Monday 20th January 2020, Aldcliffe, East Moreland."Boss can I have a chat."
Major Alex Redfern said as he gently knocked on the open office door of Red Legions Commanding Officer,
Brigadier Kelly. The Red's may have been East Moreland's elite military unit but they flourished in the rather informal atmosphere that in many ways made them unique.
"Come on in" Kelly motioned to the arm chair that sat close to his desk. He left his paperwork on the desk, something he was only too delighted to do and joined Alex around a coffee table. "Pots still warm." He added as he picked up a stainless steel teapot from the centre of the table and poured himself one, Alex declined with a polite wave of his hand. "How was your trip down Tech City?" Kelly enquired after the recent week Redfern had spent visiting the different technology companies based there looking at their developments in search of any that could be of interest to the Legion.
"Very good" Alex spoke with glee, "Found a few potential new toys to keep our eyes on.....and this" he reached inside his pocket and produced what he hoped would be the key to success.
Tuesday 21th January 2020, Portworth, East Moreland. 11pm"You are shitting me"
Lt.Joe Wolfe exclaimed as the briefing finished.
"I shit you not" Redfern smiled, "and you Joe my boy are first up." The room chuckled, half in trepidation about what they were about to try and half in excitement at the thought of watching the huge officer try it.
"Shit" Joe exclaimed as he rose from his chair and began donning the equipment that Redfern had brought with him. "Couldn't you find anything bigger" the 6ft 4inches tall former bomb disposal officer questioned as he finally stood in the wetsuit and harness.
"Rest of you suit up and I'll see you out there in five minutes." He pulled Joe by the arm leading him outside. The man was old for a Lieutenant but that was because he'd risen from the ranks of the NCO's in his former unit before joining the Reds. He'd only been in the unit six months but Redfern liked him and thought it was a shame that the officer was only going to spend the twilight of his active military career in the Reds. "The guys expect you to lead by example OK. So when that back door opens I want you out sharpish. I've been told it'll be like being rugby tackled. You're big enough and ugly enough to put up with that aren't you."
"I guess we'll see" he tapped Alex on the shoulder before heading back into the briefing room. "OK no socks down pants guys just accept its cold outside and get your arses on the Badger." The six Red's filed past him and down to the dockside where the Ekrabadger and a RHIB were waiting. Redfern and four Red climbed into the RHIB and set off while the now wetsuit clad team climbed into the Ekra-Badger.
Twenty minutes later the RHIB was zooming around the dark ocean picking up the bobbing Legionnaires whose emergency beacons located their position. Redfern reached down and grabbed Wolfe hauling him aboard as the last of them. "How was it?" Alex asked him as one of the others handed the soggy officer a mug of warm blackcurrent juice and a blanket.
"Less like being rugby tackled, more like being hit by a bus." Wolfe's grin was just about visible in the darkness. "I reckon add 20 meters to it and it'll be more comfortable."
"Cool.......lets try it" The RHIB zoomed along and straight into the back of the Ekrabadger where instructions where hastily given to the crew before the RHIB took up position once more in the bay.
Thursday 23rd January 2020, Northfort Palace, East Moreland. 1pm"This better be good Alex" King David tutted as he walked into his office. He had been due to go and address some petitioning environmental group but Redfern had told him he had something that was important.
Alex didn't say a word instead unzipped his black leather document folder and threw a photo on the table. "I've got the bitch" was all he said as he watched the King pick it up and a broad grin spread across his face.
"I'll be back in half an hour. Get everyone in the briefing room you need." David patted Alex on the back as he grabbed his jacket and exited to go and talk tree planting or something but the excitement of the talk ahead danced in his mind. It was perhaps the quickest 30 minutes in the history of the world, more like ten, before the King was heading down the lift into the briefing room. There were of course the usual faces, Minister of Defence Sir Harry Samuelson, General Katie Yacobs and her intelligence agency daughter Grace, Brigadier Kelly entered just after the King along with three Red Legionnaires the King didn't recognise and then the biggest surprise of all Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker. "What are you doing here?" The King enquired.
"Not a clue Your Majesty. Redfern just burst into my office, asked what security clearence I was, said good and told me to come here. If your sending me to invade Rokkenjima I'll be needing a knife and a grenade but OK." the pair chuckled as everyone began to take seats.
"Alex, the floor is yours." King David motioned for him to begin and sat back to absorb the nuggets of wisdom that were about to come forth.
AN HOUR LATER"Downside we have some inventive speech writing ahead of us. Upside......I reckon I can get us a few million for the film rights." Tucker responded having rather enjoyed his first briefing on a military matter. Usually he was briefed once things had either happened or were underway and he was fine with that, this time however he understood why his insight had been requested.
"So Your Majesty what do you want to do?" The Brigadier asked.
"I'll make the phone call myself. It rests on them. If they say no, then its off, if they say yes then as soon as possible we go." The King replied. He reached towards the desk and picked up the phone. "If you'll all excuse me" he waited for the room to empty before speaking to Quinn Germaine on the other end, "Quinn, get me the Dartfordian's Prime Minister on the phone." It took the King just over an hour to lay out what they needed and answer the questions that inevitably came but finally the approval he needed came. "Thank you." David hung up the phone and headed through the security door to where the group he'd been briefing with earlier were sat waiting. "Pack your bags you've a green light" David was sure he saw two of the Red Legionnaires high five as he broke the news.
Wednesday 29th January 2020, Somewhere off the coast of Dartfordia 4am The REMNS Jekar had slowly slipped beneath the dark cold waters of the Alucard 12 hours ago. Now they sat just 10km off the target of Sea Towers. The old naval observation platform had been commandeered by the Borlanders nearly five years ago and had been left to its own devices for several reasons since then, first the fact that it was home to no more than ten people who barely scrapped by on smuggled supplies and fish. Secondly it sat on an old oil pipeline and experts agreed that this posed a danger of releasing oil into the Alucard, it just hadn't been worth the risk of an environmental disaster to deal with a handful of nutjobs, but now Redfern had a plan and stage one involved the submarine.
"You have to be joking." A naval rating had only just been told the plan by
Tristian Rowe of Red Legion.
"We know what we're doing. Just get them loaded." Rowe picked up the first of the newly acquired
Nano Drones "And for the love of Jekar be careful" he added as he remembered the modifications they'd had Wolfe carry out on them. Each drone was carefully slid into the tube until full. At which point it was capped off and loaded into the submarines specially adapted chute. In total 30 of the nano drones were ready, they'd need about half to reach the target for Stage 1 to be considered a success. Just as they'd finished the process the subs commander came over the intercom.
"All stations we have a go for drone launch, stand to." Rowe could hear a few feet scurry along the walkways and hatches open and close. "Launch room. Ready when you are." Rowe quickly checked things one last time and then picked up his own comms system giving him access to the Red Legionnaires for Stage 2. "Operation Pixie Dust is a go. Start your timer."
"Timer started" Wolfe's voice came back over the radio and Rowe immediately pushed a button the sound of compressed air rushing up a tube filled the room and he watched the instruments that showed the drone loaded tubes had deployed correctly. The screen before him suddenly showed a green version of the world above the surface, the nightvision camera working perfectly. He checked the compass heading and began manoeuvring the little drones towards their target. It would take them about twenty minutes to cover the distance and glanced at the screen, then to the timer, then to his instrument panel before returning to the screen. One drone had gone off line, that had been expected but he hoped to not lose anymore but saw two more lights go out before he even saw the SeaTowers platform come into view. "On target in 30 seconds" he informed Wolfe.
"Roger that. We're at the start point." Wolfe checked his equipment for the tenth time as he watched the other seven Legionnaires go through their routines in a kind of pantomime.
Rowe climbed the drones up to platform level confident the small size wouldn't have been detected in the early morning darkness. Once on board the platform he flicked a switch and the drones went into what SmartWar called auto-pilot. They would look to fly a wide circular pattern but sensors stopped them flying into walls and such like and so the semi-autonomous nature saw them spread out through the interior of the platform. Rowe watched each on a small section of screen and when the first seemed to encounter a person he pressed a button. The drone would have given a small pop as the tiny explosive went off, making no more noise than a kernal of corn popping in a microwave. A puff of Carfentanil was released and soon all 23 of the surviving drones had exploded creating clouds of the chemical all along the tower. Rowe watched as at least three figures collapsed and was sure one of them was even having some kind of fit.
With almost perfect timing the rear door of the Ekrabadger opened and the roar of the engines filled the rear. The eight man team took up position bracing themselves against the side of the low flying vehicle. They could feel the odd spray of the ocean on their gear as they whipped along. "Twenty seconds" The Air Loadmaster signalled to them, it was no good saying it, the sound was too loud and the men weren't wearing any connection to the intercom. The loadmaster's hand hovered over a button that would turn the lights in the back green indicating it was time. The men knew as they felt the Ekrabadger climb slightly and then the green light came. Wolfe hesitated slightly, took a deep breath and pulled the parachute release hard as he pushed himself towards the blackness. He felt the slipstream take him, the chute opened and he hung in the air for a moment or two before splashing down in the sea, what air he had in his lungs rushed out of him as he hit the surface hard but just as he had in those tests at Portworth he soon regained his composure. The Ekrabadger was gone now heading into its lap where it would launch the fast boats that would provide the final part of the operation. SeaTowers was just fifty meters away and a few shapes could be seen moving, they needed to be quick. The men had been selected for their swimming skills and swiftly tossed their ropes into the rigging and clambered up them. On deck they removed the MP5's from the dry bags, quickly checked them for damage and pressed on towards the shapes they saw moving.
An alarm began to blare out indicating that the Carfentanil hadn't got everyone. The Red's moved towards what they understood was the command room while two of them headed towards the boats stored on deck. Wolfe and his men began searching room to room their respirators protecting them from any lingering gas. They came across the first slumped body and a Legionnaire checked for a pulse, Wolfe watched as the man shrugged his shoulders and pressed on, the Borlander dead. They came to the door to what they believed was the main centre of the platform. A hefty size nine boot kicked in the door and the moving shadow found three rounds flick its way causing it to fly backwards. Wolfe rushed forward and peered down at the moaning body for just a split second before putting two rounds in its head. The ever moving search went on, a few more slumped dead bodies, then one who was seeming to have a fit. One of the Red's knelt and began reaching into his belt pouch for a syringe of naloxone which they'd been issued incase any of the Red's came into contact with the Carfentanil or found hostages. "What the hell you doing" Wolfe pushed forward along the corridor grabbing the Legionnaire before he could inject the Borlander having convulsions. "Save that shit" he instructed as he fired his MP5 into the Borlanders skull. Soon they'd cleared the buildings but gunfire could be heard from the boat deck. The team moved outside and could see the Ekrabadger now at rest deploying the boats. It seemed some Borlanders had taken refuge among the boats on deck and were firing at anything that seemed to move. A burst of heavy machine gun fire raked the deck as the Air Loadmaster of the Ekrabadger turned its massive guns towards the incoming fire. "What the hell" Wolfe exclaimed as he got behind a solid looking metal frame and heard rounds ping off. "Badger hold your fire. Red's on deck" he urged and breathed a sigh of relief as the heavy machine gun stopped almost immediately. The Borlanders, two of them using the gunwhales of two small speed boats as cover kept firing bursts at the Red's who knowing sooner or later the Borlanders would run out of ammunition were content to just sit behind cover.
"I'm bored of this shit" one of the Red's said after about five minutes of this stand off and disappeared off crawling on his belly. He managed to make his way along the deck behind a series of piled crates until he reached a position close to the Borlanders. He reached onto his belt and took off a flashbang, didn't bother to pull the pin and just tossed it into one of the boats the Borlanders were using for cover. There was an instant sound of panic as the last hold outs believed it was a grenade they'd heard rattling around. The panic gave enough time for Wolfe and another Red to close the distance and spray over the ships sides a burst of gunfire. A scream pierced the air as one of the Borlanders howled in pain while the other slumped lifeless against the deck. Wolfe stood upright, clambered over the side of the boat where the man was screaming and realising his MP5 was empty unholstered his pistol and fired once into the mans forehead executing him on the spot. A last sweep of the instillation found no other signs of resistance. Wolfe ordered the men to put the Borlanders into body bags for transfer to the Ekrabadger and sat down with his radio. "All stations this is Pixie Leader" he chuckled at the call sign. "Objective secure. Let the Dartfordians know we've got their platform back."
"Will do" Redfern's voice came over the radio, he'd been monitoring it all from Ostlake command where David had been sat listening on. David was already picking up the phone and just gave his friend and brother in law a thumbs up.
"Mr.Cleaver" King David said when he was put through to the Dartfordian Prime Minister. "I am informing you of the success of our operation. SeaTowers is under East Moreland control and after we recover our equipment and make the site safe we shall be happy to hand it over to Dartfordia. Thank you for the use of your facilities it is greatly appreciated."