4
In The Shadows
The War between Russia and Czechoslovakia has been going on for many years now. It has been a long and bloody war between the two sides. Now, Slovakia, with her new technological advances, has discovered a way to take over her rival, Russia. Though the Russians do not know what they are up against, they do think that the Slovakians have nuclear ambitions and plan to "nuke" Russia. This would not be a problem, if the United States had not taken Russia's nukes in 2020, during World War III. It is now the job of S.T.A.R.S.,(Special Tactical Armed Resource Squad), to defend Russia and bring an end to the war.
Boris is the demolition expert on the team. He carries the big weapons such as RPG's. He's a big man, six feet tall, with a long beard, a bald head, and a snarl for a smile. He's in the war to try to get revenge. He wants to kill the Dictator, Reznik Zablotny, who killed his family.
Boris is joined by Zeke, the scientist and the navigator on the team. His job is to disable the enemy's weapons and make sure that the team gets where they need to go and back again safely. He plots their coordinates and routes through the enemy's territory. Zeke is a small person in stature, but he doesn't care because he knows what he has to do, and no one can stop him from doing it. Whereas Boris had a personal reason for being involved, Zeke's involvement on the team was forced upon him by his government. Faced with the choice of serving or being killed, Zeke chose to join the team and help his country.
The third member of the team is Mikhail, the marksman. He snipes out enemies from a distance, therefore silencing them. He protects the rest of the team by "taking care of" all of the enemy marksmen before they can get to his team. Mikhail was ranked one of the top five shooters in the Academy in which he trained for eight years. At the age of 12 he showed promising skills. Now, at the age of 20, he is one of the best shooters in the country. A man of average height, Mikhail wears his short hair spiked, giving him a cool look. This loner joined the team simply for the fun of killing.
The last member of S.T.A.R.S. is Alexandra, the expert assassin. Alexandra is out to show that she is just as good as anyone else in the elite forces. She is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and camouflage. No one really knows what she looks like, because she went into the Special Forces in disguise, under false pretenses. Together with her three partners, Alexandra is about to engage in a mission that will, if they succeed, save their country from annihilation.
Day one began with the team receiving their instructions from their leader. After collecting their weapons and ammunition, they started off to Slovakia. The goal is two-fold. They are to assassinate the Dictator and to disarm the nukes. Zeke planned a course for the team across the countryside, eventually landing them across the Slovakian border. It would be a long, difficult trip.
As the team was approaching the war zone, Alexandra was at the wheel.
Suddenly they heard a loud explosion. The car was flipped into the air and was overturned and destroyed after she drove over a land mine. Luckily, no one was hurt and there was minimal damage to their supplies. The car, however, was damaged beyond repair and so they had to continue their trip on foot. The walk through Russia was hard and dangerous.
Although the way was not easy, they had almost made it to the border. Now all they had to do was climb the mountainside and sneak into the palace of the Slovakian leader. This task was much easier thanks to Boris and his dynamite. They tunneled through the earth just outside the palace to gain entrance. Unfortunately, while they were digging, a troop of Slovakians came. There was a massive fight. Alexandra and Mikhail were put to the test. They took care of the Slovakians with ease as they destroyed them all.
Leaving death and destruction behind, the team set out to explore the palace. Finding themselves in a complicated hallway, they decided to split up. Mikhail and Alexandra went to the left, towards a large, reddish-brown door. Boris and Zeke went up the spiral staircase. As Zeke and Boris were heading up the stairs, they ran into some attack dogs and escaped through the nearest door. Meanwhile, Alexandra and Mikhail went in to the big door. There were some Slovakian troops in the room. Once again, the assassin and the marksman handled the situation with ease. They snuck up on the troops and decapitated them, leaving a bloody and violent scene behind them.
After a long while, the four members of S.T.A.R.S. were reunited in the throne room of the palace. They found Reznik Zablotny sitting there, waiting, knowing that the security of his home was being attacked. As the team entered the room, there was one shot fired.
Was this the end of the dictator? Was this an elaborate trap ending in the deaths of the team? The ending may surprise you. The fates of Zeke, Boris, Mikhail, Alexandra and Zablotny all depend on how one uses the controller. You see, it all depends on how you play the game…rated M for mature.