[h3]Sergeants Emile Hoek and Harald, Gallian Militia[/h3]

As Harald chatted away with his erstwhile squadmates, another new face approached and introduced himself as their squad leader. [b]'Nice to meet you, Hoek. Sergeant Harald, Squad Four.'[/b] The rest of the squad slowly filtered out into the area, some taking up defensive positions, others taking the chance for a bit of socialising. For the Sergeants however, work needed to be discussed. Harald took a cigarette gratefully, looking forward to the rare treat of proper baccy over his usual cheap dogends. [b]'Cheers. Haven't smoked a real fag in years.'[/b] He sparked up, finding himself feeling more relaxed than at any time since they had left Fort Breda; he took it as a good sign. [b]'The Captain told us there were other squads screening the way to Vasel, but we didn't get much detail. I assume you had the same orders?'[/b]

Hoek nodded " We were ordered, along with the 2nd and 8th to comb the area and recon the town. The 2nd and 8th went off on their own, we were left here with the tank, since it would attract to much attention." he said with a sigh. "About two and a half hours ago there was some gun fire from the 8th's potion . I sent some scouts to check it out, they ran into a Imperial Patrol, took em by surprise. When they searched em they found an 8th squad dogtag and helmet." he muttered sadly as he scratched his chin. " like wise with the 2nd I sent a scout, couldn't find them. They either pulled out for some reason, or they went AWOl." he said " The 2nd was supposed to be to east of the south west of the town.  We need them to get any information on the town."

Harald nodded slowly as the other sergeant explained the situation. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance that the other squads had been sent out with support unlike his own, but he tried to think of it as Meulemann's way of showing confidence in their ability. [b]'Damn... Our orders weren't so specific. Only thing we have left to do is secure a coach house a mile or so down to road.'[/b] He leant back on the tank next to Hoek, frowning in deep thought. With two squads worth of troops, they could easily take 4's last objective but that left Squad 2 off alone. The extra intel on Vasel's defences would be invaluable to the column of troops barely a day's march behind them, but they wouldn't be able to link up with 2 [i]and[/i] take the coach house before the regiment arrived. [b]'... Looks like we may have to split our forces. I won't lie, I'd love to have a tank and a few more men to take that coach house, but we can't leave 2nd out on a limb.'[/b] He gave Hoek a sidelong glance. [b]'Do you have a trustworthy NCO you could send to find 2nd? I can't spare the manpower at the moment.'[/b] The day was getting old too. He wanted to launch his assault at dawn, hopefully catch the Imps unprepared again.

Hoek sighed "already sent a scout. they should be returning any time now." he said as he stopped leaning against the Tank. " I got Meyers on look out, shes got a good eye, she noticed your sash at that range... Thats a plus considering she might have taken your head off otherwise." he said jokingly as he looked up to the sky " I take it you three have some history?" he asked. Hoek had noticed how both Paul and Sam recognized him, While Hoek considered them friendly, Paul and Sam rarely spoke of their old squad.  The few times they have they spoke of great things for their old Sargent. 

[b]'Dresner was with us at Rinneheim, where we were mustered. Meyers joined us shortly after, one of the replacements for those who washed out after their first action.'[/b] Come to think of it, he hadn't served in Meyers in actual combat. Nearest thing was that practice battle back at Fort Breda, barely a fortnight ago. [i]Valkyria, has it only been two weeks? Feels like months...[/i] [b]'Both good soldiers. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised they remember me at all.'[/b] He remembered them of course, as he did with all his subordinates; even, or perhaps especially the weird ones, like Kyo. It was hard to forget names after mentioning them over and over in reports during their brief training camp at the Fort. [b]'I dunno. At any rate, we've got one last point to take and then we can take it easy for a few days. I understand that your orders are different to ours, but with the regiment so close behind, I think securing the main road needs to be our priority.'[/b] Harald rapped his knuckles on the side of Hoek's tank pointedly. [b]'... and as fond as I am of our little APC, this thing will make taking that coach house much easier. So what do you say; want to come help us take it?'[/b]

"Paul said you had that old solider feel." Hoek said with a chuckle. "Suppose thats a good thing." he said as he watched Harald tap the side of his tank. "Gladly once my scout comes back, we could use that intel he has."  he said a smile "Bet you the Imps wont know what hit em. two squads coming up on them with an APC and medium tank... well at the very worst we will give them a good fight. "Suddenly a soft whistled tone catches Hoeks attention "seems James has returned to us, come along Sargent lets see what we can learn" Hoek said motioning towards Paul as he rushes up to them.

[i]Old soldier...[/i] Harald couldn't hold back a cynical roll of the eyes. [b]'Not sure how I feel about that. I'm only a couple of years older than him...'[/b] Still, it was probably a compliment. Probably. As Hoek's scout ran up to them, Harald flicked away his spent cigarette and drew a notebook from his webbing. [b]'Sound.'[/b]

Running up to the two Sargent "Sir" he said to Hoek. then he looks at Harald, with a nod from Hoek James clears his throat. "Sir we found the squad..." he said holding up a bunch of dog tags "they got ambushed...we found the intel from the squad... least what was left of it for what good it does us, from what the squad found it has 40 plus infantry and at least one light tank. From the shell holes at the ambush they have mortars... To be honest sir, we have no idea what we are doing " he said softly. as Hoek took the tags. " This is not a squads worth of tags.." Hoek said as james nods "we found a few, I sent Lewis,Craig and Robert to help them back."  Hoek nodded " James this is Sargent Harald, we are gonna help his squad  out a bit. I want the squad up and running in five. Grab Sam I want to be damn sure when we go in, that she covers our troops from snipers...Also grab Paul, I want him to lead our shocktroops from the front."

The news from Squad 8 wasn't encouraging, but at least they weren't going in blind this time. Harald took the time to note down the important details as the scout reported and cross-reference it to the maps he had been issued. Based on the area 8th had been hit in, the Imps were probably moving forces north-east to reinforce their flanks; that in turn suggested that they already knew of the Militia's plans... not encouraging. But the fact that there weren't dedicated kill-teams hunting them or heavy defences at the coach house gave them an opportunity. Harald shook the scout's hand firmly, grateful for the information. [b]'Looking forward to working with you. Sergeant, I'll go get my men in order. It might be best if your squad takes the right flank as we move in, tank in the centre. We're undermanned, so we'll push hard from the left.'[/b] It meant putting Hoek's men in the line of fire, but Squad 4 was in no shape to be taking the lead assaulting a well-entrenched position. They would serve better in flanking the enemy, as Stichler's team had in La Haye Sainte. [b]'I'll contact you by radio when we're ready to move.'[/b]

As he walked away, the Sergeant thumbed his radio switch. [b]'Squad 4, rally on me.'[/b] He leapt up into the rear of the APC and started rummaging through the bags for a large map. By the time he found what he was looking for, the rest of the squad was ready. [b]'Alright ladies and gents, break has been postponed. Original plan was to assist Hoek's men in finding friendly forces in the area, but that is no longer necessary.'[/b] He lay the map out over the hood of the APC, his lips a thin line. Honestly this wasn't his preferred method; given the choice he would have waited til night, but with roaming Imp forces on their unsecured flank, he understood Hoek's desire to keep moving. Besides they only had about twelve hours until the main Militia column arrived, maybe less for the advance parties. [b]'The target is a coach house a couple of miles down the road. Hoek's men will be taking the right flank, using their tank to drawn fire. There are more of them than there are of us, so they'll be able to cover a wider area.'[/b] He began drawing markers on the map, showing where the different squads would be. [b]'We will take the left, advancing on foot to the flank of the building. From there we breach and clear, support Hoek as they mop up.'[/b] On paper, quite simple. Even though the breaching team would be outnumbered, the enemy was unlikely to concentrate all of their defences in the coach house itself; most of the Imps would be taking cover between Hoek and the building, giving 4 a window to break through. [b]'Carn, I want the APC with us to shield from small arms fire and dropping shells on strongpoints. But if you take a single lance, even a glancing hit, I want to to back out and return here. Can't afford t lose this baby now.'[/b] He glanced back over to the other squad; the tank's engines were revving up and soldiers jogged to and fro getting themselves in order. [b]'... Any questions?'[/b]