Side Quest 14: Mission Log 01B

Unnamed Merchant Vessel, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, 2405hrs
2nd Lt. Vladilena Ivanova

"Valkyrie Leader to Valkyrie One and Camicazi; Boarding team is in the zone, I repeat, boarding team is in the zone! Estimated time of impact, 45 seconds. On my mark, initiate the operation; watch for the fireball."

I affix the last of the C4 plastic explosive, moulding it into the frame of the steel door and concentrating it around the hinges. Sticking in a wireless detonator, I turn to the rest of my comrades, indicating that I was done. Behind me, the team is at the ready, bracing for impact behind cover. Once the Kapitan hits the deck, we blast our way into the living quarters and secure the hostages. Earlier on during our recon, I had my men sabotage the power generators in the engine rooms as well; Once the assault begins, we blow that up too, cutting power and throwing them into a chaotic darkness.

"C4 primed and ready. Check your guns and ammo, let's do this quickly and carefully; I want the hostages alive and kicking, da?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The wait seems like forever, but soon enough, there is a loud rumble as the ship is hit by an explosion.

"Valkyrie Leader, hit is confirmed! Weapons free, I repeat, weapons free!" The signal is given, and I commence my plan.

"Cobra, do it!" On my mark, he activates the firing device, and further explosions rock the ship in deafening rumbles. In front of us, the hinges of the steel door are blown apart into smithereens, the frame shattered by the impact. The hallway goes dark, just as intended. Not waiting for the dust to settle, I turn on my night vision goggles, kick down the door and give the order to advance, "Go! Go! Go! Davai, na shturm!"

A mass of yells in the dark space greets me, as I pull the trigger, firing automatic bursts at the confused figures illuminated in green. They go down one by one, the welcoming party taken out in less than 10 seconds. I roll into cover as four more tangoes pour into the hallway, firing blindly towards us with their AK-47 assault rifles.

Amateurs.

Somali airspace, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, Gulf of Aden , 2405hrs
Lt. Astrid Hofferson

"Weapons free, I repeat, weapons free!"

"You heard him, team. Pick your targets, open fire! No fancy shots, aim for centre mass! I want efficient bullet economy!" I repeat the signal to the rest of my squad, commanding them to open fire. My orders are met with a chorus of heavy-calibre semiautomatic gunfire. Once I ensure that Lightning is hovering nicely, I chamber the first round and pick out my first victim from the mass of white figures. The residual heat from Toothless' plasma bolt formed a greyish-white mass on my thermal scope, and white figures all around it were panicking, running across the deck into cover. Breathing out deeply, I steady my aim, my leather gloves tightening around the trigger and foregrip respectively.

Hold my breath… and pull the trigger.

Took his arm off with that one. Even through the noise-cancelling headset, the shot is deafening. The recoil that accompanies it is substantial, despite most of it being absorbed by the large muzzle brake and floating barrel. It is enough to push Lightning back a little, but she easily compensates for it, adjusting her wings and tail.

I quickly steady myself and take aim through the scope again. Hold on… I'm noticing something odd. Further white masses to the rear hull of the ship? Wasn't Jack planning to assault only the deck?

"Valkyrie One to Valkyrie Leader; I'm observing high concentration of thermal signatures to the rear of the ship, confirm; Are those yours?"

"Uh… negative, Valkyrie One. Our shots are directed towards the front hull and deck, over."

Damn.

"Valkyrie One to Camicazi; explosions detected in your area, what's happening down there? !"

The response comes quickly, but is drowned in a mass of noise; gunfire and yells in the background. "Camicazi to Valkyrie One; We're heading to rescue the hostages, and we've encountered heavy resistance; but nothing we can't handle until the boarding team lands."

"What about those explosions?"

"Oh, those? We decided to sabotage the power supply to throw them into further disarray. It's pretty dark in here, so Valkyrie Leader might want to prepare some NV equipment."

Sighing in relief and mild exasperation at her rather extreme measures, I reply while calmly doing a lead on a running target. "Roger that, keep pressing on; help is on the way."

Nice shot squarely on centre mass. Releasing my breath, I move on to the next target.

Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, Gulf of Aden , 2410hrs
Cpt. Jack Haddock

"Valkyrie Leader to Beta Squad; We're going around for one more pass, then we initiate boarding, understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

Bringing Toothless around, I lead the final bombing run. The deck is already burning, flames from our dragons during earlier passes throwing the pirates on deck into chaos and confusion. Ilena reported that she had cut power to the rest of the ship, plunging it into darkness and leaving our fires as the only remaining light and heat source. As expected from someone of her calibre.

Pressing forward, Toothless soars in the direction of the front hull, flying perpendicular to the ship's current bearing. As we pass over the deck, he fires one more shot, one which impacts right in the path of a group of pirates running for cover. Behind me, the rest of the dragons spew flames intended to suppress and intimidate escaping targets, preventing them from trying to get away.

"Initiate landing pass. Go parallel to the ship and land on the deck. Valkyrie One, can you cover our approach?"

"Roger that." With the snipers acknowledging their orders, I lead the squad on the landing course. Not that difficult actually, with our dragons being way more stable and manoeuvrable than helicopters or jets.

Flapping his wings to soften the landing, Toothless hits the deck on all four feet. Head sweeping around, he scans for any more threats within the vicinity. I disengage myself from the harness and equip my rifle. Pulling the charging handle on my M4 Carbine, I ensure the area is clear with two other members of the boarding team who landed just after me.

"Landing zone clear; is the whole team on deck yet?"

Snotlout does a quick headcount, and reports back to me, "All present and on deck. Ready to move when you are."

Nodding, I instruct him to take three soldiers and sweep the deck, taking out any remaining pirates as they go, and then to patrol the landing zone. Taking the rest of them with me, I command Toothless to stay put as I proceed towards the bridge. Switching on my night vision device, I head into the darkness with my team, slowly proceeding through the hallways.

"Valkyrie Leader to Camicazi; I'm inside the ship now, report your status, over."

"Da, Camicazi reporting; We've broken through resistance and are heading to the living quarters to secure the hostages, over."

"Roger that; proceed with your objective, then send a detachment to rendezvous with me outside the bridge control room. I might need your help in securing that area, over."

"Acknowledged. Camicazi over and out."

Somali airspace, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, Gulf of Aden , 2415hrs
Lt. Astrid Hofferson

With the landing zone secure, and Jack deep inside the ship, I can finally take a break. The deck is now clear of threats, and all the small patrol had to do was to mop up the remaining one or two disarmed pirates.

"Sniper team, resume surveillance duties. No need to provide any more covering fire; the boarding team's clear."

Reaching for the canteen resting in my waist pouch, I take a sip of water. I remove my headset and run my hand through my hair, appreciating the cool wind blowing past my ears; it is a relaxing relief from the large, bulky earpieces.

So far, so good.

A nervous voice breaks the calm. "Um, Lieutenant? You might want to check your PDA… There's a message from the Flamberge."

Furrowing my brow, I take the handheld computer from my back pocket.

Oh no.

Quickly, I place my headphones back on and get onto the radio, "Valkyrie One to Flamberge, do you read me? What's the issue?"

"Flamberge mission control reads you loud and clear, Valkyrie One. We've detected five fast-moving crafts in your vicinity, heading towards the merchant vessel. We suspect the pirates called for backup before you began jamming their communications."

"Damn… What's the ETA, Flamberge?"

"Judging by their current speed and trajectory… you have 10 minutes at best."

"… Got it. Will relay the intel to Valkyrie Leader. Valkyrie One, over and out."

Swearing under my breath, I scramble to re-establish contact with Jack and Ilena. Whatever they're doing, they had better get it done fast. Extraction is going to be hell if we get outnumbered. Meanwhile, I command my men to re-arm and re-deploy.

"Valkyrie One to Valkyrie Leader and Camicazi; do you read me? We've got five enemy fast-crafts approaching the ship, repeat, five enemy tangoes approaching you, ETA 10 minutes. Do you copy?"

The replies come almost simlultaneously.

"Shit."
"B`lyad'!"

Fortunately, Jack regains his composure quickly, and formulates a plan B on the spot. "Alright, since it's down to this… Camicazi, send three men to secure the hostages now, the rest of your team to rendezvous with me outside the control room in 5 minutes – once we take that, we will have the ship locked down. Deck patrol, set up a defensive perimeter on the deck with the dragons on watch. Valkyrie One, monitor the skies and ready your weapons. ID and open fire once the crafts are in sight."

"Roger that." Acknowledging, I get my troops ready again.

Shouldering my weapon once more, I load a fresh magazine into the gun, chambering the first bullet. High-explosive incendiary armour-piercing rounds; desperate times call for desperate measures.

Get ready for round two.

Unnamed Merchant Vessel, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, 2420hrs
Cpt. Jack Haddock

"No time to prepare C4, satchel charges on those doors now! I want them primed and ready to blow in two minutes! The rest of you stack up and get ready to breach on my mark," Against the metal grille of that is the catwalk lining the ship's bridge, our boots make hollow tapping noises as we rush towards the objective.

Five minutes. That is all we have to finish this. Assuming Ilena's intel is accurate, there's at least another twenty pirates in the control room. Eight of us, plus another four on the way… in any cast, we're still outnumbered. Three doors to the bridge, four to each door… the calculations fly past in my head, trying to sort out the numbers in time.

"Kapitan!" The familiar voice brings me back to reality, adding a certain amount of relief to my sea of worry.

"Great timing. Take the portside entrance, will you? My team's covering the starboard and rear doors."

"Roger that, Valkyrie Leader," She nods to acknowledge, and swiftly instructs her team to press up against the wall next to the entrance. The whole time, we remain low, staying out of sight from whoever is within the room.

"Charges set!" The signal is given, and I lean up against the wall with the rest of my men.

Taking a deep breath, I calm my senses for a moment, before my grip tightens on my weapon, steeling my determination. "Blow it!"

Once more, explosions shake the floor we stand on. Bracing against the impact, I feel the heat and dust blow past my face. Tossing a flashbang grenade through the residual smoke, I wait for it to go off before rushing into the room myself.

Bad move.

They were ready and waiting for us. A loud yell marks the beginning of their counterattack. A combination of sheer luck and lightning reflexes, I throw myself behind a steel table just as a storm of hot lead whizzes past my head, pinging off the frame of the door I just ran through. The rattle of gunfire is amplified into a loud roar within the control room, the sounds echoing off the walls.

I regain my composure and return fire around the corner, using the table for protection. Around me, the rest of my troops are doing the same, peering from behind cover and letting loose short, precise bursts of fire.

"Valkyrie One to Valkyrie Leader; enemy fast crafts are within the mission zone! Have you secured the control room yet? !"

I don't need this now! Swearing, I yell into the radio through the deafening roars of gunfire, "Negative! Do whatever it takes to hold them back! Valkyrie Leader to Deck Patrol; are the defences up yet? !"

"Yes sir! We have heavy machine guns loaded and ready on deck; we found a stash of RPGs we can use, and the dragons are ready to take off if needed!"

"Copy that, Deck Patrol, stay frosty!" Leaning over, I fire off one more burst, before my rifle clicks. Discarding the empty magazine, I load in a full clip and cock the gun once more, continuing the suppression.

"Damn pirates aren't going down easy!"

"Camicazi to all; hit the deck! I repeat, get down!" Ilena's determined voice crackles through the noise, sending questions running through my head. What the hell is she thinking?

It doesn't take long for me to find out what she's got up her sleeve, as a plume of bright sparks and flame spews across the room. The heat wave blows past me, the flames licking the sides of the table I hide behind. Agonized screams replace the sounds of guns as the unfortunate souls are burnt by the white-hot flames. Putting them out of their misery, a final rain of bullets tears through them from the still-smoking muzzle of Ilena's assault rifle.

"All threats neutralized. Bridge is clear." Her calm, cold, Russian voice breaks the silence that follows. Exiting cautiously from cover, I get up and dust myself off, still shaken by the awfully sudden and shocking conclusion to the otherwise rather short firefight.

"What the hell was that?"

"You do not remember?" Ilena's puzzled expression meets my inquiry, as she ejects a spent, smoking 40mm grenade casing from her grenade launcher. "The engineers told me you made this in your free time, but it was lost in the stockpiles of prototype weapons at the back of the weapons lab. I found it by chance while preparing for this mission."

Picking up the charred piece of brass, she hands it over to me. "Dragon's Breath rounds modified for use in a grenade launcher; shoots out flames up to a range of 20 metres. Impressive effect, I must say, but a little too inefficient for my liking."

My eyes light up as the memories come back; I had designed this a few years back while tinkering with zirconium powder derived from unused explosives. The idea was to mimic the flames of a Nadder; for what purpose, I can't remember. But for its first field test… I must say it's a bit too powerful. This is something better left forgotten in the ashes of time.

Retuning my focus back to the situation at hand, I execute the next phase. "Three of you, stay here and guard the control room. Everyone else, follow me back to the deck. Hopefully taking out those enemy boats won't be too hard."

"Let's finish this and go home."