A/N: Your favorite neighborhood author here. Yep, the chapter everyone's been waiting for: the beginning of Operation Blackbeard, and the rescue of the Russian FSB head and the U.S. Secretary of Defense. But first, the group has to accomplish two objectives: disabling the comms tower on the rig, and actually getting aboard the Rakshasa. Can they do it? Read to find out. BTW, thanks for the heads-up, Kman. I just revised that chapter with the necessary correction.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Pacific Ocean. U.S.S. Los Angeles, Crew's Quarters. January 26, 2003. 0515 hours, Hawaiian time.
"Alright, listen up, people!" Sonic began. Everyone, except for Speigal, Amy, and the regular crew was now crowded around a surveillance photo of the re-supply rig. "Chances are, we'll be inserting on the east strut of this rig after a brief swim. If I'm not looking at this photo wrong, that comms tower is on the southern part of the east strut. Like I said earlier, Tails'll be responsible for bringing that offline."
"So how do we get aboard that carrier, oh fearless leader?" Vasquez asked sarcastically.
"Right. Intel suggests that this rig acts like a vice, widening and narrowing the space between struts depending on the size of the docking carrier. So, a carrier lands, the struts do what they need to do, connecting bridges open, and we find a way in via the cargo bays. Also, we need to watch out for snipers. It looks like there are two sniper towers on each strut. Rouge, take care of those snipers; nobody wants to go home with their skull ventilated. Another point of notice is there's a helipad with at least one dropship on it on the west strut. Those things are armed with a chain gun, and rockets. Rouge, you're on double duty. Make sure nothing gets into that dropship. Everyone else I didn't mention, just do a clean sweep of the area. That's all for now."
"Hey! Hold on, people!" Vasquez opened up a handheld metal case he'd been holding. Inside, were enough cigars for the whole group. "Remember, only when the fat lady sings."
Sonic took one, held it up to his nose, and breathed in its scent. He arched an eyebrow. "It's Cuban… you're a good man, Vasquez. Just be sure to stay alive so I can smoke this with you." With that, he stashed the cigar in the breast pocket of his BDU.
"How the hell did you smuggle that contraband on this crate?" Rouge asked.
Vasquez smirked. "I have my methods…"
"Probably had the case up his ass." Collins commented.
Vasquez rolled his eyes. "Anyway, stash'em before Speigal sees'em, otherwise he'll have our asses."
Commander Speigal's voice cut onto the intercom system. "Speigal here. Estimated time of arrival now is three hours. At this rate, you'll be inserted just ahead of the Rakshasa. I'd say you'd have about fifteen minutes after you reach the rig to prepare for its arrival. Speigal out."
Sonic shrugged. "Oh, well. I'm not exactly a big fan of waiting on things. It's time for doughnuts and coffee." With that, he made his way towards the lounge.
Break room, couple of minutes later.
When Sonic arrived, Amy was already there, her back to him. His thoughts immediately strayed to yesterday. That kiss… to hell with it! Just write it off! It just happened! Spur of the moment! What could possibly evolve from just one innocent kiss? It wasn't like they slept together, right?
She must have heard him come in because she turned around to face him. "Good morning." She smiled cheerily.
"'Morning." He muttered, and went straight for the coffee maker. Mornings were never good to him.
"I guess you didn't get much sleep?" She asked.
"Nope. Didn't plan on it either." After figuratively putting in more sugar than coffee into his mug, and two doughnuts on his tray, he sat down across from her. "This whole time, I've been looking at those surveillance photos of the rig."
"Still worried?"
Sonic shrugged. "Not as much. We'll be alright." Without another word, they finished their breakfast, occasionally glancing at each other.
Sonic stood up, stretching. "Well, three hours till Operation Blackbeard starts…" He paused when he heard Barnes's voice down the hall.
"Listen, we're the toughest sons-of-bitches in the world. Dr. Robotnik's drones don't have shit on us! When we get there, we'll rip their heads off, shit down their necks, and afterwards, drinks are on me!" Various mutters of "amen to that" and "oh, hell yeah" could be heard.
Sonic chuckled. "Yep. I'll gladly drink to that."
Amy eyed him, a slight smile on her lips. "And how can you since you're not even 21?"
"Pshhhhhh! Oh, come on! I got less than 24 hour—aww, damn!" Fatal error, Sonic thought. He'd never let anyone but Tails know when his birthday was, out of fear of being overly embarrassed. Everyone else was a little surprised when all of a sudden, Sonic just gets one year older out of the blue. Well, he just compromised his own secret.
Amy stood up, approaching him with hands on her hips. "Your birthday's tomorrow?! And in all the year we've known each other, you never told me?!" An evil smile crept over her face, and Sonic backed away nervously, knowing what was coming.
"Hey, no offense—AHH!" He yelped when Amy began poking his ribs and stomach. She knew he was more than a little ticklish. "Hey—AHH! Stop—haha! Cut it out—hehe!" Giggling, he backed away blindly towards the doorjamb to avoid her tickling, then he felt his arms being forced over his head. Rouge had snuck up behind him, and had him in a full nelson. "What the—oh, hell! Amyhehehehehehe stahahahahap!!!!!!!!" Sonic's laughter was now hysterical as Amy mercilessly tickled his stomach, ribs, and armpits. He tried to power out of Rouge's hold, but Amy's tickling was completely undoing him. His knees buckled and he fell to heap. Rouge held his arms over his head, and Amy sat on his thighs, still tickling.
"Now, Mr. Hedgehog. Say you're sorry for keeping your birthday a secret, and I'll stop."
The only thing Sonic could do besides laugh hysterically was shake his head in defiance. She wasn't getting anything out of him.
Amy giggled. "So be it. We do have another three hours left, right?" With that, she stepped up her efforts on his belly.
"HELP MEHEHEHEHE!!!!!!!!!!!" Was all Sonic could get out.
Eventually, Knuckles came in to see what's up. Upon seeing the spectacle, he clucked his tongue. "I can't believe you kicked my ass back then. How can you let them gang up on you like this?"
"Hahaha fuck youhahaha!" Sonic still found the coherence to curse the echidna out.
Knuckles shrugged. "Fine. I was coming to help you, but if you want to be that way... may the gods be with you then." With a grin, he walked back out.
Which was the lesser evil, kissing Knuckles' ass for help, or giving in to Amy? With his mind slowly turning to mush because of Amy's tickling, he thought it best to salvage the rest of his sanity first. "Ok! Hahaha! I give! I'm sorry! Hahahaha!"
Amy laughed, and stopped, letting Sonic giggle himself breathless. "There, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" She asked, getting off of him.
"Wh—wh—whatever. Rouge, you're dirty for blindsiding me." He panted, and Rouge let him go. He immediately wanted to go after Knuckles. "I'm about to kick his ass for leaving me for dead!" With that, he got up and bolted down the corridor.
Rouge and Amy laughed. "Sonic just let slip that his birthday is tomorrow… and I've known him for years!" Amy told the bat.
"Oh." She smirked. "Well deserved."
Pacific Ocean. U.S.S. Los Angeles. Ready Room. January 26, 2003. 0800 hours. Five minutes until insertion.
"Where's my damn wet gear?!" Profile yelled. A second later, someone tossed it to him.
In a corner of the room, Sonic and co. were prepping for combat. All of their ammo and radio equipment was underneath their wetsuits to protect against the water. Sonic's cigar especially. "Remember, Eggman designed his E-series bots with the same critical points as a human or anthropod. Aim for the head or body." Sonic advised. "Tails, stick close to me. You're unarmed, so you'll be vulnerable. Knuckles, I want you to support Rouge. With that sniper rifle, she'll be depending on you for close up support."
"Got it." Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge said in unison.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Amy said and grabbed something on the bench behind her. "Your camera, Sonic." The camera unit was as small as a laser pointer, attached to a small headset. "Now, I'll see what you see, and we both have a secure line of communication between us."
"Okay. I hope this thing's waterproof." Sonic said.
"Don't worry. It is."
"Good to know. Is everyone set?"
Knuckles shrugged. "Well, as ready as we'll ever be."
"Then, let's move to the bottom hatch." Sonic was about to leave, when Amy stopped him.
"Hey, when we get back, how about I help you celebrate your birthday by fixing a special dinner at my place?" She asked with a small, hopeful smile.
Sonic blushed, smiling. "Heh, wouldn't miss it for the world. What are you making?"
Amy grinned. "We'll see." She then hugged the SCUBA gear clad hedgehog, breaking it a few seconds later. "Please, come back alive."
"No worries here. Gotta go!" With that, he wadded in his flippers to the bottom hatch.
"Good luck!"
U.S.S. Los Angeles, bottom hatch. Three minutes later.
"We just received word that the AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control Systems) is in position. All you need to do is radio them when you want to bring it online." Speigal said, addressing the group. "That is all. Good luck, and good hunting!"
"All right, people! It's time to rock n' roll!" With that, Alpha and Charlie Teams jumped through the hatch to begin the swim to the rig.
Pacific Ocean. Coordinates: 5N-161W. Dr. Robotnik's Pacific Forward Re-supply Rig. January 26, 2003. 0814 hours.
Being the quickest swimmer, Knuckles surfaced first next to an empty boat dock. He quickly climbed on, readying his assault rifle to make sure the area was clear, then discarded his wet gear so that he was down to his BDU and immediately crouched for cover. Rouge surfaced next, then Tails, and then Sonic, with SEAL Team 3 not far behind, all of them stripping off their wet gear and crouching.
"Looks like we're clear." Knuckles whispered.
"Everyone lock and load. I'm about to signal the AWACS." Sonic whispered and reached for his radio and flipped it on. "AWACS, this is Alpha 1. Bring the AWACS online. Over."
A beat. "10-4, Alpha 1. This is AWACS support, callsign Bright Eyes. We're bringing the AWACS online. You have five minutes to disable the comms tower. Good luck." Click.
Sonic replaced his radio. "Okay, let's move. Tails, stick with me. Knuckles, support Rouge. Charlie Team, provide cover fire. Let's move!" With that, Sonic led the group up the steps to the top of the rig, rifles at the ready. Once topside, there were two E-series soldiers on patrol coming right at them. "Oh, shit!"
"Intruder alert!"
Sonic switched off his safety to burst fire, and fired a burst immediately at the incoming sentry to the right, piercing its exoskeleton, and severing some critical circuits. Knuckles dealt with the one on the left with a single shot to the head. Both were left in a sparking heap. "Whew! I think we still have our cover." A klaxon went off. "Maybe not. Everyone, get up here and find some cover!" With that, Sonic ran to a group of cargo containers, and crouched, with the rest of the group not far behind. The snipers were now on alert, and were now attempting to snipe at the group with their SV-98 (Russian made) sniper rifles. Meanwhile, sentries were on approach to the group's position. "Okay, I think we're close enough that we can deal with the snipers with regular rifles. Rouge, find some cover where you can take out the snipers on the other side of this rig—oh, shit!"
Four E-series bots were using their jetpacks to cross the water to the east strut. "Target acquired." With that, they opened fire with their AK-74Us.
"Get your heads down!" Profile yelled as the tracers filled the air dangerously close to the group.
"Their too far out to be accurate." Barnes observed. "Hey, Bat! Snipe'em!"
"My pleasure!" Even under heavy enemy fire, Rouge calmly readied her sniper rifle, took aim, and fired. The .50 caliber round hit its mark, easily puncturing the jet pack of one, making it explode. She took aim at another and fired, this time scoring a headshot, and she dispatched of the others in a similar manner.
"Shit! We got charlies (enemy soldiers) closing in at our left flank!" Sonic yelled. He was just pointing the barrel of his rifle around the corner to the left flank and firing off a burst. "Damn! I'm gonna have to use one of these!" He took out a chaff grenade, and pulled the pin. "Chaff out!" He let it roll on the catwalk toward the bots. The grenade went off, dispensing its electronic interfering chaff, scrambling the sentries' circuits, along with all radio equipment. Sonic leaned around the corner. The incoming sentries were disabled. Switching to semi-automatic fire, he finished off all four with a headshot each. "Wait a second. Did that sniper get caught in it too?" He looked up. The sniper in the tower was acting sporadically. "Yep." A couple of shots to it shut it down.
"Hey, Sonic! We got about three minutes before that comms tower bypasses our jamming!" Collins warned.
"Damn!" Sonic cursed. More enemy fire came from the right flank, one round almost taking his head off. He scrambled behind the crate in front of the right flank and ducking, pointed his rifle around the corner to fire a few rounds, hoping he'd hit something. "Damn! This ain't working! Vasquez, I need a little help here!"
Vasquez crept along the crates to Sonic. "Sir?"
"Find another position to fire at this flank. Move!"
"Yes sir!" With that, Vasquez moved along the crates. He found a small niche between crates, small enough so that only the barrel of his M4 could fit and maneuver. "Take this, mothafuckas!" He fired a three round burst, destroying the lead bot. Vasquez swore when the other two returned fire to his position, and he took cover.
Sonic loaded a grenade round into his grenade launcher. "Fire for effect!" He pulled the trigger on the grenade launcher, and smoldering bits and pieces of the E-series bots were thrown everywhere. Heh! That's why I'm called the 187man." Sonic gloated to himself. "Hey Rouge! How's that southern sniper?! Is it still alive?!" He yelled over the gunfire.
"Negative! It's clear!"
"Outstanding! Tails, get over here! Knuckles, you too!" Tails, who was huddled in a niche, and Knuckles, who was assisting Charlie Team ducked over to him.
"What's up?" Knuckles asked.
"Sonic! A minute and a half until that comms tower bypasses our jamming! Get moving!" Barnes prompted.
"I know!" Sonic turned to address Tails and Knuckles. "Listen up, we're going to make a mad dash to that comms tower. Tails, you're going in behind us while we do a clean sweep.
"Right!" The fox acknowledged.
"Rouge, Charlie Team! Give us some cover fire! We're going for the comms tower!" Sonic ordered.
"No problem, boss. We'll kill anything that shoots at you!" Collins answered.
"Alright, guys. Just run without thinking. On three… one… two… three!" With that, the three made a mad dash for the comms tower, amid a hail of tracers, most of them missing badly, due to the difficulty of leading a target going as fast as them, even for computers. Sonic made no never mind whether the tracers were thirty feet away, or three inches away.
"Cover fire!" SEAL Team 3 now had some liberty and were no longer pinned down, now that most of the fire was concentrated on Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Rouge was now picking off targets at will, dropping them from more than 600 meters out.
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles stopped just outside the comms shack behind a protecting stack of crates. The radio clicked on. "All King Elements, be advised. You now have less than a minute before the comms tower bypasses our jamming." The AWACS said.
Sonic jiggled the knob. It was unlocked. "Alright, here we go!" Readying his SOCOM handgun, he kicked the door open. There were three E-series bots manning the radio units. Knuckles easily dispatched them with his attached shotgun. There was another level to the tower. "Tails, get to work on the panels here. Knuckles, cover him here. I'll complete the clean sweep." With that, he went upstairs.
"Twenty seconds until the comms tower bypasses our jamming!" The AWACS shouted. Tails looked frantically at the instruments. How do you shut this thing down?!
"Ten… nine… eight… seven…" There was nothing upstairs… except a small generator. Shutting it down was not a job for an amateur. "Tails! Up here! A generator!" He shouted.
"Here I come!"
"Six… five… four… three… two…"
"Fuck it! There's no time!" With that, Sonic fired a couple of rounds at the panel, short-circuiting it in a spectacular show of sparks and the lights in the shack as well with the rest of the equipment went off. He switched on his "King six, this is alpha one. Objective neutralized."
"Nice work, people." Speigal said over the radio. "All units, be advised. The Rakshasa is closing in on the rig. ETA: three minutes."
Another signal came over the radio. "Any allied aircraft! Any allied aircraft! This is Bright Eyes! Enemy fighters have engaged us. We cannot outmaneuver! Goddammit! They've spiked us (attained missile lock)!" A loud explosion was heard. "Mayday! Mayday! We're going down! We're going down—" and static fell over the frequency.
Sonic was crestfallen. "No! They tagged the AWACS!"
"Sonic, Tails, Knuckles! We now have a visual on the Rakshasa!" Rouge's voice announced over the radio. It also sounded like she was running…
Sonic flipped on his own radio. "Acknowledged. All units maintain your position." He heard a door open. "What the…"
Rouge had entered the comms tower. "Oh, good. You guys are still okay."
"What the hell are you doing here?! I thought I told you to hold your position!" Sonic yelled from the top of the tower.
"I was already on my way here, so I couldn't just stop in the open! I want to keep my head intact after all." Rouge retorted.
"Never mind," Knuckles said. "Anyways, we could use an extra gun for the clean sweep—"
"Already taken care of." Rouge smiled smugly.
Sonic bound down the steps. "Good. Saves us some trouble."
The radio cut in again. This time, Vasquez was on the other end. "Hey Alpha, that klaxon's still going off. Maybe we should get around to disabling that, huh? Otherwise this'll get harder."
Oh, yeah, the klaxon! It was still blaring as loud as can be outside the comms tower.
"Wait a second," Rouge said, looking out the window. "I think I see the guard station on the west strut." She peered into her binoculars. "And I think I see the klaxon switch on the wall." She readied her sniper rifle and took aim, holding her breath to prevent shaking. "Got a clear shot… everyone, cover your ears, I'm taking it!" (A/N: The sound of a Barrett M-82 .50 caliber sniper rifle going off is LOUD. Trust me, it's not something you'd want to take on covert ops.) She pulled the trigger. The shot was spot on. It destroyed the klaxon panel, and it fell silent throughout the rig.
In the distance, a loud rumbling could be heard. The four were about to look through the southern window, but Collins' voice cut into the radio. "Look sharp! The Rakshasa is on docking approach!"
A few seconds later, the rumbling was loud enough to make the comms tower shake. The four looked out the window to see that the Rakshasa was directly overhead. "Let's go!" Sonic shouted over the rumbling.
"Where to?!" Knuckles yelled.
Sonic shrugged. "I don't know! The west strut! Move!" With that, the four exited the comms tower, and ran across the narrow connecting bridge to the west strut.
The small strike carrier landed a few minutes later, and its engines shut down. Then the sound of the two struts closing in on the Rakshasa could be heard. Profile went to his radio. "Alpha Team, this is Profile. What's your position, over?"
A moment later, Knuckles' voice came from the other side. "This is Alpha Team. We're on the west strut."
"What the hell?! What are you guys doing over there?!"
Sonic's voice answered this time. "I just got a message from Amy. She says that there's probably a shortcut to the ship's atrium from the deck's port (left) side, which is just a small walk away from the brig. We're checking it out. Maintain your position until we respond. Over."
"10-4."
On the west strut…"Amy, you're sure this is where it's supposed to be?" Sonic asked through his headset's secure channel. There was no landing to be found.
"I'm positive. When I went to the ruins of the first egg carrier, there was a boat landing on the left side of the ship." Amy answered.
"Hmm. Apparently, it ain't there. I guess Eggman doesn't make'em like he used to. Oh, well. We'll have to use our original plan and insert through the cargo holds."
"I'm sorry." Amy apologized.
"No problem. Cut transmission." Sonic went for his radio. "Charlie Team, this is Sonic of Alpha Team. Apparently, Amy's intelligence about the egg carrier was a little outdated. Proceed with the original plan of insertion."
"10-4. The cargo bays are open. We're going in." Vasquez said on the other end.
Sonic looked towards the aft of the ship. There was another cargo hold opening. "Charlie Team, listen up. We'll be inserting on the other side of the ship. Once onboard, we'll try to rendezvous with you. Cut transmission."
"10-4." Click.
"Let's move, people. We don't want to miss our boat." With that, the four moved towards the open cargo bay. Peering around the corner of a cargo container, Sonic saw no guards present, just peon class bots. Hmm, we must still have the element of surprise, he thought. "No guards in sight," he whispered. "Let's move in." With that, they moved undetected amongst the cargo movers and into the hold. "Knuckles, Rouge, recon the area. Make sure there aren't any surprises waiting for us. And try not to make much noise."
"Gotcha." Rouge answered while readying her HK MP5, and she and Knuckles moved among the new cargo.
Sonic flipped his radio on and whispered. "Charlie Team, this is Sonic. What's your status, over?"
Another voice came from the other side. Sonic recognized it as Barnes. "This is Charlie Team. We are on board, and the crew is none the wiser—what the hell?! The doors are closing!"
The cargo bay doors closed on Sonic's end, too. Then, the ship started to rumble. The engines? "What the hell?! We're taking off already!?" Rouge yelled.
"Oh, hell. This changes things…" Sonic muttered grimly.
A/N: What? The egg carrier Rakshasa is already taking off?! Now how will Sonic and co. and the SEALs get out, assuming they can spring the hostages? Stay tuned to find out. Don't forget to review this. Next up, a rescue at 20,000 feet. Peace!