First Deployment

Here I am again, leaving that woman with no real warning. But she knows. She'll wake up in the morning, read the note I left, and hopefully, continue about her life until we cross again. My taxi takes me to the airport where I show my new, shiny military ID. It was probably the quickest security check I've ever had. Mind you, I've only flown twice and they only needed to check me once.

I find my gate and wait until they board. I shove my green bag into the overhead taking my seat below it. I'm glad I decided to travel in casual clothes. I have a feeling that traveling in uniform would draw more attention. I've already given up on trying to hide my tails. I caught a few people starting but once they noticed that I'd noticed, they went about their way. It's just something strange. As long as I keep moving, it doesn't cause an issue. As long as I stay seated, it won't be an issue.

My plane takes off as I take one last look at the city that was my life for this short time. My eyes close and what feels like seconds pass before I hear the announcement that we are preparing to land. I slept the whole flight but I'm not surprised. It was my plan to begin with but I didn't expect to be this tired. I planned on a nap beforehand that didn't pan out.

With only my one bag, I am on the street of a city in Florida. I know where I need to go. I have the address. I grab a cab to take me to the gate of the military base. He can't go on so he stops where he can turn around. I walk up, present my ID, and they let me pass. I have to report to the commanding General, General Parson. After asking a few folks I found the building I need. I'm directed to his office but it's still early. That gives me time to change. I find a bathroom where I can slip out of my civilian clothes and into a regular uniform. It held up pretty well for how rolled up and crammed into that bag it was.

I sit and wait. As is usual, the "hurry up and wait" lifestyle that the military has taught me. If you are early, you are on time. The old-looking pelican comes into the hallway giving me an odd look as I stand and salute. He checks my name and just shrugs, "Right, you. Come in."

I follow him into his office where I go to open my mouth but he stops me, "Don't shout this early in the morning. I'm not in the mood for this. You are to report to your building with your assigned room. You'll meet your squad today and you're going to have to play catch up. You've got a deployment already and you only have a week to prepare for it."

I was expecting an education before I was sent somewhere. I just give him my "Yes, sir" before he takes my orders and hands me a folder with a map of the base with a red circle of where my building is going to be. "Dismissed." Inside includes a key with a room number on it. At least I'll have a roof over my head.

It's a short trip. I deal with the uneasy feeling of a lot of enlisted stopping and saluting me. I'm not used to this. I don't want to be used to this. I just salute and keep going. No need for a response. I'm busy and I'm sure they have their own thing to do.

The building smells odd. Not bad, just odd. It's a new place where all kinds of people come in bringing all kinds of odd things with them. I'm on the second floor near the end of a hallway. I step into the empty room. It kind of reminds me of the apartment I was staying in at the university. Only smaller. No real furniture except a desk and a small bed. If I want anything else I would have to provide it for myself. I was told that I would be leaving in a week so I don't think I'll get too settled in.

And as I was told, I was grabbed by my squad leader who wasted no time in being a hard-ass. "Get moving! We have a lot of catching up to do!" The others were waiting in front of the building. Looks like my new squad is a menagerie once again.

Sergeant Blatz! An eagle who clearly shows his patriotism on his chest and our squad leader. His first real sentence to me was "Just because you're brass doesn't mean shit! I'm in charge of keeping your ass alive so you better listen!" and that set the tone of what this was going to be.

Corporal Carter! A dart frog who is the squad's point man but also has a specialty in engineering. Both mechanical and electrical. He's a jack of all trades and has proven that he can handle himself and any tricks or traps that can be thrown at us.

Lance Corporal Fringer! The strangest of them all and someone I was never expecting to see. Going through my training they made sure that we never EVER had communication with anyone of the opposite sex. But she was assigned to us as a marksman, which is befitting of a cardinal with sharp eyes.

And last we have Lance Corporal Manny! A heavy-lifting wolf whose role was a rifleman. He not only carries his gear but some of ours as well. Extra munitions and equipment. He looks built for it though. Not someone I would want to get on their bad side. I do not doubt that if he punched me that I wouldn't even realize I had hit the floor.

I'm the new guy. I get it. The sergeant is riding me hard to get me caught up with everyone else. We run an obstacle course three times a day. We run drills every hour. The first day is me tripping everyone up because I have no idea what my role is going to be. Carter is walking through the kill house popping targets like it's breathing alongside Manny. The two of them are a deadly force. Fringer surprised me with her ability to not only handle her rifle but a sidearm. She's deadly at extreme ranges, both near and far. Blatz takes his role in the center making sure he has an eye on everyone while also showing his deadly prowess.

I got my time to shine on day three. One of Carter's door breaches failed to go off. Without a second thought, I grabbed the door handle and overcharged the lock with a small magical fire explosive. The inside of the door frame burst open allowing the door to freely swing open. Carter took point like always with Manny right behind him. Blatz actually said something nice to me. "About time, Mage Bomb." Well, it was nice for him.

The week went on. We drilled every day. We trained as a team for hours. There was still quite a noticeable gap in skill between them and me. It was starting to close quickly but not quickly enough. We were called into our mission brief where everything became apparent that this was something that none of us expected.

The person who addressed us was addressed as "Agent" and nothing more. We don't know if he was military, FBI, CIA, or any other government entity. The gray fox hid behind his sunglasses the entire time he talked to us, which in itself was rather brief. "I can't tell you much. Your contact will give you your proper assignment when you arrive."

Blatz asked, "Where are we going?"

"We can't tell you that here. Your contact will tell you when you arrive. This is important. You will get new uniforms that have no attachment to our government. No name tags. No ranks. You don't exist and this operation is not happening. You're going to be shipped in a container for two days before you will be unloaded and contacted. We have a bag for each of you with the gear you will need. Your contact will provide you with more when you arrive. And this goes without saying but I will say it anyway."

The sentence he said next filled my gut with deep seeded fear. Almost as though this was doomed to fail from the start.

"If you are compromised, it will be as though you don't exist."

Any connection we have to anything will be erased. We don't even know what we are doing. The others appear uneasy except for Sergeant Blatz. He's got his chest puffed out in a blind acceptance that this is for his country and he will do anything asked of him. Even if they haven't asked us to do anything yet.

This entire idea was a mess. Our uniforms were red and green camouflage with no names and no rank insignia. We were given our "chain of command" within ourselves with me at the bottom. We were each handed a bag with a printed list of what was inside it. Some medical supplies, a spare uniform and clothes, a light, and enough food for three days just in case. I'm glad they were nice enough to give the extra day of food. I've seen hungry people do some crazy things.

We are piled into a van, an oddly familiar van, that took us to a warehouse just off of base where a truck and trailer were waiting. On the back was a small shipping container. We were packed into the back. This was something else. Enough beds for each of us, one small table in the center, and a light already there so we can see one another. This was going to be 'home' for the next few days.

The truck we were loaded on shifted as it pulled out. We rolled around the back until we arrived wherever we were supposed to be. I sent out a ping to see that we were being delivered to a shipping dock. The container rocked as we were lifted by crane onto the ship. I kept sending out pings trying to get our bearings before informing the team. Sergeant Blatz did his usual thing of "What the fuck do you mean we are on a boat?"

"It's like sonar, but magic."

"Fuckin' Mage Bombs…"

I hate that title. I hate that term. I hate being called that. I can deal with a lot of things but being reduced to a magical weapon is unsettling to me. I get it. In the military, you are not a person. You aren't even an asset. You are a weapon and a cog in the greater machine that is our nation's defense. Even so, this is demoralizing.

In typical Sergeant Blatz fashion, he didn't want to admit that my ping ability was useful but ordered me to check our surroundings about every 15 minutes. I can't tell if it's because he's bored or just wants something to do. The others seem interested in this skill.

One thing we have to keep in mind is that we are not here. This container is not soundproof so while we talk I am constantly pinging around us to see if anyone is going by. I have to signal for everyone to be quiet if there is before we are caught. We can't be sure if the crew knows that we're here and Blatz doesn't want to risk it.

Our first day goes by quietly. Blatz reminds us to keep our minds on the mission despite not having any mission to do other than wait. We rode along the waves rocking with the motion of the ocean as we made our way somewhere. We trade off on fire watch for the first night. Blatz wanted me to take every shift because I can ping. I politely reminded him that magic isn't an infinite resource and that it takes my body's energy like running, lifting, and working would do. I don't think he believed me.

On day two I finally asked if I was the only magic user in this group. None of them even knew that magic existed until a few months ago when they were pulled for this new position. I'm the first one they've met that proved what they were told. They're still not completely sold, however. They saw me activate a live but defunct explosive which isn't hard to do. They have to take my word on my ping ability because they can't see outside of the container. I think I know of a way to prove it.

"Let me show you then." I turn off the LED light that's been providing us with light. In the palm of my paw, I pull energy in and create a light similar to the LED light. I make it move and shake around a bit. Carter, Fringer, and Manny all look impressed but Blatz isn't. I'm not sure if he's skeptical or just not into it. Doesn't matter to me. We waste the day, eat some rations, and chat about life before we notice that things are getting a bit choppy.