OPERATION COLD HYMN - AFTER ACTION REPORT (24 JUN 2016 @ 0331)

OPERATION COLD HYMN - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: LT Oskar Lindemann


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 22x Zombies, 6x Chryssalids

o Friendly Forces
 - LT Oskar "Armarnis" Lindemann (Germany)
 - SSG Constance "Deadbolt" Makhandule (South Africa)
 - SSG Ana Lucia "Mustang" Mardones (Ecuador)
 - SGT Lorena "Bombshell" Kline (United States)
 - SGT Shaojie "Chilong" Zhang (China)
 - CPL Svetlana "Eclipse" Petukhova (Russia)
 - CPL Jared "Mercury" Houston (United States)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Port Harcourt, Nigeria, 24 JUN 2016 @ 0331 hrs, IOT disrupt Alien Terror Attack.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

We received the Mission Alert at 0133 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 0155, and we arrived at the mission site at 0331 hrs. The LZ was sparse cover, so getting into cover was our first priority, but the X-Rays made that impossible. The Chryssalids had already been busy prior to our arrival, as a large group of zombies approached as soon as we were off the bird.

SSG Makhandule reacted quickly, sending a precise rocket into their midst, scattered and injuring all of them. The rest of the squad followed up, with Bombshell, Eclipse and I firing from a stationary position while SGT Zhang and CPL Houston charged forward to put the remaining two down.

Before we could move, a trio of 'lids charged in from our left flank, two of them doubling back toward a civilian and the third coming on. Mustang pumped two shotgun rounds into that one, putting it on the ground, while CPL Houston and SGT Kline flexed left to deal with the stragglers. Kline, seeing the Chryssalids bearing down on the civilian, yelled "Grenade!" and lobbed an Anti-personnel, hoping the civilian would be able to get to cover. It paid off, as the X-Rays took the brunt of the damage and stopped in their tracks long enough for Houston, CPL Petukhova and myself to put them down. The civilian sustained minor injury from the shrapnel. Meanwhile, Deadbolt put the thrashing Chryssalid that Mustang had injured down for the count.

While the rest of the squad was focused on the Chryssalids, Zhang kept his eyes cast forward, and as such was the first to spot the incoming zombies. He managed to take one down with a targeted headshot as they approached. Eclipse, Chilong and Merc' laid into the zombies while the rest of the squad moved into position, leaving only one straggler that moved out of sight to kill another civilian. Mardones charged forward, reloading as she moved, and took him out with a burst from her shotgun. Kline and Zhang advanced toward the nearest building, with SGT Kline managing to injure another zombie in the distance as they reached their destination, with CPL Houston right behind finishing the job.

Hearing the sound of civilians dying in the darkness, I made an ill-considered move, charging past my front-line troops to evacuate a pair of civilians, and drawing the attention of several 'lids in the next building. SSG Makhandule and CPL Petukhova tried to kill the nearest as it charged me, but only succeeded in injuring it before it struck me down. As I scrambled backward from the finishing stroke, a burst of laser fire burned the X-Ray down. This gave me enough time to provide self-aid, numbing the pain and stopping the worst of my wounds.

Meanwhile, SSG Mardones chased another Chryssalid into the dark, blowing it away before it could kill another civilian. The rest of the squad advanced and reloaded, with Eclipse critically wounding the last 'lid just as it killed another civilian. This didn't stop it from taking to the roof to kill another civilian, as the first stirred and rose back to its feet, shambling toward the squad.

Mardones reacted swiftly, moving into close range and putting two blasts into its torso. The Chryssalid jumped down from the roof, and I cut loose, despite my injuries, but it was SGT Zhang who splattered it across the wall as it fell. Houston and Mak engaged another zombie inside the building as it moved into range. It kept coming, as the civilian killed on the roof arose and tumbled down, moving toward Mardones. She was waiting and with a single point-blank shot, put the creature out of its misery. Mercury, meanwhile, finished the job on the other as it emerged from the building.

I knew things were getting more dire, but instead of charging blindly ahead again, we moved forward as a squad, with Petukhova providing further aid for my injuries. Then SSG Mardones moves forward and kicks open the door, reporting multiple X-Rays within. She puts one down with her shotgun as Makhandule prepares her launcher, barely waiting for Mustang to get clear before putting a rocket through the open door. The front wall blows outward, revealing the mass of zombies within.

Kline, grenade already ready, immediately follows up, putting down two more, and critically wounding several others. Chilong and Mercury went to work, lances of energy eliminating most of the survivors, while Petukhova spots another coming out of a window to the right. As the last two zombies advance, I take a deep breath, shake off the haze of the drugs, and raise my gun. A burst into the building blows the first to pieces, then I slew my gun to the right, cutting the second in half as it advanced on a civilian. 

At that point, I had to turn command over to SSG Makhandule, as I started seeing spots. She led the squad into the final building, finding the remaining civilians and meeting no further resistance, while CPL Petukhova remained near me, providing long range support for the clearing operation.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Explosives to soften clustered targets
 - Mass fires on groups of enemy

o Improve:
 - Never allow emotion to dictate tactical decisions
 - Ammunition management

Salat al-Janazah (21 JUN 2016)

[Author's Note: This story directly follows OPERATION DEMON HYMN despite being published after OPERATION COLD HYMN; Due to real life issues, and the sensitive subject matter in this story, it took much longer to write than it should have.
Also note that this is a work of fiction, written by a Christian and an American. I have solicited advice from muslim acquaintances, but this is pretty much entirely the result of internet research. No disrespect is intended if I have not gotten any details right. I hope to show honor to any and all muslim troopers who adhere to the rightful teachings of the Prophet, and to those who fight the good fight to defend their fellow man, no matter what their creed or beliefs.]

It was another somber night in the XCOM HQ.

The Skyranger, bearing the remains of SGT Khadem had just departed for Egypt, where he would be interred with all proper ceremony by his family. The barracks and the common areas were full, but quiet, as they always were following the death of a comrade. Unlike the previous times, there remained a small group in the hangar.

-

CPL Jared Houston looked around at the others. CPL Ramli, SPC Safar and PFC Benhassi were known to him, but not exceptionally well, but they all shared the same faith. When Khadem's death had been reported, SGT Hassan had requested Houston to visit in the medbay, where he'd asked him to prepare for funeral rites for Khadem. Jared had agreed immediately, though he was only a somewhat recent convert to Islam. He was the ranking person of the islamic faith, and XCOM had no chaplains. The Skyranger was inbound with the squad and SGT Khadem's remains, so he got to work.

Between his copy of the Qur’an and the internet to fill in the blanks, Jared got a passable understanding of funeral rites. Once he was done, he hesitantly approached CPL Ramli, who was also from Egypt, with his plans. She was surprised to be consulted, but she agreed that, under the circumstances, with such a mixed lot of islamic faithful, that following some of the general muslim funeral rites would be best. The he went to Bradford, to request the remains be given to his brothers and sister for preparation, before being sent home.

The Skyranger was vectoring in for a landing when the word came back from the Commander. With no chaplain on staff, it seemed appropriate that Khadem be honored as best as he could be by his fellow troopers, though their time would be limited, in order to get him home to his family as expeditiously as possible. CPL Houston asked Central Officer Bradford to relay their gratitude, and that it would be enough.

When the Skyranger landed, they discovered that SPC Dhalon had been wounded, and would not be able to join them. He, like SGT Hassan, would be stuck in medbay. This left the task of preparing SGT Khadem's body to the four of them.

Houston, Safar and Benhassi had prayed and performed their ablutions to become wudhu prior to the Skyranger's arrival, so CPL Ramli escorted the medics who brought the corpse to them. They did not have the necessary herbs to make sidr or camphor water, a problem that Bradford said they'd try to fix for the future, so they'd opted just to do the three cleansings with pure water drawn up from the natural reservoirs beneath the XCOM HQ.

Khadem's body was mostly untouched, except for his head. He'd taken the plasma blast above his left eye, and most of his head on that side was gone, and the burns marred much of the rest of his face. The only grace was that the heat had completely cauterized the wound. Houston had helped guide the medics in placing the body with the feet facing northeast, toward Mecca. Once they had left, and CPL Ramli had stepped outside, they carefully stripped the body, placing a folden linen bedsheet over the lower belly to upper legs, and then began the ghusl mayyit.

Later, after the body had been enshrouded in a kafan improvised from bedsheets, they'd finally taken SGT Khadem's body back to the hangar. Jared prayed that their efforts would be acceptable to the family, and would be sure to push the issue of proper funeral preparations in the future. Still, though it had not been the same as might have happened in a primarily islamic nation, Houston felt that SGT Khadem would be satisfied with the honor paid to him by his brothers and sister.

-

The hangar doors close above, cutting off the dim twinkle of starlight, and leaving the four in darkness and silence. With no words exchanged, they turn and file out of the hangar, making their way through the corridors to the medbay, where Hassan and Dhalon await. It had been decided that, even though his body would not be present, that they would recite the Salat al-Janazah for themselves and their fallen brother. His face only betraying the slightest nervousness, Houston stepped forward, and his fellow troopers gathered around the two medical beds in front of him.

"Allahu Akbar," he began, then took a breath and continued. "B-ismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi..."

The prayer continued, with the other troopers murmuring and speaking at the appropriate moments. A few times, Jared caught hesitation and realized he must have done or said something incorrectly, but he pushed through it the best he could. It didn't take long before he felt the sting of tears, and the warmth of them upon his cheeks, but he didn't allow his voice to waver.

"Assalaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu-Allah", he intoned, bringing the prayer to an end and bowing his head for the final time. Peace and blessings of God be upon you, my brother. Finally wiped his eyes, and saw tears standing on the cheeks of the troopers gathered in front of him. The small smile from the bed-bound Hassan told him that he'd done well enough.