Heritage

Heritage (Chapter 42)

Chapter 42: Leon

Six months...six months have passed since I could truly say I have had a moment of peace in this whole screwed up mess our politicians call a war. I achieved my goal of joining the SSEALs and am now preparing for the biggest moment in my life, dropping into a full-scale warzone. I've never been more nervous than I am now. Knowing that at any moment I could take a bullet is something that weighs heavily on my shoulders every time I think about it. I'm fighting for more than just my planet; I'm fighting for my right to go back to Stella and my family. I'm fighting for my right for marriage, a family, and a life that can only be but a fanciful hallucination as long as this war rages on.

"Alright boys, let's take another look at the objectives before we drop in," Our Lieutenant says motioning for us to huddle in.

We create a circle around the map our Lieutenant is holding and stare intently as he begins to point out objectives in several locations on the map.

"Alright, we're going to be dropping in behind the lines using a good old-fashioned HALO jump. The entire area is infested with those overgrown lizards so we need to stay as close as possible to each other during the drop. When we open chutes, do not create too much distance otherwise you'll end up landing on a squad of them and we have one less man for the mission. Our top priority is this large bunker right here," The lieutenant says pointing to a large circled area on the map.

"Our job is to infiltrate the bunker, find the officer's quarters and confiscate this object," the Lieutenant says once again pointing to a relic that seems ancient, but mysterious in its origins.

"What exactly is the significance of this package sir?" One of my squad members asks scratching his head.

"It doesn't matter what significance it has Ryback, just that it's our job to get it. But if you must know, the report said it's a religious relic that is supposed to act as some sort of key for a classified place it's supposed to open. Your curiosity satisfied yet, or do I need to keep playing storyteller?" the Lieutenant explains.

"No sir," Ryback responds.

"Don't call me sir, I work for a living. Now, continuing on. When we hit the ground, whoever is first will begin a perimeter, everyone afterwards will follow. When we're in the clear we will move to the bunker, set up tactical positions and infiltrate that giant lizard tank. While inside, we will strategically place C10 explosives throughout. Once the package is secure, we will detonate and eliminate forces that are inside the bunker. We will then move to exfil' here, and leave them asking what the fuck, Hooyah?" The Lieutenant finishes.

"Hooyah Lieutenant!" we yell in tandem.

The green light flashes on and we ready ourselves for the HALO jump. We place on our helmets and masks and step to the hatch as the Lieutenant opens it, sending a torrent of cold air rushing through the compartment.

The green light ceases to flash and we're motioned to begin our jump. One by one we launch ourselves from the aircraft: First, Briggs, our navigation and medical specialist, second, Ryback, demolitions and heavy weapons, third, me, sniper and tech specialist. After me comes Maddock; our self-proclaimed analyst due to the fact that he can recognize anyone's face if they're important enough to be recognized. Lieutenant Reiker follows soon after as we tumble through the air, barreling toward the surface below.

I watch my altimeter as it quickly drops; twelve-hundred, eleven-hundred, one-thousand...six-hundred, five-hundred, four-hundred, three-hundred.

I pull my ripcord and my parachute deploys, bringing me to a gentle descent to the ground below. I land seconds after Ryback and position myself fifteen feet away from him to extend the perimeter.