(part 1: https://pastebin.com/edit/XUqteu0J)
(part 3: https://pastebin.com/0cvmytDM)

PART 2

>As the dinnertime approaches your team leader calls for you and the rest of the team:
>"Look there, could that be our relief?" he asks as he points to an approaching vehicle, a Pasi APC.
>"If it is, it means the chair force has finally come to take charge of the highway base, which means we will be moving out tomorrow morning at latest, and with the start of the war if we move out tonight it'll be a nerve-wrecking drive with minimal lighting to where ever we'll be sent next" you say.
>The Pasi pulls off the highway and drives directly to where you parked the Defender & a man who appears to be the leader jumps out & starts running towards you. He salutes your team leader as he gets to him and informs him that we are relieved, it turns out he's a sergeant, your team leader decides to go by the book & call this in, and a couple minutes later he comes back & hands over the duty of guarding the bridge to the sergeant.
>You get back to the Defender & as you start driving towards the base you make a suggestion:
>"Aren't you guys tired of listening to the air defence channel? With the air force taking charge here it's highly unlikely that even a fly could get through the air defence net without us literally hearing about it with our own ears" you say, and the others agree.
>"Open the glove box, do you guys like Sabaton? What, never heard of it? that CD you are holding, put it in the player, yes, that one" you say to your team leader as he digs through the glove box, picks up a CD & inserts it into the player, a few seconds later the tunes of the Swedish version of "A Lifetime of War" start playing. Each one of you understands at least some of it & everyone agrees it's an appropriate song.
>As you arrive to the highway base the airman at the end of what'll soon be a runway gestures you to drive off the road and stop. You follow his gestures & he runs to your window.
>"Stay put, we have fighters about to land here any minute now" he says.

>As soon as he finishes saying that you hear the distinct sound of approaching jets. You expect to see Hornets landing to refuel & are absolutely stunned when you see the first jet, a much smaller, single-engine fighter with delta wings and canards, landing on the runway, you pinch yourself as you see more of the same following suit.
>As the first one turns off the runway to a paved loop leading back to the other end of the runway you get the final confirmation for your initial suspicion:
>"Three crowns in a circle, what the fuck is Swedish Air force doing here?" you ask.
>"I'm no lawyer, but apparently this is part of the recently signed & ratified defence co-operation agreement" the airman responds.
>"Fucking awesome", is all you are able to say at the moment. Your mind wanders back to "Livstid i Krig", as the song you listened to enroute back here is called in Swedish just as "Carolus Rex" starts playing.
>The airman, a Finland-Swede as you already figured out from his accent, listens to the lyrics for a moment, obviously recognizing the song, and smiles as he asks:
>"Did you secretly pick that song as you saw the Gripens?"
>"No, it's honestly a coincidence, but it *does* fit the occasion, don't you think?" you reply as the last Gripen taxis off the runway to join the queue waiting to be refueled.
>Scratch that, they aren't just being refueled, they are being armed with weapons that *don't* look like anything FiAF has in its' inventory.
>".where did those weapons come from?" you ask, already guessing what the answer is going to be.
>"That's classified, as far as we are concerned the Gripens were already armed when they landed", the airman replies. So the Swedes sent their weapons here beforehand just in case.
>"What ever bad things I have ever said about the Swedish defence forces, I take it all back" you say as you watch the Gripens being armed.

>After refueling & being armed the Gripens taxi back to the runway and take off, while you don't know much about the weapons carried by fighters, you can tell that these Gripens are carrying air-to-ground weapons, the implications aren't lost on you as you watch them disappera in the clouds.
>"OK, the way is clear now" the airman says as he salutes & your team leader returns the salute as you start the engine and drive away.
>Upon your arrival you find your base resembling a madhouse with everyone running around. It looks like you'll be leaving before dark after all, though that doesn't mean it'll be light when you reach your next destonation you think as you park the Defender right in front of the trailer without blocking the way for the rest of the vehicles present.
>As you exit the vehicle you walk to the trailer, opening the lock & pulling it to the Defender to connect them, you make sure the trailer is locked to the tailhook and connect the power cable, checking the functionality of the tail lights can wait you think as you start walking towards your team's tent to pack your rucksack, only to see Riikka coming out with your rucksack already packed.
>"Is the trailer unlocked" she asks as she walks towards the rear of the trailer & without waiting for your reply raises the hood.
>"Wait until the tent along with its' associated equipment is loaded" you say as Riikka is about to put your rucksack in.
>"I know that!" she shouts as she drops the rucksack and walks away, looking embarassed.
>It doesn't take long for your team to pack your equipment so you decide to help the others.
>You haven't been told the deadline for getting everything packed, but the company certainly manages finish the job ahead of schedule. After adjusting the schedule to fit the situation the company commander once again orders driver to a briefing for the motor march to the next destination. You cringe as the commander tells you the name of the next destination.

>The next mission is to protect a powerplant, a powerplant that uses bio-waste for fuel. You went there once in the past & the memory alone is enough to make you want to puke. It's not even the powerplant that's worst, it's the waste dump around it.
>Suddenly captain starts laughing, you are confused as to what is happening.
>"Sorry, I just couldn't resist, we aren't actually going there, I just said that to see your face when I said it" he explains as he gets himself back together.
>"Well played, so where are we *really* going?" you ask.
>"Here" he says as he points to a spot on the map. It's the neighborhood you were asked about before the company came here.
>"We are staying in the area because it's in the middle of a triangle created by three big cities, the enemy will no doubt land something here just because of that, and we are tasked with destroying them."
>"Great, 76th Guards Air Assault Division vs. a Local Defence troops company plus maybe some chairmen" you say, to which captain replies.
>"I know, right? They don't stand a chance."

>The briefing ends just as the last pieces of equipment are being in the trucks. As your team gets in the car and the column starts moving you ask your team leader:
>"how alone are we here, do you know?"
>"Aside from the chair force there is an MP company covering the powerplant plus some SAM launchers"
>"So the only indirect fire support we have available is our mortar platoon?" the FO -NCO asks.
>"At least for the time being, this crisis developed into a war faster than anyone expected, the mobilisation is still not finished, though the fact that Russkies didn't attack the highway base in force followed by landing the 76th in the area as their opening move balances things out a bit" your team leader says.
>"That's the other thing, we train to be ready to repel a landing by an air assault division with just our Local Defence battalion in the opening days of a conflict, and this is how things turn out?" FO -NCO's assistant notes, annoyed by something.
>"Personally I prefer this, since now we have at least some time to prepare a decent welcoming party for the desantniks" you say as you turn off the highway to a smaller road.
>"What do you think, will there be fireworks?" your team leader asks jokingly.
>"I think that's a question for the triple-A, if we can find them that is" you reply, provoking a question from FO -NCO's assistant:
>"What do you mean, "if we can find them"?"
>"The idea of the current air defence doctrine is to spread out the SAMs all over the country and more or less choose randomly which enemy planes are to be shot down by the first SAM they pass & which ones are to be let through so as to keep the Russkies guessing where our air defences actually *are*, they also move around & I wouldn't be surprised if there were even dummy units moving from place to place as a distraction" you reply and continue:

>"as such, they don't even tell our own troops where the launchers are, because if we knew where they are we would react to the information, and that reaction could be noticed by the enemy", you explain.
>"By the way, speaking of anti-air, does anyone in this car know how to use that MANPAD that was adopted some time ago, what was it called..."
>"Stinger, and no, I don't think any of us has had the privilege of being trained to use it yet" your team leader says.
>"Speaking of MANPADs, did any of you old-timers get training for "Igla" during your national service?" you ask, reminding that three of the other four guys are much older than you are, with FO -NCO's assistant being the only one younger than you.
>"Igla?" the Signals NCO asks with a confused tone.
>"ITO-86, Americans call it "Grail" I think" you explain.
>"Oh, that, not me, what about you two?" he asks the others, both shake their heads.
>"Pity, I would have loved if we all grabbed a Stinger or two and went all "afghan Mujahedin" on the VDV once they show up..." FO NCO's assistant continues from where the conversation about Stinger got derailed.
>"You mean, wrap towels around our heads, trade matches for their rations on Monday & attack their outpost on Tuesday?" you ask jokingly.
>"If it worked for the afghans, why wouldn't it work for us?" he jokes back.

>As you arrive in your destination & pull off the road & on an empty lot that happens to be right next to your childhood home you notice that not only are there lights on in the house, but there's someone inside.
>After quickly notifying your team leader that you are going to check the house you & the lance corporal sprint towards the house & start going around it, you relax a bit after seeing your mother's car in the driveway.
>You signal to the lance corporal to be at ease as you walk to the front door & knock on the door as you can't remember the doorbell having worked in years.
>After waiting for a moment you try the door handle and, finding the door unlocked, you enter.
>"Ciao! Anyone here?" you greet in your family's usual manner as you walk past your old room & into the view from kitchen and living room, you see your mother and step-father in the kitchen, in the middle of packing things.
>"Anon? What are you doing here?" you mother exclaims as she rushes to hug you,
>"I could ask you the same, this area should have been evacuated already" you say as you pet your mother's two cats who have come to greet you.
>"We are just about to leave, now why are *you* here?" your step-father replies with his own question.
>"I couldn't tell you even if I knew, where are you going from here?" you ask.
>"Your sister's place for now" you mother says.
>"Impossible, the highway from here towards her town is closed to civilian traffic" you reply, no point hiding the fact as this has been more or less public knowledge ever since those "Frogfoots" were shot down.
>"We know, we are taking the longer route" your step-father says with his usual "I know everything there is to know & then some" -tone.
>"In that case you should just keep driving away from this area, I'll call Tanja & tell her to do the same because that town isn't any safer than this neighborhood" you say, hoping that your step-father'll listen to reason for once.
>"How would you know?" he demands.

>"Which one of us has been part of the Local Defence troops for the last four years, training for this exact scenario the whole time?" you ask him, irritated at this 60-something who has never agreed on anything you say & has never admitted having been wrong about anything.
>"Stop it you two, if Anon says going to Tanja's place is too dangerous, then we'll go somewhere else, end of discussion!" your mother exclaims before continuing in a much calmer manner:
>"Since you are here we'll leave the power on & some food in the freezer and the fridge, we'll be taking Beast and Rascal with us though" she says. Beast and Rascal are the names of your mother's cats, or your younger siblings as she calls them.
>"Thanks, not sure if we'll be using the house, but the option is more than welcome" you say as you and the lance corporal help your mother and step-father with packing.
>"Bye now & stay safe!" you mother says as she hugs you before stepping in the car, as they drive away your team leader appears, asking what all that was about.
>"My mother and my step-father were still packing" you explain.
>"You mean this is your mother's house?"
>"Yes, she said she's leaving the power on & that she left some food behind for us, meaning this house is now available for the company to use" you reply. There's just enough room for maybe a squad in the house, or alternatively it could serve as a command post, though both of those would be difficult to hide from enemy satellites, but that's for the brass to decide, the option is available should they choose to make use of it...

>As you are about to return to the vehicle your mother's next-door neighbors come out, it seems the evacuation of the area really had started way too late for comfort, upon seeing you the master of the house rushes to you, saying:
>"Good to see you, I take it you are going to stay here for the time being?"
>"Who knows, the very least we probably aren't going to move out tonight" you reply, it's not that you don't trust the neighbors (actually you dislike this man, but you don't have a real reason to be suspicious of him-), but it's best to reveal as little as possible just in case.
>"I have left the door unlocked, feel free to use our house, I'll show you where to find the spare key should you need it" he says as he gestures you to follow him to where the spare key is hidden before shaking your hand, going to their car and driving away.
>"So we have *two* houses at our disposal" you state just as you see a car driving off the drive way of the next house over & A running towards you from the front yard of the house in question.
>"That house over there belongs to a cop, his family just left & they entrusted me with the spare key to their house" A explains.
>"So, three houses at our disposal" your team leader says before continuing
>"I wonder if every family still here is going to hand over a spare key to us so that we can use their houses while they are away."
>"Possibly, after all if this is going to become a battlefield it's probably better to give us the keys so that we won't have to break down the doors should we need to enter the houses" you say, though you are still surprised by how easily people are entrusting you with the keys to their homes.
>Just as you are wondering who else is still there you see your childhood friend's dad's car stopping in front of the driveway & a middle-aged man lowering the side window.
>"Soldiers! If you need it, number 10's key is..." he shouts as you finish his sentence
>"...In the same place it has been for the last 20 years, right?"

***********

(Meanwhile, Alakurtti, Murmansk Oblast)
>Lieutenant Koivisto is starting to get restless. The platoon had penetrated the perimeter during the previous night & half of the men were now inside the base waiting for the signal to start the party, but the Special Jägers were now late by an hour and counting.
>"Where the hell are they, it's going to be dark soon & then we'll have to postpone the attack", he mutters under his breath.
>"Can't we just wing it if they arrive after dark but before we launch the attack?" his second in command asks.
>"And take the blame if things go South? No thank you."
>"It was surprisingly easy to sneak in, we have had harder time getting past our own guys in exercises", the second in command comments, changing the subject.
>"That's because Para Jäger Company keeps practicing against the same units year after year, they are bound to learn all of our tricks, these guys are probably more familiar with catching their own men sneaking off-base and/or back after spending the night in town without permission", Koivisto replies, Para Jägers have indeed kept having hard time against certain units, mostly reservists.
>Suddenly they hear a clicking sound, as they both concentrate on listening they hear three metallic clicks, to which Koivisto responds with two & getting one in reply.
>"This is getting ridiculous" Koivisto thinks as he replies with four clicks, which seems to satisfy the late-comers as two men appear from the bushes, if the rest of their equipment didn't make it clear, the rifles remove any remaining doubt about their unit: FN SCAR-L recently adopted for use by special forces.
>"Glad you could finally join us", Koivisto comments before the commanding officer of the Special Jägers could say anything, immediately continuing:
>"We have no time to waste so better listen carefully, I'm not repeating this" he says to the man who almost certainly outranks him, but in this operation their ranks don't matter, it's his plan & he's calling the shots.

>"So, this is what we are going to do: half of my men are already inside the base, here, here and here. Our main objective is the power station here, I suggest you take your men and sneak through the perimeter here, hide here or here and wait for the signal, after the signal you storm your primary objective, the control tower and mark any priority targets with infrared flares and/or if you run out with anything giving off plenty of heat, be off the runway within 10 minutes, after that the area within 500 meters from any of the markers you set is going to become very unhealthy place for anyone."
>"Sounds good, what is the signal?" the special jägers' commander asks, not that he doesn't know already, he's probably simply making sure Koivisto isn't planning anything needlessly complicated.
>"After 0400 when you start hearing gunfire and explosions it *might* be a good time to join the party, if the party starts before 0345 but after 0200 abort the mission and get out any way you can, if it starts before 0200 the decision whether or not to abort is up to you, if after 0345 proceed as planned. If you don't hear an explosion here by the time you are leaving, try and find out what's happening & try to finish destroying the power station before leaving" Koivisto replies, receiving a nod from the career officer.
>"Let's synchronize our watches."
>"Never seen an Lt talk like that to a captain, left alone a reservist to a career officer", special jägers' second in command says after the briefing as the special jägers are sneaking towards the designated infiltration point.
>"He's one of us; left the company right before you joined, so they put him back in Para jägers, good thing too considering the operation, if anyone can pull off an assault on a base manned by a Russian artic brigade with just two platoons of light infantry, it's him..."
>"Is it just me or does it feel like it's going to rain tonight?" asks one of the men.
>"Now that you mention it, yes it does, maybe we'll get lucky & it'll be a real downpour for a while & end right before four" the captain replies, looking at the sky.
>"Not just a regular "Sissi's weather" to help us sneak past the enemy, but one that will end in time for our attack so it won't compromise our flares?"
>"One can always wish."

0353, Enontekiö
>The atmosphere in the highway base is tense as the FiAF's only remaining Fokker F.27 "Friendship" finishes the pre-flight checks almost on schedule, the plane is nearing the end of its' usefull life & it shows, this might very well be the last flight, officially the plane is fitted with signal intelligence gathering equipment, but at least for this flight it has a different task.
>The engines start and after allowing them to warm up the pilot takes off & the ground crews immediately start pulling the camouflage from top of the three Gripens that had arrived in secret during the previous night & had been kept hidden from satellites all day for this one mission. The planes are all carrying a heavy payload destined to a target unknown to everyone but the pilots themselves.
>One by one the Gripens take off while the Fokker circles over the highway with its highly classified electronic interference package in full operation, the "Friendship's" task on this mission is to mask the Gripens' presence during the loiter along the Russian border while waiting for the signal to go in, hopefully by that time the target's radar is dark, otherwise this could be a very short mission.
>The clock hits 0407, still nothing, all four pilots are getting nervous as their screens show a Russian AWACS altering course towards them. In another minute they'll have to either abandon the mission or break radio silence and call for help as the AWACS' powerful radar picks up the Gripens.
>Just as the Fokker's pilot is about to break the silence the awaited message comes through: "Ilmatar", the mission is a go,
>"Mjölner flight, Specter one, Ilmatar confirmed, good luck!" the Fokker pilot almost shouts into the radio, the nerve-wrecking part of the mission is over, now it's the dangerous part.
>"Copy that Specter one, see you in a few minutes, Mjölner leader out!"
>The Gripens roll over the Fokker & finishing the maneuver as a steep dive as they take the course for Alakurtti, ETA 3 minutes 10 seconds.

>On the ground the special jägers are finishing marking targets for the planes & are preparing to leave, the chaos caused by Koivisto's men helped them greatly, the resistance at the airfield was light & it seems they didn't have the time to raise an alarm.
>"Come on men, let's go, anyone still here in two minutes will return home in a shoebox, if at all!" the captain shouts.
>"One more flare!" shouts their newest member.
>"There's no time!" captain argues only to see the corporal just finishing.
>"*Now* can we leave?" he asks before starting to sprint further away from the runway with the others following suit, they were all exhausted but the knowledge that several tons of high explosives were about to land on the runway gave everyone newfound strength.
>In the air Mjölner leader is opening throttle to gain speed, the plan calls for him to make a high-speed pass to map the airfield & designate targets for everyone before circling back and finishing the bombing run last.
>As he passes the airfield the computer picks 11 targets, the special forces were provided 12 flares so they managed to use their time efficiently.
>After designating the targets he pulls on the stick and opening throttle once more to get to a safe distance before Mjölner 2's bombs make targets 1 through 4 go away.
>While circling back for his own bombing run he allows himself a couple seconds to watch the fireworks, he sees eight explosions, each followed by secondary ones indicating that the bombs hit *something*, as he lines up for the run he makes a decision: he has one extra bomb and he's not taking it back, besides it would be a shame to leave the control tower standing...
>After dropping the last bomb he sets the course for Specter 1, the Russians will certainly be taking a closer look now & it won't do at all to let them gain proof of Gripens carrying out an attack against Russian military.
>"Specter 1, Sampo, I repeat, Sampo."
>"Mjölner leader, copy that, good job everyone."

Two hours later, extraction point Bravo
>The operation was a success, both teams managed to disengage without leaving anyone behind, Para jägers got to the rally point first & from there the teams proceeded to the extraction point Bravo together, Alpha had turned out to be a no-go due to the appearance of a Russian border patrol out of nowhere, the two men left there to watch the site managed to sneak away unnoticed & send a warning to the teams before proceeding to Bravo.
>"Surprise surprise, it's the agreed time and the whisks are nowhere to be seen nor heard" Koivisto's second in command mutters.
>"Has the Crown's ride *ever* been on time?" Koivisto asks.
>"Has there ever been a grunt who doesn't complain about everything, if the ride isn't late it's too early, the seats are uncomfortable or the service on the flight sucks" the special jägers' captain retorts with a smile.
>"Which reminds me, who should I talk to to get them serve booze on the return trip? Trekking in the Lapland wilderness is fun and all, but all that shooting makes me thristy" one of the special jägers comments while the medic patches him up, something or other seems to have scraped his temple.
>"I'll take it up with the brass, but what happened to you?" the captain asks.
>"That's a good question, I remember kicking in a door at the airfield & feeling as if someone hit me in the head with a log, the next thing I know I'm here having a smoke."
>"How can you be thristy because of shooting you don't even remember?" the captain asks.
>"I don't but my body does."
>"If you say so" the medic interjects as he finishes bandaging the man's head & puts a small bottle in his hands.
>"What's this?"
>"The supply was out of hand sanitizer so we have to make do with pirtu" the medic explains and winks.
>"Well, I guess it'll have to do" the man jokingly says before taking a long sip from the bottle just as the distinct sound of approaching helicopters becomes audible.
>"Ok gypsies, let's go home!"

(explanations:
whisk:direct translation of "vispilä", a slag term for helicopter
crown: refers to the state in general and FDF in particular, widely used despite the fact that Finland is a republic
pirtu: rectified spirits, in other words 95% ethanol)

*******************

0600, Anon's childhood home
>The communications squad along with the FO -teams that helped the former in establishing the communications, after spending most of the night laying cable between the command post, guard posts and the various billets, had been ordered to go to sauna as a reward & the men were now relaxing on a neighbor's porch enjoying their mandatory sauna beers.
>"Come on Anon, I want one too!" Riikka demands as you finish the beer you opened in sauna & are about to open the second and last one.
>"No, don't you remember what happened the last time I let you drink?" you refuse her cute demand.
>"No I don't!" she replies before realising what she just said.
>"Exactly" you reply as you open the second beer and take a sip.
>"Don't be like that Anon", the communications squad's leader says while giving Riikka a beer.
>"...I won't be held responsible for her actions" you reply as you give in.
>It takes less than a minute for Riikka to finish the beer & after that even less for the effects alcohol has on Riikka to become apparent, Riikka really can't handle alcohol at all.
>After going wild for half an hour, Riikka runs out of steam & you carry her inside to sleep it off.
>"See what I mean?"
>"...Yeah, good thing we didn't give her something stronger" your team leader comments before remembering something and adding:
>"Wait a minute, you once said you tend to drink vodka rather than beer, does that mean..."
>"Yes, while it may have been entertaining for a moment, the aftermath was anything but fun."
>As you put on your clothes and prepare to go to your respective billets to catch a few hours of sleep, A, captain's runner, comes from the command post.
>"Big news, the special forces and the air force just carried out an attack on Alakurtti!" he says as he gets to the porch, the news leaving everyone stunned.

>"The special jägers attacked an Arctic brigade & the chair force finished the job? Great, if the russkies weren't going to launch an invasion before, now they are all but guaranteed to do so."
>"Without doubt, so you better get some sleep while you still can, it could start raining desantniks any minute now" A replies.
>"Remind me again, was it against the rules to shoot parachutists while they are still in the air?" You ask even though you know the answer.
>"Yes it is, but TASS and/or Reuters won't be there to record it, so let's just say "accidents happen"" someone says.
>"Also no-one heard what was just said" your team leader states firmly.
>"Heard what?" you ask.
>"Exactly, now off to sleep everyone, Anon, you better stay here with Riikka."
>"Yes sir!" you reply before going inside and laying down on a couch, Riikka sleeping on another one.
>An uncertain time later you are woken up by A, you sit up groggily and ask:
>"What's the time?"
>"1030, it was decided to prepare lunch early today, also captain says your team is temporarily assigned as part of "the fist"."
>"The fist? I guess it makes sense, we don't really have anything better to do, well the the rest of the team anyway, I just might be usefull in comm since they are severely undermanned" you say, "the fist" is the company commander's tactical reserve tasked with defending the command post & if necessary to reinforce the rifle platoons.
>"Wakey wakey, Riikka, it's lunch time!" you say as you try to wake her up, as usual the magic word "lunch" does the trick.

>After lunch (surprise! Today it's peasoup and pancakes just like every Thursday for the last 90+ years!) those of the fist not on guard duty are assigned to various tasks to keep everyone busy, your assignment is to provide refresher training on radios and proper communication practices.
>After the class you are called to the command post where the rest of the FO -personnel are already waiting around a map of the area with a transparent plastic sheet on top of it. You can see that on the sheet there are irregular shapes drawn with a permanent marker in certain areas.
>"Ahh, Anon, glad you could join us, as our only local you can probably guess what these shapes represent" the captain says while gesturing at the map.
>"Shadow areas, that is places where our radios probably won't work" you make an educated guess, you had a long discussion about where to place the command post radio & which antenna to use and at what power setting, the terrain is challenging & to top that off the whole place is rather high above sea level, in fact it's one of the highest points in the area, meaning that with too powerful setup your radio signals can be captured far easier by unwanted parties, yet if you don't use powerful enough setup the shadow areas will become a serious problem, plus the approximate ranges of various antennas at various settings are less accurate than one would hope, with all this in mind you can already guess what this meeting is about.
>"Let me guess: each team is to take a radio along with all of the available antennas, go to different places on the map and test which antennas work the best at each location" you make another educated guess.
>"Basically, except for the wire antenna that is, we won't be needing that one for our company's internal communications" the comm team leader says, confirming your own opinion on the matter: long story short, the wire antenna is too troublesome for the company's needs.

>After mapping the shadow areas all teams return to the command post to find a bunch of strangers being briefed by the captain in the forest next to the command post, he explains that these men are reinforcements sent by the battalion command in order to bring the company to full strength. 
>You are almost immediately tasked with giving the men assigned to the comm team a crash course on the equipment they'll be using since some of it hasn't been in use in conscript training for years & one piece of equipment, a manually operated telephone exchange that's still perfectly suitable for communications between the command post and the various guard posts and billets with field telephones, dates back to WWII.
>The truck which brought the reinforcements here also brought three KvKk 62 light machineguns and a pile of ammo belts and their pouches for the Fist to use as there aren't enough PKMs to go around and "rat guns" will do the job just as well, the truck also brought more ammo and other supplies, indicating that the battalion expects logistics to become unreliable in the near future.
>The crash course goes without any trouble & the next item on the agenda is training the newcomers to use the KvKk since it hasn't been part of conscript training either for some years now, the driver who brought the machineguns relayed a message from the armorer that the weapons were properly serviced and zeroed prior to being issued to the company, though everyone present agrees that this should be taken with a grain of salt, besides you'll have to field strip them as part of the training anyway so you'll find out soon enough whether they are in fact clean & the sights being off isn't much of a problem with machineguns.
>As the newcomers are trained in the use of KvKk it turns out the guns are in fact clean & despite the guns looking brand new their sights show signs of having been adjusted once or twice, maybe they *were* zeroed after all.

>After everyone has practiced loading the kvkk you start loading belts & showing the right way of folding them in the pouches (the empty belts are usually stored by rolling them & tying them with string and these ones are no exception) as rolling the loaded belts will almost certainly cause feeding problems, after a while Riikka appears and starts loading a belt while sulking, she seems to be jealous due to the attention you are giving to the machinegun in front of you. 
>You start wondering why she'd be jealous over you paying attention to a gun without a geist, until it hits you.
>"Riikka, does this machinegun..." you start asking before being interrupted by Riikka's reply.
>"Yes" is all she says on the matter, she's mad, but not with you, or at least not just you.
>"I'm not mad! Besides that stupid Valmet pisses me off!" she says before immediately contradicting herself.
>"Who are you calling stupid?!" An unknown voice shouts, you all turn towards the voice to see a girl with lynx ears and a tail where the machinegun was just moments ago.
>"Oh, hello, who might you be?" You hurriedly ask before Riikka can retort, this is no time nor place for a cat-fight, though one of them is actually a dog, making it even more important to stop it from happening.
>Riikka glares at you, obviously having read your thoughts, but doesn't go ballistic, instead she just pouts.
>"I'm Kk 62, I don't have a name yet, I-I was sent straight to storage after I left the factory!" the lynx-girl explains shyly, after four decades in a cold underground storage facility excavated into the bedrock anyone would be like that you think as you recall seeing "1973" stamped on the gun.
>"I see, do the other two also have geists?" you ask her while giving her an encouraging smile, causing Riikka to somehow manage to pout even more, you'll have to make sure to pamper her later.
>"I-I don't know!" the lynx-girl says almost crying, causing someone else's rifle, Liisa, to step in to comfort her.

>It is only after the Valmet Rk has taken the shy geist somewhere more private that you realise this must be the first time the newcomers have seen a geist, and now they have seen three of them in less than two minutes, and sure enough they are all stunned.
>"What just happened?" Who is she?" one of them asks while gesturing at Riikka.
>"Long story short: some of our weapons have what are generally called waffengeists, or weapon spirits, no-one knows for certain where they come from, just that they seem to come to inhabit firearms at random, they can take human form at will & can manifest both of their forms simultaneously, though it seems to be very tiring for them, there were 20 of them in this company this morning, now we have at least one more" you explain before continuing while gesturing at Riikka:
>"As for her, she's my rifle, Riikka."
>"What's with the ears and the tail?" another rookie asks before realising how rude he might come off as.
>"That is a mystery as well, I have heard that only combloc guns and their derivatives exhibit feline and/or canine features."
>"But that KvKk had lynx ears and a tail as well, since when has Finland been a combloc country?" the rookie asks, you sigh before replying:
>"As I said "and their derivatives", KvKk is based on a Czechoslovakian design, only Valmet screwed something up in the process of developing the Finnish version which explains why a gun based on a Czechoslovak design turned out to be as unreliable as KvKk 62."
>"But enough of that, these belts aren't going to load themselves!"
>Later on it turns out that all three have geists, which is for the time being considered a good thing as with geists there won't be need to assign the guns to anyone in particular, the three can take care of themselves. After issuing them with uniforms they are added to the company's strength as privates so that they can collect pay, after all while the other geists can rely on their shooters for finances, these three can't.

**********************

>"Pop-quiz: what is the difference between PKM's loading procedure and that of KvKk?" you ask out of the blue to check if anyone had missed the key difference between the two weapons.
>"When loading a PKM you flip the safety off, lift the cover, place the first round on the feed tray, close the cover, pull the charging handle all the way back & push it forward. With KvKk you push the safety lever down, push the pistol grip doubling as the charging handle all the way forward & pull it back, lock it in place, lift the cover, place the first round on the tray and close the cover" one of the new guys replies.
>"And which part do you grab when pulling the bolt back on KvKk?" you ask, the guns are practically factory-new but it's best to do things properly.
>"The trigger guard" another new guy replies.
>"Because..." you aid him finish the proper answer.
>"Because the grip isn't designed for that & the grip joint might crack if the gun is constantly charged by pulling it back from the grip rather than the trigger guard."
>"Precisely, last question: what do you do when you stop shooting?"
>"Lift the cover, take the belt out, close the cover and push the grip forward in order to close the gaping hole in the bottom exposing the internal parts to sand and/or snow etc."
>"Couldn't have recited that better myself, now let's finish this up quickly, it's almost dinner time."
>"Dinner?" Riikka wakes up from her pouting.
>"No, I said runner" you tease her, causing her to look sad before she catches on & takes a swing at you which you dodge.
>"Ass" she pouts.
>"Love you too" you reply, causing her to blush.

(Pskov, Pskov Oblast)

>"I swear, if this is yet another drill..." mládshiy serzhánt Georg Ivanov curses as he sits down and buckles up in the Mi-8T, this was now the sixth time they had been ordered to board the helicopters in full gear since the unprovoked aggression by the Finns that had led to the loss of four planes.
>"This is yet another drill and you what?" a menacing voice belonging starshina Petrova asks, fuck that woman is scary...
>"Nothing Vera Stepanova!" Georg responds before realising they aren't alone right now.
>"Who gave you permission to call me that you maggot? Did you land on your head at some point during your training or what?"
>"Can it you two, continue your lovers' quarrel later!" the pilot shouts from the cockpit.
>After a few minutes wait the intercom comes to life, the division commander's voice announcing that this isn't a drill.
>"Бог помилуй нас" Georg whispers, sure he *was* part of the operation in Crimea, but this is different, in Crimea Spetsnaz had been making preparations on-site for years, no such luck with this operation...
>Georg looks out as the helicopter starts taking off, NATO -fighters would be taking off from their base in Latvia in a matter of minutes, few minutes after that an alarm would sound in Rissala and Pirkkala, the first Hornets would be in the air a few minutes after that...
>"Cheer up kid, at least Chukhnas won't be spamming us with expired Iglas some guy named Muhammad 'improved' in his garage" Ivan, or "Grampa Sunny" as everyone calls him says.
>"That's right, you were in Chechnya, weren't you?" Someone on Ivan's other side asks.
>"Grampa Sunny was there both times, weren't you?" Another guy asks half-jokingly as Ivan is almost old enough tho *have* been there in 1994.
>"Nah, he sat that one out after having just returned from Afghanistan a couple years earlier" someone jokes.
>"But didn't last of our guys come back in 1988?" some FNG asks, puzzled.

>"The bastards forgot me on a remote outpost, I finally noticed sometime in 1991 & started walking home, got back to Russia in 1992 I think" Ivan plays along.
>The joking helps everyone relax a little bit, almost everyone has seen action in Ukraine so this is nothing new, but the small relief is welcome anyway.
>Georg smiles as he lights a cigarette, smoking is technically forbidden but no-one really cares.
>"Hey, you can't do that in here!" the new guy proves your assumption wrong.
>"What are you going to do about it, kick me out?" Georg retorts while passing the pack on to the next guy who also lights one.
>"Seriously, put it out, are you crazy?" the new guy keeps insisting.
>"You do realise you are talking to a guy who volunteered to jump out of perfectly good aircraft on a regular basis?" someone retorts, getting a few laughs from people around him.
>"Keep it down or you get to swim to Finland!" the co-pilot shouts from the cockpit, it seems they had reached the sea already.
>"Equipment check, everyone! Better get it done now rather than after the welcoming committee arrives!"
>The attack plans start looping in Georg's mind as he checks his equipment for one last time, finishing by checking that his Grach has a full magazine.
>Ivan is right. Everything will be just fine, there's no way Chukhnas' conscripts could pose a threat to a Guard's Air Assault Division's regulars.