Did somebody say 'faster updates'? :) This is a bit of a longer chapter but was one of the more fun ones to write. I won't be doing all of the missions but I'll certainly be doing the ones that I think I can make interesting, such as this one. To everyone reading and reviewing, thank you thank you thank you. This is all for you. Enjoy!
Angola-Zaire border region
Central Africa
"Quiet."
Quiet woke to the gently jostling motion of the chopper in flight. She glanced at the legendary soldier sitting at the far end, then out the window at the scenery beyond. They were no longer over the ocean, but she frowned slightly in confusion when she didn't see the familiar sand dunes of Afghanistan. Where are we?
She raised herself to a sitting position, rolling her head to ease out her neck muscles and raising her arms over her head to stretch and drive the sleepiness from her system. Big Boss waited patiently, extending an earbud in her direction with a map displayed on his iDroid. "Briefing is about to start," he said shortly, and she scooted closer to accept the earbud.
"Came from Intel. The target is Angola's Mfinda oilfield, upstream from the landing point." Quiet frowned at Ocelot's voice, throwing a quick glance at Big Boss, then out the window again. Angola? We're in Africa? He gave what she perceived to be the equivalent of a shrug, so she turned her attention back to the briefing.
"A spill has covered the whole area in crude. A pipeline that crosses the Munene River failed, now the shore's a mess. Not to mention the villages downstream have no drinking water. The oil runs to the pipeline from that facility. Taking it out should end the leak." Quiet peered out at the landscape passing by, varying from dense foliage to mountains to water, then back again. Seems like a more cheery place than Afghanistan, she commented, then reached back to check her water canteen. Good thing I brought my own water. I'll pass on the oil bath.
"The client this time is an environmental NGO. Destroy the facility. Stop that may seem like straight-up philanthropy, but there's another reason we agreed to it. The Mfinda oilfield was outdated, abandoned. Then the rebel group UNITA moved in, taking it upon themselves to kickstart operations." Big Boss got up, moving over to the chopper window and heaving the portside door open. As he clipped himself in, she squeezed past him to lean out of the chopper, holding on with just one hand. He began his routine weapon checks, ensuring a round was already loaded into the chamber of each of his weapons, and she shifted her attention back to the passing scenery.
"UNITA's been rapidly modernizing its arsenal. Rumor has it someone's been selling them U.S. military hardware. Intel's analysis suggests the broker's a front company...Cipher's." She frowned. What would Cipher want in Africa? "Keeping tabs on UNITA could tell us who's pulling its strings." Not to mention doing some good for the environment. I'm good with this.
Big Boss nudged her and she leaned down, peering at the map on the iDroid. "We're going to be dropped here, at the edge of the forest," he said as he tapped the corresponding area of the map. "We'll need to go through Masa Village first, then we can proceed to the facility. Intel says the village has been abandoned but still has countless hostiles patrolling the area. Get used to the terrain here - it's much different than what we're used to." Quiet paused and stole a quick glance of surprise at the soldier, noticing that he worse the same expression, though his was kept just as hidden. 'We', huh? The word evoked a feeling in her and she had to fight to keep it from appearing on her face. It was a feeling she was unfamiliar with and could not place, but she knew it would only serve to distract her from the mission at hand.
They spent the rest of the short flight in a comfortable silence and she closed her eyes as she enjoyed the breeze and attempted to clear her mind of any more distractions. She opened her eyes as the chopper began to slow and descend, heading towards the edge of the forest she figured to be just beyond the edge of Masa Village. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Big Boss watching her carefully, and she gave him a short nod. I'm ready. He didn't nod back but she knew her message was received. As the chopper came to a halt, they both dropped onto the ground.
The muddy ground sank slightly from their weight and they both glanced down at the new and unfamiliar surface before sharing a glance as Ocelot sent one last transmission. "That's step one to tracking down Skull Face - and Cipher with luck Boss."
Big Boss caught her eye and inclined his head towards the forest ahead. She swung her rifle down from her shoulder, pulling the bolt and loading a round into the chamber. As they walked, she checked all along her belt, making sure everything she needed was in place and easily accessible.
Ocelot's voice spoke through the comms. "First make your way to the oil facility. It's to the north, past Bwala ya Masa. The village is currently occupied by UNITA. The war industry we started has taken a pretty crooked course these past nine years. With no other options, soldiers have become dogs of war sent to conflict zones as 'private forces', or PFs. Guys we fought alongside are dying all around the globe for no reason - no banner. But that's how they survive. The demand for PF's here in Africa is especially high. Cold War standoffs, resource exploitation, tribal clashes..." He made a sound of disgust and Quiet could imagine the cowboy shaking his head sadly. Without XOF or Big Boss, that's the life I would be living, Quiet thought. Someone with my skills, my abilities, doesn't just settle down for a nice house with a white picket fence.
"Quiet, see if you can find a sniper perch somewhere on that mountain," Big Boss said, turning for a more direct route towards the village. She nodded and shouldered her rifle. Spotting what looked to be a suitable spot, she gathered her legs beneath her and launched, cloaking and sprinting up the shallow side of the mountain before leaping the rest of the way to a location near the top. The perch was exactly what she needed and she settled in, pulling her sniper rifle into position and scanning the area through her scope. Not as much occupied as it is swarming, she thought as she began to take note of each soldier in the iDroid for the legendary soldier as he pulled up to a cliff that gave him visual of the buildings.
"You've arrived at Masa Village," Ocelot said, seemingly recovered from his brief anger. "It's been turned into a supply hub for UNITA. Meaning it'll be stocked with weapons and resources. Should be a thing or two that'll come in handy. Don't be shy. They deserve to be in better hands."
Quiet watched as Big Boss began a slow and careful trek down the mountain into the edge of the village, making sure not to knock down any rocks or step on any branches that might give away his position. "Quiet, the ones by the guard towers." She hummed an affirmative and set her sights on the guard tower slightly away from him, a little behind the closer one. Taking a second to make sure the suppressor was still in place, she lined up and fired, sending the soldier slumping down in a deep sleep.
She cursed mentally as his body began to slip backwards, towards the ladder leading down, then the soldier plummeted to crash down in a heap of limbs. Oops. The soldier nearby barely had time to turn and gape before he ended up face-first into the dirt. The guards near the closer guard tower were still blissfully unaware of the action from behind them and Quiet sent the soldier near the ladder to sleep just as Big Boss rushed forwards to incapacitate the other.
"We're going to take as many as we can," he said as he pulled a balloon fulton kit from his belt. "Am I clear?" Quiet did a quick check of the immediate area for anyone who might notice a few balloons stealing away comrades before humming an affirmative. Good to go. As the soldier went from body to body, she began to scan the route ahead. There were no soldiers she could see for the next few buildings and she began to circle her aim back to Big Boss until something caught her eye. What?
She peered closer and then a rush of anger clogged her chest and threatened to stop her. She hummed forcefully into the mic, bringing her sniper rifle to bear and aiming her green optic laser directly onto the back of the head of one of the soldiers further down in the village. It wasn't the soldier she wanted Big Boss to see, but the -.
"Damn." The soldier's voice cut through the fog of anger threatening to overtake her, interrupting her thought process. "Ocelot, Intel didn't say there were children here."
"Children…?" Ocelot muttered, taken aback for a second, until she sensed he too felt the same rage that consumed her. "Child soldiers," he spat out. "Children there are abducted and trained to be soldiers. They're only taught to fight. Then one day they grow up and teach the next generation the same way. With a gun in his hands, a kid is as dangerous as any adult." He scoffed. "Only they don't know a thing about right and wrong. Boss, do not hurt any child soldiers. If you do, the mission is over." Quiet narrowed her eyes. And if you harm any of them, I swear, I will not hesitate to shoot you instead. From what she knew of the legend, she thought he wouldn't dare to, but she knew her judgements had been wrong in the past and didn't mind the backup plan. Children are the future. Legendary soldier or not, you will not take that away.
"Quiet, we're going to set them free before we move on to the oil facility." Big Boss's voice cut through her anger like a hot knife through butter and she breathed a mental sigh of relief that the soldier did indeed have morals. For a second, she wondered why she had even thought that he would not have, based on the other morals she had seen him demonstrate through their short time together. "We'll need to take out all of the other soldiers, then stop the children from opening fire on us."
We would always knock them out. Have plenty of tranq rounds. It didn't take words to know that was exactly what the legendary soldier was planning. "Pequod, we're going to need a pickup with medical support at Masa Village. The balloon fulton is too dangerous for the kids. We'll need the chopper." Pequod radioed back an affirmative and she peered back in the scope as he began to move forwards, creeping closer to the target range where the older soldiers were drilling the children for combat.
It took no more than a few well-placed tranquilizer rounds before the adults were lifted off into balloons and the children gathered by Big Boss, just as the sound of a chopper began to fill the air. "This is Pequod," the pilot said, bringing the chopper down towards an open zone of the village. "Have arrived at LZ." Seeing no more threats, Quiet shouldered her rifle and leaped off the mountain, landing lightly in the mud before approaching the chopper. She picked up one of the sleeping children, gently passing them off to a medic in the chopper.
"Not bad at all," Ocelot said as the chopper lifted off with the children. "You've just made the world a bit of a better place. The children will be cared for." Quiet glanced at Big Boss, nodding her approval. Yes, thank you. You've saved them from a worse fate. The soldier grunted. "Was the least we could do," was the only thing he said. He set off again, angling out of the village, and Quiet fell into step behind him, ready to pull up her sniper rifle to fire if there were any more threats to be engaged.
But there was no further contact in the village and they came upon a jeep parked on the side of the road. Big Boss checked his iDroid map briefly, then opened the door to get in. "The oil facility is far north, upriver. Might as well drive instead of walking it." Quiet got into the passenger seat and the soldier set the vehicle into a steady speed. "Ocelot, give us more info on the target."
Ocelot took a second to clear his throat. "Mfinda Oilfield is the property of SANR - South African Natural Resources. SANR drills oil wells wherever they can throughout that region. And when the oil dries up, they abandon the facility. Then it's only a matter of time before the aging equipment starts leaking crude. That means UNITA's takeover is the perfect cover for SANR. Now they can blame the spill on a bunch of 'oil thieves'. However you look at it, SANR's far from squeaky clean."
They continued driving in a comfortable silence. Quiet glanced off to the side at the passing environment, taking in the swamps and trees that were missing from Afghanistan. The wet environment felt good to her skin and she knew the parasites were loving the extra moisture in the air.
Burning human flesh. The thought popped suddenly into her mind and she became aware of the awful smell that had slowly become stronger and stronger. She shared a glance with Big Boss and knew he had taken note of it too. They could see trails of smoke rising and he pulled up at the edge of what appeared to once have been a small village.
Quiet swung out of the car, slinging her sniper rifle onto her back and reaching down to draw her sidearm. There was no high enough vantage point from which her sniper rifle would be most effective and she knew if trouble was waiting, they would be hidden in the ruins of the buildings.
The buildings themselves were scorched, but no longer burning. The fires had been put out some time ago. Probably by the rainstorm that arrived before we touched down, she thought. Still, several patches on the ground were still smoldering, while others still had small flames licking at the grass and corpses. Together, they cleared each ruin carefully before returning to the horrifying scene.
"Charred remains," Ocelot commented. "Probably the villagers…" Quiet clenched a gloved fist. What kind of monsters would do this? Big Boss's face was unreadable but she guessed he was feeling the same horror that she was. If this is what they're doing at Mfinda Oilfield, we need to put an end to it.
Big Boss turned and began a brisk walk back towards the jeep. There was a purpose in his stride that wasn't there minutes before and she knew what it was because she felt the same as she followed close behind him. "Let's go find this oilfield."
Sorry to leave you all at a bit of a cliffhanger, but we need to save some for next time, right? And besides that, I needed to take a break because I wrote straight through this. Took a few creative liberties with this one. I don't want to be fully constrained by the limitations of the game engine because after all, this is a piece of writing, and I do think the more-realistic interactions flow a bit better than simply sniping from a distance at all times. Whether you like it or not, let me know in your review. I'll be happy to read anything in there. Hope you enjoyed! :)
Yang Xiao Longer: "My prayers have been answered! This chapter was great, keep up the good work!"
-And they have been again. Weren't expecting another one so fast, huh? ;) Thank you very much for keeping up with it.
Infinity Comes To A End: "I'm sorry but, I have no choice but to put you on my top 10 favorite writers list. The pacing, tone, characterization, plot are all perfect and fit in the MGS. I never imagined that someone would be able to write a character, that doesn't talk, so well. I'm frankly stunned. I have ZERO complaints about this story. Okay, I lied. Maybe update more? Lol"
-Whew, you scared me with that intro! Thank you very much for your positivity and for continuing to stick with this. You know, I saw your review a day ago and thought 'hmm, maybe I can put another one out'. Here we are! Hopefully you'll be overjoyed to see this pop up if you've got the alert on it. :) Also! I took a glance at your profile image, did a double take, and I'm almost positive that's the album cover for the Japanese band Sakanaction. I only know one song by them - "Shin Takarajima".