Task Force 411: The Lion Guard

Chapter 1 - Rise Of The Insurgency

August 5, 2019

0615 Hours

Outskirts of Kunduz, Afghanistan

--------------------

Rising above the horizon, the morning sun cast a wonderful glow over the rough and rocky Afghan landscape.

The sand covered lands were barren and dusty, yet there was a surreal calming aura around the area.

In a nearby village, across a river, five camouflaged soldiers hurried along a wall, creeping up to a large house. These soldiers all bore the American flag on their plate carriers, but other than that, there was nothing else to distinguish them from an average soldier.

These five soldiers made up the Alpha Detachment of Task Force 411, a secretive covert operation counter-insurgency unit.

Interestingly, the detachment was given the moniker of 'The Lion Guard' from children, from an old tale of five animals working together. The nickname stuck.

The five soldiers all gathered around the house, which was slightly separated from the village. Holes were scattered across the walls, and paint flaked on a large scale. Bricks and debris could be seen lumped into small piles.

One of the five split off from the group and snuck towards the back of the building.

First Lieutenant Kion Agrinya, the leader of Alpha Detachment, kneeled down and motioned for the others to do so.

"Listen up. Ono's gone around the back to make secondary entrance," he said, pointing to the house. "On my mark, we'll breach from the front, then clear the building. Eliminate any hostiles you see. Got it?"

There was a chorus of agreement.

Kion nodded and brushed his red hair back into his helmet. "Let's move."

Slowly, the four soldiers walked towards the front entrance of the house, a wooden door reinforced with visible metal attachments.

"Bunga, you'd better not mess this up again," said the voice of the only female member of the team. She fell into place behind Kion, ready to back him up.

"Fuli, it was an accident," sighed a short, pale skinned soldier, scanning the area.

"I was shot."

"And your plates caught it," said Bunga, rolling his eyes. "You're fine, back to your grumpy ways."

Fuli shook her head. "I still have the bruise to prove it."

"Fuli, Bunga, let's save the argument for later, no?" said a third voice, coming from a large, dark skinned man, dressed in the same uniform as the others.

"Yes, please, listen to Beshte," grumbled Kion. How those two argued over everything, he would never know. He pushed a button on his radio and spoke into his earpiece. "Lion 1-5, this is 1-1, you ready on the far side Ono?"

The reply was short and simple. "Affirmative."

"Good, wait for the detonation before you enter. Out."

Corporal Beshte Nguvu, the dark skinned mountain-of-a-man, removed a demolition charge from his backpack and stuck it to the door, priming the detonator as he did so.

The four soldiers lined up against the wall, waiting for Kion to initiate.

"On my mark. Three, two, one, go."

The door flew off its hinges, spraying splinters of wood and pieces of metal. Bangs and flashes appeared from the space where the door used to be as bullets were fired aimlessly out of the doorway.