Evening, Day 5
The days march deep into insurgent territory was relatively uneventful, save for the crate that Command sent over. If theres anything this squad is it is that they are consistent. The trends that started earlier this day remained true until the end of it. Renata received an almost unanimous
radio vote while Niklas received every vote cast for the
crate. The only thing remotely different was the accusation outcome, but the results were just about the same anyway. Tasslehoff had been tied for the lead at midday, and by days end he had sole possession of the spot. Fortunately for him, Lightfang had made a strong case for the lead himself and while not enough to overtake him, it closed the gap enough so that Tasslehoff would be spared.
With Tasslehoff bound and the rest of the squad settling in for the night, Niklas and Renata took their respective items back to their tents for a closer look. Niklas himself as squad leader had been pretty pleased with the days events. No insurgent attacks had happened, and for their first day taking a shortcut through enemy lands, everyone was still in one piece.
Renata entered his tent pretty tired from the days march. Resting Big Tom next to his makeshift cot, which really was only a sleeping bag propped up off the dirt and rock floor, he went to work examining the
radio. While looking at the squads lifeline to command, he heard a faint *beep* emanating from his pack. Setting the
radio aside, he carefully moved toward his pack to find out what was causing the sound. Upon rummaging through the pack, the beeps grew louder in intensity and at a slightly faster rhythm. After frantically emptying his gear from the bag, he found the source of the beeps.
The counter reading 00:00 was the last thing Renata saw.
An explosion of enormous magnitude rocked the camp. A small fireball erupted from the depths of Renatas tent, engulfing his entirely while damaging one nearby. The shock from the blast and the fire itself flung shrapnel through the canvas walls of thomas.berubegs tent, impaling themselves in his back and shoulder. Lightfang had the misfortune of walking past the doomed tent just as the explosion happened, and his left arm was burned badly from the ensuing fireball.
The rest of the squad mobilized quickly, rushing in quickly to pull thomas.berubeg from his tent and Lightfang off the ground, who had also been knocked unconscious. Those not helping the two wounded filled makeshift pails of dirt and flung it onto the fire. Within twenty minutes the blaze had burned itself out and the grim process of finding the body began.
With the remains of the tent still smoldering, CCRunner and merciary entered the tent holding the faint hope that something could be done. Renatas body lay badly burnt, third degree burns covering most of his chest and face and lacerations from shrapnel everywhere else. There was nothing they could do; Renata was gone.
The salvage effort began as the men went through the remains of his belongings, hoping to save something that the squad could use. The aforementioned
radio was nothing more than a scorched piece of metal. The only thing identifying it as a
radio was the charred remains of its faceplate suggesting where the numerous buttons and knobs had been. The
wire cutters also were found, but the intensity of the blast and fire had warped it into uselessness. The last item of interest was his
.50 caliber machine gun, affectionately known as Big Tom. Despite its imposing name, the blast had mangled the barrel beyond repair. There was nothing left to salvage.
During the thorough search for useful items, a handful of men found some debris of interest. One man found some charred wire near the blast source, another found pieces of what looked to be a blasting cap while another found something that looked eerily like a detonator. Piecing the evidence together in their mind, they all came to the same conclusion: Someone deliberately planted a bomb in Renatas tent. Was it the work of the Rogues? Did insurgents manage to score a small victory against the squad themselves? Thoughts swirled in their mind as they ran over the likely scenarios. Yes, it could have been anything.
The last question in everyones minds was the affiliation of their fallen soldier. The only thing that suggested his loyalty was the late radio operators warped message that Renata had not been a Rogue. Of course, after he had spilled this he had a mental breakdown, so it was hard to take anything of what he said as truth. Nevertheless, it was hard to imagine Renata as anything other than a loyalist and after much talking amongst themselves, they all came to the same conclusion:
Everyone went to bed their heart a little heavier. No one said it was going to be easy. The words of an old American Civil War General spoke louder than ever: War is Hell. Indeed it was. And theyd all be marching deeper into it tomorrow.
Accusations:
Tasslehoff: 4
Lightfang: 3
Icekommander: 1
Radio:
Renata: 11
Love: 1
Crate:
Niklas: 9
It is now night! Night people pm me with your orders. Posting is currently closed. This night will last 24 hours.
