It had been a few days, and the team was well accustomed with their new weapons. They had taken a short trip to Fort Katre in Vermont to practice in a training simulation.
The scenario was quite complicated. They were to enter a skyscraper that had been abandoned of civilians, and they were supposed to clear the building and set up a sort forward command post. If they damaged the building or any equipment within the building, they failed the training scenario.
It had gone relatively well. Connely had brought squad one in from service tunnels underneath the building using explosives. Kose had done something similar with squad two. They were inserted at the top of the building by helicopter, and Kose had blown the elevator doors with explosives, allowing access to any floor.
Both teams had cleared every room except one without any casualties until they got to the bad guys' headquarters. There were actual people in here, not just paper targets. That means that they shot back.
Vegas had entered first, covering the right of the room. He immediately opened fire on anything that appeared to be a threat. He had brought down everyone on his side of the room, and yelled, "Clear!" Santago hadn't been as lucky, however. When he entered the room, he didn't get his shots off quick enough. He took a paintball to the chest, and one to the leg. Aria had come in and taken down the rest of them.
Currently, the team was having a pint of beer at the local bar, Grizzly's.
"I'd like to make a toast," Link said, standing and holding up his glass,"to the success of the Ghosts."
"Here, here!" Everyone responded, tapping their glasses together.
"We did great out there today, people. We were estimated to lose at least a fourth of the team. But remember that if that was the real thing, one of us would be calling Justin's parents, explaining why he wouldn't be coming home for Christmas." That seemed to dull the mood quite a bit.
"But besides that, I am really proud of you guys. I was completely foreign to military life, and you helped me to get accustomed, and you treated me more like a friend than a commanding officer. For that I am truly grateful. Now, let's enjoy ourselves!"
It was now late into the night, and everyone had had a few pints. The team was currently looking at all the pictures of their family members.
"That's you when you were ten?" Romero asked, staring at a picture of Vegas. The picture portrayed a chubby black-haired kid with a grin that showed off his missing front teeth.
"Oh yeah, but look at me now!" Vegas stood up and lifted up the front of his shirt, exposing the toned muscles underneath.
"Bright light, bright light!" Tomilson said in a squeaky high voice, shielding his eyes from Vegas's chest. The table erupted into laughter at this remark.
"So, what did you do before the war?" Romero asked Aria.
"I was a glamour model, I posed in all sorts of dresses. I might have a picture." Aria pulled her wallet out of her purse and fished around for a picture. She pulled out a picture and handed it to Romero.
"Damn! You look sexy!" The team gathered around the picture, and the guys oohed and ahhed. The picture was of Aria in a tight black dress that extended to her ankles, and it had a cut up to her mid thighs on the side, showing a lot of leg. Her hair cascaded down he shoulders like a black waterfall.
Aria's face grew a deep shade of red, and she smiled at all their expressions. Sanchez whistled when she saw it.
"Bet you made a bucket load off of that shoot."
"Not really," Aria answered. "A few days after that shoot, the town was attacked by uglies, and I never got the paycheck."
"That sucks." Hanec said, sitting back in his seat.
Eventually, the party had receded, and only Link and Aria remained.
"So.." they both said at the same time. They laughed, and Link stood up.
"Come on, I'll walk you back." Link took her hand, and together they walked out of the bar, and started down the street.
"I can't wait till we get out to the front lines." Link said after they had walked a block.
"You really love what you do, don't you?"
"Yeah. When I was sixteen, I was always bored with the career seminars and stuff. I finally realized what I wanted to do when the USMC came to our school. What they showed me and what they taught me made me feel alive. It made me feel like I had a purpose in life. That purpose was to save lives.
Then, when I tried the week of boot camp that they offered, I got higher scores in a week than most cadets get throughout the entire basic training. I knew that the military was my life."
They continued walking along in silence, basking in the others' presence. Finally, Aria broke the silence.
"I've been working on my magic, and I can pick things up through an unseen force now. Kind of like the Jedi from Star Wars. It's awesome. What have you noticed you can do?"
"Well, during the simulation excersize, I noticed things, and heard things before any of the other team members. I could take my shots quicker and more accurately than all the other guys. I also started to dodge shots that were shot at me. The few rooms that people were in, I dodged every shot that was fired at me. I think some of the other guys started to get scared." Link said, looking at the ground with a worried expression.
"Don't worry about it, they aren't very far behind you. Besides, every member of the team is slightly superhuman, whether they like it or not. They'll just have to get used to that."
"Tomorrow we're getting shipped behind the enemy's lines. I want to launch the first operation the same week. We need to find information from somewhere about Ganondorf. We can't be blind about where he is." Link said.
"Yeah, I agree. I'll try to locate a magic source near our location when we get there."
They had finally reached the base, and Link flashed his ID, so the guard let them in. When they reached the barracks, Link stopped Aria outside. "What is it, Link?"
He pulled her close, and their lips intertwined in a deep kiss, and she returned it. They broke apart, and she stared into his eyes. "I have to find out when we can catch a plane tomorrow. I won't be long." He turned around and headed in the direction of the hangars. She sighed, and walked into the barracks and found her bunk. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out cold.
The team was woken up rudely at 5:00 a.m. by Link.
"Come on, ladies! Rise and shine! We have the first flight at six in the morning!" He heard a few groans from the people in the barracks.
Slowly, the team members woke up, and got all their stuff packed up. They loaded the gear on the Hummers, and the team was heading towards the runway within forty-five minutes of waking up.
The team was completely silent on the way to the runway. This was partly because they were all tired from a long night, and partly because everyone had a massive hangover from the drinks they had consumed.
The vehicles stopped, and the team members got out, hefted their gear on their shoulders, and walked towards the hangar. There was a C-130 cargo plane waiting for them. They all got onto the plane, strapping themselves in the chairs.
In a few minutes, Link and Tomilson drove the Hummers inside the belly of the plane a few moments later. The plane gave a lurch, and the behemoth taxied to the runway.
In a few moments, the team was airborne, and was on their way to General Garrison's headquarters.
When the plane touched down, Link and his team walked down the ramp of the plane, their headaches subdued and their minds fresh. General Garrison was waiting for them when they approached the main offices of the superiors.
"Welcome back. I hear you did excellent on the drill." Garrison said as they stepped through the door.
They were in room with a secretary at her desk. When they entered, she looked up.
"Well, look whose back. Mr. Super Hero." she smiled and continued typing on her computer.
The team and Garrison continued walking down the winding hallways.
"Did you know that the drill you completed is the hardest scenario in the world. Only the Brits have completed that drill, and their SAS took over eighty percent casualties. You only lost one." Garrison said as he opened the door to the briefing room. Santago put on a mock guilty look at the mention of his 'death'.
The entire team felt proud at this news. Even though the team was somewhat superhuman, it made them happy to know they were the best.
Garrison motioned for the team to sit down, and they did so, setting their packs on the ground.
"Now, I talked to the Pentagon about using the old SatCom base, and they said ok. However, they have no idea if the enemy has troops stationed at the base, or if they even know it exists. So, you are to use extreme caution when entering the base compound."
The team exchanged grins, and Garrison cleared his throat. "I have intelligence reports that the enemy is getting reinforcements. Usually, their reinforcements come in huge waves of about a hundred thousand at a time." Garrison said.
"Now, I requested light armor and AH-64 Apache gunships for the big jobs, but Washington in all her brilliance said no. So, all I can provide is little birds and Black Hawks for air cover."
Aria raised her hand. "Where is the base located at?"
"It's downtown, in the region around the convention center." The team looked downcast at this news. The downtown sector was the most hostile region.
"I want you to be on your guard at all times. This war is on your shoulders." The General said.
"There is another thing that the Pentagon wants you to do. They have an old wizard who is highly educated about the ancient world. This scholar's name is Moretti. He was in the Sacred Realm when Ganondorf was released, and got out. He is working for Ganondorf, and has provided us with some much-needed information about the creatures.
The creatures come from deep within the earth. They are born from magma, explaining the crusty skin. Now, he said they are born from a pit of magma that is exposed to the air. The only way they could get access to the magma would be to find a volcano. We believe that their spawning pits are in Mount Saint Helens. We need you to find the pit, and seal it off."
The General stopped to catch his breath, and he saw that the team was happy that they finally had a foothold in the enemy's movements.
"Can you provide us with any information about the creatures that would help us?" Hanec asked.
"Yes." He pulled a file from a stack of papers on the table,"they can't shoot all that well, but they have an advantage of numbers. They are called Moblins, and they travel in packs of fifty. Only one in every pack is capable of speech, and that's usually the leader. They communicate with each other telepathically, and they have a keen sense of smell."
"Alright. About that spawning pit in Washington state," Link said, "how are we going to get there without getting detected?"
"Moretti will get you in. Any more questions? No. Good. Talk to you when you set up base."
They all walked out of the office building with blank expressions. They headed over to the armory to get suited up. As soon as they walked through the door, someone walked up to them with a big box.
"I believe these are yours. They're special camouflage sheaths for your swords."
Link took the box without a word, and continued on towards the gear room.
"Alright, people," Link said once they were in the room. "Get suited up, and grab a few MRE's on your way out. I don't know if we'll have food when we get there."
In a few moments, they were prepped and ready to rock. They followed Link out to the where the Hummvees were waiting for them.
A technician walked up to them. "Okay, I've upgraded your vehicles so that they have a GPS system. Just program the coordinates of where you want to go, and follow the dot on the screen. The Hummers are fueled and packed with everything you'll need. Good luck, guys." The technician walked away, and the team split into squads and piled into the Hummers.
"Ya got me, Nightstalker?" Link asked Vegas, to make sure the radios worked.
"Copy that Banshee." Vegas responded. He started the vehicle, and waited for Link to go. In the passenger seat, Aria was programming the Offut base in the GPS. A small purple dot appeared at the edge of the screen.
"Alright, we have a visual, let's get moving." she said.
Link started off down the road, and through the gate.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled off of the highway and headed down the road that would lead them to Offut.
Sanchez got behind the .50 of the second Hummer, and cycled the weapon twice, arming it. Von did the same for the first Hummer.
"Alright, Von, keep your eyes open." Link said as they drove through the destroyed entrance to the base. The purple dot was right by the dot that resembled the team, so Link stopped and peered around for any sign of an underground base. That was when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye.
The truck full of Moblins screeched around the corner, and no sooner had Moblins started piling out than Von started chewing up their ranks with the .50.
"Ambush! Set up a perimeter!" Link yelled. But the rest of his team was already on it. They were out of the Hummer, weapons shouldered, dishing out rounds, frantically trying to hold off the advancing Moblins.
Sanchez turned to see another three trucks round the corner, and she let loose a long burst of her machine gun. One of the trucks erupted into flames, all the Moblins inside blown to pieces. Then the trucks got the attention of Vegas.
Vegas opened up on the Moblins, and turned to the source of an explosion to his left. A truck had erupted into flames, and Moblins got out of the other two. He aimed in their direction and shot a good number of them with short bursts from his SAW. He turned back to his right in time to see a rocket propelled grenade flying towards him. He jumped out of the way, and the projectile flew straight into the last of the three trucks, blasting it in half.
Link was lying on the ground, taking shots at the moblins who were ducking behind cars in the parking lot. Link's blood ran cold when he saw a tank come up over the hill, beyond the parking lot. There was a flash from its main gun, and a few cars flew from their places, a large hole through their side.
"Shit! We've got tanks at six o'clock." Link said.
"We don't have the firepower to take that thing on, get back in the Hummers, let's get the hell outta here!" Moran said.
Link nodded, and the team ran back to the Hummers. When Link started forward, the spot where the vehicle was parked was a smoking hole.
Link gulped and put the pedal down. A group of Moblins didn't get out of his way in time, and they were smacked out of the way by the speeding vehicle. Some of the troops were shooting out of the windows, trying to take as many down as possible.
Romero narrowly missed running into another truck full of Moblins when it stopped in front of him. He slammed on the brakes, and Sanchez was thrown from the vehicle. Romero didn't notice, and drove around the truck.
Lita tried to yell, tried to tell Romero to stop, but her voice failed her, and soon squad two's Hummer disappeared around a building. Lita tried to stand, but her body erupted in pain, and she gasped and fell back down. She saw the Moblins begin to close in around her, and the last thing she remembered before darkness consumed her vision was a man walking up to her and hitting her with the butt of a pistol.
The man had long red hair.
It was a little short, but I don't have many reviews, so I don't know if I should continue.....
So please review.