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« on: July 30, 2023, 04:11:17 AM »
2000 Hours, Kalasinese Coastline
Black Talon 1 - Operation Kingfisher
32 Hours Until Deadline Ends
A splash kicked up as the first set of boots landed in the shallow surf, followed by several more. The RHIBs had made landfall within the acceptable timeframe. Three of the boats from the RNS Gleidhidh had landed here, on an empty stretch of the Kalasinese coastline. It was never going to be a great idea to try and insert special forces from a hospital ship, but even at that they had never anticipated that the locals would launch a pair of missiles at it. The Directorate knew best, they supposed. Helicopters would be too much of a risk, and any military vessel nearing the coastline would draw the wrong kind of attention. Here only the sound of seabirds and the waves breaking against the sand were audible, no human presence. That being said Gleidhidh being hit wasn't part of the plan, they still had a legitimate humanitarian mission to carry out and that action had escalated their mission from simple intelligence gathering to risking drawing the Republic into a proper conflict. That is of course unless the higher ups knew that they were putting the Gleidhidh into the line of fire to justify going in.
Captain Crowle quickly assessed his situation. He had fourteen other men under his command and they were busying themselves dragging the boats up the sand, they had to be hidden of course and no one would have been expecting them in this area anyway. Most of the opfor would be occupied further inland.
His second stopped just short of him, a Warrant Officer by the name of Kildare. "Captain, the lads are ready to move on your go."
"Good work Kildare, I want everyone to check their kit and be ready to move in five, we're on the clock now." The Captain said, his attention focused on the map he had slipped from his admin pouch. They knew the rough area of their target but it would be quite the hike inland, through hard terrain and with no support. But his orders were clear, there were several intelligence assets in-country when the hostilities kicked off and it was of the utmost importance their intel be extracted. The Republic had no intention of walking into this blind, especially after that dirty bomb went off, and the satellites just couldn't get enough information, these assets had significant intel tucked away but for whatever reason they just couldn't transfer it out. That's why they had to use the Hospital Ship as a front to insert their team quietly to grab it. It would be invaluable to the Intelligence Corps and ensure that if the Armed Forces were going to commit then they'd have the best possible picture of the situation on the ground.
The Captain waded through the surf and sand up to his section, they were already taking cover under the foliage. "Alright people, asset pickup is a 55 click Northeast from where we are now, we need to grab this intel fast and get back before the deadline hits. Command wants that intelligence badly before the regs come in and we are here to get it for them. Let's move out."
0255 Hours
25 hours until Deadline
It had been nearly seven hours since they left the beach. The section of fifteen had been advancing single file through the Kalasinese countryside without having encountered anyone, of course they had kept away from the roads and villages, their route had been planned specifically to minimize this risk. But now they were advancing on their first target and that was about to change.
Captain Crowle signalled his column to regroup around himself, a few quick flicks of his hand and they knew immediately he wanted two volunteers. Two of the men put themselves forward. "Right, Grey, Hagen, the first pickup is holed up in a settlement just half a click south of us. Asset's name is 'Mnaddo', you still remember the description from the brief?" The two men nodded. "Good, it's an old army outpost, we don't expect much resistance but I'll get Teague to send the drone up ahead of you. Kildare's fireteam will set up just outside to support you if it kicks off. The VIP should be waiting in a garage not too far from the perimeter fence. In and out, no noise."
For the briefest moment the jungle around them clicked and clacked as the section prepared and checked their weapons. Seven of them advanced quietly through the foliage ahead, a small quadcoptor drone buzzing over their heads as it rapidly gained altitude into the night sky. Five of the men took cover in the foliage, setting up their positions to offer the best view of the compound ahead, whilst the last two continued ahead carefully, keeping low to the ground as they moved up to the fence.
The compound ahead of them wasn't exactly bustling with activity, but it wasn't as dead as they had hoped for, the drone's FLIR camera had picked up at least seventeen heat signatures roaming the area. Though they were dispersed and seemingly just ambling around aimlessly. Two more signitures were quickly picked up approaching the fence just on the edge, the IR strobes from their helmets identifying them as friendly. Corporal Hagen's radio clicked. "We're at the fence, enough holes we can get through. What's the sitrep?" he asked in a hushed tone.
His headset crackled back, "Drone spotted three X-rays between you and the first building, they appear to be sitting around a small fire, take the path to the right and move along the wall, they wont see you."
The two men quickly began moving, stepping through a wide gap in the rusted and decaying fence. They raised their carbines, both of them had C35A2's chambered in .300 blk, that and the monolithic suppressors on the end of them would ensure even if they did had to pick someone off they could at least do it quietly. Through their WP filtered NODS they could see their lasers cutting through the dark, one facing forward and the other firmly fixed in the direction the drone had reported possible hostiles.
Taking every step with caution they continued, a dim light from a fire was radiating from their left and they began to pick up voices, casual conversation, nothing to indicate they suspected any infiltration. Still, best not to stick around. Once they had reached the wall their radio came back to life. "Armed X-rays ahead, drone counts two, they are facing away from you but are in the way. Drop them quietly and hide the bodies. Once you've taken care of them proceed across the road and take the gate, it leads into the garages."
Hagan clicked his PTT button twice to confirm before nodding to Grey. Advancing along the wall they spotted their targets, two men casually dressed and having a quiet chat, one was busy trying to light a cigarette with an old lighter. The two operators silently drew their knives and advanced in unison, hesitating for only a moment to sight any potential onlookers they jumped them. A short struggle ensued as they were simulataniously pulled backwards by the operators and out of sight, gloved hands muffled any calls of help before it went quiet again. As quickly as it started it was over, the two men quickly advanced across the dimly lit road and pushed against the gate.
Entering the open-air garages was simple, the drone hadn't spotted any opposition aside from the single heat signature standing next to it's own IR strobe. The asset. Weaving between broken down cars and old toolboxes they approached him, guns still up. 'Mnaddo' was simply leaning against one of the cars, a cigarette in his mouth and a large revolver at his hip.
"What took you so long?" He asked, "I have what you want, but these paramilitaries will notice I've been gone for a smoke for a while. Anyway, everything you want is in here: capabilities, which group operates where, even the specs on those missiles that hit that ship. Everything my network has gathered till now." He stated dryly, pulling a satchel from inside the vehicle and offering it. Hagan snatched it from his hand before pressing three times on his radio. Asset secured. "Get back to them then." the soldier whispered, drawing a small envelop from a pouch on his hip and tossing it over to him. "Payment for goods recieved."
Mnaddo smirked, "I'll see what I can drum up next time for you, I have to warn you though it is getting harder to move around. They still think I'm just here to sell them alcohol and cigarettes but they are getting bolder, robbing people outright now that they think they have carte-blanch to do what they please."
Suddenly Hagan's headset crackled. "Corporal, you have five x-rays moving into the area, all armed. They are about to enter the garage area. Go to ground now."
"Get out of here, company." He snapped. Mnaddo stubbed his cigarette and shrunk back into the darkness, naturally he had his own way out but that wouldn't work for two special forces operators, they couldn't just walk brazenly out of there. The two soldiers were quick to drop down into an inspection pit. Weapons ready as the gates squeaked open, they could see five pairs of legs from under the car. The five men quickly dispersed around the pitch black garage, unaware of the transaction that had just occured and the two Preorians hiding infront of them. One of them produced a few bottles from a backpack as the others spoke in their native tongue, laughing between one another as they pulled up seats.
"I'm only seeing five, they haven't noticed their friends are missing and I'm not seeing any unusual increase in activity, they still don't know you are there. Can you make it out?" Captain Crowle's voice crackled through Hagan's headset. He clicked it once for 'no'.
"Is that lot setting up for a while?". Two clicks, Yes. "Damn, has the asset been secured?". Two clicks again. "Good, do not engage unless you are spotted, we'll have to see if we can't wait till they move on. If they don't budge then We'll get you out. Just sit tight for now." Another two clicks confirmed the order.
An hour or so had passed, the group of men had taken up some kind of card game and were very invested in it, they had set their rifles down to the side. Hagan and Grey were still crouched underneath the car, their focus had to be total, any small move could give them away. Even just trying to sit down would make too much noise. Time was running out for them, light would be approaching soon and they would be too easy to see where they were. One way or another they would be compromised and forced to go loud.
The radio came back online, "Corporal, we can't pull you out in any way that wouldn't compromise us, Mclusky's drone has also spotted two trucks full of potential hostiles making their way along a road towards the compound. He estimates ten minutes before they show up. We need to go now, you have permission to engage, get back here.". Hagan looked at his fellow, they both knew what to do.
He carefully produced a small cylinder from one of his pouches, a flashbang. He couldn't pull the pin without setting his carbine down, so he held it backwards towards Grey, who obliged with his own free hand. He held the spoon tightly, slowly releasing pressure until it triggered, it was quiet enough the men didn't notice it as he rolled it towards them.
The flash of light was the last thing they had expected, the operators at least had noise-cancelling headsets to muffle the bang. They were sent reeling immediately, dropping to the floor and yelling, trying to grap at where their weapons had been or rolling around on the ground clutching their eyes. The two Preorians rapidly emerged from either side of the inspection pit, they had relentlessly trained for this kind of close quarters engagement, with no hesitation they had opened fire, one muffled shot into each of the five men as they struggled to rise, then another to ensure they were neutralized.
Hagan quickly turned on his radio, "We've engaged, clear a path for us, we're coming back through the alley."
"Copy, we'll get their attention." The voice of Kildare returned. Almost immediately they heard the sound of rapid-fire. The distinct sound of the C102 SAW, even suppressed it was still loud. "Looks like Mnaddo exfilled, anyone you see left in there is a hostile, engagement rules are free." The Captain shouted down his radio.
The two operators shouldered the gate into the garage open, weapons raised they scanned the immediate outside, three men clad in old webbing and clutching even older rifles were running down the road to the source of the sound, for a moment they hesitated, expecting their friends to be the ones coming out of the garage. Instead they were met with two men in full-gear. Hagan opened fire, the first of the three fell immediately, as they struggled to come to a stop and raise their own rifles. Grey had the second before they could, the third fell to both of them.
They rushed across the road, dirt kicking up at their feet as several more hostiles tried to take aim at them. Both of them made it to cover unscathed, back to the wall they had initially moved along, the sound of gunfire was now rife around the entire compound, the crack of AKM rifles joining in as the paramilitaries fired relentlessly into the treeline where the rest of the unit was dug-in.
The two operators were running full-pelt at this point, it was only 50 metres to the trees where the rest of them were providing suppressing fire to cover their withdrawel. Regardless of if it was open ground they had to move, there was no time before potentially dozens more hostiles flooded in.
They could feel the snap of bullets whizzing past them as they ran, they had almost made it to the treeline when Grey stumbled, three shots had found their mark in his back as he fell forward into the brush. Breaking his stride Hagan dropped his rifle onto it's sling and grabbed his friend's plate carrier by the shoulder-straps, hauling him into the undergrowth.
"Grey is hit!" He yelled into his headset, "Get me backup!", two more of his unit broke cover and ran out to help him, returning fire against the paramilitaries as they pulled their casualty to saftey.
The trees around them splintered and clumps of mud were kicked up, they took cover in a shallow pit. Quickly flipping Grey around to find where the shots had hit. "No blood, he took it in the carrier and it looks like the plates held up"" One of the soldiers shouted. "Get him back up then!" Hagan responded. They lifted the downed man to his feet and checked him over again. "Looks like he was just dazed by the fall, let's get him back."
The four men now retreated deeper into the foliage, Captain Crowle was waiitng for them.
"Do you still have the assets?" He asked. Hagan nodded, Grey was back on his own footing now. "Good", He spoke into his headset. "All fireteams, disengage and withdraw, we've acquired the intel." He turned back to his men. "I hope he can still run, we need to get as far away from here as possible." Grey shook his head. "I'm still in the game, sir." "Good man." The Captain replied.
The section started filtering in, all fifteen accounted for. "Let's move out, Kildare take the rear. These bastards will be on our tails so we need to move fast." Crowle ordered. Almost immediately the section broke into a sprint, beating a hasty retreat as the paramilitaries still fired into the trees.
1303 Hours
13.5 hours until Deadline
It had been around ten hours but the unit had made it back to the beach, they were ragged, exhausted but all of them were alive. The trek back had to be taken carefully, once they shook the paramilitary forces chasing them they had to navigate around any patrols they encountered. Even taking the longer, but safer, route was risky. But they had made it back with the intelligence intact, a satchel containing a laptop and a half-dozen memory drives.
The exhausted men busied themselves dragging their boats back out of cover towards the sea. Captain Crowle grabbed a sattelite phone that was stowned in his rucksack, dialing in he was quickly answered. "This is BT 1-4 to Seagull, Rickshaw, I repeat, Rickshaw."
A voice came back down the phone, "This is Seagull, we copy, dispatching Seagull-Minor to EP 'Checkmate', RV in 1.5 Hours.", "Understood, we are moving to EP 'Checkmate'."
He hitched the sat-phone back into it's pocket and signalled for his second. "Kildare! Checkpoint, one and a half!." He shouted over.
The Warrant officer nodded and turned to the rest of the men. "Let's get these boats ready, I don't doubt they'll leave us if we don't get there on time."
Once the boats were in the water they wasted no time, embarking and powering away from the shore as quickly as the RHIBs could carry them. It would be a 45-minute ride to the extraction-point in open water, their GPS would take them there but the danger was the slightly longer wait until they could be picked up. But a successful mission was a successful mission, and the intelligence they secured would be a major-asset in planning what was to come. And they still had 12 hours before the deadline would expire. Plenty of time to extract the data, of course there would be no doubt that this information would be shared with the Daitōjins, even if they had their own intelligence in-country it wouldn't hurt to be as open as possible with them.