Introduction

Sitting in his sleeping bag, a young soldier was contemplating his life. His platoon had just ended their security mission for their company's outpost. This was their first opportunity to catch some shut-eye since the beginning of their combat operations on the Korean peninsula. The young soldier was tired and weary, but questions permeated his mind. Series of 'What ifs?' and 'How abouts?' prevented his immediate slumber. He forced himself to focus on the task at hand, sleeping. Second Lieutenant Michael Joseph had performed combat duties with his platoon for the past 48 hours without rest, and he knew he, and his men, needed some sleep before they continued their mission.

"I hope I don't ever wake up." he mumbled to himself, shortly before succumbing to his fatigue and falling asleep.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been building for quite some time. Ever since Kim Jung Un inherited control of North Korea after his father's death, war seemed to become a real possibility. South Korean and US forces have been preparing for war ever since, conducting various military exercises and gathering intelligence on the Republic's northern neighbor. But the information gathered was not enough to prepare either country for the preemptive strike from the North.

Ten nuclear ballistic missiles were launched from various sites from north of the 38th parallel. Five were shot down before they reached the atmosphere. One malfunctioned and disintegrated before reaching space. One missed its target completely, blowing up in the Sea of Japan. One failed to detonate, and impacted downtown Seoul, causing a small amount of damage. Unfortunately, two struck their designated targets, one striking Yokosuka, Japan, crippling the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, and the other striking Paju, South Korea, allowing the North Korean military to steamroll through the area. Fortunately, combined US and ROK forces stopped the initial assault before reaching the outskirts of Seoul. The death toll from these attacks reached far into the millions.

Along with the nuclear strike, North Korean scientists and computer engineers had launched an extremely large cyber-attack onto the entirety of the internet, causing an internet blackout that lasted a week. Repairs to the internet allowed it to begin functioning, but in a much slower and choppy fashion, with localized blackouts still common.

The allied forces managed to push to the Pyongyang-Wonsan Highway. There, allied forces decided to halt and wait for reinforcements to arrive. These fresh units included 2LT Joseph's own 10th Mountain Division. The LT himself was platoon leader of 3rd Platoon, A Company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

2LT Joseph was a relatively green junior officer, commissioning only a year and a half before and barely managing to earn his Sapper Tab from the US Army Engineer School before hostilities opened up on the peninsula. He was 24 years old, 6 feet tall, 205 pounds, and of average build for a soldier. He had short black hair and brown eyes. One could see him as slightly tanner than the average white man. He had a constant scowl on his face, evidence of a displeasure with his current life situation. He seemed to be ready to volunteer for the riskier missions. His men believed this was because he was brave, but his platoon sergeant, Sergeant First Class Harrison, knew better. SFC Harrison saw him as an angry young man, and worried for not only the LT's safety, but also the safety of his platoon.

Presently, 10th Mountain was preparing for the assault on Pyongyang. Alpha Company's mission was to seize a scientific research facility just to the east of Pyongyang, just across the Taedong river. This facility was the source of the cyber-attacks. Little did the men know about the mysteries that were to be discovered in the facility.

At 0547, 2LT Joseph woke up. Ah, I wake up to another miserable day alive in this hellhole. The LT was thinking to himself. He proceeded to wake his men, attempting to prepare them for first formation at 0600. His men reluctantly proceeded to the company formation. Captain Derreck, Alpha Company Commander, called on his men.

"Alpha Company! Fall in!" he ordered. The men quickly took to their designated positions. 2LT Joseph proudly stood in front of his platoon, his scowl complementing the rigidity of the formation. "Report!"

"First Platoon, 36 present and accounted for."

"Second Platoon, 37 present and accounted for."

"Third Platoon, 31 present and accounted for." 2LT Joseph responded. He was well aware of the 10 men he lost in the firefight that had taken place not more than 24 hours ago.

"Fourth Platoon, 42 present and accounted for." Lucky for them they did not fight in the battle. I wish I still had all my men.

"At ease, men." The CPT began his brief. "As you may well know, the assault on Pyongyang is taking place today. We're going to kick some commie ass!"

"Hooah!" many men shouted.

"Now our mission during the assault is to take the research facility that has been traced as the source of the cyber-attack that caused the internet blackout. I know many of you men were very angry when the internet blacked out, because for many of you, it meant you couldn't watch whatever sick and twisted porn you get off to for a week. Fortunately, we get the honor of bringing pain and death to those who took the internet away from us." The CPT proceeded to give a vague description of the plan, and each platoon's mission. "Third Platoon, you will be assaulting the central control center, with Fourth Platoon in support. I know I can trust you men with this important task. Be careful not to destroy any sensitive or important technology, as the brass would like to get their hands on some of it."

The men split up into platoons for formal operations orders briefs. The mission was clear, capture and secure the facility. The step-off would be at 1400. After the brief, 2LT Joseph called up his PSG.

"What do you think about this one, Sergeant?" He was anxious for his answer. SFC Harrison had served three combat tours in Afghanistan before this.

"Are you asking for my honest opinion, sir?"

"Yes."

"Well, L-T, I've been on some tough missions, but this one takes the cake. Spearheading an assault into the enemy's capital? We may not even make it into the city before we get rendered combat ineffective."

Thinking deeply about this, 2LT Joseph prayed for the strength to pull through.