The Phantom Forces

by A very angry whale

The year is 2026. Modern weaponry is cutting edge, technology is advanced, and there are no shortage of valuables to fight over. The Phantoms and the Ghosts are at war. Both sides see themselves as right. This story will capture the experiences and stories of multiple characters from both sides of the conflict.

Please note that while this story clearly has Phantom Forces themes, it won't be 100% based off of, and will have a lot of my own ideas. For example, some of the locations and vehicles aren't used or even portrayed in PF. Also note that Phantom Forces doesn't have a real story beyond 'the Ghosts and Phantoms are fighting'. There are a ton of obvious and hidden references to both popular and obscure FPS games in this story too, so keep an eye out!

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Prologue.

Operation Desert Storm
April 10th, 2026
Phantoms

You open your eyes, vision blurred, as you feel a wave of pain and fatigue strike your body. You couldn't move at all.

Ting.

A bullet hits a piece of metal next to your arm.

Ting. Ting.

Two more strike the cold, hard steel right above your head. You can feel it's fragments ricocheting onto your helmet. The sounds of a heavy battle outside penetrate the metal chassis you're stuck in.

"..-get to firing positions! We got more enemy M60s setting up there!"

There's too much ringing in your ears to recognise the voices of your squadmates who survived.

"Monarch, this is Strike 4, we've been shot down and are heavily outnumbered, do you read?! Over!"

"..-the snipers keep coming! Where are they fucking coming from!?"

You vaguely remember the warning tone of the helicopter you were in a few seconds ago, signifying a locked on missile was inbound. Then a huge bump. Then nothing.

Your vision wavers. Your hearing is clouded by ringing, but just clear enough to hear the panicked shouting of your squadmates, or what's left of them.

"We're surrounded! We have to hold this line!"

"Nio, cover the left flank!"

"Strike 4, this is Strike 2, we're seeing small arms fire and heavy flames down there. What's your sitrep?"

An explosion clogs the radio. Warning beeps and tones followed.

"Keep her steady!"

"We're hit, we're hit! Mayday, we're going down, we're going-"

Your vision clears, just in time to see a huge, fiery fireball in front of you, the remains of Strike 2 burning to a crisp in the firely death trap of the fuselage as it rolls and tumbles, your squadmates jumping out of the way.

"Ryan's still alive!" You recognise Mar's voice.

Your squadmates finally notice you getting up, still stuck in the helicopter wreckage, enemy gunfire hitting all over, debris and rebar blocking your only exit of where the sliding door used to be, although it's safer than being out there. A thin ring of fire seperates your squad from the approaching Ghosts, firing from the heavy smoke caused by the fire.

The Pilot, Spider, runs over to you, MP5K in hand, stumbling from gunfire missing him, and hands you a rifle, a SCAR-L with an EOTECH sight and a Stubby Grip. You quickly grab ahold of it..

"Take this and stay down-"

..as he instantly receives a bullet through the head, punishment for getting out of cover, sacrificing his life to hand you a chance of survival in this hellish situation.

"There's too many of them!" You hear Goblin shout, as he tosses away his empty TCR and pulls out his backup G18.

"MG3s! Get down!" Mar warns, firing his own soon to be empty M16A4.

"You start firing your SCAR-L at the Ghosts, it's low recoil doing wonders as you start adding to the defence. However, you catch on quickly that everyone is running low on ammo, and the defence might not hold out.

"Are we near the drop zone!?" CreepaLot asks while suppressed, reloading his MP5/10.

"We are WAY off target!" Nio notes, clutching his KS-23M.

Your weapon finally clicks in its empty state as you empty its last rounds into a sniper.

CreepaLot notices your empty rifle and tosses you an extra magazine. "Ryan! Last mag, make it count!" You reload quickly and put the 5.56s into more Ghosts as they start to surround the wreckage and your squad.

"Monarch, this is Nio of Strike 4! Strike 2 is KIA, we're heavily outnumbered and we're running low on ammo! We need support out here!"

"Monarch to Strike 4, be advised, a reinforcement team is en route to your position, but has encountered heavy resistance. Our F35s are still clearing the area, we'll send one in to perform CAS, Monarch out."

"Strike 4, this is Eagle 3, we have visual on your location, danger cl-"

Before Eagle 3 could even spin up their 20 mils, the radio fills with static as a bright, explosive light fills the horizon, a loud boom sounding shortly, before the shockwave engulfs your squad's position.

"What the hell is that!? GET DOWN!"

You hear Goblin shout before you get knocked out from the force.