Abandon all hope ye who cross paths with Seek and Destroy
It was a dark and stormy night. The morning is crisp and the rain is drying up. Some arrived last night to set up camp and some arrived this morning. As we get our gear together, we contemplate and go over in our heads what we want this day to bring. The young guns are talking and messing around. Brian is organizing. Mark is off talking to the other teams instead of getting his gear together. Buzzard is trying to fix his gun (as usual) and Doc is off meditating. Pinkshirt has arrived and she will be as deadly on the field as any three of us. The nervous excitement in the air is palpable. Once we get out on the field, our calm will prevail. Our group is here and we have a good showing. Today will be a good day to SEEK and DESTROY. This is what we do. Very simple and very effective.
While other teams have certain positions for their members and employ specific tactics, team SEEK and DESTROY’s tactic is to inundate and overwhelm the enemy in the shortest time possible. When we hear guns fire that is where we go. We work as a group, each member innately knowing what the others will do without having to think about it. Our point men, Cody, Mark, Boozer and Buzzard assess the situation firing all the time to intimidate. The young guns, JP, Trey, Travis and Jesse run fast to establish cover positions, getting the best angles. Doc, Kegger, Sloth and Brian are off in the woods on a flank to get the different angles to add chaos to the fray. Within minutes, we are behind, to the side and in the front of the enemy. Without regard for our own safety, we look out for our teammates and proceed to annihilate. Since our team is sponsored by Planet Eclipse, we are all shooting Egos and E-teks. With each player shooting fifteen balls each second with precision accuracy and all the angles covered, they never knew what hit them. Some of us will fall but most will make it. This is how we SEEK and DESTROY. This is what we do. Precise and surgical. We do it well.
The other teams have come from miles around to play in the “Operation Market Garden” scenario at Splat Brothers in Hopewell, Virginia. As we talk and play with them, we develop a camaraderie that transcends not just friendship but a deeper understanding so we know we will look out for them and they will look out for us. The opposition are also all good people but today they are the enemy and must beware. Whether they know it or not, whether we are friends or not, on the field we will SEEK and DESTROY them. Who knows, next scenario we may be covering their back if we are on the same side. But not today. As the day progresses, Kegger, Boozer, Doc and Mark have made a silent reconnaissance of the opposing CP and take out the guys covering it. It is open to us and before they can get reinforcements, we have made our first General Kill of the day. They are not aware yet but this will be the first of many before this battle is over. Abandon all hope ye who cross the path of Seek and Destroy. For Virginia Beach, for Planet Eclipse, for Fox Paintball and for Sparta, we have prevailed.
“Seek and Destroy” at Day of the Immortals
It rained all night and the weather called for rain all weekend. Team Seek and Destroy headed up to Splatbrothers Paintball in Hopewell Virginia for the “Day of the Immortals” 26 hour scenario. We arrived about 8:00 am. Cars were getting stuck in the mud all around but we made it to our campsite. As it drizzled, we listened to the pre game rules and regulations. Everyone was here to have fun. We were here to do the same. Fair play is the name of the game. This is what we stand for. The game was to start in 30 minutes and the rain has stopped. A glint of sunshine. The sun gods have looked kindly on us again. We all put anti-fog on our gogs, got our equipment together and looked at the terrain. Looks like a good field today. Planet Eclipse’s teams “Seek and Destroy” and “Pub Crawling” on “The Chosen” side and Team Capital Offense” on the “Immortals” side. Will the highlanders prevail today? The next two days will tell. About 500 players showed up. Coastie, from our own Seek and Destroy is the General of the “Chosen”. We will protect him to the best of our ability. He is our leader. This is what we do. It is a good day to get shot.
The tension was mounting as we walked on the field. Our young guns were running ahead to get a better view. We meet at the command post and await our general’s orders. Our first mission is to take and hold the road, which divides the 90 acre field in half. The horn goes off and so do we. We meet resistance within a few minutes. This will be no cakewalk. The whole morning is give and take. We would gain some ground only to soon lose it. It is a heated battle as I see my son and teammates taken out. I am soon inundated and gogged. I raise my gun to show I am out and congratulate my opponent on a good shot. After six hours of play, neither side has gained much ground. It is more of the same but it is all good. At least the rain did not come all day but as the sun goes down so does the rain.
The next day the sun is out but field is slick as we climb some hills and slide down others. “Seek and Destroy” has a support mission to help “Pub Crawling”. We need to take Area 52 and hold it for one hour. We reach it in record time and find no resistance. Soon it becomes very boring so some of us go on a reconnaissance mission to make sure we are not getting flanked. We seek to get into the action. We need to destroy. We are now behind enemy lines and still no “Immortals” to be seen. We are soon in view of the towers field and the enemy CP. Where are they? We make a break for the closest of the 3 story towers and fight our way up to the catwalk to cross to the center tower. After very heated close combat, we have taken all three towers and have direct lines of fire onto the immortal’s CP. He who rules the towers, rules the field. We are soon backed up by the many of our “Chosen” and take their CP to get the General kill. The trenches and towers are ours and we take their CP two more times in the next half hour. We have demoralized our opponents and soon the main game is over. Up until now, the game seems pretty even and we are worn out.
The final battle is one hour of constant fighting to take and hold three objectives, cheeseburger hill, area 52 and the POW camp. Whoever holds them after one hour will triumph. We are shooting constant paint for one hour with unlimited reinsertions. Soon the hour is over and the “Chosen” have taken and held two objectives. Our general, Coastie of “Seek and Destroy” has taken the day. We have had fun. We have allowed our opponents to have fun. We have conquered. They have not. Next time may be different. Today though, the field is ours.
Paul “Doc” Francois
Seek and Destroy
