Chapter 1
"Helots! You are being deployed to Mars, where the Galactic Warfare Conglomerate is ravaging our IFA defenses!" barked Rear Admiral Graves. He was a short man, with close-cropped black hair, eyes that were almost black as pitch, a long, pointy nose, and a smirk that was so obvious even a civilian could read him. I felt like smirking right back at him. I had not had a nice day.
He continued as we all snapped to attention. "At ease, gentlemen. The GWC have a very large base in the city of Villanueva." He indicated towards the map projected onto the screen in front of us. "You are to enter the base, retrieve vital intelligence, place charges, and get the hell out. The charges need to be placed here," he indicated a bank of computers on-screen, "here," indicating a large pillar, "and here," indicating the power lines. I sighed. All of them were a great distance apart, and we wouldn't be gotten to very easily. Our team was made up of ten Helots, not 30.
"Captain Vargas." He pointed at me, eyes blazing with envy. "You are field commander. You have command of this whole operation. If you screw it up, we will lose Mars. Got it?"
"Yes sir," I said, smiling. He loved his command, and thus frowned.
He continued his briefing. "The intel is in the same room you will place charges in. That way, they have no evidence we stole it. Any questions?"
Vasquez raised her hand. "Vasquez?" asked Graves.
"Sir, I think resistance is going to be very hard there, and we should request more backup from other Helot teams," she said, her voice suggesting "no" was not an answer.
"Unfortunately, we are spread too thin for that, Vasquez," replied Graves.
She grunted, and lowered her hand. "No more questions?" asked Graves. "Good. Grab your armor and weapons and get to the dropship. We'll insert you at night, approximately 23:00. Break!"
I walked casually to the armory. Along the way, I bumped into my good old buddy Hal. He said, "Hey, Captain Vargas," he said, imitating the Rear Admiral's scratchy voice.
"Hello, Sergeant Giovanni," I replied. "How goes the fight for the engine room?"
"We've had no casualties between the engineers and I, just some issues working together," he replied in his normal voice. It was fairly high-pitched and squeaky, for a man's voice, which was in deep contrast with my bass voice.
"Good. They sounded like they wanted to kill you last time," I said sarcastically.
"Yeah. How goes your mental war against Rear Admiral Dickface?" He was referring to the man's hooked nose.
"I'm preparing the preemptive strike. Don't worry," I replied.
"I'll bet. You're sneakier than him. You'll win."
"Thanks for the confidence. I have to go. I'll catch you on the flipside, brother." I tossed him a coin as I left.
I walked slowly over to the armory. The assortment of guns was astounding. I decided I would take three weapons. First, a G9A3 semi-automatic battle rifle with a suppressor and HoloSight; second, a suppressed R-105K carbine with an RCOG 1.5x dot-sight; and last, an ATP-5 automatic targeting pistol with a suppressor. I was all stealth for this operation. I pulled a dagger off the rack as well. The blade shined in the bright lighting of the room. I crammed all these things into my duffel bag. Now to retrieve my armor.
I walked over to the next room, where the suits were located. They were sleek and well-designed, as if they were made for me. I slipped into one. The inside felt cool, and the HUD popped up immediately. I pulled the weapons out of my bag, and put them on my person. The weight was negligible, as I felt light as a bird.
I checked the time. 22:45. Fifteen minutes to get to the dropship. I decided I would be a little bit late, to show my true rebelliousness.
At 23:05, I climbed into the dropship, and all nine other Helots were crammed in as well. We all were veterans, and we knew what to do.
"Good luck, Helots," muttered Lieutenant Wulfe, the one in charge of leading ops off-field. I smiled, as I liked the kid, and waved at him, as our dropship's doors closed.
We didn't know when the ship stopped to drop us off, but when the doors opened, it was close to the ground, but not on it. We were to jump.
"Revenant Team, ARE YOU READY?" I shouted.
"Yes sir!" all nine of them replied.
"Alright, go, go, go!" I ushered all of the others out before I let myself jump. I hit the ground with a thump, and immediately, the team crouched, awaiting orders. I followed suit, but I gave orders.
"Alright, Revenant Team. Revenant Ten, do you have the Gravedigger?" I asked.
"Yes sir," he replied, taking the heavy sniper rifle off his back. It was almost invisible in the night, but I had night vision turned on.
"Set up on that dune and cover us if necessary," I told the young man.
"Roger that sir," he said, and moved up the dune.
"Revenant Team, move out!" I said.
A chorus of "Roger" came from the comlink. All of us infiltrators began moving towards the base.
The first guard didn't have a chance. I saw him from a few meters away, and said, "Fireteam Revenant, this is Revenant One. Requesting radio silence, over."
Nobody replied. I began to move towards the man. He was smoking a cigarette and grumbling about "Command bitching about the last fight." I lunged forward, grabbing his chin and the top of his head, and twisted. There was a pop, and he fell, neck snapped. He didn't move.
I motioned for the team to breach and clear. The main gate was kicked over at my signal. I fired my suppressed rifle into the first guard's throat, and he fell with a gurgle. The clang of his MA47 assault rifle against the scaffolding was too loud. A guard came around the corner, saw us, and shouted, "Contact!" I put a bullet in his brain before he could give any more vital information. Blood spattered against the walls, and the firefight began.
