UNSCDF3 Chapter 3- Missiles and Bullets

Arabian Sea, Coast of Karachi, Pakistan

UNSC Perth

May 9, 2001

1750 Local Time

            “Two missiles inbound!” Parker shouted.

            “Stewart! Flak cannon.” Blake ordered.

            “Aye sir.” Stewart replied and pressed a series of buttons.

            At the front of the ship, a turret turned to face the missiles. Within a second of setting into position, a series of flak rounds exploded in the sky between the missiles and the ship. Luckily, the flak rounds managed to kill off the incoming missiles before it struck the ship.

            “Chopper’s at starboard side now.” Frederick pointed.

            “It’s going for our boat.” Hariprasad spoke in horror as a fury of bullets flew towards Cobra Squad’s boat.

            “Launch the SAM, now!” Blake shouted.

            “Already on it.” Parker navigated her console and slammed the controls.

            At the side of the starboard, two missiles launched in the air and trailed towards the Russian chopper. The Russians stopped firing and evaded with countermeasures. One missile missed, but the other continued to pursue. The Mi-24 made a sharp turn and fired a missile at the missile. Boom! The explosion rocketed the sky and pieces of debris fell into the water.

            “Fire again.” Blake ordered.

            “Sir.” Stewart acknowledged.

            “Captain, how can we help?” Frederick offered.

            “We have twin GAU-19 guns at the front of the ship. Controls are simple. Point and fire.” Blake pointed at a turret beside the flak cannon.

            “On it.” Frederick waved at Hariprasad.

            Just as Frederick and Hariprasad exited the bridge and ran towards the sky. Two explosions ripped through the silent waters as the SAM missiles struck the Mi-24’s countermeasures.

            “Better hurry.” Frederick urged.

            “Agreed.” Hariprasad answered.

*          *          *

            “Full speed ahead.” Johnson pointed at UNSC Perth.

            “Daniels, Perth wants us to fire our turrets instead.” Sears listened to his RaidComm transmission built inside his helmet.

            “The M60?” Daniels pointed at the machine gun mounted in front of the boat.

            “Yeah.” Sears pushed the throttle forward and turned the boat left.

            The Mi-24 fired its missiles at UNSC Perth, but was only countered by the flak cannons. At the front of the ship, a turret with two GAU-19s swiveled to face the helicopter. A blaze of armor piercing rounds lit up the sky.

            “That’s our cue!” Sears pointed as he sped the boat closer towards the Russian chopper.

            Daniels rotated the M60 turret and unleashed a torrent of bullets. A sea of bullets flew in the air followed by SAM missiles from UNSC Perth. In a matter of minutes, the bullets had dealt sufficient damage to the helicopter’s hull and the Mi-24 began to smoke.

            “They’re getting away.” Johnson pointed as the helicopter attempted to retreat.

            “Not on my watch.” Daniels got off the turret and ran towards the boat’s compartments.

            Daniels reached in a large compartment and took out a M82A2 sniper rifle.

            “Holy smokes, you guys have these?” Sears’ eyes widened in surprise.

            “Yeah, we’re Spec Ops remember?” Johnson reminded.

            Daniels mounted the sniper rifle stand on the boat’s ledge and aimed at the distant retreating chopper.

            “Hit the fuel lines.” Johnson pointed at the smoke trailing from the chopper.

            Daniels adjusted the elevation and slid a bullet into the chamber. He fired once and a loud bang was heard. The round struck the rear of the chopper, but did little damage.

            “Again.” Johnson encouraged.

            Once more, Daniels reloaded and slid a bullet into the chamber from the magazine. Daniels turned the gun a bit and fired. This time the armor piercing round struck the missiles the chopper was carrying and exploded. The explosion consumed the helicopter into a ball of flame and quickly plummeted into the water below.

            “Nice!” Sears complimented.

            “Looks like my training paid off.” Daniels joked.

            “Sure did.” Johnson laughed.

            “Let’s head back now.” Sears turned the boat back towards UNSC Perth.

Downtown Kandahar, Kandahar, Afghanistan

521 Apartments

May 9, 2001

1800 Local Time

            A young soldier wearing torn military outfit ran out of a vacant building. His face showed tiredness and dehydration from the desert heat. The soldier continued running down an alley and took cover in the shade. He unbuttoned his outer wear and used it as a hood to block the heat scorching his face. On his undershirt, the word “Zyrok” was stenciled on the back.  Zyrok walked back out of the street and into a convenience store that was semi-barricaded.

            “Ugh.” Zyrok grunted as he pushed away a wooden board to reveal a small opening into the building.

            As soon as Zyrok crawled inside, he pushed the wooden board back into place. Inside the store were some food and a makeshift bed built from cardboard and towels. He sat down on his bed and removed his hood. With a sigh, he emptied his pockets of the looted items he had found beside him. There was a bag of mixed nuts and two batteries. Zyrok placed the two batteries into a radio and turned the switch. A faint signal was heard and then turned to complete silence.

            “Useless.” Zyrok took the batteries out and threw them aside.

            Food rations were running low and Zyrok had scavenged most parts of the city. It was only a matter of time before he would go hungry. Just the thought of starving to death or scavenging in the hot sun demoralized him. He had sacrificed himself and destroyed the Secronom Research Facility. He had made sure Sarah’s husband didn’t die and that the majority of the team went home alive. Zyrok was certain that his team would assume that he was dead. The past few weeks alone in hiding and survival mode brought Zyrok to his senses.

            “It has always been fate.” Zyrok chuckled in reflection.

            Zyrok lied down on the ground and looked at the dusty ceiling.

            “It’s over…the game is over.” Zyrok opened a bag of mixed nuts and munched on it.

            Popping the nuts in his mouth, Zyrok quickly finished the whole bag. It did not fulfill his hunger, but it was going to last him for another day. Zyrok reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

            “Oh Sarah…I can’t believe I lasted this long.” Zyrok spoke to a wrinkled photograph of a beautiful Caucasian girl with a smile on her face.

            The photograph had faded over time leaving parts of the photo in discoloration. Zyrok closed his eyes and smiled warmly as a tear trickled down his cheek.

            “If only you know…if only you knew.” Zyrok whispered as he put the photo close to his heart.

            Zyrok wiped his face sadly with his shirt sleeve and decided to sleep. He was about to give up living by himself in the city of Kandahar. Life was too hard and no one was there with him except the Russians nearby still trying to figure out what Secronom had to offer. He pulled out his Desert Fox pistol and pulled the gun slowly to his head. He was ready and he wasn’t afraid to die. Zyrok had done the things he had wanted to do in his life and he was satisfied. Even with the imperfections along the way, he was pleased. He felt…peace.