May 25, 2045 - 22:11
South Central Coast, Vietnam – Location [Redacted]
Far off from civilization, in the middle of the tropical jungle of Vietnam, there was a flight of military helicopters flying toward their objective. Their arrival disturbed the calmness of the jungle, splitting the tree tops as they flew barely above the treeline.
Four UH-60VX Black Hawks were flying in a diamond formation, each carrying a squad of PMCs, their objectives having been set weeks in advance. They were all dressed in black camouflage, with armor plates on their torso and various other protective gear.
In the leading Black Hawk was Alpha squad, led by a First Lieutenant Harrison Armstrong, although to people he kept company, it was just simply "Harry". He had been a US Marine for ten years, with multiple deployments throughout the final years of the Third World War.
His service throughout the war and after had shaped him into the disciplined man that he is today. After his services ended, he spent a few years as a local SWAT operator in his hometown before he was recruited as a PMC for the Black Angels Division.
Despite all of his experience in combat, he still felt the same anxiety gripping at his chest: the same anxiety that he felt as a Private.
Harry was fidgeting with his hands and tapping his feet on the metal floor before he suddenly jolted back from his seat when someone placed their hand on his leg. He glanced to his right to see a grin on a scarred face. It was his squadmate, Staff Sergeant Katrina "Kat" O'Callaghan, who was holding onto her M7A4 rifle between her legs.
"Oi, calm down Harry. You're gonna' blow a bloody hole in this thing if you keep stompin' like that," She teased with her Aussie accent, "Them engie's aren't gonna' be too happy!"
"Can't help it, Sergeant, been through the worst of it and still couldn't fix it," Harry replied. Kat chuckled slightly, and he stopped tapping his legs in response, "Remind me again next time."
Kat pumped him lightly on the leg, trying to reassure him, "If I leave you for too long, you might as well dig a hole to the other end!"
A voice suddenly intruded into their conversation.
"Ready up for fast rope, ETA 1 mike out," Said the pilot, who was giving a single finger up while still operating the helicopter.
Harry turned to his squadron, "Alright, let's go."
The four Black Hawks hovered over a hole in the jungle canopy, and - one by one - all the operators prepared rope and slid down to the jungle floor. They began to establish a three-sixty defensive perimeter, scanning the woods for any potential threats. As quickly as the helicopters had arrived at their destination, they also left thundering away into the distance.
Calmness soon returned to the area, with only the rustling of the trees to be heard. Harry's eyes darted from man to man, scanning them up and down swiftly before moving to the next.
"Alright, comm check, this is Alpha 1-1," he said.
"Bravo 1-1, copy," said the squad leader to his left.
"Charlie 1-1, hear you loud and clear," Said the right-side squad lead.
"Delta 1-1, show time," said the man behind him.
"Archangel's Wrath, this is Mother Base. Comms are good, headcams are good, you've got the green light."
"Alpha 1, going dark."
After those last words, the platoon swiftly disappeared into the darkness of the jungle, ready to deliver chaos
May 25, 2045 - 23:01
South Central Coast, Vietnam – Location [Redacted]
Under the thick jungle canopy stood an old and forgotten French fort, one that used to belong to the French occupation era. Overtaken by nature after years of neglect, the fort was well hidden from prying eyes on both ground and sky level.
The fort was abandoned for years and only recently rediscovered in the early 2030s. The new tenant of the fort quickly renovated the place and built new facilities on top of it, or more specifically, underneath the fort. Once it was renovated and turned into a hidden entrance for an extensive underground facility, it quickly became one of the most lucrative distribution hubs for illegal activity in Central Vietnam.
Hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal goods flowed through this hub, which in turn were picked up by smaller gangs and distributors. The fort was responsible for a huge area of operation, from the Mekong River Delta all the way through Shanghai and New Delhi.
The syndicate that operated this base had made sure to go over the top in order to keep the operation hidden. On top of the natural disguise, the base utilized top-of-the-line optical and thermal camouflages to blend in even more. All the transport, in and out of the base, also utilized said camouflage, making it even harder to spot by drone surveillance and satellites.
The fort enjoyed a generous decade of being hidden and undetected from the law, bringing billions to the group that operates the base. However, all good things must come to an end.
Just one week earlier, one of the cargo trucks going toward the base had its thermal camouflage glitched for a brief moment, allowing one of the surveillance drones nearby to spot it.
That one mistake allowed the Black Angels Division to track the convoy toward an area densely populated by nature. Within a week of surveillance and scouting, the PMC had a solid grasp and capability of the base and its occupant, and greenlit a "Search and Rescue" operation. Tonight was specifically chosen since they had solid intel suggesting that the base would be in a state of lower security.
On this particular night, the fort was having a celebration party. The convoy that arrived from a week earlier carried roughly half a billion dollars' worth of illegal goods, and most of them were already transported out by distributors. The head of the base allowed everyone to "take it easy" for a night, which meant most people would get all the booze they wanted, almost everyone.
Lee was amongst the few unlucky few that were "voluntold" to guard the base, to have at least a minimum security on the surface, to at least warn the base if something were to happen.
"It's not like there's anybody around… only soul is miles from here…" he thought to himself as he took his moonshine canteen and took a swig.
The alcohol burned his throat and numbed his mind as it went down. He leaned onto the fence as he felt a bit more relaxed. He let out a sigh of satisfaction as he finished the canteen in one swig.
"Wow, those fuckers sure know how to make a batch of moonshine," he muttered to himself. His mind wandered, his eyes simply drifting across the seemingly unchanging jungle.
Suddenly, something whizzed past him swiftly, ripping through the air. He heard a thud from the guard tower to his right. He only took a glance up at the tower and immediately knew that his comrade was already dead.
He took up his AK-47 and aimed down where he thought it came from. The jungle canopy barely allowed any light to peak through to see, and it was even harder to spot anything, even when he was sober and alert, let alone in his current intoxicated state.
He radioed to his fellow guards stationed around the bases to quickly warn them of the impending attack, but for reason he did not know, all he heard back was static.
"Fuck, gotta warn the idiots down below…" he mumbled to himself as he rushed toward the guard post with a direct line of communication to the underground facility.
Before he could reach the guard post, however, another whizz buzzed through the air.
Lee faceplanted onto the ground, his hands grabbed onto his neck as blood poured through the two newly made holes in his neck.
The last thing he could see before he bled out was a group of camouflage figures walking toward him, each with four glowing lights where their eyes should be.
Within the span of two minutes, all the external guards were taken out by the Black Angels operators who surrounded the base. No alarm was raised, and all security feeds were fed with a perfect loop by one of the tech experts within the group.
"Great work as always, this makes the next part a bit easier," Harry's voice rang out from all the operators' headsets.
"Nice deep throat you just gave to that last one, ay?" Said the Delta's squad leader.
"Thanks, but leave the compliments for later. Delta, you know the drill, cut the primary and secondary power to the base when I give the signal!"
"Copy that, LT!" Replied the leader of squad Delta, as his group quickly split into two fire teams to head off to the primary and backup power generators for the base.
"The rest of you are on me, we're heading inside," Commanded Harrison.
The three remaining squads then head inside the fort through a dilapidated entrance - big enough for a cargo truck to traverse - that led downward underground. Contrary to the ramshackled appearance of the fort, the inside of the building was anything but run-down. Reinforced concrete walls with fresh paint, rows of military-grade cargo trucks and armored vehicles, the operators were introduced to a completely different building compared to the outside.
There were a few guards and grunts still working in the loading area. As soon as the closest guard noticed the group of intruders, Harrison already brought his gun up to aim at the guard's head.
He pulled the trigger, sending the 6.8x51mm round toward the guard's head. His brain matters were painted all over the wall behind him.
Harry quickly looked around for a new target; however, he could only see bodies lying around the area, all of which had been taken down by his team.
"Bravo and Charlie, head toward the canteen area and set up a party for those fuckers, show 'em a good time," Harry commanded as he looked toward his fellow squad leaders. They both gave him a curt nod before leading their squads into the hallway with the sign "Mess Hall" above the entrance.
While Bravo and Charlie squads were tasked with ambushing and neutralizing hostiles, Alpha squad was tasked with locating and securing the VIP and other civilians. Harrison and his squad headed through another hallway.
They were separated into two fire teams, each one taking a side of the hallway for better security coverage. Harry was second in the formation, behind the ballistic shield carrier. Sergeant Katrina and her Fire Team One were right behind Harry. Sergeant Yuu Shoji was leading Fire Team Two on the right side of the hall.
Alpha squad moved past all the rooms in the hallway without needing to clear them. They were trying to stay as stealthy as possible, at least until Bravo and Charlie finished setting up the ambush and let loose on the unsuspecting bandits.
The squad then came to the door of what appeared to be a control room. Without a command, both teams stacked up at the sides of the door.
"Victor, prepare for entry," Harry commanded to the shield carrier in front of him.
Victor simply gave a nod and moved in front of the door, standing ready with his shield firm in his hand and his finger on the trigger of the suppressed pistol.
Harry quickly tested the doorknob, finding it locked. Harry stood back up with his back straight against the wall next to the door. He brought his leg up and delivered a strong kick against the side of the door with the lock, violently opening it.
Victor rushed inside the room as soon as the door swung open. There were two guards inside the control room, who were shocked by the appearance of Victor. Victor did not give them a chance to reach for their weapon as he swiftly put two well-aimed bullets into the two guards' heads.
The room was cleared as the guards' bodies flopped onto the ground.