Suspicion and a Bad Mission

Anne's perspective.

Two days passed by with nothing of import happening except for our low morale dipping lower. In these two days, the news of us being re-tasking with the Fifth Europa Battle Group has become common knowledge and we were only waiting for the official order to retreat.

Of course, making soldiers of the frontline retreat after encountering a humiliating defeat is going to lower their morale even though it is an absolutely logical option but, in our case, there was nothing logical. We retreated even though we had the upper hand, for two times and will become three after retreating from the Gamma lines. No soldier can take that and leave as if nothing happened.

We even had to dissuade a few soldiers from directly abandoning their battalion and joining other battalions in the frontlines. Talk about shit…

But I guess the most problematic one would be Ave…

After losing his friends and mentor, he's been in depression for quite some time. His anger towards the lieutenant and the second-lieutenant has reached fever-pitch and he looks like he might also need some counseling so that he doesn't quit the battalion in all fury.

With such thoughts, I stealthily made my way to the sniper platoon bunker but it was more of a stroll. With nearly all the members of the sniper platoon dead and out of four of its remaining members two are heavily injured leaving only Ruby and Ave as 'active'. Of course, Ruby wasn't there in the platoon since he took the volunteering job of assisting the injured so it was simply Ave in the bunker of 30 people.

"You are looking at the wrong place."

I turn back to see Ave in his military outfit standing not far from the bathroom door of the bunker.

"Don't spook me out like that."

"You weren't especially hiding at all," he grins at me, "Anyway, I've something to talk to you about. Come with me."

I followed him to one of the dozen armories of the base. He typed the keycode and soon the doors were opened. Both of us went in silently, without speaking a word but after he closed the door behind me, I asked him in a stern tone.

"Who gave you the keycode of the armories?"

He shrugged his shoulders and replies, "I'm a corporal of the only sniper platoon ten-thousand miles around the base, I surely got to have the keycode, shouldn't I?"

But I wasn't fazed by his antic. He sighs and sits down on one of the tables.

"You want to know how I got the keycodes? By pity. Those schmucks from Gamma Station all look at us like we're some kinda roach and are even encouraging some of us to go and do it. I took the opportunity and got the keycodes."

"Seriously…" I look at him with an aghast expression as if I was looking at a child but he's not one and berating him would do no good.

"Just give me their names. I would see to it they learn their places." I gnash my teeth but Ave didn't hold the same line of thought as mine.

He smiled and shook his head. "And that's not all. Here, have a look at this." He handed me a file with classified written on top of it. I opened it and almost instantly my frown deepened.

The file was an HQ-authorized covert mission directing the sniper platoon of Alpha Station 06 to raid a few caliphate bases. There were many reasons but one stood out like a sore thumb.

'Caliphate is planning on routing the Europa Command of the Federation. Find out their exact plan and thwart it.'

It seems like the HQ knew more about these skirmishes than we did.

"It was Gramps who issued the mission if you're wondering. Personally." He sat down on a bench and said, hanging his head low.

"That's my first official mission, sis." He smiles cheekily at me and I couldn't help but throw the damn papers at his face.

"Hey!"

"Don't 'hey' me!" I retort back.

"*Sigh*… look, sis, this may not be the most favorable situation we're in but we, Chowdhury's don't back down from a mission. Since, it's just me and Ruby left of the platoon, we will just do what we're supposed to do."

I pursed my lips, there was a certain mystery surrounding this mission which didn't quite sit right with me as an intelligence officer. Most importantly, if this mission was issued to Ave and his platoon, it must've come into Uncle John's authority but he didn't inform me anything about it. It's highly contradictory to Uncle John's personality and protective nature towards us.

Also, the fact that Gramps, our great-grandfather personally issued this mission, just doesn't sit well with me. He is, after all, the head of our family, the Chowdhurys and is someone whose words even the higher-ups of the military would listen to. So, why in fuck's sake would he go and personally issue this mission to Ave, the youngest kid in the town?

Also, if there was such fear then why didn't he give this mission to other Alpha station sniper platoons too? All these recent troubles are giving me headaches. But, unfortunately, there was nothing to do.

I look at Ave and frown, "So, what's the plan?"

Ave sighs for a moment before looking sternly at the weapons in the armory.

"Tomorrow, the lieutenant is going to reveal the plan for a retreat without the Command's authority and the day after tomorrow will be the actual time when the retreat will be carried on. We have this night's time… to take as many weapons, munitions and explosives and transport them to Mobile Carrier no. 67 at the far east side of the base.

The carrier is of the Gamma Station and is directly under the authority of the second-lieutenant of the Gamma Station. I've already talked to him about this affair and he has given us the keys of the carrier. He will cover our escape."

"Did you compromise the mission details with him?"

"There was a part we had to compromise. It was Ruby who talked with him so I don't know the full extent of the compromise."

"*Sigh*…fine… I will trust you in this one. I hope you will keep my trust and return alive."

He grinned at me cheekily, "Hey, when have I ever NOT kept my promise."

"You never did, Ave and you know that."

…

It took us five hours to transport all the stuff Ave needed and a little extra to that mobile carrier. Second-lieutenant 'Zebra' had opened all backdoors for us and even arranged a team for helping us.

It seems like Ruby parted with more info than he needed to.

Morning came and just like predicated, there was a message in our comms stating that we would retreat without Command Authorization. And even though I was prepared for it, I was disappointed.

After talking with Ruby last night, I was certain that shitbag was excited about this mission. He was going to accompany Ave through hell and heaven. And the whole time I was talking with him or rather trying indirectly to convince him to abort the mission, he was smiling… ugh! That smug smile!!!!!

And not only that. Somehow that piece of dipshit was able to record what I said and how Ave was going to go black and passed it around the soldiers of Alpha base and now I'm getting dozens of determined idiots willing to throw their lives and hundreds of thousands of creds of training down the drain… seriously.

Fortunately, Ave rejected them almost instantly. Other than Ruby, he has accepted anyone else.

But I did get a surprise visit.

When I was going to report for morning duties, an unexpected face showed up.

"Miss Anne, a moment please." Said the second-lieutenant, codenamed 'Vixen'. She was a lady who liked she had just passed out from college and her small stature, only 5 feet 8 inches tall, short greenish-tinted hair and carefree attitude made her seem like a cute little girl but in all righteousness, she was anything but cute. For example, currently she is licking a lollipop and the way she did… I would say it would put many experienced ladies to shame.

I looked a little surprised and turned towards my senior officer who simply gave a nod.

I followed Vixen to her office where she sat on a comfortable leather chair after locking the door behind me.

"You've quite a sense of art, don't you?" I couldn't help but say after looking at her room which was filled with posters of cute anime boys and printed pillows along with hundreds of papers. There was a strange scent around the room that soothed my mind a little.

No wonder everyone calls her a Vixen.

She smiles proudly at me and says, "What can I say, I'm a lady of culture."

"Anyway, here's your first order of business." She hands me a set of papers and I instantly frown at her.

"What makes you think that I'm your subordinate?"

"Oh, right! I forgot!" she said with a surprised expression before picking out a file from under a pile of them and hands it to me. "This transfer order is for you. You're being transferred from Mr. Kumar's platoon to my platoon."

I looked at the papers and there it was. The transfer orders. But this file also confirms that this lady is a member of the Imperial Military Intelligence HQ school, the same school where I went, making her my senior.

I nod at the paper but ask her with a frown, "How did you know I was serving 'Locust'? Also, don't you know not to state real names during active missions?"

"Bah!" she rolls her eyes at me, "What are names other than a form of camouflage. For example, my real name is Esha but everyone calls and knows me as 'Vixen' here even though it is not my given codename. It's like a second codename and all I had to do was stay inside with lieutenant for a day. So simple, right?"

I didn't buy it and she could feel it. She rolls her eyes again and states, "Whatever, codenames are for noobs. Anyway, here is your first task so complete it perfectly. You're under a different leadership so don't think Kumar's standard will work for me. Got it?"

"Yes," I said as I turn to leave but she wasn't finished.

"Also, it would be better if you can convince your brother to not go in that suicide mission?"

I looked a little surprised, "You knew?"

"Yes, me, your Uncle John along with half of the IMI knows about it. Your Gramps wasn't quite secretive when he handed the mission files to Veteran Sniper Mr. Prakash aka 'Bengal' when he visited the Mirkwood school."

"…" I thought for a while before asking, "Is there a chance he will make it alive?"

She shrugs her shoulders and replies, "Mirkwood snipers have been known to do the impossible. Your brother isn't any different. He might do the impossible or he might perish as a hero."

"I hope he doesn't do anything at all."

"Well, the army doesn't work on hope."

I turned back to leave the office but then I suddenly stopped and looked back.

"Hey, is your actual name really Esha?"

"Why do you ask?" She looks at me with an interested gaze.

I shrug my shoulder and reply, "There was a senior named Esha whom I really admired back in school."

She smiled at me and licked the lollipop seductively before answering, "Stick around me and you might find that lass."

"Guess so," I replied as I left her room.

Night came sooner than I expected and in the midst of all the packing and transportation, Ave and Ruby said their goodbyes before vanishing into the night sky.

…

Ave's Perspective

"Your sister cares about you a lot, doesn't she?" Ruby asked me with a smug face to which I roll my face.

"Stop eyeing my sister and focus on the mission."

"Hey, I've only got eyes for you."

"Fuck off," I say as I jump onto the mobile carrier no. 67. It was a bulky transport system and looks like a truck on caterpillar tracks.

The mobile carrier was divided into two parts, one was the driver's area while the other was the goods area. I jumped onto the goods area, earlier.

"You take the wheels." I shamelessly tasked Ruby who didn't look quite cherry but thought not to argue.

Inside the goods area, I double-checked on all the essentials.

'There's the snowmobiles… enough ammo for our sniper rifles … a bunch of other weapons and … throwing knives? What are these doin' here?

"Hey, Ruby, what are these throwing knives doing here, over?" I ask over the comm.

"Oh! Those are just my personal favorites. I will teach you how to use them later, over."

"Hmm…much appreciated, over."

Our night went silently with us taking night shifts of five hours interval. The part of Europa we were going was in eternal night so five hours interval shift was logical.

The next afternoon (by earth's FST or Federation Standard Time), we reached our first checkpoint.

"Let's set up a bunker here and store our munitions. It's going to be a long mission. We will use the Mobile Carrier's part as materials." Ruby said as he looked around the icy methane hill.

"What about our exit strategy?" I ask to which he grins and replies, "Don't worry about that."

…

The next two days went by as we scouted our surroundings for viable info before loading our snowmobiles with supplies and moving towards our first destination.

Zzzzzziiiiizzzzzziiiiiiii

The sound of the snowmobile on the methane ice deafened me but Ruby still briefed me on the move.

"Our first destination is an underground chem lab of the PRC-Caliphate coalition company called Li Zheng's Medi-Lab. It's a cryo-medical lab researching cold-temperature therapies and purchased an elite pass to set up a lab right here in Europa. Intelligence though, says they are developing an ultra-cold resistance drug, something which the HQ doesn't want to let happen."

"What if they already created this drug?"

"Then we are to destroy all equipment in the lab, retrieve all data and destroy the lab. No mercy is to be shown, is that clear?" his voice was stern and I don't know whether or not he has some kind of enmity with the PRC or anything.

"Roger that."

Reaching a 100km away from the site, we exit our snowmobiles and wear our exoskeleton. After hiding our mobiles, we went on a 5-day hiking trip to reach the hill near the base. After getting to a good vantage point, we sat there for two more days as we tried to figure out the pattern of their shift.

Li Zheng Medi-lab employed a PRC-based private military contractor agency to guard the facility and it didn't take long to figure out their habits and their behaviors. And thus, after a week of hiking and scouting, we were finally ready to strike the lab.

"Get ready, Ave," Ruby said on the eight morning (Again, earth FST time).

"Roger." I planted my 'Requiem', which got a purple ghost sticker courtesy of Ruby, onto the methane snow and aimed at the squad outside. The lab was situated under a hill made of methane ice and the only entry point is a slight metal doorway.

"I'm taking the four on the left. You take the rest."

"Rog."

"Okay… 3…2…1… Fire."

Psst! Psst! Psst! Psst!....

A flurry of silenced sniper round went out and a dozen dead bodies dropped on the snow.

"Wait for it… wait for it…now!" as soon as he said it, the metal door was thrown open as another dozen soldier, a little more lightly covered raced out. Half of them looked around in the heavy snowy fog but couldn't find us at all while the other half tried to rescue the injured.

They were all easy pickings for us but we didn't kill them immediately. Ruby fired an explosive round into the open metal doorway and before long an explosion rocked the doorway, effectively disabling the metal doorway. What happened afterward… is what I call slaughter.

Ruby was exceptionally ruthless by not killing the enemies with the first shot. Instead, he would shoot them in the legs and impale them before letting them die in blood loss. Of course, no one died like that because I put a bullet through their heads.

"This is not a joke, Ruby. Be serious." I complained after killing all of the enemies.

"C'mon, they were bound to die anyway. Why not have fun before they do." He said as he picked up his rifle, a Nova Arctica Aurora, a specialized sniper variant of the more common Nova Arctica.

"Let's go before they close that door."

"Grr… I hate you."

"Thank you, dear."

We rushed down the hill, equipped our assault rifles before dashing into the lab through the metal door.

"Alright Ave, they know we're in so be peachy."

"Same to ya."

…

It took three hours to clear out the base. Most of the armed men were contractors and weren't near as skilled as us. Their silly mistakes almost made me cringe up during combat but none of them were spared from a bullet in their head. And at the end of it, we ended up in the research room with a bunch of scared scientists and surrendered militiamen.

Unfortunately, Ruby spared none of them.

Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta! …

He mercilessly killed all of them before taking their keycodes and retrieving all the data from their database. As I went through their database for the info we needed, Ruby looked around their drug stores and came back with two green-liquid filled test tubes.

"What are those?" I asked with interest.

"Genetic Harmonizer Shots. Rare stuff, even in the black market. Most advanced states use them as a base synthetic drug for other drugs. In layman's terms, they fine-tune your genetics and make it possible for other drug therapies. Two for each of us." He says with a grin.

I looked a little hesitant, "Are you sure it's safe? This is my first mission, you know."

"Aw, c'mon! Don't be a pussy. My dad is the head doctor in the medical department. I know everything about these. If you want, I can even give you insurance—"

"Fine, I will take it. Just don't eat my head."

"Nice. Also, what did you get?"

"The location of three other labs who are jointly doing research with the Li Zheng's Medi-Lab and those are Ulrich Chem Lab, The chemical department of the Burning Blossom company and Wicked Hunt. I've heard of the first two but never heard of the third one. Must be from the black market."

"Well then, should we hit the odd one first?" I ask Ruby.

"Hmm… let's take our time. The other two have a direct connection. They can run away faster so we should hit them harder and faster. Even if the Wicked Hunt runs away, it won't be able to take their cargo with them. But I hope it doesn't come to that."

"Roger."

…