A Daring Midnight Rescue

:: Somewhere over the Gerudo Desert ::

:: 49th Day of Spring, Year 2032 of the New Era, 03:50:00 Eastern Desert Time ::

The tension in the cargo hold of the transport was palpable as the six Hyrulean Black Berets sat in seats against one wall. The quiet whine of the stealth aircraft's engine was all that could be heard. Each of them were absorbed in their own thoughts, knowing that this mission could very well prove to be their last. Captain Link Forester fidgeted uncomfortably, wondering if he would ever see the beautiful rolling hills of Hyrule Field again. He reached up and adjusted his helmet nervously even though it didn't need adjusting. In the Heads Up Display that seemed to float on the inside of his visor, he could see they were almost to their drop location; deep in Gerudo territory.

Merely a week ago, King Daphnes Nohansen's daughter, Princess Zelda, had been captured during her flight home from the neighboring nation of Termina despite the fact that King Nohansen had selected four of the top pilots in the Hyrulean Royal Air Force to escort her jet back home. All four of the escorting fighters had been blasted out of the sky, and Gerudo Commandos had boarded the jet mid-flight, slaughtering all on board but the princess, and had then escaped back onto their aircraft. After shooting the Royal Air Liner jet down, the Gerudo aircraft had made for the west and Gerudo Valley; the Hyrulean Princess Royal on board.

A prominent news channel even caught the latter part of the incident on camera and put it on national television, displaying the Gerudos' treachery to the entirety of Hyrule. One does not simply miss the bright red Gerudo insignia painted on the hull and the wings of a Gerudo aircraft.

Now, Link and his Special Forces unit were about to paradrop into a heavily fortified Gerudo castle and rescue the princess of Hyrule. The exfil plan was ridiculous in his opinion, but when he'd mentioned his disagreement in briefing, Major Groose had basically told him he was a fool for disagreeing. Link rolled his eyes when he thought about the stupid, arrogant Major.

Shortly, the pilot's voice crackled through over their communication relays in their respective helmets. "One minute to drop."

Subconsciously, Link checked to make sure he had all his equipment, patting each piece as he thought of it. It was a ritual for him; something he did before every mission. Helmet, pressurized nocturnal stealth armor for high altitude insertions, Suppressed M42 Battle Rifle, Suppressed P136 pistol, personalized MasterKnife (styled after the legendary weapon said to have been used by his ancestors), as well as many other things. Finally, he unbuckled his seatbelt and stood, strapping on his parachute backpack. His unit quickly and quietly followed suit. The parachute backpack contained two parachutes; a main and a backup parachute, the latter being much smaller and to be used only in emergency situations.

Inside him, his heart ached, for the tension in the cargo hold of the transport due to the potential finality of their mission was not the only tension that he felt. Inside his head, thoughts of their target and her last words to him before she had been kidnapped echoed. He pushed those worries aside. Now was not the time to linger on that subject. Now was the time to fight.

Then the pilot's voice returned. "Drop in T minus 30 seconds and counting." Link's jaw clenched. Beside him, Daggon Keane adjusted his parachute's shoulder straps. "T minus 20 seconds." Behind him, Kord Gaynes shuffled his feet. "T minus 10, 9..." The main cargo door at the rear of the aircraft opened like a great mouth, and air began to whip by them wildly. "5, 4, 3, 2… On your go, Green Leader."

Link sucked in a deep breath and took a couple running steps forward, then leapt off the solid floor of the transport and out into the cold darkness of the moonless night.

"Green Leader deployed," he called in to his helmet's built-in microphone.

"Green 2 deployed," came Keane's voice over his comm.

"Green 3 deployed," Brago Gorman's scratchy voice said.

"Green 4 deployed," Kord Gaynes practically hollered at him through his earpiece.

"Green 5 deployed," came Kreton Brok's voice over his comm.

"Green 6 deployed," said the youngest member of the group, Horton Braze as he joined the rest of Green Unit in their descent.

Minutes later, Captain Forester and his five comrades were floating on the chilly night breeze toward the enemy castle. In moments, lights scattered throughout the enemy stronghold grew larger and farther apart, and Link glanced at the digital clock in the top right hand corner of his helmet's HUD. 03:59:05. Their timing was perfect so far. The changing of the guard would occur at 03:15:00 Desert Standard Time, and they would be crossing over into that time zone momentarily. Even as he glanced at the clock, it changed to 02:59:06. He and his team would strike within the final dwindling minutes of this guard's shift, when they would be the most relaxed. Some of them may have even dozed off.

The plan was to get in and out undetected, or at least without setting off the alarm. Zelda would be locked in the highest room of the tallest tower in the center of the fortress. A twenty-five foot wall ran around the circumference of the Gerudo castle with sentries patrolling it. According to their intel, a battalion of Gerudo soldiers stayed there full time, so they could expect upwards of 500 men to oppose them (though most of those accounted for would be fast asleep, and would hopefully stay that way). For the exfil, a cloaked Hyrulean chopper awaited them on the hill immediately east of the stronghold.

In moments, they would be upon the eastern portion of the wall. Link could see two Gerudos marching abreast across the wall. He brought his M42 up to his visor, peering through the scope. Hitting a switch on the side of the scope, he toggled its infrared capabilities.

"Gaynes, can you take the sentry on the right?" Link asked in a low tone of voice, knowing that his teammates were seeing the two men that he was seeing.

"Roger that," Gaynes' voice came back thru the captain's earpiece.

"Three, two," Link centered his crosshairs on the sentry on his left, "one…" Both sentries fell in synch, their bodies hitting the concrete of the top of the wall simultaneously.

"Nice shots," came the voice of young Horton Braze.

Then they were landing expertly on the wall, each man pulling in his own parachute as quickly as possible in order to avoid detection. Luckily, the lighting on the wall was shoddy, and the yellowy-orange lights that did exist were not nearly enough to give away their presence.

Link glanced at the time in his HUD. 03:06:47. So far so good. He detached his main parachute but kept his backpack for the field surgery kit that it contained alongside the spare chute.

"She's all the way up there?" Braze whispered with a note of uncertainty in his voice. The other five Hyrulean commandos followed his gaze to a tower in the center of the fortress that had to be at least 300 feet tall.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, kid," Brago Gorman muttered quietly.

"Let's move," their captain said. "Keane, you take point."

"10-4," Green 2 responded. He knew exactly where to go. They had gone over the complex interior of the fortress over and over again in the past few days in preparation for this very moment. Just to the north was a tower with a door on either side of it that led out onto the wall. Inside the tower was a ladder going up to the lookout in the top of the tower, and stairs leading down into the fortress itself. The stairs would take them down into a long hallway that would lead into the heart of the castle with many doors branching off of it. In seconds, he had led the team to that tower's door.

"There should be one tango inside this tower," Keane murmured, looking back at Green Unit. Luckily, the door did not have a window, so the occupant of the room would have no idea that the Hyruleans were at his door. Kreton Brok moved up to the door on the side it would open from so he could open fire as soon as Keane cracked it open. Daggon's gloved hand gripped the doorknob and began to turn it slowly, silently. It reached its maximum turn, and he looked up at Brok.

Though he couldn't see his face behind his visor, Brok heard Keane whisper "three, two, one." Green 2 began to pull the door open. The barrel of Kreton's battle rifle entered the void immediately, but at the same time, snoring greeted their ears. The dark skinned, fire-haired man sitting in the chair was kicked back, fast asleep. An assault rifle rested in his lap.

Brok hesitated. A second later, Green 3's bullets silenced the snoring. Brok's head turned toward him. "I've been on enough of these missions to know when to put a bullet in someone and when not to. In his position, he was a danger to the mission," the gravelly voiced Gorman muttered, stepping by Green 5 and into the tower. Keane followed Brago first, then the rest of Green Unit proceeded into the tower room.

Taking the lead again, Green 2 began to descend the stairs, weapon held at the ready. Captain Forester shut the door quietly behind them and brought up the rear. The hallway at the base of the stairs was well lit, and they would be in trouble if they were caught in it because there was no available cover. Keane knew that the route to the base of the tower that the princess was in was through the fourth door on their right.

Just as they reached the base of the staircase, an outcry cut through the quiet of the night.

"Dead Gerudo! Sound the alarm!"

"Shit!" Braze whisper-yelled.

"Hurry, follow me!" Keane called to his team, picking up his pace. They passed the first pair of doors, then the second. As they were passing the third pair of doors, one in front of them down the hallway opened. Three Gerudos stepped through, assault weapons ready. They opened fire.

In the heat of the moment, Link couldn't keep track of the actions of all of his teammates, but he simply dropped to a knee and aimed. He swiftly eliminated two of the soldiers before the third dove back through the door and shut it. In the craziness of the moment however, one of his own had fallen as well. The youngest member of his team lay eerily still.

"Horton!" Gaynes was at the boy's side in an instant, checking for a pulse. A sickeningly large hole was in his visor.

"He's gone," Gorman said sadly.

"Damn!" Link cursed. "We have to keep moving or none of us will make it out of here." Gaynes nodded dismally.

Just then, a door behind them opened admitting two more Gerudos. These two soldiers were downed by Hyrulean bullets immediately though, and the Black Berets continued to the fourth door. Keane opened the door leading with his gun barrel, and when three startled Gerudos whirled around, each of them met the fury of his rifle and crashed to the concrete floor. The five Hyruleans rushed forward. This corridor took an abrupt left hand turn and ascended a small flight of stairs before ending at an elevator. To their right was a door leading to a spiral staircase.

Just then, a DING sounded and the elevator doors opened. Five ready Gerudos opened fire. Somehow, the only bullets that found their targets were Hyrulean bullets, and the back wall of the elevator was painted red.

The Black Berets headed through the door to their right and up the staircase. Capitalizing on the brief respite, Link discharged his nearly empty magazine and replaced it with a fresh one. When they had been ascending the stairs for a few seconds, there were suddenly Gerudos coming down the stairs, and quicker than even Link himself could hardly think, his MasterKnife flashed out of its sheath and across the throat of the first Gerudo. The soldier behind that took a Hyrulean bullet between the eyes, and the Black Berets were off again. They flowed up the stairs like a mighty river, and soon they had reached the top. There was a small anteroom with the elevator door on the left and and then another door at the end. This door was heavy and iron; clearly bullet-proof. Link took the lead then and stepped up to it.

"The two men we met on the stairway must have been guarding this door," he said, thinking aloud. Then, he knocked on the door. Nothing.

"This tower is a dead end and a death trap. We have to get out of here!" Gorman said nervously. Captain Forester nodded his understanding, and knocked again.

"Princess, are you there? This is Captain Link Forester of the Hyrulean Black Berets. We are here to take you home."

"Come in." The voice that came from beyond the door was deep, however, and menacing.

Link's breath caught. "Oh, no," He whispered to himself. "Keane, you got the door?"

"Affirmative."

Once again, Brok moved into place by the door.

"Three, two, one." This time Daggon opened the door quickly and Brok stepped in, rifle raised, followed by Forester and Gorman. Behind them, Gaynes aimed steadily at the new threat.

And there she was, the Princess Royal of Hyrule. But behind her, a sickeningly pale man held her at gunpoint, holding her in front of him like a hylian shield. The princess, for her part, was wearing an elegant pink dress that was clearly formal wear, yet still accentuated her natural shape. Her wavy golden locks cascaded down over her narrow shoulders.

"Hold it right there!" the pale man shouted. "Any of you take one more step and her brains are all over that wall, you got it?" Link stopped instantly, motioning for his men to do the same. His mind raced. How could he possibly free her? Though she couldn't possibly tell, Link looked the princess in her eyes. On her face was fear, but also defiance and courage. A wicked smile crept onto the man's gaunt face. His eyes were lined with purple and his white hair was combed over a far-too-smooth part. He was disgusting.

Below them, Link heard the door to the stairway slam open. Think, man. THINK, he thought. Heavy footfalls made their way up the stairs. The Gerudo defenders would be upon them within the minute. Link's heart pounded in his throat.

"Who are you?" He asked carefully.

"I am the fabulous Lord Ghirahim, Duke of th-"

"What is your game, Ghirahim?" Link completely cut the hideous man off. He had no time for this. Ghirahim's pale cheeks flushed, and his eyebrows arched in anger. Meanwhile, Link's team shifted with anxiety. The gaunt lord drew breath to speak, but Link continue before the man was able to utter a sound. "I don't have time for games. Your men are hot on my team's heels, and if-"

"You are not in a position to make demands, boy!" The man's eruption almost caught Captain Forester by surprise. "I am the one with the bargaining chip, and you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Soon, the defenders of this fortress will come flooding out of that stairway and-AHH!"

The princess' heel came down on Ghirahim's toes with a power he could not have expected even if he saw the blow coming, and the instant that it made contact and he recoiled, Zelda capitalized and spun quickly, twisting his wrist and forcefully wrenching the handgun from his clutch. Shocked, the pale man raised his hands in the air and took a step back, eyes wide. But Link could tell that she wasn't going to pull the trigger. Then Ghirahim's left hand was sneaking behind his back. With a lightning quick motion, Link snatched the MasterKnife from its seat on his hip and hurled it. The blade cleaved through the air rotating end over end once before embedding itself in the pale man's skull. His gross head whipped back under the impact and he collapsed to the floor, another pistol still in his grip.

Link retrieved the MasterKnife and put it back in its sheath.

"Captain, we need to get out of here, it will just be seconds before the Gerudos flood up the staircase and trap us up here," Gaynes said.

"Yep, let's get the hell out of here," Green Leader agreed. He turned back to the princess. "Your Highness, are you okay?"

She looked at him with a certain sadness in her eyes, then nodded. "Yes, just shaken up."

"Good. Stay behind us. We'll clear the way and get you home safe. Got it?" She nodded again. He nodded back. "Right. Let's go light 'em up, gents."

The Gerudos' footfalls were nearly to the exit of the stairway.

"Frag out!" Kreton Brok pulled the pin out of a hand grenade and hurled it down the stairwell.

"GRENA-" The sudden blast cut off the cry of alarm abruptly.

"Forward!" The Captain ordered, and the five Hyrulean commandos moved out of the room and to the stairwell with Keane in the lead. With his scope at eye level, Keane advanced on the first curve quickly. Once again, they could hear the Gerudos pushing forward. It would be a bloody battle.

Then, Daggon Keane's battle rifle began to spew lead, felling three Gerudos in quick succession as they rounded the stairs into view. The fire haired defenders retreated briefly, giving Green 2 enough time to reload his weapon. Capitalizing on the space that had been forfeited by the Gerudos, Keane led the Black Berets forward more. For a moment, Captain Forester was surprised at how much ground they were able to gain, and wondered why the Gerudos weren't pressuring them more and trying to trap them in the tower. He wondered if it was a bad sign that there were suddenly no enemies. Of course, they did step over a few Gerudo bodies, but that was to be expected.

What was not expected was the tactical grenade that bounced up at them while his mind was racing over those things.

To be continued...