April 23rd, 2006
2300 Hours
Forward of the Papa Line, Central Sector
The war never stopped with the fall of night, it only changed how it was fought. In a somewhat quieter section of the frontlines a Blackhawk was swooping low over the countryside. It moved quickly and cautiously into enemy territory ahead of the Papa Line, ducking between the hills as it went.
“Four minutes!” the pilot notified to his passengers.
To average soldiers sneaking into enemy lines alone would be an anxious event. These men, however, were SEALs. They were something special, a cut well above the rest, given the challenging tasks that their rank-and-file countrymen simply could not do themselves.
One of the SEALs, Petty Officer Arnold Johansson, was putting the final touches on his camouflage. Taking more of the black paint on his fingers, he covered the last bits of his pale skin, covering his entire face as if it were sunscreen. This, along with his uniform, would help conceal him over the course of the mission, so long as the night held.
“Yo Switch! You done with that?”
Johansson handed off the paint to the SEAL sitting next to him as their team leader went over the mission plan again.
“Alright, one more time! The primary target is the artillery battery at Objective Window. These guns have been hammering the front for days, and since our friends in the Army and Air Force seem too inept to deal with it themselves, they've asked us to do it. Switch, you and Bowie move to the high ground at Point Key and set up overwatch. Rest of us are going for the main target at Objective Window,” Cutlass reiterated. “Everyone got it? Keep it quick and quiet. We’re going to do this right and the battery will go up after we’ve left.”
“Thirty seconds!” the pilot yelled.
The helicopter came to a halt and descended in an open clearing sided by bushes and trees. The doors were pulled open and the men scurried out, clearing the Blackhawk in seconds. They wasted no time in finding cover in the woods. The helicopter quickly gained altitude and turned around as the rotor’s wind blew along the landing zone.
“Everyone here?” their leader checked. “Okay let’s get moving. Remember to keep it quiet and fast so-”
His instructions were cut off by a sharp explosion not far off, followed by a bright fire lighting the area.
“What was that?”
“Fuck that was the helo! I saw them hit it!” Arkansas swore quietly.
“Shit, there goes our ride back,” Switch noted. “Think they know we’re here?”
“Not sure, they might. They’re certainly going to sweep the area now.”
“Think the pilots got out? Should we go back for them?” Bowie asked.
“We’ve got no way to take care of them and no way to get an extract. I’d like to but I don’t know if we can afford to.”
“Alright, so what’s the plan, Cut?”
“Same as before. We’ve got a mission to finish, we’ll just have to be more careful. We can worry about getting back after it’s done.”
“I think we should go check the crash site,” Stiletto suggested. “Not just for the pilots. We need to blow that thing up, too. Make sure the enemy doesn’t get anything out of it. Plus they’re definitely going to send a patrol there. We can jump them while they’re checking the helicopter out.”
“Hm… yeah we can do that. Might draw attention in that direction, too. Less focus on the battery’s area,” Cutlass agreed. “Okay here’s the plan. Switch you and Bowie continue to Key and set up an overwatch, you should be able to see the crash site from there. Rest of us are going to set a charge on the Blackhawk and wait to ambush the patrol. Then we’ll deal with the battery.”
“Well, we’re all alone out here without the helo. We got any support in the area?” Bowie asked.
“Brass said an SAS group was operating in this area. We might want to try and link up with them. They might have an extraction plan, but that comes later. Focus on getting the job done, okay? Get going!”
The two SEALs did as they were told, hustling through woods as their comrades left in the opposite direction. They moved as quick as they could, ensuring they stayed within the cover of the trees. They did not see any enemy forces, either with the naked eye or through NVGs, but that was no reason for recklessness. Even in the dark they could get spotted charging across a field, and careless actions could easily lead to the failure of the mission and their deaths.
On approaching the base of the hill Switch saw his teammate bring up his hand and come to a sudden stop. He too came to a halt and knelt, resting against an elderly oak. Bowie did another hand gesture signaling for him to stay put and began to crawl forward slowly, avoiding anything as big as a branch that could cause noise.
Switch pressed himself against the ground as well, feeling the grass prickle against any exposed skin. He did not see what Bowie was going after, but he trusted his ability. A minute later he heard rustling ahead of him mixed with some kind of muffled moan. There was a hard impact as something hit the forest floor. Bowie returned, standing and wiping his knife with a leaf, and called for Switch to continue on.
On moving forward Switch saw his comrade’s victim. A Shadow soldier lying down flat on his stomach, dead and motionless as if he were sleeping. The ground around him seemed ruffled from a short struggle, though it was too dark to make out any of the blood running into the soil.
“No time to hide him,” Bowie whispered. “Check that clearing to our front, past the treeline. Looks like his buddy is getting some sleep up against that rock. You want to take this one?”
Switch crept off to the left, moving behind the slumbering enemy. A few steps away and he unsheathed his dagger, brandishing a sharp and malicious Fairbairn-Sykes. Gripping the handle tightly he moved through the dark like a reaper, coming up behind the Shadow soldier and almost hovering over him. The Shadow, on the other hand, was blissfully resting and providing the only noise with sharp snores. Switch realized, somewhat sadly, that the poor pony had no idea what was about to happen, nor would he ever know. At least not in this life.
In one motion the SEAL waylaid his enemy, falling onto him and pinning his body against the dirt. One hand covered the snout, preventing any cries from escaping, while the knife hand set about the throat. In one thrust the dagger pierced through cleanly, with Switch cutting it as if it were a turkey’s meat, and pressing out to complete the gruesome task. Other than some muffled moans he felt against his hand, the American heard nothing. It happened so quickly that he was not even sure the Shadow pony woke up before it was over. He held no remorse for what he did, but thinking of that gave him some comfort in the brutal killing.
“He’s down,” Switch reported “See any others?”
“Negative, we’re clean,” his comrade answered. “Come on, Key’s just up ahead.”
The two continued to hustle up the hillside, doing their best to stay concealed from the moonlight. They reached the position in good time without further trouble, giving them an excellent view over a long stretch of the area, seeing over the treetops of the forest patches and making out the open fields and various other terrain features. Bowie continued on a bit further to find good places to lay mines so no enemy would sneak up on them from behind over their lengthy stay. Switch stayed and readied his sniper rifle, a dark M24 with a bipod hanging under the barrel, and found a satisfactory spot on a relatively flat but sharp rock.
“Dagger One-Four Charlie to One-Four Alpha. We’ve arrived at Checkpoint Key, over.”
“How’s it looking over there, Switch?” Cutlass asked. “Run into any trouble?”
“Couple of sentries but we took care of them. No commotion, our cover’s still good. What’s your status, lead?”
“We just finished planting a reserve charge on the Blackhawk. We’re doubling back through the woods and are moving towards Objective Window now.”
“Any survivors?”
“Negative, hit nose first. Listen Switch, can you see the crash site? Should be burning a little towards the southeast.”
The SEAL scanned over the southeast and spotted the bright glow of a fire, observing the wrecked helicopter through his binoculars.
“I see it.”
“Let me know when a patrol reaches it and I’ll set off the charge. We can’t stick around but I’d like to at least take a couple bad guys out with the explosion.”
“WILCO, I’ll contact you back when we see the enemy, out.”
Just as he signed off, his teammate returned, taking a knee next to him.
“Any trouble?”
“No, not yet. Did the rest of the guys get to the helo yet?” Bowie asked, wrestling a pair of binoculars from around his neck.
“Yeah, they’re already moving on. Just waiting for a patrol to reach it before they detonate.”
“Okay, hang on,” the larger SEAL said as he worked with his own radio. “Cut, this is Bowie.”
“What is it?”
“Intel really messed this one up. There’s loads more bad guys here than they said,” he informed. “There’s tons of activity all around us for miles. Soldiers, IFVs, tanks, plenty more than just our battery. Must be a whole damn battalion spread out over the area, probably part of a bigger regiment.”
“Shit… alright keep an eye on us and let us know if anyone comes our way. You two take care of yourselves up there.”
“Will do, Cut. Bowie out.”
With the immediate tasks complete the night reverted to its usual silent state. The waxing moon provided an eerie light over the area with few clouds to interrupt it. The Shadows seemed to be taking their time on reaching the crash site, but before long Switch saw a group of figures draw near to inspect, illuminated by the still-burning fire. There were at least five he could see, looking around the area and gingerly beginning to go through the wreckage.
“Cut, patrol finally reached the helicopter.”
“Took them long enough. Are they close?”
“A couple are on top of it. Rest are around it.”
“Alright, setting it off now.”
The remains of the helicopter exploded seconds later in a bright orange ball. The soldiers investigating the the wreckage were engulfed, along with the bodies of the deceased pilots that could not be taken or allowed capture, while those Shadows nearby where knocked to their feet or struck by pieces of metal. Nothing of use was left of the Blackhawk.
Johansson observed from his perch as the remaining soldiers scrambled about the crash site. From the fashion of the explosion, it looked as though the fuel tank had erupted. Beyond the convenient timing, going up just as the soldiers were going over it, there was nothing to suggest to the Shadows that there were surviving infiltrators among them, nor that they were responsible.
“Looks like you got a couple,” he informed his leader. “Wreckage is a write-off too.”
“Good. We’re holding up against a wooden windmill to your north. Can you see us?”
“There’s a few windmills in that direction. Any more specifics?”
“The one that looks broken. It’s missing two of its blades.”
“You guys are near the door at the bottom?”
“Yeah, that’s us. How’s the surrounding area look? We clear?”
“Affirmative, looks like the local patrol is moving east towards the explosion. Lucky you.”
“Good, we’re moving out. Same as before, keep overwatch on us. Radio silence unless there’s something to report. Out.”
The sniper kept a watchful eye on the team as they passed through the countryside. Luckily the distance between them and the heavy artillery battery they targeted was virtually empty, with the only patrols now going past them in the opposite direction. Now and then Johansson would catch a glimpse of a pony in a farmhouse or field, but quickly found them to be solitary civilians awoken from the far-off ruckus.
With no interference to them, Cutlass and his team arrived on the battery’s outskirts in eight minutes. Contrary to the valley, the battery was well guarded with much more than originally thought. In addition to the artillery itself, touting some towed variant of large 203mm guns, there was an anti-aircraft battery situated on the small knoll behind them with two SAM launchers and a radar aiming skyward. No armored vehicles were among the camp, but the guards watching over them were all alert.
“Cutlass, come in.”
“Send it.”
“You guys might want to hold off on attacking. This is a lot more to chew off than we thought.”
“Yeah I noticed. What do you guys see up there?”
“There’s an AA battery just behind the artillery, two launchers and a radar. I’ve seen… twelve plus infantry scattered around. There’s probably some more out of sight.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a broken salvo of flashes and bangs as the artillery began to fire in semi-synchronized fashion at some unknown target.
“Battery’s opening up,” Bowie observed.
“That’s perfect!” Switch proclaimed. “We can use it as noise cover and pop some of the outlying sentries.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll start picking targets.”
“Hold off on the attack. We’re going to try and take out some of the sentries using the artillery fire as noise cover.”
“Alright. I’m diving us up into two teams. Do what damage you can and let us know when to jump off.”
“Understood, our.”
“You ready man?” Bowie asked, eyeing one of their far-off victims through his binoculars.
“Yeah, who’s first.”
“Check down at the edge of the hill, off to the left. Got one walking along the dirt path. Looks like he’s out of sight of the others. Wind is about four out from the south and growing, range at about five-hundred-twenty meters.”
Johansson found the soldier his spotter was referring to, marching along at a poky pace. With no lights near the target, he had to make use of his rifle scope’s night vision, showing the enemy guard in the dull green shade. The sniper took his time and added everything in that was needed; determining the wind affect, bullet drop, the distance, predicting if the target’s speed would remain consistent. All the impacting elements were taken into account.
Switch took his aim slightly ahead of his target and now focused on the battery’s fire rate. He listened to the rumble of the artillery, hoping to match his shot with their salvos. With the next group of rounds he pulled the trigger back. The rifle fired at the same time as the artillery, and when the sound died the targeted soldier had dropped to the ground. Switch did not see exactly where the round impacted, but the Shadow pony did not move at all afterwards.
“He’s dead, good shot man,” Bowie complimented. “Another one, off to the right. He’s behind that little shack.”
Switch picked out the target, finding the pony staring off lethargically in their direction. A few seconds later and Switch sent the round downrange in time with the battery. The bullet struck the pony in the throat and pierced through his neck, knocking him backwards and killing him instantly.
“Alright let me find-shit! Back at our first guy! There’s another one!”
The sniper jerked back to see another Shadow soldier near their first victim who had spotted his fallen comrade.
“I see him!”
“Get him! Quick!”
The Shadow pony knelt down to examine the fallen guard. Switch took aim and fired, not bothering to wait for the artillery to time up. He saw the bullet strike somewhere in the chest, and saw the soldier squirming about on the ground. There was a fear that he was making noise that would alert the others, or that this shot’s sound would be noticed, but a quick overview of the camp showed that nothing had changed. Laziness would be working in their favor tonight.
“That was close… good shot man.”
“Thanks. See any others we can pick off?”
“No, none that are alone. Let’s call Cut and get this wrapped up.”
“Sounds good.”
“Cut this is Bowie.”
“SITREP,” the commander responded in a lower voice.
“We took care of the outliers. You can start your assault when you’re ready and we’ll keep up the support from here. Be advised, counting the artillery crew there’s at least fifteen tangos around the battery right in front of you. I’m seeing another four on the hill near the AA, over.”
“Okay, I’m leading most of the team against the arty. Ice and Ball are going for the AA on the hilltop. They’re off to the left flank. Make sure you don’t hit us, how copy?”
“Copy Cut, we got you.”
“Alright, we’re jumping off, out.”
Far off from Johansson’s position on the hill, the rest of his team was hiding on the side of a deep ditch across the road from the battery. The only soldiers patrolling the road had been killed by the sniper, affording them a bit of breathing room. On their leader’s call of ‘go!’ they climbed over the bank and began their attack.
Moving together with their weapons at the ready, the SEALs immediately saw their targets. The various guards and artillery troops ahead had no expectation of any enemy attack. The only one they expected at all was a bombing run from aircraft, and even that seemed unlikely. As such, when the first few noticed some figures appearing from the ditch and moving slowly through the darkness, there was more personal confusion than alarm.
Arkansas was the first to fire, cutting down one of the bewildered guards with a burst from his M4. Cutlass killed another in the same manner a half second later, then another next to him. The remainder of the squad followed in suit as the Shadows scrambled about in confusion. Few were able to even see the Americans before they were killed, much less return fire. The remaining guards were the first to go before the SEALs turned their attention to the artillery operators.
Armed with little more than personal sidearms, the gun crews had neither the stomach nor the means to fight a skirmish with the attacking special operations troops. Panic took hold immediately as many were cut down by the rapid small arms fire and Johansson's continued sniping. Some attempted to draw their pistols but most scattered in the face of the assault. Most were killed before they could escape; the few that did gained the sniper’s attention and did not make it far.
The only real resistance came from the few soldiers guarding the hilltop. One of them knelt behind a sandbag position near the hill’s edge and fired his AK down into the darkness below. The fire was wildly off, as he was unable to make out proper targets in the night, but it still made the SEALs jump to cover before returning fire. The small exchange did not last long as moments later, the other two Americans assigned to seize the hill made it to the top. After a few bursts from their suppressed carbines, another four Shadow soldiers lay dead.
“Clear up here!” Icepick shouted.
“Battery is clear!”
“Switch, you see anything from up there?” Cutlass asked.
“Negative, you’re in the clear. You guys got enough charges for all that stuff?”
“No, but I’ve got an idea. Keep an eye on us for now, out.”
“Looks like we’re good,” Bowie observed. “I’m going to grab the claymores. No need to waste.”
“I hear ya,” Johansson agreed.
The sniper continued his overwatch as his comrades farther off got to work. A stiff wind carried clouds overhead, covering parts of the black sky and reducing the moonlight. Some of them looked like storm clouds. Switch felt his dry throat strain and pine for a drink of water, but resolved to wait until there was a quiet moment.
“Switch, come take a look at this!” Bowie called in a hushed tone.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know, just come check it out!”
Johansson picked up bus rifle and hustled over to his friend’s position, finding him staring intently at a far-off hamlet through his binoculars.
“Out there, at that cluster of buildings! Left of that two-story one, on the road! You see that?”
The SEAL peered through his sights, quickly spying what Bowie was so distressed about. Standing along the road were three figures, each bipedal but being taller than their usual combatants. A long stretch of one of their arms confirmed what the two had theorized, that they were human.
They were armed as well, but something was very wrong about them. They showed no signs of hiding away from the local Shadow troops, or even any kind of distress. The group was calmly discussing matters amongst themselves, without a care in the world.
“Who are those guys? We don’t have any other teams here do we?”
“No, not in that area. Cut said some SAS guys were in our area but they're way off in the opposite direction. These guys don't look like 'em, don’t look very busy either.”
“Army guys? Maybe some stragglers that got left behind?”
“They aren’t in a hurry to get back to our side.”
“Something’s really wrong. Intel didn’t say anything about-hang on! You see that? Enemy soldier heading up to them.”
As Bowie said, a Shadow soldier trotted up to the three humans from the dirt road, his rifle firmly on his back. Neither group seemed surprised to see the other. Indeed, the humans seemed to be expecting him, turning their conversation to the Shadow as he arrived.
“We need to let Cut know about this.”
“I got it,” said Johansson as he fiddled with his radio again. “Dagger One. Cut, we found something weird, over.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We see some humans. Far off to our southeast.”
“Prisoners?”
“I don’t think so. They’re armed and in good shape. We saw them talking with an enemy soldier, looked like an officer, so they’re not stragglers either.”
“What the Hell? What are they doing? Can you ID them?”
“Negative, too dark and too far.”
“Alright, we’ll worry about that later. You two just get your asses over here fast.”
"Got it, out," Switch answered, turning over to his comrade. "We'll have to worry about it later, we have to meet up with the rest of the guys and light up the battery."
"And we still need to find a way out of here."
"Yeah, I know. One thing at a time though and we'll get it all done," Switch assured him. "Let's move, we're burning moonlight."
It took a bit of time for the two to pack up their gear and move over the great distance to the rest of their team. The others had already completed their preparations for the battery’s destruction by the time the sniper and spotter arrived. Thankfully, the enemy response force had not arrived before them, though they were no doubt inbound.
“Hey, everything looking good?” Switch asked, ducking into the ditch where the men hid.
“Yeah. We were short a charge to get the artillery and the AA but we made due. Brought some of the battery’s shells and some missiles up and scrunched em between some of the closer targets. Boot took a bunch of the gas cans for their trucks and dumped them all along it, too.”
“Guess he’s just that fire-happy,” suggested Bowie.
“Now let’s put some distance between us and this place. I don’t know how big the explosion will be. We don’t need to be too close.”
The team began heading northeast, keeping an eye open for any other hostile soldiers on their way. Ducking into another forest, they halted on their leader’s order. They could not see the battery anymore through the trees, only the side of the hill it was positioned against.
After a quick warning, Cutlass detonated the charges. Those placed directly on the guns did enough damage to destroy them, but the few used otherwise proved much more powerful. The charges set off against the stacks of heavy artillery shells and missiles combined into a massive explosion, more than enough to cripple any nearby guns and tear the AA positions to pieces. The liberal use of gasoline ignited and turned much of the top of the hill into a large torch, with the shockwaves carrying the heat far enough for the men to feel it, impacting their skin and driving off the cool night air.
The devastation was total; nothing remained of either battery that could be used. Only some shattered and charred remains of some guns flipped entirely over. The one charge left on the munitions stockpile left a large crater that looked as though a bomb had struck. In spite of everything that had interfered with them, the SEALs had completed their mission and then some.
With the surrounding Shadow army units now rushing to the explosion, the team quickly began to hustle away in the opposite direction. Now came the difficult task of returning to allied lines. As planned before, they struck out to the north in hopes of finding an SAS team that was supposedly hiding in the area.
Dawn came as their trek took them across the countryside. There were some minor attempts to contact them on the radio once the SEALs got close to the planned hiding spot, but there was no reply. Their exhaustive march carried them into the heart of another patch of woodlands, moving on slowly until a voice called out that brought them to a stop.
“Halt!” the unseen man ordered in a noticeable accent. “Alright, that’s far enough. Stay where you are.”
A human soldier stood from his camouflage under the leaves and grass, approaching with a rather relaxed look.
“Right, who are you lot? Where’d you come from?”
“SEALs, Dagger Team,” Cutlass answered. “Sorry if we scared you.”
“You’re the one who should be scared lad, since we got the jump on you,” the Englishman chuckled.
“Well we figured some friends would be here so our guard was a little low. You guys are the SAS team, right?”
“Aye, I’m Lieutenant Tyrwhitt, E Squadron of the 21st SAS. You can’t see him but off to your left there is my second, Staff Sergeant Hoskins,” Tyrwhitt introduced. “Wave to the Yanks, Hoskins.”
Cutlass grumbled a bit as the hidden figure raised a green and brown hand to wave at him.
“What in God’s name are you doing here?” the SAS operative questioned.
“Our Blackhawk got shot down and we couldn’t reach anyone for extract. We were hoping you had one, so we came to link up with you.”
“I’m afraid not. There’s not many hostiles around here but HQ hasn’t been able to send a helicopter yet. They say there’s too much AA and hostile air.”
“Shit… well that was my plan. Have you got one?”
“We were planning on making our way back on foot once we get an opening; you can follow along if you’d like,” Tyrwhitt offered. “With the amount of Shadow activity that window may be a while in coming, though.”
“Hey, it works for me. Thanks Lieutenant Tyrwhitt.”
“My pleasure Mr… you never gave me a name, Sir.”
“My team just calls me Cutlass.”
“Ah you Yanks, ask us to save your skins and won’t even tell us your names,” said Tyrwhitt, turning around and beginning to lead them deeper into the forest. “There’s a small shack the rest of my team is hiding in. They’re Two Troop, four more men. It will be cramped but there should be room for everyone. And do mind that you follow me closely; we don’t want you stepping on one of our mines.”
“Lieutenant Tyrwhitt, Sir,” Switch spoke up as they followed him.
“Aye, and what’s your name?”
“Switch.”
“Well, that seems colourful.”
“I wanted to ask if you’ve seen any other humans while you’ve been out here. Ones that aren’t allies, ones talking with Shadow troops.”
“No, nothing like that. It sounds rather peculiar.”
“Yeah… guess I’ll have to talk to someone when we get back.”