When bravery isn't enough.

Man Down!

Lt. Lance Thames was gearing up for a routine sweep of the 51st quadrant, other-wise known as the Northern Gobi Desert. He grabbed his M4A1 carbine and put the strap around his shoulder. "Alright ladies!" He shouted to "Red Thunder" platoon to get their attention. "Today's the day the fresh bloods get to prove their worth." A crowd of guys, fresh out of boot camp, began cheering. "Settle down, it's not goin to be much! Just a sweep of 51." Groans could be heard as Thames nodded. "I know I know. It's boring as hell, but hey. Someone's gotta do it." He grabs his helmet and nods. "Gear up to roll out boys. You've got 5 minutes."
He walks off the stage and puts the helmet on his head. A guy, about 18, walks up behind him. "Lieutenant?" The guy asks. "Yeah private?" Lance asks. "Um, well. I wanted to know why everyone was bitching when they heard about the sweep in 51." Lance laughs. "Well, you ever see paint dry? It's about as interesting as that." The kid nods. "Oh, okay. Thanks." He trudged off, obviously pissed.

They all hop into the jeeps and start off. "Well, how's the wife Andrews?" Lance calls out to Sgt. James Andrews, his gunner for a year now. "She's great! The baby's about 3 months away now. Scheduled to have leave around then." Lance smiled and nodded. "Amazing! Hope to see her as well!" Andrews nods and laughs. "Well, you're the godfather of her, so you'll have to!"

Quiet. Normal day on 51. But, something was off. He could feel it. Then, of nowhere, a bullet whizzed past his jeep, killing the gunner for the jeep behind him. "Shit! Get down!" Andrews drops, scared to death. "Someone grab that gun! Andrews gets up and starts shooting at the direction the bullet came from. There was a deafening explosion and all the electronics shut down. "EMP?" He grabbed Andrews and pulled him down. "You're getting home to see that girl!" He pulls the jeep over and gets out. "Make a wall!" The jeeps park bumper to bumper and they all get on one side.

"What the hell is going on?!" Someone yells. "What was that boom?!" Lance stands and calls for attention. "That was an EMP. All electronics are down. We can't continue on foot, and have no way of contacting base. We need to wait for them to realize we're not home. " as he finishes his sentence, bullets begin to rain down on them, killing 5 more men. "MAN DOWN!" Is yelled from Delta, and the medic takes off. "Take cover. Get those guns shooting. Now!" What in the fuck is happening?