UNSCDF3 Chapter 18- Into the Wasp's Nest

Erazi, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Russian Communications Outpost

May 15, 2001

1100 Local Time

            “Are the UNSC nearby or not?” Dimitri shouted at a soldier monitoring the RaidComm channel.

            “I don’t know sir. We dispatched two teams to search for them, but it appears to be a wild goose chase.” the soldier gulped.

            “Look, did you or did you not intercept a transmission soldier?” Dimitri demanded.

            “Yes we did sir.” the soldier replied nervously.

            “Then find them before they find us.” Dimitri hit his hand on a table.

            The chatter in the room reduced to nothing as the soldiers stopped to look at Dimitri. A second later, everyone resumed to their duties and the noise level was back up.

            “Dima!” Dimitri waved.

            “Sir?” Dima walked up beside Dimitri briskly.

            “Relocate all prisoners as a precaution.” Dimitri ordered.

            “Where to sir?” Dima asked.

            “Hmm…somewhere the UNSC would not find them if they are still alive. I don’t care where, just move them.” Dimitri replied in annoyance.

            “Understood sir.” Dima walked out and waved at two soldiers sitting nearby at a desk.

           

*          *          *

            Carroll sat on the ground fiddling her cell lock with a paperclip she had found. Being tired and dizzy from the lack of nutrition she had been getting as a prisoner was beginning to take a toll on her. Everson had already passed out a couple of times and she had become submissive to the Russian captors.

            “Hey Everson, wake up. You have to strong.” Carroll whispered.

            “Uh huh.” Everson nodded blankly.

            To Carroll’s surprise, the door suddenly swung open with two soldiers.

            “No more…no more.” Everson begged.

            “Dima…” Carroll stared as Dima walked in.

            Carroll had a hatred for that man because Dima had no heart. She begged for mercy, but instead he brought more soldiers to harass her.

            “We’re going, let’s go.” Dima shouted.

            “What’s going on?” Carroll questioned.

            “Shut up.” Dima slapped Carroll across the face.

            One soldier picked Everson off her feet and slung her to his back while the other dragged Carroll out of her cell. Everson was not even struggling as she had become almost frail. Carroll, however, was putting up a fight with the remaining energy she had left.

            “Look, obey and I won’t punch your face.” Dima squeezed Carroll’s cheeks tightly together.

            Carroll nodded and gave in to Dima with a sigh. She’d rather stay awake and conscious if she found the opportunity to escape.

            “Dima, what about the others?” a soldier asked by pointing down the hall.

            “No orders from Dima so I’m guessing the Captain and the girl is staying behind.” Dima yanked at Carroll’s arm to keep up with their pace.

            Carroll had overheard their conversation and began to think if the Captain that Dima was referring was Blake or someone else. One thing she knew was that the only surviving marines were Everson and herself so it was unlikely that it was Blake. AS the Russians led the prisoners out of the hall and into a service corridor, Carroll had a quick glimpse into a room that was open. Blake was tied to a chair passed out with a pool of blood.

            “You’re not supposed to see that.” Dimitri popped out of the room and closed the door.

            “What did you do to him?” Carroll shot a deadly glare.

            “Take her away.” Dimitri waved the Russian soldiers off.

Downtown Kandahar, Kandahar, Afghanistan

British Embassy

May 15, 2001

1120 Local Time

            “You think they saw us?” Daniels crouched under a sedan.

            “Negative, no signs of alertness.” Dau peeked through the scope of his sniper rifle.

            “Marines, we’ll need to be fast. Once the bird is fired up, it will draw all the attention.” Johnson explained his plan.

            “Got it.” Daniels acknowledged with a smirk.

            “Let’s move.” Johnson waved for the next cover.

            The marines quickly scattered to the next cover which was a destroyed military truck. Johnson pointed at an open window beside the main entrance to the embassy and the marines quickly moved about. One by one, the marines quickly hopped inside and took cover just in time as a Russian patrol turned around a corner.

            “Where’s the Pelican?” Dau asked quietly.

            “According to Hariprasad, three levels down.” Johnson pointed at the ground.

            “Man, I better hope it’s fuelled up.” Daniels wished.

            “Let’s stop worrying and let’s get moving.” Johnson ordered.

            “Sure thing boss, I want to get out of here as soon as possible. It’s like we’re going into a wasp’s nest.” Dau replied gladly.

            Johnson took point and opened the door to the halls. A Russian soldier was talking to two local militia studying some posters on the wall.

            “Quickly, let’s go.” Johnson whispered.

            The marines turned right and tiptoed down the halls into the next available room. Dau pushed the door open and saw a militia with his back to the door. He quickly lunged from behind and placed his hand over his mouth to prevent him from crying out for help. In a swift motion, Dau twisted the head sideways and assassinated the militia.

            “Hide him.” Johnson suggested as he pointed at a closet.

            Dau dragged the body into the closet and closed it gently. Johnson picked up the radio from a table and studied it.

            “Looks broken.” Johnson tossed the radio to the ground.

            “Let’s move before they find out that one of them is missing.” Daniels replied.

            The marines agreed and proceeded out the room and into a stairwell. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a locked security door with an access panel.

            “Hariprasad said the code was 19971.” Johnson punched the numbers.

            The panel lit green and the door hissed open. The dark hall lit up one by one as the fluorescent lights turned on.

            “Looks like nobody is home.” Dau remarked.

            “Spread out and watch your sectors.” Johnson ordered.

            “Aye sir.” Daniels took point.

            At the end of the hall was another sealed blast door.

            “Code is 29911.” Johnson told Daniels as he studied the access panel.

            Again, the door hissed open and a hangar was revealed. A Pelican with a troop pod was docked in the center.

            “Hey!” a shout was heard from behind the marines.

            A pair of militia had entered the first door and began to run at them.

            “Shit, they found us.” Daniels dashed for the Pelican.

            “Seal the door!” Johnson aimed his gun and fired.

            Dau rushed to the inside panel and slammed on a button. The blast door closed shut and a few faint gunshots were heard.

            “It won’t be long before the systems get overridden.” Johnson patted the heavy door.

            “Dau, get the fuel cables attached!” Daniels shouted from the cockpit.

            “On it!” Dau placed his gun on the ground and began to roll a barrel of fuel.

            Johnson climbed aboard the Pelican and noticed a lot of weapon and food crates.

            “Get the crates off. The lighter we are, the more agile.” Daniels exited the cockpit and picked up a metal crate.

            Dau linked the fuel lines to the Pelican and pressed a button to begin pump. Once the fuel began to be pumped into the aircraft, Dau quickly assisted the others in removing the crates.

            “Mostly food rations aboard this Pelican.” Daniels threw a small crate off.

            “Guys…they are cutting through…” Dau pointed at the blast door.

            Sparks were flying off the metal door frame and parts of the door had turned scorching red as the metal melted.

            “Any weapons on this Pelican?” Johnson quickly shoved a food crate off the ship.

            “Only a GAU-19 mounted at the nose with a couple of countermeasures.” Daniels inspected.

            “Will this be of help?” Dau removed a fully loaded M60 from a weapon crate.

            “Yes, but we better get airborne.” Johnson nodded.

            “How?” Dau looked up at the metal ceiling.

            “Hangar door controls…there!” Daniels pointed at a small office adjacent to the blast doors.

            “I’ll get it. Daniels, get the Pelican fired up!” Johnson ordered while running.

            Johnson looked at the blast doors and noticed that a quarter portion was still remaining before the Russians and militia came crashing the party. It was going to be a one-way trip for the marine; he’ll have to defend until the Pelican got to safety. As he ran past a crate, he picked up a loaded M60 and dashed into the office.

            “Controls…where are they?” Johnson frantically looked at the panel of buttons.

            From the window of the office, the Pelican had already lifted a meter off the ground and the blast doors had been cut open.

            “Get it up higher!” Johnson shouted on the RaidComm as soldiers came pouring in.

            At last, Johnson found a lever marked “Hangar Doors” and flipped it. The roof shook a little as it began to slide open.

            “What about you?” Daniels spoke on the RaidComm as the Pelican reached to the top.

            “I’ll buy you enough time. Good luck marines.” Johnson bashed the office window and mounted the M60 machine gun.

            A sea of bullets peppered the unaware soldiers and took them down by surprise. Suddenly, a Russian soldier crouched to the ground and fired a RPG.

            “Holy…” Johnson watched in terror as the RPG flew towards him.

            “God damn it.” Daniels watched below as the RPG destroyed the office into a ball of fire.

            The Pelican flew out of the open courtyard and was shot by small arms fire.

            “RPG!” Dau looked at a soldier firing from the roof with precision.

            “Evasive maneuvers. Hang on!” Daniels shouted and cranked the flight controls upwards.

UNSCDF3 Chapter 10- Full Assault

Downtown Kandahar, Kandahar, Afghanistan

British Embassy

May 11, 2001

0750 Local Time

            Zyrok woke up groggily and wiped his eyes. He got off the ground and looked at Sarah curled up next to the wall. It was still early for Sarah to wake up, so Zyrok decided to check his backpack’s contents. Food supplies were dwindling and Zyrok knew they had to keep searching. After half an hour, Sarah slowly opened her eyes and yawned.

            “Get a good sleep?” Zyrok asked.

            “Not really…ground was too hard.” Sarah pulled out her bag of potato chips from her pocket.

            Zyrok sat down beside her and removed the bottle of soda from his backpack.

            “This is the only one left so we have to share.” Zyrok handed Sarah the drink.

            “Here, have some.” Sarah handed her bag of chips.

            In a few minutes of sharing, the pair had finished their looted food from the day before and knew they had to continue searching to survive. Zyrok walked to the door and slowly unlocked it. He pulled out his kukri and gently pushed the door wide open. The halls were partially illuminated by the rising sun, but most corners remained in the dark.

            “Come on, let’s go.” Zyrok whispered.

            Sarah picked up her golf club and clutched it with both hands as Zyrok approached a locked room with an access panel. He reached into his pocket and swiped the looted ID card on the panel. A green light lit up and the sounds of the locks releasing could be heard. Zyrok opened the door and realized that it was not a room, but a corridor.

            “Watch my back.” Zyrok walked into the corridor with Sarah and the door clicked shut.

            “I remember this…” Sarah touched the walls.

            “What do you remember?” Zyrok stopped in his tracks to listen.

            “They were in and we were evacuated. We ran together, but something happened.” Sarah stared at the end of the corridor where it turned left and right.

            “What happened?” Zyrok looked at where Sarah was staring.

            “They didn’t follow. They told me to go or else we all wouldn’t make it.” Sarah pointed at the end of the corridor.

            “Who are they?” Zyrok walked towards the end of the corridor slowly.

            “My…parents.” Sarah felt her eyes water.

            “I’m sorry.” Zyrok quickly replied apologetically.

            “And I never saw them ever since…” Sarah sighed deeply.

            “Maybe they made it out alive.” Zyrok attempted to bring hope back into Sarah.

            “And they haven’t found me?” Sarah countered.

            Zyrok knew deep down that Sarah’s parents most likely did not survive the outbreak due to the fact that most people didn’t survive the initial pandemic and Zyrok was one of the lucky ones. A majority of Zyrok’s friends and family had perished, but he didn’t give up. His determination to find Sarah focused him and gave him the strength to face his fears. A couple of days before, he was looking for a purpose in life. Now he was taking care of a girl who he has never met and carried the name Sarah.

            “Afghanistan is a big place Sarah. Maybe they haven’t found you yet.” Zyrok reassured.

            Zyrok knelt down beside a corpse wearing body armor and flipped it over. A bullet hole was visible in the center of the forehead with parts of the flesh decayed over time. He removed the flak jacket and placed it onto himself. After strapping the body armor nice and snug to his chest, Zyrok pointed at the first open room that was missing its door.

            “Quiet…I see something.” Zyrok raised his SA80 and pointed his flashlight at a figure hanging from the ceiling.

            The flashlight revealed a zombie with a rope tied around its neck. It was still alive as it waved its arms at Zyrok attempting to eat the living.

            “Sarah, hand me the golf club.” Zyrok stuck out his hand.

            “Here.” Sarah presented the club.

            “Look away.” Zyrok held the club firmly with both hands.

            Sarah had a general idea of what Zyrok was about to do. She turned her head and heard the zombie growling. Zyrok swung the weapon at the zombie’s head twice with blunt force and saw pieces of its skull chip off. With one last hit, the club had cracked the skull in half and the zombie became lifeless.

            “Ok, you can look now.” Zyrok patted Sarah’s shoulders.

            Sarah spun around and looked around the room. A stool was flipped over which may indicate it was used for the person to hang themselves.

            “Here, hold on to this.” Zyrok handed the golf club back to Sarah.

            Sarah took the club with one hand and walked around the room. She opened a drawer and began to quickly search the contents. Again, she found nothing useful and sighed in frustration. Zyrok, on the other hand, seemed to have found a small stash of supplies. He uncovered two bottles of water and a large bag of potato chips.

            “You’re lucky.” Sarah exclaimed as she eyed the looted supplies.

            “Don’t worry, you find something sooner of later.” Zyrok smiled with optimism.

            Zyrok gave Sarah a bottle of water and the bag of chips. Then, he placed the other water bottle into his backpack.

            “Let’s go.” Zyrok walked to the door and glanced at the dead zombie hanging from the ceiling.

            Sarah picked up her backpack and slung it to her back and quickly exited out the room with Zyrok.

Arabian Sea, Coast of Karachi, Pakistan

UNSC Perth

May 11, 2001

0755 Local Time

            Frederick woke up to the sound of alarms blaring and flashing red lights. Explosions could be heard from outside the room. She looked out the small window and saw explosions in the water.

           “Attention all marines, we are under attack. Repeat, we are under attack!” Stewart’s voice sounded on the speakers.

            Frederick rushed out of her quarters and quickly made her way to the bridge, she noticed the windows were shot out and a few bodies on the ground.     

            “Glad you’re still in one piece Lieutenant.” Blake rushed from a computer with blood dripping from his face.

            “What’s going on?” Frederick looked out the windows.

            “Two Mi-24 choppers attacking the ship.” Blake pointed to the right of the ship.

            “Russians?” Frederick looked as the choppers circled around.

            “I presume.” Blake ran to a computer and typed something.

            “Captain, missiles inbound!” Stewart shouted.

            “Flak rounds!” Blake pointed.

            The flak cannon turned and fired into the sky. Since there were two choppers, the number of missiles flying towards UNSC Perth increased. Although some missiles got taken out, a majority missed the flak rounds.

            “Launch countermeasures.” Blake ordered.

            “Launching!” Stewart hit the buttons.

            A couple of flares shot up into the sky and diverted a few missiles, but three missiles continued its course. The first one slammed into the tip of the ship and left a small crater while the second and third missiles impacted the flak cannon and blew it to oblivion. The ship shook sideways in the water as the shockwave from the explosions spread throughout the ship. Frederick watched as marines frantically attempted to put out the fire on the ship deck while a couple of marines were using the mounted M60 turrets in an attempt to take down the attack choppers.

            “Attention all marines, this is the Captain. Use whatever weapons we have to take down the helicopters!” Blake spoke on the speakers.

            Frederick watched as the twin GAU-19 guns turned and fired at the choppers. The Russians were smart and split their formation so that they were coming from both sides.

            “Autocannons!” Blake shouted at Stewart.

            “On it.” Stewart rushed to a console.

            Two cannons on each side of the ship turned and fired explosive rounds into the sky. The Russians retaliated by unleashing a barrage of missiles and a hail of armor piercing rounds.

            “Counter it with what we have Stewart.” Blake pushed the ship throttle forward.

            “Flares and missiles left. Firing everything.” Stewart reported.

            The ship’s defenses attempted to take out the threat, but it was greatly outnumbered. Two missiles slammed into the mid-section of the ship creating a massive hole and two more missiles hit the twin GAU-19 guns. UNSC Perth was up in flames and smoke after the Russian assault.

            “Hull integrity at forty percent. Engine rooms one and two are flooded.” Stewart reported.

            Suddenly, Dau and another marine ran into the bridge.

            “Captain, major casualties on all levels sir.” Dau reported.

            “Dau, take your marines and Frederick’s team off this ship.” Blake assessed the situation.

            “Sir?” Dau looked at a Blake and a frozen Frederick.

            “Get to the Falcon now!” Blake shouted as the Mi-24 choppers fired their missiles again.

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.

UNSCDF2 Chapter 37- Remember the Heroes

Reygi, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Secronom Research Facility

April 21, 2001

2310 Local Time

            “Spread out, watch your sectors!” Zyrok panned his flashlight on his XM8 at the dark halls.

            Nevarez held a SA80 and scanned the room beside them while Frederick waved at her team to follow her as Zyrok walked down the hall.

            “Frederick, central room is this one. Go and activate that self-destruct. We’ll meet at the stairwell once we’re done.” Zyrok pointed at a door marked “B5535”.

            “Okay Zyrok. We’ll meet at the stairwell once we’re all done.” Frederick replied.

            Frederick took out her datapad and began to prepare for another system bypass while Cookson unscrewed the panel. Zyrok took a quick glance at Frederick before continuing down the eerie halls. After a short walk, the three marines made their way to B5532 and stopped as they heard the growls and moans of zombies in the room next door.

            “Get ready gentlemen.” Zyrok shifted his gaze from his gun to his men as he double checked the magazine.

            “Ready.” Nevarez replied quietly.

            “All set Captain.” Schmidt patted his XM8.

            Zyrok waved his arm in a forward motion and the marines silently shuffled in a single file. Zyrok’s flashlight illuminated the room and noticed four spiders on the ceiling. Immediately after shining the light at the zombies, Zyrok didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. While Zyrok fired a fury of bullets into the closest zombie’s chest, Schmidt and Nevarez took care of the normal zombies strolling about in the room. Bullets flew everywhere and muzzle flashes lit the room up. It was a massacre of zombies as the three marines peppered the undead to oblivion. In a matter of minutes, the UNSC marines had cleared the room with their new weapons. Blood, guts, and brains were everywhere on the walls, tables, and computers.

            “Hello?” Zyrok called out.

            “I’m here.” Tanya crawled out from behind a metal desk covered in blood.

            “Did we shoot you?” Zyrok wondered.

            “No, I had to bash the zombies with an iron pipe as I was waiting for you. There were so many of them.” Tanya shivered.

            “Are you okay?” Nevarez asked.

            “I’m okay…” Tanya wiped blood off her face.

            “Take this.” Zyrok offered Tanya his water bottle.

            “Thanks.” Tanya took the bottle graciously and poured the bottle over her head.

            The water washed the blood-caked face and dripped into red puddles at Tanya’s feet.

            “Let’s get out of here.” Nevarez suggested.

            “I feel cold.” Tanya shivered.

            “The adrenaline rush must be over.” Zyrok exclaimed.

            “Zyrok, this is Frederick here. We are about to set the self-destruct sequence. Are you guys done?” Frederick spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Yeah, we’ve just got the soldier.” Zyrok replied.

            “Tanya…name’s Tanya.” Tanya spoke quietly.

            “Ok, copy that. Once we prime the sequence, we only have ten minutes to get out of here or we’ll be history.” Frederick replied.

            “Roger, regroup at the stairwell when you activate. We’ll be heading there now.” Zyrok looked at his watch.

            “Got it.” Frederick ended the RaidComm transmission.

            Zyrok waved at Tanya and his marines to hurry out of the room. As the team quickly jogged towards the stairwell, red lights began to flash at the top of each door.

            “Attention! Attention! Quarantine procedures Pappa Romeo Yankee initiated. All personnel, please evacuate. Self-destruct in ten minutes.” the alarm blared.

            “Move it marines!” Frederick called out at the end of the hallway as Zyrok and his team entered the stairwell.

            “Come on.” Nevarez replied slightly agitated as the alarm blared.

            Zyrok held the door open for Frederick’s team to get inside and then looked up the stairs.

            “Double time marines. Let’s go. Go!” Zyrok ran up the stairs to take point.

            After a few flight of stairs, the group had reached the second floor.

            “I think the zombies are on this floor too.” Schmidt looked out the stairwell doors and heard a thundering of footsteps.

            “Attention! Attention! Quarantine procedures Pappa Romeo Yankee has been initiated. All personnel, please evacuate. Self-destruct in five minutes.” the alarm blared.

            “Let’s get going.” Zyrok ran the last flight of stairs and pushed the stairwell doors to the first floor open.

            The team of marines sprinted down the hall and came to the blast door. The door beeped and slowly began to close.

            “Blast doors closing. Blast doors closing.” the panel on the door spoke as the red lights flashed on the wall.

            The marines looked at the door and quickly got through and pressed the elevator button. After a few seconds of waiting, the elevator the elevator doors opened and five militia soldiers stood inside armed with AK47s. Hariprasad showed no hesitation as he fully unloaded his M60 into the crowd.

            “Crowd control…check.” Hariprasad joked as he saw the pile of bodies in the elevator he had created.

            “Get inside people.” Frederick ordered.

            Once the marines got inside, Zyrok pounded on the elevator button.

            “Attention all personnel! Quarantine procedures in effect. Self-destruct in three minutes.” the alarm blared inside the elevator as the elevator ascended.

            “This is going to be close.” Frederick looked at her watch.

*          *          *

            “Okay marines. We are going to extract our marines out of here. Sierra 12, you ready?” Forester called out on the RaidComm in the cockpit of Kilo 11 as another Pelican flew beside them in the dark sky.

            “All geared up and ready Forester.” Foo spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Light them up!” Forester commanded and pointed at the vehicles parked beside the Secronom Research Facility.

            “Got it.” Pruett acknowledged and fired three missiles at various vehicles.

            Unbeknownst to the marines, the Russians had turned the defenses back online. A couple of flares flew into the sky and countered the missile assault. In return, the sentry guns turned and aimed at the sky.

            “Damn, the defenses are online.” Pruett swerved the Pelican as the sentry guns fired a blaze of bullets.

            “Take the guns out.” Forester ordered.

            “Can’t, the flares will counter the missiles.” Pruett spoke with concern.

            “Use the GAU-19. Lay down a heavy assault on each gun.” Forester pointed at a button.

            Pruett flipped the button and the GAU-19 barrel began to spin. He looked at the targeting console and aimed the gun at one sentry gun. He fired and a hail of bullets pelleted the sentry gun and destroyed it. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the ground shifted and a missile flew up into the sky.

            “We got a target lock.” Pruett reported as his computer beeped rapidly.

            “Deploying counter measures.” Forester pressed a button on the console.

            “It’s useless!” Pruett replied as the missile flew past the flares.

            As the missile got closer to the Pelican, one missile appeared from the side and slammed into it. A bright and violent explosion flashed in the sky.

            “What was that?” Forester looked out the window.

            “Kilo 11, we’ve got your back.” Foo spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Thanks Foo.” Pruett gave his appreciation.

            “Get the other guns out.” Forester directed.

            “Yes ma’am.” Pruett nodded and targeted another sentry gun.

            Once again, as the sentry gun got destroyed, another missile launched from the ground into the sky, but was easily taken out by Sierra 12’s missile.

            “You know the drill now marines! Get on it.” Forester spoke on the RaidComm as she saw a pattern.

            One by one, the sentry guns got taken out by Kilo 11’s GAU-19 while Sierra 12 provided missile assistance. In a matter of minutes, the only defense left for the Russian and the militia force were the flares.

            “Sierra 12, switch roles. We’ll be using missiles to lure out the location of the countermeasure defenses while you use your turret. Our GAU-19 is low on ammo.” Pruett spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Copy Kilo 11.” Foo spoke in a flat tone of voice.

            Pruett fired a missile at a pickup truck with a mounted turret and noticed a couple of flares flew into the air beside the facility. The missile missed its mark and hit the ground as the flares distracted its targeting system.

            “I see the flares.” Foo reported on the RaidComm.

            “Take them out Foo.” Forester ordered.

            Forester looked to her right as a torrent of bullets lit the sky up as Foo fired his Pelican’s GAU-19 at the location of the flares. Smoke erupted as the armor piercing rounds hit the defense unit on the ground.

            “Target down.” Foo reported on the RaidComm with satisfaction in his voice.

            “Neutralize all ground assets.” Forester commanded.

            Pruett nodded and fired a hail storm of missiles to the ground below him. A chain of explosions lit the dark sky to daylight and tore through the silence. Foo fired his remaining missiles in his missile pod at the rooftop where militia hid with RPGs. The building shook as a barrage of missiles damaged the foundations.

            “Take this.” Pruett squeezed the trigger and a waved of bullets slammed into the windows of the facility.

            The Russians and the militia were taking a beating and they had no more defensive plays. Debris and bodies scattered the cold dusty grounds. Just when the UNSC was about to celebrate their victory, a fleet of missiles flew out of the night sky and slammed into the rear thrusters of Sierra 12.

            “Mayday! Mayday! This is Sierra 12, we are hit and we are going down!” Foo broadcasted on the RaidComm.

            As fire and smoke erupted from the back of Sierra 12, Forester looked at the night sky and made out a dark shadow.

            “What is that?” Forester pointed at the shadow.

            “I don’t see anything on the radar.” Pruett tapped his radar on the console.

            Sierra 12 slowly spun out of control as the hull began to lose its integrity. Seconds later, the Pelican crashed to the ground and skidded on the pavement. Two missiles fired from the shadow and flew towards Kilo 11. Forester showed no fear as she immediately released the countermeasures and hopped into the co-pilot’s seat. The missiles hit the flares and flung hot searing shrapnel to the Pelican’s side.

            “I’m taking over.” Forester bucked herself to the seat and grabbed a headset.

            “Yes ma’am.” Pruett nodded and gave the controls over to Forester.

            Forester steered the Pelican to face the threat and pressed a button above her.

            “Friend or foe identification activated.” the computer spoke.

            “Oh…that!” Pruett exclaimed.

            “If it’s in the air, it’s all foes now. Sierra 12 is on the ground.” Forester replied.

            The radar on the console turned to a different image as it displayed different infrared signatures nearby the Pelican.

            “I’ll isolate it so it removes ground assets.” Pruett turned some dials above him.

            “Thanks.” Forester thanked and watched as another missile flew at them.

            Forester targeted the incoming missile with her consoles and fired the GAU-19. A few hundred bullets sprayed into the air and hit the missile causing it to go off in midair.

            “Holy shit…that’s a Mil Mi-24 assault chopper.” Pruett looked at the infrared signature on the screen.

            “God damn Russians!” Forester sped the Pelican towards the helicopter while firing the GAU-19 to light up the sky.

            As the Mi-24 came into view, Forester noticed that the pilot was very skilled. While Forester sprayed the covering fire, the Russians pilots had missile locked onto her. Two missiles launched from the Mi-24 and flew directly towards the Pelican.

            “Missiles incoming!” Pruett exclaimed.

            Pruett knew it was too late to pull off any defensive plays and the time to do anything was restricted by the distance. However, what Pruett didn’t know was that Forester was a skilled pilot. Her years of training before she entered High Command had taught her discipline and critical thinking skills. Forester immediately turned off the vertical thrusters and let the Pelican drop out of the sky using gravity to assist her fall. Once the Pelican came deadly close to the ground, Forester pushed the vertical thrusters to the maximum limit and accelerated the Pelican forward. This sudden drop and acceleration made the missiles lose track of its target and slammed to the ground.

            “Woah…” Pruett was partially shocked and speechless by Forester’s stunt.

            Forester angled the Pelican and adjusted its turret at the Mi-24 helicopter. She fired one missile and noticed it was the last one. The Russian pilots were smart as they launched their countermeasures and blocked the hit. Using the flares as a distraction, the Mi-24 swerved to face the Pelican with its guns ready. Forester fired the GAU-19 and noticed it was out of ammunition.

            “Get on the M60 turret.” Forester commanded as she turned the Pelican sideways.

            Pruett rushed to the rear of the Pelican and looked at the overhead compartments.

            “Hurry Pruett! What are you doing?” Forester felt a wave of bullets hit the Pelican’s body.

            “Hang on…” Pruett sifted through the items.

            There were medic kits, folders, ammunition, and a RG6 grenade launcher.

            “This will do!” Pruett fished out the weapon and wielded it.

            “I’ll fly, you shoot.” Forester pressed a button on her console to release the hatch at the rear of the Pelican.

            Pruett felt a sudden gust of wind blow at him followed by the sounds of bullets whizzing.

            “He’s on my six now. Get him.” Forester hollered.

            Pruett fired two grenades out the back, but missed as the distance between him and the Mi-24 was too great.

            “He’s too far. I’ve got a few shots left.” Pruett shouted and ducked down as a bullet struck a seat beside him.

            “Hang on!” Forester reversed the throttle and jerked the Pelican upwards.

           The hull of the Pelican groaned as it went against gravity, but Forester was able to maintain a steady upwards decent. In a split second, the Mi-24 was immediately below the Pelican with its deadly rotors spinning in the darkness.

            “Now!” Forester released the vertical thrusters.

            Pruett aimed the RG6 grenade launcher and fired three grenades below him. The first grenade went a little to the left and missed its mark, but the other two slammed into the rotors of death and exploded. The explosion consumed the Mi-24 into a ball of fire and slammed into the ground like a meteorite.

            “Hell yeah!” Forester cheered as she leveled the Pelican.

            “Kilo 11, this is Foo here. We’ve survived the crash, but request immediate assistance!” Foo spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Copy, coming for pickup on site.” Forester steered the Pelican towards the downed Pelican.

            Pruett slung the RG6 to his back and mounted himself on the M60 turret. As Kilo 11 neared the crash site, some militia hiding behind destroyed vehicles gave the marines on the ground a hard time. Forester turned the Pelican so Pruett could lay down a blanket of fire. The moment Pruett had the hostiles in his sights, he fired the M60 without mercy. Forester descended the Pelican just a meter above the ground next to the downed Sierra 12. Foo and May ran towards Kilo 11 while Pruett laid a heavy suppressive fire. As soon as the marines got on, Pruett got off the turret and pulled the lever to close the hatch. Foo ran inside the cockpit and sat in the pilot’s seat.

            “Thanks for the save.” Foo gave his appreciation.

            “Here, take cover.” Forester grinned as she handed the controls to Foo and walked out of the Pelican.

            “Nice kill with the grenade launcher.” May complimented Pruett as she sat down on a seat to rest.

            “Thanks.” Pruett closed his eyes for a brief moment to relax.

            “That was quite a stunt you pulled.” May eyed Forester with respect.

            “High Command has its purposes.” Forester replied.

*          *          *

            “Any UNSC personnel copy?” Frederick broadcasted on the RaidComm as she saw a crashed Pelican engulfed in flames as she looked out the window from the first floor.

            Zyrok and Frederick’s marines had slaughtered the Russian soldiers and militia forces in their path.

            “Frederick, is that you? We’re aboard Pelican Kilo 11 one kilometer away from the facility. How copy?” May spoke on the RaidComm with surprise in her voice.

            “We need extraction. This place is going to blow.” Frederick replied as the alarm blared in the background.

            “Head for the roofs. We’ll pick you up from there.” May replied.

            “Copy, on our way. Make it quick!” Frederick commanded as she looked at the marines.

            Frederick pointed at the stairwell and waved at the marines to follow. Suddenly, Reid opened the door and fell to the ground.

            “Reid!” Zyrok exclaimed as he saw Reid dripping blood from his chest.

            Reid coughed heavily and grasped onto Zyrok’s arms.

            “We have to go.” Zyrok slung one of Reid’s arms over his back.

            “Attention! All personnel must now evacuate. Self-destruct in one minute thirty seconds.” the alarm blared.

            As the marines rapidly got to the roof while Zyrok and Nevarez assisted Reid, one soldier walked out of the stairwell with his AK47 ready to fire. Reid noticed that Cookson was unaware and unprepared of the soldier aiming his gun and had a sudden change of heart. Reid wasn’t going back to the UNSC if he had made it out alive. His injuries were slowing everyone and he had betrayed the marines who trusted him. With a final act of redemption and true UNSC heroism, he lunged himself into the line of fire. Three rounds hit him square in the chest and he collapsed. Cookson quickly spun around and fired off four rounds from his Lock 17 sidearm. The soldier collapsed to the ground and Cookson knelt beside Reid.

            “No.” Cookson cried.

            Reid coughed blood and wheezed as his lungs were pierced.

            “Tell Sarah that I’m sorry for everything.” Reid spoke with his dying breath.

            “We got to go now!” Frederick hollered.

            Still shocked by Reid’s death and his last words, Cookson snatched Reid’s dog tags and quickly ran to the rest of the group on instinct as the alarm blared loudly.

           “We’re going to make it!” Schmidt exclaimed as they jumped into the rear of the Pelican docked beside the stairwell.

            “Self-destruct in fifteen…fourteen…” the alarm sounded.

            The Pelican slowly lifted up a couple of meters when suddenly the alarm lights shut off.

            “Self-destruct sequence cancelled by manual override.” the alarm blared.

            “No.” Frederick stomped the ground.

            “The Russians…they are going to release the zombies.” Nevarez cried in horror.

            “It must be Dimitri.” Tanya looked at the roof a couple of meters below.

            “Someone has to reactivate it and it’s going to be a one-way trip.” Frederick replied.

            “You guys are not going anywhere. Frederick has the armor High Command wants on herself and Forester is in High Command. The rest of you can live to fight another day. My time is done.” Zyrok concluded.

            “What?” Nevarez and Hariprasad replied in unison.

            “Pruett and Foo, fly us out of here. That’s an order!” Zyrok shouted as he clipped on a belt of ammunition.

            “Yes sir.” Pruett replied solemnly unable to disobey.

            The Pelican ascended slowly and the roof was becoming more distant.

            “We have to make it look like we left.” Zyrok slung a backpack to his back that was stored under a seat.

            “Forester and Frederick, you are in command now. Take these marines home to safety. Cookson, here.” Zyrok shouted and walked to Cookson with a sad smile.

            “Yes Zyrok?” Cookson asked.

            “It’s Charlie. Please tell Sarah that I loved her till the very end.” Zyrok reached into his pocket on his chest and pulled out a piece of wrinkled paper.

            “What’s that?” Cookson exclaimed.

            “For her.” Zyrok ripped off his UNSC dog tag and handed it to Cookson along with the paper.

            With that, a tear streaked down Zyrok’s dusty face and he walked to the edge of the Pelican. The night was calm as the wind blew gusts of warm air into Zyrok’s face. He looked down at the roof and jumped off.

            “Wait….Charlie!” Frederick called out, but was too late as the darkness swallowed Zyrok into the dark night.

            From the fire and smoke on the rooftop, a parachute was slightly visible as it slowly landed onto the roof.

            “Zyrok…he didn’t take his helmet.” Nevarez looked at the seat where Zyrok took the parachute and noticed his helmet underneath it.

            At the edge of the Pelican, the marines could make out a dark figure running past some debris on the roof before entering the stairwell.

            “Incoming!” Pruett noticed two Mil Mi-24 helicopters appearing on the infrared scanner heading towards the facility.

            “We got to take them out.” Frederick replied.

            “We are all out of ammo. We’re retreating. Let’s hope Zyrok destroys the facility.” Forester replied and prayed.

            “He’ll do it.” Nevarez assured.

            “We’re getting to safety. That’s what Zyrok wanted.” Forester ordered Pruett.

            “Got it.” Pruett pushed the throttle forward.

            The Pelican flew away from the facility while the Mil Mi-24 helicopters circled the building looking for targets. As the Pelican slowly lost sight of the facility from its rear, a faint rumble and boom was heard. The facility exploded and lit a small flash of lit just enough for the marines to see from far away.

            “He did it!” Schmidt and May cheered.

            “He did it for Sarah.” Cookson sat in his seat as he read the writings on the piece of paper.

            It was written by hand saying:

“Your glistening hair,

Flutters so freely in the warm air.

Those soft carefree smiles,

Always been seen in thousand miles.

Your good caring heart,

Takes my hard body armor apart.

I like who you are,

So don’t change that no matter how far.

Please remember me,

Because I love you…I hope you see.”

            “He was not only a hero, but a great man.” Frederick sighed.

            “A good friend too.” Pruett spoke sadly.

            “A man of his words.” Tanya spoke tiredly and shivered as the air grew colder.

            “Indeed he was.” Frederick agreed and then walked up next to the hatch and pulled the lever.

            As the Pelican neared Fire Team Kilo’s camp, a couple of vehicles mounted with soldiers attacked the UNSC base. Pruett noticed the marines on site camped out in the hangar with their Pelican with a troop pod. He quickly landed next to it and released the hatch.

            “Go! Go! Go!” Forester hustled.

            “Glad to see you guys back.” Sears ran up beside the Pelican wielding a SA80.

            “Choppers inbound!” Taylor looked at the night sky and heard spinning of rotors.

            “Abandon base. Our operation is done. Everyone get to the Pelican with the troop pod.” Forester commanded.

            “What about Kilo 11?” Sears asked.

            “There’s no ammo and not enough fuel to get far.” Forester waved at the marines.

            All the marines including Tanya quickly boarded the other Pelican marked “Echo 21” on its side.

            “Liftoff.” Pruett activated the engines and lifted the Pelican.

            By the time the Pelican reached twenty meters in the air, the militia had swarmed the camp with vehicles.

            “Where to ma’am?” Foo asked.

            “San Francisco. Full speed ahead, the choppers are almost here.” Forester replied.

            “Where’s Zyrok?” Casey looked amongst the seated marines.

            “Yeah? Where is he?” Taylor glanced as well.

            “He…didn’t make it.” Cookson held Zyrok’s UNSC dog tags firmly in his fist.

            “Ahh.” Casey sighed and hit the seat next to him angrily.

            “Altitude increasing, closing hatch.” Foo pressed a button on the console.

            “We’re homebound.” Schmidt breathed relied.

            “Zyrok’s not coming home.” Taylor shook his head.

            “A lot of people are not coming home. They all made sacrifices and died as heroes for mankind.” Frederick reminded.

            “Yeah…a hero…” Cookson muttered as he stared at Zyrok’s poem.