Hells Bells

Operation: Red Serpent

April 2nd, 2026. Volgograd. Russian Republic Territory.

The city lay in ruins, after intense fire from both sides laid waste to it. Though the topside is in shambles and house to house fighting rages on. The underground shelters are in fluxed with the wounded and lame. UN medical personnel, sent as a part of relief efforts, work tirelessly to save those people, civilian or military. As each artillery shell pounds the ground, the loose ceiling lights shake and small debris particles fall from the many cracks. The medical personnel do not flounder at this, with many being used to combat zones, working unabated and steadily as they can.

HD: bring me the needle pliers.

The head doctor holds out her hands towards her nurse, who hands her the pliers. She begins to pick out shrapnel from the soldiers intestines on the table in front of her. A flurry of shouts at the cellars entrance draws those not busy attentions. A piercing noise engulfs the cellar, as an artillery shell lands near the entrance. Shooting smoke and dust into the cellar, causing the doctors to rush and cover the open patients. Through the smoke unknown soldiers pile into the cellar, with the last soldiers walking in carrying their wounded comrades. The UN personnel believe more Russians have come to drop off more wounded, only for a shock to go through their spines as the soldiers converse with them in English.

MAXWELL: Out the fucking way

The soldiers push past the nurses and civilians, pushing off debris on an open table and placing the more severely wounded soldier onto it. The team's medic tourniquets the man's leg and administers painkillers. The less wounded soldier is sat down near civilians and given painkillers as well. The medic and a soldier, who seems to be the team leader, tries to stow the bleeding in the man's stomach. The team leader shouts to the medical personnel.

MAXWELL: Will you bastards come fucking help us, he loosing too much blood.

The head doctor hands off her patient to one of her subordinates and heads over to help them.

HD: What are his injuries?

MEDIC: Multiple gunshots to the abdomen and a severed femoral artery. We stopped the bleeding from the artery, but we can't stop the bleeding in his stomach.

The doctor calls for free personnel to come over. They take over stemming the flow of blood, she then asks for tweezers and a high powered cauterizer. Upon getting the equipment she begins work on getting any shrapnel and bullet chunks stuck in the stomach. While another nurse works on closing the femoral artery. After 30 minutes of working on the soldier, they manage to get most of the fragments out, but their efforts are in vain, as the soldier grips his hand onto his commanding officer's arm and cries for his mother. The commanding officer comforts his subordinate as the light slowly fades from the man's eyes and he goes limp. The commander lowers his head. Another artillery shell lands near the entrance spewing more dust and smoke into the cellar.

Early the next morning on the east side of the Volga. A horde of Russian helicopters make their way to the city. Aboard those helicopters are members of the British SAS, French GIGN, and American Seal teams and Double Phoenix. When the 3rd Russian Civil War broke out efforts were made to secure the vast nuclear arsenal that Russia had at its disposal. To prevent these being used by each side and to prevent them from falling into terrorist hands or the Iranians. A UN coalition headed by the US and nearby GDA members, went into Russia to evacuate or destroy these weapons. Luckily for the coalition 70% of Russia's nuclear arsenal didn't exist and the remaining 30% was seized and evacuated from the country with no resistance with Republican forces willing to give up the warheads in exchange for civilian relief. They complied so much so, that the Republic helped send the weapons the UN couldn't get to. To nearby GDA bases to be given to the US to store in the Yucca Mountains. A Republic aircraft carrying one of these warheads was shot down over Volgograd, crashing into the city and scattering its cargo over a wide range in the city itself. When Republic and Linskey forces started to fight over the city, it was no longer feasible for Republican forces to transport it to safety. So a small coalition of the aforementioned special forces were sent in with reinforcing Republic forces to evacuate it. The reason special forces teams, disguised as Russian soldiers, are being sent instead of opening portals is to prevent retaliation from Linskey who might see the portal openings as an attempt to intervene on the Republic's side. They could rely on the Republic, but now that the fighting has increased in intensity. They feared the Republic would draw too much attention to the area where the nuke crashed and make Linskey forces increase their presence in that area, and potentially lead Linskey forces to discover and use that bomb. So in went the special forces. The helicopters start to fly lower upon approach to the city. Ryan turns to his fellow soldiers and gets down to business. He pulls out a small tablet and pulls up satellite imagery taken the day before.