make an educated guess.
>"Captain put it a bit differently, but that's the general idea" the team leader says.
>"Very Finnish way of thinking" comments the signals NCO with a smirk.
>"So, grab what ever you think you need, we'll be there for the rest of the day", the team leader finishes the briefing.
>"Are our ROE still the same, least amount of force necessary, open fire only if fired upon?" the FO -NCO asks
>"Right, captain was supposed to tell this a bit later, but since we won't be here to hear it; from now on it's just "least amount of force necessary", with the decision whether to open fire being at our, or rather my, own discression" the team leader replies,
>"and I say: if you see a firearm, shoot to kill, then fire two shot at a traffic sign or something so that you can claim you fired warning shots first, even if there are witnesses they aren't going to question it when we say we fired warning shots first" he finishes as you get in the car.

>After arriving to the bridge & relieving the other FO -team you are tasked with watcing the vehicle while watching the radio, you decide to use this opportunity to clean Riikka, and as soon as you start field-stripping her, her human form makes an appearance.
>"Wha-what are you doing, in the middle of the day?" she exclaims as you take off the gas tube.
>"In these damp conditions I need to take even better care of you than usual" you explain as you take out the gun oil and the bore snakes.
>"I am clean, you haven't fired me in days, how could there be any powder residue?" she asks with a flustered face.
>"It's less about powder residue and more about preventing rusting, after all your barrel *is* plain steel without chrome lining" you explain as you spray oil in the chamber & barrel and insert the 7.62 boresnake.
>Knowing what's coming, human-Riikka sits down just as you pull the snake through the barrel, she's doing her best not to show it but she's feeling it. Without showing her any mercy you move on to the gas tube & this time her attempts at hiding the pleasure she's feeling fail miserably, you insert your little finger in the chamber to check one last time if it's dry, as if it's soaked with oil when shooting starts it'll mean more cleaning afterwards.
>"Wh-what do you think you are doing!" Riikka exclaims, but you pay her no mind as you move on to the bolt, which you merely wipe with a piece of cloth, shake it next to your ear to make sure the firing pin is moving freely & tap both ends of the bolt against the folded piece of cloth in order to get out any oil that has gotten inside the bolt before putting the rifle together.
>Riikka is not amused & stays with you in her human form to pester you, possibly in retaliation for what you just did, but you don't really mind as you welcome the company while the others are at the bridge.
>The day goes by without incident & with this sentry duty done you can expect a full night's sleep excluding firewatch.

>It's the middle of the night & you are on firewatch, making sure that the stove doesn't light anything or anyone on fire & that the temperature in the tent remains more or less stable, but your duties also include listening in on air defence radio broadcast.
>The station has been playing metal non-stop through the night, no surprices there, you aren't sure you recognize this so-wait, teh music stopped.
>You turn up the volume to hear a voice reading a report out loud:
>"New target XX, Grid YY, heading north-west"
>This can't be a drill, they wouldn't run this kind of drills in this situation, and they wouldn't report on our own planes' movements over a public channel you think as you grab a map to check where "XX" is and where it's headed.
>"South from here, over the sea, flying towards Archipelago sea, could be a Russian jet flying barely out of our airspace" you mutter to yourself when the reporter comes back
>"XX, attack aircraft, several Grid YZ, heading North-east" the reporter says. Nervously, you look at the map again and go pale.
>"Definitely in Finnish airspace, heading inland, this is no trolling, they are for real" you say, then you realize the planes are heading in your direction.
>"Air alarm! Everyone out, air alarm!" you shout at the top of your lungs as you start putting out the fire in the stove. The tent is empty in less than a minute & you can hear that the alarm was heard in the other tents as well, you finish putting out the stove, blow out the kerosene lamp and follow the others to the dark woods. You pick a nice, bushy spruce under which to take cover in in case of thermal cameras.
>Minutes pass and just as you are starting to think you made a mistake, you hear a thunderous roar coming from the north, Hornets from Pirkkala air base, and they are in a hurry, flying so fast & so low in the middle of the night over populated areas.
>A couple more minutes pass when you see a flash in the south-western sky, followed by an explosion.

>You wait yet another couple minutes before the music stops once again and the reporter comes back: "target XX erased", you and those around you exchange looks; a war has just started, you saw & heard the explosion, and the radio broadcast merely states that the intruder has been removed from the target list.
>"Anon, what was it that those flyboys shot down?" your team leader asks.
>"The report said "attack aircraft, several"" you reply, and add "don't know how many were coming at us though"
>"Coming at us? Why do you think they were coming specifically at us?" another guy whose name you don't remember right now asks.
>"Did you already forget what that strip of highway is? Russkis certainly know what it is & no doubt their satellites have shown military activity around it, and they just happen to send attack aircraft in it's general direction using a route that just so happens to put some obstacles between them and a radar station?" you ask back, he takes a moment to think
>"...point taken" he finally replies.

>In the morning the company commander briefs the company about what happened, a formation of attack planes were flying near the edge of Finnish airspace and as they penetrated the airspace they flew over a Navy fast attack craft & apparently two of them decided it was too good a chance to pass up and engaged.
>The boat managed to shoot down the missiles fired at it before firing its own anti-air missiles at the attackers, shooting both of them down, the other two proceeded inland and were shot down by a pair of Hornets. It seems at least one of the two pilots managed to eject & the search for him is underway, the first platoon will be taking part in the search while the rest of the company continues on the current task until further notice.
>"Wait, the Navy fired missiles at planes the Hornets had been dispatched to intercept?" someone asks.
>"The Navy's air defence hasn't been integrated into the joint systems of the Army and the Air Force", captain says and continues
>"maybe after this they'll think about speeding it up a bit."
>"Is there any word on any other attacks? Surely Russkis wouldn't send jut four planes to attack one target and then just let the enemy take the initiative?" Someone asks, others nod in agreement; things are too quiet.
>"Nothing so far, it seems the planes were from Kaliningrad", the captain says.
>"Wasn't there a news report about the new commander having been transfered there from near the Ukrainian border & how it's suspected he was transfered as a punishment for something the Russians don't want to talk about?" Another guy asks.
>"...Yes, but until we get more information I want you all to refrain from speculating" captain says as he finishes the briefing.

>Today it's yet again guarding the bridge, only this time you all put on the flak vests before you get in the car knowing full well it's going to be cramped inside, you pick up four LAWs (M72A5 you think the designation for this version was) just in case.
>The second FO team is also coming, though they'll set up a check point on a smaller bridge to stop civilian traffic from approaching the highway base, from now on civilians have no business getting anywhere near it.
>Both of your teams borrow GPMGs from the 1st platoon as they won't be needing them on a search for a downed pilot & you may find yourselves in need of more firepower than your five assault rifles can provide.
>Back at the bridge you are once again tasked with staying with the car & watching the radio, on the way to the bridge you discussed the fact thatyou probably won't be able to get lunch from the field kitchen & as such you were tasked with getting everyone soemthing from a burger joint nearby, you wrote everyone's orders down when you arrived so as lunch time approaches you drive to the burger place to get the order you called in beforehand.
>People inside are looking at you with curiosity as you are still in full kit. You walk to the counter & ask about your order, the employee says it'll be ready in a moment, so you decide to pay while the rest of the food is being prepared.

>Just as you are about to pay Riikka shows up, demanding:
>"Did you get anything for me? What did you get for me? Is it a cheeseburger combo? How many burgers did you order on top of that? I want three!"
>"...Add one cheeseburger combo & another two cheeseburgers to that" you say
>"Three!" Riikka demands
>"...three cheeseburgers on top of the combo"
>The people around are now all watching you and Riikka, who's wearing the old M91 uniform so that you and your company can immediately tell waffengeists apart from the few women in the company.
>All these people see is a young woman in an older uniform & no rank insignia causing a ruckus & making demands to a corporal, so you can't wait to get your food and get the hell out before something happens.
>Just as the employee is handing you your food you hear number three on your "list of things I don't want to hear right now":
>"Military police! keep your hands where I can see them and turn around slowly", you follow the commands and see two conscript MPs with rifles at low ready.
>"Show me your identification!" the senior of the two, lance corporal, demands.
>"It's in my sleeve pocket" you say as you reach to take it out and show it to the MPs, satisfied with your papers the lance corporal now moves on to Riikka
>"And now you, show me your ID!"
>"She doesn't have one, being a waffengeist and all" you interject, hoping the lance corporal has heard of them & either knows they exist or the very least is willing to believe you, no such luck.
>"What's a waffengeist?" he asks, puzzled.
>"Show him" you say to Riikka & she disappears her human form.
>"Wh-what was that?" both MPs are startled.
>"Waffengeists are firearms with spirits, most people don't believe they exist, but after seeing 20 just this morning I am strongly of the opinion that they in fact do exist." You say hoping your brief explanation will be enough for them to let you go before the food gets cold & Riikka gets pissed.
>"...I'd better call this in."

>You have no time for this & this guy doesn't seem like "shoot first, send flowers later" -kind of guy, so you take the chance.
>"Lance corporal, you saw my papers, is there a problem with them?" you ask.
>"No, but that's-" the lance corporal says as you interrupt him:
>"You will address me as "sir", now listen lance corporal, I have here food for five very hungry, very armed soldiers plus one waffengeist who get's cranky whe she's hungry, you are welcome to follow me to where the rest of my team is waiting for this food, but you will not be keeping me here until your commanding officer arrives from God knows where to take a look at my ID, ask a couple questions and berate you for wasting his time with pointless shit like this, now get out of my way!" you say as you walk past him.
>The MPs, apparently deciding to take you up on your offer to settle things out in another location, are following you. You get in your car, they get in their van, and you lead them to the bridge where the others are already waiting.
>After some back and forth between you, your team leader and the MPs the MP lance corporal decides that after all this doesn't require his superiors' attention and they leave, allowing you and your team to finally have some lunch.
>Riikka seems to be holding back, possibly feeling guilty over the mess with the MPs, though the guilt doesn't seem to have an effect on her appetite as she finishes her pile of cheeseburgers in a record time before piflering your fries as she has already eaten her's.
>The rest of the team look at the two of you in astonishment.
>"Is she powered by a black hole or something?" asks the signals NCO, directing his question at you.
>"I've wondered that myself, so far I haven't found the answer." You reply as you try to recover a couple of fries, but Riikka is faster than you are and finishes the fries, except for one which she places between her lips and looks at you as if saying "your move."

>You can't back down now, so you start to move in when suddenly Riikka takes a step back and drops the fry.
>"Wa-wait a second, what are you doing in the middle of the day?!" She exclaims, so she was bluffing after all, you consider taking this situation a bit further, but decide against it, instead you sit back down and say:
>"Tsk! You are no fun today", mimicking her mannerisms to the delight of the team who have seen Riikka say the exact same thing to you many times in these past few days.
>Riikka pouts, but it's clear she's only pretending to be mad at you & is probably thinking of ways to get back at you when the messaging device starts beeping as a sign of a new message, as you send a confirmation of having received the message and check what it says you notice it's double-encrypted, so you hand the device over to your team leader who starts reading the message & erases it after he's done with it.
>"It appears last night's attack was 'a mistake', which probably means that some commander somewhere decided to act on his own & force a war between Russian and Finland & now the Russian government is scrambling to cover it up" he says.
>"That's a first, admitting that someone from their military did something instead of trying to distract everyone's attention away by blaming everything on the West"
>"The planes must have shown on Poland's, Sweden's as well as Baltic countries' radars, hell the jets pulling a Baltic air policing duty were probably in the air watching them penetrate Finnish airspace while maintaining their distance, they might have recordings of that exchange between Russian jets and "Tornio", so there's no sweeping this one under the rug" your team leader says.
>""Tornio"? They attacked a Hamina -class fast attack craft? Rauma -class would be another thing, but "Tornio", that's just plain suicidal" the signals NCO says, surprised by the revelation.

>After lunch you return to your duties watching the vehicle & the radio while the rest of the team guard the bridge, as it starts getting dark Riikka, who as usual has kept you company, tenses up.
>"Anon, look, someone's approaching" she says and points at a man in cammies approaching, he's wearing the appropriate gear, but something about him seems off.
>As he approaches you routinely check his left sleeve to check for his service, unit and branch color when you realize that your gut feeling was right: The flag, the unit insignia and the training patch which only conscripts wear are all subdued, FDF doesn't issue those in subdued colors, in fact their use is, strictly speaking, forbidden to prevent civilians from using the subdued patches sold by certain companies to impersonate military personnel.
>You take a closer look at his face and notice he seems to be in his thirties, meaning he has no business wearing a training patch, subdued or not. You shift your focus on his rifle, Rk 95 or the civilian version M92S, and notice it has non-standard optics mounted, and on your second look you notice the rifle is actually a modified Galil.
>"Stop! Defence Forces!" you shout as you raise rifle-Riikka to low ready, flip the selector to single shot and pull the charging handle before taking aim.
>The man reacts but doesn't comply with your command to stop, so you repeat the command:
>"Stop! Defence Forces! I am pointing at you with a loaded weapon!" you shout as you drop on to your knee for a steadier aim. The man keeps approaching.
>"Stop! This is your last warning!" you shout, hoping he complies, instead he starts raising his rifle & your training takes over; double shot to the chest and one to the head.
>By now your team leader and FO -NCO's assistant who were already coming to see what the commotion is about are running, upon seeing the man lying on the ground your team leader orders the other guy to cover the two of you as you approach the body.

>Your team leader secures the suspicious man's weapon while you check for pulse, you find none, so next you switch on the head lamp you put on your helmet and point it at his eyes and the away, no change.
>"He's dead" you say, feeling strangely detached as you take note of the fact that the man's helmet had come off, exposing the exit wound which seems to be about the size of an Australian 50-cent coin.
>"That's a pretty safe bet considering the size of the exit wound", your team leader notes as the two of you take a closer look at the man's rifle, seeing it up close you realize your day just got a whole lot worse.
>"A fucking airsoft gun" you mutter in disbelief. What the fuck was this man thinking, dressing up as a soldier & approaching an armed sentry, disregarding any commands given to him & even pointing this toy at the sentry?
>You just stand there, frozen, while your team leader searches the man's pockets, finding a wallet and a cell phone, a basic model without a touch screen, so there's a good chance you'll be able to open the key lock without a PIN -code, and sure enough within seconds your team leader has the phone unlocked & is browsing through the contact list.
>He spots a number labeled "ICE", which usually stands for emergency contact. He checks the wallet for an ID & gestures to the FO -NCO's assistant to take you to the car before calling the company commander.
>You quit smoking half a year ago, but right now you could kill for a cigarette (you are shaken enough that you can't even spot the irony of that thought), and sensing your thoughts the lance corporal pulls out a pack of reds and a lighter.
>As you are about to light your second cigarette your team leader comes back, saying:
>"I called the commander, then the emergency contact, the man was mentally challenged & under custody of his parents, apparently airsoft was his hobby & he snuk out some time during the night with his airsoft gear" he explains.

>"During the night?" you ask as you start to connect the dots.
>"Those jets" you say as you light the second cigarette. There's no need to say more; the other two seem to have come to the same conclusion.
>"We'll never know for certain, but that's probably it", your team leader says.
>"Captain is sending his runner to pick you up, a chaplain should be arriving from Armoured brigade in an hour."
>"Chaplain?" You ask, it takes a moment before you understand what he's saying.
>"He'll be visiting the family & afterwards, if you want to talk, he'll be staying with the company for a couple of days", he explains.
>"What about the police, will there be a criminal investigation?" you ask out of curiosity, the fact that you might be charged with manslaughter hasn't sunk in just yet.
>"That remains to be seen, but probably, it would look bad if there's nothing to show to the media once they catch a wind about this."
>"Which reminds me, I'm sorry but I have to strip you of your weapon", he says apologetically. That's when the reality starts to hit with full force.
>Rikka's human form is livid, she might do something stupid if you don't act quickly.
>"Riikka, stop. It's ok, it's just a formality that can't be avoided", you say even though you want to join her in her raging; "no-one's going to separate us", but your rational side manages to suppress these dangerous thoughts, you are in the middle of a minefield, stomping around is the last thing you should do.

>Somehow you manage to get Riikka to calm down. When the runner arrives he takes your rifle as you sit in the car & Riikka's human form sits in the back. The runner, "A" from before, has a brief conversation with your team leader before returning to the car and starting the engine.
>"You alright Anon?" he asks as you drive towards the base, he looks worried.
>"I think so, I guess it hasn't completely sinken in yet" you reply as you review the events in your head for umpteenth time; did you have a valid reason to drop the challenge & instead go straight to ordering him to stop? Does it matter whether you challenged him first? Was the act of him raising the rifle enough to justify shooting to kill?
>"...so, what happened? Can you talk about it?" he asks.
>"...I'm not sure, probably not, but long story short; a suspicious man in a uniform approached & didn't follow my commands to stop, then started raising his rifle & I did Mozambique drill" you reply after thinking for a moment.
>"How was he suspicious?" he asks for more details.
>"Wrong patches on his sleeve & a modified Galil for a weapon, no way he was a Finnish soldier" you reply.
>"...I'd done the same" he concludes after a moment.
>You remain silent for the rest of the way. At the base captain debriefs you & tells you to get some rest. Someone from the supply comes to keep firewatch in your team's tent, though his actual job there is probably to keep an eye on you just in case. With nothing better to do you decide to take a nap.
>In the end you end up sleeping until morning, apparently the rest of the team thought it best not to put you on firewatch, which was probably for the best.
>The chaplain comes to see you after breakfast, you talk for an hour or so, after which someone from National Bureau of Investigation interviews you about the yesterday's events. After the interview the brass, along with the chaplain and the inspector, hold a meeting & towards the end of the meeting you are summoned there.

>"Corporal Anon, after reviewing the facts of this incident it is decided that your actions did not violate the law, meaning no further criminal investigation by civilian authorities is needed, however there is still the possibility of a court martial in order to determine if your actions were in violation of military regulations regarding the duties of a sentry, you may return to your normal duties if you so choose, however if you wish to take a leave on medical grounds no-one will judge you", the captain says.
>"Thank you sir, I think I can return to my normal duties", you say, relieved that no criminal investigation is going to take place. Even if it comes to a court martial, depending on whether the current situation is considered as being war-time, the absolute worst that can happen is six years in prison, *if* you are found guilty of murder, with peace-time sentencing being less severe.
>"Very well then, let me know if you change your mind, any questions?" captain says.
>"No sir" you reply.
>"Dismissed!"
>You nod as a salute and exit the tent, feeling relieved. A is waiting outside with rifle-Riikka & he hands her to you.
>"I can't tell you how happy I am to return this to you, your waffengeist almost drove me crazy, constantly trying to sneak her rifle form back to you", he says with a bit of amusement in his voice.
>"She did? Sorry for the trouble she's caused", you reply, you should have expected her to do something like this...
>With the investigation over & your return to normal duties your team once again gets assigned to guard the same damn bridge, though this time you are rotated to watch the traffic while the signals NCO watches the car and the radio. You guess they don't want to have you looking all day at the blackened stain marking the spot where the body fell, which is probably for the best.
>You feel surprisingly fine, except for the fact that now you are craving for a cigarette, you'll just have to tough it out for now...

>The morning is just as uneventfull as yesterday, except the fact that Riikka is now permanently clinging to you of course, you can't do much if something happens right now, but you feel confident that if something does happen you'll have time to shake her off and react to what ever it is that is happening. The problem here is taht she's blaming herself for yesterday's events.
>"It's all my fault, I'm a bad rifle for getting you into trouble!" she cries.
>"It wasn't your fault, you just notified me of his approach, he chose to disregard my commands, I chose to consider him a threat & pointed a loaded weapon at him, after that I could only detain him or shoot him, and once he started raising his rifle I had only one option left"
>"Bu-but I killed him!" she cries as she clings to you even harder, it seems she was the one in need of counseling rather than you.
>"Guns don't kill people, people kill people, you said yourself that you can't kill a person, remember? It was I who pulled the trigger." you say as you try to comfort her.
>"You did nothing wrong."
>Riikka is starting to calm down when your team leader calls for you, gesturing "lunch."
>"Lunch is here, let's go" you say as you start walking towards the car, upon hearing the word "lunch" Riikka makes an imemdiate recovery & bolts to the car. From crying to hungry in a split second.
>There are no hamburgers this time, instead someone ordered pizza. Riikka is confused (now that you think of it this is the first time she has seen pizza, isn't it) but as soon as she takes a bite she starts wolfing down her share (followed by your share if you don't hurry.)
>After the lunch as you are about to return to watching the traffic the messaging device starts making noise again. Your team leader happens to be closest so he reads the message, his expression goes grim as he sends the confirmation and turns to face the team.
>"The war started, we can expect seeing planes bearing red stars any moment now" he says.

>As soon as he has finished saying that you hear a familiar roar from the sky. You all take cover and, being the fool you are, you look at the sky. The sound is coming from the West or North-West, and as you look there you see a pair of fighters flying high.
>Your team leader is also looking in the sky now & he takes out his binoculars.
>"Hornets", he says & everyone relaxes. They seem to be patrolling rather than hauling ass to intercept another swarm of Frogfoots.
>"Reminds me of something an old lady once said to some kid complaining about the noise Hornets were making: "they can make as much noise as they like as long as there are no red stars on them"", you say as you get back on your feet.
>"Yeah? what did the kid say to that?"
>"Nothing, I guess he had enough sense to realise he had lost the argument before it even started" you say.
>"After today there'll be a lot of people, old and young, who'll probably never complain about the noise made by Hornets ever again", your team leader notes as you walk back to the bridge.
>"But back on topic, we'll start conducting random stops, check for IDs and write down any foreigners' names, be polite but strict, detain anyone who refuses to show their IDs, even if they say they'll show you their IDs after you detain them."
>"Let's hope there are no American "Sovereign citizens" using either one of these roads today", FO-NCO's assistant jokes.
>"Don't jinx it, Americans are a bit too big for "shoot, shovel, shut up"", you reply with a joke of your own.
>"That's enough, what if someone heard you and took you seriously?" your team leader snaps, but he, too, is smiling at the jokes.
>The random stops start off with a bit of tension on both sides, but things start going smoothly after a while, people are understanding, though irritated by the delay, even the few foreigners realise that this isn't the time nor the place to start complaining about being in a police state.

(end of Part 1)