April 14th, outside of Berlin

Finally, the last days of the war were about to begin. For two years now, the Red Army had chased the Fascists out of the Rodina and now onto German territory, picking up steam as they went. Not a week ago, Königsberg had fallen. Zhukov and Konev, the two great Marshals of the Red Army had put on a race to Berlin, each wanting to be the one to take the pride of Germany.
Even the Western Allies had stopped, not wanting to interfere.

Yelena and her comrades of the 1st BPO regiment - which, to be fair, wasn't much of a regiment. At its height, it had consisted of maybe 500 men and women - had joined the rest of the armies descending on the German. Not to partake in it's offensive, but to "render assistance".

That's what they had done in the last two years. Hunting abominations that threatened supply lines. Destroy the Baba Yaga preying on children hiding in the forests of Belorussia. Taking out high-ranking officers and mages of the Einsatzgruppen.

No she and the rest of her comrades were hoping to be picked for the ultimate honor: Take out or capture Hitler himself. Drag him out of his bunker and throw him at the feet of Generalissimo Stalin.

Just another day or two, and they'd start assaulting the Seelow Heights. And then... into the Ruins of Berlin.

She looked at the four watches she carried on her wrists - all of them taken off of dead SS-officers she had executed herself. It was time to go to the briefing.

Yelena noted that every one of the watches still read the exact same time. German precision and discipline were evident even in the smallest of things. Unfortunate that she felt like killing every single German that had been of voting age when Hitler rose to power as there were likely a couple good people among them.

What she had seen since joining the BPO had been eye opening, like third-eye opening. But even the most gruesome monsters didn't churn her stomach in the same way as what she had seen in Poland. Most people would never truly understand what it was like to walk through a death camp. But Yelena did, and it had turned her hard. That green sniper from Stalingrad who was good at shooting straight seemed like a little girl from a long time ago. In her place was battle-hardened woman, resolute and focused.

Yelena took a quick look in the mirror and fixed a few stray hairs. The Red Army still wasn't really a woman's place, so she had to work a bit harder, have better discipline - basically be as close to perfect as she could. Certainly she'd earned the respect of many in her regiment over the last couple of years, but now was not the time to become lax.

After making certain she would pass an inspection with flying colors, Yelena grabbed her cover and headed to the briefing.

Polkovnik Porozhnyak selected the former Stalag III-C as the HQ site for the BPO regiment. Until it was liberated by the Red Army, it had held POW from the US, Britain, Poland, Yugoslavia, France, and even a few Italians.

No Russian prisoners, though. The Germans had let them starve to death.
It was just one more atrocity in a long list of sins.

Yelena joined the rest of B Company in what used to be the officer's mess hall. Once everyone had arrived, the man who had recruited her started to speak.


"Comrades, the last days of the '1000-year-Reich' are upon us. It will have lasted less than 13 years. Soon, the Red Army will take these heights and then the assault on Berlin will begin in earnest. It will be a fight from house to house, from street to street. We have known this type of fighting since Stalingrad. Only now it will take place in their land... and we will spill their blood."

Porozhnyak paused to give the men and women time to react.

"I have a special mission for you. The Americans are hunting a man named Kemmel. We don't quite know why. Some war criminal or other. We have offered of handing him over if captured, but they insisted to get him himself."

He slowly wagged is head left to right.

"Now, their insistence was of a kind that made me wonder why this man is so important to the Capitalists? They have, sadly, already caught most of the high-ranking fascists, as these animals fled faster than we could pursue them. And this Kemmel seems to have been in Köngisberg, when the battle started. But he was not identified among the prisoners, nor the dead."

He shrugged.
"That doesn't mean anything. Thousands and tens of thousands are missing, after all. Once the was has ended, we will have the time to turn every stone until we have found them. Russia never forgets."

He looked out the window. "But, let us not forget that the Americans helped us with material when the fasiscts attacked. It would be unkind to not return the favor.
Your mission is as follows: You will find the American company charged with finding Kemmel and you will escort and protect them. Find out who this Kemmel is and if he is of any interest, take him into custody. For safe-keeping."

He turned back to face the company. "Are there any questions?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:06, Sun 12 July 2020.

"Yes we will!" Yelena pounded her hands briefly on the mess table and stomped her boots.

Once that brief opportunity had subsided, Yelena locked herself back down and listened closely to Polkovnik Porozhnyak. While thinking, she dragged the fingers of her left hand along the three scar marks that now marred the left side of her neck and the underside of her chin. The doctors said they would fade a bit eventually, which would be fine. At least it didn't hurt anymore, and it brought her even more respect among the members of the Red Army.

When asked for questions, Yelena paused a moment to see if any higher ranking members of the regiment had questions, then raised her hand and asked a few questions.

"What are our rules of engagement, sir? Specifically, with respect to German civilians, German soldiers, our typical prey, and our Western allies?" She held up a finger to let him know she had one more. "And how will we find them and know who they are?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:03, Sun 12 July 2020.

"The usual. You kill any German soldier you see. You spare the civilians. As Comrade Stalin put it: 'Hitlers come and go, but Germany and the German people remain.' There will be no further rapes conducted by members of this company, am I making myself clear? Ivanov?"

He glared at Piotr Ivanov, who raised his arms in an apologetic gesture and smiled. "Crystal clear, comrade Polkovnik."

Porozhnyak's pressed his jaw together, physically straining to pull his eyes from the man.
"Good", he finally said, then turned back to Yelena.
"Our American friends will enjoy the protection of the Red Army, wether they like it or not. Be civil and polite. We do not want to give them reason to push us back into  Poland, after all. There is a risk that the Germans will try to confuse the situation by wearing foreign uniforms. If you encounter any unit wearing American or British uniforms, ask them for the password. If they don't say October, shoot them as spies.

As to how you'll find them - look for them. They'll be coming in from the South, South-West. And as soon as they make contact with any of our units and are properly identified, they'll be held until you're there."

Yelena nodded at the rules of engagement. When asked if things were clear, she responded. "Yes, sir." Not that she liked it, but she was a good soldier. If she was ordered to spare the civilians, she would spare the civilians.

She looked at Porozhnyak as he finished answering her questions. She did crack slightly at the suggestion they could push into Poland and made a single grunt/laugh that made it clear she did not believe the Red Army could be pushed back by the likes of Western Allies. But she quickly locked herself back down.

She nodded at the password, it didn't seem like something that would randomly be said by German spies. She did hope she found some Germans posing as Americans. It would mean shooting more fascists.

Yelena nodded at the last of the instructions and pressed her lips together indicating she was finished. She could certainly be civil and polite. She thought back to the younger, softer Yelena that existed before the war. Maybe she could remember that Yelena. She had been civil and polite.