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18 MAR 2451
WEAPONS FAMILIARIZATION FACILITY
EL PASO, TX

   Jim watched as Kaslyov quickly picked up his rifle, slammed the extended clip into the feeder, and expertly shot all 3 targets in the torso within but a moment. "Sergei, even I'm started to get afraid of you." The russian flicked the safety on as he placed the gun down and smiled. "Commander, if you do that, then how will you ever play me in table-tennis?"
   "Ah, yes, we couldn't have that, now, could we?" They both laughed as they walked off the range an into the next room, where a pair of MPs were waiting with Riley. "Come with us, sir." Jim looked pleadingly to Riley, who barely gave a shake of her head, nearly unnoticeable. "May I ask as to where we are being taken?" Sergei asked coolly. The MP to the left, probably the senior of the two, stood expressionless as he stated, "We are unable to answer your question. It is classified. He turned to walk out of the reasonably small building, where a TDF-marked Harris B-16 troop carrier was idling.

   "We're going in that?" Jim, bewildered, asked. There was no reply from anyone, and decided to let it go. Where was the style these days?


*            *            *

19 MAR 2451
CLASSIFIED LOCATION

   The door opened, and the senior staff of the TDF local base were all sitting at the converted tables into what was apparently a makeshift briefing room. The three-man team stood at attention with hands at the brow. "Be seated, soldiers." Confused at the lack of formality, especially among the brass, the trio sat down in the factory-standard metal chairs.

   "Hopefully you can understand the lack of formality, but this is an urgent situation. We've recieved a video from someone supposedly inside the rebel organization, stating the time and day they will attack. Now, we stopped this video before it could be broadcast, but it seems that these Rebels want to cause a planetwide panic, leaving them easy-pickings for the enemy recruiters. Now, the planes have ID'd several locations out where they could attack from within this timeframe, but we cannot check them all out." The senior officer pulled out a map of the southwest Asia region, and X'd a few spots around Libya, and circled the Northwestern-most area. "This is where you will be headed. The other areas will be scouted out by other crew, with a possible long-range artillery strike on any of the locations.

   "When is the attack supposed to occur?" Riley inquired. One of the officers on the unknown senior officer's left shifted a small slip of paper towards Jim. 21 MAR 2451. Damn. Jim looked up from the slip and towards the man who had given it to him. "Sir, with respect, that's not much time. It might take us at least a day to get there in a chopper, more if we take a caddy." the man looked confused until an MP said quietly, "A Harris Troop Carrier, sir."

   "Guess what, Fawkes? You don't have either option. All our helis are out carrying supplies to our various establishments, and the "caddies" are out doing the same with our ground-pounders." He clasped his hands and leaned forward, and said almost with a smile in his voice, "You get to hoof it." He seemed to enjoy the reaction from Riley especially, her face contorted in an extremely confused manner. "Sir, could you repeat that?" she asked, none of it making sense. If they were supposed to prevent an attack, how would they be able to make it in time, let alone have the time to recon the area?

   "You heard me correctly. You are going on foot. I think it's time to test out that new fancy uniform you all recieved a while ago. See if it's worth the green our taxpayers so graciously provided us with." He chuckled, and leaned back in his chair. "You leave tonight, at 1800. Dismissed."

   On the way back to their rooms, they could not help but wonder how they were going to make it there on foot in time. "What should we do? We can't file a complaint or anything, and if this fails, we're screwed," Jim stated matter-of-factly, "and not just us. The entire military operation in this area might be compromised if we fail." He stopped as he realized he was talking to himself: he'd already passed the others' rooms, and was heading the wrong direction.

   "That's a bad sign, Sergei. When Fawkes talks to himself intently enough that he doesn't notice we're gone, he must really be worried." Riley wore a mask of concern for her CO. "I have to agree with him, though. I don't see how we're going to get there on time." She turned around to see the russian walking towards the door, waving his hand, "Come with me." They walked down to the area where their gear was stored. "We need to wear these in. Let's go for a mile around the compound." This makes no sense. He wants to go run around the compound when we have to figure out how this will work? She sighed. "Fine, let's have a brief exercise."

   Sergei put his suit on automatically, again disregarding her diminishing feelings about being nude by her fellow soldiers. After they put on the gear, the pair walked slowly as their bodies got used to the new feeling of walking. All of the motor skills had to be re-learned, as the smallest hand motion now could hit something with a good amount of force.

   "Okay, we're out here now." Sergei turned to his comrade-in-arms and asked, for the first time ever, with a whimsical look on his face, "Want to race?" A sly smile formed on her face. "Sure. Well, then, when you hear the next round go off from the firing ra-" Bang. The muscled soldier broke into a run that seemed like he was on the moon rather than on Earth. Riley started after him, and almost tripped. The force that propelled you forward was much stronger now, so now you had to sort of jump and run at the same time. It was much easier than she originally thought. It only took them a third of the normal time to run around the building.

   "You were thinking of this the whole time?" She asked quizzically. "I was. I figured if we can do manual work easier, that our motor functions would in turn prove the same." He began to run back inside, and called back, "Let's go tell the Commander!" Renewed with a strange vigor, she trailed him.

   "You're saying this will work?! That's so... cool!" Fawkes looked bewildered as if he was having a revelation. His sitting on the bed lessened the effect, but the meaning was not lost. "Yes, Commander. We believe this will get us there in time. I wasn't even tired as we arrived." heavily inflected with his russian accent, he stood at ease near the door, away from the others. "Who thought of this? Both of you?" He raised his eyebrows. "Very nice." Riley started to object, but Sergei stated, "Yes, we both thought of this as you so kindly walked off." Getting up from the bed, Jim exclaimed, "Hey! I was thinking!" He looked pleadingly at Riley, but she was having none of it. "Yes, sir, and see how far that got you?" She sighed, and went to gather her things. Men.


*         *         *

1750 (LOCAL),  21 MAR 2451
OUTSIDE CAIRO, EGYPT

   The trio of Wolves were sprinting down the hallway, so fast that you could hear them throught most of the entire floor. "We've only got 10 left. We have everything packed?" Fawkes looked at his squadmates, carrying the standard-weight packs, full of the specialized rounds and other toys the techs at R&D gave them. They looked like they were not burdened at all. "Yep." is all he heard from Sergei, who carried additional materials for possible demolitions work. Riley's medpack was just attached to the pack on her back, making her look more like an out-of-place camper-assassin. That made him laugh.

   As they opened the door to the hangar, the center of all missions' arrival and departure, there was another person standing there. She was rather tall for a woman, taller than Riley, but a little shorter than Jim. He'd place her at 5'7", though he could be wrong. Her long red hair shined in the bright lights on the ceiling/ You couldn't have a runway tech run over by a plane; they simply cost too much. She wasn't bad looking, either, the lithe body encased in the same black suit they wore. She had bright blue eyes, the ones that were icy in appearance, yet felt warm.

   "Hey boys. How about we get on with this?" She turned around without waiting for a response and walked towards the hangar's exit. Momentarily stunned, Jim and company began to fall in with the lady. She had an air of command, and if she told you to do something, you'd do it without realizing it at first. Riley was the first to question her leadership. "What the hell do you think you're doing? This is our mission, and we work alone." Although it sounded angry at first, Fawkes realized she may be jealous of her. Not bothering to turn around, she replied, "Major Amber Levin. Solstace has so graciously placed me here to take care of your asses when you mess up. You will now report to me. While you're inside, I am your lifeline. I watch you go in, I help you come out. Understood?" Now that the matter was clear, they simply said "Yes, sir" and were done with it. She slung her rifle over her shoulder, and began to run West towards the projected location. Shortly, they fell in behind her.

   "Sir, I don't understand. The General never mentioned anything about another member to the Wolves; not even the fact that we'd be getting a CO." It wasn't tiring yet, but Jim knew that soon the lactic acid would build up, and his muscles would be burning. This time, Amber gave him the courtesy of looking toward him, stilll running forward. "You weren't supposed to know, and it wasn't decided until after the Council finished deciding. They thought they would increase the squad's number to increase the survival rate. My experience doesn't hurt, either." She looked forward again and increased her speed.

   Strangely enough, it only took them half a day with stopping to get in an area that looked conspicuous. The Wolves saw people walking between the buildings, and what appeared to be guards were posted outside a large complex. "I'd say we found our target, boys." Levin whispered. Aural sensors were much more common these days, and she didn't want a noise to blow the whole operation open. Sol had set in the horizon for some time now, and the darkness crept in on the small fires the troops had going. "With those fires, it's going to play hell with their thermal, so we should be safe for now. I think these suits have refrig/heating, so they regulate temp for us anyways." She saw Riley's surprise, and added, "What? They didn't tell you?" Her look said the answer.

   Unslinging her rifle, she checked the marking on her clip, and gingerly placed it into the gun; a small audible click when the clip went in. Amber looked through her scope, and sighted the nearest patrol. Taking her eye off momentarily, she looked at her other Wolves. "You see those three guys on patrol out at 11 relative? That's where we need to hit them. I'll take the one nearest us. You take out the others." Five muffled thumps were barely audible. The targets shook for a moment, and hit the earth. Keeping to the darkness, Levin led her squad along towards the side of the building where they had taken out the guards. "Carry them about 40 meters away. That should be enough." When they were done, Jim could see that she was already looking for their entry. "Commander, look at that building. Near the top." Kaslyov gestured towards the complex. "Looks to me like they left the door open."

   He was referring to the small balcony nearly 3/4 up on the five-story building, where a light was barely visible. It looked like an entry could be made from there. "Good work, Kaslyov. Maybe you should be the LT here." Fawkes was steaming as Amber began walking around to the entry point, carefully watching between the guards and her own shadowy form. One mistake, and they could see that someone was hiding in the shadows, and it would be all over. "Sorry, Jim." Sergei patted him on the shoulder, and sidled along the building towards his commander. Orvitz followed, then Jim. Slowly, they worked their way around the compound until they were next to the large complex. "Wait, sir; why haven't we called this in to the HQ?" Jim asked his CO, after the idea had just reached his brain. "Lieutenant, that would not be a good idea. If they're monitoring the transmissions, then they'd know someone was here. Besides, by the time we are able to make a transmission, after assessing the force's armaments and capabilities, the Big Guns wouldn't have time to get into a position to fire before these guys would-" She stopped, and held up a hand. Someone had noticed that the guards hadn't come back yet. Another pair was approaching slowly, rifles held at the chest, and pointed forward.

    Up. That's what Captain Amber Levin's signal to her squad was. Up. Not fall back, not prepare to engage, but Up. Jim looked up, and realized what the Commander was thinking. There was not very much space between the complex and the adjacent building, almost like the buildings were originally separate. He gave a quick nod to her, and then the other pair, and climbed up 2 meters and secured a position between the walls. It was barely audible, as a single jump took each squad member nearly high enough, and they just pushed against one side or the other, now anchored in position. Jim was closest to the oncoming rebels, and was paying attention to the noise he made more now than any other time in his life.

   The guards were upon them now, looking for any signs of a disturbance. They weren't smart enough to have lights, apparently, and were basically walking blind, letting their ears guide them. Then it dawned on him. If they continued that way, they might end up finding the bodies of their out-of-commission comrades. He wouldn't let that happen, and carefully lowered himself in miniscule increments. As the first guard passed, and proceded towards the other three, he got into position, extending his hands downward, out of sight. When the second guard was below him, he wrapped his hand around the man's mouth and nose, and the other hand was around his neck. Jim pulled him up slightly off the ground. He twisted the rebel's head sideways, while holding his neck, and an audible snap was heard. The other guard, sure something was now up, nearly began to raise an alarm, when Levin duplicated his maneuver on the other guard, silencing him as well. As Fawkes lowered the body slowly back to the ground, Riley descended, and picked up the body. Watching this, Sergei got down and recieved the other corpse, and took it off to a farther away location than the first troops' location. They couldn't have them waking up to see bodies, now, could they?

   Amber approached Jim in the confines of the passageway as Riley and Sergei were off disposing of unnecessary waste. "Quick thinking, Fawkes. I must say, that was a rather unorthodox method, but you did kill two of their soldiers, which means they won't be going back to patrol. Now the other people in the encampment might raise an alarm." The feeling of the complement was quickly snatched away as she changed tempers. "Now, we have to finish this quickly, and quietly." Surely enough, Riley and Sergei came back just before a voice rang out through the encampment. It was in a language he did not understand, but the meaning was clear: The rebels would be on watch.

   "Let's have at it." Riley said, and began freehand climbing the wall of the large building. "What are you waiting for," Levin angrily whispered, "Get up there!" Quickly following suit, Fawkes, Kaslyov, and Levin made up shortly after Riley had. Sergei had been right- the doorway was open, and there was a light from a TV in the room. A man sat on the sofa in front of it, unaware that they had reached the balcony. Sergei felt Amber nudge him, and she pointed at the man, then moved her hand against the back of her head; a clear sign of a knock-out, not a kill. He nodded, and proceeded almost normally into the room, the sound of the TV masking his footsteps. Suddenly, a floorboard creaked, and he rushed forward, dealing a concussive blow to the head of the man on the sofa. Nobody moved, waiting for a sign of alarm in the building. Moments passed, but seemed forever as they remained perfectly still. Sure now that they were undetected, Amber walked to the middle of the room and said, "Well, we're in. Now what?"