I squeeze the trigger of the RPG. The rocket motor engages with a loud hiss and sends the projectile shooting across the pirate base and right into the fuel dump. As the warhead slams into the metal side of the nearest tank, it detonates, creating a shockwave that instantly ignites the other tanks, sending a blast of burning fuel that shoots massive flames three hundred meters into the air. The blasts are more than even I was expecting, but I've quickly got my bearings and grab the second RPG from my companion.

I spin around and fire another rocket into the generators. Another explosion and blast of the flame, and then the entire compound is thrust into total darkness. The only light visible is the moon and the burning fires from the wreckage of the fuel dump. It is scene straight out of hell.

By this time, screams and shouts are coming from the direction of the barracks. Crowds of pirates are streaming into night, trying to assemble for action against an enemy they can't see. I grab two hand grenades, pull the pins, and heave them with all my might into the crowd. Two explosions carrying deadly shrapnel slice through the unsuspecting militiamen and many fall to the ground. I look over to see that perhaps half a dozen half reached the armory and are trying to grab heavier weapons. I reach for my last grenade and lob it straight through the front door the building. The ammunition inside catches, and blows the entire building to rubble.

The pirates that remain in the compound begin firing wildly in every direction. It's obvious they have no idea where the attack is coming from. I unsling my rifle from my back, chamber a round, and take aim.

"Game on."

I squeeze my trigger and fire an entire magazine into the hapless crowd on full automatic. My two companions join in and the pirates are caught in a perfect ambush, they fall in droves. Their shouts of fear and desperation fall on deaf ears though. We all remember how these are the men responsible for so much pain and misery across this entire land. In fact, I'm not proud to say that it almost feels like this is poetic justice.

After three magazines, someone has finally begun to rally the militiamen and they start to return fire on our position. The three of us are forced to take cover, but I'm not worried, because I know what's coming next…

Suddenly, a wild screaming appears from the darkness that's so loud it almost drowns out the sound of the pirate gunfire. I look out to see Khalid appear from the shadows, his white robes growing red in the firelight, wielding his scimitar. With one swing, he literally cleaves the nearest pirate in two. From behind him, the rest of the tribesmen appear and begin hacking into the militia with swords, bayonets, and even the butts of their rifles. The whole thing quickly descends into a giant melee, and the drunken, sleepy pirates are no match for the onslaught. I pull the hatchet from my belt and rush forward to join them.

A desperate pirate locks his eyes on me. He tries to raise his rifle, but I've already rolled forward onto the ground and hack at his ankles. He collapses in a screaming heap before another one of my blows silences him forever. I look over and see another enemy take a bead on one of my two companions who are just two steps behind me. I sling my hatchet through the air just in time to knock his weapon out of the way as a burst of rounds impacts the sand next to the young tribesmen's feet. The pirate turns back towards me, but my companion charges forward and strikes at the side of the enemy's head with a quick stroke of his rifle, sending the sound of cracking skull echoing through the air. As the pirate breathes his last breaths, I kick to my feet, dash to recover my weapon from the ground, and turn back into the fight.

I keep my eyes on Khalid, as he fights like a man possessed, wielding his long blade, he deals deathblow after deathblow to the hapless defenders. I can see in his eyes the image of a man out for revenge. It is a look I have seen far too often in my twenty-eight years, but for the first time I feel it is totally justified.

After dispatching two more pirates in the way, I finally reach Khalid. Luckily, he recognizes me as a friend and doesn't try to slice me to pieces.

"Good to see you again," I say with a smile as look around for any more targets.

"You as well, my sister," he says with his trademark calm returning to his voice. Something in his words hits me so hard, I have to consciously remind myself I'm still in action. This is no longer just a mission. It's even more than something personal. I'm fighting with a new family…

In less than ten minutes, it is over. The remaining pirates have either perished our retreated to the desert where the sun will claim them in an even worse death tomorrow. I look back at Khalid, his pristine white robes now stained almost totally crimson as he surveys the damage. A few of his tribe have fallen tonight, but most still stand proudly on their feet in victory. He raises his blade over his head and shouts like a lion's roar

"ALLAHU ACKBAR!"

"ALLAHU ACKBAR!" thunders back from the rest of his tribe. I relax a little, even though I can't shake feeling this all seemed a little too simple. I start to walk over to Khalid still standing triumphantly in the middle of the pirate base that once seemed impenetrable. The look of utter joy in his face makes me feel almost giddy. He knows that his people will no longer have to live in fear. That with the help of my people, the tribe's children will once more have enough to eat, and that they will grow up in a world where they no longer have to worry about things far beyond their years…that maybe they can just be the young innocents that they're supposed to be. On this bloody night, he has come much closer to fulfilling the dream that both his wife and his father died trying to reclaim. I want to tell him that his courage, leadership, and sacrifices have all been rewarded. That his risky act of faith has paid off, and that I can't possibly be more proud of what he and his tribe have accomplished. I'm about to throw my arms around him, when I see the bullets explode through his chest.