Operation Coronado Crossroads

After the Storm, the Desert Calms

Kuwait City, Kuwait
March 2, 1991
1100 hours

"Shukran USA!" (Thank you, USA!)

"USA! USA! USA!"

"Alhamdulillah!" (Praise be to God)

The exuberant cheers of grateful Kuwaitis were what greeted the 101st as they and coalition forces entered the city.

Crowds gathered around the roadside waving the Kuwaiti flag and the Stars and Stripes, clamouring to get close to the American convoy to give their thanks personally. Still, barricades and other coalition soldiers prevented them from doing so for their safety.

As Jaune and his squad's HMMWV¹ drove by, one of the privates in the back commented, "Feels nice, you know? Being cheered on." to which another private replied, "Yeah, heard from my old man who served in ²'Nam, he never felt welcome after that."

The convoy continued moving forward; some of the soldiers mounting the machine guns on the HMMWVs decided to wave at the crowd, which drew cheers. Some people in the crowd were even throwing flowers at the convoy.

In Jaune's mind, this is what he used to dream of before he arrived on Earth. To be welcomed as a hero by a grateful people.

While he felt good at their gratefulness, he felt sad that his friends back home weren't experiencing this with him, but before he could continue his melancholic thoughts, the radio crackled.

"This is HQ. Will Lieutenant Jaune Arc come to the city centre? I repeat, will Lieutenant Jaune Arc come to the city centre? Please respond, over." the HMMWV quickly became quiet of chatter as Jaune promptly picked up the small radio.

"Roger that HQ, heading there now, over." He told his driver, "Go drive closer to the side of the road. I need to ask the MPs for directions."

Minutes later

The HMMWV finally reached its destination, the city centre, which had been hastily converted into a headquarters.

As it stops right in front of the entrance, Jaune first tells his men, "Right boys, you go re-join the convoy, and do whatever the hell base tells ya, probably dig up a new latrine or some shit", which was met with mock groans and curses "I'll probably be here for a while." And then he opens the door and steps outside.

Just as he exited the vehicle, he saw a group standing near the entrance of the makeshift HQ; they were very out of place among the uniformed men and were instead wearing the most conspicuous outfits: white shirts, jeans, and bulletproof vests. Unfortunately for Jaune, he knows exactly who these people are.

The ³CIA.

Which meant Hudson was here.

This meant that they needed his abilities for something, hopefully, to update him on the progress of their research on the dust crystal.

As he walked towards the entrance, one of the spooks approached him, this one he was familiar with.

"Hudson"

"Arc"

They stare at each other briefly, "So, you need my abilities, or is this about the thing?" Jaune asks, cutting straight to the point.

"Don't beat around the bush, do you? It's the latter, by the way," said Hudson

Whatever tiredness Jaune was feeling was immediately washed away by excitement at hearing another update, his eyes widening. The last time the spooks gave him any update on the crystal was in 1989, just before he was sent on covert operations in Colombia as part of the ⁴Andean Initiative in the War on Drugs.