( Please Note: This is a work of science fiction with a mix of realistic fiction. If anything resembles real world places, people, or weaponry, it is NOT intentional. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this.)
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They say that when a person is near death, their life flashes before their eyes. Well, what if I told you that it wasn't exactly true, or at least for me and my soldiers. We are part of a project called Veritas.The scientists also call it the "Rebirth" program. So far, it has been tested and proved true. I will not spoil what happens when we die. Not yet at least.
"Hey Rakon, you listening?" The lieutenant said while looking at me.
"Sir yes sir!" I replied. As you guessed, I am Rakon, squad leader of the Fanged Pack. The Fanged Pack was a squad within the 89th Division, Army.
"What's the plan?"
"We will take off at 0130 and drop in at 0330. We will infiltrate and go for the Intel, avoiding enemy combatants if possible. Once Intel is gained we will evac to three kick's south of the base."
"Good man. Get your squad ready and be ready to move out!"
"Yes sir!"
"Dismissed."
A quick salute later and I was heading back to the barracks housing my squad. You see, the Fanged Pack was a small contingent in an elite based battalion. Each of us had seven people in the squad with five squads per battalion. It's a bit small but ours was still growing.
After a five minute walk across base I came to our barracks. I heard my people talking and smiled. It was always about booze or women. And I must say, the stories they tell would make any normal man blush. I stood outside and listened.
"I'm telling ya! This dame was a d*mned tenner. Nice and round with a robust bust. And she was nice an..."
"Shut the hell up Mason," Another voice called out. Code name Raptor. Good guy, "We all know you embellish a lot."
"Look at Raptor using big words, you f*cked up meathead," This time a female, code name Celes. A b*itch in the barracks and a murderous little helion in the field.
"Says the Hellbringer," Raptor retorted. Yeah... Celes was a Hellbringer alright. She annihilated an enemy squad once and then taunted the others. Fox and the Hound followed suit and she led them right to us. That was a helluva fight.
I shook my head at the memory and smiled. These guys are the best. I can't trust anyone other then them. I walked in and looked about. Mason was sitting on his bunk, watching Celes square up on Raptor. Her 5 foot 4 frame against the 6 foot 1 frame of Raptor, oh boy. Celes wasn't afraid of anything and she would lay Raptor out. Hell, even I wouldn't square up against her.
"Knock it off guys," I called out, "Get some R and R. We got a drop in a few hours."
"Squad Leader!" All three of them said at the same time. I knew what they wanted. They wanted the deets. I shook my head and tapped my skull. They knew it meant to wait until we were on the plane. Confidential. A quick glance at the clock showed it was 1710, a very odd time. The rest of the squad should be coming back from the mess hall soon. As soon as I thought about food, I heard their voices. I moved to the side of the door and waited in the small amount of shadows there. The first one to enter was Lagoon, or Lag for short. Followed by Everest and Sylla. (Note: Sylla is pronounced as See-yah.) I silently moved back into the door and tapped each. The jumps were worth the punch followed by Everest.
"Oops. Sorry Rakon," Everest's deep bass voice said as his hand reached down and helped me back up.
"Hell of a punch there Everest," I muttered as I rubbed my jaw. A laugh sounded from the freakish giant as everyone moved to their bunks. I told the last three newcomers the same as before. A nod came from them and then the lights went out as the blinds were drawn. Little did I know that this would be our first trip down to Hell's doorstep.
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A few hours later after a fitful rest, we were geared up and shooting over the land in our carrier plane. I relayed the details from the lieutenant to the others. The only way to communicate over the noise was the comms.
"Any deets on what the Intel is?" Lag asked. He was our tech specialist.
"Negative. Just where it is and how we are grabbing it."
"Any idea on the amount of resistance?" Celes.
"Negative."
"Weaponry?" Everest.
"Negative."
"Well we're f*cked. We're going in blind!" Mason.
"Yes we are." As I said before, the first step to Hell's doorstep.
"Well this will be interesting then." Sylla.
"We are going to get f*cked and I ain't gonna be able to enjoy it." Raptor.
That was when the laughing started. We all had that sense of humor. Where it was "You're gonna die first." Or more known as graveyard humor. And the not being able to enjoy it part, well, Raptor was a eunuch. So even though he could, he doesn't.
" Red in five. Drop in fifteen," The com came through. Once the lights went red, we got up and got ready. Each checked their gear and got double checked by someone else. I was first and waiting.