Recon One: The Phantom Ghosts

[Aedion]

[BCOLOR=#999999]It was a different time, a different enemy. Sixty men, from Tier One teams, were sent to face down a force of five hundred enemy fighters. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#999999]Their objective: to force the enemy back from a civilian hospital, and keep its occupants alive. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#999999]For three days, they held their ground, but the enemy's numbers were too great. The sixty were cut down to fifteen. They wouldn't last another night, and the enemy knew it. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#999999]Under the cover of darkness, they evacuated the hospital, sending only one of their own to lead the way. The rest returned to the line, and took up positions beneath the bodies of their fallen brothers. As they lay in wait,the blood from the dead poured over them. The sand stuck to their skin like a shroud. Changing them. Anointing them. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#999999]When the enemy drew near, the remaining fourteen rose out of the desert sand. They were like hunters that couldn't be seen, using stealth their enemies couldn't defend against. When the men ran dry of ammunition, they used their blades...and when the blades ran dull, they used their hands. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#999999]When the dust and sand had settled, only one of the enemy had survived. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#999999]He was picked up in the desert, wandering aimlessly, traumatized. He expressed warnings to others of a force so menacing and unbeatable, it could only be described as supernatural. He called them...[/BCOLOR]

"Ghosts".

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"Zulu 10-1 from Zulu base, you are cleared to engage."

"Copy that, Zulu Base. We are en route. ETA, two mikes. Zulu 10-1, out." Ghost looks at the rest of the guys in his five man recon team. They had been on this mission for over 72 hours, and finally the guy they were sent to eliminate was in sight. "Bali, get a bead on that sand-nigger. Blow his head off."

"Yes, sir." Bali looks through the scope of his rifle. He turns back to Ghost. "Sir, we have a problem."

"What is it?"

Bali hands him binoculars. "Take a look."

"Oh shit." In the compound where their target was hiding, were 200 radical troops. "That is not good."

"Incoming!" The words barely register in his ears as the RPG blows them off the roof.

Ghost lands on his back in an alley with a thud. "Ah, fuck." He gets on the comm. "Zulu Team, do you copy? Come in, Zulu Team!" Nothing but static answers him, but he hears a moan from farther down the street.

He pulls out his sidearm and stalks closer. He gets right on top of the man before he recognizes him. "Bali!"

"That sucked worse than the devil's balls, huh chief?"

"Hang in there, Bali. We'll get you out. This op is compromised." He goes to get on the comm to Zulu Base, but Bali stops him.

"Comms are down hard. There is no help coming. Get to the LZ. Before they went, I listened to our guys die. You are the last. Take my rifle. Don't let those bastards use it to kill American troops."

"Damn it, Nathan! Don't you die on me!" The light fades from Nathan Balisong's eyes.

Ghost climbs to the roof of a nearby house and activates his emergency beacon. In the distance, he hears the rotors of a chopper.

On that day, there were no survivors of Zulu Team, Seal Team 5. The one body that was recovered was altered drastically. Luke Romanov, Nathan Balisong, Levi Merrick, Marcus Brown, and Eric Montgomery were KIA in an RPG attack while eliminating a key Taliban leader in Baghdad. Only the body of Team Leader Romanov was recovered.

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Luke slowly gets off the cot and washes his face. Since that day, he's never been the same. The old Luke Romanov died that day, and was reborn into the man looking in the mirror.

He is the Angel of Death, the Terror of Baghdad. He is Luke Romanov. He is ......

Ghost.

 

[DJae Writer Chick]

Camille shifted uncomfortably on her spot as she waited. They were sitting, just sitting while they waited to rendezvous with another team. The other team with the legendary Ghost Cam had heard about since this whole mission started, was to meet with the only survivor of the recent attacks, an elderly man who had survived two attacks by hiding in the bathrooms.
Currently, her teammates were chatting in a circle in the abandoned café they waited in. She, however, stood hidden in the shadows at the door. They were supposed to be in an evacuated area... So why did she get the feeling they were being watched. She shifted again, looking back at her team, then forwards again. When was the other team supposed to be here again?...

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"Sir, I'm quite thirsty... Is there any way I could get some water..?" An old man, about 89, asked the SEAL Team man standing guard beside him. The soldier handed him a small jug and the man took a sip. "Thank you sir.." He said as he slowly screwed it back. He'd met with one SEAL team an hour ago, and now waited in an empty Café to meet up with a second team who was supposed to interview him about what happened. He sighed and sat back in the chair, letting his eyes close.. Maybe he could take a nap as he waited....

 

[Aedion]

"Hawk, take overwatch across the street on the roof of that apartment building. Ramirez, in the doorway. Parke, Stauffer, on me." Ghost walks up to the door of the cafe, and whistles a four note tune. When he hears the same tune back, Him and his two teammates rush in.

His face completely covered by the skull mask, he looks at the seven people in the room, the six SEAL's and the old man. "Fire Team Leader Ghost. You the Team we're supposed to meet?"

 

[DJae Writer Chick]

Cam didn't move from her position.

The SEAL beside the man nodded. "Yes sir. Ace, Leader Team Dusk."

The other four straightened up and faced the arriving team. It was now that Cam, not very willingly, turned away from the door and walked to her team, standing at their side and glancing over the other team. Her stance was calm, her uneasy expression hidden behind the breathable mask she wore to keep sand and dirt out of her face, as well as keep her face from going numb when it got cold.

Ace spoke again. "This here's Alejandro.. We haven't got much from him." He sighed. "Just some mumbled about suits." Ace motioned at his team to scout the perimeter with a simple circular motion of his hand. The four split into two patrols, one going out the front, the other out the back, and Cam moved upstairs. This left Ace and the Fire Team with the man. All the while, Cam still had a bad feeling about all this..

 

[Aedion]

Ghost calls in on his comm to Hawk. "Keep your eyes peeled. All of you. I don't like this. It's too quiet."

He turns to the old man. "Tell me what you know. I'm only gonna ask nicely once."

 

[DJae Writer Chick]

"Yes sir.." The man shifted a little, "as I was trying to explain to these young men, these.. Terrorists seem to be very organized. They wear these black suits, even black shirts, and red ties as red as blood.." He coughed a little, "At least, they have at these attacks. And they look like normal people, but if you see more than two, you're doomed, because it is most likely them." The man sat back. "I was walking into the airport the first time. I saw some men talking, all wearing that suit and tie. I was minding my own business, off to the men's room when suddenly an explosion ripped the entire lobby apart! I was glad that door shut behind me, or I'd most likely be gone on by now. The second time I was at that subway station and, coincidentally I needed a visit to the men's room when another explosion! The train that had just come in.. There was that group of men in black suits and red ties, then nothing. Scars and fire and dead bodies.." He shuddered.

Ace's com suddenly buzzed to life.
"Ace, come in, this is Dusty. We've got a stray dog."
Ace shifted, taking a step back. "Okay, just keep an eye on it."

Cam quickly moved to get a sight on the dog. "Eyes on." She said calmly as she watched Dusty and his partner continue on. Sure enough, there was a stray Labrador just sitting in the middle of the street. Hmm...

Ace glanced at Ghost and the man, confident in his team and not worried, but slightly uneasy. A dog? They hadn't seen any dog on the way in.. It was strange, but not exactly calling a full on panic.

The man was quiet now, just staring at the door. He looked as if he was somewhat distracted, thinking about something that seemed to upset him some.

Cam examined the dog closely. It was wearing a collar, but she couldn't see the tag on it.

 

[Aedion]

"Hawk, Ramirez, get a bead on that thing. I don't know where it came from, but we saw no dog." He turns to Ace. "I don't trust this guy. There are too many coincidences. I don't like it. He was in the exact place that the bombs went off, and happened to be in the restroom when they blew? I don't buy it."

 

[DJae Writer Chick]

Ace looked down at the man as he nodded and Ghost.

Cam spoke. "Ace, dog's flashing." She reported the moment she noticed it. The collar had a blinking light, and she watched it closely. It was a very faint red light. Why was the collar blinking?A bomb? A camera? Cam felt more unsteasy.. Where did this thing come from.

"Understood. Hold your fire currently. We're done with the witness, patrols, report."

Dust came in from the front with his partner. "We didn't see anything but that dog.." He reported to Ace, his partner looking around cautiously before settling his gaze on Ghost.

"Same." One of the others said as the second pair returned from the back. They'd crossed paths several times and circled the building a few times, but nothing unusual was out there but that weird dog as far as they could see.

Cam spoke again. "I've got movement!" She said into the com as she ducked behind a vent, hiding herself, but still watching the shadow through her scope. "East, appears unarmed with binoculars." She reported calmly.

Ace shifted uneasily. He looked at the man. "You know anything about this?"

The 89 year old, now looking thouroughly scared, shook his head.

 

[Aedion]

"Hawk, can you get a bead on the dog's collar?"

"Affirmative....It looks like a camera. Hi-Resolution video."

"Can you take it out without harming the dog?"

"Affirmative...." Ghost hears a puff of air, and the sound of something breaking. "Camera down hard."

"Ramirez, see if you can get the vid-data off that cam. Hawk, get eyes on that SEAL from Dusk Team. I don't know what is going on here, but I don't want to lose any people." He tenses.

"Wilco.... Looks like a man. He's watching the cafe with a lot of interest..... raising a phone his ear....." Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a blinking light in the bottom corner of the cafe window. Shit!! "Sir! Get out of there now!"

Parke and Stauffer rush from the cafe. Ghost grabs Ace and shoves him through the door. Just as he rushes through, the cafe explodes, throwing him into the building across the street. Gunfire rings out.

 

[DJae Writer Chick]

Ace glanced around quickly after the explosion, hidden behind a wall, he tried to find out where the gunfire came from. "Dusk, check in!"

"Dusty, I'm good."
"Halo, Chip's got a beam on his foot and his com is smashed, but he's good."
"Eagle's clean, got eyes on a gunner."

"Take him out. Cam, do you read?" Ace said, his eyes darting back to the building. There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence..

"I hear you Ace." Cam coughed slightly as she got up. "The dog-"

"We know. Can you get to a high point?" Ace glanced at Ghost.

"Already there. You've got a gunner in the building in front of you, I can't get a good shot." Cam responded quietly.

"Got it." Ace looked at Ghost to see what his plans were. This was unexpected by his team..

 

[Aedion]

Ghost looks at Ace. "Switch to frequency 3." He gets up and groans. On his HUM, he sees multiple red dots from satellites.

"All Teams. Converge on the cafe. We lost our guy, but have multiple tangos inbound. Eagle, get on the roof with Hawk. Everyone else, take up defensive positions. I'm calling in evac!"

He crouches behind s chunk of the wall, still steaming from the heat of the explosion in the cool morning air.

 

[DJae Writer Chick]

Cam scopes out two men approaching the teams and shot them, one between the eyes, the other in the ear.

Eagle quickly does as Ghost tell him to, climbing to the roof and setting up beside Hawk.

Dusty and Halo came over, Dusty providing cover fire, Halo helping Chip, who's foot was badly mangled. "Ace!" Dusty called as he hurried over. "Chip can't walk on his own, but he can still fire." He said as he ducked down beside him.

Ace nodded. He glanced up at the building to their right, where Cam was. "What can you see Cam?" he said as he peeked around the rock, spotting the man she couldn't shoot. He had a turrent mounted on the balcony..

"Most of them are ducking out of sight into doorways, but I've dropped two." Cam reported calmly. "I think they're setting up an RPG on the-" She suddenly got quiet a moment, "nevermind, got him. "It looks like they're trying to corner us."

Ace nodded slightly, glancing over to Chip and Halo. Chip was prone, firing from around the corner of a wall piece while Halo was firing over.

 

[Aedion]

Ghost smiles at Ace. "Hawk. Launch Doc."

"Are you sure? We only have him. There are no others."

"Do it."

"Yes sir."

 

[DJae Writer Chick]

"Doc?" Ace questioned as he looked over at Ghost.

Cam shifted, ducking as the turrent man turned his aim to her. She kept her head down, gritting her teeth as concrete dust sprayed in the air. She was glad she wore the mask she did.

Eagle looked to Hawk curiously after hearing Ghost's orders. What was Doc?

Chip noticed the turrent's different aim and tried taking out the gunner, but was unsuccessful at his angle, returning his attention to the men popping in and out of doorways.

 

[Aedion]

Ghost looks at Ace and grins wickedly. "You'll see."

"Doc deployed."

Over the edge of the building, a drone zips down and flies low. It is an four rotor drone, the first of the new combat drones, the RX8 Quad-Jumper Doctor, or Doc for short.

Made of a lightweight aluminum, it fires needles of radioactive nanomite fluid that injects itself into organic tissue, leaving nothing but a puddle of green, steaming jelly.

Hawk guides Doc, flying it low and zooming at the turret man that was hampering Cam. The man fires wildly, but the bullets fly way off. Zooming low, Doc fires.

The needle barely grazes the man's cheek, but it's enough. The nanomites start eating him from the inside out. His scream is short lived as his body dissolves.

Doc flies around making short work of the rest of the enemies.

Rotors thump in the distance.

 

[DJae Writer Chick]

Cam pauses a moment as she notices the bullets have stopped. She peers over the edge and, seeing she was clear, she scoped the area.

Eagle watched Hawk set the whole thing up with amazement, eyes bright and curious.

"Wow... That's cool." Ace said quietly, his eyes following the drone the moment it came into sight until it was out of sight. He looked at Ghost. "That was awesome." He smirked.

Chip stopped firing after the drone took out the turrent, his head resting lightly on the ground. Though a simple gesture, Halo and Dusty were worried as they helped him sit up, getting him to snap back to alertness.
"Don't you try going anywhere on me." Dusty growled, lightly punching his shoulder. Chip rolled his eyes slightly.

"I won't.."
He was getting weak from the trauma in his leg and, though they'd wrapped it up fairly secure, he was still loosing quite a bit of blood.

Cam stood ever so slowly, each step silent and cautious as she made her way around the room slowly and steadily. "It looks secure.." She said in a slightly unsure voice. "I can't spot movement."

Ace glanced up a moment. "Come on down and join the team Cam." He said quietly.

Cam scanned the roof, finding a nearby ladder, she climbed down. Quickly rejoining the group, she stood by Ace, still looking around for any signs of movement. She saw Chip and paused a moment, watching Halo and Dusty rewrap his ankle with fresh gauze, this time a little better, before looking around again.

 

[Aedion]

Ghost walks over to the wounded man from Dusk Team. "I know you're not on my team, but do you mind if I fix your leg? I might be the leader of Fire Team, but I'm also a medic." He crouches down. "It looks like you got hit in the femoral vein. Not immediately life-threatening, but can easily become so."

"Sir."

"Yes, Ramirez?"

"Evac is six mikes out. They are seeing no hostiles on scanners."

"Thank you, Ramirez." He turns to the rest of the group after finishing on Chip. "Everyone listen up! Evac is six mikes out. Chip is stable, but will need proper medical attention. When we are picked up, and get back to base, everyone save for Chip will head to the TOC for debriefing. Clear? Hooah!"

 

[DJae Writer Chick]

Chip looked up at Ghost and nodded, quiet. Dusty and Halo stayed close, watching.

Cam looked at Ace, who nodded. "Got it."
Cam glanced around cautiously, shifting and adjusting her hold on her rifle. She looked to Ghost. "Let's not get too comfy yet." She said quietly, still cautious.

Ace patter her shoulder and walked over to Ghost, kneeling down and looking at Chip, who just gave him a weak thumbs up.

 

[Aedion]

"Evac cold! Evac cold!"

"Alright everyone! Let's move!" The Teams run for the chopper, Ghost covering them as they go.

As he sits, legs dangling over the side of the helo, he looks down at the carnage and sees something puzzling. A human figure, dressed in a black suit, with a red shirt and black tie. Then, they were gone.

"Cam, did you see that?"

 

[DJae Writer Chick]

Cam moved quickly in the back, covering anything that might be a surprise attack from behind them. Halo carried Chip on his back. When they reached the evac, most of the team relaxed, thinking they were home free.

Cam saw movement from the corner of her eye and immediately her rifle was up.
"Cam, relax, we'll be fine." Ace said quietly.

Instead of giving a verbal response, Cam nodded at Ghost to indicate she'd seen it too... Didn't the old man warn about them?