Gate: In the Company of Shadows
Chapter 1
Business as Usual
"Tell him to stop fidgeting around, kid's startin' to make me anxious..."
Vale turned around and raised a brow, though he doubted it was seen through the tinted goggles. "Viper, relax you jittery bastard. Not everyone in this village has got a vest rigged to blow."
"You never know with these fucking people. I've seen the type of tactics they use..." Though his finger was safely off the rifle's trigger, Vale could see the slight twitch in Viper's hand, itching to flick the safety off.
"And if we see something suspicious, we'll respond accordingly. Right now, it's understandable why these people can't sit still." Vale pointed out. "We've rounded them up into the middle of their village square for seemingly no reason."
"You really think the target would hide amongst these folk?" Viper asked, wary eyes never leaving the crowd.
The squad leader gave a mirthless chuckle. "I wouldn't be too surprised. Not the first time a target of ours resided in a highly dense residential zone."
Their conversation was interrupted as the radio on Vale's vest sprung to life.
"Oxide to Butcher 1-1, what's your status?"
Vale reached for the push to talk before responding. "Uh, Butcher 1-1 here. We've arrived at the target location and just finished rounding up the locals. Still no sign of the HVT, over."
"Copy Butcher 1-1, standby for further orders, over." The radio was static for a few seconds as HQ was most likely discussing their next course of action with higher ups.
Vale returned his attention to the crowd, eyes glancing over every individual face and scrutinizing every minute detail in an attempt to identify their target. Usually the squad did high risk security jobs, but they were certainly no strangers to the odd assassination missions.
The man they were looking for at the moment was a notorious IED builder, Hashim Ozer. Apparently the man was giving some of the local military in the area and even some of their own guys trouble as he had placed several mines on high traffic roads. Luckily, the vehicles they had were sufficient enough to reduce the blast, but it was still a bad tumble for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught inside the unlucky rides.
Vale analyzed everyone, pausing every so often once he noticed the features slowly becoming familiar. So far, none of them were matching up with the photo of the bearded bomb maker they saw in their briefing. One of the men however, probably a sheep herder judging by the outfit, tried discreetly shuffling out of the crowd.
"Hold it, stay right there!" Vale shouted, one hand outstretched in a flat palm. When he didn't comply, Vale turned to his squad mate. "Angel, tell that idiot to stop moving!"
The Mexican man next to him began shouting in Dari, immediately causing the sheep herder to stop. Unfortunately, the yells also put the rest of the village locals on edge as they began voicing complaints at the PMCs.
"Ah shit," He muttered to himself. Several in his squad were starting to get antsy, the uptick in activity from everyone certainly not helping.
"Vale, folk are startin' to get a tad bit pissed off at us." An Englishman in his squad spoke up, somewhat tense as he got ready to shoulder his AK-105. "And rightfully so..."
"Can it, Bristol," Vale quickly shut him up before reaching for his radio. "Uh, Oxide, our status has changed. Locals seem to be getting a little rowdy here and my boys are starting to feel a little unsafe. Requesting permission to withdraw."
He glanced back at the black SUVs parked nearby. They didn't have heavily armored Humvees because they weren't too far out of the major cities that they'd needed them in the first place.
Besides, if he was dying out in the middle of some sandy desert, then he'd at least be dying in a car with a working air conditioner.
Better than cooking inside of a god damn microwave on wheels...
Though it seemed like lady luck wasn't on his side today, because the moment Oxide responded back, it was to immediately shut his idea down.
"You have your orders, son. Find and eliminate the target. You're authorized to use lethal force if necessary. Maintain an aggressive posture as you hold control over the zone. Break. We've got eyes in the sky, and we'll be tracking with Avatar 1, over."
He stood silent as he mulled it over, and though he couldn't see them, he could tell that the rest of his squad were staring. He swore he felt a giant hole burning through his spine, as if they all had laser vision.
Vale shook his head and sighed before getting back into business mode. "Copy Oxide, we'll get it done. Butcher 1-1 out."
Viper's voice brought his attention back around. "I'm assuming that command wants mission accomplished on this one?"
"Yep, sorry Viper, not my call," Vale shrugged his shoulders before muttering, "never is..."
"Think we'll get bonus hazard pay if shit pops off?" Angel joked nearby in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"What, you want me to say it's too quiet?" his squad openly gaped at him, causing the leader to blink in confusion. Did he say something wrong? "What are you all just staring at me for?"
Their only Japanese member spoke up. "You do realize you just jinxed us, right?" Ronin pointed out.
A look of realization dawned on his face before quickly shifting to a grimace. I hope I didn't just fuck myself over.
Vale cleared his throat. "Come on, you can't honestly believe tha-"
The next words that were to come out of his mouth were instantly silenced as a loud shout sounded out from nearby. One word was all Vale needed to hear.
"Vest!"
The familiar English accent of Bristol's voice practically echoed off the brick walls around them. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as everyone raised their rifles up towards where he aimed.
They only caught sight of their target unwrapping his face covering as he shed the jacket off his back, revealing an old soviet era chest rig, presumably filled with several pounds of makeshift explosives. His thumb was inches away from pressing the dial button of an old Nokia phone in his hand.
The squad didn't hesitate to pump him full of lead and turn him into Swiss cheese. There was no notable fanfare for his death. No flashy, cinematic, Hollywood style, flailing. Just simply dropping to the ground like a puppet that had all its strings cut.
The squad stared at the body for a few more seconds, rifles trained on him the whole time. The panicked cries and whimpering of the villagers were the only sound permeating the village.
Vale glanced at Bristol. The man was calm and collected, as much as any professional contractor was supposed to be after such a near death situation. His breathing was definitely at a bit of a quicker pace than usual though, and Vale couldn't tell if the sweat dripping down his head was from the killer heat or his nerves getting the better of him.
"Bristol, control." Vale felt like a dick for issuing the order, but he was the only one that was closest to the bomber.
Blue eyes flicked back and forth from the body to the squad lead. "Bloody hell..." He muttered, shaking his head before moving forward.
When Bristol reached the corpse, he examined it up and down. The amount of red staining the clothing would have made one think a wine glass blew up. Speaking of blowing up, Bristol saw the phone still lying in the insurgent's hands, prompting him to kick it away before double tapping the body.
"Clear!"
The rest of the squad lowered their rifles and let out some heavy breaths. Hopefully, that would be the last of their excitement for today.
Vale walked up to the Brit, staring at the body as they tried to make sense of it all.
He whistled, looking over the handiwork that his squad made out of the bomb maker. "Hot damn, we turned him into a fucking flute..."
Bristol rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, very funny mate. So is this the bloke?"
"To be honest, it's kind of hard to tell right now... get your camera out." Vale ordered before reaching for the radio again. "Oxide, this is Butcher 1-1, how copy?"
"Butcher 1-1, Oxide reads you loud and clear, send traffic."
"Oxide, we've got a possible jackpot on HVT. Military aged male, graying beard, and enough explosives to turn this whole village into a smoking crater." The sounds of the camera shuttering occurred a few times as he reported their findings. "Sending photo evidence for analyst verification. Awaiting confirmation, over."
"Copy that Butcher 1-1, standby for confirmation, over..."
Vale turned his attention back to the frightened villagers. They definitely wouldn't be forgetting this moment for the rest of their lives. Oh well, if he had to live with it then surely they could as well.
He let out a sigh before running a gloved hand down his mask. "Angel, Viper, Ronin, start getting the people back to their daily routines."
"Rog," Angel started speaking to the whole village while Viper and Ronin started gesturing for everyone to vacate. "Come on, get a move on people! Nothing to see here, just business as usual!"
The radio came back to life moments later. "Butcher 1-1, Oxide confirms jackpot on HVT. Bag and tag, the client wants to see the proof in person."
Vale cocked a brow up at the order. Sometimes the clients had strange requests, but he wouldn't complain. Six figures to a million a year doing odd jobs for these shady, shadowy, string pullers? Best to just shrug your shoulders and go with the flow.
"Solid copy Oxide, Butcher 1-1 out."
Bristol turned and started walking towards their vehicle. "I'll get the transport ready for egress. I'm pretty sure we still got body bags in the trunk."
Vale kept his eyes on the slowly thinning crowd. Those who moved made the right choice. Staying around the same area where a suicide bomber almost eviscerated the whole village was most likely not a clever idea. The curious ones however...
Had they never heard the saying that curiosity killed the cat?
He gave a silent huff. It's not like they could just silence the whole town without a reason. Command would chew their asses out for such a thing and the cleanup process would be arduous. That and the high probability of a dock in pay.
That last thought made him cringe.
His attention returned to the little boy he saw earlier, the same one that Viper was getting antsy about just for fidgeting. He appeared to be looking down at the ground at something. What it was he couldn't tell, maybe it was a ball or a toy. Probably for the better that he wasn't looking at the corpse rotting under the sun right now.
Vale would have signaled for the rest of the squad to start moving back to the transport, but the kid hunched over to pick up the object. His vision trailed down and he felt his heart plummet and eyes widen as they caught sight of what it was.
The same damned Nokia phone was now in this kid's hands...
"Woah, hey, hey!" The rest of the squad turned to find him raising his rifle to the boy. "Put that fucking thing down, kid!"
This wasn't good. Ignoring the fact that he'd have to shoot a child, if the whole village saw what just happened, there'd be no doubt about how upset they'd be. The entire village would be against them, and witnesses would certainly blab to any passer byers about them. They'd have to wipe the place entirely clean off the map...
Angel repeated the order in Dari, but it seemed like the kid either didn't hear them or wasn't listening.
A finger went to press dial.
A suppressed shot rang out.
A casing of 5.56 hit the dirt.
"Fuck!" Vale hissed out over the village screams. A faint wispy stream of smoke emanated from the barrel of his MK18. "This is gonna be a bitch to clean up..."
[REDACTED] VALE [REDACTED] - SHADOW CO.
SHADOW COMPANY FACILITY, MARYLAND
JANUARY 1, 2022 - 09:30:00
Heterochromatic eyes snapped open as a single body tumbled off the bed. Vale woke up in a cold sweat to the incessant blaring of his alarm. Lying on the ground, he groaned to himself, letting his head fall back against the cold tile.
Looking around, he felt thankful. It appeared no one else was in the barracks to see his embarrassing fall.
They must have all woken up before me.
The cold of the barracks quickly reminded him of his state of undress. He shivered and hugged his arms, rubbing the goosebumps. Socks, boxers, and a t-shirt didn't do much against the freezing AC.
Damn, did someone put that thing on full blast?
Picking himself up off the floor, his head turned towards the phone now on the ground. He must have fallen asleep with it. He hunched down to pick it up, swiping a finger across the display to unlock it and turn off the cursed sleep interruption.
0930? His brow furrowed in thought. Did I really sleep in?
The sound of a door opening caught his attention. Another operator had just finished showering, as evidenced by the wet sheen on his body and the white towel covering his lower half.
The man silently nodded at Vale, to which he dumbly nodded back, before he walked over to the locker at the foot of his bed and pushed a thumb onto the fingerprint scanner. An audible click sounded as it unlocked, allowing him access to his clothing and gear.
Looks like everyone else on the base was already going about their daily routines. All except him...
"Ugh," He groaned again, not at all excited to return to his mundane duties. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and grabbed a towel, slowly making his way to the communal bathroom.
The man chuckled nearby as he slipped his pants on, "I know that feeling, buddy."
Vale was too tired to talk, so the only response the man received was the sound of the bathroom door shutting behind him.
The warm steam of the showers helped to slightly wake him up as they silently beckoned him over. He found the closest unoccupied stall and closed the curtain, stripping all of his garments off to hang on the rack nearby.
A content sigh escaped his lips as the hot water began to cascade down his body. He closed his eyes as he began running through his schedule for the day.
Breakfast, get his personal weapons from the armory lockers, and patrol...
Yep, that was it. What an amazingly varied schedule. He couldn't wait to just walk around and walk some more. Maybe if things got exciting, he could walk at a faster pace!
That was all sarcasm if it wasn't obvious enough.
Wait, why am I complaining? It's not as if I want to get shot at on the regular... unless... do I?
He shook himself out of his thoughts before turning the water off. It was too early to be thinking like this. Maybe once he got his coffee, he could reflect during his patrol.
Vale dried himself off with the towel before pulling the curtain back and stepping out. It appeared that no one else was entering, a sign that they were all going about their business. At least it allowed him to conduct his morning routine in peace without the squabbling of his squad.
My squad... He thought, moving to the sink and applying shaving cream to his hands.
When he was approached by the suited man that absolutely, in no way shape or form, held any government ties whatsoever, it was pretty obvious that he'd be offered a job.
The job, as he had expected, was in private military contracting.
VIP escort, asset protection, and security work were all concepts that he was intimately familiar with. The most common types of jobs that were synonymous with all PMCs.
When he signed on he was completely unaware of what exactly they had wanted to do with him. When the G-man slid the paper over the glass table, he held a confident smile the whole time.
The pay they offered was good, ludicrously so. It bewildered Vale so much that he had to do a double take. He switched between looking at the paper and the man several times, it was a surprise he didn't damage his neck at all.
The smile was held the whole time as he read through the entirety of the terms and conditions, and he really scoured the paper. Honestly looking back at it, the whole situation was outright creepy.
But he didn't really need the money... it was all for someone else...
"Welcome to Shadow Company!" The man smirked at him. "You got any more questions?"
Vale leaned back in his chair. "When do I start?"
After penning his name and shaking hands, the deal was officialized, and he was set to ship out to Afghanistan. Hot during the day and cold during the nights. He wasn't unused to the Afghanistan heat, having been conditioned during his special forces days. It was probably more bearable due to where he was stationed.
From what he noticed in the chopper, the base was a very intricate series of tunnels and catwalks built into the side of a canyon under a civilian roadway.
Site Hotel Bravo was what they had called it. His new home for the next couple of years... or whenever he was rotated out.
The base was bustling with activity and when he touched down, the operator that greeted him immediately dragged him along to get outfitted. It seemed everyone in the company wore black uniforms with tan gear, though the helmets varied to be either gray, olive drab, or the previously aforementioned tan.
A pair of PVS-31 night vision goggles were shoved into his hands, "You lose or damage those, it's coming outta' your next paycheck." The operator warned, before giving him the quickest rundown of the place as possible.
After recommitting as much of the brief tour to memory, he was set to just patrol the area around the perimeter roadways with other operators.
All was swell for the next few days till things really started ramping up. Gossip quickly spread around home plate that the company had just secured a contract with the current General of the United States at the time.
Vale didn't believe it at first, thinking it all to be the rumor mill doing its thing.
That is until Lieutenant General Shepherd himself stepped foot onto the site...
What nobody told him was that Shepherd had formed Shadow Company himself and that was off putting. The General of the United States army formed his own private kill squad?
He didn't like attention from such important persons, so when he saw the General walk past him in US army UCP, his eyes widened momentarily.
Thankfully, Vale didn't stand out at all and the balaclava and goggles he wore help to conceal his expression. Just another faceless mercenary in a canyon full of them.
Vale silently laughed to himself. In hindsight, that's probably what Shepherd was thinking in the first place.
He was freaking out like a minimum wage employee would if they'd just seen the CEO of the company walk into their workplace. In a way, it wasn't too dissimilar...
His superiors went into a separate room to discuss something. What it was, he didn't know and didn't care. He was getting paid too handsomely to risk it all.
After about an hour the General stepped out and left the same day, and Vale thought that to be the end of it all. Oh how wrong he was...
A few days later, Zakhaev International Airport was attacked by terrorists in a mass shooting. The body of an American with ties to the CIA were discovered, and tensions rose with the Kremlin as the US attempted damage control. Things were bad, but not completely lost.
Then, came the Russian invasion of the United States, or the 'Ivasion' as Ronin liked to call it.
Get it? Cause Russians are called Ivans? The squad never really liked his puns.
Coincidentally, all the other contractors he talked to on site had no relatives in the states that were attacked at the time, all of them conveniently moving before the invasion. Something odd was afoot but he still wasn't going to question anything. It couldn't get worse than that, right?
It got worse...
Lieutenant General Shepherd returned to Site Hotel Bravo from an operation with several shadows, and after a meeting with the higher ups, the whole base was to be put on high alert status.
Later in the day, the base was assaulted by ex-SAS and Task Force 141, as confirmed by their facial recognition assets in Langley. The two most wanted men at the time, Captain John Price, and John 'Soap' MacTavish were attacking, and they were out for Shepherd's blood.
By the time the General realized, several men were already dead, and the rest were dropping like flies. His orders were to backup priority items and burn the rest as the company worked on evacuating him.
Vale realized he was scared, and the General did whatever he could to ensure that he'd get away clean.
All units be advised, this is Gold Eagle. The site has been compromised. I'm executing directive 1-1-6 Bravo, If you're still inside, your service will be honored. Shepherd out.
The place was rigged to blow as per his orders. Vale was lucky he wasn't inside at the time. Several units could be heard over the comms trying to make their way out as quick as possible, but it was all for naught as the explosives went off. Shepherd clearly held no remorse for burying several squads of men alive. As for killing the attackers, that plan didn't work, so he resorted to other methods...
Excalibur, this is Gold Eagle. Fire mission, target package, Romeo. Danger close!
That's within a hundred meters of your position, sir!
That's not a suggestion, send it!
The artillery strike that Excalibur carried out dropped shells right on top of several operators, cementing Vale's belief that Shepherd held no respect for any of the men under his command.
Sure they were mercenaries, but if this was how they were treated, one could only imagine how he treated anyone else. As Task Force 141 found out the hard way.
Since when does Shepherd care about danger close...
Not even an hour later, Shepherds MH-53 Pave Low was found crashed by a rusty oil rig and he had a combat knife lodged into his eye, all traces of his attackers gone. Vale had no idea how it all went down, but it was clear that they had failed their mission.
They had no reason to stick around at that point. Their main client was no longer capable of paying them and keeping the shitshow under wraps was impossible. The world would soon find out that General Shepherd was dead.
Hopefully, the company wouldn't be seen as woefully incompetent afterwards. He was a pretty valuable asset...
As the world later found out, like Vale, evidence was discovered of Shepherd's involvement with Vladimir Makarov. The General of the United States was in leagues with one of history's worst monsters. Not exactly a good image for the stars and stripes that boast about peace and justice.
Apparently Shepherd was in charge of the marines that were sent to the middle east in the hopes of capturing Al-Asad after his execution of Saudi Arabian president, Al-Fulani, on live television.
Vale slightly cringed as he recalled the broadcast. The bastard put a round of .50 action express right between the eyes. Not a pretty way to go...
He heard that during the invasion, Seal Team Six had found a nuclear warhead of some sort. Unfortunately, before NEST teams could arrive to disarm it, the nuke was set off. Poor bastards at ground zero probably never even saw it coming...
The nuke put a sizable dent in the morale of the US. Thirty thousand men, gone in the blink of an eye. Interviews and pictures of the Shepherd before were noticeably different when compared to after the loss. If one looked hard enough, a vindictive look could be seen in his eyes, understandably so.
He hated what had happened... how the US was no longer seen as a top dog global superpower with their military might. The reputation of the states and his role as a commander were tarnished. He was pissed, and did everything to restore it to its former glory.
And somehow, that led to working with Makarov to stage a war against Russia...
So much chaos inflicted on each other by mistake... all with the tools of modern warfare. It was certainly a scary thought.
Thankfully after both their deaths, the world was able to slowly rebuild itself, piece by piece and Shadow Company was able to float by with a stable business.
Shockingly, through it all he still maintained the same squad. He didn't lose or gain any members. The original four stuck with him after everything. The only change for them was being relabeled from Butcher to Bishop. Apparently the callsign was too 'bad and scary.' Maybe they should have thought about that before branding themselves as Shadow Company in the first place.
With other contracting jobs, he'd shake hands with the other contractors, and they'd carry out the mission, never sharing personal info or learning more about each other. That's just how the job was...
But with Shadow Company, the same guys with their unique personalities and quirks were a breath of fresh air in the mundanities of contracting life (Not that it was always mundane). It was just never boring with them.
They weren't even on a first name basis with each other. Everyone knew each other only through assigned code names and callsigns.
Ironically, the one time Vale wanted to know more about his squad mates, it was in the only PMC that restricted such talks in an effort to remain as professional as possible.
Ok, it wasn't really restricted in any way. Just more of an unspoken rule amongst those in the company. You don't need to know other's names, you're all shadows...
"Agh, fuck!" Vale winced as the blade cut his chin. He was way too distracted this morning that he couldn't even shave right. Ignoring the obvious bleeding mark, at least his face was smooth now. The bearded operator look didn't suit him at all and often got in the way of the balaclava.
He washed the shaving cream off his hands and rinsed his face with water, before reaching into the nearby medical cabinet and pulling out a band-aid. He looked into the mirror as he carefully applied it over the cut.
Staring at his face, his fingers glided over the fresh band-aid and then over the rest of the scars that marred him. Years of experience and countless stories could be seen in his sunken eyes. If he was lucky, then he'd never have to tell them.
Vale turned his head to the door as it opened. "Geez, there you are!" Ronin complained.
Vale looked down at the sink and sighed in exasperation, "What is it Ronin? I thought I was gonna see you boys on patrol after breakfast."
"Yeah well, there's been a change of plans. Command's ordered that Bishop squad report to the briefing room as soon as possible."
The response had him blinking in confusion. A briefing today? That was certainly strange. He wasn't expecting any new contracts and it's not often that his squad was requested specifically. Maybe they caught a client's attention.
He looked Ronin up and down, noting that he was dressed in a simple red hoodie, blue jeans, and brown boots. Not geared yet? Oh wait, today was Saturday...
"Well?" Ronin asked expectantly. "You coming or what?"
Vale sighed, "Uh, yeah, let me get dressed first."
"I'll be outside!" He called out, already halfway out the door.
-O-
Vale entered the hallway to find Ronin leaning against the wall, arms crossed as he waited for him.
"I'm assuming that breakfast is off the table?" Vale asked.
Ronin rolled his eyes, "Obviously, but I did manage to snag something for you, so you weren't miserable the entire time."
He reached into his hoodie pocket before producing a small milk carton and a breakfast cereal bar.
Though still disappointed, Vale held a small smile on his face at the selfless act. Not that Ronin could tell. The balaclava prevented him from seeing his leader's expression.
"Ah, breakfast befitting a king..." He said sarcastically. "At least you got me something, so thanks for that."
"No problem."
The two made their way to the briefing room as Vale finished the last of the bar, quickly slipping the balaclava back over his mouth.
As the door opened, several figures cheered and applauded in a joking manner.
"Fuckin' finally, mate! You actually showed up!" Bristol said, throwing his hands up. "You owe me a pint, Viper!"
The man in question groaned nearby, "Sure, whatever..." He said as he rolled his eyes. "Was wondering where you were."
"Yeah! Were you like, jerkin' one out or somethin' man?" Angel asked.
"Jesus, no!" Vale shook his head. "Must have slept past my first alarm, that's all."
Someone cleared their throat, bringing their attention back to the front of the room. Oxide was standing in front of them, an important looking manilla folder in one hand and a slide remote in the other as he focused on all of them. He leaned against the table with the projector on behind him.
It wasn't often that they saw the man behind the comms, but the bald head, tall figure, and piercing blue eyes were certainly intimidating enough to make one wish they only heard him. The eyes were cold and calculating, probably as much as the mind behind them. It was no wonder he was in charge of relaying orders down the chain of command.
At his serious expression, they all immediately shut up. Vale and Ronin quickly sat down, lest they anger the only apparent professional in the room.
Blue eyes swept over everyone in the squad once more before closing as Oxide slowly inhaled and exhaled. A moment later, they snapped open as he began the briefing.
"Okay shadows, I know it seems unusual that I've brought you here. First off let me make one thing clear. You're not being assigned to a new contract nor are you committing to a normal patrol route on site."
At the clarification, the squad only glanced at each other. Things were already looking out of the ordinary and it was clear that they wanted to ask questions.
"I see the looks on your faces. I don't need to remind you that everything is on a need to know basis here. You will follow your orders to a T without question. Got it?"
Oxide's eyes narrowed at them in a glare, causing Vale to gulp as everyone nodded back.
"Good, at 0700 this morning, our scanners picked up on some unusual activity East of home plate. Scaler 3 was relocated from their standard patrol route and sent to recce the area."
Oxide pressed the remote in his hand, prompting the slide to switch to a visual audio waveform file.
"Scaler 3 to Oxide Ground, uh, we are in the air and ready for tasking."
"Scaler 3, this is Oxide Ground. Solid copy. We're tracking you clean through grid 7-1-5-3-8-9 with net confirmation through the facility relay."
"Oxide Ground, yep, you've got us."
"Scaler 3, be advised, you'll be flying solo on this one. Avatar 2 is operating approximately 0-7-6 klicks above you and is RTB for refuel. Break. Stand by for new orders. Over."
"Solid copy, Oxide Ground. Send it."
"Scaler 3, relocate to grid Papa-Juliet-November. We're seeing low-grade seismic activity in the area. Check East of home plate and report back as soon as possible."
"Roger, Oxide Ground. We'll keep you updated. Scaler 3, out."
"Scaler 3 arrived at grid Papa-Juliet-November like normal, keeping us updated on their status as per their orders. But this is where the situation gets confusing." He switched to the next slide.
Oxide was right. What Vale saw next had him squinting in confusion, much like the rest of his squad.
It was a big open patch of green grass. Judging from the details, it looked like it was taken near the end of the facility's airstrip, by the open waterway to the sea.
It usually would have been seen as insignificant and undeserving of anything more than a passing glance, were it not for the massive marbled gate structure in the middle of it.
Judging from the design, it appeared to be heavily based on Roman architecture. The structure was massive and stood out with the prominent white of the stone contrasting against the artificially green grass. The same grass that had been undisturbed around it.
That absolutely had not been there yesterday. Vale would have remembered seeing something like that when his squad was transferred. It was obvious that a PMC group like theirs would have no interest in wasting resources on building something so... trivial.
Something like this wasn't constructed or flown in overnight and it most definitely wasn't a, 'Haha, funny photoshop prank on Bishop squad!' Oxide was too serious to go through such lengths for an elaborate gag.
Or maybe not... The inner machinations of that man's mind were a complete enigma.
Though now wasn't the time to be confused but instead, concerned.
"We've already formed a secure perimeter around the structure with several men watching the entrance inside. Armor and air support are on standby incase if the situation develops further. Obviously, we hope it won't come to that, but there is one glaring issue."
Oxide moved to the next slide, this one now showing several overhead views of the structure.
"The gate structure is visible to GPS satellites and ISR in the sky. That means if we can see it, so can others. We need to keep this under wraps as much as possible, and plans are already underway for construction around the structure itself."
Bristol spoke up. "Understandable, but what'll we do if we encounter resistance, if any? That's bound to draw some attention."
"The company has already notified others in the area of a possible training drill, in case we get any resistance from whatever this is."
Vale had a bad feeling about the situation, "So then where does Bishop squad come into play?" He asked.
Oxide turned to him, "Your squad will join up with the rest of the shadows guarding the gate. Then you and your men will be put in charge of the perimeter and the other operators around it. There will be constant cycles and rotations, meaning eventually everyone else on base will know about it."
"So it's just glorified guard duty, is it?" Angel voiced his opinions on the matter.
Oxide responded with a glare, making the experienced operator shrink back. "Scaler 3 will be dropping you all off at the site. Mastiff 1 is already on site and helo support will be on standby in the form of Thunder 2-1. You leave in thirty minutes. Kit up."
Oxide left through the side door, his imposing figure seen walking down the office halls as he made his way to the command center. The door clicked shut behind him, concealing him and leaving the rest of the room in silence.
Viper broke it, "I don't know about you boys, but this isn't sitting right with me..."
Bristol took the baseball cap off his head before gliding a hand through his hair. "Tell me about it. Command pulls us aside just to have us watch some historical gate that appears outta' the blue? And here I thought I'd have a good day."
Vale chuckled, "The only easy day was yesterday. You want light work, maybe you should have joined the police force."
He stood to leave before pausing, "Me? A fuckin' Bobby? You're takin' the piss, mate!"
The room filled with laughter.
[REDACTED] VALE [REDACTED] - SHADOW CO.
SHADOW COMPANY FACILITY, MARYLAND
JANUARY 1, 2022 - 11:48:00
"Gettin' paid to sit around and do nothing? Of course I'll do it!" Bristol remarked to himself, kicking up his boots and leaning against the sandbags. He attempted to light the cigarette in his mouth, flicking the lighter several times as the flames failed to burn. "Don't tell me it's dead... Vale, you got a light?"
Vale rolled his eyes, "Yeah I got one." He replied, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a basic zippo lighter. He approached before putting the flame underneath the unlit cig, "You've probably heard this millions of times by now, but you know those things kill you right?"
Bristol inhaled deeply before blowing a large puff of smoke out. "Yeah, and so does that vending machine coffee you drink, but you don't hear me tellin' you to quit. I doubt that it's even real coffee."
"Least it ain't coke!"
The two turned their attention to Angel, leaning against the sandbags as he held his head up. He looked extremely bored, probably why he inserted himself into the conversation.
Vale and Bristol glanced at each other, "You've got personal experience with that type of thing, Angel?"
"Nah, but I've seen fools dumb enough to do that shit. Have you ever heard of the La Araña Cartel?"
The La Araña Cartel was a notorious drug distributor. They were far from average small fry, and at the time, were the biggest crime empire south of the border. Torture, murder, human trafficking, bombings... their list of illegal activities could fill up a dictionary, and they always ended up on the front headlines of every news outlet nearby.
Shadow Company never got directly involved with them, even if offered a contract. It would be a PR disaster if anyone found out. But they always did have inside men on standby to help... push their own agendas, whenever they saw fit.
Vale was lucky he wasn't anywhere near those psychos. Not that he'd blend in well in the first place.
"Yeah, who hasn't?" Vale asked.
"I used to be involved with those assholes. The company hired me as an inside man, as I had access to a lot of the main villas that they operated in." Angel looked back at the gate, "They sniffed that marching powder like it was gonna run out, I'm surprised they didn't OD."
"Wow… color me surprised. I never expected-"
A voice from the radio interrupted his sentence, "Bishop 1 Actual, this is Mastiff 1. Come in, how copy?"
The squad all eyed him. Mastiff 1 was one of the tank units assigned to watch the gate. What could they possibly want at this time?
"Mastiff 1, we hear you. What is it?"
"I'm picking up some heat signatures approaching from inside the structure? From the looks of it, they'll be emerging momentarily."
"Uh, roger Mastiff. Can you confirm their identity?"
"Negative, Bishop. I'm not entirely sure what to make of it." Mastiff had sounded confused on his end.
Vale turned to look at the gate structure. It didn't extend that far, so their thermals should have been working the entire time. If anyone was hiding in it, Mastiff 1 would have seen them beforehand. But only now were they detecting something?
Something definitely wasn't adding up.
"All shadows, this is Bishop 1 Actual. Be advised, we've got possible contact emerging from inside the gate. Be ready for anything, over..."
The sound of safeties clicking off could be heard as the other operators aimed their weapons at the gate.
Viper deployed his bipod and looked down the scope of his H&K G28, "So... who do you think is gonna waltz out of there?"
"I don't know, and I don't care. If they're hostile, they're going to be in for a rude awakening when the welcoming committee starts sending rounds down range." Bristol replied, racking the bolt of his AK.
"Amen to that."
A low thud could be heard from beyond the gate, causing everyone to tense up as it repeatedly got louder. If one listened closely, they could make out the sounds of a march and of iron clattering together.
Moments later, the source of the noise revealed itself.
Emerging from the shadows of the gate was a line of shields and spears, all held by soldiers dressed in what looked to be old era Roman legionnaire armor. A crowd of non-human creatures stood behind the shield line, armed with swords, clubs, and daggers as they made various animal-like noises. Finally, at the very back, bowmen could be seen standing by men on horseback, who carried flags of royal purple which fluttered in the wind.
Not a word was said as the shadows stared dumbfounded at the sight.
"What the fuck…?" Ronin muttered to himself as he slightly lowered his MCX, "Vale, am I hallucinating or are you seeing the same thing I'm seeing?"
Vale could only blink, "Are you seeing a medieval era fantasy army stood in front of us?"
"Yeah."
"Then no Ronin, you aren't hallucinating."
The lead rider in the back steadied his horse as he looked down, nodding to his subordinates nearby. The soldiers raised an ornate tusk shaped horn and blew into it.
The sound of the horn appeared to be a signal of some sort, as the moment it was heard, all of the creatures raised their weapons and shouted what was most definitely battle cries.
Vale shook his head before looking around. His eyes settled on a megaphone, perfect for amplifying his voice. He hurriedly picked it up before raising it to his face and aiming at the crowd.
"Attention, you're all in a restricted military zone. Drop your weapons and surrender for immediate questioning or we will use deadly force! This is your last and only warning!"
The bowmen in the back pulled arrows from their quivers, likely preparing to use them on the operators in front of them.
Bristol eyed the bowmen as they got ready to level the arrows against their bows. "Vale, they don't seem too keen on complying!"
Vale rolled his eyes. It was like these idiots had a death wish or something. "All shadows, weapons free!"
Before the bowmen could even raise their bows to take aim, the operators began opening fire. Shields were raised in a futile attempt to block whatever fire was sent their way, but they were woefully unprepared for the arsenal this military was equipped with. The tsunami of gunfire tore through the out of date gear like a hot knife through butter as several lines of foot soldiers and beasts dropped to the ground.
Vale wasted no time radioing to command. "Oxide, this is Bishop 1 Actual. we're engaged with unknown contacts emerging from inside the structure. Requesting helo support on our position."
"Bishop 1 Actual, Oxide copies. Thunder 2-1 will be with you momentarily."
With helicopter support now on the way, Vale turned his focus back to the battle. Bodies were now starting to pile up and the number of soldiers and beasts were visibly dwindling down to almost nothing.
He couldn't get a good look at their faces, but Vale imagined that they were terrified of what was happening.
His sights zeroed in on some sort of pig monster. At least, he thought it was a pig. Maybe it was an elaborate costume? No, the movement was too fluid to be anything else.
His thoughts were interrupted as the creature's head exploded, the body collapsing as gravity took over.
Vale turned to look at where the shot came from, realizing that it was the .50 cal on top of Mastiff's Abrams. The operator on top of it wasn't letting up on the trigger and his expression was one of either pure focus or complete boredom. He couldn't really tell, but it was good to see that he was at least taking the situation seriously.
As unbelievable as it was…
During what was basically target practice for the company, a new creature emerged from the gate, an audible whoosh following. Everyone looked up as the winged monster flew overhead. Gasps could be heard from amongst the operators while cheers were heard from the soldiers that were still standing.
A dragon… an honest to God dragon was above them and flapping its wings. It appeared to have a harness of some sort as one of the Roman soldiers rode on its back, lance in hand. As everyone stared at the dragon, several more with riders flying out from the gate.
"Impossible…" Viper said in disbelief.
Most of the operators had now shifted their attention to firing at the dragons, bringing down a good portion of them and their riders as they attempted to swoop low with hit and run tactics. Unfortunately for the invaders, bullets were much faster and these men could aim.
-O-
What in the blazes? Count Formal recalled one of his horn blowers asking. Do they honestly think they stand a chance against us? They're outnumbered!
Count Formal looked up in disbelief as the wyverns screeched before plummeting to the ground. The expedition across the second gate was supposed to be a guaranteed success in obtaining land and riches for their great empire.
The spies that came back had reported that the area didn't seem to hold any sorts of soldiers, and thus, no defense for the massive city that lay beyond the fenced walls.
Towering glass towers, horseless carriages, and slaves for the Empire were waiting for them to start their holy conquest. Once they trekked out of the large open field, they would cut through the fence and make their way to the city to rightfully claim what was theirs.
Of course things were never that simple…
Now, instead of besieging the city like they had planned, the force he was sent in with were immediately cut down as they ignored the enemies warning.
Black and tan wands of some sort expelled fire from the tip, followed by a boom not unlike thunder. He definitely wasn't expecting the enemy to carry such weapons, so when their mages opened fire, it made him jump.
Unfortunately, his horse did the same and reared up in panic. It wasn't all bad though. When the horse started freaking out, it also blocked one of the projectiles coming from the otherworlder's fire. Formal flinched as his loyal steed sprayed blood onto his face, causing him to sputter as they fell down.
While distracted from the blood obscuring his vision, he couldn't hop off in time as the horse's body collapsed on top of him.
"Agh, damnit!" He huffed, trying to push the dead animal off of his legs.
"Sire!" Looking to his right, Formal spotted two of his men as they hugged the ground as close as possible, keeping their heads down from the magic which cracked and whizzed above them.
"Soldiers!" He called out over the sound of battle, "A little help would be most appreciated. If you could?"
The two men glanced at each other before nodding. "Of course sire, just wait for us!"
They began crawling, making their way past the blood and bodies of the dead and wounded as they got closer to their commanding officer.
"Where's Count Formal?!" Someone screamed from nearby. "We're being slaughtered out here. We must form a new plan!"
"Hold steady, soldier!" His partner shouted from nearby. "We have shields for a rea-" A clang of metal was heard as a tiny hole appeared on his shield, letting light through. A similar hole was in his head as he fell backwards.
"We've lost the shield line and the enemy is cutting through our beastmen! Someone get Count Formal, right now!"
The two soldiers that were low crawling had finally arrived. Count Formal gave them a quick nod of acknowledgement. "Don't worry sire, we'll get you out of here in no time!"
The two grabbed the horse's legs before pulling. "Heave!"
The body barely moved. Not a good sign, especially considering that he still had an army to lead, one which was rapidly losing numbers.
"It's too heavy, and we're too exposed here!" One of them shouted in fear, "we'll need to do it later!"
"Try again, I know you've got this! The Empire is counting on us!" Formal urged his men in the hopes of instilling bravery. At least enough to get him out anyway.
"Of course, sire!" Responded the other with renewed confidence. "Ready? Hea-!"
Both of their heads snapped to the side at the same time as blood spurted out. They fell limp right after. One of the enemy mages must have spotted the two and took aim.
Efficient bastards! He thought as he stared into their lifeless eyes.
A rapidly increasing whirring sound drew his attention away from the corpses. From where he lay, he could make out some sort of black flying creature coming in from the air. When it got closer he was shocked to find two of the enemy sitting inside, a layer of glass installed in front of them allowing vision.
Formal didn't get much time to think about it as the thing began firing at whatever wyverns remained in the sky.
They can use magic too?! Formal looked aghast. This may very well be the end of us… of me. I can only hope that the forces at the other gate are faring much better than us.
After the skies were clear of wyverns, the creature hovered for a moment. It had no eyes, and yet he could feel its vision sweeping over the massacre he lie in.
Several men groaned in pain, clutching parts of their bodies that were now bleeding from the enemy's magic. He thought that their movements would cost them their lives, but rather than finish them off, the creature turned around and flew away.
Formal let his head fall back on the ground. It looked like the battle was lost. The great Empire had lost their expedition force against these otherworlders. What was to become of him now?
Footsteps slowly approached him. Considering the state of his men, it was doubtful that help had arrived. A shadow casted over him, blotting out the sun. His eyes wearily looked up to the imposing figure.
A closer look at the enemy mages allowed him to discern their uniforms. They wore all black outfits with helmets and didn't seem to have much armor covering their bodies. The only armor they did have was in tan colors over their torsos and knees, with some of the more bulkier ones with neck guards and groin protectors.
They favor maneuverability and speed over protection and defense. Formal noted.
Black masks and glasses obscured most of their identities, though he spotted that a few of them didn't mind showing their eyes.
Secrecy is important to them for some reason. But why? Formal asked himself, before his eyes snapped to the only legible words on their bodies.
On the sleeve of their arms were some sort of identifier patch. An ace with a rook chess piece on the inside. But the logo wasn't what concerned him. Rather, it was the familiar writing surrounding it.
The writing was in his language. A language, which they clearly weren't speaking right now as they communicated to each other on what to do with him.
Umbra Catervae… Shadow Company. Formal's eyes widened as a sense of dread took over. Who exactly have we attacked?!
One of the enemy mages lifted their wand and pointed it right at him. This was it then. They planned to kill him right then and there. At least they weren't dragging the execution out.
Formal closed his eyes in acceptance, waiting for the loud boom that would follow. I'm so sorry my little Myui, So very sorry. Please, lead our people to prosperity and don't make the same mistakes daddy did…
Formal waited in silence for the blast of magic.
He waited… and he waited.
More waiting.
…
How long was he going to wait for? Were they just toying with him?
The Count opened his eyes, only just catching the tail end sight of the enemy slamming their wand into his face, plunging his world into darkness.
Author's Notes
Wanted to try my hand at a Gate fanfic, only this time the military we'll mainly be following is a PMC instead. Shadow Company will not be the good guys in this story, but it also won't be as black and white as you think. They'll make legally and morally questionable choices in pursuit of their own self interests.
And I know not all PMCs or their contractors are so morally gray, but come on… this is Shadow Company we're talking about. They'll bend the rules of engagement if need be.
The story loosely follows the original Modern Warfare trilogy but will also have many elements from the reboot timeline, MW 2019 and MW2 2022.
At the time of posting this chapter, the only thing we know about Shadow Company from the reboot timeline are operators like Velikan, Roze, Lerch, and the new CEO Commander, Phillip Graves, as seen in the Dark Water level gameplay. When the new MW2 releases, story elements will probably change with it after I playthrough and discover more lore.
Motivation and interest plays a big part in writing, something which I'm entirely new to. Can't improve if I don't begin trying right? I'll do my best not to leave it completely silent for months on end, but don't expect a steady stream of updates.
I also apologize for the absurd amount of exposition/worldbuilding, if you can call it that. I included what was essentially a large recap just so the reader could understand the universe that Shadow Company is in.
AN: 2/12/2023
An edit, changed some little things here and there, apologies if you received a notification for this.