So We Stand

by Petty Officer First Class Boo

Captain Anderson Ryu leads Advanced Force Operations Susanowo made up of members from the Japanese Special Forces. One of their two directives is to survey regions beyond Falmart and make contact. With a rebuilding kingdom, Susanowo would uncover a much more sinister plot beyond the reaches of the Empire. One that could plunge the recovering Empire into a civil war.

10. Chapter 9: Greenlit

Chapter 9: Greenlit

"Hey Sawada!" I hissed from inside the door way as Sawada sculpted a small grey figure in one of the many gardens in the Jade Palace.

Two days after our double shift, information and intelligence had been pushed up the pipeline. There was no answer from high command and my guilt filled mind started to best me. In my hands were an ordinary bed sheet. It was actually none other than the very one Panache and I had used during our drunken sleep session. Prior to the sniper mission, I had 'flushed' everything from my head to become as still as possible. To flow like the river and be in a state of Zen. One skipped beat of my heart would have played hell on the timing of my own shots.

"Hrmm?" the Wester Army Infantry Regiment sniper grunted, looking up from his miniature sculpture.

"Come here. I need some help with some investigation work," I hissed back.

"Can it wait Captain?" Sawada asked, leaning back to stretch his back, "I'm almost done with the face."

"No! It's an order Sawada!" I whispered in a low growl.

I watched the sniper sigh, throwing his tools onto a nearby table and wiping his hands with a towel dirtied with grey clay. The two of us quickly marched to one of the still used storage closets with a large clear plastic bag in my left hand. This one was filled with gardening tools. A do not disturb sign in three languages were hung in front just in case, one in imperial, one in Japanese and if they didn't get the hint, big red English letters. I shut the door gently and turned to Sawada. My hands pulled out the bed sheet as the younger man gave me a quizzical look. As a lone flame flickered in the room, his eyes brushed over lights, brushes and powders usually used in investigative work. It was a small crime scene box that Ige, Akagi, Kazuki and Sawada carried for in field investigations in the event there was no available back up.

"Uh…," Sawada breathed, coughing slightly from the dust in the room, "what are we doing, Captain?"

"You remember the day before we deployed on that sniper op?" I asked pulling on medical gloves as Sawada nodded, "I was up drinking…but I was drinking with the White Rose."

"Oh, okay," Sawada replied blinking emptily before his expression changed to one of enlightenment, "oh…oh."

"Yeah. It's been eating away at my conscious because I blacked out after we drank a bit too much," I said extinguishing the only lantern lighting up the room.

"What do you need me for?" he asked as I turned on the black light.

"I don't remember if we had sex or not. That's what I need you to find out," I grunted, Sawada slipping on his gloves.

The white fabric was illuminated in a purplish glow. Lightened splotches appeared on the bed sheet as Sawada touched the fabric with his hands, running his sensitive digits across the length each splotches. Sawada then went to the containers of powders and picked up the brush. He brushed a blackish powder across the entire stained sheet in hopes of finding something. Satisfied with his work, Sawada stood back with his goatee bearded chin resting on his fist. He analyzed his work with an eagle eye.

"I don't see any semen stains but…there is blood at the edge of the bed," Sawada murmured.

"Yeah, that was me. I cut myself while trying to service the ghille suit," I answered, I felt like I was being examined under the microscope.

"And the large stains at the top of the bed sheet?" Sawada asked.

"We made out a lot I think," I replied trying hard to remember, "I could only remember the sensations in my mouth."

"Well, other than the small bit of blood and sweat everywhere it's safe to say that you, Captain, did not have sexual intercourse with the White Rose," Sawada replied with a sigh, "well just in case give her some pregnancy test kits."

"I'll think about it," I grumbled back, rubbing my face as I tried to think of a way to apologize to her.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of loud bangs slammed against the locked door, making the two of us jump.

"Captain?" yelled Ikeda, "I know you're in there! Open up!"

"How do you know I was in here?!" I screamed back.

"There's only one person who would write 'Fuck Off' in big red English letters Captain," Ikeda replied, "I have something urgent."

I turned to Sawada, "you better not tell another soul about this," and ripped off the gloves from my hands before moving to open the door.

"I won't," Sawada murmured back with a burdened sigh.

Ikeda cleared his throat upon seeing my face, in his hands another manila file.

"We're greenlit for Operation Cronos," Ikeda muttered as a maid walked quietly behind him, "Lieutenant General Hazama wants us at Alnus in within the next hour. A security detachment will take over our spot for the duration of the operation. The JS Ashigara is eight days away from Lake Min where most of the resistance force has called home. We're force reconnaissance."

Force Reconnaissance.

My expression turned grim as I nodded. Closing the door, I relit the lantern and packed up the investigative tools before balling up the bed sheet and tossing it into the plastic bag. After conveying the information to Sawada, I went up to my room. A somber air hung around me with muted silence. My hands pulled out my uniform and clothes from the wardrobe. I was here for almost two weeks and once again we were set to deploy. We never hung around in one place too long. Carrying my ditty bag and rucksack, I walked out the door to see my teammates already packed. Ikeda had gone around telling everyone we were about to mobilize on what would be the longest deployment before the assignment to the Ashigara herself. Hasegawa walked out of her room and glanced with confusion on her face glancing at everyone and their packed equipment. A shadow was cast over her face as we told her she wouldn't be going with us for the next few weeks.

Lieutenant Hasegawa was never part of our unit. She was assigned as our handler and radio operator, nothing more. Hailing from Headquarters, she was neither ranger-qualified nor from a normal infantry unit. She was a POG (Personnel Other than Grunts), a person who worked behind the desks who supported normal infantry. If she was brought along she'd most likely have to jump with another member of the team adding to the already excessive weight we would be carrying. And during operations she would be sidelined for most of the duration which would defeat the purpose for bringing her all together.

With a solemn nod, we parted ways.

I told the team to wait for me on the lawn with all of their equipment. Reporting to Senior Vice Minister Shirayuri Reiko and Major Masaki Iseda, the commanding officer in charge of security team rotations for Susanowo's temporary change of station. I would be gone for almost two-thirds of my assignment to the embassy if not the entire duration. With the two acknowledging my notice, I walked down the pristine steps of the Jade Palace. My rubber heels tapped against each of the marble steps. Fully geared, we were expected to hit the ground running at Alnus. Stripped down Toyota HMVs, similar to the special forces Humvees, were waiting for us back at Alnus hill for training and familiarization. I exited the Jade Palace to see my team sitting at the far edge of the lawn tugging on their vests, packs and equipment to make sure they were all secure. A helicopter was dispatched from Alnus to pick us up and would arrive in half an hour at the pre-determined time. Approaching my team, they were silent as I dropped off my rucksack and Mark 20 SSR.

I realized that they were switching mindsets.

No more fun and games, this was war.

Fighting would all we would know and embrace for the next few weeks.

Knights watched while the maid Kazuki had affectionately played around with for the last few days approached just to be brushed off by the Inspector. It was like a flick of the switch. Our personalities had changed. My eyes glanced over to a tent not far away from the lawn. Just a few dozen meters and close the wall was one of the man tents. But this one, had a white rose flying on its flag fluttering in the wind. I walked away from the group and towards the tent. If I missed this opportunity I would forever regret it. I might never see her again after the operation if it extended far too long. We would be rotate back to Alnus hill, given leave and then depart on the JS Ashigara for the next six months. I only had three weeks left before we rotated back.

A squire guarded the entrance to the tent. Clothed in light armor, she stood up from her seat. Innocent brown eyes locked with my dull blue ones.

My eyes were fixed on the entrance as I said, "Is White Rose Kalgi in the tent?"

She nodded slowly, I could see a sense of uncertainty on her face.

"I have to speak with her," I said in a monotonous voice.

The squire nodded. She opened the flap to go inside, disappearing into the dark interior of the tent while I waited. Minutes would pass before she would come out.

"She doesn't want to see you," the squire replied as my eyes glanced towards her.

"That wasn't a request," I stated, making sure my voice was loud enough for the White Rose to hear me from inside.

A hand brushed the tent flap away briskly. Hardened jade eyes stared back at mine, her hair dripped wet with water. She wore a light green dress with a cloth corset securing her midsection. I recognized it was what she usually wore under her armor. Her face was flushed with red. Green eyes looked back into the tent as I entered to the chagrin of the confused squire. She stood at the far end of the room with a small table. It was a sparse room. There were books on her table, on the side a cloth bed and her armor and weapons held by stands and racks opposite of it. The White Rose was quiet, waiting for me to speak.

I sighed, "I didn't want to leave before saying this but, that night meant a lot to me. I'm sorry if I wronged you. I took it upon myself to make sure that you were still chaste. All we did was go to first base…many times. I won't hold it against you if you don't want to see me after this deployment, but on the off chance that you do, I'll either be at Alnus or back in my old room if we do come back before the operation ends," I spoke slowly, making sure every word sank into her.

I turned around and exited the tent. I couldn't face her with the things I'm about to do. A lot of blood was going to be spilled and I knew it. The sound of chopping rotor blades signaled the arrival of the CH-47J. My hands grabbed the equipment, my eyes glancing over to the tent. There, between flapping tent flaps was Panache standing between them. Our eyes met briefly. She averted hers quickly after our eyes made contact. Grass, dirt and dust blew around us in a gale buffeting our bodies. I still had hope for the two of us even if I managed the botch the only relationship I had ever entered on my own volition. Sound was drowned out by the loud chopping rotors and the whining twin engines as we boarded the rear of the transport helicopter.

Each one of my men's faces was grim. Each one was in their own mind space, preparing for the arduous task of being the eyes and ears of a large battle force. The helicopter's engines increased in pitch and loudness. A small sensation in my stomach as we took off from the Jade Palace, increasing in altitude. The large complex slowly grew smaller and smaller until I could cover my hand over the entire building. We banked away and back towards Alnus hill.

That was a week ago.

August 29th, dusk. The nine of us were gathered in the air base's borrowed ready room. My helmet enclosed my head, muffling the sound around me. Everything sounded like I was underwater. Desert goggles were snug against my face. My SCAR-H hung from the side, one magazine inserted with a round in the chamber. A hissing filled my ears, forcing air into my lungs from the positive pressure oxygen system we had been pre-breathing for forty minutes. Flushing nitrogen from our bloodstream was important jumping from an altitude higher than twenty-two thousand feet. Rapid ascent in the jump aircraft without nitrogen flushed out could lead to us getting 'the bends'.

We began our final equipment checks.

I grabbed the night vision device bolted to my helmet, shaking it to make sure it wouldn't pop out in flight. My hands pulled and pushed to make sure the NOD locked into place before returning it to its normal position. My hands ran down my vest making sure everything was velcroed shut, strapped and buckled in tightly. I drew the SCAR and gently pulled the charging handle back to see the glint of brass in the ready room's fluorescent lights. My hands lifted up the Mark 17 until the optics cut into my eye line. A magnified holosight reticule glowed with an intense red. Satisfied, I slung the weapon to my side and pulled the two-point sling tight against my body.

Sanada gave me a thumbs-up as I returned the signal.

I circled my right finger to see him turn around.

Careful eyes ran over the rear of Sanada's parachute. Metal connectors were tugged on, lines were checked and the straps of his chute were made sure to be secure. I turned him around making a visual inspection of his plate carrier and connections for our rucksacks that sat on the tarmac next to the waiting C-130H. Grabbing his helmet, I pulled it down to make sure the IR strobe was on. Sanada made his own inspection of the oxygen equipment and the altimeter while I checked my own after giving him a tap on the helmet to signal all green. We pulled on an additional plate of metal, made by Para-Flite called the Phaos, secured to our faces mounted snuggly against the oxygen mask to prevent it from tearing away in the event of a freefall accident. I tapped my analog altimeter to make sure that the ground we stood on was zero feet.

"Everyone good?" I asked, pressing the push to talk strapped to my plate carrier.

All eight other members gave me a thumbs-up as I nodded.

We walked out of the ready room and into the corridor leading out to the aircraft waiting area. I felt like we were filming a movie, slowly walking out of the ready room bristling to the teeth with weapons, ammunition and equipment. Just a few feet from the doors, I saw Kenji leaned against the wall. My former wingman gave me a casual salute. I returned the salute and gave him a slap on the arm with a small nod. I guess he wanted to see what I was like at my new job, maybe he was just waiting for us to clear out of the ready room we borrowed from the F-2 pilots. I never got an answer from him. We strode out from the building and into the darkened sky. A loud rumbling buzz greeted us when we opened the doors. On the asphalt sat the C-130H with its engines spooled up and ready to go. Tall flood lights illuminated the tree tone, green, greenish yellow and grey paint job of the aircraft with a red roundel painted on the side of the transport.

Our rucksacks were placed near the side door of the aircraft, piled up in a small mound. As we walked closer, a female crewman came to greet us. I couldn't hear what she was saying over the loud buzzing of the Hercules's engines and the muffled helmet. I simply nodded while she spoke. We came to a stop just behind our humungous rucksacks. I grabbed my packs and hooked metal connectors to the sides of my parachute pack. Disconnecting the shoulder straps, I looped them between my legs and pulled the tightening straps until the metal frame pressed against my thighs. My hands fumbled with the waist support as I clipped them around my hips. Two strands of paracord were run around the rear of my battle belt around the handle of the rucksack. The tops of the bag were centimeters above the ground as the pressure on my legs skyrocketed.

Our loadmaster waved us onto the aircraft. The female crewmember ran inside before us, hooking her helmet and mask into the oxygen system. Marching up the metal stairs, our two HMVs sat loaded in the rear ready to be dropped off. The skin of the usually green high mobility vehicles was repainted in multicam shades upon our request. Lights shined on from above as we made our way into the front of the aircraft where we took our seats. The nine of us sat down and hooked ourselves into a small box that would supply us with onboard oxygen.

I closed my eyes.

It would be four long hours before we got to our AO (Area of Operations). Hissing from the oxygen system and the droning of the C-130H's engines filled my ears. A rush of calm washed over me. We had very little sleep two days prior to make sure our gear was in place and noting down all the different frequencies the JS Ashigara and Task Force Raiden used. Task Force Raiden had deployed weeks earlier and were steaming full speed towards Lake Min. Consisting of both light vehicles and heavy tanks, the force was nearing Lake Min. In a matter of days, the force would be upon the Min Keep. A recent air reconnaissance photo showed a force of three thousand strong camped out in an abandoned keep that fell between the warring and expanding empire and the independent states. Our job was route, area and zone reconnaissance far ahead of the Task Force. Our only support was the JS Ashigara and occasional flights of F-2Bs and F-4EJ Kais flying overhead with dumb bombs. If the Ashigara or the jets couldn't engage the target, it would be on our shoulders to take down the threat.

No pressure, right?

I slowly dozed off into a lucid dream state. Half awake, half asleep, the positive pressure system required some of my attention to constantly remember that I had to breathe out after oxygen was forced into my lungs. I had lived a combined six years strapped into the very same oxygen system but it took a while to get used to remembering to exhale.

My stomach floating for a split second. I could feel the rush of air lifting wings up high into the sky.

Low pitched buzzing turned into a high pitched whine once I slipped into another lucid dream. The constant low burbling of the single engine fighter filled my ears. My eyes blinked to see the familiar wide heads-up display in my vision complete with three multifunction colored displays. We were high above the clouds, flying at twenty-five thousand feet. There was no land in sight except for the vast shimmering blue of the ocean. Radio chatter filled my ear as I glanced right to see my aircraft flying in stable formation off the left wing of an American KC-135. Its dorsal tail had large letters printed with AK, an American flag and small yellow letters near the top of the fin spelling out Alaska with a shining star. Another F-2B was refueling, on our wings were two large fuel tanks with a smaller luggage tank underneath. A small missile like pod was fitted to our left wing tips. The airborne instrumentation subsystem pod would be used at our end destination.

Red Flag Alaska – the biggest multinational air exercise in the world.

After our arrival, ten grueling days of realistic simulated combat would ensue after a short resting period.

I watched as the lead aircraft throttled back, sliding from the boom of the fuel giving KC-135. The Viper Zero effortlessly banked right to join two other aircraft flying in stable formation off the right wing of the Stratotanker. Flickering red and green formation lights blinked brightly even in the brilliant sun overhead. Looking back into one of the three mirrors, I saw another flight of F-2As behind me and behind them were the F-15DJ Kais. A total of sixteen aircraft were flying in tight formation across the Pacific Ocean. My eyes glanced over my helmet. The grey metal was repainted a solid red with over lapping armor designs that emulated the samurai's kabuto with the words Kitsune written in both stylized English and Japanese calligraphy along the upper left of the helmet's rim. It was the same as the adopted unit markings on the rear tail fin with a stylized white samurai helmet painted on the top center of the dark blue fin.

"Ryu One-Four, cleared pre-contact," came the tanker's voice in my ears.

I flicked the air fueling door switch. A small green RDY light flickered on to the right of the wide heads-up display. My right hand pushed on the stick. The Viper Zero rolled smoothly right as we swerved right behind the tanker, slightly lower than the much larger aircraft. A reverberation briefly shook the aircraft. Pockets of turbulence from the pacific air slammed into the frame of the aircraft. Slowly and cautiously, I inched the throttle forwards and backwards. Eyes darted between the HUD and the yellow centerline painted on the KC-135. The F-2B carefully crept forward. We carefully slid under the protective shadow of the Stratotanker with the aircraft director lights coming into view. Bolted at the front of the aircraft, strips of lights labeled F (Fore), A (Aft), U (Up) and D (Down) were still dark. The boom was floating left of me as I nudged the throttle ever so slightly. I could feel the boom maneuvering around behind me, a tingling sensation traveling up and down my spine like a sixth sense. After a few seconds of tense micro adjustments, there was a dull thud from behind me.

"One-Six contact, boom interphone," a female voice called out over the comms.

"Confirm intaphone copy?" Kaze answered in Japanese accented English as I made minute adjustments, the director lights flashing on.

"Loud and clear sirs, how you doing today?" replied the boom operator.

"Good!" Hirata answered energetically, my eyes flicked towards the rearview mirror to see her both of her thumbs in reply.

"We're all good a bit tried," I said in English glancing up at the boom window, "how 'bout you boom operator?"

"We're all good up here too, you guys have a good trip up from Japan?" she asked.

"Yeah good as it can be," I grunted, "you guys going to be dragging us in all the way to Elmendorf?"

"Heck yeah," she replied.

"Awesome…you going picking up anyone after us?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah, we have the Indians, Singaporeans and Indonesians to pick up after you guys. Actually, the South Koreans and Thais just arrived a couple hours ago head of you," the boom operator explained as I nodded.

Concentrated silence settled in for a few seconds as a rush of air jostled the aircraft up a few meters. The green lights on the aircraft directors flickered from green to orange. I calmly pushed the nose down very gently to return the aircraft back into the green.

"This being uh…a special occasion since it's my first red flag. I've decided to sing a song about you boom operators. I was going to sing it to the Japanese guys but well, English doesn't translate over so well if you don't mind throwing professionalism out the door for about two minutes," I said glancing up once again at the boom operator in the window.

"Go for it!" she said excitedly over the radio.

"Alright this one goes out to you boom operator," I said and cleared my throat, "Boom operator. Boom…operator~ Please, please steady your boom because this is about the hardest thing I ever do. Boom operator, boom…operator~ Please soothe me with your sweet voice because this is the hardest thing I do. Boom operator, boom operator~ Why do you sit behind that window and laugh and mock me when I overshoot the boom? This is hard. Boom operator, boom operator~"

After a pause the boom operator giggled over the radio, "that was amazing."

"On a serious note, we appreciate the gas and the service. We wouldn't have gotten half way across the Pacific Ocean without your help," I laughed.

"Remind me to buy you a beer when we get to Elmendorf," she said, her beaming smile could be seen clearly even if we were separated by meters of fast moving air.

"You guys taking part in Red Flag?" I asked.

"Oh yeah we are," she replied with a nod.

"This is Ryu One from right wing. I apologize for wingman, he a bit crazy," my commanding officer apologized as the boom operator laughed.

"If you haven't heard it it's an homage to the same song on YouTube," I replied, the aircraft oscillate in the air slightly as it rode on the turbulent air currents of the pacific, "just search up 'Boom Operator' when you have the time."

"If you don't mind me asking sir, you are Japanese aren't you?" she asked.

"Yep," I replied, "well I'm half. Father's American, mother's Japanese. Funny thing is my father's in the United States Marines. 0372 Critical Skills Operator."

My eyes glanced over to the fuel gauge which was close to full.

"I'm topped off," I stated.

"Awesome, hopefully we'll have one or two more chance to talk before we reach Elmendorf," the boom operator said with an enthusiastic voice.

A clunk was heard from the rear. The boom disconnected as I pulled back on the throttle and watched the KC-135 slowly slid forward. I gave her a sloppy left handed salute, my right hand rocked the side stick left and right to perform a wiggle in the air much to the amusement of the boom operator. She laughed, her mouth open in the rear window of the Stratotanker as I banked right to rejoin four other F-2Bs flying off the right wing of the tanker. The four-ship F-2A formation slid forward with the lead aircraft sliding to the left wingtip of the KC-135 in preparation for refueling. We drifted rearward, creating separation between the tanker to allow the other aircraft to refuel.

"You're crazy Kitsune you know that?" Hirata laughed from behind.

I was shaken awake, the jump master now standing in front of me.

His hands flashed ten fingers in my face as I nodded.

"Everyone awake?" I spoke into the mask.

"Only you can fall asleep with this contraption on Captain," replied Ige, the SBU member sitting across from me.

"You should check Kazuki," Sanada said with a small chuckle as he smacked the older man on the chest, "hey old man you awake?"

"I'm awake you rascals," Kazuki growled.

"You woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," Ishihara muttered, comfortably leaned back on the military seat.

"I'm just sad I had to brush off Maya-chan," Kazuki sighed, "I was so crushed when I saw her saddened face."

"What are you going to do with the week furlough before we get assigned to the Ashigara?" Sanada asked Kazuki as the Inspector shrugged.

"I'll probably go around Akihabara and visit the maids at the maid cafe. They probably miss me," Kazuki replied.

"Not visiting your kids?" Okuda asked, adjusting his mask, "I really hate this thing."

"Those two are in college, they don't need me anymore," Kazuki snorted.

Kazuki was a widower.

A byproduct of being an exemplary policeman and SWAT team member in every single way. Too exemplary. He rarely came home even when it was a few kilometers away. The combination of a worsening marriage and awkwardly distant with his kids, Kazuki often spent his nights in the police bureau working on cases and constantly on call. Once in a blue moon, he'd show up for his children's school activities and often observed from a distance. He'd been sitting on twenty days of leave, the maximum any government worker can accrue. His wife died shortly after their divorce in a work place accident. While technically a guardian, his kids were constantly distant only visiting him one each year to report on what they had done throughout the school year like subordinates. With both kids now enrolled into the prestigious Tokyo University, he had cut them loose, only paying for their salary and living cost.

The interior lights flickered into a red hue as the loadmaster raised his hands.

We stood up and disconnected the onboard oxygen, the weight pressing down on my legs once again.

"Let's go over the mission objectives quickly before we jump," I said, waddling forward towards the center of the C-130H.

"Our callsign is Okami," Ikeda regurgitated the briefing robotically, "main role is force recon. Area, zone and route reconnaissance for Task Force Raiden under the command of Colonel Kengun. First objective is to observe enemy patrol patterns and plot a course for Raiden to advance towards Min Keep. Second objective, support the offensive by infiltrating the castle walls. Third objective, find and capture the commander of the resistance at Min Keep, alive. Am I missing anything?"

"You're frightening robotic Lieutenant," Sawada muttered as we stood just a few inches in front of the HMVs.

The loadmaster spryly jogged towards the rear of the aircraft, moving around the packaged vehicles with no effort. A rush of cold air sucked out the warm atmosphere from inside as the muffled clunk of the ramp was heard. The female crew member moved in front of us. She was just a few feet away from us when the clang of the rear ramp locking open reverberated through the interior of the C-130H before quickly being smothered by the howling winds outside. I felt the sweat pulled from my exposed neck by the nipping cold winds. The crewman raised her hands and placed them in front of her.

"Right, HMVs go first. Then, we wait for another two minutes then jump. They should be down by the time we pull our chutes. The HMVs should be spaced about one hundred fifty meters or so apart, look for the IR strobes. Our LZ is right in between them," I quickly reminded my team as they nodded in reply.

Two more crew members appeared from behind us, walking silently across the metal deck of the transport aircraft. They placed their hands on the tarped front of the Toyota and leaned over to wait for the loadmaster's command. I waited in bated silence. Oxygen hissed and the muffled howling air in my ears. An electric feeling shot through my body in anticipation of the jump despite my burning legs. A tingling sensation washed over my body from my head. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I heard my heart start to beat faster. I leaned over to see the loadmaster walking back towards us, the HMVs taking much of the space offered by the large transport. With his body and oxygen hose clear of the HMVs, the loadmaster smacked back of the crewmen's helmet. Their arms bulged underneath the flight suit as they pushed the front of the HMV. I watched the Toyotas slowly slide backwards with minimal force as we waddled closely behind, far too slow to catch up to the speeding vehicle sliding backwards.

I watched the second vehicle drop after a few seconds, follow its brother down into the dark abyss. The military Mega Cruiser rolled down the ramp. Lifting off the ramp with a loud clunk, titling dangerously backwards just as a drogue chute was pulled out from beneath the tarp. A green chute extended from the covered pallet. Within seconds, the blanketed HMV disappeared into the darkness. We lined up into two rows of four as I gripped onto a metal pipe for support. Standing on the ramp, the wind blasted against my legs. I could barely keep stead now that everything down to my ankles were basically one solid piece. Seconds later, I felt my body roll slightly to one side. The C-130H started banking to begin a shallow one eighty degree turn that would bring us back to the drop zone. My arm and legs burned with effort trying to keep one hundred sixty kilograms from tumbling into the side of the aircraft. A sky filled with stairs slowly revolved around us as the aircraft leveled out, I pulled down my night vision goggles with the loadmaster crouched beside me. His own goggles were down and staring down at the terrain below us. I glanced over his shoulder trying to see the ground far below. I saw nothing but zipping streams of opaque white underneath the aircraft. There were no lights between the layers of briskly moving precipitation. With the Mediterranean winter came rain and with rain, cover.

The loadmaster raised his hand, a balled up fist.

He then pointed his index finger out the rear of the aircraft.

"Jump, jump, jump," I calmly ordered into the radio, waving my men onwards.

The female crewmen waved the two rows forward as she stood on the ramp held securely in place by a thick cord rigged to the metal deck of the aircraft. I watched my men waddle awkwardly to the edge of the ramp. They stood for a few moments with their boots hanging over the edge. Their own body weight pulled them off the aircraft. Each man plummeted into the darkness below. One by one they jumped. With each one that disappeared into the void, I kept count. All eight men were accounted for with me being the last. With the eighth and last man, I let go of the pipe and glanced into the back of the now empty cargo bay of the Hercules. My eyes scanned the interior looking for anything that was out of place that we might have missed.

"Cabin clear," I verbally checked before slapping the loadmaster's helmet and giving him a salute, "thanks for the ride."

The loadmaster looked back, giving me a quick salute. I shuffled to the edge of the ramp and gave another salute to the crewmember ushering my men out the aircraft. It was a tough balancing act as I nudged my boots slowly towards empty air. It was a strange but already familiar feeling as I flexed my toes over the emptiness of air. Teetering on the edge, I glanced down at the terrifyingly dark earth below. There were no lights. Not even the moonlight above could illuminate an entire world devoid of electricity. Getting on the aircraft was the easy part, walking to the ramp itself was the easy part. Now it was time for me to step into the unknown. A million things rushed into my head. Was my parachute packed okay, what was my objective for the day, why am I even here? All those questions were answered within a span of seconds. Two final questions popped into my own head.

Is this operation justified in my mind?

Are you committed?

Yes, and yes.

I shifted my weight.

My heart started to race as I leaned forward. A small movement sent me falling over the edge. My stomach rose into my neck as I was being pulled down towards the ground by gravity. The buzzing of the C-130's four engines were quickly replaced by the rustling of air whizzing past my helmet. I was plummeting in the darkness while the green hue of the abyss revealed nothing to me except for dots of flashing light from below.

Huff, huff. Pssst.

Badump, badump, badump.

My breathing quickened and the beating heart loud in my ears. I flicked my wrist, glancing at the altimeter. Twenty thousand feet. Nothing was visible, the blanket of darkness still extending throughout my vision. Below me, the flashing lights disappeared. A very brief moment of panic set in, a knot in my stomach. Moments of tense silence passed by as nothing seemed to happen. I was alone in the night surrounded by nothing but bright shimmering and sparkling stars that were plentiful in the skies. Some would give up a life surrounded by electricity and lights for this, I thought. This other world was truly beautiful. Streaks of transparent light green slid across my night vision goggles. Blurs of bulbous veins slipped smoothly across the desert goggles. Ice cold pellets struck my exposed neck. Stinging pain was all that I felt as fabric started to turn wet and soaked up the liquid.

Rain.

I glanced up, trying to read my altimeter. My limbs were disappearing in and out of view a lighter green fog obscuring my view. Numbness started to set into my exposed neck and wrist after being repeatedly bombarded by both the rain and wind. Seconds spent inside the obscuring cloud was starting to make me dangerously complacent. It felt like I was going nowhere, suspended in the air save for the buffeting wind. I shook my head slightly to regain focus. Glancing back up at the altimeter, it read twelve thousand feet. It was a dangerous game freefalling through thick dark clouds filled with precipitation. A lapse of focus could send the sky diver shooting out of the clouds well below three thousand feet, too late to open their chutes. One moment the ground and everything around me was invisible, the next the gentle curves of the earth and grasslands snapped into view. I shot out of the nimbus and into heavy rain. Falling faster than the rain drops, I could still feel the liquid pelting my body. Flashing lights were once again in full view and two bright white lights shot from the ground and into sky. Far below me, I saw the open rectangular canopies of my teammates gliding downwards in between the two white lights.

Eight thousand feet.

My breathing started to slow. Deep and paced, I kept my eyes glued to the altimeter. That sense of weightlessness was about to be gone. The horizon started to slowly come into view. Thick clouds of rain smothered the curved earth. Visibility was poor, only a few kilometers at least and even then there was not much to see except for open land. Lines of purposefully made dirt roads crisscrossed the terrain like dividing lines for property that seemed to snake on forever avoiding hills, streams and often favored flat land.

Four thousand feet.

I waved my hands to and from my head three times, signaling that I was going to open my parachute. My left hand gripped the red toggle on the shoulder strap and yanked it to the left. Harnesses tightened around me, jerking me backwards into the air. The howling wind was quickly subsided by my rapid deceleration. The greenish canopy unfurled itself above me. Freefalling came to a sudden end. The same heavy weight returned, pulling down on my waist and torso straps. My eyes locked onto the leftmost HMV. Hands pulled the left control toggle close to my shoulder. I heard the crumpling of the parafoil being pulled on as I entered into a steep downward spiral towards the ground. The eerie green of the ground quickly loomed up to meet me. Blinking lights slowly became man sized shapes, the soldiers pulling their chutes in. As I closed towards the ground, I eased tension on the left toggle. My right hand went to the paracord tied around the front of my belt. I undid the knot and unclipped the metal clasps holding it to my pack. The rucksack dropped down from my thighs, flipping mid-air into its correct upright position giving my body a strong jolt from its heavy weight as it did.

Toggles were pulled close to my body as I flared to soften in impact. The pack touched down with a dull splat amidst the pouring rain. Pitter-patter of raindrops soaked my helmet through its ventilation holes. My legs sank into the muddied grass with a loud splash. Water and mud splattered against the tough fabric. Boots sank into the muddied ground. I struggled to stay upright as the wind blew into the canopy of my chute. Turning around, I pulled the cords with my arms against the strong gust. Centimeter by centimeter, the chute was slowly reeled in and before long was stuffed back deep inside the MC-4 pack. The parachute pack was shrugged off and oxygen mask quickly disconnected while the radio jacks were rearranged for normal communications. After stuffing the oxygen mask into the parachute bag, I shrugged on the rucksack and picked up the parachute bag. It was a short fifty-meter jog to the HMV where I found Sawada, Ige and Okuda already finished with their post-jump routines.

The rain continued to pour down on us as I threw my gear into the back of the HMV. The four of us unfastened the straps holding the vehicle down. Honeycomb cardboard papers were crushed in the cushioning of the heavy vehicle. Both on the rear and front wheels, the eleven layers of cardboard stacked underneath the mid-section had five layers compacted during the touchdown. We knocked the cushioning out from underneath the vehicle's center. Okuda jumped into the driver's seat and drove the vehicle off the metal pallet. Camouflage netting was pulled over the entirety of the pallet while the chutes were balled up inside. The same IR light used to home us in on the vehicles were mounted on top of the netting for the task force to pick up. They would be here within two to four days at the latest. The pallets themselves were off any known trail the Empire used.

"Urgh," Sawada grunted, pulling on his combat shirt stuck to his chest, "I'm sopping wet."

"The sooner we mount the weapons the better," Ishihara replied.

In the rear of the HMV's closed trunk, we pulled out two heavy weapons. The HMV was without doors. Weight was an important factor since we were going to eat, sleep and fight from the vehicle for the next week. Food and fuel supplies were stuffed to the brim at the rear of the two vehicles with our additional equipment and gear hung on the outside. Camouflage netting were also installed in easy to unroll bundles along the roof of the Toyotas. A small swivel system was installed on the front passenger side. I placed the M249 on its pintle and secured it with both rope and pin. An M2 Browning manufactured by Sumitomo was mounted on top. An hour seemed to come and go before we were ready to depart. Inventory was checked, equipment made sure they were fastened and weapons were prepped to fire.

Grunting, I slid into the passenger seat my rear end numb from cold and rain. I grabbed the radiophone and shoved it between my Comtacs.

"Raiden, Raiden, this is Okami how do you receive me?" I spoke into the radio as Okuda started the vehicle.

"Raiden, Okami, four by three," came the soft static filled voice.

"Raiden, Okami has touched down. Repeat Okami has touched down Requesting pallet pick-ups at grid…," I paused, pulling out a large laminated and inaccurate map of the area drawn by one of the travelers coming and going from Alnus Hill, "58 64 34 Charlie, 24 Echo. Marked by IR light and covered by camo netting how copy?"

"58 64 34 Charlie, 24 Echo. Marked IR, solid copy Okami. Proceed with mission objectives. Maintain radio contact every four hours. Raiden out," came the quick reply.

I glanced over to Okuda and nodded.

"All victors, all victors, let's get this show on the road gentlemen," I ordered into my headset.