WWZ fanfic: Operation DRYPOOL and the fall of Britain

[James G]

Jun 12, 2019 20:30:50 GMT lordbyron said:

Maybe we should allow the Undead to vote...

They'll vote anyone promising for free food, the right to roam at will and for an end to the shooting of them!

Jun 12, 2019 21:29:23 GMT forcon said:

Good work. Can't see the Chancellor meeting a pleasant end.

"Mister Chancellor, we're taking you on a free trip to Gravesend. We're just landing the Army Air Corps helicopter in this field. See the Undead: there, there and there? We'd like to sit on our lazy backsides but we're taking off. Oh, we accidently left you behind. Enjoy being someone's lunch, will you now."

[lordroel]

Jun 13, 2019 19:44:24 GMT James G said:

"Mister Chancellor, we're taking you on a free trip to Gravesend. We're just landing the Army Air Corps helicopter in this field. See the Undead: there, there and there? We'd like to sit on our lazy backsides but we're taking off. Oh, we accidently left you behind. Enjoy being someone's lunch, will you now."

That is cruel and unusual punishment for the Undead.

[forcon]

You could always exile the Chancellor to Bimrmingham, but that might be a little too harsh even for him.

[lordroel]

Jun 13, 2019 22:46:09 GMT forcon said:

You could always exile the Chancellor to Bimrmingham, but that might be a little too harsh even for him.

As long as it is not Coventry as that place is already filled with people from a other place.

[sandyman]

Great updates as usual the political idiots do not listen to sane good advise.

The huge problem in any out break is who is and who is not affected and no matter what you can not screen every one at the same time. Asking people to stand in line to be checked when they know that zombies are ot and about would work for a couple of hours at most then the fight or flight reflex would kick in.

How to stop it spreading and identifying infected can work if yo drop a fair amount of nerve gas yes you kill almost all the unaffected by at least the odds wold be slightly evened out. Could this happen in the UK yes of course but it would be a very very brave person who says gas the innocent’s.

It’s catch 22 no matter how or what is tried it’s never either going to work or does work the 22 part being who ever is in charge will still be blamed one wayor the other.

One thing that is dammed stupid is sending just two rifle companies into a town that size was never going to work any one cold see that.

Keep up the good work once again we’ll done.

[James G]

Jun 14, 2019 15:37:39 GMT sandyman said:

Great updates as usual the political idiots do not listen to sane good advise.

The huge problem in any out break is who is and who is not affected and no matter what you can not screen every one at the same time. Asking people to stand in line to be checked when they know that zombies are ot and about would work for a couple of hours at most then the fight or flight reflex would kick in.

How to stop it spreading and identifying infected can work if yo drop a fair amount of nerve gas yes you kill almost all the unaffected by at least the odds wold be slightly evened out. Could this happen in the UK yes of course but it would be a very very brave person who says gas the innocent’s.

It’s catch 22 no matter how or what is tried it’s never either going to work or does work the 22 part being who ever is in charge will still be blamed one wayor the other.

One thing that is dammed stupid is sending just two rifle companies into a town that size was never going to work any one cold see that.

Keep up the good work once again we’ll done.

The good advice is seriously cruel though. They'd be killing so many civilians: British people by the thousands.
The issue with screening is just a nightmare to handle. Even when done, things are missed too. Nerve gas was in WWZ, used in the Ukraine, and is one hell of an evil thing to do.
These politicians are going to keep messing up and, as the title suggests, it will be a disaster of unimaginable scale in the end.
I will do, thank you.

[James G]

XXXIX


It wasn’t just the British Army involved in BANKSIDE missions. Other elements of the nation’s armed forces were playing their own roles too with a multitude of tasks to keep the Undead away from the UK. The RAF and the Royal Navy had focused on extensive border watching tasks for some time now. Aircraft and ships approaching the country from overseas were – no matter what the reason given for wanting to go elsewhere – intercepted and directed towards where inspection and quarantine measures were in-place. In doing so, there had been a couple of ‘unfortunate incidents’: an aircraft had been shot down and two ships forcibly boarded with blood spilled during this. When the Cornwall Outbreak erupted, one of those Royal Navy ships on border watch was tasked to head to the waters off Bude. The frigate HMS Somerset moved towards that port town. Orders had come from the MOD for the interception of any vessels leaving Bude. They were to be turned back regardless of circumstances or distress. There was no limit on the measure of force to be applied to stop the escape of possibly infected people via the sea though the Somerset’s captain was told that violent action was the last resort.

The warship’s helicopter was active on the search for boats coming out of Bude along with the detection systems aboard the Somerset. There weren’t any ships which were going to get past this line of defence. Several tried though. Boats carrying people came out of the harbour aiming to get away from the cordon through up around the Cornwall town on the outside and the Undead being fought inside there also by the British Army. Each vessel was stopped, using a display of firepower for warning purposes if necessary, and turned back. The people aboard called out pleas for help and told of horrible things happening back on land but that didn’t matter. The Somerset had her RHIB powered launches out with Marine Boarding Parties aboard. The Royal Marines within their fast boats were adorned in protective gear like the soldiers on land and also had their rifles out too. The men had gone through previous training – including the psychological aspects – when it came to how to effective conduct BANKSIDE missions. No chances were taken and everyone was turned back. Thankfully, there were no boats which the Somerset had to turn her weapons on nor the men from 43 Commando had to shoot… that was how they saw it anyway. As to those who couldn’t find an escape, they didn’t share the relief of those on the water because they were forced back to Bude.

In London, the politicians at COBRA had been informed that the now two companies (a second had joined the first) from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers present down in Cornwall were soon to rid this resort town of the Undead. There had been a delay before the alarm had been raised and they were able to grow in numbers as well as infect others with Solanum ready to see them later cause further rises of the Undead elsewhere, but the soldiers had all the advantages. The majority of the town’s residents hadn’t been caught up in what happened and evacuated out of Bude to quarantine areas. Control was kept in these places, far better than had been seen elsewhere when similar things were done. With the town itself, the soldiers went in there on their search-and-destroy missions as well as scouring the nearby countryside too. One of the company commanders was a STONEFERRY veteran, a major now who when a captain last year had been to Brunei with the SAS. He had made sure his men knew how to attract the attention of the Undead. The Undead came to them, stumbling and shuffling about out in the open rather than lurking in the shadows. It only took a little noise and if they were nearby, they would either emerge or desperately try to get out of places where they might be trapped. Therefore, the initial reports back from the commander of 1 RRF – who’d come down to Cornwall to oversee the BANKSIDE mission undertaken by his battalion elements – to his own superior weren’t overblown. However, despite the successes met, along with very few casualties among the soldiers themselves, things were still taking much time. Every building had to be checked, every room in every building too. Then there was everywhere else: the sewers, the riverbank and every bush & hedge in every open space. This kept the majority of the soldiers inside the town. Those outside, forming the cordon, had a lot of ground to cover. They directed people towards the quarantine areas for them to be checked for signs of infection, meeting obstruction and anger each time.

Some people slipped through, including some of those infected.

The Undead started popping up elsewhere. Those infected died and came back to life. New, smaller outbreaks erupted first in the village of Marhamchurch then Poughill and next in Stratton. At the larger Flexbury, the outbreaks of the Undead there put them between where 1 RRF had its base camp with the quarantine zones and Bude itself. Troops rushed into Flexbury but had to do so in the middle of the night. Then men were unable to contain things there, struggling to kill all of the Undead. Civilians were often in the way too. This brought about momentarily hesitation to open fire which was often too late to save people yet also stop the spread further. One of the Undead reached the quarantine zones, full of people who’d survived their activities in Bude.

Many 1 RRF’s soldiers were overcome. The men were scattered and order lost. It was a disaster! Others on the broken outer cordon were ordered in to save their fellow soldiers but some wouldn’t go forward. These disciplinary problems came at the worst possible time. It allowed for the Undead to grow in numbers once again, quickly replacing their earlier losses. They occupied a large area of ground too: an area previously so professionally swept. Eventually, discipline was regained. The British Army, famous for maintaining such a thing, was under unimaginable strain with men not prepared for this and refusing to follow what many saw as a suicidal mission. Having those who had refused to follow orders taken away to be brought up on charges didn’t solve everything like it appeared to though. Too much time had been lost. While preparations were made to go back into Bude once more, and to keep the soldiers in line while doing this, it wasn’t so much the Undead still in there (plus neighbouring places such as Flexbury) which were the problem, but once more those infected who got away. That Merlin helicopter from the Somerset offshore reported observations of civilians streaming both north and south. Those people were running for their lives and it was going to be impossible to locate, stop and quarantine them all like beforehand.

43rd Infantry Brigade’s commander at the distant Tidworth was informed of what had gone on. There was a lot he needed to take charge of, especially addressing why many soldiers had refused to follow orders, but the first thing to be done was to report this to those at COBRA. The reaction from there was, as expected from those awful people, something rather dramatic.


Combatting the Undead in the Leicestershire Outbreak had similarly been something believed to be under control like Bude had been. A lot of this came from the fact that the Undead were active in the countryside rather than urban area. There were villages but nothing like Bude or even Gravesend. Moreover, the particular strain of Solanum which had come into the country through East Midlands Airport was different from the one which first rose in London to then spread to Cornwall and Kent. As far as the authorities were concerned, there was a longer period of time between when Solanum killed and then reanimated those it had killed. With the latter issue though, further investigation discovered that this might not be the case. A re-examination was done on this matter, all while the Undead were active first in the rural parts of Leicestershire and then all of a sudden inside the county town.

The Undead reached Leicester.

As it always did, Solanum found away to get past efforts to stop its spread. All it took was one infected person and an opportunity to get a head start before detection & subsequent military reaction before the Undead had enough of a presence in Leicester to make sure that they ‘held the town’ for good. The British Army sent troops in and killed many of them, but not all. Infected people dying and then coming back to life allowed for the Undead to keep reinforcing their numbers.

From Chetwynd Barracks outside of Nottingham, Brigadier Andrews, the commander of the 49th Infantry Brigade, whose men had so effectively dealt with the initial outbreak at the airport, went to Leicester himself. He had much of 2 RIFLES engaged across the countryside and now going into Leicester’s outer suburbs to respond to reports of the Undead but he quickly saw that this was all too late. He started pulling his men back as the Undead grew in number as the casualties among the soldiers under his command rose. He informed COBRA afterwards. They at once ordered him to send his men back in there and use reinforcements drawn from across the East Midlands area of units trained in the BANKSIDE role. There were none who had fully completed such training though others had begun it.

The politicians wouldn’t accept that the city of Leicester was going to be lost to the Undead. They’d fight to save the town, all while trying to make sure too that the people who lived there were kept in the dark and not allowed to leave.

[lordroel]

Jun 14, 2019 17:07:10 GMT James G said:

Jun 14, 2019 15:37:39 GMT sandyman said:

Great updates as usual the political idiots do not listen to sane good advise.

The huge problem in any out break is who is and who is not affected and no matter what you can not screen every one at the same time. Asking people to stand in line to be checked when they know that zombies are ot and about would work for a couple of hours at most then the fight or flight reflex would kick in.

How to stop it spreading and identifying infected can work if yo drop a fair amount of nerve gas yes you kill almost all the unaffected by at least the odds wold be slightly evened out. Could this happen in the UK yes of course but it would be a very very brave person who says gas the innocent’s.

It’s catch 22 no matter how or what is tried it’s never either going to work or does work the 22 part being who ever is in charge will still be blamed one wayor the other.

One thing that is dammed stupid is sending just two rifle companies into a town that size was never going to work any one cold see that.

Keep up the good work once again we’ll done.

The good advice is seriously cruel though. They'd be killing so many civilians: British people by the thousands.
The issue with screening is just a nightmare to handle. Even when done, things are missed too. Nerve gas was in WWZ, used in the Ukraine, and is one hell of an evil thing to do.
These politicians are going to keep messing up and, as the title suggests, it will be a disaster of unimaginable scale in the end.
I will do, thank you.

If you use nukes on a city full of undead you will have radioactive undead to deal with as you only destroy those near the blast, those away only get radiated, do not know what that does to a body that is already death.

[James G]

Jun 14, 2019 17:10:42 GMT lordroel said:

Jun 14, 2019 17:07:10 GMT James G said:

The good advice is seriously cruel though. They'd be killing so many civilians: British people by the thousands.
The issue with screening is just a nightmare to handle. Even when done, things are missed too. Nerve gas was in WWZ, used in the Ukraine, and is one hell of an evil thing to do.
These politicians are going to keep messing up and, as the title suggests, it will be a disaster of unimaginable scale in the end.
I will do, thank you.

If you use nukes on a city full of undead you will have radioactive undead to deal with as you only destroy those near the blast, those away only get radiated, do not know what that does to a body that is already death.

Radioactive Undead spreading Solanum and radiation!
Too much. I'm widened the canon of the novel but there will be no use of nukes, nor gas either, in the UK.

[James G]

XL


Failure with BANKSIDE operations was met in Kent as well.

Gravesend couldn’t be retaken, the casualty count increased dramatically and the Undead spread further. Moreover, as elsewhere, those infected with the fatal Solanum moved out even further which guaranteed that the Kent Outbreak wasn’t going to be put down.


The plan approved at COBRA had been quietly called ‘more of the same’ by those who had their doubts. That wasn’t necessarily true. A lot of what those sitting comfortable far away paying armchair general had deemed just that was a change from the soldiers dispatched to the frontlines no longer carefully taking their time. That long-planned operational procedure had been dropped. Orders had been sent – ones signed off on by General Porter too – for a hurry to be made instead. Those men with 5 SCOTS and the SFSG as well were to retake the town from the Undead with haste. Their numbers were growing and there were so many trapped civilians there.

Oh, and also, the government wasn’t prepared either to see any hint that they had botched the whole issue of keeping Britain safe as completely as was being shown.

Kill (once more) the Undead and the rescue those people the soldiers were told.

The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders’ B Company had been at Copehill Down on Salisbury Plain. There was a recently expanded series of mock urban training ranges there for FIBUA use: Fighting In Built Up Areas, what the Americans would call MOUT. These men were there being brought up to the training standards that A & C Companies were at for BANKSIDE tasks. That training was cut suddenly short and B Company came to northern Kent to join the other two as the survivors from each were merged into a company-group for continued 5 SCOTS operations. In addition, the Special Forces Support Group, which had too taken casualties though not on the same scale as the battalion of men from the Royal Regiment of Scotland, was pushed into Gravesend as well. The 5 SCOTS was to enter from the west; the SFSG would attack from the east and south.

Gunfire erupted all around the outskirts of Gravesend.

Lone shots were taken by riflemen against the Undead when one or two of them were spotted. Moving inwards, there were clusters of them encountered with up to half a dozen of them together. This had been seen before during the short time the Undead were present in number in Streatham. The clusters attracted the attention of bursts of machine gun fire. Head shots with this were impossible but what the soldiers were trained to do was to fire off a quick burst to hit the Undead in their torsos and limbs. This wouldn’t kill them but break them up and slow them down. They could then be hit with lone, careful shots to destroy their brains. It was clusters which had already caused so many losses to the troops before, even when met with this tactic of using machine guns: they could engulf single or pairs of soldiers quicker than thought.

On the outskirts of Gravesend, the soldiers met success. Their failure came inside.


There were too many of the Undead. Their numbers were close to three thousand. They also weren’t busy ‘feeding’ but instead on the hunt for food. Thousands of civilians were trapped inside buildings and the Undead had been trying to get at them after hardly anyone no longer dared venture onto the streets. Attracted to the noise of combat against their fellow cannibals, the Solanum in their brain drove them towards where food could be found. Few of the Undead were in a complete state as a walking corpse. Bits had been torn off them and joints twisted. Having no care for their own safety led to the latter while with the former, most of the current Undead had been bitten and pulled at. Then there were others who had tried to hack off their own limbs – generally arms – when previously bitten or had attempted to take their own lives using methods which didn’t destroy their brains. The Undead stunk of human waste and sometimes garbage too. They were men, women and children again. All victims of a thoroughly evil disease and then their fellow citizens too.

The daring thrusts envisioned by the politicians failed. The soldiers got stuck into slow, grinding fights against the Undead. They had to cover themselves in all directions at all times and physically check everywhere as they moved forward to stop the Undead appearing behind them. Approaching buildings after clearing the Undead from the streets, civilians emerged from inside. So many of them were wounded, so many of them had hidden infection within them.

Interference down the chain of command occurred when reports reached Whitehall. This was something not stopped by so many in uniform, the chief of the general staff especially, who should have done so. Push on, the instructions came, push on.

There were helicopters in the sky above. People on rooftops waved at them and beckoned them towards them aiming for rescue. That wasn’t being done. Instead snipers from them shot at the Undead and their spotters reported incoming clusters of them to those soldiers below. Aboard one of the Pumas in the sky, a spotter saw unusual activity near Gravesend’s waterfront. He’d been scouting for shots to be taken against the Undead who had fallen into the River Thames (they’d wash up somewhere: that was how the Kent Outbreak had started, hadn’t it?) but observed people around a boat there. It was the Gravesend-to-Tilbury ferry… Tilbury being over in Essex. The boat, the MV Duchess M, was something that had already been reported to have been taken care of by being disabled. Living people, not the Undead, were climbing aboard and there was disturbance in the water behind it. Were the engines running? That ferry couldn’t be allowed to get underway. There could easily be infected people onboard, taking Solanum elsewhere. On orders from the SFSG’s headquarters, a second Puma was brought in too with the snipers from each helicopter shooting at the bridge and then the hull. They weren’t aiming for the people on the bridge but some were hit. The use of high-powered, large bullets was them direct for them to slam into the hull and strike it on the waterline. Many rounds were put into it. The Pumas stayed stationary and the snipers repeated shot after shot after shot. They only stopped when it was clearly sure that water was coming aboard. That ferry was going nowhere.

Stopping this one attempt of people to leave Gravesend was the only real success. The Paras and Royal Marines with the SFSG penetrated the furthest forward but took casualties and found that they had missed several of the Undead behind them. They came to a halt to turn their fire on them with then men sent backwards to chase them down. As to the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, they continued to see significant losses in Gravesend. 5 SCOTS had discipline problems like 1 RRF had in Cornwall. Some men refused orders to keep going onwards, especially at speed. The reinforcements which had come in from their aborted training mission just wouldn’t do as instructed. It was suicide, they said, and they kept on saying no.

Back in Whitehall, all the rage that they had at reports of this couldn’t change how things were on the ground down in Kent.

The politicians were then briefed on incoming news from elsewhere in the county outside of the battlefield which was Gravesend. Kent Police’s chief constable contacted the home secretary to state that his officers were receiving reports and seeing for themselves further outbreaks of the Undead. Where the SFSG had been active before but forced to leave to go into Gravesend, that being to the east and south of the town, the Undead were showing up. In addition, even past those areas, on the Hoo Peninsula and in villages south of the M2 motorway, there were people being attacked with others dialling 999 begging for held. The Undead were possibly in Stood as well: Strood which sat on the banks of the River Medway with several bridges & also a tunnel connecting it to the urbanised Medway Towns.

Civilians carrying the Solanum infection had gotten away from Gravesend and now the Undead were trying to eat their way though much more of Kent.

This was a fight which was lost like Cornwall and Leicestershire both were too.

[James G]

XLI


The second and third outbreaks of the Undead across the pond occurred in Georgia and New Jersey. They erupted within a day of one another, only a few days after the first outbreak out in California had been so quickly put down. In Atlanta and in Newark, Solanum had for some time been within the bodies of two different people who had long-term, serious illnesses. Both were being treated in hospitals for these when, as if choosing the right time to strike, Solanum did. It killed both patients and then brought them back to life where they began by attacking a people. As had been seen at Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley, there was a quick military response. The Americans had a wealth of experience of already fighting the Undead. Their Operation DEEP DAGGER missions with their A-Teams had been done on a similar but much larger scale than the British STONEFERRY operations; they had the recent experience of the quick engagement in California as well. With haste, significant numbers of special-trained soldiers were dispatched to the scenes of the two infections. They did what the British did and first established a cordon before going through the hospital buildings to kill the Undead and rescue trapped civilians. Quarantine zones where thorough physical checks were made of those who emerged from the hospital were set up and they discovered many infected people who otherwise might have wandered away.

However, from the site of the outbreaks in both cities, there were just a couple of those who’d been infected who hadn’t been contained within the cordon before it was set up. They would go back to their homes to die, reanimate and then begin new outbreaks. Early signs of success were soon met with the realisation that things were fast falling apart.

At the White House, the president’s press secretary was in front of the gathered media within the first hour after the Atlanta Outbreak occurred. The American media were all over the scene there in Georgia and would be again in New Jersey too. As to that spokeswoman for the nation’s leader, when responding to questions about Atlanta, she gave a rather upbeat message to the American public. The military was dealing with the outbreak, she confidently affirmed, and would erase the Undead soon enough. When the next day she was once more before the cameras and the journalists, facing a barrage of questions, there was markedly less confidence in her. She repeated the same message as yesterday yet without the clear confidence. A native of New Jersey herself, maybe some of it was down to that, but more so the issue was that she was aware of many things not being told to the public and was rather frightened. The two performances were both seen around the world. The president himself wasn’t. Many would find that rather ominous.

During the follow-up waves of the Undead attacking people, emerging from homes and not the hospitals, the media were present for this. They had been denied access to what happened at those hospitals – spending their time intruding on families of ‘missing’ people instead – but made up for that with some shocking images of the Undead on the streets of Atlanta and Newark. Soldiers in full Biohazard gear engaged the Undead in battle: an anchor at the CNN studios in Atlanta informed the American public that they were US Army Rangers as well as men from the 82nd Airborne Division. His network also lost a film crew live on air; MSNBC already had a missing team in Newark but the CNN crew (presenter, camera operator, technician and producer) were attacked by one of the Undead while broadcasting live. The actual images the viewers could see were few yet the screams had been quite something. Media teams went into danger and some of them paid for that with their lives. Others broadcast on air the first thing that popped into their head. There were official statements from the authorities but also rumours which got out.

Of the latter, there was some of what had been seen before with the blame for the Undead being placed on immigrants by some – well… wasn’t it African Rabies? – and others were just caught up in the moment and wanted to make a name for themselves by even inventing things. They were right out of control. There was the Fox News issue too concerning that journalist who had been fired after the Van Nuys Outbreak by stating live on air that the anti-Rabies Phalanx vaccine was nothing but a placebo. Many in the media knew about that corporate cover-up and were aghast at such a thing being done. The public had a right to know, they decided. They watched as Phalanx did nothing to stop people being killed in Atlanta and Newark. First one of CNN’s field reporters and then another from ABC repeated the revelations about Phalanx on air. That ABC reporter did so after broadcasting footage of American soldiers dying live on air too.

This is what the American people saw and heard on their television screens. Is it any wonder what happened next did?

From the White House, the president himself made an appearance; his press secretary was nowhere to be seen. He urged the public to stay calm. The Undead would be dealt with. There was no reason to panic. Stay in-place, he said, if you are in Atlanta or Newark rather than trying to flee. The opposite was done instead.

The Great Panic was in full swing. Millions from Georgia and New Jersey left their homes, many not sure where they were going. Among a very small number of them, there were a few infected with Solanum: just a few. As before that was all it would take.

The world was watching too, including many in Britain.

[gillan1220]

Fort Benning houses in the U.S. Army Rangers, great use of them being deployed to Atlanta alongside the Georgia National Guard.

What would the CDC be doing at this point since the outbreak is close to their headquarters?

Will Congress and the cabinet be evacuated to bunkers across the country while the White House will be fortified?

Lastly one of the best fanfictions that cover The Great Panic (fyi most fanfictions don't even cover The Great Panic that much)

[James G]

Jun 16, 2019 17:16:06 GMT gillan1220 said:

Fort Benning houses in the U.S. Army Rangers, great use of them being deployed to Atlanta alongside the Georgia National Guard.

What would the CDC be doing at this point since the outbreak is close to their headquarters?

Will Congress and the cabinet be evacuated to bunkers across the country while the White House will be fortified?

Lastly one of the best fanfictions that cover The Great Panic (fyi most fanfictions don't even cover The Great Panic that much)

Those Rangers first went to California and before that were all over the globe with the Green Berets in A-Teams so they know are doing.
I chose Atlanta part due to The Walking Dead but also to have the CDC lost. Solanum has been studied immensely but losing such a place will still hurt.
Not yet with the politicians reacting like that. They'll think they are safe for the time being.
Thank you very much. The Great Panic will be covered in the story's Part Three. Newark being the other site of infection in the US was chosen by me for this reason because it is close to New York. The story is focused on the UK but there will be mentions of the US and many other nations too.
The last update of Part Two is below.

[James G]

XLII


It was April 1st but none of the continuing, unrelenting reports of outbreaks of the Undead reaching the politicians at COBRA were April Fool’s Day pranks. They were present in three counties of England, spread long beyond the initial sites from where they first appeared four days previously. In the South East, the South West and the East Midlands, containing them was no longer possible. Gravesend in Kent was fully lost; the Undead had spread from there into the countryside but also into towns such as Northfleet, Strood and Rochester too. The Cornwall Outbreak had started in Bude and while there were no big towns for the Undead to reach nearby, they had popped up through smaller ones and across many villages. The small city of Leicester was slowly being lost to the Undead with outbreaks elsewhere in Leicestershire now affecting towns such as Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Loughborough as well as much of the countryside there too.

Troops on BANKSIDE missions were combatting the Undead where they met them. Further reinforcements had been sent to all three areas where those kept in reserve to cover other outbreaks had joined those also removed from training roles. In the majority of engagements up close with the Undead, those soldiers were quick to eliminate them yet there continued to be unfortunate incidents with losses taken. Hamstrung by civilians in their line of fire when fleeing for their lives, the efforts of the soldiers were complicated and slowed down by this. Moreover, as the Undead repeatedly emerged in new outbreaks behind them, they were dragged back into previously swept areas to re-clear them. Morale and discipline issues were becoming a major problem with their operations. The Undead themselves retained much of their humanity: the soldiers had to shoot what they often saw as the very-recent dead. Worse than that, there were those infected with Solanum but not yet having become the Undead. Supporting troops behind the frontline BANKSIDE units had been humanely killing them beforehand so that they didn’t rise back up as the Undead: that was no longer something that could be done in the controlled manner that it had previously been in established quarantine zones. Now the soldiers were ordered to shoot infected civilians like they did the Undead and those victims truly maintained all elements of their humanity before they were to be killed. Many, many British Army soldiers just couldn’t do that. Men, woman and children often in the most distressed state weren’t those who a lot of soldiers could kill like that.

The outbreaks in Kent and Leicestershire took place in areas through which major transport links ran: respectively the M2 & M1 motorways. They were closed down and this caused great disruption to ordinary members of the public not caught up in the war zones which littered increasing sections of the country. There was nothing on the news about the Undead here in Britain. The general public saw all of the military activity – vehicles laden with troops, many helicopters – and police forces were shutting roads everywhere but there was nothing official being said.

This absence of any news was purposely done by the government to maintain calm yet also cover up their own failings. Keeping this secret was impossible though. So many people were aware of what was happening or at least had a good idea. The previous outbreaks and then these current ones had caused immense casualties as well as seeing certain levels of destruction caused; St. Thomas’ Hospital on the South Bank and the suburb of Streatham had been wracked by fire and the ruins were each the scene of much gunfire. All of those people who lost their lives had at least one person who hadn’t heard for them in some time. Survivors had spoken to family, friends and strangers. Soldiers and policemen who’d been on the frontlines had talked when they had been told not to. Government officials and politicians outside of the government were well aware.

Now coming from America was news of the outbreaks there. Several media outlets in the UK broke stringent government guidelines on spreading ‘rumours and fear’ by reporting on what was happening. The BBC wasn’t among these and this national outlet led other establishment media organisations in keeping silent. Those smaller outlets soon found themselves being visited by government officials acting under Parliamentary-approved measures to silence them too. Most complied but a few didn’t and thus had themselves shut down. The sudden dearth of news from what was happening in America, with the complete absence of not just anything more but the pretence that all had been reported on before never happened, didn’t have the effect that those at COBRA wanted. Among the general public, this caused alarm. People became aware that something was up, that the truth was being kept from them. Restrictions on more than just media reporting confirmed that among those who had reason to have regular contact with those over in America when they found that they could call or use the internet to talk to anyone in that country, not just in the areas where the Undead were active. The government was using technical means to shut Britain off from the rest of the world as they extended this beyond contact with America due to reports in European media talking about the Undead in Atlanta and Newark too. Across on the Continent, first in Germany and then in France not long afterwards, media reports there surfaced of reports of the Undead in Britain too. No one in Britain saw, heard nor read these though.


The government ordered in even more soldiers throughout the day and into the night. BANKSIDE-rolled units including SAS & SBS teams had already been dispatched but the situation was getting even more out of control than it already was. In Kent, the Medway Towns were increasingly seeing a troop commitment there while Leicester and Loughborough also had soldiers sent to them. Those fighting men ordered to go to both areas, as well as others sent in smaller numbers to further locations, were formed of soldiers which weren’t prepared for this. Against the advice of the chief of the defence staff who had been banished to the MOD, yet approved by his subordinate the chief of the general staff who remained at COBRA, these additional units were meant to form the cordons and not go straight up against the Undead where they were concentrated. They met the Undead regardless and were unprepared – if anyone could have truly been – for what they had to face.

General Porter was deemed a murderer by the CDS, someone who effectively lacked the power to sack him because the head of the British Army had engrossed himself in with those politicians and was fulfilling their every whim. The same reports of where the Undead were which went to COBRA went to the MOD too. There was no denying that this was a lost fight. The outbreaks couldn’t be contained and they were spreading even wider than the worst predictions had said they might. Once more, it was those infected fleeing the outbreaks who were spreading this as they took Solanum elsewhere with them. They were travelling further afield at an unforeseen and unchecked rate.

Putting a call into COBRA, the CDS spoke to the defence secretary. He knew that those listening-in there didn’t want to listen. He tried though, he gave it his all. He admitted once more that he had been mistaken beforehand in putting his faith in Operation BANKSIDE. The only way to stop this now was to implement Operation DRYPOOL. They had to, there was no other choice. The country would be overrun otherwise and instead of the many thousands of lives already lost, instead it would be millions.

What did the politicians tell him?

That was a no. They refused to bring in DRYPOOL.

And now the Fall of Britain was imminent.


End of Part Two

[lordroel]

Jun 16, 2019 18:24:15 GMT James G said:

XLII


It was April 1st but none of the continuing, unrelenting reports of outbreaks of the Undead reaching the politicians at COBRA were April Fool’s Day pranks. They were present in three counties of England, spread long beyond the initial sites from where they first appeared four days previously. In the South East, the South West and the East Midlands, containing them was no longer possible. Gravesend in Kent was fully lost; the Undead had spread from there into the countryside but also into towns such as Northfleet, Strood and Rochester too. The Cornwall Outbreak had started in Bude and while there were no big towns for the Undead to reach nearby, they had popped up through smaller ones and across many villages. The small city of Leicester was slowly being lost to the Undead with outbreaks elsewhere in Leicestershire now affecting towns such as Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Loughborough as well as much of the countryside there too.

Troops on BANKSIDE missions were combatting the Undead where they met them. Further reinforcements had been sent to all three areas where those kept in reserve to cover other outbreaks had joined those also removed from training roles. In the majority of engagements up close with the Undead, those soldiers were quick to eliminate them yet there continued to be unfortunate incidents with losses taken. Hamstrung by civilians in their line of fire when fleeing for their lives, the efforts of the soldiers were complicated and slowed down by this. Moreover, as the Undead repeatedly emerged in new outbreaks behind them, they were dragged back into previously swept areas to re-clear them. Morale and discipline issues were becoming a major problem with their operations. The Undead themselves retained much of their humanity: the soldiers had to shoot what they often saw as the very-recent dead. Worse than that, there were those infected with Solanum but not yet having become the Undead. Supporting troops behind the frontline BANKSIDE units had been humanely killing them beforehand so that they didn’t rise back up as the Undead: that was no longer something that could be done in the controlled manner that it had previously been in established quarantine zones. Now the soldiers were ordered to shoot infected civilians like they did the Undead and those victims truly maintained all elements of their humanity before they were to be killed. Many, many British Army soldiers just couldn’t do that. Men, woman and children often in the most distressed state weren’t those who a lot of soldiers could kill like that.

The outbreaks in Kent and Leicestershire took place in areas through which major transport links ran: respectively the M2 & M1 motorways. They were closed down and this caused great disruption to ordinary members of the public not caught up in the war zones which littered increasing sections of the country. There was nothing on the news about the Undead here in Britain. The general public saw all of the military activity – vehicles laden with troops, many helicopters – and police forces were shutting roads everywhere but there was nothing official being said.

This absence of any news was purposely done by the government to maintain calm yet also cover up their own failings. Keeping this secret was impossible though. So many people were aware of what was happening or at least had a good idea. The previous outbreaks and then these current ones had caused immense casualties as well as seeing certain levels of destruction caused; St. Thomas’ Hospital on the South Bank and the suburb of Streatham had been wracked by fire and the ruins were each the scene of much gunfire. All of those people who lost their lives had at least one person who hadn’t heard for them in some time. Survivors had spoken to family, friends and strangers. Soldiers and policemen who’d been on the frontlines had talked when they had been told not to. Government officials and politicians outside of the government were well aware.

Now coming from America was news of the outbreaks there. Several media outlets in the UK broke stringent government guidelines on spreading ‘rumours and fear’ by reporting on what was happening. The BBC wasn’t among these and this national outlet led other establishment media organisations in keeping silent. Those smaller outlets soon found themselves being visited by government officials acting under Parliamentary-approved measures to silence them too. Most complied but a few didn’t and thus had themselves shut down. The sudden dearth of news from what was happening in America, with the complete absence of not just anything more but the pretence that all had been reported on before never happened, didn’t have the effect that those at COBRA wanted. Among the general public, this caused alarm. People became aware that something was up, that the truth was being kept from them. Restrictions on more than just media reporting confirmed that among those who had reason to have regular contact with those over in America when they found that they could call or use the internet to talk to anyone in that country, not just in the areas where the Undead were active. The government was using technical means to shut Britain off from the rest of the world as they extended this beyond contact with America due to reports in European media talking about the Undead in Atlanta and Newark too. Across on the Continent, first in Germany and then in France not long afterwards, media reports there surfaced of reports of the Undead in Britain too. No one in Britain saw, heard nor read these though.


The government ordered in even more soldiers throughout the day and into the night. BANKSIDE-rolled units including SAS & SBS teams had already been dispatched but the situation was getting even more out of control than it already was. In Kent, the Medway Towns were increasingly seeing a troop commitment there while Leicester and Loughborough also had soldiers sent to them. Those fighting men ordered to go to both areas, as well as others sent in smaller numbers to further locations, were formed of soldiers which weren’t prepared for this. Against the advice of the chief of the defence staff who had been banished to the MOD, yet approved by his subordinate the chief of the general staff who remained at COBRA, these additional units were meant to form the cordons and not go straight up against the Undead where they were concentrated. They met the Undead regardless and were unprepared – if anyone could have truly been – for what they had to face.

General Porter was deemed a murderer by the CDS, someone who effectively lacked the power to sack him because the head of the British Army had engrossed himself in with those politicians and was fulfilling their every whim. The same reports of where the Undead were which went to COBRA went to the MOD too. There was no denying that this was a lost fight. The outbreaks couldn’t be contained and they were spreading even wider than the worst predictions had said they might. Once more, it was those infected fleeing the outbreaks who were spreading this as they took Solanum elsewhere with them. They were travelling further afield at an unforeseen and unchecked rate.

Putting a call into COBRA, the CDS spoke to the defence secretary. He knew that those listening-in there didn’t want to listen. He tried though, he gave it his all. He admitted once more that he had been mistaken beforehand in putting his faith in Operation BANKSIDE. The only way to stop this now was to implement Operation DRYPOOL. They had to, there was no other choice. The country would be overrun otherwise and instead of the many thousands of lives already lost, instead it would be millions.

What did the politicians tell him?

That was a no. They refused to bring in DRYPOOL.

And now the Fall of Britain was imminent.


End of Part Two

A great update James G, sad to see that even know those in power refuse to listen to those in the field.