Assassin's Creed: Retribution
By: Crimson Viceroy
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is story is set in modern-day. The Altair-Ezio-Connor-Desmond bloodline wasn't the only bloodline to exhibit an extremely high yet rare quantity of First Civilization genes. Lt. Colonel Kyle Preston will learn that the destiny that awaits him will take him far beyond the bounds of "God and country" to a war for the future of humanity. He will have to cast off all that knows, all that he once loved, and all that he once hoped for, if humanity is to survive a cataclysm forewarned millenia before. A warning and disclaimer need to be given at this point. I do NOT own Assassin's Creed nor the characters inherent in the series. This story contains a good deal of graphic violence so please be warned. And also, I ask that you exercise discretion when sending back comments for any "anti-Patriotic" sentiments that may be perceived. This is purely a work of fiction, based upon truths and facts long forewarned about in various hypotheses now called "conspiracy theories". The war between Templars and Assassins grows far beyond any boundary of nation or people.
Chapter 1 - The Beginning of the End
The dirt and sand was everywhere. Kyle Preston, Second Lieutenant in the 25th Infantry Division had been stationed in Jaffra, a small town outside of Mandali, which was several hours east of Baghdad. It had been several years since the country had been "liberated" from the old regime. Liberated, dictated, it was all the same. All Preston could see was poverty, disease, grief, and every morsel of inhumanity concentrated in this small spot in the middle of the dessert. The only thing that gave the landscape some variety were the imposing Zagros Mountains, dividing Iraq and Iran. Blood ran more freely than water in this part of the world. This used to be the heart of the Persian Empire, and then the Greek Empire under Megas Alexandros (Alexander the Great). Normally, such prolific thoughts were very foreign to a grunt soldier like Kyle.
Basic training had taught him to compartmentalize and keep his focus on the mission at hand, in this case, policing a bunch of goat herders and farmers. Somehow, in the long line of lies, this was all for "national defense." At least making his rounds and training new recruits allowed him a reprieve from the troubling dreams that he had been having lately. Flashes of battle scenes from ancient Jerusalem between cloaked warriors and Crusader knights, of the carnage of battle between Greek soldiers and Persian troops, flashes of Afghan insurgents fighting against Soviet troops, and a pyramid-like symbol kept haunting Kyle's sleep ever since he began his tour. Lately, they had picked up in intensity, to the point where he could see the images when he was awake.
"I've heard of PTSD, but this is ridiculous. I know nothing about Crusaders, or Persia, or Afghanistan. Shoot, I failed history class twice and have no inclination of going back for a third try. I mean, I've seen my fair share of active combat, but no more than anyone else in my regiment. So why exactly is this happening?" Kyle asked himself.
"Talking to yourself, Lieutenant? Or just passing the time?" Sergeant John Perry asked him while handing him a surveillance report on local insurgent activity.
"It's nothing. Get back to your post. Take this report to forward command. If anything, they can use it as reading material while taking a dump. There's no activity in this region. There's nothing here that would be of strategic importance or any resources that could be exploited. We're just wasting our time and someone's too damn chicken to admit that we screwed up big time coming here." Kyle promptly replied. The last thing he needed was any insurrection from his team.
"Sir, I also came here to let you know that Major Hammond has requested your presence at forward command at 0200 hours for a division officer debriefing." Perry reported.
"Very well, I'll be there. Dismissed, Sergeant." Kyle said.
Now what are they up to? At first they said that we would only be here for a year at the most insuring that insurgent activity would be neutralized. Here we are, 3 years later, still sucking sand. Kyle felt something brush up against his legs. It was an old hound looking for some food.
"Anis, you hungry boy?" Kyle pet the old hound and gave him some of his trail mix he kept in his pocket for snacks.
"Anis! There you are. Oh, hey Kyle, I didn't even see you there." a young boy had run up behind the dog trying to catch him.
"Nabil, what have you been up to? Staying out of trouble? How're your aunt and uncle doing?" Kyle asked. Nabil was one of the few friends that he had made while on his tour. He was also one of the many victims of the first sets of bombings as his mom and dad were caught in the crossfire. Kyle personally took an interest in the young man as he reminded Kyle of himself when he was younger.
"My uncle has a fever so I've been tending the goats and cows. My aunt is home right now getting ready for our afternoon prayers. We weren't able to get a big harvest this year. I was hoping Anis would help me her the goats, but he keeps running off." Nabil was trying to keep Anis down.
"Ah, Anis is just hungry. Here, keep this around you and he'll follow you anywhere. I have to get going. You stay strong and stay out of trouble. I'll see if I can rustle you up some rations to help out while your uncle is sick." Kyle reassured Nabil.
"Shokre, Kyle. Bye, see you later" Nabil waved him goodbye while keeping up with Anis.
"Now, what the hell is this meeting all about? Better go see what all the fuss is about" Kyle thought as he made his way to the forward command center.
Forward command was bustling with activity. Seemed like most of the division officers were gathered here. It felt like a complete waste for a piece of dirt in the middle of nowhere. Usually Army Corp Engineers and staff officers would be processing data and issuing commands or servicing military vehicles and equipment. Though today, there were men completed suited in black armor, somewhat like SWAT teams, bringing in massive equipment, a lot of it looked highly advanced and a large cache of high powered weapons. Just what was going on?
"Yo, Preston, wait up. Any idea what the hell is going on? Who are these guys and why's there such a rush?" Lieutenant Blake Reids asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine. Suppose they'll debrief us at the meeting. Let's go." Preston responded.
Both of them made their way to the assembly area. Blake looked worse for the wear lately. He and his team had the graveyard shift of doing night patrols and the occasional raid missions on identified insurgent hideouts. He had dark circles under his eyes, and the azure grey eye color was now glossed over and had a look of malaise. They sat down with the others. Major Hammond was an elderly senior officer. He may have been old, but this old soldier had seen his fair share of heavy combat. He was a hard, iron-skinned man and had the subtlety of grizzly when it came to professional and personal matters. They used to call him "Hammond the Hammer" because of his uncanny ability to lead some of the worst bombing missions and showing no mercy to enemies. Several times the MP's had arrested him for violating human rights and questionable and unethical tortuous interrogations of enemy prisoners. However, every court marshal that he has had to defend himself in, his political connections were able to work their "magic" and have the cases dismissed due to "exigent circumstances". But he was crooked as the day was long and all of the younger officers knew that they would have a stagnant military career under him at best, return home in a casket, at worst.
"At ease, men. Take a seat. We have much to discuss. As you may know, the war against terror is much more intense and involved than we originally assumed. As a result, we have to redouble our efforts to neutralize insurgent supply trains and effectively annihilate resistance in order to safely transition the government back into the hands of the Iraqi people. In order to do that, we need to flush out and engage the terrorist cells hiding up near the Zagros Mountain region. Intelligence reports tell us that they have ex-Soviet weapon's grade plutonium as well as plasmite-thermal incendiary surface-to-air missiles. As a result, we're calling in specialists who have had an excellent proven record of counter-terrorist operations. Our mission objectives are to seize WMD's and destroy the insurgent operations in this region of Iraq. I want to take this time to introduce the man who will actually be in command and heading off this operation. Allow me to introduce Mr. Kenton, Chief Security Officer for Counter-Terrorism. He will be directing all ground efforts and I expect all of you to follow his orders directly." Major Hammond introduced a tall, yet wirey looking man in full black attire.
You could almost mistake him for a Fed or Secret Service, except this guy looked way to well compensated to be a grunt Fed. There was something off about him that made Kyle real uneasy. He never trusted external specialists that would be brought in to help with the "logistics" of these kinds of operations. The last one ended in too many casualties, including Nabil's parents. And from the looks of Mr. Kenton, he wasn't above a little collateral damage to assure victory. Kyle had a bad feeling deep down his gut about all this.
"Thank you. As Major Hammond has explained, we have been brought in to coordinate logistics and counter-intelligence on terrorist operations in this region of the conflict zone. We are well aware of security protocol as we have aided your compatriots in Baghdad and Kutta in neutralizing resistance. We will be setting up local command center posts and from there, our teams will be directing ground efforts and raid missions at strategic locations to gain the upper ground. We already have our tactical surveillance teams deploying UAV drones as we speak to gather topographical data on potential enemy hideouts. As junior officers, I expect to have your FULL and UNQUESTIONABLE cooperation in this operation. The sooner you can comply, the sooner we will be out of your way. These gentlemen here will be in charge of specific zones, shown in the maps being handed to you. Each zone has a district commander, report to him directly and make sure that your platoons are made aware of the shifted chain-of-command. Major Hammond will still be in high command of all operations, and I will be a secondary liaison in case of emergencies. Are there any questions before you're dismissed?" Kenton concluded on a strict and demanding tone.
"How long is this operation going to take?" Blake asked.
"Neutralizing enemy forces and removing the threat of a series WMD reprisal is our highest priority. Therefore, all operations are to cease and full resources diverted to this operation. As such, there is no ETA as to when we will have full confirmation on completed our mission objectives. As I've said before, full compliance with district commanders will yield speedier results. Anyone else?" Kenton answered.
"Yeah, I know that you guys are counter-terrorism specialists, but do you work directly for Homeland Security? Which branch are you directed under?" Kyle asked. Something wasn't right and these guys didn't have the smell of Feds on them.
"We have worked side-by-side with Army Intelligence, Homeland Security, and the NSA. We work as external defense contractors. Make no mistake, in this operation, we carry the full authorization and executive discretion of senior officers and I urge you to govern yourselves accordingly to directed commands. With that said, you're dismissed. District commanders will fill you on the details. Thank you." Kenton promptly replied.
"What stuck up his ass? Who the hell are these guys? Never seen them before in my life." Blake whispered to Kyle as they reviewed the district map layouts.
"I don't know, but apparently, it looks like we will be taking commands from glorified mercenaries for a while. As if this job couldn't get any worse. Take it easy, Blake. Keep me informed on what happens. Looks as though there is a district debriefing and we will be mobilizing for a night expedition in 0600. Good luck, pal." Kyle departed to get back to his post.
As he made his way back to his jeep, he saw something peculiar. Kenton was directing a group of engineering contractors in the setup and installation of a rather odd looking machine. Seemed almost like a next-age MRI or brain scanning machine. But what was even more curious than that was the logo on the machine. Kyle's stomach did a triple knot twist...it was the same pyramid symbol he saw in his dreams, clear as day. Underneath the symbol was simply the word..."ABSTERGO".
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