Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight. I'm borrowing her characters, dressing them up in MARPAT, and giving them some guns. BilliCullen and Scooterstale are making sure they're ready for inspection.

OPERATION:
BREAK THE DAWN

Summary: An experimental weapon, one of the most lethal chemicals ever created, has been stolen. Its final destination is unknown, but there's no doubt the powerful faction behind the theft is intent on one thing: War. But they didn't count on a fight. A team of Marines, led by Capt. Edward Cullen and accompanied by Dr. Isabella Swan, a top DARPA scientist, isn't about to let the world go up in flames.

June 4
Undisclosed Location
Somewhere in the Middle East

A second spray of bullets hit the back of the Humvee, a high, metallic tink-tink-tink! over the roar of the engine.

Captain Edward Cullen, United States Marine Corps, looked up from the young, twenty-something man bleeding out on the floor and yelled, "Blondie!"

"I'm on it!" she yelled back, already sliding up through the hole in the roof. With an angry curse, the six-foot-one gunnery sergeant, a blue-eyed blonde who looked more like a model than a Marine, swung the .50 caliber mounted machine gun around and peppered the windshield of the first attack vehicle behind them.

In the rear view, Edward watched the two trailing black Humvees swerve to the left and abruptly jerk back to the right, barely holding the edge of the road. But they were still there, still following and closing fast.

He barked an order to the corporal behind the wheel. "Jazz, what the fuck are you waiting for? This guy's gonna bleed out!" Edward glanced down at the red stain spreading across the man's abdomen, soaking the ragged remains of a dirty white oxford that bore the initials, A. W. D., on the left front pocket.

Close-range gut shot, meant to kill, slowly and painfully, Edward spat. And the damned thing wouldn't stop bleeding. Any more pressure, and he'd wind up cracking the man's ribs. "Forget the fucking sand, Jazz!" he barked again, barely heard over the gunfire above them. "Move it!"

"Yes, sir," the corporal answered, white-knuckling the steering wheel as he stamped the gas pedal to the floor. The wheels spun for a split second, but then the vehicle jerked forward, gaining speed and kicking up a wall of sand and dust.

Motioning for the massive, bear-sized staff sergeant across from him to take over compression, Edward grabbed the radio and glanced up to the sky. "Tink? Where are you? What you got?"

Static blared before a high, out-of-place soprano burst through. "Captain, you got a roadblock at 5 klicks. Light armor only. All black and with the same weird emblem on the hoods. Want me to take 'em out or get these bitches on your tail?"

"Do it! Clear that goddamned road!"

High overhead, there was the sudden loud whir of chopper blades as his lieutenant's AH-1Z Viper shot ahead, turning into nothing more than a dark speck against the bright blue Arabian sky.

There was another loud tink-tink-tink! of bullets popping off their armor.

"Who are these guys?" Emmett growled over the answering barrage of Rosalie's M2. "Where the fuck did they all come from?"

"Hell, if I know," Edward yelled back. There was another loud volley of bullets from the top of their Humvee, and when he stole a look behind them, the front chaser abruptly jumped sideways before flipping off the road and exploding into a mangled mass of black steel, red flames, and smoke. No one was walking away from that. "They were not supposed to be there." Louder, directed up at the woman manning their machine gun, he called out, "Good hit!"

"Fuckin' right," Rosalie shouted down before re-aiming the gun at the lone black vehicle still behind them. "Come on, you assholes! Lemme show you what I got!"

Back down inside their own vehicle, eying the unconscious, bruised, and bleeding man beneath his paw of a fist, Emmett mouthed, "He gonna live?"

Edward frowned at the pool of blood on the Humvee's floor before answering the staff sergeant. It would be a miracle, he thought, considering the blood loss, not to mention the fact that half the bones in his body looked like they'd been systematically broken. He had quarter-sized burns all up and down his arms and chest, too.

"Hope so. General said he's important, some kinda weapons wunderkind from DARPA. Didn't give me much else. Kid was mumbling something about X-Agents when I plucked him out of that pit."

Emmett swore a blue streak.

"No kidding."

Behind them, there was a loud explosion – the second chaser. Before he could turn to look, far ahead, through the dusty windshield, Edward caught sight of two parallel white cloud trails streaking across the sky. The trails ended with a bright flash of white light. In the fraction of a second when he blinked, a ball of black, smoking fire erupted with a boom that rocked the ground. Their Humvee shuddered, but didn't slow.

"She get 'em, Captain?" Jasper ground out, not slowing as the heavy vehicle careened around a sharp curve in the road.

Alice's voice came on the com. "All clear, Captain! Nothing in your way but fucking desert."

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Notes:

1: this will be written like a normal fic. This first "chapter" is essentially an introduction or prologue, hence its shorter length. The rest of the chapters will be longer.

2: this is fiction of the action/thriller variety and is written for the express purpose of entertainment, not for accuracy (though I tend to try pretty hard when I can). I'll be taking some liberties regarding current rules, regulations, and protocol within our Armed Services (for example: women in combat). Some of the weaponry in here doesn't actually exist (yet). And I'll be making up some science, too. Therefore, kiddos, I wouldn't advise using this story as a reference for any kind of book report.

3: there be graphic violence, adult language and themes, and maybe a little sexin' in here, so mind that M rating and read accordingly. No other warnings will be provided.

4: Thanks for reading! I hope you'll all be joining me on this little ride! I'd love to hear your thoughts! :D