Chapter 17

Justin adjusted the heavy pack he was carrying, rolling his shoulders and neck to work out the kinks. The group he’d been assigned to had spent hours in the boiling heat and humidity clearing house after house. They’d found a few more piles of bloody clothing, but nothing else. Around sunset they’d met up with the other group, and proceeded down the highway, clearing homes and businesses alike as they went.

Orders had come down from higher to loot items they needed, which Justin didn’t initially agree with until Lieutenant Warwick had pointed out that the people who owned these locations had either been killed, or would soon be finding new lines of work due to the system.

A modified ATAK partition had been set up, allowing the data guys to map out and mark locations of critical supplies they weren’t taking with them for later retrieval. With the air Force fighting a losing battle for air superiority over the last few days, the probability of major resupply via traditional routes, the Pentagon had decided to allow each base to stockpile what they could find if it wasn’t being claimed by civilians. The LT also explained to Justin that any civilians they found would be directed to relocate to the base, where they could more easily be protected and introduced to the system and the new life that awaited them.

Justin felt a bit sick at the idea of looting from his own countrymen but he trusted that higher-ups knew what they were about, and he couldn’t argue that it would be better to move civilians as close to the nearest base as possible. Maybe some of them would even be willing and able to join up, providing what would soon likely be much needed replacements.

As the night grew dark, a supply convoy met up with the two groups on the main Highway, issuing NVG’s and passive thermals. Justin warned everyone to be aware that the system could allow the enemy to hide depending on their abilities, but he still thought the gear would come in useful. He personally didn’t have any detection spells or abilities, and he resolved to fix that issue when he had access to a system node, even if he had to sacrifice potentially exceptional abilities to do so.

If he’d had some kind of detection ability or mental shield, he might have been able to avoid the enemies abilities, filling a much needed gap in the company. That was what the Captain and the First Sergeant had been trying to accomplish with all the advancement planning worksheets, and he found he understood how important that project would be moving forward. They might not know too much about what the system allowed, but the Captain and the First Sergeant were brilliant, and could likely war game out possible scenarios enough to cover the basics if given the opportunity.

As Justin followed the roughly platoon sized element down the highway, humping his ruck and other gear, he wondered what the Savage Company commanders might be planning right now. Surely they felt just as much a desire to eliminate the threat that the elves possessed as he did, and he had a hard time believing they weren’t busy cooking up something more aggressive than just clearing highways and towns.

As midnight approached, the LT waved Justin over, a deep scowl marring his face. Wondering what he might have done this time, Justin jogged over.

“What do you need, Sir?” Justin inquired in a stage whisper.

SOP dictated that any US forces engaging in night operations had to practice noise and light discipline, which meant no talking unless necessary, and then at a max volume of a whisper, as well as no lights of any kind. During training, Justin had seen a lot of guys get chewed out for checking their watches, just to find out the damn thing had an automatic face light feature. Another huge offender was guys forgetting to turn their radio display backlights off.

In training it had all seemed like a major pain, but Justin had witnessed how quiet the elves could be when they wanted to, and he had come to realize that the system might allow all sorts of possible abilities, skills, or spells. High level elven scouts could even be watching them now. Justin shuddered at the possibility.

“You’ve been ordered to return to Ft. Moore. Apparently enough of your company is back in action that your commanders have decided to make some personal swaps, and create some kind of raiding force for a new mission. I don’t know the details, so don’t bother asking. I’ve ordered my driver and two others to give you a ride back to base. Make sure my men don’t get roped into anything crazy. I have a feeling I’m going to need their trigger fingers sooner than I’d like.

Justin nodded, but had to stop himself from rendering a salute, almost forgetting that this was essentially an active combat zone. It felt really odd not to salute an officer while being in the US, but that’s what happens when the enemy makes it to your country.

The ride back to the QRF Staging area didn’t take too long, for which Justin was thankful. He didn’t feel in the mood for small talk, knowing that the group he’d be leaving wouldn’t have anyone with a class. Hopefully they didn’t run into anything they couldn’t handle. At least if they did, there was a supply of larger weapons distributed between the HUMMWVs.

The driver left Justin to walk the last few hundred meters, but it didn’t bother him. Things looked like they were gearing up, and the driver probably didn’t want to get stuck in some kind of traffic pattern or get roped into some kind of extra duty.

The QRF area was bustling with activity when he walked up. A briefing area had been set up with a tarp and some benches, with a large whiteboard in front of it. Lights hung from the tent’s guide lines, and a few portable standing lights had been set up around the area. About 10 people Justin recognized, either from Savage Company or the base security forces, stood around the whiteboard, talking quietly while First Sergeant Cabral stood near a group of what appeared to be technicians of one sort or another. POGs or People Other than Grunts as they were commonly referred to. They seemed to be setting up some kind of projection system.

Knowing his orders were to report to the First Sargent, Justin walked up and stood patiently at Parade Rest, waiting to be acknowledged. It didn’t take long before 1SG Cabral noticed him standing there.

“Good to see you up and running full steam ahead Specialist. As you were probably told, we’re setting up something a little special here. This is a hand picked group of the guys me, the captain, and base command feel will be the best of the best for the op we’re planning, but this thing is going to be dangerous, more so than most other assignments right now. Because of that, I only want volunteers. So what do you say, are you in, or are you out?” 1SG Cabral asked.

The look on the First Sergeants face let Justin know that he was deadly serious about what he was saying. This would be something where the risks would be extra high. Failure likely wouldn’t be an option, and the dangers would be many and varied. Most soldiers would likely have hesitated, but not Justin. He knew that increased risks and danger meant a chance to confront the enemy and do real damage.

“Count me in, First Sarn’t. Whatever it is, I’m down.”

“Good. I had a feeling you would say yes. Join the others and once the last couple invitees get here, I’ll start the brief.” Cabral ordered.

*******

Jennet Ming couldn’t wait to get back in the fight. Those damn elves had pulled a fast one, and while she’d reached level 5, and then 6, she felt a need to prove herself against the new threat. She reviewed her character sheet once more, satisfied with her newfound abilities, and the progress she had made. On the other hand, she felt ashamed and embarrassed for allowing herself to be tricked by the enemy.

Attribute

Score

Modifiers

Strength

8

+1

Dexterity

6

0

Constitution

11

-1

Intelligence

7

+1

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Wisdom

7

0

Charisma

7

+1

Luck

3

0

Aggregate Stats

HP: 1056

Stamina: 168

Mana: 98

Vitality: 38

Resistance: 26

Soul Storage

(Yin) Energy Core (I)

Skill Tokens (1)

Gear Tokens (1)

Attribute Points

Upgrade Points

Currency ($5,000 USD)

($200 USC)

Other

SKILLS

ABILITIES

SPELLS

Swordsmanship (I)

Heirloom Weapon Mastery

Spectral (Yin) Blade Storm

Footwork (I)

One With The Blade

(Yin) Sword Focus (I)

(Yin) Energy Shield

Soul Energy Expertise (I)

Class

Advanced Class

Mastery

(Yin) Swordswoman

Levels

2

Class Features

(Yin) Swordswoman

A student traveling the path of sword mastery who identifies as female and has a Yin Core

She’d managed to form a Yin Core almost by accident. She’d started practicing sword forms as a way to calm herself and make a choice about the level 5 quest, but something

had inspired her, and she’d followed it.

She’d become aware a few hours later outside her dorm room on base, with a Pers-e-Comm message from First Sergeant Cabral to report at what was being turned into QRF staging after getting any gear that she needed replaced at supply. There was also another message from base command to report to the river battlefield for body clearing and loot duty, but there’d been a follow up message canceling that.

Something about the bodies dissipating into smoke about 24 hours after the battle ended. Oddly enough the ones that’d already been put in body bags hadn’t gone through that same process, but that was way outside her pay grade, and not really something she cared to think about. She chalked it up to system magic and headed for supply.

CIF, or Central Issue Facility, commonly known as supply, was a huge warehouse building that seemed to have other, smaller, buildings tacked on as an afterthought. The idea was that most basic gear aside from mission specific gear like firearms or nods were all stored at CIF. When a new soldier arrived at a given unit, they would go through a gear issue, where they would receive a list of gear from the warehouse. If that gear were damaged or lost, there was a process to have it re-issued and replaced. Everything from backpacks and uniforms to luggage and helmets were stored at supply.

Since most members of Savage Company had passed out on an active battlefield, not much attention had been paid to any equipment they were carrying. It had all been left on the battlefield and either picked up by their replacements, or returned to supply by the personnel cleaning the site after the fact.

Unfortunately, these same soldiers would need equipment re-issued to them now that they were waking up and being sent back out as fast as possible. As a result, the whole process was basically being ignored, and the people who worked at CIF were basically being forced to just hand out gear left and right without any real accountability. It was a reality of having the base attacked, but none of the supply workers were happy about it.

The whole process was fascinating to Jennet, as the Chinese military operated a little differently when it came to equipment. Their process was much closer to how weapons and other sensitive, mission specific equipment was handled in the US Army. She endured the pissed off looks and snide comments that were made with a vague sense of separation. She was just following orders, and had never been through the process, as all her gear had been issued when she first joined Project Iron Man.

After receiving replacements for the necessary gear she needed right away, Jennet headed for the specified QRF staging area. She found herself growing more and more interested to hear what the First Sergeant had in the works. Knowing the stories everyone told, it would be something good.

The subject of First Sergeant Cabral had initially been a point of contention between her and her PLA superiors when she’d decided to stay with the SRGs after Project Iron Man. Cabral was a known entity for the PLA, and there was even a bounty on his head. He’d followed in his father’s footsteps, joining the US Army right out of high school towards the beginning of the end for PLA involvement in the Pacific Unification War. He’d quickly managed to become a thorn in the side of any force standing against the US.

His name first came to attention for the Chinese when he’d almost single-handedly turned what should have been a complete rout into a victory for the Americans. He’d refused to give ground, allowing the other Americans to regroup and flank. After that, Dirk’s name became more and more synonymous with Chinese losses that should have never been possible. His father had already been a known saboteur and American special forces operator, so when Cabral’s name grew popular enough to cross the desks of higher ranking PLA commanders, he’d inherited a bit of his father’s bad name. All this to say that anything the wily old bastard was planning would be high risk, high reward. And that’s exactly what Jennet Ming, on loan from the PLA, and temporary Sergeant First Class in the US Army, wanted to get her hands on.

As she walked towards the specified location, the organized chaos of a temporary TOC, or Tactical Operations Center, greeted her. Both light and heavy vehicles rolled past in an almost constant stream of traffic. Officers, NCOs, and lower enlisted personnel rushed around, seemingly almost headless of what anyone else was doing. A tarp had been set up over some benches with a table and large whiteboard at the front. Lighting hung from the tarp canopy, and a handful or two of soldiers stood around the table. Jennet recognized one or two from Savage Company, but mostly she focused on the First Sergeant, standing at the head of the table.

“Sergeant First Class Ming, good of you to join us. You are the last person I was waiting for before I start the briefing. I’ll give you the same option I gave the others. This is going to be a no-fail, high risk, high reward mission. This group has been hand picked by myself, the Captain, and base high command. In spite of that, we only want volunteers for this. Will you join in, or do you want to be re-assigned?” 1SG Cabral asked.

“Count me in First Sergeant. I can’t wait to see what we’ll be doing, and I wouldn’t miss something like this for the world.” Jennet replied.

“Good, I thought as much. Now find a spot around the table so you can see what we’re working with.” the First Sergeant ordered.