2 Chapter 1: The 51st Greyhounds

Camp Caturman

City of Infante, Bangsamoro Region

Republic of Easting

September 20, 2021 C.Y.

0600 Hours

The whole region of Bangsamoro was placed on martial law because of the recent attack in the city of Dalisi. The military was dispatched to pacify the city which is under the control of the terrorists. The siege has been going on for months and the progress made by the military in retaking the city is slow.

The terrorists wish to secede the region and gain support from the self-proclaimed Caliph that is waging war in the Gulf of Arabia. The terrorists name themselves as the Zealots of God, religious fanatics that have been brainwashed by its leader, Haneef al-Sader. Along him are some of the notorious figures of a terror cell that is well known in the region.

Disembarking from the transport Helicopter, a young Lieutenant arrives in the camp. He is on his late twenties, five foot and nine inches tall, black hair and brown eyes with a scar in his left cheek. He is currently assigned to his new unit the 51st Greyhounds. It is one of the most elite special forces unit of the country's military.

The unit possesses state-of-the-art equipment imported by several military contractors from the Atlantican Federation. These equipment are not limited to mechanized power armor but several weapon system and equipment. They are sold to the Republic of Easting in support of its rapid modernization program.

The recruits of the unit were also drafted from the finest operators in the Army. The Lieutenant once belonged to the First Scout Regiment. A unit that specializes in jungle, anti-guerrilla and search-and-destroy missions. He was a member of the said unit before being qualified and transferred to the Greyhounds.

Meanwhile, in the city of Dalisi the terrorists fortified the city and used improvised defenses. These made attempts by the military in retaking the city difficult. Several attacks have been made and only twenty-five percent of the city is under the government's possession in five months of offensives.

At 0600 hours the Lieutenant and his men were called for a briefing. They will be sent to a new mission. He is assigned to lead a thirty man task force. Each are separated with squads with ten members each. Derby, Wolf and Python are the three ten man squads in the mission. If all goes well extraction will be around 1200 hours.

"The terrain and the location of the objective will prove to be difficult. However, with the aid of these new technologies I hope that everything will go well. This mission has been planned for two months. Saving those civilians and V.I.P.s are important. If everything goes well at 1200 hours you will be extracted near the Agus river southwest from your objective. The V.I.P.s are your priority!" The commander said.

The commander continued his briefing until 0630 hours. After the briefing the men of the Greyhound unit proceeded to prepare their gear for the mission. To his surprise the lieutenant saw some Atlanticans in the base. There were at least ten of them in complete gear.

"Don't worry we do not bite. We are tasked to observe and babysit you in this mission. We are from Task Force Taffy we will concert with you in this operation." A huge man said in his thirties said.

"My pleasure, Captain... Lucas!" Lieutenant Alfonso replied to the man looking at the name tag in his uniform.

"Greyhounds eh? Sounds neat, I hear that you are one of the toughest unit of the army. I am called Jackal, Simon "Jackal" Robertson." A muscular guy wearing sunglasses in his late twenties said brushing up his blonde hair.

"Do not go insulting other people now Sergeant Robertson. We are here to make friends not enemies." Captain Lucas said and looks at Lieutenant Alfonso. "Ignore this guy he has issues..." He chuckles and continued on his way.

After they left one of Lieutenant Alfonso's men said his remark towards the Atlanticans and said, "I do not like them sir." Sergeant Ronaldo said to the Lieutenant.

"Let them be, typical Atlanticans proud to the core." The Lieutenant frowns in reply.

A thin looking person in glasses hurriedly looks for the Lieutenant, "Have you seen sir Alfonso? I mean Lieutenant Alfonso? Ah, there you are sir. You must have met with the Atlanticans earlier. They are tasked to observe and assist you in this mission. Sorry if I was late, I was ordered to introduce and debrief you of their role in this mission."

"The Lieutenant does not have time for this chatter and his patience is wearing thin. You must know that he doesn't like them as much as you do." A sergeant replied to him.

"I know, I am sorry! Something came up with the situation at the city. The technical people in the base are mostly oblivious to the new technologies used. I have to explain to them how these stuff works over and over again." The technical staff apologized.

"Very well..." The Lieutenant said and wishes the staff to continue.

The technical staff went to guide the men of the 51st Greyhounds to their new equipment. It was placed in a makeshift hangar inside the base. There were several weapons, equipment and power armor lined up in display. These will be the equipment they will use in the mission.

"From ballistic protection to power armor. Carbines to sniper rifles and smoke grenades to explosives. These are the things that are available for your usage in this mission. I will brief you about your new equipment and I hope this will help you." The technical staff begins his explanation.

"You are saying we are going to use these stuff in our mission?" The Lieutenant asked the Technical staff in confusion.

"Yes sir!" I am Bryan by the way sir, sorry for introducing myself late. I am a technical staff at Svens Corporation. A military tech firm from Svedenia which is a subsidiary of the Hartman Atlantia a military tech firm from the Atlantican Federation!" Bryan said in reply to the confused Lieutenant and continued. "Here are the weapons you can use in the mission from shotguns, sub-machine guns, carbines to sniper rifles..."

After the small briefing of their new equipment the men of the 51st Greyhounds began to choose their equipment. Lieutenant Alfonso decided to use the C-65 Carbine that uses 5.65 mm x 50 mm rounds and 30 round magazines for his primary weapon. It has a portable 40 mm grenade launcher as an attachment. His other equipment included a portable encrypted radio and the Gladiator ZL-05 power armor.

"Your equipment shall be delivered before your deployment. Thank you for selecting our products. I wish you good luck during your mission!" Bryan the technical staff of the Svens corporation said and bid farewell.

Due to the availability of the power armors, only ten out of thirty soldiers were equipped with it. Luis and his squad was assigned as Task Force Derby, the core squad of the thirty man task force. They equipped with the latest power armor and equipment. They are ready to roll for their mission.