Disclaimer: This is a work of original fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Chapter 12.1 -- Preparations (Part 1)
Tarmac, Lone Syracuse Outpost, Syracuse, New York, USA, 8 December 2020, 1350 hrs
One week later…
At the bustling Lone Syracuse Outpost, several C-17 Globemaster aircraft bearing unknown military insignia unload tons of military equipment onto the tarmac. M1A2 Abrams tanks, LAV 6 ISCs, and ACSV TCVs roll steadily down the cargo ramps, while Tri-Sixer soldiers operate forklifts to unload countless military footlockers and crates. Nearby, a Young Templar Major and a Tri-Sixer Captain observe the unloading with amazement. “It’s stunning to see what we can achieve when humanity cooperates with the friendly Young Templars. Isn’t it, Major Rose?” Mason comments.
“Indeed, it is Captain Wyatt,” Mira agrees. “Not all of us are evil, and some Young Templars have married humans as their spouses. For me, I hope one day humanity sees the Young Templars as decent, human-loving people and co-exist peacefully side by side.” .
“Me too, madam. No wonder you looked like a heroic warrior at the moment, since you were wearing the taskforce’s issued combat uniform set for the Allied Young Templars. You liked humans, didn’t you? Am I right, Mira?” Mason teases her.
The Young Templar Major’s face turns red after hearing those words. “I just don’t want to hurt humans anymore after they gave me a chance to live.” Mira blushes in embarrassment while hiding her inner thoughts. Despite that, she knew he was not wrong, since she had once hated humans as a child before quitting humanity to join the Young Templars. Now, she came to love and respect humans, and she’s willing to defend them from the War faction members of the Young Templars. Because of this, she felt guilty for turning them into zombies against their will in the past.
“Major Rose, are you alright? Is something wrong?” Mason ceased his teasing upon seeing her embarrassed face.
“Nah, I’m fine. It’s your teasing about me liking humans that brought back some unpleasant memories of mine in the past.” Mira tries to compose herself to avoid further embarrassment.
“Sorry, Major.” Mason looks away as he apologises. “I will be more aware of it next time.” .
“Thank you, Captain.” Mira smiles in gratitude. Even though she is still coping with her traumatic past, the Young Templar Major is glad that humans like Captain Wyatt didn’t show any hostile behaviour towards her. She hoped to marry a human and start a family someday after the zombie apocalypse ends. “By the way, I realised something strange is going on, Captain Wyatt. Do you realise our requested military equipment and support units came early this week instead of next week?” Mira asks as she tries to change the conversation.
“Indeed. I remembered the higher-ups informed you that our requested stuff should arrive by next week. Something is not right here.” Mason agrees with her.
His words gave her a feeling that something’s amiss. From her perspective, she felt either the higher-ups had made a last-minute change to their attack plan, or someone within them was deliberately sabotaging their efforts to combat the Ravens by luring her combat unit into a trap.
“Alright, I will do some info searching to find out what’s going on. In the meantime, please keep this conversation between us only and do not share the changes with others regarding the early arrival of our requested military equipment and support. I will brief you later after I find out what’s going on. Is that clear, Captain Wyatt?” Mira orders in a firm but quieter voice.
Out of nowhere, another Tri-Sixer admin support soldier approached them with a folder in her hand. “Major Rose!” The unnamed Tri-Sixer admin support soldier calls out to her. “Sorry to interrupt your conversation. We received a telegram call from the Joint US-505th Homefront Command. They want to speak to you right now, madam.” .
“Alright. Bring me to the conference room immediately, Lieutenant,” Mira instructs before turning to face the Tri-Sixer Captain. “I have to go now, Captain Wyatt. See you later.” Mira bids goodbye to him. With that said, the Tri-Sixer Captain nods, and they exchange military salutes before the Young Templar Major departs to the conference room with the Tri-Sixer admin support soldier.
Conference Room, Field Office, Lone Syracuse Outpost, Syracuse, New York, USA, 8 December 2020, 1359 hrs
Later…
“Have a seat here, madam.” She guides the Young Templar Major to an office chair. “Let me set up the SE-Call software to make a call with the Homefront Command.” .
“Thank you, Lieutenant. After you set up the call, please stay in the room as you need to record what we discussed during the session.” Mira instructs her.
Soon, the large monitor screen comes online and displays both the Tri-Sixer Brigadier General and the Young Templar Colonel. “Thank you for showing up, Major Rose,” Maxwell begins. “We request your presence here as we have something important to discuss with you. I’m sure you have some questions for us regarding today’s online meeting.” .
“It is, Colonel,” Mira replies before shooting him with a question. “However, I would like to know one thing, sir. Is this current meeting related to the early arrival of our requested military equipment and support units?”
“Good observation, Major Rose.” Maxwell compliments her for being sharp. “But it is more than that. I will let my direct supervisor explain the real motive for sending stuff early to the outpost.” .
“Thank you, Colonel Webster.” The Tri-Sixer Brigadier General begins. “I will start with the main reason for sending crucial equipment and support troops to you today instead of next week, Major Rose. A few days ago, we received credible intel that the Ravens are holding an adult human named Kodey Zander in their base as a prisoner, and they intend to move him to the Fortress Pokhara military base in Nepal in the coming days. Hence, it’s crucial that you disrupt it by destroying their base and rescuing the adult human before they move him out of the country.” .
“Kodey Zander? Hold on, I think I heard this name before somewhere.” Mira says. “Isn’t he the child of America’s renowned virologist and TERO (Tactical Elite Recon Operator) soldier?”
“Indeed, he is. But there’s more to that.” The Tri-Sixer Brigadier General says in a serious tone. “Since one of his parents is a former TERO soldier, we highly believe he has inherited her genes. If Chief General Arthur Simon gets him, the War faction of the Young Templars will have the upper hand, and humanity will lose. Let’s not forget what they can do to him through those horrifying experiments. So, you need to rescue him from the Ravens and bring him to the International Taskforce 505 for safety.” .
“Does he have any siblings?” Mira asks.
“Yes, he has a sister. But…” The Tri-Sixer Brigadier General breathes heavily with a sad tone before continuing. “I’m afraid they have already captured his sister and forced her to join their ranks by converting her against her will. So, we must not lose him as well, or he will become a deadly weapon against the remnants of humanity. Is that clear, Major Rose?”
“Roger that, sir.” Mira acknowledges him. “Are there anymore changes I might miss out on?”
“There is, Major Rose.” The Tri-Sixer Brigadier General clears his throat to make himself comfortable before speaking further. “Because of the early arrival of your requested support units, we have sent in the 76th Hell-finders Regiment to the Lone Syracuse Outpost so that you and your team can take down their main headquarters at a faster pace before they can call in reinforcements. They are on the way and will arrive tomorrow in the early wee hours in their armed convoys. However, you and your team must not delay any further and launch an attack on their main headquarters ASAP. So, I will leave the planning of the date and time to you and your team.” .
Just as he finishes his statement, there’s a knock on the door before an unnamed Young Templar officer appears on the screen as he reports to the Tri-Sixer Brigadier General. “Sorry to interrupt your conversation, sir. I have an urgent memo to pass to you. Here it is.” .
As he opens up the received memo, the Tri-Sixer Brigadier General’s eyes widen in alarm as he sees the content. “Thank you, 2nd-Lieutenant. You may leave now.” He dismisses the Young Templar officer. With that said, the Young Templar officer nods and gives a military salute before leaving the room.
“Hold on, Major Rose. There might be a slight change of plans.” The Tri-Sixer Brigadier General informs her. “Based on the memo I just received, you need to launch the attack before the plane carrying Kodey Zander departs from the Ravens’ main headquarters at Fort Drum on 14 December, 0800 hrs. So, apart from taking down the Ravens, you need to rescue him and bring him to us in Seattle. Do not let us down, Major.” .
“Don’t worry, sir. I won’t. Have faith in me and my team. We will restore humanity to its former self by taking out the Ravens first.” Mira reassures him in a confident voice as she places her right hand above her heart to show her commitment despite being a Young Templar.
“Thank you, Major. But remember one thing: If you capture any Raven Young Templars as prisoners, do not execute them on the spot. They are bound by the Geneva code, so I want you to bring them to the Lone Syracuse Outpost before transporting them back in a secured airlift. From there, we will try to deprogram to the best of our abilities. Don’t forget, you used to be one of them as well, and we successfully saved you because of the efforts of a very important person.” The Tri-Sixer Brigadier General reminds her.
“Alright. I will ensure that no one on my team commits any war crimes against surrendered Raven operators.” Mira agrees. “Anything else you want to inform me, General?”
“Nothing else, Major. Before we end this call, I have something important to say.” The Tri-Sixer Brigadier General looks at her with a serious look in his eyes. “Given the importance of not alerting the Ravens and other War faction members for the upcoming military operation, we will stay radio silent after ending this online call. You will only contact us after you have taken out the Ravens completely and secured the adult human. That’s all, and good luck.” .
“Thank you, sir.” With that said, Major Rose stands up and gives a military salute to them before ending the online call. Then, she turns to face the nearby Tri-Sixer admin support soldier with a new order. “Lieutenant. I want you to draft a memo detailing everything we just discussed and send it to my office within the next hour.” Mira commands with a soft but firm voice. Without another word, the Tri-Sixer admin support soldier nods and salutes the Young Templar Major before seeing her walking out of the room.
While walking down the corridor…
‘Mayflower, why didn’t you let your children know about your past?’ Mira sighed in disappointment in her mind. ‘If only you had listened to your husband back then, I would have trained your children to follow our footsteps, and we would have stopped the corrupted Young Templars from implementing Project Hell Dawn at all!’ During that time, she was the sole survivor of her squad, and the International Taskforce 505 took her alive as a POW. As she was a Raven operator, Major Rose thought they would torture her to death after being indoctrinated with years of fear about the taskforce’s evil misdeeds.
However, her perception changed during her captivity. As she awaited her final days before her death, she recalled seeing human guards sending her hot food to her cell in a civil manner. As a result, she slowly comes to realise that the International Taskforce is not an evil group. It was only days later that two high-ranking members of the taskforce paid her a visit in her cell, and from there, she realised she was wrong in her beliefs. It was this member that Major Rose easily recognised through the codenamed Mayflower, who helped her to defect from the Ravens. To repay her kindness, Major Rose joined the taskforce to assist her in protecting humanity.
‘Mayflower, you may have fallen to protect your children. But I will do everything to protect them and your husband from the corrupted ones. In the faith of our kind.’ Mira walks in determination as she exits the building.
To be continued...
End of Chapter 12.1
Note: All the characters, places and storylines are owned by Jeremy Mountbatten. All rights reserved by the author. Feel free to give some feedback and don't forget to vote for this chapter. If you want to support me, you can tip me on Ko-Fi (link provided below).