Downtown
Kandahar, Kandahar,
Afghanistan
British
Embassy
May
10, 2001
2000
Local Time
“Zyrok…” Sarah nudged an asleep
Zyrok.
Zyrok quickly woke up and found out
that he had dozed off while Sarah was taking a nap.
“Door…” Sarah pointed at the handle.
Zyrok quickly got up and placed his
ear to the door to listen for sounds. The handle moved a bit, but was locked.
Zyrok could hear a faint moan outside so he motioned for Sarah to take cover
behind a desk. Then, he quietly pulled a chair and wedged it against the
handle. Feeling satisfied, Zyrok walked towards Sarah and sat down beside her.
“Sarah…I…I’m sorry. I should have
been watching out for you.” Zyrok apologized and stumbled on the words.
“It’s alright.” Sarah looked at her
feet.
“It’s not alright. How long did I
sleep?” Zyrok asked.
“Half an hour? I don’t know…” Sarah
guessed.
“That’s quite some time. Anything
could have happened.” Zyrok exaggerated.
“Zyrok, it’s okay. I was awake when
you fell asleep. You watch me…I watch you.” Sarah reassured.
“Okay.” Zyrok nodded and understood
their partnership.
Zyrok never really had a daughter,
but he treated Sarah like she was his own if he had one. He didn’t have kids of
his own, but somehow he had learned to how to take care of people. Being in the
UNSC hardened him, but deep down within Zyrok, his soft side was still with
him. It was because of Sarah, the girl from Australia, that showed him that he
could be who he was and not be judged. He didn’t need to change his personality
to satisfy others and that the good people would see for who he was.
“Are we getting out any time soon?”
Sarah asked.
“I don’t think so. Not tonight.”
Zyrok turned to look at the door.
“We can sleep here tonight then.”
Sarah patted the ground.
“Alright, go make yourself cozy.
I’ll go barricade the door.” Zyrok walked to the door.
“Okay.” Sarah began to clear some
waste from the ground beside her.
“Remember to save me a spot.” Zyrok
joked.
“Hahaha…I will.” Sarah laughed
lightly.
Arabian
Sea, Coast of Karachi, Pakistan
UNSC
Perth
May
10, 2001
2245
Local Time
“How’s he doing?” Frederick asked a marine checking the heart
rate monitor beside Hariprasad.
“Stable. He’s lucky he got the
nanites in time.” the marine jotted down some notes.
“How close was he till turning?” Frederick pointed.
“I’d say a few hours depending on
his immune system.” the marine estimated.
“Lieutenant Frederick.” the dark
skinned marine Sergeant greeted from behind Frederick.
“Yes?” Frederick spun around.
“Sergeant Dau, ma’am.” the Sergeant
saluted.
“You’re the Sergeant from the
medical team.” Frederick
returned the salute.
“That’s correct ma’am. I’m here to
report that my men will head over to the camp once Captain says we’re all
clear.” Dau answered.
“Blake didn’t like the stunt we
pulled did he?” Frederick
smirked.
“No comment ma’am.” Dau refused to choose sides.
“Well, if he didn’t like it, I
apologize. We weren’t going to leave a man behind.” Frederick explained her actions.
Daniels walked into the medical bay
and placed a folder beside Frederick.
“What’s this?” Frederick looked slightly amused.
“Nanites…we’re out.” Daniels opened
the folder to reveal an inventory checklist.
“Is Hariprasad going to be fine
then?” Frederick
pointed.
“Oh he’s fine. If one of us gets
bit, we’re screwed.” Daniels looked agitated from the information he had found.
“Don’t you have a backup?” Frederick looked at the
folder files.
“Nanotechnology is expensive. For a
team not working for or under High Command and receiving one shot of this
technology is considered a privilege.” Dau replied.
“So what do you want me to do?” Frederick looked at the
two marines.
“There’s nothing we can do. Even if
we request for a shot, it will be days before it arrives. By then, if a person
is infected, he or she would have turned.” Daniels frowned.
“Any chance the Russians may have their
hands on this technology?” Frederick
wondered.
“Not likely. This technology is a
well-guarded secret. Reverse engineering is nearly impossible especially with
the current technology the Russians have.” Dau responded with some confidence
in his voice.
“Lieutenant Frederick, please report
to the Bridge.” Stewart’s voice sounded on the speakers.
“Gentlemen, we’ll talk about this
later. It looks like they need me up there.”
Frederick
pointed upwards.
* * *
“Do you think they made it?” Sears
asked Parker.
“Yeah Sears, they made it back to
the ship.” Johnson walked in with a piece of paper.
“What’s this?” Sears pointed at the
paper.
“Transmission from UNSC Perth
stating their arrival.” Johnson handed the paper to Sears.
“Good…good.” Sears looked pleased.
“I think we have fully set up this
camp.” Parker glanced at the empty crates stacked against the wall.
“First floor secured and
barricaded?” Johnson asked.
“Yup.” Sears nodded.
“Then we can get some rest. It won’t
be a while since Frederick
and the others arrive here. If they do, it will probably be around tomorrow
afternoon.” Johnson sat down on a cot.
“Marines…slacking?” Sears teased.
“Correction, sir. It’s resting for a
big day.” Johnson eyed Sears with a grin.
“Hahaha.” Parker laughed and sat
down on her cot.
“Fine, get ready for the big day
tomorrow.” Sears waved at the marines to rest.
Parker took off her flak jacket and
placed it beside her cot. She flattened the bed sheets and lied down while
Johnson adjusted his pillow. Sears watched as the marines rested in their cots
and walked over to another room. He sat beside the radar and briefly closed his
eyes. The hum of the computers and the radar beeps flowed so melodiously that
Sears accidentally dozed off. Unknown to the marines, blips began to show up at
the edges of the radar.
Erazi,
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Russian
Communications Outpost
May
10, 2001
2300
Local Time
A tall soldier dressed in full
Russian combat uniform walked down a hall with a folder in his hand. He knocked
on a wooden door and opened it. In the room was a man sitting with his back to
the door.
“What is it?” the man asked without
turning.
“It seems that one of our patrol
choppers encountered something.” the soldier placed the folder on the man’s
desk.
“What?” the man questioned.
“A ship…belonging to the UNSC.” the
soldier answered.
“And the problem? Disposed of?” the
man looked out his window.
“No sir. Our chopper got shot down.”
the soldier replied nervously.
“When was this?” the man tapped on
the window.
“Yesterday, sir.” the soldier stood
uncomfortably.
“And you did not think it was
important to let me know?” the man turned around to face the soldier and appeared
to have significant age.
“Sir, we originally believed it to
be weather.” the soldier pointed at the report.
“Then you better believe that I will
shoot you if you don’t send out two choppers. Now!” the old man pounded on the
table furiously.
“Yes sir!” the soldier scurried out
of the room quickly.
“Useless morons.” the old man sat
down on his chair.
The old man skimmed the report of
the transmissions of the destroyed helicopter. He flipped at some maps and
studied them.
“Why are the UNSC using ships? Was
there something else in Pakistan?”
the old man wondered.
After some thought, the old man went
to his computer and pulled up a file. He skimmed the documents and smiled.
Next, he reached for his radio across the desk and turned it on.
“Captain Dima, this is Dimitri.
Commence Operation Thunderstorm.” the old man spoke on the radio while gazing
at the computer screen.
