Demon Clans of Arnfair & Sarus #1
Ch10: As a Thief In The Night
"But know this, that if the master of the house had known what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into."
Mathew 24:43
New Atlimas
September 30, 2014
09:37:42 hrs
Flying through the restricted airspace above New Atlimas at low altitude, and weaving through the mega-skyscrapers were four RedHawks making their way towards Point Ploutonion.
Riding aboard this little flight was the first team commanded my Major Walker.
They were on their way because High Command had caught a small break in the time conversions, and it would be midnight on the other side of the Gate within the next three hours, not to mention that it would be a moonless night.
They were initially told it would be within the next two days or so, but a time fluctuation had occurred, and now their timetable had been moved up, and they were to be going in today.
Not that the team minded; they were raring to go, plenty ready to kick some ass and finally get some payback.
While en route, most of the men made small banter amongst themselves, mostly about gossip or whatever, anything to distract them from the stress of the upcoming mission, especially since the stress couldn't be any higher on this particular mission.
Typical operators.
While a few among them were more experienced, having served for years and with several tours of duty and multiple operations under their belt, the vast majority of the operatives were relatively young, with most having only one or two tours of duty to speak of.
These were the ones that chatted the most, while some of the experienced ones occasionally chimed in, mostly to make some off-hand comment, or to offer advice to the new guys.
Others simply listened to some music, prayed, or did whatever pre-battle ritual or action best suited the individual to help calm their nerves.
But while most joined in the friendly banter, Walker was sitting there with his leg dangling out the open side door of the chopper, rifle cradled in hand, and completely silent and still. He did not partake in any pre-battle ritual.
It was, quite frankly, very unnerving.
Still, to see someone so calm and seemingly collected, even if his face was hidden behind that mask, was somewhat of a relief to the newer guys, to see their CO not even breaking a sweat at the prospect of going into a literal alien world.
Not that they could actually see him sweat under that mask.
The operators didn't have much time to reflect on this though, as the choppers soon came within sight of their destination, and all the operators could see that the island had been converted into a fortress.
It actually appeared more natural this way, considering the circumstances in which it was first built, and the sole purpose for which it was constructed.
All the civilians had long since been evacuated; now only tens of thousands of servicemembers, hundreds of combat vehicles, dozens of aircraft, and thousands of tons of supplies, remained in their place.
At the center of it all was that damn structure that had started this whole shitshow, although it was now completely sealed off by a massive dome, entombed within ten feet of concrete and reinforced steel. Surrounding the dome were three separate security rings topped by electrified razor wire, and manned by dozens of android Grunts, automated turrets, and guards.
"Ploutonion Control, this is Helix Flight, flight of four RedHawks approaching from the South-West at one thousand feet. Transporting elements of Task Force: Gravedigger to commence preliminary operations. Permission to land, over."
"Roger Helix Flight, permission granted to land at Landing Pad 3-1, over."
"Copy all, Ploutonion Control, Helix Flight out."
The four RedHawks began their descent and landed in a box formation on the purpose-built helipad, and the operators quickly disembarked.
And awaiting their arrival was none other than Vice Admiral Rourke, the commander of JTF Gravedigger.
Rourke and his men stood at attention for a brief moment and quickly saluted. "Welcome to Point Ploutonion, gentlemen. Come with me, we got a ways to go." And with that, he led them to a convoy of three MRAPS, which they entered and proceeded to the Gate.
"Any activity updates from the other side, sir?" Walker inquired.
Vice Admiral Rourke took out his holo-tablet. "Everyone, sync to my HUD and comms." The men nodded, and did so. "Just over six hours ago, drone ISR picked up multiple heat signatures roughly three clicks due West of the Gate."
The operatives studied the latest updates. "Possible hostile troop concentration?" Walker inquired; the commander nodded.
"Possibly. We think it may be an enemy forward observation post to watch and report for possible incursions from our side. Estimates put hostile numbers at roughly a hundred, possibly more. Your team is tasked with eliminating them before we proceed further."
"Have they moved from their position since then, sir?" Master Sergeant Sean H. Reeds, a 75th Ranger, inquired.
"No, they've made camp there, and most should be asleep at this time with only a few on guard duty."
"Have any mages been spotted with them, sir?"
Rourke shook his head. "Unknown at this time, as we don't have any solid indicators, but I wouldn't disregard it yet. They may be wearing different robes, or don't need scepters or any accessories."
"Lucky for us they didn't notice the drones. Good thing they never think to look up."
"No shit." Rourke nodded in agreement. "Your primary objectives are to eliminate the encampment and hold position at the designated vantage points. If possible, capture the commander of their group and send him back here for interrogation."
"Should we try to capture any mages if they're present?" Walker asked, a raised brow under his mask unseen to all.
Rourke shook his head. "We can't risk it, Major. Until we have a deeper understanding of their capabilities and have working countermeasures in place, we cannot risk taking them prisoner on the chance they break free. Standing orders as of now are to terminate on sight."
Walker nodded. "Understood."
"Alright. Any other questions?" Rourke asked, and when he was answered by silence, he nodded. "Good."
The convoy continued in silence, passing through the three sets of checkpoints, before finally stopping short of the Gate. The operatives exited the MRAPS and Rourke accompanied them to the final checkpoint.
"This is as far as I'm allowed to go." The admiral said before a Private came up and handed him a somewhat bulky package, who in turn handed it to Walker. "This is a specially-built, hard-lined comms relay device. We can't receive transmissions past a certain distance inside, so you'll need to install this once you reach the other side to maintain communications."
Walker nodded as took it and handed it to Staff Sergeant George L. Adams, an airman in the 24th Special Tactics Squadron.
"Good luck to all of you." And with that, the commander departed and made his way to the command center.
Walker turned forward, where a line of five Dagor-II ATVs were loaded up and waiting for them. "Mount up, gents. Time to rock n' roll."
They did so, and they slowly proceeded through the last checkpoint towards the Gate, while all around them, their brothers and sisters-in-arms watched in trepid silence as they proceeded further than they themselves dared.
Also watching their first steps were multiple groups of spec ops buggies and special forces variants of MAT-Vs, all manned by SOF teams waiting for their turn to go in.
Once the operatives were a mere twenty meters from the Gate, the small convoy paused. "Gravekeeper, this is Panther Actual. Standing by to proceed, permission to enter, over." The operatives readied their weapons just in case, as did all the troops and turrets manning the security perimeters.
"Roger, Panther." For a moment, there was nothing, until an alarm blared and red lights began flashing, and the two, massive doors began slowly rolling open. Soon, the doors had fully opened, and everyone relaxed slightly when nothing jumped out of the dark.
"Lights on. Proceed slowly." He ordered when he saw there was nothing but black nothingness. "Gravedigger proceeding. Gravekeeper, we're going dark."
"Copy. Godspeed to all of you." And with that, the five buggies cautiously entered the black void.
Once inside and they had moved deeper into the passageway, the operatives - even the experienced ones - couldn't help but feel slightly weirded out. Despite this, the operatives remained silent throughout their entire time in transit. They eventually lost track of time of how long they had spent traversing the portal; not that time seemed to flow naturally here, or even existed for that matter. They knew it would be a long walk, but they couldn't help but consider the possibility of being indefinitely trapped. It would be a really shitty way to die.
After who knew how long they had treaded the black void, Walker glimpsed a faint light. "Eyes on a light at the end of the tunnel. Kill the lights, night vision up, and switch the headlights to IR. Prep for hostile contact."
With a renewed vigilance, the operatives went dark and silent, and slightly sped up their buggies towards the exit, taking care to keep the hybrid-electric engines running silent.
Finally, the five buggies breached the threshold, and they fanned out, forming an ad-hoc semicircle. "All elements, dismount and fan out." Walker ordered, and everyone did so, taking a knee.
They barely noticed how much sweeter and clearer the air seemed to taste. They didn't stop to consider the fact that they had just made history by taking the first steps into a whole new world. It was almost a shame that they would have to destroy some of the natural beauty of this world in order to accomplish their objectives. Almost.
A small price to pay for freedom.
No sentiments aside, Walker remained on target. "Area clear. Adams, get that comms relay up and running."
"On it, sir." A couple minutes later, he spoke up. "Comms relay online."
Walker nodded and attempted hailing command. "Gravekeeper, this is Gravedigger Actual. Radio check in the blind, over." Nothing but static, so he tried again. "Gravekeeper, Gravedigger. Are you receiving? Over."
"Pa- t - er thi - -s Grav – per. W- -ad you loud and clear. Good to hear from you." the operators allowed themselves a brief moment of relief.
"Gravekeeper, Panther. Phase zero complete. We've successfully crossed over and secured a perimeter. No activity to speak of. Proceeding with phase one. Out."
"Copy all, Gravekeeper out."
"Adams, deploy drone."
"Aye, sir." He jogged back to one of the buggies, and from the side, took out a small crate and unpacked the RQ-3S InstantEye quadcopter drone. This model was specially modified for special forces. With an integrated cloaking system, and this particular copy outfitted with a modified, suppressed .45 ACP gun and additionally armed with explosives, this was one of a SOF squad's best friends.
Within moments, the drone was airborne at a height of five hundred feet and began its surveillance with its hyperspectral sensors. "Drone feed is live, sir. We got a clear picture of the surrounding area."
Walker nodded. "Gravekeeper, Gravedigger. Drone is airborne. Standby for live feed, over."
"Copy, standing by."
The sync took only a few moments. "Solid copy on drone feed."
"Roger, Gravekeeper. Adams, initiate scan. Ten click radius, let's find that encampment."
"Copy." The drone did its job, doing thorough sweep of the hills and plains. Nothing, save for a few tiny heat signatures; must be local wildlife. About two minutes later, he got a hit. "Got 'em. About three clicks due West from our position. The intel was solid, sir."
Walker nodded. "Terrain?"
A rendered 3D map was synced to all the operatives' HUDs. "They're here at the foot of a small hill, flanked by thick shrubbery on three sides. We could use the paths at the North and West sides to infiltrate, and the shrubbery to cover our approach towards the rear of their camp. Most of the camp is asleep; I count ten plus tangos on sentry duty."
The Ghost nodded his approval. "Good idea. I'm seeing three vantage points here, here, and here." He pointed at the trio of small ridges roughly a hundred meters on the North, South, and East sides of the camp. "I want a pair of sniper teams at each ridge for cover. We'll split up into three four-man infiltrator teams. I'll lead team one, Hoffman, you lead team two, and Kelly, you lead team three. Everyone else, hang back and provide perimeter security; make sure nothing escapes. Adams, you stay here; you'll be our eyes and ears."
"Sounds good."
Walker quietly grunted in agreement. "Alright, move in."
Valerian Encampment - Three clicks From The Gate
Rapun 17, 1037 IC
24:03:57 hrs
Aulus del Memmius was walking towards the center of the camp after finishing his guard shift. After a tiring night of activity, he wanted something to eat and drink before retiring for the night.
He was but an ordinary soldier, hailing from an isolated village near the Alalin Plains, and had now been in the Army for five years now. Back then, he was merely a conscript when the Empire needed additional men in their conquests.
If he was being honest with himself, he never believed in the ideals and goals of the Empire; he was in it for the pay – to provide for his wife, young son, and daughter.
Before he was conscripted, he didn't have a solid mean of supporting his then-pregnant wife. He tried everything, from scrapping for scraps by the wayside, to being a hired hand, and even resorting to petty thievery. Naturally, none worked and he became desperate.
Then he chanced upon an Imperial envoy, who declared that the army was conscripting. Seeing a better chance to support his family, he willingly went along.
His wife pleaded him to stay, but had to relent when she knew there wasn't any other choice.
Quiet frankly, the past five years had been fairly well for him and his family, and he was eventually made an official soldier. That meant his pay increased; that was all that mattered o him, anyway.
He was greeted by his companions as he made his way to the campfire. "Ah, Aulus. Back from your watch, I see." One of his companions said, handing him a loaf of bread, a piece of cooked meat, and a skin of watered-down wine.
"Indeed, everything is all quiet and there has been no movement, apart from the occasional creature here and there." He replied, taking a bite of bread and meat.
Another soldier scoffed. "You almost sound like as if you want them to invade here. You heard what Remus said, that this new country is a wretched one, and even our army can't stop them should they come through."
"And you actually believe what he says?" Aulus inquired with a raised brow.
"I heard rumors that a few men came back from the expeditionary force through the Gate." The soldier continued. "I also heard that those men were the only survivors with whatever they encountered there."
Aulus threw his hands up in exasperation. "What is the matter with all of you!? so what if they were the only ones that came back? That doesn't mean it did not happen in our history before. The Empire has experienced this before and has always survived."
Most of the men nodded in agreement before continuing their banter. Soon, Aulus stood up and stretched. "Well, I shall retire for tonight. I will see you lot at sunrise." The rest bid him good night as he made his way to his tent.
He released a yawn and shook his head as he slowly strolled to his tent near the back of the camp. He pulled out letter from his pocket; a letter to his wife back home, and couldn't help but form a small smile.
She had been pleading with him to return home soon and take on the responsibilities of a father. It had been months since he was last allowed to go home and he understandably missed them, but also knew he had to stay here to protect them from the new threat.
Just as he was about to enter his tent, out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn that heh saw one of his comrades fall down from his seated position.
Shaking his head, he decided to check on his comrade, and possibly find out what happened before turning in for the night. "Hey, what happened? How did you fall?" He called out.
For some reason, he didn't respond. "Hey man, what is the matter?" he inquired. Still no response. As he drew closer, his comrade was lying face down in the grass, motionless and silent.
Now Aulus knew something was definitely wrong. He decided to go over to his comrade's body to investigate.
However, as he drew closer, he suddenly felt a cold, hard sensation squeezing on his throat. Terrified, he tried using his sword arm to stave off whatever was attacking him, but quickly found he couldn't as his arm fell limp, with his weapon dropping from his hand.
He continued to feel the terror at not seeing whatever it was that was attacking him. He didn't have time to think about anything else as the sensation tightened its grip, until finally, with a sickening pop, the life was squeezed out of him.
"Hostile terminated." Walker whispered into his tac-mic as the now-dead body was released from the cold grip of his cybernetic arm.
Being a Cyber Soldier did have its benefits, and the cloaking ability certainly helped when dispatching the two guards on the open trail leading to the camp.
He quickly dragged both bodies into some nearby shrubbery on the sides before frisking the bodies for anything remotely useful. He found a piece of paper on his latest kill; could've been a daily report or something. He tucked it into his pocket for later investigation.
"North side clear." Walker reported.
"Team two, South side secured. Four tangos dead."
"Team three here, East side clear. Five hostiles neutralized. Standing by to move in."
"Copy all. Adams, got any movement?'
"Wait one…hold up, I got a pair of hostiles coming in from the far Northwest side of the camp."
"Use the drone's suppressed weapon. Take 'em out." Walker quickly whispered.
"Rog'. Moving drone into position now." Adams briskly replied. Using his exosuit's wrist-mounted holo-computer, he expertly controlled the drone to get within range of the two unknowns. Once ready, he fired the weapon three times, and both hostiles quietly dropped.
"Done, both hostiles neutralized. Perimeter clear." Adams reported. "You're green for infiltration."
"Copy, Adams. All teams, move in. sweep and clear." The drone quickly returned overhead of the teams' positions. With the order given, the three teams silently crept up the now-unguarded entrances to the camp.
There were a couple guards here and there who were supposed to be on guard duty, but these were seated, leaning on their spears or whatever they could find, and for all intents and purposes, completely asleep. A big mistake.
These were quickly eliminated up close with knives or suppressed shots from sidearms or rifles.
Once the teams reached the tents, they began entering each tent and systematically killing the Imperials in their sleep, who slept eight to a tent. Two of the men from the infiltrator teams would take knives and stab them in the neck, taking care to cover their enemies' mouths so as to not make a sound, while the other two stood at the entrance of the tent with their suppressed weapons, ready to take out the rest should things get hairy.
The teams repeated this for every tent, moving swiftly so as to not raise the alarm.
As Walker and his team exited one of the tents, they heard voice approaching and quickly grabbed cover. They soon saw a group of six soldiers coming their way. "Sniper teams, we got six hostiles heading our way. Anyone got a clear shot?"
"Affirmative."
"Alright, all shooters, call your shots. Take 'em all out on my mark: three, two, one, rifle."
Six simultaneous, silent shots that nobody heard rang out, and the six hostiles dropped dead, the sound of their bodies dropping muffled by the damp grass.
With the threat subdued, the teams quickly resumed their mission.
After who knew how long it had been, the teams received word from Adams. "Heads up teams. Drone's picking up movement from a couple tents on the far side of the camp, and some hostiles trying to make a run for it. I think one of their buddies found the bodies and are trying to alert the rest."
Walker silently grunted; he was sure that they had eliminated all possible witnesses. He was hoping this would play out without a single alarm. Now, he supposed it was nigh-impossible even here.
"Sniper teams, weapons free on all targets of opportunity. Security teams, move in and tighten the noose. Engage anything you see that moves. Don't allow the guards to alert their buddies."
After a series of affirmations, Walker and his team continued eliminating sleeping hostiles in their tents. They wouldn't allow more to wake up and join the fight.
"Fellows, wake up! Hurry, we must warn the others!"
The legionary's tent-mates mumbled as they stirred from their sleep. "Dacien, what is it?" One of the men groggily inquired. "What could possibly be so important at such an hour?"
"I was just coming back from relieving myself when I found a tent with all its occupants dead! Their throats had been slit!"
At that, the rest of the men in the tent started up in alarm and confusion. "What!? Are you certain!? Are we under attack!?" The questions came all at once.
"I do not know, but we must hurry! Grab your weapons and warn the others! We must rally the rest of the camp!"
Not needing more encouragement, the men quickly grabbed their swords resting by their heads, and stood up. However, just as they were about to run, their companion that had warned them suddenly jolted and dropped motionless.
The men paused in confusion and fear. "What just happened? Is he still alive?"
One of the men turned over the body. There was a tiny hole near the center of his chest with blood seeping out, and the now-dead man's face was frozen in a contorted expression. An instant of fear swept over the man.
"Dacien is dead! There is only a tiny hole in his chest!"
Now the rest of the men started to panic. "Dacien is dead!? How!"
"Was he shot by an arrow!?"
"No, there is no arrow!"
"Was it magic then!?"
The men didn't have another moment to think about it, as they all quickly dropped dead all the same in the span of another moment, silencing any hope of alerting their slumbering comrades.
"Sniper team two, hostiles eliminated."
"Sniper team three, same over here."
"Security fireteam two, all clear on this side."
The aforementioned teams called it in, and Walker sighed in relief. "Good to hear. Adams, any additional movement from the drone?"
"Negative. I'm not seeing any more movement. I think that's all of them who could've raised the alarm."
"Sounds good. All teams, Charlie Mike. Let's finish this." Walker replied.
And with that, all three teams continued the frizzly tasks of eliminating all the slumbering Imperials in their sleep, up close and personal.
Finally, all three teams rendezvoused face-to-face at the center of the camp, where the campfire was still burning. "All teams, sitrep."
"No problems on this side. Had a couple close calls but nothing we couldn't handle." Kelly affirmed.
"Same over here. Not a whisper from the hostiles. Those guys sleep way too deep for their own good." Hoffman whispered.
Walker nodded. "Alright, that looks like the head honcho's tent over there." He quietly said, gesturing towards a larger tent a short ways away. "The leader of this little posse has gotta be in there. Me and my team will go and try to nab him. Kelly, you hold here. Hoffman, pull security on the far side. The rest of you, with me. Move."
With that, the teams silently moved into position. Kelly pulling up the rear, and Hoffman on the other side cutting off escape via the back door, and Walker's team at the entrance of the larger tent, ready to make the grab.
"Alright, let's do this quietly. No flashbangs; don't want to wake up anyone else. Get those flexicuffs ready." The operator nodded once and readied the cuffs.
On the count of three, the men entered in a stacked line, but one of them accidently bumped something, causing a spare sword to fall. The heavier-set man woke up with a start, and immediately charged the team with a sword in hand, but was swiftly taken down with multiple double-taps and a lucky headshot.
"Damn it, where did that sword come from?" Walker irately asked, seemingly more concerned at a mishap than a loss of potential intel.
"Walker to all teams. Head honcho's dead. A sword dropped and woke up charging at us. We had to take the shot."
The other teams groaned slightly over the comms, but were ultimately knew it had to be done. "Walker to all teams, sweep the rest of the camp. Eliminate any remaining hostiles and stragglers."
A series of rogers followed, and within twenty minutes of hide-and-go-kill, the camp was completely devoid of life and movement. The report soon reached Walker.
"All teams sweep the camp. Find anything remotely useful. Go."
The operators acknowledged as Walker took a look at the deceased officer. It was a real shame he was killed, as he could've offered some pieces of intel, but overall, there wasn't any significant loss. Whatever he knew may have been written down in his tent. Unfortunately, after a quick sweep, nothing. It must've been because they had arrived not too long ago, or that there was nothing substantial to report. Perhaps they only made reports at certain intervals with specific methods so as to maintain secure communications.
The operatives were also relieved that they hadn't encountered any mages, as although they were confident they could take them down with stealth and coordination, they weren't quite ready for fire or lightning magic or some shit like that.
Now that the coast was clear, Walker took out the letter from the hostile earlier and opened it. He didn't have time to read, so he took out the scanner on his wrist-mounted holo-computer, scanned it, and took a picture.
"Walker, it's Kelly and Hoffman. Sweep complete, site secure. No joy on intel. Call it in, sir."
"Copy all. Panther Actual to Gravekeeper."
"Gravekeeper here. Go ahead Actual."
"Sitrep follows. Camp secured, no survivors. Sending a piece of intel now. Standing by for phase two. Over."
"Solid copy on all, good work. Intel received; well take care of the rest. Green light on phase two, out."
"Copy. Out."
After a couple minutes, all the teams converged at the center of the camp. "All objectives completed, sir. Should we clean up this mess?"
"No need. Let nature do the work." Walker callously replied. "We've got the green light for phase two. Rally back at the buggies, check your weapons and ammo, conceal the buggies, and take up your positions. Move."
And with that, the operatives hustled back to their ATVs, left in a semi-circle just as they had entered the Gate. They restocked on whatever ammo they needed, then boarded the buggies and parked them partially hidden by a tree-line. They then took out camo nets and covered the buggies, hiding them from prying eyes, before they took up their positions around their side of the Gate, waiting for more of their phantom brethren to come through…
To be continued…
After-Action Report:
Phase zero complete
Phase one successful: Enemy forward observation position eliminated; no survivors
Standing by to proceed with Phase Two…
End Report