After seeing Fordan write a few stories on these forums, I decided to unleash my enjoyment of writing. I've been writing short stories for years, and as I refuse to share some of my older stories (because I wrote them when I was 10), I have decided to write a new one for you all. Like Fordan, I will be writing this over the next few days/weeks/months. I don't yet know how ít will end, I literally mean I'm writing this as I go along. If you wish to skip the inteoduction, the story itself is written in yellow.Things you need to know about the story:
- Hammer = A hybrid of a Helicopter and a Jet, basically the future version of a Black Hawk.
- One-Way Charge = A charge which explodes in the direction it's planted. If it is placed on a door, it will only damage to door.
- TCS = Team Communications System
Anyway, here's some background information.
The year 2063. While humanity has not yet begun colonization, the first man to land on Mars occured 7 years ago. Humanity has evolved with technology to create some of the most futuristic equipment you could imagine. The terrorist threat has risen over 50 years, and they are now as common as thieves. However, every country in the world has an elite team of soldiers who's goal is to eliminate the terrorist threat. These teams are know as PULSE Teams. This story begins in South Eastern Australia, where Echo Team has been deployed on the outskirts of the small town of Ouyen, to eliminate a terrorist threat which has already killed 34 civilians, and is holding 6 hostage...
>>>BRIEFING START<<<
Date: 14th March 2063
Recipient: Australian PULSE - Echo Team
Mission Briefing: You will be extracted to the outskirts of Ouyen in a Hammer piloted by Hotel 4. Hotel Team will remain in the Hammer providing air support. You will then eliminate the entire terrorist threat in silence. Detection is not an option. Once the hostages have been compromised, Hotel 4 will extract them to safety. Echo 4 will then arrive to extract you and your team from the location.
>>>BRIEFING END<<<
'Darkness. That's what it feels like. It's the middle of the day, but still darkness.' He sat there, thinking to himself. He felt a light punch on the shoulder, and looked up. "Hey! You alright?" "Yeah, it's just. 34 people, dead." "Well Hey, Michael" Rico replied. "That's why we're gonna kill every last one of those bastards!" Rico Storm, Echo 2. Rico was a strong man. His parents we're born as islanders from New Zealand, but he was born in America. When he was 23, he moved to Australia, and has been there ever since. Rico was the demolitions expert in Echo Team, he knew a bomb like it was his baby. "Count me in!" came a voice next to Michael. It was Stephanie Longhouse, Echo 3. One of the few female PULSE members in the world. A striking woman, no older than 27. She had long red hair which was clearly dyed, which many people found attractive. But she just said she collects bottles of terrorist blood and puts it in her hair. She's stronger than everyone thinks. Born in Australia, she is the marksman of Echo Team. She knows a sniper rifle as well as Rico knows a bomb.
And then you've got Michael Swanston, Echo 1. The leader or Echo Team, Michael is an experienced fighter in his mid thirties and is the electronics expert in Echo Team. Born in the outback of Australia, Michael grew up on a farm. He always dreamed of living on a farm, with the lucky lady he hasn't met, and settling down for the rest of his life. "This is the drop zone, I'll bring us down." Hotel 4 began to lower the Hammer towards the ground, as the canapy doors slowly opened, revealing the hot dry dirt of this small desert. Echo Team all loaded their weapons, and checked their armour and equipment. The Hammer stopped decending, and hovered over the ground. Stephanie jumped out first, followed by Rico and Michael. The other two walked off a bit to examine the area, while Michael turned around and saw the Hammer facing him, as well as Hotel 4 in the cockpit. "This is as far as I can take you, I can't risk detection. I'll head for the skies and update you on the mission as often as I can." The Hammer began to accend into the sky above him, and a blue wave ran over it, followed by a camouflage effect. The aircraft disappeared, but it could still be heard. Michael turned around and walked towards the other two, as the drone of the Hammer slowly faded.
"Alright, we know our orders. Lets get this done swift and silent." Echo 2 and 3 nodded, and followed Michael as they walked in the direction of Ouyen. After a 5 minute walk, they saw the town in the distance. "There's a hill over there." Stephanie pointed out. "It will work as an effective recon point." The team moved through the dirty wind, and laid down at the top of the hill, out of sight. Michael examined the location, and opened the PA system. "4, can you provide enemy locations for us?" He waited a moment, and he heard the PA system crackle into life. "I can, but they have jammers running. I can't provide the locations of anyone under a roof, everyone else is a sitting duck." "Bring them online now" Michael replied. He turned off his PA system for a moment. "Guys, tango possitions are coming online. Visors down." All 3 of them lowered a green visor over their eyes, which emerged from somewhere under their helmet. The PA system came back online. "I'm tagging all visible enemies now." One by one, each terrorist appeared right before their eyes, whether they we're behind a wall or not. "Stephanie, your up." "With pleasure." she replied. She pulled out her sniper rifle, and lined up her first shot, taking the target's head clean of his shoulders. Rico and Michael watched as each bullet silently exited Stephanie's rifle, and soon after the red outline of another tango disappearing. After no more than a single minute, all the red outlines we're gone, and none of them knew about their fate.
"That was some nice shooting." Rico complimented. "It's too bad I didn't bring a bottle to take their blood". "Guys, activate camouflage systems." They all stood up, disappearing into thin air as they did so. They moved quickly towards the town, and made it there fast. The team slowly made it through the streets, taking out any threats which we're hiding in the buildings. They eventually made it to the prioritised building. "Stack up on the door, I'm gonna tag any tangos I can see through the windows." After circling the building, he had tagged a total of 5 tangos, as well as the six civilians. He returned to the other two and whispered the plan. "I've tagged tangos with red, civilians with blue. Be sure for any unmarked enemies, I'm not sure if I got them all." "Rico looked unsure. "And the civilians, have you tagged them all?" "I'm certain of it, you two ready?" They both replied with a "yes sir." "Alright then, deactivate camouflage and place a one-way charge on the door. Following his orders, they both deactivated their camouflage and Rico set the charge on the door. "Alright, I'm going to sneak around the back and break in from there when the charge goes off." "Are you crazy?" Stephanie replied. "You can't use your camouflage, the generator needs to cool down." Michael stepped towards Stephanie with his hands out, about to reassure her. "I can creep under the windows, it will be fine." Stephanie challenged him. "If you get spotted this whole mission will go to hell!" Rico stood back listening to the two argue under their breathes. "There are hostages in there who's lives are in danger. If I can get to the back door, we can have them pinned down. Right now, those civilians are in danger, and we need to do something NOW!" Stephanie stared at him for a moment, and stood down. "Yes sir," she whispered. "Alright then, stack up and wait for my signal"
Michael began to creep around the building, and very slowly made his way around, making sure he was out of sight. He successfully made it to the back door, and stood up, breathing a sigh of release. Then, the door opened, and a masked man walked out with a cigarette in one hand and a lighter in the other. He looked up, and stopped, as his eyes met Michaels. He dropped the lighter, and it hit the cement with a loud 'clink!' Everyone in the room behind him turned around, including the hostages. "BREACH!" shouted Michael. The front door exploded in a cloud of dust as Rico and Stephanie entered the building taking down every tango they saw. Michael aimed his rifle at the masked man's leg and fired a single shot, incapacitating him. He then grabbed gim around the throat, using him as a human shield, firing at all the terrorists he saw. They fired back at him, ignoring that he was using their comrade as a shield. In a matter of ten seconds, every threat had been eliminated. Michael released his shield, and the masked man fell to the floor with over 15 bullets in his chest. While Rico and Stephanie made sure the hostages were okay, Michael opened the PA system. "4, the hostages have been compramised and are safe. We'll bring them to the courtyard for extraction." "Roger that. See you soon." Michael walked over to the group. "Alright, all of you follow me, now!" He walked out the front dolr with everyone following him.
They arrived at the courtyard without any trouble, and right on time, Hotel 4 deactivated the Hammer's camouflage and landed the ship in the middle of the courtyard. All the civilians were lifted onboars, and the ship took off and flew away. Echo Team sat down. "I guess there's not much we can do until our ride arrives." Rico claimed with a comedic tone. Stephanie looked over at Rico. "We can tie some of the dead guys to the street lamps and get some target practice." At this point, Michael's PA system unexpectedly crackled into life. "Echo 1, this is Hotel 4, I saw a large group of bad guys heading towards the town from the south. They've got around 100 troops, and a tank as well." Michael swore under his breathe. "How long until they arrive?" Rico and Stephanie looked up at this in confusion. "They're no more than 2 minutes away, you better prepare yourself." Michael looked down at the ground in frustration. "Thanks 4, hope to see you again some day." You too 1." The radio fell silent. He stood up. "Guys, we've got company. 100 troops and a tank." Rico and Stephanie looked at eachother, them back at Michael. "You're kidding me, right?" Rico asked hopefully. "Afraid not. Take cover possitions around the courtyard, we're gonna have to hold out until Lewis arrives. They do as they're told, and prepare for a fight. After a suspenseful wait, troops appear. "Wait until they spot us, we might be able to avoid a fight" Michael whispers into the TCS. They avoided detection for 5 seconds, before one of them shouted in an unknown language pointing in their direction. "WEAPONS FREE!" Michael shouted. Then, the courtyard exploded in gunfire and became a warzone. Fighting as best as they can, Echo Team soon realised they couldn't hold out forever. "EVERYONE, STICK TO BLIND FIRE!" Michael screamed. The other two instantly responded by ducking behind cover and firing their guns over the wall. The situation was hopeless, and then the bad got worse. "TANK!" Rico shouted. Michael and Stephanie turned to see a tank roll around the corner. It slowly turned towards Rico and Stephanie's possition. Michael saw this, and acted accordingly. "GUYS, FALL IN NOW!" The two stood up and sprinted towards Michael, firing on the move. They moved just in time, the tank fires, turning their previous possition to rubble. They ran towards Michael, when Rico screamed and fell to the ground. "RICO!" Stephanie shouted as she dragged him the rest of the way. He was alive, but he had been hit in the shoulder. The 3 of them sat there, knowing that on the other side of their cover point, there was a tank which was turning towards their possition. When they thought it was the end, a Hammer swooped down, firing a missile over their possition and destroying the tank. It slows to a hover above the courtyard and unleashed a terrifying spray of bullets at the troops, who cowered behind the destroyed tank. It then lowers down to the ground, and Echo Team makes a run for it. Michael and Stephanie helps Rico onboard first, then Michael jumped on and helped Stephanie up. With all of them onboard, the Hammer rose into the air and flew away.
As they sat there, breathing heavily, a familiar faced pilot turned around. "Hey guys, I was just cruising the neighbourhood, and happened to see you all in quite a prediciment. So I thought I'd lend you a hand." "I must admit Lewis," Michael replied, "this is the first time I've ever been happy to see you. Lewis Taylor, Echo 4. He was the pilot for Echo Team, they say he never once left is Hammer. He even named it, Betsy. "Well, you guys are safe and sound now. You've got your Uncle Taylor flying you home." "I'm not exactly sure that's safe." Rico remarked. Even with his wound, he still managed to find time to crack a joke, as they flew away with their mission accomplished.
End of Part One
I'll be posting new parts every week or two, to give you all a break. I have to admit, part one is pretty damn long.
Subject: "PULSE" - My First Story 
Tue Jun 19, 2012 10:29 am
