Manifest Fantasy

11:30 A.M. Local Time

Month 5, Day 22, Year 237

"30 minutes till the op. Thermal picked up 2 hostiles guarding the entrance and 8 more scattered throughout the building. They won"t be expecting us, but keep an eye out for traps and tripwires."

Having seen the grotesque consequences of homemade b.o.o.by traps in the Middle East, the members of the rescue team would be more than cautious when infiltrating the target structure.

As with operations back on Earth, the ident.i.ties of the team were kept secret; the operatives were given code names instead, designated Terras One through Six. The team leader, Terra One, reviewed the plan with his squadmates.

Sorn"s Best Bar

12:00 P.M.

Luna One sat at a lone table in Sorn"s Best Bar. As the clock hit noon, a man from a nearby table got up and sat at his. The bandit leader got straight into business, demanding 10 million sodars for the release of the hostage.

"You have 24 hours to make your decision."

To the Americans, that was a relief, since their mission would be over well within 24 hours. The objective for Luna squad was to capture the bandit leader.

"Give me a moment to communicate with my superiors," requested Luna One.

This was a strategy to stall for time. Luna Squad needed confirmation from Terra Squad; the Americans believed that the bandit leader may simply order the hostage"s execution if he is under threat.

On the side of the bandit leader, he was surprised to see the device that the strangely clothed man had produced from a pocket. This flat looking box caught the eye of the bandit leader, distracting him from the American"s elaborate ruse.

Luna One stalled for a few minutes, rehearsing the script he had practiced, before he finally got confirmation from Terra Squad.

Meanwhile, back at the hostage building…

11:59 A.M.

pop! pop!

Two suppressed shots from M107 anti-material rifles. .h.i.t their marks, leaving the two guards posted by the entrance headless, and the wall behind them painted red.

Above, two surveillance drones monitored the situation, feeding information regarding the position of hostiles into the networked helmets of the Terra Squad operatives. On their HUDs (heads-up display), they could see indicators displaying enemy positions, a.s.sisted by augmented reality systems within the helmets. Such technology was generally relegated to the realm of fiction, popular in video games like Call of Duty or Battlefield. In reality, these systems had been under development for a while, and the Pentagon saw this hostage situation as a perfect opportunity to test their new equipment, without having to worry about the prying eyes of Chinese or Russian spies.

Two bandits, still unaware of the presence of the American team, lazily guarded the entrance to the bas.e.m.e.nt.

"Wish I could have more fun. That night on the road was such a thrill."

"Oh yeah, sure was. Reminds me of the good old days of our missions against Sonaran generals."

"Director Tempos should"ve had some apprentices do this s.h.i.t. Why—"

tata!

Two calculated headshots from Terra Squad prematurely ended the conversation between the two guards.

"All rooms in this corridor are clear. Two additional tangoes were eliminated. Proceeding to the bas.e.m.e.nt."

Six bandits were left, with two in the hostage"s holding cell. As the American forces descended the stairs, their HUDs alerted them to the presence of four hostiles, waiting for them on the other side of the door at the end of the hallway. The special forces unit was caught in a dangerous choke point. The bandits on the other side were armed with crossbows, according to the positioning of their bodies. One, who had additional readings as seen on the drones" infrared sensors, appeared to be a fire mage, ready to cast a dangerous spell.

The members of Terra Squad crept up to the two rooms adjacent to the room at the end of the hallway. Silently, Terra One readied a flashbang. Terra Two, in the room opposite, opened the door slightly, allowing Terra One to throw his flashbang.

BANG!

"AAH! I can"t see!!"

"What is this sorcery?!"

Terra Two slammed open the door before retreating back to his room. The bandits, having been blinded, fired haphazardly toward the direction of the door. Having wasted their readied ammunition, Terra Squad quickly entered and eliminated the three bandits.

tatata!

The mage, abandoning his offensive spell casting, summoned a defensive shield, similar to the one used by the n.o.bians during the Battle of Area 51. A blue light flickered around the disoriented mage, encapsulating him in a bubble.

"Switch to full auto!"

Terra One did not know the full capabilities of Gaerran shield magic, as the American scientists from Alpha team and Area 51 have yet to fully understand it. The order to fire their weapons on the fully automatic setting may have seemed like overkill, but to Terra One, underestimating his enemies could lead to the unnecessary deaths of his squadmates.

tatatatatata!

The torrential rain of bullets quickly destroyed the shield, which dissipated after less than a second of firing. The mage within the shield perished, his body riddled with holes.

"Four hostiles neutralized. Proceeding to holding cells."

Thanks to the work of Alpha Team, back at Kelmithus" Wizard Academy, Terra Squad was a.s.signed a modified E6B, which was now able to jam magical signals. Evidently, Alpha Team discovered that magical waves had similar properties to electromagnetic waves; in particular, magical communication was similar to radio.

The final two Dark Shadow members, having lost communication with their comrades, were desperate. After each set of peculiar popping sounds, a group of n.o.bians fell. With no way to contact their leader, all they could do was wait for the signal to execute the hostage. Desperately, one of the bandits held a knife to Perry"s neck, waiting for the intruders to enter.

The drones buzzing around the building detected this, and alerted the rescue team. This reaction by the bandits was expected, and Terra Squad approached the door, with Terra One readying another flashhbang. This time, Terra One vocalized his action, letting Perry know what he was about to do.

"Tossing a flashbang in three, two, one!"

Perry understood how a flashbang worked, and as the cylindrical instrument rolled into the room, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth in order to minimize the effects of the flashbang. The bandits did not do the same, and instead stared at the peculiar device that had rolled into the room. The bandits were allowed to have curious thoughts for a split second before they were blinded and deafened by the M84 stun grenade.

BANG!

"What in the name of No—"

Terra Squad immediately breached the room, their movements fluid. The disoriented bandits proved to be easy targets, and were easily neutralized. The bandit holding the knife to Perry"s neck was unable to commit to his threatening intentions, as he lost control of his hand when his brain ceased to send electrical signals, thanks to an intrusion of lead.

tata!

"Hostage is secure, we are ready for extraction."

Terra Squad, having secured Amba.s.sador Perry, exited the building and rendezvoused with their overwatch team toward the designated extraction point.

Sorn"s Best Bar

12:08 P.M.

"We don"t negotiate with terrorists," replied Luna One.

"Is that so? I suppose then that you don"t value the life of your colleague, then."

The bandit leader attempted to contact his subordinates back at his hideout, but received no response. In the background, unscrupulous looking men could be seen, being dragged out of the store.

Luna One drew his firearm, knowing full well that the mission"s success was now guaranteed.

"You"re under arrest. Please don"t resist."

At this point, the bandit leader attempted to cast some sort of spell, but the American special forces team, having antic.i.p.ated this, quickly incapacitated the man via taser.

Area 51

4 P.M.

"Thank you for rescuing me."

"That"s our job. And speaking of yours, as compensation for your unfortunate circ.u.mstances, the President has allowed you to take paid leave for up to a month."

"Ah, that is very generous, but I think I"ll have to decline that offer. I"m living out my dreams, being able to explore this new fantasy world."

"Haha yeah, that"s understandable. Well, since you"re back on the team, be sure to contact the higher-ups for debriefing."

"Of course. Oh, and by the way, about those bandits, I feel like there"s something suspicious about them. I believe they may have ties to the n.o.bians. The attack on my convoy is consistent with descriptions of Dark Shadow operations."

"I"ll keep that in mind. Thank you Mr. Perry."

Area 51 Interrogation Room

6 P.M.

As the bandit leader, now identified as Norge, sat in the interrogation room, two men discussed their options behind the room"s one-way mirror.

"Ay Quinn, looks like the good cop deal ain"t workin. Let me try the bad cop business."

"Ah just give me a bit more time man. He"s being cooperative now!"

"Cooperative? He still refuses to talk about the n.o.bian weapons we found on him. You know, I just remembered something. I just got intel from the general. He said that international law doesn"t apply around these parts."

"Oh? What are you implying?"

"No Geneva Convention, no human rights laws. We are authorized to use suggestibility drugs and torture to source information. In fact, we"ve just received a care package from the Big Wigs. A new truth serum the nerds have been working on for those terrorists we"ve got in Guantanamo."

"Well s.h.i.t, I guess I can"t really compete with that. You can take over for me if you"d like. I could use a break anyway."

"Thanks Quinn. I"ll make sure this f.u.c.ker gets what he deserves for what he"s done to our brothers in that convoy."

Later that day, screams could be heard coming from an undisclosed room within the base.