Summer had arrived. The long days and unbearable heat from the sun to come would prove such a statement. The late evening sun slowly faded over the horizon; its light that once broke through the heavenly clouds above now dissipated giving room for the cooler temperatures that soon followed.
Stars seemingly descended from the blackened sky. A flurry of artificial, unhuman lights lit up small tarmac being used by the United States Air Force and the Indian Air Force. A collection of soldiers and airmen ran around as they prepared themselves to conduct a large troop movement to Pakistan.
Peshawar would be the first major city to see US troops roaming the streets. It was both a comforting and terrifying thought to many citizens of the country as not more than 1oo years ago hostilities with the "Yankees" were reaching a breaking point. Now they were waiting in the darkness of the unknown, hoping that the situation would blow over within the following year.
As the sun began to fade, a glint of its lasting warmth spread over the airfield. The golden-orange hue gave light in a dimly lit room. The alluring light drew in several men from their conversation. Their bodies warmed to the light and withdrew a myriad of different emotions from those present.
Sergeant Randall quietly raised his arm. He sat a small table in the command building on the base, and he grasped a small white mug that was sitting on the plastic table. He nicked the top of the cup with his calloused fingers and a burning sensation ran through his hand as he raised the mug to his lips. With a satisfying huff he placed the mug back down and left the burgundy-colored liquid as he stood from his seat and walked over to the window where two other Rangers were standing.
As he walked over the two Rangers, more specifically; PFC Green and Corporal Ramirez, were talking, a smaller cargo plane landed on the tarmac, and members of the Indian armed forces rushed out to the plane when it finally parked.
"-What do you think is going to happen? The briefing didn't make sense." Green admitted as he kept watch on the cargo being unloaded from the plane.
"Let me guess, brass didn't make the right decision again?" Ramirez, the resident medic, responded with a light chuckle. "It is important that we get to "Brutus" first. He is the one supplying weapons to the other groups."
Deciding to make the two jumped as Randall slammed his hand against a wall, and Green physically jumped at the sudden sharp noise as he walked forward, "You two look like you've seen some shit. Something on your guys' minds?"
Letting out a light curse and facing the Sergeant, Green gave a weak smile as he raised his right hand in a weak effort to great him. "I don't get why we aren't going for the supply lines moving through Peshawar. Wouldn't it be better for us to do that than go for the head of the snake?"
Randall paused at the question as he considered the words he would speak carefully. He adjusted the watch sitting on his wrist. "I'm not to sure, but perhaps they intend for his capture or death to be a sever morale drop for the forces we'll be facing." He said. "Bet you the Marines will be assigned the mission to ambush those supply lines anyways..."
Randall's words were laced with a hint of uncertainty, as he couldn't ascertain what both his commanding officers and the higher brass in Washington D.C wanted to gain from this tenure in Pakistan. The political gains would be substantial as the United States would essentially have a line of defense in the middle east from both China and the Mongolian Union, yet even with Russia's support in the manner, the unknown variables at play with the nuclear armed countries would put an imbalance on the world stage.
His fist slowly clenched tightly around the hem of his BDU pants. The situation being presented reminded him to much of the uprising caused by the Terran Initiative for the People of Africa (TIPA) in 2080. It was a conflict that stretched over five years, and he only hoped that it wouldn't repeat itself in the coming days.
Though with WMDs being a player in this conflict, the proposition put forward by Secretary of Defense Julian Conners to the President would send shivers down many of the veterans from the last generation as he was calling for a "Full Frontal Assault" on hostile territories.
Before he could walk away and get lost in all thoughts, Green pointed out the window towards two tandem rotor helicopters landing not far away. As the PFC and Corporal attempted to guess who was arriving, Randall watched as the ramps opened, and sixteen individuals and thirty unmarked boxes accompanied by four more unknown individuals exited the helicopters.
Though that wasn't what caught his eye. A crowd of news reporters that were allowed on base by the Indian government were silently recording the men. Eventually the MPs caught them and escorted them of premises, but they failed to retrieve the film from the cameras.
"God damn, who are they?" Green questioned watching the men disappear into a nearby hangar being escorted by a flurry of MPs and soldiers dressed in civilian clothing.
As Ramirez attempted to spout answers ranging from Black Ops Teams to intelligence agents, Randall was the one to come up with a satisfactory answer. "JSOC sent them over. Probably Green Berets that are going to insert along with Special Activities agents."
Turning away from the glass and returning back to his seat where his coffee laid motionless, a TV on the other side of the room echoed throughout the room as both Ramirez and Green followed.
"...with the almost simultaneous protests breaking out in both South Korea and Iraq, members of the TIPA's security council are beginning the process of gathering both private security forces, and private forces to their side. Prime Minister of Britain and head of the UN security council, Sullivan Harrold, has yet to comment on troop deployments being made both by NATO and the TIPA..."
Taking a seat adjacent to Randall, Green shifted uncomfortably at the news. "-Shit's fucking crazy. I mean-who saw that coming? Mercenaries and terrorists gathering in a single location under a single banner?"
"Well over two-billion people believe that Russia is the big threat right now. "Ideological distortion" as I call it. Lot a people looking at the wrong thing." Ramirez commented as he laid back in his seat. "The hardline faction in China, y'know the one we worked with back in Afghanistan? Apparently, they're starting to make their move against the CCP."
Settling into his seat and drinking his now lukewarm coffee, Randall listened intently to the conversation.