(Year 2043, Location Atlantic Ocean N 17.1321 W -26.6731)
The ocean was calm as waves flowed in random directions, and the wind blew lightly giving a feeling of calmness. However, the calmness left when high in the sky dozens of C-17 Globemasters and F-22 Raptors began flying overhead.
Inside one of the C-17s a team was getting ready for what will most likely be their last mission. But a mission that will finally bring an end to the war.
"Say Carter" , a man with an Irish accent and had red hair and a big puffy mustache, said to the man next to him who had slightly tan skin and short black hair. "You want to empty the tavern when this is over?" he asked.
"HA! You know me, Flitch… I'm always in!" Carter said as he punched Fitch's shoulder.
"If you boys are finished with your obsession of drinking when this is over… perhaps you can focus on getting ready so you don't get killed out there." A woman with blonde hair said as she pulled out her HK 416 and slung it over her back.
"Ah, come on Liz… you know you want to join us." Carter said as he pulled out an oxygen mask.
"Don't worry lad… you know she is just upset because you have more kills then her." Flitch said which got a laugh out of everyone.
"At least I got a kill unlike you Flitch." Retorted Liz which got a howl out of the team.
"Alright team enough with the chit chat." Came a strong voice which silenced everyone.
Everyone turned to look at a man who was standing at the back of the plane with his hands behind his back. He was about six foot four, with a body that was well built. He had green eyes with lightly tanned skin, and dark brown hair that looked almost black, that was cut short. He looked to be in his mid twenties, and had a few scars on the side of his neck that showed he'd seen combat before. He was wearing a black tactical vest with various equipment attached to it, and matching pants. He was currently holstering a Hk 416 over his shoulder. He scanned the room to make sure he had everyone's attention, which appeared to be so.
"Alright we all know why we're here… at 1136 hours we intercepted an encrypted message from here." Said the man as a hologram of an island popped up to which he pointed. "The message… was that Kaon has finished project Reset." He continued as the image changed to a large looking aircraft. "Project Reset is an orbital fighter fitted with an EMP railgun… If Kaon launches this weapon he will hit every technological gear and devices in these targeted cities, hospitals, satilats, airports, all will lose power, and many civilians will die within a couple hours." He continued which got a look of disbelief out of the team. "However… The island is heavily fortified with both mercenaries and sentries, and we remain out gunned and numbered. Which means…" he was about to explain but was cut off.
"That we're walking into a death trap." Finished Liz. "So what's the plan John?" She then asked John who changed the hologram back to the island.
"We are just approaching the coast now… Porto Novo is the island that they are using as a means of a base of operation. Restart is located underground though, once they finish the preparations they will open the hangar doors and launch it into orbit. So once we land we are going to force our way into base and make our way to the ship. When we do we get on board and destroy the EMP generators… But it means…"
"It's a one-way trip." Said a man with dark skin who was leaning against the wall. He suddenly smirked before adding. "I'm in."
"I know I can always count on you Antonio." Replied John, with a sad smile. "But are the rest of you?" he then asked in a commanding voice.
"Yes sir." Everyone said in unison as they began to prepare for the hell that was no doubt waiting for them.
"Sir, what about Kaon?" asked Antonio as he looked at Mark, who was still looking forward.
"If you see that son of a bitch, you empty your whole clip into him… he dies today." Answered John darkly, with the last part more of a whisper to himself.
No more than a few seconds later the craft touched down and the bay day opened with the sound of gunshots and explosions filling everyone's ears.
"Let's move." Order John as everyone began running out of the aircraft and towards cover. As they made their way towards cover bullets began flying all around them with some striking the ground right next to them. John looked forward and saw a gunner pointing his weapon in his direction. On instinct, he dropped to the ground which saved him as no more than a second later did he hear the sound of a bullet wiz over his head.
But before he could shoot the gunner, a bang sounded next to him and the gunner's head tilted back before falling to the ground. John then looked over to see Carter who was still looking down the sight of his 50 cal. He then looked forward to see a sentrie approaching their position but was quickly shot down by Carter.
"Thanks for the save." Said John as he got up and the two of them continued to push forward.
"Any time." Was all Carter said in return as they made it to a wall where the rest of the team was waiting for them.
Once behind the wall everyone turned to John as they waited for his next orders.
"Alright… right over there." He said as he pointed to a large tunnel that led underground. "Is our way in… Frank" he then said to a dark man who stood around six feet eight inches who was carrying a M 240, with grenades strapped across his chest. "I want you to lead the forward assault, blow a hole through them and get us inside." He then finished.
"Yes sir." Said Frank, as then took the front and began charging with seven others as they cleared a path.
Everyone could hear the gun shots and explosions as they cleared a path to the tunnel.
"Stephen…" John then said as a guy who was only five feet six inches with blonde hair and circular glasses turn to look at him. "Take Chelsea, and Gwen…" John then said as he point to two women who looked to be twins. "I want you to find their communication center… tell us what's going on from their side."
"On it." Replied Stephen with Chelsea and Gwen replying with a yes sir in unison, before they ran off into the hell storm to find the communication center.
Mark was about to give out another order when all of a sudden, his ear piece went off. Putting his finger to his ear he could the sound of gun fire on the other end before a deep voice was heard.
"John." Came Frank's voice as he shouted over the sound of the gun fire. "We've pushed through and waiting for you at the first junction." He then said as an explosion could be heard in the background.
"Copy That." Said John as he brought his finger off of the ear piece. "Alright." He then shouted as everyone else turned to look at him. "Let's move." He commanded.
Everyone then began firing as they forced their way towards the tunnel, as bullets flew in all directions. John looked to his right just in time to see a motor strike the earth sending three soldiers into the air like toys. He quickly shook his head to get himself focused once more and continued running towards the tunnel. He saw bullets pelt the ground around them as they finally made it to the entrance of the tunnel.
The team then ran down the tunnel as they headed deeper and deeper underground. Finally reaching the first junction John saw Frank and the others firing down the halls.
"Stephen?" yelled John into his ear piece as he tried to get in contact with his communication expert. "What's your status?" he then asked, before hearing gun fire on the other side of the communications.
"Moving slower than anticipated!" yelled Stephen over the sound of gunfire. "We should reach the communications center in a few minutes." He then said.
"Understood." Was all John said in replied before removing his finger from his ear.
He was about to say something when all of a sudden a bullet stuck the wall just inches from causing him to flinch slightly. He then aimed his weapon down the hall to his right where he could see a sentry hiding in a dark doorway. Not wasting the opportunity, he pulled the trigger with the machine dropping like a stone immediately after.
"Sir which direction do we go?" someone asked, but John wasn't sure due to the sheer sound of gun fire.
Before he could reply though everyone's ear piece activated "Go straight." Came Stephen's voice as some looked around before looking up and seeing a security camera looking at them.
"You want to go straight… then left and straight. That will get you to the ship." Said Stephen as he was now no doubt looking at them from the communications center.
"Got it." Yelled John over the sound of gun fire. "Alright" he then yelled as he got some of the team's attention while others continued to fire. "We know where to go so let's move." He then yelled as the team began forcing their way down the halls.
As they were making their way down the hall the fight grew more intense as the sound of gunfire sounded like thunder. John looked down the hall to see each doorway was being used, and there were at least a dozen Mercenaries at the end of the hall as well.
'Crap!' he thought 'We don't have time for this.' He then pulled an incendiary grenade out before pulling out the pin and throwing it down to the end of the hall.
He pulled himself around the corner as bullets chipped away at the edge before the sound of fire and screams could be heard. He quickly peered out to see the Mercenaries at the end of the hall screaming and rolling around in a desperate attempt to put the fire on them out. John felt somewhat sorry for them but knew when it came to war, anything goes. Something he learned the hard way sadly.
But he knew he didn't have time to dwell on that and shook his head as he got his mind focused on the mission and began firing at the remaining soldiers. Soon all of them were taken down and they began running down the hall again to make it towards project Reset. They soon came to an opening and the whole team stared in awe as a massive ship stood vertically coloured a dark gray with red edges.
"Stephen, how do we get on board?" asked John as he brought his finger to his ear again.
"On the other side is a loading platform. It's your only way in… and you need to hurry when they start their last checks and if you guys are anywhere near those thrusters when they go off… well let's you won't have a choice if you're going to be buried or cremated." Stephen said which sent a slight chill down John's spine.
"Copy that." replied John as he before looking forward to see the loading platform about four stories up from them.
He was about to shout out another order when all of a sudden, an alarm began sounding as red lights began flashing which caused everyone to look around.
"Warning… launch will commence in ten minutes. Please clear the landing platform and seek shelter immediately." Came a woman's voice made everyone realize time was running out.
"Let's move!" shouted John as everyone began running to the loading platform.
Just as they reached the top though they saw something they didn't want to see. On one side was the Ship and on the other was them. But in between them was a firefight going in all directions. Soldiers, some friendlies and other enemies firing in all directions.
"Shit!" shouted John. "Clear me a path!" he then ordered, to which the team began firing at the enemy to try and give John an opening.
John then ran forward right into the middle of the firefight as bullets flew past him in all directions. He slid behind a stack of crates as an explosion went off just to the side of him causing some shrapnel to get logged in his arm.
"AH!" he screamed in pain as he looked to see he was bleeding, but not a lot so it meant the shrapnel didn't hit any major veins.
He then peered out slightly around the crates to see an enemy up a few levels with a M4, with a grenade launcher.
'Gotcha!' he thought as he rested his 416 on the crate before pulling the trigger causing the enemy's head to fly back as he crashed into the wall behind him before slumping against it.
John then looked forward to see the loading doors to the Restart was only about three hundred feet away, but those three hundred feet were the most intense of the firefight.
"Stephen…" shouted John into his ear piece. "I need an entry point!" he then stated as a few bullets land just feet from him.
"The only way into the ship is through those loading doors John. Your going to have to make a break for it." Stephen stated before an explosion could be heard. "Shit! Look out! There's one on the-!" shouted Stephen before the connection abruptly ended.
"Stephen!?" shouted John into his ear piece as he worried that his friend was okay, but received no response. "Shit!" he then said as he knew that Stephen as well as the twins were most likely dead.
But before he could think any further he could hear the speaker come on.
"Attention all personnel… Please clear the launch platform… launching will commence in two minutes."
'Shit!' thought John as he looked forward to see the loading doors were now starting to close.
Panic filled John's eyes as he realized he needed to get on… Now! He threw his finger on his ear piece as he activated his.
"Give me suppression fire! I'm going in!" he shouted before hearing the gun fight intensity grow.
Seeing that the most of the fighting was now focus on his team he looked to see the doors were still closing.
'It's now or never.' He thought as he got up and began sprinting straight towards the doors.
He forced himself to run faster than he ever had as the doors were close to being completely closed. Seeing he had no choice he ran full speed to the door before jumping in between the crack of the door which closed just after he entered the ship.
Skidding to a stop he got up and ran to a monitor which showed the battle waging just outside.
"Everyone get out of there… you need to get to a distance before this ship takes off!" he yelled as he watched the battle rage on.
"We can't!" yelled Carter as troops and sentries began appearing from behind them boxing them in. "We're surrounded… Don't worry about us John. You stop Kaon and kick his ass!" he then yelled before the announcement came on once again.
"Attention all personnel… please clear the launch pad as engine ignition will commence in ten…"
John began to panic as he realized his team was going to be fried if they didn't move.
"Carter! You Need to get everyone out of there now!" he practically screamed as he watched his team continue to fire at those around them rather as they were to pinned down to move anywhere.
"Don't worry about us, just end this!" yelled Carter as he looked to the ship
"Three… Two… One…" continued the announcement with all mark being able to do is watch as fire began to form beneath them as the ship began to take off.
Then in that moment John lost the only thing he could now count as his family as the flames engulfed them.
"NNNNOOOOOOO!" screamed John in peer horror as he watched while the ship began to take off moving the scene out of sight.
The force of the launch began to weigh down on him forcing him to lie on the floor. For what seemed like forever as he lied on the floor with his eyes closed, while he grieved over the lose of his team. For what was a few minutes but felt like forever for John he lied on the floor before suddenly the wait on him suddenly left and he began floating. He then realized he was now in orbit and had to move.
Before he could do anything though he suddenly fell to the floor which winded him slightly.
"Gravity Generators activated." Came the same female voice as when he was at the base.
John knew he needed to hurry as it wouldn't be long before millions if not billions of lives were lost. He forced himself to his feet before darting down a hall to his right as he tried to find his way to either the bridge or EMP generator to destroy it. He ran to an intersection before gluing himself to the wall as he could hear a squad coming. He held his breath as about twenty or so men hurried past him and down the hall. He looked around the corner as he watched them continue before turning down another hall.
John then darted down the hall he came from as he had a hunch it may lead him in the right direction. He was soon shocked though when he reached the end of the hall as he found himself inside of a hanger. But it was not the hanger itself that surprised him, it was the aircraft that was residing within it that surprised him.
'Black hawk!' he thought as he looked to see the same ship that once carried him and his team. The black hawk was a stealth carrier refitted for the team to help them on their missions. But was thought to be destroyed during operation fire punch. But he here it was in perfect shape with the black armour coating still looking like new, and red lettering in pristine condition
'Guess Kaon still does take trophies.' Thought John bitterly before forcing himself onward to find a way to destroy this ship.
He ran past the black hawk and down the hall which lead deeper into the ship. He continued to sprint as he ran down halls and through intersection, not caring if someone saw him, as he knew time was running out.
Then he saw it. The EMP room was right in front of him and he could see the camber holding the emp matter as it swirled amongst itself. He then bolted straight towards the door before skidding to a halt as a patrol came around the corner and spotted him.
'Crap!' he thought as he ducked behind one of the pillars, before bullets began bouncing off of it.
'I don't have time for this!' he thought as he pulled out a flashbang and tossed it down the hall. He could hear it go off and pulled himself around the corner as he aimed down the hall straight towards the patrol.
Time seemed to slow down for John as he pulled the trigger on the first one in his sights. He then aimed right slightly to shot another before focusing his aim on another. Time then seemed to freeze as he snapped from one target to the next one. In under twenty he fired thirty rounds with all hitting their intended target. He then ran past the dead squad as he reloaded before sliding into the road as he aimed in every direction only to find one was I the room.
Seeing there was no one he lowered his weapon before running over to the console to see if he could destroy the ship. He soon saw that from the schematics of the emp chamber that it was contained by an energy field before being transported to either the engines or the massive rail gun on the under hail.
Before he could ponder on this any further though he heard a sound he didn't want to hear. That being the sound of a safety for a gun coming off. He slowly turned around to find six men with their weapons trained on him, and were dead focused on him.
'Dame it!' as he slowly raised his hands in the air before two of the six men approached him and restrained him before forcing him to his knees. The doors then suddenly slid open and John saw the man that filled him with hate.
He was about the same height as John and appeared to be in his mid to late forties. He had short black hair and with a nicely kept beard with it only being slightly gray. He was wearing a white commander uniform and a long scar could be seen running down his left temple.
"Mister Kennedy." Said Kaon in a cold calm voice which still sent chills down John's spine. "I must say I am impressed… never would I guess that you would take such drastic measure… even when it comes to me." He then said as he began circling him with his hands behind his back.
"Kinda have to when dealing with someone like you Kaon." John spat as struggled a little but was quickly restrained even further but the men holding him. Kaon gave a light chuckle as he continued to circle before speaking once more.
"Indeed your right… but still… I take it that… Fredrick had something to do with you going this far to stop me considering you've been after me ever since that day." He then said as John's blood began to boil at the mention of him.
John's darken features didn't go unnoticed by Kaon as he began chuckling once more.
"Oh did I strike a chord?" he teased with a hint of fake pity as he stopped right in front of John as he lowered himself to be at eye level with him.
John just stared at him with dark features for a few long seconds before his head suddenly slammed forward right onto his nose, breaking it.
"The chord you'll be hitting is the death chord once I rip out your vocal chords Kaon." Retorted John before he was suddenly hit in the the head by a gun giving him a massive headache.
Kaon quickly stood back up as he brought his hand away from his nose to see it was covered in blood. He frowned at John before suddenly bringing his knife out of his belt and slamming it into Johns shoulder.
"I gave you every opportunity to join us." He said as he twisted it slight causing John groan in pain. "But you rejected… and now you will die and the world will be brought into a new age… a new order." He then said as he ripped the blade from John's shoulder causing him to gasp at the sudden pain.
John looked past Kaon to a screen behind him and saw a count down behind him, showing three minutes before zero. Most likely for when the rail gun would become active.
"Kill him." Ordered Kaon as the men began to walk closer to John as they prepared to kill him.
'Three left, four right including Kaon. Pull right to block attack, then kick closest to the left and take his weapon. Fire on the left while using body to block right opponents then shoot right. Then waste Kaon.' Thought John as the analytical side of him kicked in and a plan to get out of this formed.
Once they were in ranged he sprung his plan into act as yanked left causing the man on the right to stumble right between him and his executers. He then sprung to one knee and slammed his heel into the knee of the one holding his left effectively breaking it. While he screamed in pain he grabbed his side arm and turned to fire at the one's on his left before dropping them and then doing the same to the one's on his right.
He then aimed at Kaon before pulling the trigger but to John's horror the gun jammed. Kaon just chuckled as he spun his blade, while John just glared at the gun for a moment before tossing it to the side and getting in his fighting stance.
Kaon responded by getting into his own fighting stance with his knife in a reverse grip, with a grin still on his face. Both of them remained motionless as they weighed their options, running how the fight will play out in their minds.
Kaon then lunged forward as he flipped the blade to the forward position, which John blocked with a parry to the left. Kaon then tried for a slash and John leaned back to avoid it. Kaon then floated the knife back to a reverse grip and tried for a stab downwards to John's head but John brought his right arm up to block it. Kaon anticipated this though and dropped the knife to his left hand below. John was fast enough though to catch his hand and stop the blade just inches from him. He then struggled against Kaon as he tried to force the blade into him, while John resisted. John then drew his full straight and forced Kaon back, putting distance between the two once more.
"Come now mister Kennedy, surely you know you can't beat me." Taunted Kaon as he waved the knife in small circles.
"Let's find out." Was all John said in reply as charged forward.
Kaon once again lunged forward with his knife, and John parried it off to the side. John then tried to strike Kaon in the head, but Kaon just moved his head to right slightly, avoiding it. But Kaon's next move was too fast for John and a knee to his ribs winded him badly. Kaon then tried to bring the knife down on him once more, but John managed to react in time and roll out of the way.
Now to Kaon's side John wasted no time in closing the distance and tackling him to the ground, which caused the knife to fly out of Kaon's hand and onto the floor. John then brought his right fist down and landed a devastating punch to Kaon's cheek. But when he tried to bring his left fist down but Kaon dodged it and hooked his leg around John's head before using his strength to throw John off of him. Kaon then reached down and grabbed the knife before lunging it forward at John. John once again tried to block the attack but with his energy now starting to run low, was unable to block as the knife drove straight into his other shoulder.
"HHHMMMM!" groaned John in pain as the knife was ripped out before it was once again brought back into him, this time being in his abdomen.
"AAHHH!" groaned John as then sank to his knees as the pain in his gut was becoming too much to bear.
He held his hand over the wound as blood continued to bleed out.
"Now mister Kennedy, don't you see. It is futile to fight me… I have won." Stated Kaon as he stood over John who still clutched his wound.
John took some shaggy breaths before looking up at Kaon defiantly, and could see the count down at fifteen seconds.
'No! to much has been given up for this!' John thought as one final idea formed in his mind.
"The… only… thing… you won… is a trip to Hell!" roared John as he suddenly shot up and slammed the top of his head under Kaon's chin, causing him to stagger backwards.
John then didn't proceed to charge Kaon, but reached into his belt for his last grenade. He then popped the pin, but once again didn't throw it at Kaon. he turned and proceeded to throw it at the EMP chamber.
"NNNOOO!" roared Kaon as he charged forward.
The grenade left John's hand and time seemed to slow down. He could see the screen slightly behind the chamber as it closed in on zero.
Five.
The grenade left began spinning as it moved towards the chamber and he could hear Kaon behind him.
Four.
John didn't even turn to look at Kaon as he knew it was over. They were both about to be destroyed, but at least the world would live on.
Three.
John then suddenly felt pain in his lower back as Kaon sank his blade into him, but John merely just stiffened as continued to watch the grenade close in.
Two.
John then closed his eyes as he knew his end had come and only waited for the oblivion that awaited him.
One.
It was at that moment John saw a blinding light that even blinded him with his eyes closed. He could also feel in that instance his body flare with pain. Then all there was, was darkness.
(Time skip)
John laid on the floor as his body felt like it was on fire. He slowly opened his eyes to see he was lying near a wall inside the EMP generator room. As his vision began to clear even more he saw that the red siren lights on the ceiling were on.
He then suddenly heard a voice but it was too distorted for him to make any sense of it. John then tried to push himself up but immediately fell back to the ground as his body flared with pain. He kept his eyes closed for a few seconds as his hearing cleared and he could now hear the sirens going off.
"Warning re-entry emanates… please make your way to the escape pods." Came the woman's voice now clear to John.
John then remembered what happened and his head shot up like a rocket as he scanned the room, now more aware.
'What happened? How am I still alive?' he thought, before the woman's voice repeated alarm once more.
Realizing he didn't have time to think about that right now, and that he needed to get off this ship, he tried to push himself off the ground once more.
But just as before his body flared with pain causing him to collapse onto the ground again. He rolled onto his side to see he was still bleeding, though most of it had coagulated. He reached over to rest his hand on the wall next to him before using it to slowing get him self to his feet.
The ship then shock which caused John to lean against the wall as he steadied himself. He then began to limp towards the hall as he took shaky steps. He then felt pain flare in him as one of his wounds reopened causing him to greet his teeth in pain.
Slowly he made his way down the hall as he tried to find a way off the ship. Came to an intersection and saw the down one of the halls was where the escape pods were. With the key word being 'were' there, as he could also see that they have all been launched.
'Crap how do I get off?' John thought as he tried to think of another way off the doomed ship.
If all the escape pods were gone here, then most likely all the rest were gone as well which meant there was no way off the ship.
'There has to be a way.' He then thought as he tried to think of an alterative way. But if all the pods were gone then that only left… the black Hawk. No that wouldn't work… the dame thing was designed for stealth inside an atmosphere… not re-entry. But what other choose did he have… there was most likely nothing left to get him off this death trap.
"Aaaahhh! What choice do I have!" he then said as he began limping down the hall back towards the black hawk.
He continued to use the wall for support as he made his way towards the hanger to get to the black hawk. The ship then began to shake violently meaning it was starting to touch the atmosphere. Finally after about a minute of him staggering towards the hanger he finally reached it. He held his side as reached the cargo door at the rear of the ship and opened it. He then climbed inside and closed the door and stumbled into the pilot seat. He took his weapon off his shoulder and rested it next to him as turned to the controls and began to power up the ship.
The ship roared to life and the locks holding it in place released letting the ship lose. John then threw the throttle forward causing the ship to shoot out of the hanger and into the open sky. John looked at the altimeter which showed he was at angle fifteen or one hundred fifty thousand feet.
"Crap that's high!' he thought as he felt the ship begin to vibrate.
He looked to his left and saw the Restart starting to heat up as the underside of the ship began to turn red and a few explosions could be seen coming off of it. He took a firm grip on the joystick and the ship began to shake even more violently as he entered the atmosphere even more. Alarms began to display on the panel showing that things were getting hot and that if it continued the ship may burn up on re-entry.
'Crap come on!' he then thought as he slowly drifted away from the Restart while trying to keep the ship from overheating.
He looked down at the altimeter showing he was now at one hundred thousand feet and descending fast.
'To fast, I descending to fast!' he thought as he reefed on the joystick to try and slow down his re-entry.
Alarms continued to blare as he continued into the atmosphere. He then felt the pedals beneath his feet stiffen meaning he was losing hydraulics.
"No no no no… stay together!" John said as he flipped a switch to try and regain hydraulics.
Another alarm went off, this time saying his engines were failing and he was confirmed this when the sound of them stopped.
John looed to his left where he could see the Restart in the distance and it appeared to not be bearing not much better. He watched as it slowly turned to a dot before disappearing from sight before looking at the sky in front of him.
He then looked to see the temperature was now dropping meaning he survived re-entry now he just had to land this dame thing. But with almost no hydraulics, or engines that was easier said then done. He looked at the hurrisen to seen it was nearly dark were he was landing and couldn't see into the deeper valleys for a clearing to land. He looked forward and saw on top of a mountain was a long clear patch of grass.
'There!' he thought as he lined himself up with the clearing as he tried to hold the ship together.
He clenched his teeth as he forced the stick as hard as he could to the left to keep it level as clearly the flaps on that side broke.
The alarms blared as the mountain approached fast and he could see it was going to be a ruff landing.
"AAAHHH!" he screamed as the ship slammed into the ground and John was thrown forward and for the second time he lost consciousness.
Kung fu panda: The soldier