Date: June 16th, 2020

Location: Iraq, Qalat Sikar

Time: 0400

Operation Destabilize

Mission Objective: Break and Infiltrate enemy barrier without being discovered

Sam fiddled with his headset, trying his best to make it sit comfortably.

“2 minutes from the drop-off point.”

The pilot was so quite that Sam almost missed him over the sound of the engines and propellers. Sgt. Williams stood up and grabbed onto one of the handles that dangled from the ceiling. She tapped her ear, turning on her microphone.

“Mic check,” she said in a low voice. “Sound off.”

The squad sounded off, including Yates who had gotten stuck in their chopper. The man was constantly looking between Sgt. Williams and Sam, who just glared back anytime he caught Yates’ eyes. Sgt. Williams spoke loudly into her mic to be heard.

“Alright, let’s go over this again. When these fly boys set us down, we’ll advance through the city ruins to the objective. When we get there, our resident specialist will try to break the wall. If it works, we go in. If it doesn’t we report back to base. Simple and easy plan people, don’t screw it up.”

The helicopter jerked as it touched down. The door slammed open and the squad hopped the short distance to the ground. They spread out, covering all angles of vision. Sgt. Williams gave the pilot a thumbs up and stood back as he pulled the helicopter up and out. The squad waited silently while Sgt. Golden’s helicopter touched down and his squad disembarked. Sgt. Golden waited for the Black Hawk to take off again before nodding and motioning forward.

“PFC, you’re on point, Corporal take the rear. Maintain your intervals and keep Yates alive at any costs. This mission is nothing if he’s dead. Yates stay on me, I don’t want you out of my sight.”

Sam grinned as Yates gulped nervously and moved towards Sgt. Williams. Sam took his place at the back and waited while the squad started its march through the city. On most maps, the city didn’t exist. It had been built by the Equestrians a month after first contact for unknown purposes. It had soon turned into a battle ground that caused most soldiers to cringe upon mention. The buildings were riddled with bullet holes and most looked like they could barely stand on their own anymore.

Sgt. Golden’s squad advanced up the left side of the road while Sgt. Williams’ were on the right. The sky was clear and the moon gave a bare illumination to the deserted streets. Sam kept a constant eye at his back as the squads moved. The shadows seemed to move in the corner of his eye, causing him to keep a constant state of wariness.

As the first mile passed, the condition of the buildings grew better. There were fewer craters and bullet holes in the buildings and streets. Then, as the buildings got better, they took a sudden drop in quality. The burnt out husks of cars and hum-vees were scattered about in the street, giving the scene the look of a graveyard. As Sam moved between a pair of buildings something caught his foot, causing him to trip. He backpedaled and got to his feet. It was then the smell hit him and he threw up.

A decaying corpse was strewn against the side of the building; bullets lodged a foot above it. Sgt. Williams talked to him over the radio.

“Get moving Corporal, standing there won’t do you any good. It’s not going to smell better tomorrow.”

Sam shook his head and tapped his mic two times, signaling Williams that he was ready to move again. The squads moved forward again, leaving the corpse behind.

The two squads didn’t find any problems past the corpse. The buildings remained silent and empty and the streets held no hidden traps. It took only an hour of brisk marching to get within range of the barrier. The edge of the light purple was in the center of a large square, providing zero cover for the soldiers to hide in while Yates worked. The two Sergeants stopped their respective squads at the edge of the square and held a short conversation before Sgt. Williams turned her microphone back on.

“Alright, this is the plan ladies and gents. PFC, you and Private Johnson will escort Yates to the barrier to do his thing. Corporal, you and I will be their back-up support. The rest of you will aid Sgt. Golden’s squad in fire support. Keep your heads low and watch your battle buddies flank. I will not lose anyone today because you were too stupid to check behind you, am I understood?”

Everyone nodded and spread out to take their assigned positions. Johnny peaked around the corner of the building and nodded to Johnson and Yates. The trio sprinted towards the barrier and Sam watched as Yates set to work. After a minute Sgt. Williams motioned to Sam to move out into the square. The two jogged lightly until they came upon the barrier. Sgt. Williams yelled quietly at Yates.

“What is taking so long?”

“I’m doing the best I can under pressure! It takes time to arm these things ya know!”

While Sgt. Williams took to silently “motivating” Yates, Sam scanned the rooftops, looking for trouble. Private Johnson shook his head.

“This doesn’t feel right. All of that damage on the way in, but we get nothing? I don’t even hear any birds, nothin’ at all! Does nobody else feel like this isn’t right?”

“Shut it Johnson, you’re going to jinx us. I don’t need your bad vibes ruining the mission.” Johnny whispered loudly.

“Too late for that, left side, rooftop.” Sam whispered. The silhouette of a short man was illuminated against the dark sky. Not waiting for anything, Johnny lined up his sights and took the shot.

The gun shot echoed loudly in the still night, drawing a wince from Sam. If they hadn’t been noticed before, they certainly were going to be discovered now. Sgt. Williams continued silently yelling at Yates while the rest of the soldiers waited in anticipation. They didn’t have to wait long.

Dark shapes pulled away from buildings and from the tops of buildings. Sam traced a figure running towards the cover of an alley and pulled the trigger. The man fell and Sam trained his sights on a different target. Quickly the skirmish fire developed into a full fledged fire-fight.

Sgt. Williams left Yates and joined Sam, Johnny and Johnson in firing on the insurgents. The foursome laid covering fire while the other two members of their squad raced across the square.

Privates’ Nicholas Mack and George Ryan slid in next to Sam and grinned.

“Nothin like a good fire-fight to pick you up, eh Sammy?”

“Shut up and shoot!”

The pair lost their grins and began opening up at the figures across the square. Sam put another man down with a squeeze of the trigger and as he looked for another target he saw a figure stand on the rooftop opposite of Sgt. Golden’s squad. He put a bullet through the man’s head a second too late. The RPG tore through Sgt. Golden and two other men in his squad. The rest scattered, disoriented from the bright explosion.

Sgt. Williams cursed.

“Johnson! On me! We’ve got to go save their sorry asses! Corporal, you three provide fire support! Yates, if you are not done by the time I get back, we are all dead!”

Sam dropped his mag and switched it with a full one. Another man fell in a hail of bullets as Sam and Johnny picked the same target. Johnson fell and for a second Sam thought he had been shot. Johnson scrambled to his feet and took off at a dead sprint towards where Sgt. Williams was now hiding behind a corner.

Sam turned his head slightly as he heard Yates shout.

“I’m done! We’ve got thirty seconds until it blows!”

“You idiot! I thought you had a remote detonator!” Johnny yelled.

Sam shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter! We’ve got to move!”

Private Ryan shouted as a bullet tore through his calf. He dropped his rifle and clutched at the bloody hole. Sam cursed and crouched next to him.

“On your feet George, we’ve got to get out of here.”

“The fuckers shot me Sammy. They put one right through my leg. They.. They shot me Sammy.”

“Mack, grab his arm, Yates take his rifle. Johnny keep us covered. We’re running the square.”

Sam yanked Private Ryan to his feet and started dragging him forward. Mack grabbed his other arm and the group broke into a run. Private Ryan screamed as another bullet tore through his stomach. Mack dropped his arm and opened up at the rooftops, leaving Sam alone to carry the wounded man.

“Damn it Mack! Pick him the hell up!”

Before Mack could move, a third bullet entered Private Ryan’s head, silencing him. Sam dropped the corpse and brought his rifle up.

“Who the hell targets wounded in a firefight?!?”  Johnny yelled.

No one answered him as they left the body behind and ran for the buildings. As Sam slid in next to Sgt. Williams, the C-4 detonated across the square. The sound of gunfire momentarily stopped as the bright explosion blinded the combatants. Sam squeezed his eyes shut. Blinking rapidly, he looked to the explosion area. As his flash blindness faded he noticed the purple color of the barrier was missing from a small area the size of a car.[1] An area that was slowly shrinking.

Sam dragged Sgt. Williams to her feet.

“C’mon, our exit is going to be gone by the time we’re ready!”

The rest of the squad shook their eyes clear and followed Sam. Sgt. Williams pushed Sam off and ran on her own. Gunfire poured towards them as they ran, sending chips of dirt and stone into their faces. Sam heard more than saw one of the survivors of Sgt. Golden’s squad fall. When Mack slowed to help the man, Sam grabbed him by the arm and yanked him forward. He pointed to the hole in the barrier.

“Go! He’s already dead!” Sam shouted

“We don’t know that!” Mack yelled back.

“Yes we do! You fall you die, so get moving!”

Sam pushed Mack forward and squeezed off a few shots behind them. By the time that Mack and Sam reached it, the hole had shrunk to the size refrigerator. Sgt. Williams waved them both through and then stepped through herself. The squad ran all the way to the buildings at the opposite end of the square, even though the enemy fire didn’t pass through.

Johnny broke down a door and the squad flooded in. Sam took a window facing the barrier and watched as the hole sealed itself. He trained his sights on a pair of insurgents that approached the barrier. Mack crept up beside him and peered out the window.

They watched as one of the insurgents tapped on the barrier before he shook his head at the other one. The insurgents stared into the buildings for a minute before turning and walking away.[2] Sam let out a sigh of relief. He turned around and slumped against the wall.

“Sergeant, I think we have a few minutes of breathing room.”

Sgt. Williams shook her head and flopped to the floor. Sam got to his feet. Sgt. Williams shook her head again. She looked at Sam with sad eyes.

“We-.. we joked about this happening. We-.. w-.. We made it seem like a joke. He was an ass but he didn’t deserve that. He-.. just…”

Johnny spoke first.

“Sarge, what happened wasn’t your fault. It doesn’t matter what you said before we came out here. Old Stan out there killed him. Not you, not some stupid joke. It was Stan the suicide man.”

Sgt. Williams nodded. The steely light came back to her eyes and she stood up.

“Patch up your wounds and eat something quick, we move in ten.”

Sam nodded and grinned. Sgt. Williams turned to one of Golden’s soldiers.

“Who is your Corporal?”

“Dead.”

Alright then, fall in with us. Check yourselves over and check your battle buddy.”

Sam took up his spot back at the window. In the distance he saw flashes and he listened to the echoes of gunfire. Snores soon reached his ears and he turned to find Johnny passed out in a rickety chair. Chuckling to himself, Sam turned back to the window and watched.