Chapter 5: Adawe National Park

5 November 2060, 1630 Hours (Military Calendar)

Adawe National Park

Numbani

30 minutes after drop….

EXECUTE ACTION

….CAMERA ONLINE…..

ZENITH LANCER: [ONLINE]

ZENITH 1: [ONLINE

ZENITH 2: [WORKING…ONLINE]

ZENITH 3: [ONLINE]

The ARV-3 Was one of Overwatch's best UAVs: Capable of hitting close to three thousand kilomerters per hour. They had a large build cost but it was well worth it: Integrated AI in their matrix, advanced computer algorithms, and able to put up a fight. Overwatch used these drones to scout the immediate metropolitan area around Numbani. So far, it was the same thing over and over, damaged buildings, overturned cars, not to mention the predicted effects of a major EMP blast.

Blackwatch repurposed the drones. The blast that swept the city, it left an LZ behind. This would be a nice to fish to catch since if they could get their hands on the Talon landing zone, they could track the location of other Talon ships in or around the world. Zenith Lance was scouting the immediate area. This was Adawe National Park, the place where the blast believed to originate.

Strike Corporal John Bayless stumbled out of his pod. His landing was nearly perfect. If the sand where he set down hadn't been so hard, he would've given it a 10. Presently, he would have given himself a 9."

"Good Lord, thanks for getting me through another one of these. Thought I was going to be crushed under pressure for sure." He took a glance at his surroundings, taking everything in.

He appeared to be at a beach of sorts. Across the water, he could see an older city. Several streaks of AA fire shot from the ground and attempted to cut down Talon fighters, to little effect as the ships attempted to outmaneuver the heavy rounds.

Three drones flew over Bayless' head. They all streaked towards the city center, trailing vapor in their wake.

"At least we still got eyes in the sky" Bayless said to the drones. He grabbed a heavy rocket launcher and hefted it over his shoulder. He had used the weapon so much that Bayless felt that it was part of him, despite him having to sneak it under his leader's nose every time.

"I'd prefer to keep my boots on the ground though."

It looked like he landed in a safari zone. A couple of abandoned tourism jeeps showed that people left in a hurry. He even found a helpful directory which conveniently showed him where he was.

Walking up a worn path in the plants, he wondered if there were any animals left. He nearly jumped a foot when he saw two corpses of Rhinos. He pushed this out of his mind and advanced up the path. The metallic crackle of weaponry started to sound over the trees, which meant that some Overwatch agents had survived after all. That was great news. He definitely didn't want to go through alone.

He reached a line of trees and hid behind a shrub. Ahead of him, a small platoon of Overwatch agents hid behind a jeep. They were firing a salvo of shots at a squad of Talon Agents headed by a Captain. He didn't want to bee seen, so he crouched down. One of the Agents spotted him.

"Agent! You mind giving us a hand over here? Help us secure this vehicle!"

Bayless gave a quick glance towards the Talon forces. He then took a deep breath and made a run across the open ground. He felt a few bolts of pulse fire ricochet off his armored legs, but didn't stop. When he saw a grenade flying towards him, he lept with all his might to the safety of the overturned jeep. The grenade blew up and showered the agents with dirt.

"Nice one" One of them said.

"Thanks. What's the situation here?" Bayless replied, checking the ammo count on his launcher.

"The entire godforsaken park is overrun with Talon agents. We're supposed to meet with our Strike leader but in case you haven't noticed, we're a little underpowered."

Bayless nodded, noticing the Talon station. "Alright. Let's get this jeep flipped. Grab a part of it's hull."

The Agents did as they were told.

"Ready? On three…. THREE!"

They all pulled with all their might and used the body of the jeep to absorb some of the enemy fire. They pushed even more until it thudded on all four tires.

"OK. Whos gonna man the turret?" Bayless asked. He didn't get a response from the agents who exchanged clueless looks. "Alright, you babies, I'm going. I'm going."

He carefully climbed onto the mounted gun. He thumbed the trigger and sent a salvo of heavy pulse rounds into the Talon squad. They seemed to fly apart as their bodies absorbed the energy from the gun. Soon, there was nothing but a few bloody corpses. Bayless smiled. He stepped down from the Energy cell LMG and nodded to the Agents.

"Thanks. You take the wheel. We need to get this thing on the road." The Agent climbed into the gun turret and pulled back on the charging lever. "Our officer needs to clear this sector."

Bayless sat in the driver's seat and activated the jeep. He felt the cylinders pump as it burned fuel. Back in California, Bayless had been a truck driver for Lumerico. He remembered several nights on the open roads with the moon shimmering in the sky, from Venice Beach-his hometown-down to San Diego, to Dorado, and back again.

This was where he belonged, behind the wheel. He slammed on the gas and fishtailed around. Bayless spotted two more jeeps in a firefight with Talon forces.

"Nice of you guys to show up," an agent said. "We could use a hand. Guess you weren't lying around on the job, were you, Keyes?"

"Absolutely not, sir! One of the Secondaries showed up and lent assistance!"

"Nice to see them show up. OK, let's clear it out! Aw shit…Heavy Tank coming through!"

"Guess this isn't our day…"

John saw the tank coming over the hill. He nervously eyed the mortar that was aimed in his general direction. If they layed even a close shot, the splash damage would knock them over, making them open targets for the tanks gunner.

He pushed this out of his mind. "Alright, Agents. Try to hit it from behind. I'm gonna try to flank it."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his passenger make the sign of the cross.

Don't worry man, the Lord's got something good today.

He pulled up close to the tank.

"Target the gunner!"

The Agent, Keyes, agreed and sprayed the Talon soldier manning the turret with armor piercing rounds. He slumped dead over the gun, causing it to fire into the tank. While the drier wasn't killed, it got a few holes in the hull.

"Come on, you sonuvabitch, ram me…"

Bayless got his wish. He saw the tank speed up. Just when it was about to make contact, he pulled the handbrake and drifted clear.

"NOW!"

Keyes unloaded into the tank's rear. His rounds sliced into it and soon, it belched fire. The tank exploded, showering the hill with hundreds of black and gray hull plates. The agents whooped and hollered as they mopped up the rest of Talon.

"Not bad, Agent." One of the Agents said over the COM.

"We're not done yet!" Bayless yelled looking skyward. "Eyes up-Talon Dropships in our area!"

"I see it. All units, engage the target!"

Blue smoke streaked from the other Jeep's pulse rifles. The dropship answered by shooting back it's own salvo of energy beams.

"Just a little more…"

The forward turret exploded. The side-gunners angrily tried to nail the Agents but they were too fast. The Dropship dropped its load of two squads and fled, bleeding energy cells from its broken turret.

"That's right! You better run!" He turned sharply to run over a couple of Talon soldiers, spraying the windshield with blood. Bayless felt a burning in his arm. He realized that one of the soldiers managed to hit him with a pulse round. While it didn't make contact with his skin, it superheated the armor. He needed to get something on it or he'll get burnt. He introduced the Talon soldier to his axel and then unwrapped his forearm guard and tossed it to his feet, allowing his burned wrist to get some air.

"That may be the last of them!" Keyes said. "Sector's clear and we have some backup."

There was some slight static over the com link as an older-sounding man came on.

"Say again, agent? I've got drones overhead!"

"Sir, Strike Corporal John Bayless reporting for duty!" Bayless announced.

"Nice of you to drop in, Corporal! Head to the next part of the park: Link up with the second platoon. They've taken many casualties and could use assistance."

"Roger that! I'm on the move!"

His passenger leaned over as they took a bend in the road. "Where's the rest of your unit, Agent?"

Bayless shrugged, keeping his eyes to the road. "Scattered. Dead. Dunno." Truth be told, it wasn't on the top of his priority list.

The agent sighed. "Too bad. We need all the help we can get."

The convoy entered the second section and went uphill. As Bayless rounded the bend, he saw a soldier making a run for it.

"Warn the Leader! The enemy has breached o-" The soldier didn't get to finish as he was sucked under Bayless' jeep.

"Shut it." Bayless simply said. He gasped and pulled the wheel as he just avoided some Enemy fire. He narrowly missed the Stationary turret's plasma bolts.

"Hit it now!" He ordered the gunner. After about five seconds of continuous fire, the station exploded in a shower of sparks. Fishtailing around, he managed to go head to head with a Talon Jeep and made a hell of a fender-bender. The driver was thrown free of the vehicle and threw about fifty feet before sliding another ten to his death.

"Buckle Up-It's the law!" Keyes called spraying the soldiers as they ran for cover. Behind them, the rest of the convoy was barely keeping up. Bayless then went to a ravine of sorts.

"Nice work! You're nearly at our objective!"

"Good. What is the objective?"

"You know that EMP blast that wiped the city? We need to secure it's last known location, and snatch an asset. That's what command says, at least."

"What's the asset?"

"Hell if I know. The last time I heard, they were talking about something "classified".

"That's command for you."

Bayless wheeled his jeep across the ravine and came to a square. Ahead of him seemed to be the exit to the park. It was closed and the huge amount of Talon forces didn't seem willing to let them through.

"All units! Make for that center building!"

The vehicles altered their direction and went for the only standing building. When they got close, a blue flare shot from the roof.

"Looks like we found the platoon!" Keyes said.

They pulled up and ran up the stairs. A Strike Sergeant was taking potshot at an approaching Talon ground unit.

"Strike Corporal John Bayless." Bayless said, acknowledging his rank.

The Sergeant nearly jumped an inch.

"CHERT!" he exclaimed, in a thick Russian accent. "Do not do that!" He took a deep breath. "Corporal, eh? We could use some help."

"What is it you need, sir?"

"Those tanks down there" The sergeant said pointing to the tanks queuing up their positions just east of the main entrance. "They have been giving us hard time. Can you do something to them?"

"Of course." Bayless said, unslinging the rocket launcher from his back.

"A launcher? I didn't know it was your birthday!" One of the Sergeant's men commented.

"Alright, take some weight after me, guys!" Bayless requested as he took up another position. The platoon complied by giving him some covering fire. Using this to his advantage, he sighted the rocket launcher on one of the tanks. He thumbed the trigger, and a rocket shot through the sky and through the tank in a matter of three seconds. It sputtered for a second, and then exploded in a scarlet-orange fireball. The other tank tried to run, but Bayless didn't give it a chance. He slashed it with another Rocket and watched as the pilot tried to douse the flames from a cockpit.

Horrified at the unholy power, the Talon agents surrounding the now-destroyed tanks turned around and ran. They were easy targets for Overwatch's snipers.

"Area is secured." Bayless reported.

The sergeant shook his head. "Net. We will take it the rest of the way….if we can get you to clear it out ahead.

"Not a problem, sir!" Bayless said. "Anyone from the first unit, get back downstairs, we need to link up with this colonel!"

Back in the jeep, he turned to the Agent riding shotgun. "Where is the Colonel exactly?"

"Near the blast's point of origin. We took care of the armor so we can roll across the bridge." He pointed just up ahead at a suspension bridge that led to yet another part of the Park

Just as Bayless and the convoy proceeded over the span, he heard a horrible, earthshaking sound of grinding metal that could be heard for kilometers. Looking in the distance, he saw a gazelle-shaped skyscraper tear in two. Like god himself slashed the building with a katana, the top half began to slowly slide off the top of the building, the sound of metal screeching through the auburn sky.

That wasn't even the worst of it. The massive support structures which steadied the building slid off and fell all over the city. One came so close that they even saw the dust from the impact. According to the Agents, this was exactly where the objective was.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Bayless demanded.

"Must've been the attack." Keyes said breathlessly. "Unless whoever or whatever it is has attacked already."

Then, his com crackled. There was plenty of static but a man's voice came through, but it was bad, real bad.

"All Overwatch Units…" The Colonel said, coughing multiple times. "…target asset is on the move. Everyone clear the area…before….more debris….comes down…" He coughed a few more times before his voice trailed off.

"Colonel? SIR!? Dammit, he's gone!" The Agent over the radio gained his composure back. "Keep on heading up the hill. We need to get out of this park!"

The origin point of the blast was smaller than Bayless expected. He rounded the corner of a ridge and surveyed the area.

"Watch it, they got multiple tanks!" one of the other jeeps reported. "They've spotted us! Scatter!"

A flak round hit their area. Bayless' jeep was thrown about. The Agent in shotgun was ejected. Bayless didn't see him land.

"Status Report!" He barked.

"Lost Bjornsen! Kiowani's gone too!" the surviving jeep said. "My transmission's faulty! I'm making a run for it!"

"Good luck , Agent." Bayless turned his head and something caught his attention. A small flash, like a mirror was shining at him. He made a beeline while hundreds of voices screamed. He lept over the small ridge and ditched the jeep. He and Keyes were excited to see where they were. It seemed like it was a small, ramshackle hospital of some sort.

"Glad to see at least two others are alive." An agent said. He was the one who flashed them with a piece of rearview mirror.

"Are we safe here?" Bayless responded, panting.

"To an extent, yes. They think that you've probably jumped off a cliff or something." The Agent redirected his eyes towards their bodies. "Agent, you're hit!"

Keyes laughed and thought it was a joke, until he looked at his abdomen and saw that a spike of sorts was wedged into his armor. The spell broke, and suddenly he was hyperventilating. The agent called a medic to help Keyes.

"The hell?" Bayless asked?

"It's common for people to overlook these injuries when in combat only to realize them later" The medic said passively. "Don't be surprised, you're burnt."

Bayless remembered his forearm, and the burning returned.

"Just lay down here and I'll put some medication on it."

Bayless laid down, relishing the soft mattress.

"Best thing I've felt since I was recruited" He said jokingly.

While the medic worked on his arm, he heard some sort of jabbering to his right. A scraggly Agent apparently snapped while under combat. Bayless had to stop and listen.

"no, no, NO! You're not listening! It's a show, okay!?"

The female Indian medic who was with him shrugged and continued her scan.

"Well, technically, this is a park, not a theatre."

The wounded man bit back, "Impossible! This place is one…big….CIRCUS!"

The medic was definitely not in the mood to hear this. "Listen, you're wounded. Try to relax."

He went right on. "Except, except….We're the GAZELLES! All fenced in and ready to be feasted on!"

The medic played along. "And Talon"

"The BIG, SCARY LIONS! ROOOOOOOAR!"

Bayless bit his lip, trying hard to keep a straight face.

"I believe you just strained a metaphor…"

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod, is that serious!?"

"Not if you keep it up."

Bayless tapped the woman's shoulder. "Will he be alright?"

"Oh, of course. I'll give him a dosage of Dramamine. Maybe the chems'll put him to sleep. Frankly, I'm tired with these men, snapping and talking about their mummies or their pets…"

"….and done!" the medic said, rewrapping Bayless' forearm guard.

John looked at his arm. A thick layer of gauze covered the spot where he was burned. He didn't even notice the work. "Rad!" he said with the amazement clearly audible in his voice.

The medic nodded in appreciation. "Not a problem."

"As for Keyes?"

"Poor kid went into catatonic shock. Hard to believe he didn't notice the wound."

"Well, he'll be okay, right?"

"If the spike didn't puncture vital arteries, he'll be fine. As of right now, fighting is the last thing he should be doing."

Bayless asked in a somber tone. "….as for the Colonel's body?"

"Well, what was left of it, anyway…" He said hooking a thumb over his shoulder to a bodybag. An Italian flag was draped over it.

Bayless cursed. "How many fighting personnel are there?"

"Besides us, nobody. You know those Agents in the convoy didn't make it?

"You're joking. I'm basically a lone wolf here?"

"Essentially. I mean, we can still shoot a gun, but we're just the medical division."

Fan-friggin-tastic!

"Alright. I need an opening. I have to secure the point of origin."

"Yeah….about that. We just received orders from Overwatch command. The whole mission is out of the question after the building collapsed. You need to get out of here."

"How!?" Bayless asked.

"A hole, door. Anything."

Bayless heard the whine which suggested a Talon patrol.

"Are you going to be alright here?" Bayless asked with concern.

"We'll last as long as we can." The medic said. Even as he heard this, Bayless could see the uncertain look in the man's eyes.

"I can find a transport vehicle."

"Forget it. Go. If we can find a way, we'll follow." These men need our help. The medic snapped a salute. "To quote the head of medical, Angela Zeigler, 'heroes never die.'"

Bayless hugged the ridge wall and looked for the vehicles, he saw one speeding by, piloted by an operative. He plucked his pistol from his thigh and aimed it. Making a shot that would make Kimiko green with envy, he nailed the operative from the moving craft. The vehicle slid to a halt.

Bayless pried the pilot from the seat and started up the machine. He pushed the colony out of his mind, that was behind him. Right now, he focused on getting out of the park.

He slammed the front into a Captain's back and chopped its head off. He also burned a squad of agents as they cowered next to a large rock. He boosted over the landing pad and accelerated up the path.

Bayless saw some bolts fly past his vehicle. He whipped the vehicle around and blasted another craft as it tried to sneak up past him. The vehicle careened into a rock wall and exploded.

Looking ahead, he saw a sizeable hole in the reserve's walls. He boosted and felt the fire at his back as the Talon operatives shot…

He made it.

Then came the moment of free-fall as he fell over one hundred feet. He yelped as he was thrown free of the vehicle and rolled twice. He found himself staring at the pavement.

He looked skyward.

"Augh! Good Lord! I didn't train to be a pilot! Tell me I don't have to fly today."

He heard a rumble as a drone corkscrewed into the Park statue of an African Lord. The drone was wedged in their pretty tightly. Bayless could've sworn he saw a component fly off of it.

Shaking his arms, smiling, he checked the load on his pistol and ran into the city. After running through a park full of Talon, nothing could stop him now.