We are so close.
Warning! I have little to no knowledge of military lingo, guns, and fight scenes. Movies and google are my go-to sources. Thank you for your time and let's go.
"Blah" — Speech
"Blah" — Speech in another language
'Blah' — Thoughts
[ Blah ] — Text
*Blah* — Sound effects in speech
(Blah) — Author's notes
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Love Live! School Idol Project. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Deploy & Rescue the Idol
Sphera HQ
Eli could feel the tension as she walks into the meeting room. She looks around to see Tsubasa in front of a holographic screen while Alice, Honoka, and the rest of the squad sitting at the table. She nods at the leaders and takes a seat next to Nozomi.
Tsubasa coughs into her hand, "Now that everyone is here we can begin." She taps the screen of her touch-pad and a picture of Anton shows up on the bigger screen. "The record says his name is Anton Vasily." She presses a button and a picture of the injured man, "And this is his 'legal guardian,' Ivan Petrov. They immigrated to Russia when Anton was around 1." Pictures of records show up where some texts were blacked out. "Our contacts say that he attended the same military as Eli but we don't know why he was discharged."
Eli stands up and breathes in, "Anton and I used to compete for the top rank in the program. After a training drill I gained the top rank and the whole class went out for a drink. Anton got too drunk and believed I did not deserve it. I was drunk as well and a fight broke out. The police came and our commander demanded what happened. My classmates vouched for me and Anton was dishonorably discharged while I was demoted to the bottom rank."
Alice leans forward, "Was there a reward for the top rank?"
"Prestige among the military and top recommendations to almost any job in Russia after the contract ends." Eli sighs, "It's my fault that Nico was captured."
"Elichi..." Nozomi looks up at Eli.
"There are some benefits to this situation." Everyone stares in shock at Alice. "His quest for revenge clouded his mind and he has made mistakes. I also believe that the sudden rise to power corrupted his mind." She nods to Tsubasa.
The Sphera employee continues the briefing, "Thanks to the information given from our 'friends,' we have a layout of the base." A blueprint of the enemy's base takes the whole screen; there are various openings and hallways. Tsubasa points at five openings, "The prisoners said that these spaces were empty the last time they were there so there is a chance that Nico is in one of them."
Tsubasa starts tapping on the touch-pad, "This is the general plan: You four will be dropped around 130 kilometers away from the base. You have 48 hours until the company drops drones to act as decoys and attack the base." The picture zooms in on one lone hallway leading to the outside. "In the middle of the distraction you will sneak into the base. Our friends said that they abandoned this secret exit and are in the process of making a new one. They nailed a metal sheet to the inside entrance while the outside exit is blocked with a boulder to hide it in plain view."
"Once you rescued Nico you will rendezvous to this location and call for an air exfil." The picture zooms out and refocuses on an area away from the cave. "Our satellite shows this area has decent cover and enough space for our helicopters." Tsubasa looks around the room, "Any questions?"
Eli coughs into her hand and draws everyone's attention. "Why drones?"
Alice answers Eli, "This is the perfect opportunity to test the capabilities of the drones." Eli opens her mouth but Alive stares at the Muse guard, "This is one of my conditions."
Eli hesitates but slowly relents.
"Do not worry. I would not endanger this mission and Nico. I have full trust in all of you and the drones."
Tsubasa continues, "Anything else?" They all shake their heads. "Alright gear up."
.
Hangar Bay
.
Eli adjusts Sphera's dragon skin vest as she loads up her magazines. With the last magazine in her hand, the blonde looks through the opening to see subsonic rounds. She then tucks the last magazine in the vest and then loads up her G19 in her pistol holster. With almost everything loaded Eli looks down at the table to see her main weapon, a SCAR-H CQC variation with a suppressor attached to it. Eli tilts her head to the side when she spots her baton on the table. 'Huh.' The guard picks it up and fits it on the left side of her vest. With everything loaded, she looks up and around to note everyone else:
Nozomi loaded a magazine into her ACR CQC.
Umi is looking down the scope on her SOCOM 16 CQB.
Rin makes the final adjustments to her KRISS Vector.
All of them share the same pistol and desert-scheme vests. She also notes their primary weapons have suppressors on them and most likely have subsonic rounds. Eli walks over to Rin and pats her shoulder, "How are you feeling?"
Rin turns her head, "I'm ready. We trained a lot in the sim room."
Eli shakes her head, "How are you feeling?"
"I..." Rin hesitates, "I'm really scared."
"Good."
Rin draws her head back, "Huh?"
"Having fear keeps you sharp. But don't let it control you."
"Okay," Rin nods. "Thanks."
Eli nods and turns around to see Kotori walking toward them with a backpack in her hands. The rest of the squad stop their preparation and gather around the designer. Umi steps closer, "Kotori."
Kotori smiles and quickly squeezes the blue-haired guard's hand. She turns to the group, "Hey everyone. I have something for Nico to wear." She pulls out a heavy-duty hoodie and pants, "These are made with top-of-the-line material and design. I tailored it to be Nico's size and I also made them into parts in case..." Kotori stops for a moment and then collects herself, "In case Nico is injured anywhere. Here." Kotori demonstrates by pulling a section of the jacket and Eli can hear the velcro rip. Kotori puts it back together and stuffs it into the backpack. "Who's going to hold it for Nico?"
Nozomi walks over, "I'll hold it." Kotori gives the backpack to the guard.
Eli then hears metal hitting metal and turns to see a giant four-legged drone move toward them with Hanayo by its side.
"Kayo-chin!" Rin jogs over and gives a quick hug.
"Rin," Hanayo returns the hug and then looks to the robot, "Um, this will be your companion for this mission."
Umi looks over the drone, "This MULE looks different."
Hanayo nods, "Ah yes, this one was heavily modified with protection for Nico as its top priority."
"What does it offer?"
"It can carry heavy gear and supplies for extended periods of time. It's also big enough to transport a small team of people." Hanayo presses a few buttons on a touch-pad and the rectangular panels on the side slide up. "The armor is strong enough to stop .50 caliber bullets." It moves to cover the top. "We also installed extra layers of armor plating that can be planted anyway on the field."
Hanayo points at the harpoons on the back, "These can be used to tow away the rock." A compartment on the right side opens with magazines matching their primary guns. "Extra ammo." Hanayo presses a bottom and everything returns to its original position. "It can run up to 50 kilometers per hour."
"Whoa," Rin marvels at the drone in front of her, "Does this one have a name?"
"We called it RHINO."
'An apt name.'
Hanayo offers the touch-pad to Rin, "Here Rin. Mostly everything is the same so it should be similar to the other controls you worked with."
"Thanks Kayo-chin."
"It seems like you're all ready to go." The crew turns to see their leader walking towards them.
Eli nods, "Yes we just finished familiarizing with the RHINO."
Honoka nods, "Good." She then looks at them, "Do you have a team name?"
Nozomi, Umi, and Rin stare at Eli. 'I guess I'm leading.' She racks her brain to think of a name. She remembers Nico's eyes, "How about... Ruby team?" The squad looks at each and then nod their heads. "I'll be Ruby lead." Eli points at each one in turn and called their call-signs:
Nozomi, "Ruby 1."
Umi, "Ruby 2."
Rin, "Ruby 3."
They nod at their assigned call-signs.
Just then a Sphera engineer walks over to the group, "The plane is almost ready to take off."
Eli looks over at the cargo plane to see countless drones of various models being transported to the underbelly; the drones had two legs, four legs, treads, or rotors to move their mechanical bodies. She looks back at her squad and points at RHINO, "Pack your gear and get ready to move out."
"I don't have to say it but..." Honoka stares at each of them in turn, "Come home together with Nico."
They all salute at Honoka.
.
. . . . . . . .
.
.
It took hours but one of the Sphera crew-members walks over to the squad. "We're nearing the landing zone."
Eli nods, "Copy." She turns to her squad, "Ruby team get ready." They all got up while the RHINO lumbers behind them. Ruby and various crew-members make one last check on their gear.
One of the aircrew stops next to a lever and pulls it down. Klaxons blare off while the ramp opens and all Eli could see was the moon in the dark blue sky. Ruby team and their drone walk closer to the opening. The klaxons stopped and Eli can hear her heart thumping as they wait for the signal.
1 second
2 seconds
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Eli is the first to run and fling her body off the plane. She feels a weird sensation coursing through her body as she plummets into the clouds. After a few seconds she turns her head left and right to see the rest of her squad nearby. It felt like minutes but Eli finally saw the ground. She looks at the altimeter strapped to her wrist. 'Now is a good time.' Eli waits a seconds before she pulls her parachute cord. The parachute releases from the bag and Eli feels a sudden jerk from the sudden velocity decrease.
Eli watches the ground come closer to her as she slowly descends into the sand. She almost lost her footing as her boots briefly sunk into the sand. Her training kicked in and she kept running to slow the momentum. She runs for several meters before she stops and takes off the backpack. Eli clips and unzips the bag strapped to the front of her body. She pulls out her rifle and pulls down her night-vision google attached on her helmet to scan the area.
Besides her squad landing around her area, there are was no one else. The rest of her squad converged onto Eli position and formed a perimeter.
"Clear."
"Clear."
"Clear."
In the distance the RHINO lands and the parachute covers the machine. Eli picks up her pack, "Grab your gear and move to RHINO." After a few moments they reached the drone and tore off the parachute.
Eli, Nozomi, and Umi surround the RHINO while Rin climbs up the top. She checks the machine and looks back down, "Everything is secured."
Eli nods, "Ruby team secure your gear on the RHINO and mount up." With everything secured and Ruby team is on the RHINO, Eli turns to Rin, "Ruby 3 plot a route to the next area."
"Copy." The RHINO starts to pace through the sand to their next destination.
Hours later...
"We're here." Eli jumps down the drone and makes her way up to the crest of hill. She takes her binoculars up and stares at the base; the outside was a giant rock formation in the middle of nowhere.
The rest of her squad joins her and survey the area. "So this is it huh," Nozomi comments.
"There," Umi points at a boulder at the bottom of the formation. "Our entrance."
Eli had to squint to notice there are some disparities with the boulder, 'We're so lucky with those informants.' Eli turns to Umi, "How much longer until Sphera causes the diversion?"
Umi brings up her arm where there is a smartphone attached to her forearm. "The attack will carry out in eight hours."
Nozomi takes a swig from her canteen, "So what do we do in the meantime?"
"How about there?" They turn to see Rin pointing to large rock jutting from the sand.
'It can offer shade for us.' Eli nods, "Let's get away from the sun while we wait."
"Finally."
10 minutes before the strike...
"Alright team move to the boulder." The squad and RHINO made their way to the location. Rin taps her touch-pad and the drone turns its back to the direction of the rock; the two harpoon launchers are now pointed at the rock. Eli looks down on her wrist touch-pad to see the countdown.
5
4
3
2
1
Eli can barely hear explosions from the other side of the formation. She turns to Rin and nods her head once. Rin nods back and presses one button on her pad. The harpoons shoot out and embed themselves into the boulder. The RHINO slowly walks forward, dragging the boulder with it. In less than 30 seconds the boulder was moved and there is an opening with enough space to fit one person at a time.
Eli turns to her team, "Ruby 2 will take point and lead the way for us. Ruby 1 will be behind Ruby 2 to provide cover. I will be next with Ruby 4 taking the rear."
They nod at the orders and Umi jogs over to the drone to retrieve the tools while the rest of the squad takes position at the opening. Eli can still hear explosions.
After a few seconds Umi comes back to them and takes lead. Nozomi, Eli and Rin follow after the blue-haired guard. As they walk down the man-made hallway Eli had to pull down her NV goggles and even then she still can't see much. Just as Eli see some light at the end of the hallway, Umi raises her fist up and the team halts in front of some kind of metal sheet.
Eli hears footsteps and someone shouting. The footsteps fade away and it becomes quiet. After several moments of silence Umi puts on a welding helmet and thick gloves. The team steps back as Umi turns on the portable plasma torch. She brings the torch to the metal and sparks start to fly around Umi. The team had to take the goggles off as the light was too much for the equipment.
After painstaking seconds Umi turns off the torch and pulls the metal off and drops it to the side. She takes off the helmet and gloves to pick up her rifle. "Be mindful of the edges." She nudges the torch and she inches into the room. The rest of the team inches in and then fan out to find an empty room.
With no threat in sight, they stack up on the entrance. Eli takes a look at the 'door.' 'It doesn't even have hinges.' The blonde points at Umi and gestures her to cover low. Eli then gestures Nozomi to pick up the door while Rin hangs back. The team nods and waits for her order. Eli leans to the door and tries to listen for anything. She hears nothing and holds her hand up:
3
2
1
Nozomi heaves the door off of the walls for Eli and Umi to check the corners. Eli sees no one in the lit hallway. "Clear."
"Clear."
"Ruby 1 and 3 cover the hallway. Ruby 2 on me." Rin and Nozomi take their place as Eli and Umi step pack. The blonde brings up her wrist pad to show a map of the location with five markers. "We don't know how long those drones will last so we will have to split up." She points at the two markers on the left, "You and Ruby 3 will take the left while Ruby 1 and I will take the right."
Eli adjusts her radio, "From here on out we will go radio silent. Only break it if you have found Ni- the VIP. Clear?"
Umi nods, "Copy."
They stand behind their respective partners. "Go." They split off. Eli covers Nozomi as they make their way to the right side of the base. After minutes of walking the hallway branches off into two more hallways. 'Damn.' Eli checks the map again and almost swore. She takes a few seconds to think of a new plan. "Ruby 1 we're going to have to split up."
"What?" Nozomi almost looks behind, "Eli- Ruby Lead you can't be serious."
"We're losing time and it will take too long to check each room one-by-one."
"It's..." Nozomi grits her teeth, "Fine."
"I got the left and you the right."
Nozomi nods her head. "Good luck."
"You too." They split off and Eli is alone. After several seconds of walking Eli looks down at the map to see she is almost at one of the markers. Just as she turns the corner two soldiers step off of the room. Eli jerks herself back and stays out of sight. The blonde reaches for her radio but stops, 'I need to make sure.' Eli pulls a flash bang out of her vest and takes a deep breath. She pulls the pin and throws it around the corner.
BANG
Eli rounds the corner and pulls the trigger twice. Two bodies drop to the floor and Eli stops in front of the door. She peeks through the door to see the idol with her mouth gagged and her extremities strapped to a chair. "Nico!" Eli pushes her way in and hesitates when she sees the eye-patch on the left eye.
Nico screams are muffled as she jerks her head to Eli's left side.
Instincts scream at Eli's body and she pivots around; Anton has some kind of club and is swinging an overhead strike to Eli's head. Eli quickly brings her rifle up to intercept the blow.
THWACK
Eli's arms shake from the strike but she ignores it and reaches for her pistol. Anton closes in and knees Eli in the stomach. "Kuh!" Eli drops both of her guns. Anton raises his club but Eli jabs her palm at his chin. He staggers back and Eli takes the chance to reach for her pistol.
A club flies and hits the pistol away from Eli's reach. She turns around just as Anton slams into her with a flying tackle. They both fly and land at the side of the room.
Eli groans as she picks herself up, 'Holy shit.' Suddenly she feels pain in her ribs as she was pushed to the ground. "Argh!" She looks up to see Anton with a machete pointed at her head.
Anton smirks, "Eli. Never expected to see you here."
Eli clenches her teeth, "Anton." Eli tries to get her breathing under control. "Why? Why did you take Nico? You could have taken me."
Anton thrusts the blade closer to Eli's face, "I've seen the way that girl looks at you. I also watched her other videos and I gotta say, I would never imagined seeing you dancing in a costume."
Eli shakes her head, "Give it up Anton! You gave up everything for revenge and the Brotherhood will be crushed because of it."
Anton smiles, "You being here must be God's gift to me and that's all that matters."
'Think!' Eli tries to think of anything. 'What if...' She looks at Anton, "Would you like to know where Ivan is?"
His eyes widen, "What... Where is he?" His hand starts to tremble, "Where is he!"
"Dead."
His face twists in rage as he draws his blade back to strike.
Eli tenses her bo—
BOOM
The cave shakes from some kind of shock wave and Anton loses his balance. Eli recovers faster and she extends her baton and swings it at his knee.
CRACK
"ARRGH!" He drops to the ground and cradles his knee.
Eli scrambles over to her pistol and picks it up to aim it at Anton. "Don't."
Anton growls as he glares at Eli. Few seconds pass and he reaches for his blade.
BANG
BANG
Anton Vasily drops to the floor with two holes in his head.
Eli takes a deep breath and her shoulders feel lighter.
"Mnn!"
Eli turns around to Nico and the mission comes back to her. She clicks on the radio, "This is Ruby lead to all squad. I have the VIP. Ruby 2 and 3 cover our exit. Ruby 1 come to marker 3. Over and out." Eli picks up the blade and cuts Nico's bindings. "Nico..."
Nico weakly smiles, "Yo Eli."
Eli checks over Nico's body, "How are you?"
"Like shit." That brought a smile from Eli.
"Ruby 1 coming in." They turn to the door to see Nozomi enter the entrance. "Nicocchi!" She flies through the room and frets over Nico, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"Hey Nozi."
Eli shakes her head but sobers up. She walks over to her rifle to pick it up. 'Damn it. The barrel is bent.' She drops the gun and starts taking out the magazines. Eli looks around to find a weapon and her eyes stop at the front. She walks over and checks the dead enemy's weapon. 'P90. It'll have to do for now.' She clips her backpack off and starts loading the horizontal magazines.
"Let me hold that for you."
Eli turns around to see Nico in her specialized armor with her hand out. "Are you sure?"
Nico thrusts her hand again, "Yes."
Eli glances at Nozomi who nodded her head. She looks back at Nico, "Okay."
(Shift to Nico)
Nico hooks the straps on her arms. She sees Nozomi going first and Eli doing something to her gun. The blond looks at Nico, "Stick close to us."
The idol loosely gives a two-finger salute, "Like glue." They lead Nico through a maze of hallways. 'Holy crap why is the room spinning?' She then sees two familiar faces, "Hey Rin and Umi."
"Nico!"
Umi scolds Rin, "Stay focused."
"We're moving out," Eli commands.
They go through the some dark hallway and Nico starts to pant. 'I'm really out of shape.' They get out but Nico stumbles back and Eli catches her, "What the hell is that?" Nico points at the creature in front of them.
"Don't worry RHINO is on our side." Rin climbs up and waves her over. "C'mon."
Nico raises her eyebrow but Eli nudges her, "We have to go soon Nico."
"Right." Nico struggles as she climbs up but Nozomi supported the idol up. After a while Nico looks around to see everyone climbing up on this thing. She sees Rin pressing something on a touch-pad and the machine races off. "Whoa!" The ride then descends into silence and Nico can feel her eyes getting heavy. 'Just...gonna... close them for a bit...'
.
. . . . . . . .
.
"...ico...Nico."
Nico opens her eyes to see Eli softly shaking her shoulder. "Are we home?" For some reason she still feels sluggish.
"Not yet. But we're close. I need you to get down from the RHINO. Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah..." Nico pushes herself up, "Sure." Eli helps the idol up and drops her to Nozomi. When Nico's feet touches the sand she groans, "Oh that feels nice." She looks up to see everyone move around and about while the robot is slamming something into the ground. 'What are they doing?' Nico notices they are in some flat place with some rocks here and there as she massages her feet into the sand.
Nico jumps as the RHINO plops in front of her, "What the—" She looks at Nozomi as the guard straps something on her shoulder, "What are you doing?"
"I'm putting this on so Sphera will recognize you as a friendly."
"...Okay?"
Nozomi grins, "It shows you as one of the good guys."
"Ohhhh."
PING
"Contact!" Loud banging noises fill the world. "Suppressing fire!"
"Get down!" Nozomi pushes Nico behind the robot. "Stay down Nico!" Nozomi stands up and fires her gun.
"Don't let them advance!"
"Grenade out!"
"Reloading!"
Nico's heart thumps in her chest as she tries to make herself as small as possible. She can feel explosions rumbling beneath her feet and hear bullets whizzing by her, "Holy shit holy shit holy shit!"
It felt like hours before Nico hears whooshing sounds overhead. Nico looks up to see helicopters circling around them. She then hears something whirling and she sees fire spewing forth from the side of the helicopters She marvels at the waterfall of brass cascading to the ground.
BRRRRRRRRRRT
Nico giggle, 'It sounds like someone farting.'
Another helicopter lands behind them and a group of people jump out and ran over to them. 'That's some weird armor.' Nico notes that some kind of metallic frame is covering their body.
One of them stops near Eli, "We'll take it from here Ruby team so exfil with the VIP! Go go go!"
Nozomi picks up Nico, "It's time to go home Nicocchi." The rest of her guards surround and escort her to the helicopter. Nico gets inside to see one person with a red cross on their jacket; he starts to check Nico. Once everyone gets inside the helicopter it lifts off the ground and flies away.
Through the window Nico sees more helicopters flying into the direction of the battle. She turns to Eli, "Are we going home?"
Eli smiles, "Yes we're going home."
"Okay." Nico sinks into the seat and teeters to the side but Eli catches her in time. Nico closes her eyes and hears voices in the distance:
"Nico...Nico... What is... on?"
"Adrenaline... Body... Sleep..."
Nico drifts into slumber, 'Home.'
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And fin.
Holy crap! What an adventure! Nico is finally rescued. Again I want to apologize for any misuse of military lingo, terms, and tactics. I gotta say I'm very surprised that my imagination stayed relatively the same to what I imagined a year ago.
Another I want to say is that I have a few chapters left before this story is complete.
I want to say thanks to my followers and new readers for reading and staying with me.
See ya in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading
Constructive criticisms are appreciated
Bravo Tango out.