The ground shook as an armored Humvee sped by, the rumble of the path being all that filled the air. Riddled with bullet holes, dented with a ill-placed grenade, and stained with blood from their disastrous initial deployment. A man wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead, though the night was cool, they had just left a clusterfuck of an operation. A gash on his cheek reminding him of an extremely close call with one of the MCD's agents. Slowly cooling down, he pops his head back in from the shattered door window of their Humvee and rejoins a conversation with his squad.
"I fuckin' tell ya, that dude's grenade could not have been more horrific. Nearly took out one of our medics."
He notes down how one of their allies somehow dropped a live grenade and narrowly tossed it in the general direction of their enemy, only for it to land on the roof of their Humvee. He smirks, "Those Igneous speds really are something. How come we have to even work with those bastards anyways? We would've preformed much better on our own."
"You tell me, chief. You're our commander here."
"High command didn't tell me jack-shit about our new colleagues. Just told us to work with them."
"I swear, even move high command tries just screws us over in the end."
"I'm sure they have their reasons-" he pauses, realizing the dead silence and calming peace around them, "Did the convoy just stop?"
He sighs and reaches for his radio, "This is Storm-1 to Chariot-1, what's the hold up?"
"Err, we don't know, sir. Think we heard something ... pop? The Humvee just stopped dead in its tracks."
"God damn it, all units hold. We've got a disturbance."
Storm-1 dismounts their Humvee and steps into the cold climate that was the Canadian night. A chill goes up his spine as he paces towards the convoy's lead vehicle. His footsteps are muffled against the soft dirt and his rough breaths are the only thing audible to him. Passing one of their cargo trucks, he sees what seems to be a perfectly operational Humvee halted in their path.
"Oi! Oi! Out of the vic, the hell's going on?"
A short man dressed entirely in black gear and uniform hops out of the Humvee's front passenger seat and turns to face the squad leader, "Unsure, nothing seems to wrong in here."
"Well? Pop open the engine, then."
"Yes, sir."
The engineer steps over to the front of the Humvee and pops open its latch. Storm-1 follows suit and takes a glance at the vehicle's inner workings. Though he'd find nothing out of the ordinary or damaged within, of course that may have just been his utter lack of engineering knowledge shining through.
"Well, you're an engineer, aren't ya? Take a deeper look at it and fix it up."
"Uh, well. I don't think it's as simple as-"
"Then what are we paying you for? Get it fixed soon else our superiors are going to be pissed."
"Understood, sir."
"Christ, I'll be waiting in Chariot-3 until then."
Turning around he makes pace back to the Humvee he was travelling in. Stepping up to the vehicle's open door, he jumps into the somewhat warmer interior and shuts the door behind him, settling in for a break. But first he raises his hand to his radio and fidgets with it for a moment.
"This is Storm-1 to Eagle Eye, how copy?"
"Eagle Eye copies, send traffic."
"Some fuckery's going on in Chariot-1 and now we're going to be stalled for a few moments,"
"Get it over with hastily. Our client paid good money to retrieve this tech and he expects back at base by midnight. You better start pacing fast if you want your full cut."
"Understood, Storm-1 copies, over and out."
He sighs and turns off his radio's receiver, "Those Igneous commanders are some real assholes."
"They're a PMC, what'd you expect?"
Storm-1 doesn't reply, instead gazing out at the barren hills around him. A moment of calm and peace in a daily life of chaos and fire fight. It was a rare occurrence, but gladly savored by his squad. A moment he doesn't need to worry about being killed in a blue-on-blue incident involving several fresh recruits and 'advanced training' involving live grenades on the field. But of course, there was always a calm before the storm. As such he'd still remained somewhat alert in the Humvee. His right hand gripping a 50 cal revolver laying to his side, a trophy he'd found in a fairly recent warehouse raid.
"Damn, Storm. You're actually using that relic?"
"It's functional and it'll pierce any armor up close just fine."
"Eh? Just use your assault rifle." he glances at Storm's horrendous mess of a weapon, "You jury-rigged a fucking under barrel shotgun to it."
"Silence."
"Just sayin' if it works just fine for Canada's army-"
Storm-1 shrugs, "Gotta have some fun in your life."
His colleague raises an eyebrow at him, but lets the conversation go, leaving the two in silence. Storm-1 resumes his lazy gaze at the barren hills around him. His eyes begin to grow heavier as the attrition of travelling in a convoy for an entire day straight and his dulled senses from their recent engagement. What hurt could it do if he'd got a few moments of rest, they were going to be delayed for quite some time anyways, right?
He's brought back to attention as a voice crackles to life from his radio, "This is Architect-7 to Storm-1, you copy?"
"Storm-1 copies."
"Uh, sir? I believe we've found the problem here."
"Ah, finally. What is it this time? A busted tire from the road, poor quality parts from the mechanic teams?
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"Negative, sir. A bullet, sir."
"I'm sorry, what-"
As his eyes begin to pace around the 'barren' hills, he's blinded as a searing divine light strikes their Humvee. Knocked to the ground, his senses dulled as an overwhelming heat began to take hold. Gripping his assault rifle and the Humvee's door handle, he yanks hard and barely manages to swing the car door opening. He leaps out of the Humvee and looks back to see the engine now a raging inferno.
"Shit, Storm-1 to all call signs, engage, engage!"
"Agh, they're on the hills! Get to cover!"
Another panicked voice comes from over the radio, "Shit, shit! They got Architect-7, we need- AGH, I'm hit!"
"Get to cover and return fire!"
Peeking over cover he saw several muzzle flashes erupt from the hills. Raising his Colt C&, he fired several bursts at the flashes, but his aim would be shaky from his blurred senses. His rounds would either strike meters away from his target or fly far over into the flat fields behind the hills. Preparing to fire another burst, he notices out of the corner of his eye a small glint in the distance. It didn't dissipate and reappear as did the rapidly blinking muzzle flashes, but remained a bright white glare.
"What the-" a sudden realization strikes him, "Shit! Sniper!"
And so did a bullet into his head. Piercing through his skin and skull, lodging itself in his brain. He was a dead man long before he struck the ground.
SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER
"Greetings Crystal-1, I apologize for the sudden mobilization of your squadron, but we've encountered a golden opportunity. A few days ago we were alerted to the presence of an Igneous convoy moving through the Canada Prairies. Intelligence Agents have scouted ahead of the convoy and have encountered a sizeable supply depot belonging to the MCD, preparing to move out shortly, it seems. Your team is to intercept the Igneous convoy FOLLOWING their assault on the MCD depot and take those valuables for ourselves. You will be stationed a few kilometers away from the depot in a few of our transport helicopters. UAVs will scout the path they flee, we'll place you on an interception path then. Of course, the MCD could be a valuable and beneficial business partner in future. As such, you will be using unmarked vehicles and gear, good luck."
The shrubbery and grass was blown back as a helicopter began to descend down onto the Earth. Crystal-1 looked out of the porthole as he barely made out the green terrain in the distance, averting his eyes back to the bird's ramp, he readied himself for combat. Checking his magazines and ensuring his weaponry worked fine. A thud resonated through the aircraft as it touched down on the ground, Crystal-1 was the first to stand up as stepped towards the ramp.
"Alright, let us out of this bird, Daedalus-1."
"Gotcha'"
The ramp creaks as it lowers, a sign of wear and tear from several years of continuous operation with their 'Security Corporation'. Crystal-1 steps out as the ramp hits the surface with a thud, he looks around before turning towards a hill.
"Quickly, the Igneous Convoy shouldn't be too far out, we can't blunder now."
He watched as his fellow operatives filed out, several of which he'd grown familiar with over his career. One such agent stepped up to Crystal-1, a high caliber sniper rifle in their hands pointed towards the ground.
"That should be all of them. The other squads should be deploying close by."
He nods at Wraith-1, their resident sniper and reconnaissance unit, and begins a sprint towards the crest of the hill. The sounds of several footsteps illuminating the dead silent night. Though through the soft thuds of their feet, he picks up on the quiet sounds of a speeding vehicle in the distance.
"I hear their convoy drawing near. Get down and prepare to strike."
As he dropped to the ground, so did the rest of his team. Cresting over the hill, he looked out at the path and anticipated the upcoming storm. The hill laid silent as the wind, the operatives gripping their weapons tightly as they prepared for engagement. Circling his eyes around the path, he sees a faint glow of a headlight in the distance, tiny from afar but slowly growing larger. He waits for a few minutes as he begins to make out the figures of a few various armored vehicles and transport trucks.
"Wraith-1, take out the lead vehicle's engine. Prometheus units, standby with AT."
Wraith-1's breathing slowed as she steadied her sniper rifle. As the lead Humvee's hood came into her sniper sights, she pulled the trigger and sent a round flying into the vehicle. Crystal-1 grins as he sees the Humvee stop dead in its tracks, the rest of the convoy following suit.
"Standby for engagement orders."
He pulls out a pair of binoculars as he focuses on each vehicle, scanning for any valuable targets or packages. He focuses on a man with a beret slowly pacing around the immobilized Humvee, shortly before returning to the third vehicle in the convoy. He waits for a moment before he's satisfied with the opportunity.
"Agent with beret in third vehicle must be their commander, take him out and disorganize them. AT units, take out those Humvees, they're full of personnel. Engage when ready."
Armed with a FNFAL modified with a basic 4x magnification scope and a laser sight he haphazardly duct taped on, he raises his rifle and took aim at a Humvee, awaiting the fireworks to come. His grip firms as he hears a rocket launcher a few meters away from him fire. A Humvee in the distance is completely obliterated alongside any soldiers in it. He places his scope on the window of a vehicle and fires a few shots. They likely weren't going to hit anyone, but were sure to keep them pinned down.
"Commander down," he heard Wraith-1 mutter, following the destruction of a truck's car cab.
He remains calm as several shots fly several feet above him and impacting the ground around him. He continues to fire another few rounds, taking his time and striking a man in the chest. But he pauses as his vision was obstructed by a smoke screen.
"Gah, they're deploying smoke. Where are the other-"
He looks back out as more gun fire erupts from the opposite hill, swiftly gunning down multiple Igneous operatives. He pauses for a moment as more rockets strike the Humvees.
"Enough! Start moving in! Sharpshooters, sweep the area for any survivors."
"Understood."
He quickly rose up to a hunched position as he began rushing the convoy wreck. Sticking close to the ground and tall grass incase he would be fired upon, but no such retaliation came. He pauses as he sees a shadow emerging from the inferno of a car wreck, slowly shambling into view as he raised is rifle.
"You! Lay down your arms and come out with your hands raised."
The shadow halts for a moment before continuing its pace. He firms his grip on his rifle as his finger lays on the trigger. A shambling husk of a man stepped out of the wreckage, disarmed and covered in scorch mark. Before approaching, he quickly scans the area around him, determining it to be devoid or any major threats.
"Prometheus-2, cover me," he turns towards the injured operative, sidearm raised and taking note of his zipties, "No sudden movements, get on the ground and place your hands on your head."
The Igneous agent complies, "Please ... just ... get me out of here."
He ties together the operative's hands and kneels by him, "Right then, just cooperate with me and you'll live another day. What was your squad going after?"
"I- I don't know. We joined our forces with some other squad."
"Another squad? Who were these guys?"
"They,- he paused for a moment and took a breather, "They weren't anyone we were familiar with. They didn't have any insignias, callsigns didn't match up with anything."
"Are you suggested they weren't Igneous?"
"Affirm. They wiped out that depot with trivial ease."
"What did you find in that depot? What was so valuable that they mobilized an entire convoy to move?"
"Fucked if I know, we just found a bunch of lock boxes and crates. Shit's made of steel or something, couldn't breach it."
"Naturally," he took one final glance at the wreckage around him, "We're taking you in, you know too much to get away."
He stepped path the remains of a Humvee, various burning scraps stewn about from several rocket strikes. Stepping past the vehicle, he saw a cargo container rear into view, miraculously saved from brunt of their assault. He walked past the unmarked container and paced to its end, whereas he saw one of his colleagues standing with a crowbar.
"Aye, chief. Area's clear of hostiles."
"Understood," he reached for his radio, "Overwatch, this is Crystal-1, you copy?"
"Overwatch copies, was the ambush successful?"
"Affirmative, we've swept the area of hostiles and have detained a surviving Igneous operative. He claims that they might have been bolstered by another force."
"Hmm, noted. Finish up your work and get out of there quickly."
"Currently breaching open their cargo containers, send in our helicopters closer for exfil, Crystal-1 over and out."
Debrief
Operational Status: Success | Igneous convoy destroyed
Casualties: 0
Summary: Following Igneous' raid on the MCD Depot, Apochrosi operatives were successfully able to intercept and ambush the convoy. No casualties and minimal injuries have been reported within the initial strike. 1 Igneous operative taken prisoner. Multiple reinforced lock boxes and crates requisitioned.