ATHENA: Operation Last Stop(IC)

[Cerrania]

January 7th, 2020
SETH Train
Residence Car #3
1200 Hours

The train was an old-fashioned one. Slow, by modern standards. Its maximum speed was around 60 miles per hour, and belched smoke into the air like a factory. It served SETH's purpose, however. All they needed was something to move the cargo from point A to point B. Wasn't that their mission statement anyways? To Operatives Homad Aapo and Mohammed Hassan, they cared little for the internal politics of SETH. Their whole lot in the program was a chance at combat. Both had been friends since their stint in the Egyptian military, and both had heard about SETH's reliable employment opportunities. Not to mention its pay upgrade. So, after consulting one another, both decided to enlist in the program.

Now they sat, letting the sway of the train take them back and forth. They were both uncomfortably hot in the outfits that SETH had given them, and the weight of both their ammunition and other essential carry-on wasn't helping the situation.

"Why are we on constant combat-gear orders? We haven't had contact with anything." Lilted Mohammed in Arabic, sighing and shifting the weight of his gear from shoulder to shoulder. Both operatives held an AK-12 in their hands, standard issue of SETH.

"Lord knows. There's always the risk of ATHENA coming flying out of the sky for our cargo." Replied Homad, looking out the window as if they were descending upon the train at that very moment.

"Knock on fucking wood." Said Mohammed, and after a moment of awkward silence he proceeded to do exactly that. Better safe than sorry, right?



January 7th, 2020
V-44 "Charon"
First Lieutenant Aaron McLaughlin
4 Hours Earlier, 0800 Hours

"Alright, listen up!" Lieutenant McLaughlin shouted at the operatives in the interior of the V-44. He let his eyes sweep around the room. He saw several different levels of experience, several different levels of readiness. He, obviously, placed his trust in some rather than all. But he wasn't going to let that show to the whole squad; that was information he kept to himself. Despite this, however, he would act as if his whole squad was as prepared as he was. Expectations were to remain high throughout the whole mission.

Once everyone had turned their head towards him, Aaron spoke again,

"It's a four hour flight to our drop location, so everyone will have time sleep after I explain our plan. There are two slight kinks in the smooth recovery of our cargo. The first, the - at least - forty SETH operatives. They've been ordered to kill anything that gets in the way of the transport of their goods, so expect heavy resistance until they deem the cargo to be unrecoverable. The second, the train will be travelling at around sixty miles per hour if undisturbed. Both of these two things combined will make it nearly impossible to perform a concentrated HALO jump without losing at least one of you. So therefore, there's a few preemptive measures we are going to take before making contact to make sure we don't all get killed before lifting our weapon. Everyone listening?"

He didn't wait for a response before continuing, now pulling up a map of the train on his tablet and projecting the image into the center display of the V-44 for the whole unit to see.

"The train is 75 cars long, and more than a mile from end to end. Considering this, when we jump, we will be aiming for the command car, the second car from the front. Here," A red dot blipped into existence inside the command car, "10 minutes prior to our landing, a Hooligan will be making a strafe across the rails at a designated zone. If they're smart, SETH will stop the train. This will make our jump sevenfold easier. Once we land, operatives are to rally up in the command car and disable all security measures other than the cargo's. Once the train is inactive, we will go from car to car until we find said cargo. Our Hooligan will be assisting us, and will be clearing rooms ahead of us so that we don't run into too much resistance before we reach our objective. Everyone clear?"

Aaron looked around and nodded, taking his seat as the V-44's engines began to roar. It would be a long flight, and Aaron didn't plan on getting any sleep. Cracking his book, Aaron began to read. Then, looking up, he spoke one more time.

"Oh, and one more thing: we're not leaving survivors."

[The Templar High Council]

January 7th, 2020
V-44 "Charon"
First Lieutenant Aaron McLaughlin
4 Hours Earlier, 0800 Hours

"It's a four hour flight to our drop location, so everyone will have time sleep after I explain our plan. There are two slight kinks in the smooth recovery of our cargo. The first, the - at least - forty SETH operatives. They've been ordered to kill anything that gets in the way of the transport of their goods, so expect heavy resistance until they deem the cargo to be unrecoverable. The second, the train will be travelling at around sixty miles per hour if undisturbed. Both of these two things combined will make it nearly impossible to perform a concentrated HALO jump without losing at least one of you. So therefore, there's a few preemptive measures we are going to take before making contact to make sure we don't all get killed before lifting our weapon. Everyone listening?"

He didn't wait for a response before continuing, now pulling up a map of the train on his tablet and projecting the image into the center display of the V-44 for the whole unit to see.

"The train is 75 cars long, and more than a mile from end to end. Considering this, when we jump, we will be aiming for the command car, the second car from the front. Here," A red dot blipped into existence inside the command car, "10 minutes prior to our landing, a Hooligan will be making a strafe across the rails at a designated zone. If they're smart, SETH will stop the train. This will make our jump sevenfold easier. Once we land, operatives are to rally up in the command car and disable all security measures other than the cargo's. Once the train is inactive, we will go from car to car until we find said cargo. Our Hooligan will be assisting us, and will be clearing rooms ahead of us so that we don't run into too much resistance before we reach our objective. Everyone clear?"

Aaron looked around and nodded, taking his seat as the V-44's engines began to roar. It would be a long flight, and Aaron didn't plan on getting any sleep. Cracking his book, Aaron began to read. Then, looking up, he spoke one more time.

"Oh, and one more thing: we're not leaving survivors."

"Copy all." Anthony replied, leaning back in his seat. Since his first mission with ATHENA, he has killed 2 alien lifeforms and thought about all that was happening around the world. Now, they were hunting down Egyptians that went against international rules concerning these aliens, transporting illegal tech that belonged to ATHENA. Now, they're going to get it to the right hands.

Anthony lay his Benelli M1014 across his lap. Beautiful shotgun, used by the US Marines. A PDW-R sat in the seat next to him, and a Five-seveN on his hip. Parachuting wasn't exactly in Anthony's wheelhouse, the Marines usually preferred fast-roping to their targets if they came form above, but ATHENA made sure everyone on the mission at least had a basic understanding. And parachute infantry had always interested Anthony (if the Marines didn't accept him, he was certain the Army Rangers would've), so it ought to be fun to know how they feel. Before he went and passed out for the next 3.5 hours, Anthony decided to do a check on his weapons, starting with the Benelli. Anyone who wanted to chat was welcome to, the ex-Marine humming Cleaning This Gun was open to talk for a while. At least until he decided to sleep, that is.

[Congreveopia]

Yves took in all of the information silently. He wasn’t about to be the first one to speak up, surrounded by his superiors. In his mind, he was suppriesed by the strategy. He understood that they needed to stop the train, but he was surprised that they were going to use a Hooligan to do it. Everyone aboard that train would be alerted by the time they arrived, and what would they do if the train started reversing after they jumped out of the transport? Would they have to blow up the tracks behind it and charge in on foot, or would the V-44 come and pick them up again? Was it even safe to parachute into a group of alert hostiles, or would they all be shot out of the air?

As Yves considered it, he realised that parachuting was the part of the mission that most concerned him. He wasn’t scared of heights, and he knew how to do a jump, but it still seemed like a lot could go wrong. One had so little control while parachuting. There was no cover, you couldn’t shoot, your course was strictly set by gravity and you could only slightly change it. Yves thought that if something would go wrong in the mission, it would go wrong during the jump. Right at the start. He was certainly glad the Hooligan would be there to support them. Not only would it even the playing field against the doubtlessly numerous SETH operators on the train, but it was also probably the only thing that could fire back if anyone tried to shoot at them while they were parachuting. He hoped its crew knew what they were doing.

Yves knew he should try to sleep, but doubted whether he could while fretting about the jump. He decided to bury his fears in documents, pulling up the manufacturer’s documentation on popular train cars in Egypt. He didn’t know what ones SETH would be using, but he could study all of them, just in case.

[The BranRiech]

It was loads better than taking an American gun.

Luke looked down and regarded his weapon, an HK416 he'd taken from the armory as he was getting suited up for the mission. Due to the lightweight nature of his training, he packed light, considering that this also wouldn't be that long of an operation. He'd taken one of the lighter armor packages, with his head obscured by an olive-drab toque hat, and his face covered by a bandanna wrapped around his face, leaving only his coldly indifferent eyes. His jacket was also on the lighter side, a North Korean flag patched onto the shoulder. A small combat rig hung from the jacket as well, holding the mag-pouches for his rifle.

With the orders given, the soldier looked up at the screen, and at the command car displayed on-screen. He nodded silently, and mentally noted that the train would be stopped, and that they weren't to take any prisoners.

With another couple hours to go, the North Korean rested his head on his harness, and looked up at the ceiling of the aircraft's cargo-bay.

[Vancon]

Her black hair flowed out of the sides of her helmet. She was sitting down beneath one of the V-44's red lights waiting for the big moment. She heard the operational commander's little speech, but gave it no heed. She was naught but a soldier. Point her at them, and like a ball of pure fury she would take the enemy down a peg.

The soldier in question was a measly corporal. Her name was Aegis Dytor. She was once an expert police officer. One of Interpol's finest rising stars. That was, until the event. She shook her head and got out of her melodramatic monologue to focus on the task at hand. Speaking of hands, in hers was a MP5A4, a simple weapon from a simpler time. One without the threat of aliens showing up on her doorstep. It was a sleek weapon, with firm fixtures and more lore revolving around it then most modern novels.

On her hip, she had her old service pistol from back when she was a police officer, an M9. Like her Mp%, it was a workhorse that had seen combat. She felt green around her weapons, and she wasn't going to have any of that. Hopefully during this mission she'll be able to start her own story, and hopefully no longer be the nameless wanderer that she had become, but instead one of the world's finest women staving off the apocalypse.

[The Armed Republic of Dutch Coolness]

January 7th, 2020
V-44 "Charon"
Corporal Natasha Vasilyev

Natasha listened intently as the First Lieutenant gave them a briefing on the mission. She was quite surprised to hear that they weren't going to fight aliens, and slightly uncomfortable with the fact that they were going to have to kill everyone on board of the train. This was to be her first mission for Athena, and yet she wasn't even going to fight those damn aliens? The Corporal had been dropped by parachute before, and liked to think she was quite good at it - nothing to worry about there. As the short briefing finished, she gave a short nod. Giving a short sigh, the woman checked her gear, putting on her helmet and making sure all her ammo and other gear was attached properly, her Belgian Scar-H hanging from her back. Finding everything to be as it should, the former MIVD Operative looked outside of the vehicle, humming one of the latest pop songs she heard on the radio with her trademark soft smile and distant-looking eyes, waiting for the Operation to start in earnest.

[Cerrania]

January 7th, 2020
28,000 Feet Above the SETH Train
V-44 "Charon"
1210 Hours

"60 seconds." Growled the gritty voice of the pilot over the intercom. Aaron stood, bunny-earing his book and looking around at the operatives under his command. There would be no failure among them. The plan was solid, and the enemy would be caught off-guard, and ravaged, before they had a chance to respond. Snapping a magazine into his rifle and priming the instrument, Aaron spoke.

"Gear on. Prepare for jump." He then turned to the closest operative, Corporal Vasilyev, and aided her in putting on the parachute. Despite this type of mission being familiar to him, Aaron could not help but feeling his heartbeat accelerate. He was proud to be an ATHENA operative, despite the implication that he may be working with those who were not as combat-effective as SEALs. Still, he was anxious to enter combat. It had been weeks since his last taste of battle, and he was ready for the exhilaration of a fight. To say he was addicted to battle was accurate, if a skewed way of looking at it. Aaron knew no other lifestyle, and sitting idle only made him grumpy and intolerant.

Now, however, it was time to go back to work.

[The Armed Republic of Dutch Coolness]

January 7th, 2020
28,000 Feet Above the SETH Train
V-44 "Charon"
1210 Hours


Natasha rolled with her arms as she was helped with putting on her parachute. "Thank you." she said to Aaron, before turning back towards the view from the helicopter. She gave a deep sigh. This would be a big fucking jump, which wasn't a problem by itself. Far from it. What was a problem was that they had to jump onto a train. Granted, it was a sound plan and would definitely give the ATHENA operatives a big advantage, but it still struck a nerve with her.

Maybe it was the fact that they were going to kill every single person below them that struck her, she decided. It wasn't that they were going to kill people - that wasn't much of a problem - it was that they were going to kill people while they could be fighting aliens as well. Wasn't that what they were supposed to do? Fighting aliens, rather than fighting in some petty rivalries? Natasha gave another sigh.

"Ready."

[Cerrania]

January 7th, 2020
SETH Train
V-38 "Hooligan"
1208-1214 Hours

The V-38 Hooligan was a sleek vehicle, meant for fast attack, close air support of ground elements. It was armed to the teeth, and remotely driven by a pilot back at home base. Now, screaming across bleak desert and the occasional oasis, the V-38 was headed straight for a nondescript cargo train. Its weapons were primed, and its directive was fresh in its mechanical mind. After several minutes of low-level flying, its target came into sight. A railroad, with a train still several kilometres away, disrupted the natural beauty of the desert. Now, its guns spinning up, the Hooligan loosed a fiery barrage of bullets into the tracks. The cameras fed the information to the gunships remote pilot as the tracks were torn up, and rendered useless. Once the first part of its job was done, the Hooligan retreated behind a sand dune, reducing its activity to only minimal power levels, and bode its time.

It didn't have to wait long. Not two minutes after, the train that was supposed to be travelling along the rails screeched to a halt. It could progress no further, as its means of travel were hindered.

Then, the V-38 woke up. The SETH operatives aboard the train barely had time to turn their arm towards the drone before it launched death in the form of a missile at the train. The rockets screamed forward, raking the residence cars and incinerating those inside. Quickly maneuvering away from the hail of bullets that streaked towards its hull, the Hooligan made its way to the armory car, not far from where it had originally attacked. Here, it opened fire once again, ravaging the car and whoever was inside, before a cacophonous explosion signaled that ammunition within the car had been detonated. From its upwards facing cameras, the Hooligan could see that its ground elements were arriving.

ATHENA was here, in force.

---

4 minutes prior...

The green light had been given as the bay doors opened. It was jump time. Turning to his squad, Aaron shouted into his mic,

"We are go for jump! Out of the plane! Go!"

He tapped every comrade on the back as they began their freefall out of the transport. Once everyone else had exited, Aaron followed suit. Almost immediately, his ears were filled with the sound of wind whipping past his form. He had always hated HALO jumping, yet abundantly found himself in a position where he was forced to do it. As the squad careened towards the ground and cleared the cloud layer, Aaron could see flames spouting from a snaking, thin, object on the ground. Through the wind, Aaron let a grin slip through his stony facade. The V-38 had found its mark, and was wreaking havoc. As he watched, a massive explosion tore through another part of the train, sending a shockwave over the dust and sand around it. Then, at 2000 feet, the information system in his helmet beeped. It was time to deploy his parachute. Pulling the string, hard, Aaron grunted as he was jerked upwards. Immediately producing his rifle, he scanned the ground for any idle targets around the command car. He saw several disgruntled SETH operatives beginning to gather a few cars down, and he grimaced.

Landing hard on the packed dirt next to the command car, Aaron tucked himself into a forward roll and cut the cord on his parachute. Luck was on his side, as he had landed on the opposite side of the command car from where the SETH operatives were headed. Raising his weapon, Aaron looked around for any other signs of hostiles.

"Scythe Squad, be advised, four hostiles approaching the command car. Fire at will, don't give them a chance to sound the alarm that we're on the ground." Aaron ordered, before hopping into the command car. As soon as the clank of his boots striking metal echoed around the car, two operatives whirled around. One held a pistol, the other seemed be unarmed. Squeezing his HK416C's trigger twice, Aaron watched as the rounds thudded against the armed man's chest and threw him against the control panel. The sharp report of the weapon echoed around the room, and as the man fell to the floor, Aaron turned the barrel of the gun towards the unarmed man. The SETH operative had a stony look on his face, even as he slowly raised his hands in the air.

"Turn all the warning systems off. Now." Aaron ordered, and watched intently as the man did as he ordered.

ATHENA was inside, and now it was time to go to work.

[Vancon]

With a solid sounding clank, Aegis landed on one of the flatbed cars, about halfway along the train. Parachuting wasn't so much her best trick up her sleeve, so she was quite far off of the goal. The cars were rather large, about the size of a couple freight containers long, and slightly wider. Around her landing zone, there were some barrels and some pallets, but otherwise the flatbeds were pretty plain. She had to group up with the rest of Scythe.

Aegis raised her MP5 and walked towards the closest actual car. it was one of those two story ones where you can take the lower floor or the upper one from two opposing landings with stairs up and down. Peering around the corner as she opened the door, Aegis moved forward. Below, there were five visible SETH operatives sleeping in the seats, and above there were three guards standing around on high alert. Or rather they should be, but they were busy talking about the most stupid of things.

The Greek police officer turned soldier crept down below and pulled out her knife. Coming up on the first guy, she stabbed her knife down straight through his chest, to a quiet gasp of breath as blood started flowing. Next guy, same deal. One quick and effective stab to the neck. Third operative, third kill. However, the fourth guy woke up. He had his helmet on, but promptly took it off. He thought he was seeing things, but unfortunately he was not. Aegis charged him, only to be judo thrown to the floor with a solid thump.

Aegis groaned. She rubbed her head as she leaned up. The SETH soldier went for his weapon. The sleeping guy woke up. Footsteps sounded above.

Showtime.

Aegis somersaulted forward and lept onto the man who threw her. A knife through his eye, and that fight was over. The second operative grabbed his weapon only to promptly have it be removed by a crazy killer cop. She pulled the gun out of his hand, spun around and back handed him in the face, rolled away, pulled up the man's rifle, and smuck him in the head with the but of his rifle. the trio of soldiers had now arrived at the far end of the car, where they had saw the carnage, arriving in time only to see their buddy get whacked in the face. One of them cried out, the second raised his gun to shoot, and shot, and the third ran back up. As Aegis ducked for cover, she could hear the pother guy running around top flank her.

Pulling a flashbang off of her chest-rig, she raised her MP5 and sprayed at the duo as they tore up the seats. She proceeded to throw the flashbang at the duo, and she waited for the second guy. He came around promptly, and shot through the wall that he was hiding behind. By this time, the duo had recovered, and they were watching for her to stick her head up. They were hiding behind two sides of a doorway, and she was behind a tattered assortment of tables and chairs. Aegis pulled off another flashbang, and threw again. After hearing the inevitable, "Not again!", Aegis bolted out of cover and back to where she killed the third guy. Her cover had been destroyed, and she had to relocate.

"Where did she go?"

"Fucking retard, you were supposed to be watching her,"

"Dude, she fucking blinded me man! You were supposed to!"

"That makes two of us,"

"Shit,"

Aegis creeped down the upper corridor slowly as she heard the two men bicker. She raised her MP5 and set up next to the corner. Only problem was, well, she had her foot around the corner. The two men saw and readied themselves. The Greek started to turn, and she was swiftly fired upon. She caught two bullets to the chest and one to the thigh. The chest shots were blocked, but the wind was knocked out of her, and her leg was clipped. Pain surged through her leg like wildfire as blood rolled down her thigh. She screeched out in pain and slumped down the wall. The two men charged her, only to be greeted by a face full of 9mm rounds to the face.

She reached for her radio and called in what had happened.

"Dytor here. 8 operatives down. I took a bullet to the leg. 'Gonna try to patch myself up, and then carry on the mission. I'm probably somewhere around car 30. The first car in from the flatbed section," said Aegis in a strained tone.

---

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