A week later, Barnes and Wensky were escorted by Samantha, Katie, Reaper, and two squads of Stormtroopers out of the elevator and onto the surface of Area 51. Barnes stretched as he felt the warmth of the sun heating his body,
"You like that do you?" Samantha asked Barnes as she smiled, who nodded with his eyes closed, Wensky wasn't impressed and snorted
"We'll let you guys walk around and get your exercise today, but tomorrow your training will start." Reaper said to Barnes and Wensky "I also suggest you try to avoid other dragons until then."
Barnes snorted as he got up and trotted away, Wensky followed him and so did Samantha
"Should we keep an eye on them sir?" A Stormtrooper asked Reaper
"Nah." Reaper replied as he head back to the elevator
"You act like you don't even miss being human!" Wensky cried to Barnes as he caught up
"I do, but we might as well get used to these bodies, because we're going to be stuck with them for a while." Barnes replied
Wensky snorted
"If you say so…" Wensky said under his breath
"Hey at least you still have two legs to walk on, I have four." Barnes said to Wensky
"True." Wensky replied "I should I have just shot that Blackwater soldier. But can't you stand and walk on your hind legs? Because I've seen Toothless do it."
"Yes." Barnes said to Wensky "But I walk faster with all four."
"You look just like that Night Fury I saw back during Bodyguard." Wensky said to Barnes "Except it had yellow-green eyes like Toothless'."
"I forgot that it was you who saw it." Barnes replied "And didn't it kidnap you?"
"Yes and it dropped me in a ravine and watched me for several hours before it lost interest and flew off." Wensky said to Barnes "So what should we do?"
"Well I suggest we try getting a head start on our training." Barnes replied "We should probably start with self defense since that is going to be the most important."
"Well if rank still applies to us, you're the colonel and I'm the lieutenant, lead the way." Wensky said to Barnes
"So what do you think they're talking about?" Katie asked Samantha as she caught up
"I don't know I can't understand dragon." Samantha replied as Barnes "I think we should volunteer to be their riders, since command is going probably give them ones."
"Sam, you don't even know how to ride a horse!" Katie said to Samantha
"I'm sure the dragon riders will help us learn how to." Samantha replied "Plus I'm not wanting them to give Barnes a rider, who doesn't even know him."
"Fine." Katie said to Samantha as she looked at Barnes and Wensky "Uh where did they go?"
Samantha looked at where Barnes and Wensky were and realized they were gone, she then looked around and realized they were heading to a empty lot of land between two groups of hangars
"Lets start with the hard stuff first and work our way down, for firsts lets try fire breathing." Barnes said as he and Wensky stopped in the lot, Barnes looked at a rusted US army truck that was in the lot, he got into a good position and then tried to use a fire blast on the truck, but gagged and started coughing, green gas came out of his mouth
"Not as easy as it looks?" Wensky asked Barnes, who looked at him, snorted, and then tried again, but only gagged some more and coughed, but this time no green gas came out of his mouth
Samantha and Katie caught up and watched as Barnes tried again
"Don't hurt yourself!" Samantha cried out to Barnes as he tried a forth time, this time a indigo colored fireball came out and slammed into the truck and blew up, Barnes snorted in happiness as the truck fell over with a gapping hole in it's side as Samantha and Katie clapped, the Dragon riders who were in one of the hangars heard the fire blast and ran out to investigate
"I see that Barnes has already started his training!" Astrid said to Samantha and Katie as Wensky started to try using an oil drum as a target as Barnes continued to practice
"Just take your time Wensky." Barnes said to Wensky as he tried for a 5th time, this time a white plume of Magnesium fire shot out of his mouth and melted down half of the oil drum, Wensky snorted as he watched oil drum continue to melt
"Well they got fire breathing down at least." Hiccup said to Samantha "I was actually worried about that since most dragons know how to breathe fire as soon as they hatch."
"They still need to learn how to fly." Snotlout said to Hiccup
"That will be easy for Barnes no doubt, but Wensky on the other hand." Hiccup replied
Barnes looked at his wings that were folded, Wensky snorted
"Don't worry Wensky I'll help teach you." Barnes said to Wensky "But right now we need to finish learning how to defend ourselves."
Meanwhile below the ground in Area 51, Twones, Reaper, and Karlson were discussing their future plans
"The Russians have arrested most of Blackwater's suppliers except Medvedev as we requested, although they weren't happy about it and we have sent people to arrest the suppliers within our borders." Twones said to Reaper
"Good, we'll go after Medvedev after Barnes and Wensky are combat ready." Reaper replied
"I've sent forward recon teams to Medvedev's facility, not much to my surprise is that he has a Blackwater bodyguard to protect his ass." Karlson said to Reaper and Twones "Blackwater isn't his only customer either; he's also sold weapons to the United Arabian States and other groups."
"There's no wondering about why the Russians weren't happy about not being able to go after him." Reaper replied "But onto different issues, we need to think about a strategy to use when we go on the offensive against Blackwater and Gene Corp themselves."
"Well after studying Blackwater's battlefield strategies and the performance of forces, I have realized that Blackwater seems to suffer when fighting in open environments like in the deserts south of Las Vegas, largely due to our use of combined arms." Karlson said to Reaper and Twones "But when fighting in urban areas, Blackwater performs exceptionally well."
"So we go around the cities and control the countryside?" Reaper replied "Seems reasonable, but we don't know what Blackwater will do to the civilians still inside the cities."
"Then we provide weapons to the resistance groups inside the cities and they start uprisings to distract Blackwater forces as we move into the cities." Twones said to Reaper "We've done stuff like that before."
Reaper nodded
"Then we could also send in Alfa Squads to neutralize important officers to add onto the chaos." Reaper replied
Later that Night, Barnes and Wensky were asleep in an empty hangar as Toothless quietly came in and approached Barnes, when he was close enough he started to sniff Barnes as he slept, Toothless' artificial tail flap accidental knocked Wensky on the head, waking him up, Wensky screamed before accidentally flipping over onto his side. Before Toothless could react, Barnes got up and then pounced on Toothless, pinning him by the wings
"Nice try there." Barnes said to Toothless under his breath
"I wasn't trying anything!" A voice said in Barnes' heard
"Who was that?" Barnes replied into the darkness
"Me!" Toothless said to Barnes as Barnes looked at him "Can you please get off of me! I wasn't going to hurt you or that idiot over there!"
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Wensky cried out as he struggled to get back up.
Barnes got off Toothless, who flipped over back onto his legs and got up
"Sorry for awakening you and your friend." Toothless said to Barnes apologetically "I just heard Hiccup and the other riders talking about you guys last week and was curious if what they were saying was true."
"How did you talk in my mind like that?" Barnes replied
"You have a lot to learn human." Toothless said to Barnes "And I'm going to teach you and your friend over there."
Barnes nodded
"Well can you help me flip him over then?" Barnes asked Toothless motioning to Wensky who was still struggling to get up, Toothless nodded and walk over to Wensky with Barnes and helped him flip over, Wensky got up and shook himself before snorting
"Thanks." Wensky said to Barnes and Toothless "And my name is Adam Wensky not idiot."
"Sorry." Toothless replied
"Well at least you're friendly." Barnes said to Toothless "So is Toothless your actual name?"
"Yes, but I prefer Toothless." Toothless replied
"Okay." Barnes said Toothless "Well you should probably get back to Hiccup because it's supposed to storm tonight and I know from experience that the storms we have here get pretty rough, probably due to the workings of the scientists here."
"I think I'll stay here with you guys." Toothless replied
"Suit yourself." Barnes said as he went back to his corner and laid back down and quickly falling asleep, Wensky lay back down in his spot and laid his head down, but stayed awake as he watched toothless with one eye facing towards him as Toothless laid down next to Barnes and tried falling asleep
"I can't sleep with you watching me like that!" Toothless hissed at Wensky telepathically
Wensky's pupil narrowed
"How did you do that?" Wensky replied quietly
"I'll teach you later if you stop staring at me!" Toothless said to Wensky, who closed his eyes as Toothless closed his eyes and fell asleep
The Next Day; Barnes, Toothless, Wensky, The Dragon Riders, and the other riding dragons got off an APM heavy VTOL that took them to a cliff overlooking Area 51 and the other facilities in the area
"If you haven't already guessed, we're going to teach you guys have to fly again." Hiccup said to Barnes and Wensky as they went to the edge of the cliff and looked down, Wensky gulped, Barnes looked at him
"This is nothing compared to the heights I flew at in my f-45." Barnes said to Wensky
"How high could get in that thing anyway?" Toothless asked Barnes
"I got high enough once that I saw a Shockwave Cannon Satellite up close, but the F-45s my dad's men use could fly higher than that." Barnes replied "Other words I was way above the clouds, but it is preferred that we fly near the ground, even during Wartime."
"Okay since Barnes has the most experience, we'll let him go first." Hiccup said to Barnes and Wensky, Barnes nodded and expanded his wings as Hiccup got onto Toothless and prepared for flight as well
"Let your wings catch the wind and use them as if you were sailing." Toothless said to Barnes
"Sailing…I've done that before." Barnes replied
"Follow our lead!" Hiccup said to Barnes as he and Toothless took off, Barnes copied Toothless and jumped off the cliff and let his wings catch the updraft that lifted in the air, Barnes then started to fly
"Good! Good! Now be sure not to flap your wings too fast or too hard or you'll tire yourself out!" Toothless said to Barnes as he flew alongside him and Hiccup
Barnes snorted happily and did a barrel roll
"Now this is where I belong!" Barnes said happily
"Don't get too fancy!" Hiccup replied as behind them, Wensky took off with Astrid and Thorn, Wensky almost knocked into Thorn as they were taking off, Thorn began to shout angrily at Wensky, who continued to fly clumsily
"Just relax Wensky!" Barnes said to Wensky
"I'm trying!" Wensky replied
Meanwhile Karlson was walking around Area 51 when he saw Tesla working on her Enforcer Tank, he approached her
"You've always cared about that tank more than anything else." Karlson said to Tesla
"I don't want to get into it with you Karl." Tesla replied without turning around
"Well I do, I only want to know what I did wrong that made you leave!" Karlson said to Tesla
Tesla turned around to look at Karlson, she crossed her arms, her face was covered with oil and other filth and her hair was in a pony tail
"Why are you so concerned about the past? Shouldn't you be helping Reaper winning the war?" Tesla replied
"Reaper is at Cape Girardeau with Garter and Conrad to oversee the mobilization of the 1st Shock Army." Karlson said to Tesla
Tesla sighed and closed her eyes as she rubbed her temples
"I don't want to talk about right now, okay." Tesla replied "I already have enough to worry about."
Tesla turned around and started to work on her Enforcer tank again. Karlson sighed and walked away
"Why is it that every time I find a woman I love, she turns out to be a total *$#$%!" Karlson said in his mind
Meanwhile near Cape Girardeau; Reaper, Garter, and Conrad were inspecting the 1st Shock Army as it was loaded onto airships that would take them to Nevada. A Shock Army is a combination of forces from both all the branches of the US Military and the APM designed for offensive operations usually headed by a US or APM Five Star General.
"We are at 100% combat effectiveness." Conrad said to Reaper and Garter "We're ready to flatten Blackwater's measly army when you give the order Mr. President."
"Good to hear, general." Garter replied "But we're going to wait until the 2nd Shock Army is ready, which should by next weekend."
Conrad nodded
"I was hoping we would never have to do this again after WWIII." Reaper said as he watched the USAS Sikeston take off followed by the and Kansas City
"A lot of us did, Reaper." Conrad said to Reaper "But unfortunately this war has given us no other choice."
Meanwhile back with Barnes and Wensky; The Dragon Riders had left Barnes and Wensky alone to get used to flying
"Can we stop now?" Wensky said to Barnes "I'm getting tired and my wings are starting to hurt!"
"Stop your whining Wensky." Barnes replied "And I'm sure in hell they made you walk longer than this in training camp if you had an instructor that was anything like mine!"
"True!" Wensky said to Barnes "Did you have Drill Sergeant Lowell?"
"Yes!" Barnes replied "That is one tough SOFB!"
"I agree!" Wensky said to Banes "Hey Barnes, after they sedated me when I woke up, I heard your dad talking about mine. I didn't' know t they served together in the same unit during the Civil War!"
"I did." Barnes replied "Yeah, Luger's great great great grandfather was also in the same unit with them."
"Luger, as in Charles Luger, the CEO of Blackwater?" Wensky asked Barnes
"Yeah." Barnes replied "His name was Xavier Luger and he was the machine gunner of the squad, he died during the invasion of the Illinois in 2015. He had a wife who left him and fled to Germany after the war began, her grandson moved back to the states after WWIII."
"Damn." Wensky said to Barnes "How the hell did he end up on the bad side?"
"I don't know." Barnes replied "Let's get back to A51 before night falls."
"So what do you think we're learning next?" Wensky asked Barnes
"I don't know, we'll have to wait until tomorrow." Barnes replied
The Next Day, Barnes snorted angrily as Hiccup fitted a riding saddle on him
"Just shut up and get used to it, your father requested that we did this." Hiccup said to Barnes "There we go all done."
Barnes looked back at the saddle and growled before moving on, Wensky was having his saddle fitted on by Astrid, unlike Barnes, he had no problem having the saddle put on him as Barnes went up to Toothless
"How can you stand wearing one of these all the time?" Barnes asked Toothless
"You'll get used to it." Toothless replied telepathically "Do you know who your rider is?"
"I don't know yet." Barnes replied
Astrid finished putting the saddle on Wensky, Wensky joined Barnes and Toothless
"So when are you going to teach us to talk with our minds?" Wensky asked Toothless
"Right after the flight." Toothless replied
"Do you know if we could use it to communicate with humans?" Barnes asked Toothless
"No, no dragon I know of has tried yet." Toothless replied
Barnes nodded
"Well then I guess I'll be the first." Barnes said to Toothless
Meanwhile Samantha was putting her armor on in preparation for her first flight on Barnes when Katie, who was Wensky's rider finished getting ready and approached her
"First time we've worn these in a while." Katie said to Samantha as she looked at Samantha's armor that had recently been cleaned "I wonder why Reaper requested that we wear full gear during the flight."
"If you've known him as long as I've had Kat, you'll know that Reaper is always planning something." Samantha replied "I'm guessing he already has our first on Barnes and Wensky planned out."
"Hmmmm, I wonder how we're going to solve the language barrier." Katie asked Samantha
"I don't know, the engineers are working on a solution." Samantha replied as she put her boot knife into her boot before putting her sidearm into it's holster strapped onto one of the leg pieces of her A-1 armor
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Katie asked Samantha "I mean there is other ways of helping Barnes and Wensky."
"Yes I'm sure I want to do this." Samantha replied "And this is the best way to help them, if you don't want to do this, then don't."
"And miss the fun?" Katie said to Samantha "You've seem to have forgotten the motto of our division."
"Never drop and work alone." Samantha replied "Sometimes I miss being in the 30th."
"You never left." Katie said to Samantha "I wonder where the division is at anyway."
"Last time I heard from Sophia they're one of the divisions being assembled as part of the 1st Shock." Samantha replied as she finished getting "Well let's go."
Samantha and Katie left the barracks they were in and went to find the others
Meanwhile Barnes and Karlson were watching from the Air Traffic Control Tower as Samantha and Katie joined the group, Hiccup and Astrid began to show them how to properly ride in the saddle
"I wished Tesla was as loyal as Sam." Karlson said as he watched Samantha get onto Barnes' riding and put her feet into the footholders
"Barnes and Samantha have known each other longer than Tesla has known you." Reaper replied "According to my sources they first in Sinai during the Clan Wars."
"I knew of Tesla back then, but that was when she was still being evaluated for recruitment." Karlson said to Reaper
"Well Barnes and Samantha have been more intermediate that you and Tesla is what I meant." Reaper replied "I doubt neither of them can survive without the other. Do you even know why Tesla left you."
Karlson shook his head
"I tried asking her yesterday, she told me "Not Know" as she always does." Karlson said to Reaper "That woman is a damn enigma sometimes."
"Have you ever thought she could be pregnant?" Barnes asked Karlson
"What? No!" Karlson replied "If she was, we would have known by now!"
"Well did you do anything that could have possibly pissed her off?" Reaper asked Karlson
"Not that I know of." Karlson replied "Reaper, you did things that pissed Catherine off and she never left you!"
Reaper looked at Karlson with a dark look
"Sorry" Karlson replied to the look, Reaper looked back at the dragon riders below
"You're forgiven." Reaper said under his breathe
Meanwhile Samantha and Katie got used to the controls of the riding equipment as Barnes and Wensky talked to each other
"Why aren't you two married yet?" Wensky asked Barnes
"That would be none of your business, Wensky." Barnes replied "Then why haven't you asked Katie out on a date yet."
Wensky looked away with an embarrassment
"Good comeback." Wensky replied "I could just never get the guts to ask."
"You could charge a Facepuncher, French, or Blackwater soldier that was firing you, but yet you can't even ask the woman you love out a date." Barnes said to Wensky
"It's more complicated than that!" Wensky cried at Barnes
"Hey! What's going on?" Katie asked Barnes and Wensky, who looked away at each other, Katie then continued to learn how to use the saddles
"Sorry." Barnes said to Wensky
"It's okay." Wensky replied
"Okay I think I'm ready." Samantha said to Hiccup
"I think I am too." Katie said to Hiccup shortly afterwards
Barnes looked at Samantha and smiled before he jumped and took off into the air, Samantha screaming as she held onto the saddle
"That was familiar." Astrid said to Hiccup
Wensky snorted expand his wings and took off after Barnes and Samantha
Meanwhile in the skies over Area 51, Barnes reached a good altitude before stopping and flew slowly in the air as Samantha caught her breath
"Don't do that!" Samantha said between deep breathes
Barnes snorted and smiled as Samantha caught her breath and looked at the surrounding sky and Area 51 below as Wensky and Katie caught up
"I think I could used to this!" Katie yelled to Samantha as Wensky started to fly alongside Barnes "It's beautiful up here!"
Barnes smiled as he continued to fly as the Dragon Riders caught up on their dragons
"You're doing fine for beginners!" Hiccup said to Samantha and Katie
"Well I had some previous experience flying." Samantha replied "Before he got turned into a dragon, Barnes used to take me up in his F-45 for fun."
Barnes snorted
"Speaking about F-45s, whatever happened to Ramirez and the others?" Snotlout asked Samantha "I haven't seen them in a while."
"They're still around; they're just always going back and forth from missions." Samantha replied "Reaper said they're always checking up on us and as soon as Barnes and Wensky are ready, we're going to join them again."
Barnes smiled; Samantha scratched the top of his head
"Their training is almost done so that could be happening the near future." Hiccup said to Barnes and Samantha "Reaper said that he has one more test he wants you guys to do that involves some kind of flying robots."
"You mean UAVs?" Samantha replied
"Yeah those, he showed one of them too me, he said it's what they use to train pilots." Hiccup said to Samantha "Barnes probably knows what I'm talking about."
Barnes nodded
Later that day; Toothless and Thorn was with Barnes and Wensky, training them how to communicate telepathically
"Just say it in your mind like your talking to me." Toothless said to Barnes telepathically as Barnes was trying "Just relax."
"I'm trying!" Barnes replied in this mind
"I heard that." Toothless said to Barnes telepathically "Just do it like you did then, but don't strain yourself as much."
"Thanks Toothless." Barnes replied telepathically "This will be useful for sure, because we will be able to communicate without giving away our position, now only if we knew if we could communicate with humans this way."
"Well as I said before, no dragon has tried it before, but that doesn't mean you can't." Toothless said to Barnes
"Why hasn't a dragon tried communicating with humans before anyway if the war between you and us are over?" Barnes asked Toothless
"I really have no idea." Toothless replied "I guess we never saw any reason why."
"Well I guess I'm going to be the first." Barnes said as he left the hangar
"I really hope he knows what he's doing." Thorn said to Toothless
"I hope he does too." Toothless replied "But if he succeeds, it will help both him and us."
Meanwhile Reaper, Karlson, and several other 1st Legion officers were reviewing the plans for the operation in Russia to capture General Medvedev
"The Russians have recently transferred the general to the Kurils, but despite the change in location, our forward recon teams report that he is continuing his deals with Blackwater." Karlson said as he pointed to the facility on the map "The Island is largely uninhabited besides the small Russian military outpost there. But despite the presence of the Russian Military, our recon teams have confirmed the presence of Blackwater forces on the island, serving as Medvedev's bodyguard at manor provided to him by the Russian government."
"How well armed are the Blackwater forces on the island?" An APMSF Officer asked Karlson
"To avoid detection from the Russian military, the Blackwater forces on this island are only lightly armed; they have no heavy weaponry, airpower, or artillery. They have a few armored SUVs and that's it." Karlson replied "So Blackwater won't be much of a challenge."
"What are we going to do about the Rusky forces on the island?" The APMSF Officer asked Reaper
"The Russian forces on the island have orders from Moscow to stay out of our way and assist if needed." Reaper replied "Moscow is trying to keep this secret from its people, so the Russians will likely stay out of the way."
"I guess since Blackwater's forces aren't going to be challenge, we're not going to bring excessive firepower as well?" Tesla asked Reaper
"No, we will have all of our heavy weaponry in reserve off shore if they're needed." Reaper replied "Blackwater knows how to hide shit very well, so they may have a few surprises waiting for us. But this attack will rely on infantry and airpower if everything goes as planned."
"This is not our usual operation, isn't this what one of those special operations groups are for?" A Female APMSF Officer asked Karlson and Reaper
"Yes, but we're also using this operation to test Barnes' and Wensky's combat abilities as dragons." Karlson replied
Twones came into the room; he was carrying a PDA and motioned to Reaper to come with him
"Hold on." Reaper said as he approached Twones "What is it Twones, we're kind of busy here."
"I found a match to the collars that Magnusson described to us." Twones said to Reaper as he handed the PDA that showed him a file "During the late months of the clan wars, the Facepunchers were working on Mind Control collar as part of Project Nova, a single prototype was made, but it was destroyed after Cairo fell to prevent it from falling into enemy hands and it was never tested. It is believed that the blueprints were stored in one of many bunkers scattered across the North African deserts. And I'm guessing that is why MacTavish had so much interest in those bunkers."
"Good find." Reaper replied "We should have hunted down and destroyed those damn bunkers after the war ended."
"We did, but we were never able to find some of them since the Facepunchers destroyed a lot of their records before the war ended." Twones said to Reaper "And unfortunately Gene Corp has found the last remaining bunkers and who knows what else MacTavish has found in those bunkers, Project Nova wasn't just limited to Genetic experiments and mind control."
"I know, me and my men have seen and fought products of Nova before the end of the war." Reaper replied "We're lucky that the war ended before they could actually put any of those weapons to effective use."
"Isn't it true that you and your men stormed the main Project Nova research facility?" Twones asked Reaper
"Yes and even now that battle still gives me nightmares." Reaper replied gravely and coldly "It's the only battle in which we took heavy causalities, after the battle was over, we used like sixty or eighty bunker busters to destroy it and then we called in several shockwave cannon strikes to finish the job to make sure we never had to fight against that kind of weapons again."
"Damn." Twones said to Reaper "What kind of weapons did the Facepunchers have there?"
"The kind of weapons that make the Atomic bomb look likes a child's toy." Reaper replied "And that's probably a under statement."
Meanwhile Barnes had found Samantha talking to Ramirez and Carmen in the hangar that contained the 502nd's F-45s that included Barnes'
"Well right on cue." Ramirez said as Barnes came into the hangar, Barnes snorted happily to Ramirez as hello "Good to see you too."
"Well here goes nothing." Barnes said in his mind "Sam, can you hear me?"
Samantha looked at Barnes with a bewildered look
"Did you just talk?" Samantha asked Barnes surprised
"Hey it works." Barnes replied "I guess you could consider it talking…"
"What is it?" Ramirez asked Samantha
"I think Barnes is communicating with me somehow." Samantha replied
"How can he?" Carmen said to Samantha "He's not even moving his mouth!"
"Oh shut up Carmen." Barnes replied
"Oh, I see what you mean now." Carmen said to Samantha surprised
"Are you guys going nuts on me?" Ramirez asked Carmen and Samantha
"No they're not." Barnes said to Ramirez "Toothless just taught me how to do this and this is supposedly the first time a dragon has tried this with a human."
"Wait, so dragons can communicate telepathically?" Samantha said to Barnes, who nodded
"Yeah." Barnes replied "This could be useful later."
"What's going on in here?" Hiccup asked them as he entered the hangar
"We're just having a discussion." Barnes replied
"Wait did Barnes just-." Hiccup stammered
"Yes, but telepathically." Samantha replied
"Telewhat?" Hiccup asked Samantha
"It means he's talking to us with his mind." Samantha replied "Toothless just taught him how to do this, he says this is the first time a dragon has tried it with a human."
"Well that solves the language barrier problem." Carmen said to the others
The next day; Reaper watched as Barnes and Wensky with Katie and Samantha riding them attacked the training drones as Garter and Chavez came into the room
"I see that Barnes and Wensky are about done with their training." Garter said to Reaper as he stood next to him
"This is their last test before we give them their first mission." Reaper replied
"Should I even ask what the mission is?" Garter asked Reaper
"No, we can't risk a breach in security with that traitor running freely in our ranks." Reaper replied
Garter nodded and looked up at the sky as a drone burned up as it fell
"I just got done with another conference with the Coalition leaders, Europe knows we have Magnusson in our custody and do you know he's wanted for performing genetic experiments on children he had smuggled in from the UAS?" Garter said to Reaper
"It came up in his records." Reaper replied "It's not the worst crime committed I've heard of."
"Well they don't want him to get a trial in an American court, they us to ship him over there so they could try him over there." Garter said to Reaper "Well after the war is over of course."
"I'll give him back to the Euros once I'm finished him, we're still trying to get additional information out of him." Reaper replied "If I don't kill him before then."
"Reaper, we already have problems right now and plus Magnusson is a European National, so we don't need the enemy have sympathizers in the Coalition." Garter said to Reaper, who nodded
"Fine." Reaper replied "Even though the Europeans are going to do the same thing with him that we would've."
"Don't worry we'll let you have you way with MacTavish's once we get him." Garter said to Reaper
An hour later, Hiccup and Astrid watched as Karlson inspected a small unit of Stormtroopers that included a standard bearer
"This is the first unit in the American military that I've seen carry a banner." Astrid said as she looked at the flag/banner being carried by the standard bearer that was an American flag with the stars organized into a circle surrounding the golden eagle of the APP, the flag looked like it was ancient and it had holes and rips across it. The Standard Bearer was wearing A-2 PCA that had golden shoulder pads
Karlson stopped in front of the standard bearer, who was standing at attention
"Be sure not to drop it." Karlson said to the Standard bearer before he continued on
"It must of important to the 1st Legion I guess." Hiccup replied to Astrid
Karlson finished inspecting the unit and dismissed it before continuing on towards the entrance to the underground facility, Hiccup and Astrid came towards him
"What do you want?" Karlson asked them as he continued walking
"What was the flag for?" Hiccup replied "I've been around modern militaries long enough to know that it is unusual for soldiers here to take flags into battle like that."
"That "Flag" is the first APP flag ever made; the first APP president gave it to the First Legion before the attack on Washington D.C during the Second Civil War so we could place it on top of the White House after we took it." Karlson said "But after the battle, we kept it with us and took it everywhere we went; Baghdad, Jerusalem, Paris, Cairo, Tehran, Seoul, Cuba, and of course Cape Girardeau. We usually keep it in the rear so it'll stay safe. It's primarily a ceremonial item."
"Wait so you guys stole it?" Astrid replied
"I guess you can think of it that way, the president never got around to asking Reaper to give it back." Karlson said "So we kept it."
Meanwhile Barnes, Wensky, Samantha, and Katie received the briefing about the upcoming mission from Reaper
"So we're going to kidnap a Russian general that has been supplying Blackwater with most of its weapons?" Barnes asked Reaper telepathically
"Yes and I wished you really stopped doing that, I already have enough problems these days." Reaper replied
Barnes snorted and rolled his eyes
"Are you sure the recon teams are correct with their information about Blackwater's strength, I'm sorry but I find it hard to belief that they just have a 100 man bodyguard with no heavy weapons protecting their most important supplier." Samantha said to Reaper
"We're certain." Reaper replied "We are also being tipped off by recon flights by UAF aircraft over the island along with reports from Russian fishermen provided by the FSB."
"This is kind of close to the Russian mainland, are you sure the Russians are cool with this?" Katie asked Reaper "From my experiences with the ruskies, they don't like it when we get close to their country and this is pushing it."
"The Russians have agreed to look the other way since this island is largely uninhabited except for the small outpost that will be evacuated by the time we arrive. But they will intervene if things get out of hand, which hopefully they won't." Reaper replied "But just in case, we will have the USS Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota off shore to provide fire support and armored support in reserve."
"Sounds like a cake walk." Wensky said to Barnes telepathically
"It does, but I know from my experiences with Blackwater and Gene Corp is that they always have some kind secret elaborate plan to counter ours." Barnes replied "So I suggest we stick together with this one."
"We have taken everything that can possibly happen into consideration while planning, so we have plenty of back up we can implement if something goes wrong." Reaper said "Don't worry about getting EMP'ed either, we've recently upgrade most of our equipment including the 502nd's F-45s with improved EMP shielding to prevent what happened back during Zero Hour. So do you guys understand the mission?"
"I think so." Katie replied
"Good, we're going to San Diego in two days to meet with Herald and his fleet, from there they'll take us to the Kurils." Reaper said to them "Good luck to you all."