Introductions

"Woahh..."

"Woahh... is such an understatement."

Upon exiting, they were greeted by sunlight, and as their eyes adjusted to the light, they saw a lush green area. They were surprised to know that they were inside a cave. A flowing river and a clear pond in the middle that sparkles, you can even tell there's some fish in it. Three large cave opening on the side that gave out sufficient light to the area as the tree's dances to the wind as the air outside got sucked in and circulated. They were expecting an apocalyptic scenery and not a paradise.

"Sanctuary..." Houmin thought out.

"Voider Zero One, Zero Two?" Said the man sitting down on a rock. His ACR's buttstock is planted on the ground. He stared at the vanishing automated door behind the newcomers.

The two nods.

"Name's Richard. You can call me Castle." He said.

He gestured to his right with his head.

"Here's McGann. Call him Bear." The man was sitting beside him, holding a Stoner 64 to his lap.

He pointed to his left,

"He's Ghost Lead." Standing in the middle with his MK14 EBR in hand, staring at the two.

And he points further to the left.

"And that's Haynes. Lucky Irish." The last man was holding a Vector SMG. Standing behind everyone.

Then he gestured behind him with his thumb.

"Those ones with fancy watches are Division agents." as a mix of individuals chatting and organizing their gear.

"My name is Joe." Said Ghost Lead. "I will be blunt, I am not delighted to see you two, nor I am happy to be working with you. Frankly, I am not enjoying our situation. A deal has been made, and it's in our mission to do so. Get prep, and we'll leave as soon as you're acclimated. Talk to the Division should you have any questions."

He stepped aside as he gathered his squad for a briefing.

Houmin and Skylar looked at each other. Skylar shrugged as both of them were surprised about the warm welcome they received.

They worked their way down as they found a man-made footpath.

Previously, Before they went outside the door. GOAT explained that they will be meeting other people. Tangible people from a different reality that was tasked to fulfill a different objective, but still falls under the general goal.

The catch was these people will only give them support and not direct action with them, as their sole purpose was to support, train, and supervise the Rangers. In short, they were there as trainers for the Rangers, not for them. They were here to hitch a ride with them as they go to the Ranger Citadel.

They move passed Joe's squad and walk ahead to the Division's corner. Here, they were greeted more kindly.

A woman held out her right arm as a greeting. "Welcome, don't mind them. Ghost Recons are tough SOB. But, you can count on them in whatever shit you are in."

Skylar returns the greeting in kind as she shook the offered hand. "I'm Skylar Kennedy."

"Houmin Whitbeck" Houmin followed,

"Huh? Seems the big guy here is a stoic one." The woman said. "I don't mind the silent type-- " She trailed off as she saw Skylar elbowed the other one in the ribs.

"Stop acting like a dolt!" She whispered angrily at him.

"-Ugh! My bad. I was thinking about something else." With his hands on his knees as he heaves the pain from being elbowed.

"Uh, No worries. Are you both done? Come, walk with me." As she turned around and walked ahead to the other division agents. " I'm Viñia Aleso. By the looks of things, I'm the de-facto leader of my group as I'm the senior officer. Before you ask, My answer will always be "Another time" if you are going to ask about my history."

Viñia stopped. She glanced behind and gave the two a look, "I strongly suggest you took that seriously. It also applies to others. I'm not against you trying it to the Ghost, but I'm sure you will find them less chatty about it." She pointed a finger up. "We all had a deal with God, and like them, I like to keep to myself about those details. Are we clear?"

"Affirmative, Ma'am," Houmin replied.

"Affirmative." Skylar followed.

"Good,"

"Gather up, people!" Viñia called out. Soon, the division agents stopped what they're doing and work their way to them. "Voiders is here. We need a recap on our situation as well as an introduction to them."

Everyone has gathered around a long table. Placed on top of it were a set of maps:

A map for an underground complex, An updated map of Arizona, and maps of other states are laid out where it's edges are held down by various things like a pistol magazine.

"The first one is this bunker complex." She pointed out the first map with a green laser. "Voiders, This is technically your home. It's comprised of a vault level entrance doors, a garage, a mechanical facility, Storage, Med-bay, Science Lab, Water treatment plant, Greenhouse, living quarters, an Airtrap Power Generator, Solar panels, Windmills, and other amenities. Here are the keycard and a manual for everything you need to know about the bunker." She gave an oversized orange colored key and a small book to Houmin.

"As of now, we are inside the Sanctuary block of this bunker," She glanced out, taking in at the scenery. "Enough space for 300-400 to live in. With that, this is also a natural/diety-made cave opening. So do enjoy it. Remember just this block, so to speak, with the living quarters and some ingenuity, we can sustain to about 1000 - 1500 people here. Without much worry."

She moved her laser pointer to the next map.

"This is the current map grid of the area of influence of the rangers." Circling the whole map with her laser. "Southwest of their position is our current location, which is inside a mountain range." She trailed the pointer down.

"No other point-to-point intel on it," She clicked her tongue. "We will be trekking our way from here to there, so expect bandits and mutated animals. No telling what's out there, so keep sharp. Even with the Ghost are with us, can't be too careless." She turned her head to the Houmin and Skylar. Nodding in reply.

"Though most of the outside citizens will not recognize our legitimacy, The Strategic Homeland Division, we will continue on as our oaths have dictated." She turned her laser pointer off and scanned the faces on each agent. "I know this is a weird time for us. We have died in our original world. And now, we are alive in this shithole. Don't forget! We all signed up for our self-interest and ensuring that interest must be fulfilled, we must work together!"

"Restore the United States of America Government, having the Desert Rangers as its foundation. The implementation and supervision of its core tenets. And the formation of a civil, industrial, educational, medical, and security institution. One state at a time."

"Don't worry," She crossed her arms. "We will be sitting on our asses while these two do all the tactical work as the deal stated, except only in defense."

"If you need any support about anything," She held Skylar's shoulder. "Just call us. Alright? Our mission also stated to assist you to the best we can."

"Now, You two, us 11, plus the Ghosts. That makes 17 of us working our way towards the Rangers."

"Reid!" Viñia called out. "E.T.A?"

A black American man with glasses spoked out, "Walking will take us about 3 - 6 hours. Due to minimal intel, we have to prepare for any eventuality."

Viñia nodded. "Be aware of your Geiger counter. Radiation moves in and out of this place."

She turned to the two. "Any questions?"

"How are we going to convince the rangers to let us in?" Houmin gave a point.

"Each one of us has a dossier on ourselves. Here." She tossed an encased folder at him. In it was a compilation of who she is, what she does, and what she represented. "A fully forged documents detailing that we were part of a project that puts personnel into a Cryo-Stasis for a contingency event and be awakened to rebuild America. Which it did, and now we are here to take America back."

"Clean, right? There's even an activation barcode on it and a Presidential Seal of Approval, and if they ask who's the president back then, we'll just show them the seal." She shrugged her shoulders.

She grabbed two encased folders and handed them to Skylar.

"Here's yours."

"Oh, if you're worried about the Rangers not liking the idea that an outsider is ordering them around." She added. "We planned on being on the support side, not directly interfering with them. The Ghost will primarily handle their training while we handle R and D on multiple fronts and administrative support."

She raised her hand and pointed up. She circled it. Instantly the others dispersed as they pack up their gear.

"Don't forget your Noah Pack!" She yelled. "We can't afford to return here within a short amount of time."

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Houmin stared at them, working. Too distracted in his mind to pay attention to anything.

"Ghost... Division... So cool..." He thought.

"Knock it off," Skylar said. She snapped her finger close to his face. "Here's your file." Slamming the folder to his chest.

"Do you think we're going to be fine?" Skylar asked as she scans through her file. "3 - 6 hours of walking with too many unknowns. Too exposed."

"There's 17 of us." Houmin dismisses it. "Highly trained and geared to the teeth. The only element that can come close to us is the Desert Rangers. Less than that are just trigger happy druggers. And some mutants."

"What I'm worried about is if we can reach Team Delta in time." He added. "That's an opportunity for us to prove our capabilities... or theirs." His eyes trail to the Ghost Squad. "Oh look at that, they're coming this way."

"Done?" Joe asked.

"Almost," Viñia said.

"Ghost Lead," Houmin said.

Joe turned his head to him.

"I got a plan. It's to make sure of our smooth transition to the Rangers. Can you hear me out?"

Joe nodded

"So it goes like this..."