05-26-2015, 06:14 PM
The ambush did not go unnoticed thanks to the pair of Landwarriors the Lieutenant was carrying, his movement was tracked to at least some degree. It was slow in being processed, but the team that had been dispatched to bring the children to another refugee camp were alerted that something had gone wrong.
That something became evident thanks to the live camera feed at the refinery, some hour or so after the loss of Lt Kamenashi and his men, and many of the children. Alerted to the presence of the Temne rebels in the jungle by the onslaught of gunfire, the Mende soldiers under Lt Folami turned on the Temne refugees with renewed vigor. Ordered to hold the facility, they had no interest in entertaining the thought of having Temne snakes in their midst when the fighting began. The executions were brutal, and including any Mende that tried to protect their fellow refugees.
Jacques watched the executions through one small display on the HUD of his Landwarriors, refusing to look away. Although he could never have foreseen the attack by General Katlego's troops, it had still been his orders that had lead to the deaths of those refugees. An hour after the Mende rebels hit Lt Kamenashi's group, they fell upon the refinery. Both sides wanted the facility intact, and had little interest in the people sheltering there.
The fight was brutal, but in the end Lt Folami and his Mende troops were over run, the last few dying under the chop of machetes that were then turned on the Mende refugees that had survived the executions by the government troops. All of Jacques planning had failed to save anyone, it seemed.
The Legionnaires sent to meet Lt Kamenashi team left their vehicles under minimal guard and walked into the jungle to search for survivors, a risky venture that Jacques gave permission for, despite how unlikely it was to find anyone alive. Even if any children had escaped the ambush, they would have been lost in the jungle, or at best tried to return to the refinery or their homes in Masiaka, both of which would likely have not ended well.
But, through some small miracle they instead found the reporter, Lawrence Monday, and four other children. They returned to the vehicles, and two of the three returned to their refugee camp north-east of Masiaka. The third vehicle, with two grim-faced Legionnaires, brought Miss Monday back to Freetown. They met some resistance at the government checkpoints, but were relatively unharassed. The Interim President General Wallace-Johnson had achieved what he had desired as far as Legion Premiere was concerned; they had bowed head to his commands.
Jacques was silent for the ride back to Freetown, seeming to stare out the window without seeing anything. In truth, he watched the live feed from the refinery, and began the final steps in the plan that would, hopefully, see things put right again. He didn't even notice the tears.
Their arrival back at what had once been the embassy district was without fanfare, many of the Legionnaires that disembarked from the convoy were quiet, troubled. A terrible thing had been done that day, one that would likely haunt them till the day they died, something they had been directly ordered to do by the man that they had often thought infallible.
His orders then were short and terse. Tend to kit, officers were to reorganize Lt Kamenashi's Legionnaires into the undermanned sections. That to be followed by a period of forced rest, and then the resuming of duties. There was work to be done, and no time was to be spared for grievances or gripes.
To Natalie Grey, Jacques 'request' could hardly be misunderstood as a thinly veiled order. Her people were to get to work; there was need for their administrative and practical experience. Taking stock of resources and the establishment of kitchens and triage clinics. The remaining city hospitals would eagerly accept their aid, as would a myriad of public buildings turned refugee centers. She and her people would likely think him a monster for what he had allowed to happen at the refinery, their forced removal, and he would not ask of them to forgive him for that fiasco.
To Legionnaire Carpenter, to facilitate whatever reasonable requests Miss Grey had of the Legion. Escorts to or from the various places they would be needed, vehicles to move what meager supplies were at their disposal, even strong-arms to deal with any government forces that thought to take a cut of the Red Cross' supplies. That would more likely be a matter of bribes, as the Legion was on a low standing in the eyes of the government forces; they had bowed to the Interim President, after all.
And to Legionnaire Vanders, to train. The man's abilities were likely to be sharply tested in the days to come.
That something became evident thanks to the live camera feed at the refinery, some hour or so after the loss of Lt Kamenashi and his men, and many of the children. Alerted to the presence of the Temne rebels in the jungle by the onslaught of gunfire, the Mende soldiers under Lt Folami turned on the Temne refugees with renewed vigor. Ordered to hold the facility, they had no interest in entertaining the thought of having Temne snakes in their midst when the fighting began. The executions were brutal, and including any Mende that tried to protect their fellow refugees.
Jacques watched the executions through one small display on the HUD of his Landwarriors, refusing to look away. Although he could never have foreseen the attack by General Katlego's troops, it had still been his orders that had lead to the deaths of those refugees. An hour after the Mende rebels hit Lt Kamenashi's group, they fell upon the refinery. Both sides wanted the facility intact, and had little interest in the people sheltering there.
The fight was brutal, but in the end Lt Folami and his Mende troops were over run, the last few dying under the chop of machetes that were then turned on the Mende refugees that had survived the executions by the government troops. All of Jacques planning had failed to save anyone, it seemed.
The Legionnaires sent to meet Lt Kamenashi team left their vehicles under minimal guard and walked into the jungle to search for survivors, a risky venture that Jacques gave permission for, despite how unlikely it was to find anyone alive. Even if any children had escaped the ambush, they would have been lost in the jungle, or at best tried to return to the refinery or their homes in Masiaka, both of which would likely have not ended well.
But, through some small miracle they instead found the reporter, Lawrence Monday, and four other children. They returned to the vehicles, and two of the three returned to their refugee camp north-east of Masiaka. The third vehicle, with two grim-faced Legionnaires, brought Miss Monday back to Freetown. They met some resistance at the government checkpoints, but were relatively unharassed. The Interim President General Wallace-Johnson had achieved what he had desired as far as Legion Premiere was concerned; they had bowed head to his commands.
Jacques was silent for the ride back to Freetown, seeming to stare out the window without seeing anything. In truth, he watched the live feed from the refinery, and began the final steps in the plan that would, hopefully, see things put right again. He didn't even notice the tears.
Their arrival back at what had once been the embassy district was without fanfare, many of the Legionnaires that disembarked from the convoy were quiet, troubled. A terrible thing had been done that day, one that would likely haunt them till the day they died, something they had been directly ordered to do by the man that they had often thought infallible.
His orders then were short and terse. Tend to kit, officers were to reorganize Lt Kamenashi's Legionnaires into the undermanned sections. That to be followed by a period of forced rest, and then the resuming of duties. There was work to be done, and no time was to be spared for grievances or gripes.
To Natalie Grey, Jacques 'request' could hardly be misunderstood as a thinly veiled order. Her people were to get to work; there was need for their administrative and practical experience. Taking stock of resources and the establishment of kitchens and triage clinics. The remaining city hospitals would eagerly accept their aid, as would a myriad of public buildings turned refugee centers. She and her people would likely think him a monster for what he had allowed to happen at the refinery, their forced removal, and he would not ask of them to forgive him for that fiasco.
To Legionnaire Carpenter, to facilitate whatever reasonable requests Miss Grey had of the Legion. Escorts to or from the various places they would be needed, vehicles to move what meager supplies were at their disposal, even strong-arms to deal with any government forces that thought to take a cut of the Red Cross' supplies. That would more likely be a matter of bribes, as the Legion was on a low standing in the eyes of the government forces; they had bowed to the Interim President, after all.
And to Legionnaire Vanders, to train. The man's abilities were likely to be sharply tested in the days to come.