Some time had passed since Sinon had been accepted into the platoon. There was still many hours left of the day however, so they decided to go on a quest: a bounty hunt. Many players go mob hunting everyday at certain locations. Killing them would reward the killer the bounty on the player as credits and the possibility of dropping some of their cargo. Do this enough, you can become rich and able to buy better equipment. The very best bounty hunters can earn millions of credits in a week. This raises their bounty as well. Such an idea got the attention of Sabretooth. 'Why not target the bounty hunters? They'll be bound to have plenty of stuff. And as a added bonus, help some poor sods.' This would be the first operation with Sabot platoon, what could ever go wrong?

Amidst a long broken highway, a singular humvee darted along. It was at max speed, jumping about over large holes in the road. This particular Humvee had been decorated in a desert camouflage and an armour package. Most of the vehicle was bullet-proof. Towards the centre, a hole was carved into the roof; users could easily enter this position from anywhere within and use the embedded M240 machine gun on the roof. Truly a force to fear with the right people behind it. Within the vehicle, all four sat as comfortable as they could. Subaru took the wheel, with Sabretooth beside him looking at a map. Behind them, Sinon and Starbug sat chatting, oblivious to those in the front.

"...With enough credits, we were hoping of purchasing a L-ATV. That was until the last patch and the price skyrocketed. Shame really… The ultimate vehicle for high speed operations!"

"I heard they had lower maneuverability than other transports, I think it was a good idea to stick with this. Although, I do wonder, why have this when the bikes would have been better for three people?"

Starbug chuckled a little. "Well, I can ride a bike but a certain someone doesn't like bikes. Isn't that right, Subaru?"

"A good sniper can lead targets, bikes would be useless against a few good shots from a 50 cal. Besides, I drive cars better than bikes…" He kept full concentration on the road ahead, not looking back once while talking.

"Indeed he can. Won the Rally Championship in a 037 against an entire lineup of 4 wheel drive Group Bs," Sabretooth added.

"Ah yes, I remember that well. Wasn't a rookie one by any stretch. This was against some of the best players in 'Rally Superstars'. Just a fantastic thing to do… Car ran like a dream…"

"That's the Italians for ya," Starbug concluded before turning to face Sinon again, "We'll stick to trucks 'n' vehicles for now. It's better for all of us. Prevents many arguments, y'know?"

Thus, the Humvee plodded along without incident for some miles. No player crossed them, not even a parked truck or ditched bike. Sinon turned to face the outside world. There was nothing but sand as far as the eye can see. Rolling hills of sand. Hills were alive with the sound of gusts bringing more sand. The minutes rolled by, ticking away at a generous pace as the Glocken slowly vanished behind them. It was now only a shadow far away from their position.

Suddenly, the tarmac vanished into a dirt trail with a great thump. They had reached the end of the road, literally. Still they kept going; now their speed was only slightly less than it was only moments ago.

"Trail is gonna get thin ahead!" Subaru announced at the top of his voice, "Buckle up! This is going to be a bumpy one! Navigator, pacenotes."

Immediately, Sabretooth got up a blue hologramatic map in front of him. It curved around him, 180 degrees and covering much of his view. Though it was visible to the others, the contents only he could read; others could only read a simple logo of GGO instead. Ahead of them was a tight valley. To the right, a wall of dirt and sand. To the left, a vertical cliff to a river hundreds of feet below. Every move had to be perfect. Nothing could go wrong, not even a slight jolt in the wrong place.

Sabretooth called out values as "pacenotes" and were followed exactly by Subaru.

"Three left long followed by two left, don't cut… Four right, 80… One left, rocks on inside… Hairpin right, 50…"

These callouts continued for several minutes. The Humvee continued to target from one side of the tight dirt road to the other. All of the occupants were thrown about constantly; some held on better than others however. Sabretooth remained in exactly the same position throughout, leaning into the corners as they thundered through. Subaru was having the time of his life. He danced on the pedals and thread the steering wheel through his hands, the roads ahead of him flowed like a calm river. Starbug had a firm grip on her seat, trying not to be jolted around too much in vain. Sinon, meanwhile, held onto a handle on the roof and attempted to not look down at the valley beneath. It was difficult. Very difficult… Every bend made her view of the height easier to see. She wasn't scared of heights, but the simple thought of possibly falling down sent shivers down her neck. Sinon had to put her full trust into the driver. This would be a bumpy one…

Eventually, they reached the end of the valley. The vehicle abruptly stopped instantly beside a small stream of water. They had managed to get through the thin track. Sabretooth and Subaru were first to get out, readying their main weapons straight away. Subaru swung his newly modified Stoner over his shoulder while Sabretooth held a G36C in both hands. He tested the firing mechanism as well.

"Thanks, Sabre. Those notes put me in the zone! God, I should do that more often!"

"I don't think your passengers would agree with that. You check for possible foes, I'll check on the rest."

With a quick salute, Subaru quickly jogged off to a neighbouring hill as Sabretooth opened a door on the Humvee. Inside, Starbug was shaking to the core. 'Never again…' she muttered, slowly exiting the vehicle. That left Sinon, still holding onto the handle. She was staring at the window, without a care in the world.

"Uhh, Sinon? We've arrived, you can let go now," calmly spoke Sabretooth as he watched over his shoulder at Starbug (who was by the river, breathing deeply).

Sinon suddenly snapped out of her trance, and leaped out right away. Sabretooth slammed the door behind her as she turned back to face him.

"S-sorry about that...I didn't want to complain to him about the drive here, not that I'm angry with him or anything."

"It is fine, y'know." Sabretooth reassured her, bending his legs slightly to be at her height, "keep a cool head, I will mention it our driver. Now get ready, we need our sniper in the best vantage point."

She nodded in reply, then noticed his rifle. It wasn't the SPAS she saw him use with ferocious determination, in fact she didn't pay attention at it until the second glance. Most would opt for a SMG or pistol for a sidearm when equipped with a rifle or shotgun due to weight.

"You have a G36?" Questioned Sinon, slightly puzzled. "You didn't use it before, it a new purchase?"

"Oh this? I've had this for some time, longer than the 'Clever Girl' actually. Never let me down, like a good friend, y'know. When I'm like this, this rifle is always by my side. A reflection of myself, so to say. When in certain situations, the other comes out to party."

"The other? You mean the shotgun, right?"

Sabretooth answered with a simple, "You'll see" before walking off. Sinon also made her way to where Subaru was stationed for scouting. This was followed by Sabretooth and Starbug after a few minutes (with some raised voices). Here had a perfect view of the local area. Deserts stretched out for miles around them. A great sea sat to their front. Behind, the valley from where they came from lay in darkness. Once all of them were on top of the hill, Subaru told the rest his observations: "No enemy activity in the local area for now. But, some do cross here to go between the worm fields and shipwreck cove. I suggest we set up in that beached vessel and get to work. From there, a lot of cover from possible snipers and perfect for laying traps nearby."

"Alright…" Sabretooth paused for a few seconds, thinking deeply and hand on his chin, "Starbug, we need anti-personnel mines, lots of them. Make it a minefield out there. Subaru, when any foes come along, attempt to force them into the mines. By suppression or empty magazines, I do not care how. Sinon, pick off stragglers. Then, if need be, prepare for close quarters. Alright, let's get a move on. There's bounties to claim!"

Thus, they made their way to a shipwreck not too far away. The rusted ship lent into the sand that had piled upon it over many ingame days. It was a relatively small ship, enough for a crew of a dozen. Nets hung over its cabin and cages still sat wide open for a catch they would never get. These were only props, dead weight of an era long disappeared into the sands of time. Now, they could only be used for extracting materials for wondering players. On one side, facing upwards to the skies above, a singular giant hole spread across its starboard side. A perfect place to hide.

"Find a suitable spot people! Welcome to our new home from home for the next hour or so!" Sabretooth was unusually cheery to be in a rotten fishing trawler, especially one in the middle of a wide open desert. No other cover except for this. Would anyone fall for that?

Back where the Humvee was hastily parked, a convoy had just passed and stopped beside it. Half a dozen trucks, in perfect formation, grinded to a halt. Instantly, herds of players exited them; some from trucks that wouldn't look out of place in the deserts of the middle east, and others from state-of-the-art APCs. Each had slightly different weapons and clothing from one and another. However, each was well equipped for their jobs. Together, they formed a force to be reckoned with and one led them to their victories.

One climbed onto the top of an eight wheeled APC. He was by far the tallest of the lot, and covered completely by grey armour that fit perfectly. It acted like an exoskeleton, bending and adjusting to the user. Only small parts of the joints were exposed, but some of the best shots in all of GGO couldn't hit them from point-blank range. On the shoulders, plates extended around his neck, protecting it from all sides. The mouth only just cleared the plates. Too most, it would seem too heavy and impractical; yet, it was far from cumbersome. He started bellowed to those below. All near turned to face him without hesitation.

"Welcome, my dear followers!" he began, "Via a very special source, we have tracked a player in the top ranks. They have a hefty bounty on their head, along with their colleagues. There are three of them. Good for us, they lack long range support. However, I'd like to remind you that we are not to kill them, yet. We need to break them first, their morale and hope. Then, they can be KIA. Alpha: you'll be our eyes and sniper support, keep them ducking for cover. Bravo and Charlie: suppressing fire on the vessel, make sure none can get a good shot out. Delta: secure the flanks, no one shall escape! Echo and Foxtrot: main force, advance in your formation and keep camo on for as long as possible. Golf: you're with me. Move out!"

With that, groups of four to five huddled together before each team went their own way. Most groups followed the dirt road around the huge dune, while the others reached the top and hunkered down. All except one group left to get into their positions. Golf team remained beside the man as he jumped from the APC. He looked at his comrades before smiling.

"C'mon, we've got a bounty to claim. Kill anyone that attempts to intervene in my work, even our own."

They nodded and followed him to the top of the sand dune where Alpha team was waiting, snipers in hands. The four each held different rifles to the last. All had their eyes fixed on the rusted vessel. There was very little movement, only the wind blew small waves of sand across the vast landscape. The leader knelt beside on sniper who was holding a Dragunov.

"Anything yet?"

"Not much, Patriot. However, there was a glare from glass, I think."

"Really? Probably some binos, nothing to worry about!"

Patriot grabbed his own binoculars and quickly scanned the area. There was indeed a glare cropping up every so often. He zoomed the binoculars, focusing onto the deck of the vessel. There it was again. A quick flicker among rust and steel. He zoomed in more until something came into view. A singular scope. One from a long distance sniper… Patriot hesitated. The information he got, was false? Well, only partially. The rest were there, however no one expected them to be joined by another player.

"Looks like Sabre somehow got someone to join his team… And a sniper at that. Identify the sniper! Then we'll begin the assault!"

"Aye sir! It looks like Sinon, Patriot. Not many female avatars, especially ones with blue hair. What should be do?"

He visibly sighs before putting away his binoculars. 'Why now Sabre? Why? This maybe not the first time we've come head-to-head, but your new friend will not stop us.' After a brain storm, he quickly glances at each of the teams; they were all in position to start. Then, Patriot answered: "Nothing has changed. We will continue with the assault! Just expect more casualties if we screw this up. Well… if you guys screw up, it ain't on me."

A hand was raised by Patriot, in full view of his comrades. It was the signal to advance. The others slowly crawled towards the vessel, 500 metres and closing. Completely camouflaged, only a good spotter could spot them coming towards them. The operation had begun and there was no turning back.

Meanwhile, unaware of what was occuring, Sabot platoon remained in and around the vessel. Sinon was on the deck, scanning the horizon. Subaru sat beside a small hole in the hull, leaning his gun half in the ship, half out. Starbug was busy unraveling wires and cables around the entrance very carefully. Then, at the centre of this all, Sabretooth sat upon a set of stairs between the lower and upper decks. They were ready to launch a surprise attack, but what about being in the defense?

"You found anything?" Sabretooth's head popped out of a hatch beside Sinon, "prep is done down here."

"I thought I saw something from the dune we were just on, but nothing else has appeared just yet. It's just too quiet…"

"I understand, keep an eye out. We must have the element of surprise. The first shot usually wins."

As soon as he looked away, a red line appeared right in front of him. A thin laser crossing just ahead of his head. It was a bullet line. Its purpose: to warn of an attack. The bullet would travel here. Anything in the way, would suffer much harm or even black out with one shot. In any situation, being caught blocking the line's path, is not what anyone wants.

"Slowly, back off and slide down the stairs," Sabretooth whispered, "no sudden movements and keep out of sight…"

Sinon nodded. She placed her Hecate on her back and started to shuffle backwards after Sabretooth had slowly crawled down the stairs. They gradually made their way down to the lower decks. Sabretooth used simple hand signals to call over the others to the bottom step. Sabot platoon had been spotted, and time was running out. With each second that clicked past, the enemy got closer. Something had to be done, and quickly.

"Change of plans. We've got bogies inbound. We don't know how many or who they are. They know we're here. Which means someone has bailed us out."

"Better not be you Sinon," Starbug spitted out with spite, "Got ways of makin' ya suffer."

"Oh heavens no! I did not do such a thing!" Sinon was shaken by this accusation. Why would she betray them? Not many had welcomed her into their group so willingly, and not even a reference to how she is female. Some attempted to take advantage of this, but failed every time. "Anyone else has an idea?"

Subaru jumped in, "A farfetched one, but yes: an Assassination party. There's the bounty yes, but you could pay a group to eliminate them, or get information. He may have paid a lotta money for your head Sabre."

"Seems plausible, I am wanted on counts of: wiping out several squadron leaders, helping newer players counter the pros, not giving info on good items and that one time I accidently shot Itsuki in the head with a RPG. I did apologise however!"

"You never mentioned that last point…" Starbug mumbled, "we could've been on full red alert with one of the largest guilds tracking us and one of the best players too! I'm not talking about conscripts either, I'm saying mammoth tanks and Migs dude!"

"I did say that I apologised, anyhow, we need a new plan and quickly. Time is of the essence."

He paused for thought and, with a quick glance at outside, continued, "Eliminating snipers is a top priority. Sinon, look for muzzle flashes or light reflections. Starbug, ready to trigger the traps. Subaru, see if you can spot any targets. I will see if I can-"

Sabretooth was interrupted by a distinctive clanging, then something touching his foot. He turned to face the object. It was a simple cylinder, green in colour and had a black lever on top. This object seemed to be missing a pin. There was no mistaking it. This object that came from nowhere was… a flashbang.

"Oh crap-"

The flashbang detonated. Light filled the inside of the hull, blinding them all. All of the Sabot platoon held their ears in pain and unable to see the incoming threat. Foes filtered into the area, grabbing all of them and forcing each one to the ground. No matter what they did now, they were stuck in the arms of players heavily invested in strength. All they could do now, was wait. Just had to wait until the ordeal was over.