5:30 AM, 15 kilometers outside Tetric City, Thunder Defense artillery position.
Twelve M777A2 155mm lightweight howitzers are lined up, barrels pointed towards the southeastern city.
The artillery provided by the US military, now operated by Thunder Defense's artillerymen.
The artillery position is located on a relatively flat sandy area, with simple fortifications built from sandbags and barbed wire.
Behind each artillery position are stacked boxes of shells, with the brass casings reflecting a dim sheen in the pre-dawn light.
"Distance to the target area, the car repair shop, eight thousand four hundred meters."
The artillery observer's voice comes through the radio, somewhat static but clearly audible, "Wind from the southwest, wind speed three meters per second, humidity twenty-one percent. Firing data has been transmitted."
The battery commander—a former US Army artillery sergeant—looks at the data on the fire control computer screen.
