The Phoenix Company War Stories - Book 1

Chapter 2 - Data Retrieval

The vehicle drove down a dirt road as Bilak aimed his Sakin MG38 on the sides of the vehicle, checking for targets as they passed through small rundown villages. These places being at one point sprawling, thriving communities, now completely silent and abandoned with not so much as a bird being in sight.

The feeling was tense as they received information that other operators were in AL Mazrah and they were the shoot first ask questions later types. So not only did they have to fight a terrorist cell with military grade gear on par with a small European country, they also have to fight tier one operators with similar or better kit than what Nova Squad has in the field at the moment.

Bilak and Nova Two pulled into a nearby gas station to check for anything useful like fuel or med supplies.

"From the things I have heard over the past couple of months, this is nothing like anything we have seen before. Not Verdansk, not even Rebirth Island. Do we even know what we are getting ourselves into here?" Nova Two spoke to the seasoned General, who he had served with since Verdansk.

"We may be in the dark when it comes to this place but we are trying to make things right after the failure that was Verdansk. Rebirth Island was our first step at redemption, but not quite the leap we needed to get us back on our feet. AL Mazrah is the perfect opportunity to set things right and help who we can. Maybe we will get to see some old friends while we operate here." Bilak eased his partner's worries about the mission as he knew he had to get them home safely.

After a short amount of time, they continued to look only for them to find a gas can before taking it and leaving in the car parked infront of the gas station. As they drove up a hill leading up to the Mount Zaya Observatory; they saw a burning car turned to its side. Likely from being pursued or ambushed, they drove around the debris in the road and continued on. They turned up a dirt road and as they went up the hill they could see a giant dome that was apart of the Observatory.

As they sped up the hill, they were heading into the main entrance into the Observatory to look for more clue. but as they were about to reach the entrance, they saw a massive amount of AQ all over the Observatory. Nova Two stomped the brakes and attempted to back up as Bilak mounted his MG on the dashboard letting 7.62 NATO fly out the windshield to the combatants in front of them. Gunfire in the car's direction came back quickly in response and hit the hood of the car as Nova Two was ducking his head behind the wheel. After a short amount of time the car gave and stopped working as they both dove out of the car. Bilak pulled our his RPG-7 and shot it into a small storage building with a few AQ hiding in it.

"Cover me!" Nova Two yelled to Bilak as he moved for the underside of a small bridge that was for vehicles to get into the Observatory. Bilak moved for a few rocks that were to his right and were just big enough to give him some cover for a bit. As Bilak ran for it, he could hear bullets zipping by him and cracking into the pavement and rocks around him. He reloaded the RPG he was carrying and placed on his back. He pulled his MG out and fired a few more rounds before his belt ran empty. He hid behind the rock and reached for his radio.
"Nova, hold position until I tell you to go. I cannot cover you at the moment and I'm loading a new belt in. Once I'm done with that I will help you move. Got it?" Bilak yelled into the radio.

"Understood Nova Lead, waiting for your go." Nova Two responded with quickly as Bilak loaded the new belt into his MG and racked the bolt before firing on the AQ pinning him down.

"Move for it now! You don't have much time!" Bilak fired his MG with precision as bullets were flying through the air on both sides. Nova Two flanked the right side of the Observatory before taking out a few remaining AQ in the storage building Bilak fired a RPG into. Bilak pulled his RPG out and fired it at a group by one of the domes before sprinting for the storage building in front of them. They quickly moved out of the building and ran for the satellite tower that they needed to access a terminal from to get information on AQ forces in the surrounding areas and how they operate during the day. After accessing the terminal with little issues they rushed out of the area in the chaos and ran down the other side of the hill towards a extract point.

At the bottom of the hill, they were forced to move through a small ravine to make their way to their extract point in the city. After reaching the other side of the ravine, they walked up to a seemingly empty building before opening it to check for hostiles. After they cleared it, there were no hostiles, just duffle bags and a military style box in the building.

With the building clear, they sprinted for the city, scoping out the area before grabbing a small ATV and driving it to a bridge next to the point. They stopped the ATV and moved with the buildings against their right side as they swept the area. With nothing in sight they pop a green flare for the extraction helo to finally get them out with the intel they are holding. As they got in the helicopter they took one last look at the city, knowing that they will return within the next couple of days to perform yet another operation.