UNKNOWN LOCATION, 1988
The sun was setting low as the base personnel scrambled to make last-minute preparations for the incoming chopper. In his office near the main gate, Col. Tom Janice reviewed the briefing documents left by his predecessor, George Dillon.
"Scouts have reported signs of a large, well-defended guerrilla compound to the south. A six-man team should be sufficient to mount an assault. Locating the missing documents is the top priority. If the Soviets learn the location of our agents within Val Verde, our mission to establish a government friendly to American interests will be for naught."
Several weeks later, Dutch Schaefer, one of Dillon's men, returned to camp half-dead in a stretcher. According to his post-surgery interrogation, an extraterrestrial had ambushed the team as they awaited extraction, using hunting tactics and strange weapons to pick them off one by one. Dillon himself had been impaled on a wrist blade after the creature severed his arm clean off. Schaefer had only managed to survive by using traps to slow the alien down until it committed suicide via nuclear denotation. As the bodies of his fellow soldiers had not been found, Janice found it hard to believe what seemed to be a PTSD-driven fever dream. Yet he had persuaded his superiors to authorize a mission to investigate the area where the alleged incident had occurred. His orders were simple: if any evidence of the creature were to be found, the team was to return to base until a more experienced squad could be dispatched to assist them. If they made contact with any of the insurgents known to still be operating in the area, they were not to engage unless necessary. Otherwise, they had a week to complete their investigation, at which point the case would be forever closed.
As Janice swirled these thoughts through his head, a soldier entered his quarters. "Sir, the chopper has arrived."
"Understood. I'll personally handle introductions."
After a brief look in the mirror to check his uniform for any dust or dirt stains, the Colonel went to meet with the team he would be leading.