Over the moonless sky, under the shadow of darkness. Three black helicopters flew over the Lydian Desert. The entirety of Disposal Unit 511 was tasked with a mission they were never trained for to appease a group of leaders who had no clue what to do with them. Turning monster hunters into regular boots on the ground soldiers was something neither of the agents was comfortable with, nor would the Generals of the Order Militant be expecting.
Except for one. Ryan was a former Texas National Guardsman, so participating in some sort of odd military operation wasn’t new to him. But he could tell his other teammates were used to this sort of operation, nor would they be keen to rely on night vision goggles for vision for the duration of their long operation.
Many of the agents agreed that they should drive to their location, not drop into the middle of nowhere from metal birds. To any member of the Disposal Unit, being without their signature armoured cars was akin to being naked and vulnerable in the Arctic wastes. Doing something that goes against their internal philosophy and highly personalised battle doctrines made to go against the horrors of humanity would be no different from committing ego death.
However, none of them can protest it. The world had changed, and the Order Horrifica had won the eternal war against the horrors that had plagued humanity since its inception. Most were proud knowing that they had achieved the impossible and that their Order could finally be put to rest, for it had followed through and achieved its directive. Yet at the same time, it was hard to put away what made them unique. Being in the Order Horrifica for so long made many veterans, doesn’t matter if they were Butterfly Legion operatives or agents of the Disposal Unit. All of them were proud of their identities, and many struggled to let go of it. Even if there is no longer a future for their kind. Their time was done, and they had to accept their eventual extinction.
But the biggest blow to their pride was the uniforms. It was inconsequential to change what they should wear for the mission. But even if their uniform had standards in place, they allowed the wearer flexibility in what they could or could not add. Gone were personal patches or modifications to their clothing. Now, they had to wear the dark blue uniforms of the Order Militant’s special task forces. The only silver lining in their dress code was that Ryan was allowed to wear his cowboy hat on missions. A saving grace to give him comfort in a dangerous world.
As the helicopter hovered just above the desert sand. A crewman threw out a fast-rope from the chopper for every unit member to slide down and hit the rocky surface below for rapid deployment. Their guns at the ready as they cover the entire area for potential threats while in the prone position. Though none of them were expecting to come across any humans, every member was required to carry live ammunition. As there might not be people, there will be wildlife that would pose a danger to anyone.
Ryan was the last to jump out of the helicopter, and the moment his boots slammed against Lydian rock. The crewman cut the rope from the helicopter and threw it down. Allowing the pilot to leave the area as soon as they arrived without facing any difficulties or waiting for the crewman to carefully hoist the fast-rope back up. Better to ditch than waste time.
When the three helicopters turned and left the area, allowing silence to return once more. Ryan stood to scan the area to confirm that his unit had safely landed. Feeling that everything was okay, he whistled to signal everyone to stand up and get ready to move to their mission designation. Something so easy a cadet could pull off blindfolded. At least, that was the theory at the time.
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Two minutes, not even two minutes, and they were already caught. Not by something dignified like an armed force, mercenary, or agencies that tried and failed to prove the existence of the Order in the past. Instead, approaching his unit were two goat herders with torches. None of them seemed worried about the group of armed soldiers that had landed in the desert or the fact that they were not wearing NACDF uniforms. Instead, they were both curious.
‘You, American?’ The oldest of them spoke in broken English when he noticed Ryan’s cowboy hat.
Ryan stuttered, unsure how to handle the situation. On one hand, his unit automatically failed the mission, and they would have to do the whole operation again. Meaning, another briefing, fast rope drill, and conducting the same thing all over again. It would be within doctrine to kill any witnesses and keep moving to preserve the secrecy of the Order from the wider world. On the other hand, Ryan was not eager to commit a war crime.
‘Yes, American but working for the UN,’ Ryan responded, not even bothering with his Texan accent. ‘We are just doing a training exercise with the NAC government and the defence force. It is top secret, however.’
The goat herders turned to each other and said something, though Ryan wasn’t sure what they said; he could tell that those two were not convinced. Then it hit Ryan how little sense it made for UN forces to conduct military exercises with a nation’s military when they should be the ones keeping the peace.
Thinking on his feet, Ryan went over and kicked the rope he had sailed down from. ‘You can keep this. A good piece of rope that still has plenty of use left in it. All I ask is that you two keep silent about our encounter.’
They examined the massive piece of rope, too heavy for either of them to carry on their own. But something that could be useful or even valuable to sell. ‘Sure, we’ll take it.’ The oldest said nonchalantly, like it wasn’t their first time accidentally spoiling a secret military operation and getting something out of it.
‘Awesome, and you’ll keep quiet?’
The two men spoke Arabic to each other, feigning ignorance and pretending that they didn’t hear Ryan while they tried carrying the rope to the bulk of their herd. Sealing the deal while letting Ryan and his team be happy with the thought that no other soul would know of their existence.
With an annoyed grumble, Ryan gestured for everyone in his unit to get in formation as he led the front with a compass and map at the ready. The briefing stated the mission was only meant to last for a day, but he knew deep down that it would feel like a really long one. Ryan just wished that he could get to his objective as soon as possible. And in the end, hopefully explain to HQ why the mission was a success despite being caught.
