Stepping into the gun range, Crystal-1 was greeted by the deafening sound of several pistols being unloaded down range. Grabbing some ear protection from a hook, he walks past the several firing booths, noting down some of the cadet's questionable armament choices.
"Who the fuck tries to one hand a 50. cal?"
Trying wield a handheld cannon for general day-to-day use probably wasn't too practical of an idea. Of course, when your general day-to-day involves being shot at by armored militants and vehicles, it doesn't seem like a bad idea to pack some heavier firepower. Just don't break your shoulder. Pacing past the firing range, his eyes are greeted by a mix of various open rooms, barricades, and targets beneath the railing. It was their facility's live-training course, where their cadets could test and sharpen their reflexes and marksmanship.
"Hey chief, looking for another go?"
To his left he heard Wraith call out to him. She stood overlooking the course from an elevated path, ensuring the newbies don't somehow break tens of thousands worth of complicated machinery.
"No, no. Just checking in with thing is all-"
"Prometheus broke your record yesterday, you're just going to let him take your throne?"
Crystal sighs as he looks at a table by him, scanning each pistol laid before him, "Oh that sly fucker, I'll show em' how a real professional does this shit."
"Hm, understandable. Course is ready for another run through."
He grabs a duo of flashbangs and grenades as he slides a magazine in his pistol, grabbing two others for the entire length of the course. Turning a corner, he halts and raises a pistol, making himself ready to take back his record. A target pops up.
"Time begins when you take down that first target, good luck."
Less than a second after Wraith finishes up her instructions, he fires a round precisely into the target's head, beginning the timer and his sprint.
"Incoming hostiles, take em' out!"
The first group of targets pop up behind several concrete and sheet metal barricades. He quickly waves his pistol over each cardboard figure, pulling the trigger as it passes over them.
"Watch the windows!"
Several silhouettes rise from the windows of the two story building front ahead. Normally a blurry figure from where'd he stand, an entire year's worth of competition in the fire course and field experience has trained his eye to spot even the slightest change. He raises his pistol and fires at three separate windows, satisfied, he sprints to the construction's door way.
"Clear the entrance!"
From within the building's interior, he hears the mechanisms of several more targets rising. Rushing to the doorway's side, he fires once at a visible target to his side. He pulls the trigger once again at a target directly in front of the door way. Dashing inside, he dispatches a close by target somewhat concealed behind a pushed over table. He takes a moment to shoot a target on his other flank, all the way at the other end of the room.
"Clear the second floor, get a grenade up there!"
Rushing half way up the stairs, he reaches for a fragmentation grenade and pulls its pin. Reaching his arm back, he swings it up into the second floor and tosses the grenade. Of course, using actual live grenades would be an absolutely horrible idea in ANY indoors training courses, as such Crystal is satisfied with his work as he hears the sound effect of an explosive playing. He sprints towards the next room as he leaps down the flight of stairs.
"Uh, questionable time save but alright. I mean- *ahem* Breach that next room, get a flashbang in there!"
He reaches for another magazine as the pistol's empty magazine drops to the ground, racking back the slide and reaching for a flashbang. Pulling another pin, he tosses the flashbang into the next room from the side of the doorway. A bright flash illuminates the room for a moment as a high pitch ring could be heard. Rushing in he quickly takes out three other targets, and another one hiding behind a cabinet.
"MG in the next room, keep him pinned down and get to cover!"
Kicking down the next door, he immediately collapses to a crawl as the sounds of multiple plastic bearings fly over him. Hastily making pace towards another knocked over table, he raises only his hand and pistol out of cover and blindly fires at the machine gun. As it stops firing, he quickly rises and fires two rounds into a target.
"Good work- Behind you! Melee!"
Grabbing a knife with his left hand, he swings the blade into a cardboard target that had suddenly emerged from behind him.
"Close one, get to the exit and evac!"
Bashing open the final door, he's greeted by a technical armed with a powerful machinegun.
"Technical! Get a grenade at it!"
He reaches for his final fragmentation grenade and pulls its pin, tossing it at the technical' s direction. Hearing an explosion, he starting maneuvering out with his pistol raised, downing three targets near the vehicle.
"Snipers in the foliage, take em out before they fire."
He had 20 seconds to locate two camouflaged targets hidden anywhere in the bushes and trees flanking him. A test of keenness and marksmanship for most cadets, but a simple pause for Crystal. He fires twice, one hitting a target relatively close and another at the other end of the room.
"Daedalus-1 has touched down, sprint!"
Crystal begins a full sprint, rushing past the technical and leaping over a line of barricades blocking his way. His legs slamming against the dirt ground, he turns a corner and spots a cut out of a helicopter in the distance, and more importantly a finish line. With the potential of a few milliseconds costing him the run or earning back his record, he fully exerts himself as he sprints down the course. His heart beating heavy, he stops as his foot crossed the line."
"And that's time!"
"Whew," He pauses for a moment before beginning to pace towards their starting point, unloading the pistol's magazine and racking back its slide as he places the pistol down for another to use. "So, how'd I do."
"Mhm, you did excellent back there. But unfortunately not excellent enough to take the record, you were less than half a second behind."
"Fuckin' hell, that's disappointing."
"Ah, but you're close, aren't you? You might take back the record if you give it another go."
"Nah, I was just supposed to check in on something, guess I got sidetracked."
"Check in? What are you looking for?"
"Nothing much, just wondering if you'd be ready for another operation."
One Day Later
"Greetings Crystal-1, your mission is simple, overseeing the safe facilitating of resources between us and a client. We've found a buyer for some of anomalous tech we requisitioned from the Igneous convoy and plan to conduct the exchange today. Due to the questionable legality of this operation and the chance of an ambush or trap, you'll be acting as an armed escort for Archarios team, who will be contacting the client. Good luck."
His hands fidgeted nervously as his eyes paced the streets around him. He inspected his silenced pistol thoroughly once more, trying anything to keep his mind calm and his heart steady.
"Why the hell are they sending US of all people for this?" He muttered.
He turned to his side whereas a similarly dressed agent sat, "Archarios-4, relax. It's just a simple business deal. We'll be out in public, no one would risk ambushing us."
He rebutted, "Didn't we steal this tech from Igneous? Imagine what they could do to us."
"Well, deal with it. We're nearing the alley anyways, you'll head out and speak with him."
Looking back up, he saw a dry cleaning establishment and convivence store slowly becoming apparent to them. The alley between the two buildings would be where the client was waiting for them, and where they would trade off the MCD technologies. As the sign of the convivence store becomes legible, he puts on a jacket and conceals his lower face with a skull bandana, holstering his silenced pistol within the jacket's inner pockets.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"Have I ever told you how you look like a gang member?"
"Quit the jokes, we've got a deal to make."
"You're no fun." Following the remark, he opens the car door and steps foot out to the chilly Canadian climate. He looks back to see Archarios-3 standing by the car's trunk, ready to grab their side of the deal if things go right. Archarios-3 nods at him as he begins pace towards the alley. Inside of which his eyes were first greeted by a hooded figure who raises his head to glare at him. A phrase comes to Archarios-4's mind, a challenge phrase to verify if they've met the right person.
"My, my. We're certainly having some bad weather right now, wouldn't an amiable fellow as yourself agree?"
The figure shifts for a moment before chuckling, "Specter's always enjoyed making you cadets look idiotic, doesn't he?"
"I believe I don't believe I understand what you're saying-"
"Your cash and and materials are in those two briefcases," he motions to two briefcases sitting by him, "Verify them if you want and bring me my tech."
Archarios-4 was take aback for a moment before continuing the exchange. Opening one briefcase he found it to be filled with Canadian and U.S currency of varying amounts. Closing it and putting it down, he grabs another briefcase and finds to be stuffed with ancient papers and crystals. The text incomprehensible and the crystals razor sharp. He nods at the figure.
Stepping back out he waves at Archarios-3, "3! Bring it over!"
"Alright."
He watched as his colleague lifted out a wooden box. It appeared to be somewhat heavy as Archarios-3 was pacing slowly and struggled to lift it out of the trunk for a moment.
"Thanks for coming through, chief."
As he turns back he sees their client staring at something beyond the cadet.
"What the-" his eyes widen, "Get down!"
Archarios-4 quickly turns around to see a muzzle flash from a building opposite of them. A sharp pain runs through his body.
"Gah, get to cover-"
He would not finish his sentence as another bullet struck him in his head, piercing his skull and lodging itself in his brain.
Ten Minutes Earlier: Apochrosi Squad
"Any visuals on the target?"
"Negative," Wraith-1's came from his left, whereas she sat in the driver's seat.
He sighs, "Where the hell are they? They should've been here minutes earlier."
Crystal's eyes scanned each passing vehicle, slowly becoming concerned as time went on. He knew this would be a sensitive mission as they would be operating in a public space. Working without any armor or air support and under the threat of being ambushed in any building or having their PMC compromised. Another worry would be his inexperience in urban warfare compared to his skillsets in the wilderness and facilities. Looking around for any pedestrians, he opens up their glovebox and takes out a silenced pistol, loading it with a fresh magazine. A weapon that could maintain some form of discreetness should things go south, placing it in a concealed holster, he also notes their automatics they have stashed away in their Toyota's trunk.
"You're getting jumpy," Wraith commented upon seeing her colleague prepare himself for engagement.
"You're one to talk, you nearly had a heart attack when you saw a deer in the road that other day."
" * sigh* Meh, just means we'll both live longer."
"Sure, buddy," looking back out he sees a gray vehicle with a false number plate, "Hold up, there's Archarios squad. Starting trailing them."
"Got it."
A few minutes would pass as they follow Archarios' vehicle across a long stretch of road.
"Let's see, they should be turning about now aaaaand- Bingo."
Crystal watched as they turned to follow the gray vehicle, entering a narrow street with two lanes.
"Pause here, I'll get out and get closer."
Wraith-1 nods and takes the Toyota closer to the curb, but not putting the car into park as they remain ready to respond. Crystal takes on a coat and pulls up a scarf, covering his face with an inconspicuous pair of sunglasses. Stepping out of the vehicle, he turns to address his two colleagues again.
"If things go south, one of you dismount and provide us some covering fire, the other brings the car here. You are free to engage any hostiles."
"Affirmative."
Nodding, he starts pacing towards the convivence store, keeping a keen eye on the agents ahead of them. Two men dismount as one heads into an alley between the two establishment, the other standing by the car's trunk. As he sees Archarios-3 turning his head towards him, he pulls out a cellphone and takes a seat on a bench only three buildings down from the convivence store.
"Seems to be going smoothly." Crystal mutters to himself.
Looking back, he's brought to full attention as he hears a sharp noise ring out through the entire street, he spots a muzzle flash in a building opposite of Archarios' vehicle. Instinctively, he grabs for his silenced pistol and starts sprint for cover. Switching radio channels, he reaches out to Archarios squad to avoid another blue on blue incident.
"This is Crystal-1 to Archarios squad, friendly squadron moving in from your left, hold out and keep those packages secure!"
Raising his pistol, he fires multiple rounds at the window of which he saw muzzle flashes come from. Behind him an assault rifle rings out as Specter provides them both covering fire. Taking the opportunity, he rushes closer to the group of cadets, holding behind cover a car adjacent to the cadet's gray vehicle.
"W-who the hell are you guys?"
Crystal turns to face Archarios-3, who was cowering behind cover with their to the side.
"Crystal-1, Apochrosi squadron, we were dispatched to track you in case *this* happens. Just ensure we keep hold of that MCD tech."
He glances back out to see a vague silhouette in a window, quickly ducking as the sounds of multiple bullets metal startle him. As another burst from Specter's assault rifles rings out, he rises out of cover once more to take a precise shot at the figure. Scanning the windows, he sees a glimpse of an operative suppressed and taking cover. He lowers himself as to cover more of his body and waits for the figure to emerge. As Specter's fire falters and he begins to load another magazine, Crystal eyes narrow in as the figure starts shifting. His fingers strikes the triggers multiple times as the silhouette crosses into his iron sights, it collapses quickly.
"Wraith, get the car over here!" he turns to the cadet, who had grabbed both briefcases and package during Specter's bursts, "Toss them into the car, we're getting out of here."
As he finishes addressing Archarios-3, his eyes look past the cadet and catches sight of another vehicle drifting into their street. He ducks as multiple gun shots ring out from the unmarked sedan and attempts to return fire at the speeding car.
"Wraith, evasive maneuvers-"
The sounds of metal crashing against metal could be heard ringing out through the entire block as the two vehicles collide.
"This is Crystal-1 to overwatch, we've been ambushed. An Archarios unit and our client is KIA, they just crashed a fucking car into our vehicle!"
"Get your team and package out of there. We don't have any agents or resources in the area to assist, you're on your own."
" *sigh* God damn it, understood," he turns back to Specter and sees the results of the car crash. To his relief, there was minimal damage to the interior of their vehicle. Though much more concerning was Wraith's well being, "Specter! Get Wraith out of there!"
Turning back to face the collision sight, he leans out and unloads his entire magazine into windows of the crash sedan. His shots are deadly and strikes two agents close to him, he watches as the other two on the opposite side of the vehicle dismount and take cover. He grabs another magazine and gracefully slides it into his pistol and racks back its slide. Pausing for a moment he leans out of cover once more and aims at the edge of the vehicle. But he's taken by surprise as an agent leaps from cover and fires a burst at Crystal. A sharp pain rips through his arm as he ducks back into cover. Despite having been shot, he hastily rises out of cover and unloads half of his magazine into the operative now lying on the ground.
"Crystal-1, injured. Get the car started and get over here!"
"Negative, driver's dead."
"Drag him out and start the car!"
Checking his arm, he sees a somewhat dark red stain slowly growing larger. Thinking quickly he takes off his scarf and begins to tie it around his wound, intending to use it as a makeshift tourniquet. It probably wouldn't stop the bleeding, it should keep him steady until he could get medical aid. Archarios fires a duo of shots above his head towards the wreck site. Pulling on the scarf one final time, he's satisfied with his work and leans back out, but is greeted by silence as a hostile's body hits the ground.
"Good work."
Scanning the area, he determines it to be clear and rushes towards Wraith and Specter. He passes the two and stops by their car wreck, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a matchbox. Striking a match, he looks around for a moment until finding an opening into their car's engine. He tosses the match in and leaves the car to burn with hopes of destroying any traces or evidence. Not before grabbing his FN FAL back, of course. Turning back he runs up to Wraith's side and helps her pace back to the Archarios' vehicle.
"Shit, that looked like a nasty wreck. Do you have any injuries, are you good to walk?"
"A-aye, yeah. Guh, feels like my ribs are broken."
"We'll get you back to med bay, but we've got to get out of this clusterfuck first.
"You two! Make room for Wraith. Specter, you're driving."
"I can still drive-"
"They crashed a car into you and I was shot. I do not trust either of us to operate a motor vehicle."
"Fine."
As Wraith slumps into the passenger seat, Crystal quickly hurried to the front passenger seat and hopped in.
"Alright, back the way we came, let's head out."
Specter nods and starts accelerating out of the war zone. Loading his pistol with another magazine and placing in the glovebox, he also covers his tourniquet with his jacket as to remain covert.
"Gear off and hide your guns, law enforcement might be rearing around here."
As Crystal hides the last of his gear and their questionably legal briefcases and package, he begins to settle down as his eyes begin to drift. Though it is here that he would notice an odd phenomena in the distance. A speeding vehicle that doesn't seem to be aligned with the street's markings.
"Does that car look like it's at ramming speed or is it just me- SHIT, SWERVE!"
Specter yanks the steering wheel right as they temporally went off-road for a moment before stabilizing again. Looking through the side mirror, Crystal could see the speeding vehicle turning to pursue them.
"Agh, we've still got company. Engage, engage!"
Wraith quickly snatches an SMG from her side as Archarios-3 unholsters their pistol, rolling down their windows, they look back and open fire on the chasing vehicle. The more inexperienced of the two blindly unloading an entire magazine.
"Think I got their driver." Wraith looked back and had her suspicions confirmed as they car slowly decelerated to a halt.
Crystal-1 sighs and reaches for his radio. "Crystal-1 to overwatch, ya hear us?"
"Overwatch copies."
"Package and payment is secure. 1 operative KIA and 2 injured. We're currently headed back to base."
"Understood, over and out."
Mission Debrief
Operation Status: Success | Payment secure, Package remains in our hands
Casualties: 2 | Archarios-4, Client-AM7
Summary: Archarios and Apochrosi were dispatched for the exchange of a package of MCD technologies for a sizeable amount of currency and materials. Archarios squad was intercepted and ambushed by unknown forces at the site of deal, most likely unaligned with Client-AM7. Apochrosi squadron moved in to support and engaged in a fire fight, resulting in the deaths of one operatives and injuries of two operatives and loss of a civilian vehicle.
"It appears we're slowly stepping foot into a world unlike we've seen before in our military and civilian lives. We face foes with vast resources, tactics, armaments, and motivations we've never encountered before. We must make our moves quickly and decisively, secure more connections in this new world and solidify our influence to remain sizable foe and ally. I believe negotiations and deals with the MCD may be a good starting point." - Crystal-1, Apochrosi Squad Leader