The UN patrol vessel Enduring Peace, at a length of 300 meters, was carrying a full compliment of tomahawk cruise missiles armed with small nuclear payloads, designed to destroy any electronics that are not shielded and disrupt any wireless communication within a 1500 kilometer area. These were part of an agreement in the Alaska treaty to allow for a "kill switch" that could deter war, IS use or not.

A small RHIB pulled along side the boat, its active camo disguising it from the patrol men looking down into the dark sea. After the patrol passed, three grappling hooks wrapped around the railing, followed shortly after by boarders scrambling up the ropes.

A klaxon began to blare, set off by a motion detector overlooked by the boarders.

"All security forces, deploy immediately! I repeat, repel the attackers!"

The ship put up a formidable defense, but the boarders, with enhanced weaponry and cybernetic implants, took control of the ship, destroying all communication devices immediately.

They kept no hostages.


"…And so, with little mechanized divisions, the Chinese defense was woefully unprepared for the Japanese offensi-"

~~All operators, please report to the main office, all operators to the main office~~

It was the the middle of history class, with our history teacher rambling on about some war. If my hunch was right, I was heading to war myself.

I locked my table computer, removing the flash drive key, and pocketed it. Johannes and Lucifer were doing the same, and all three of us headed towards the door.

We walked together to the office, not saying a word. The only time operators could be pulled out of class were two things: An immediate threat to the school, or a request by the international community to intervene.

As ISA is technically considered a sovereign nation, It affords students some special privileges. First, they are afforded an "open border" privilege, meaning they need no visa to travel to a country that has agreed to the Alaska treaty, even with their IS or weapons in their possession. They are given many other benefits, but are less important. However, one of the prices we pay is that we are at the mercy and control of Alaska treaty nations. In short, we are their weapons. Thankfully, with the peace afforded by IS, it is rare for our use to be authorized.

We were one of the last people to arrive, with Ms. Chifuyu standing outside giving us a "hurryupbecausesomethingbigishappening" glare.

"Operators, follow me."

Chifuyu pressed her hand to the wall, a soft tone indicating her hand print is valid, and the wall opened into what looked like a command and control center. We all filed in, sitting in chairs faced towards a projector screen. The wall closed behind Chifuyu, the last into the room.

"Men, the UN lost connection with the guided missile destroyer Enduring Peace 5 hours ago in the Sea of Japan, near Hokkaido prefecture. A UAS was above the ship when connection was lost. After examining the footage, the UN has decided to assume the ship was boarded, and communication gear was destroyed."

A three-dimensional diagram of the ship was now displayed on the projector screen, rotating to show all sides of it.

"There will be three teams, one that will go to secure the conning tower, and another to secure the EMP's. The third are to capture the engine bay. Are we clear?"

Silence.

"Good. Go directly to the armory, and get ready. you are heading out to the UN destroyer Enduring Justice at 1500 to get familiarized with the layout, since they are the same class, and to be staged for deployment by combat boat. Dismissed!"


We all double timed it to the house. once we got down to the armory, everyone started throwing their gear into duffel bags.

The drop ship landed at the ISA south helipad, bearing a medical transport paint job, which I assumed was being projected by a hard light generator.

"Alright, load up!" the crew chief said out the back of the loading ramp.


We got to the enduring justice just before nightfall, the sun creating a bronze light show in the western sky. At first glance, the ship was very angular, presumably to deflect radar.

The pilot did a few low sweeping passes to let us get a good look at the craft.

At the front of the ship was the first of two upgraded CIWS on the ship, an upgraded phalanx weapons system. A tad farther back was the main bay of missile tubes, set flush to the ship and with their breakaway covers still intact. about 30 meters behind them was the conning tower, which was relatively low compared to older designs, mainly because of the dozens upon dozens of cameras the hull was covered in, creating unparalleled situational awareness impossible to achieve with even the highest tower feasible.

Near the back was the second anti-air system, this time a seasparrow missile battery, designed to take out medium range air contacts.

After we landed, we were directed to the improvised war room, where feeds from a multitude of drones and high resolution satellite imagery was stitched together in real time over the the schematics of the ship to create a hard light projection of the ship in the middle of the room.

we got to work planning our routes. we had only a few hours to plan.


We were sitting in the back of the assault craft, skimming across the water. All of us were suited from head to toe in level 4 body armor, made from the same metal composite used for IS. We also all had on gas masks, and we forwent our own countries' insignias, opting for only our call sign tags.

Of course, we all had our own personal weapons with us. I was carrying my Vector and Big Bertha. We all were also carrying copious amounts of tear gas, as an alternative to clearing out the ship room by room. All we had to do was capture the air vents, drop the canisters in, and force the fans to push the gas throughout the ship.

The commander held up two fingers, meaning we were to kilometers out, and that we needed to get ready.

unfortunately, we weren't prepared for a hail of forty mike-mikes.


That escalated quickly.

Anyways, as usual, feedback is always appreciated. Also, don't worry, I've already started on the next chapter.

(P.S. forty mike-mike is military jargon for a forty millimeter grenade.)