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GNSF Command HQ, Victoria, BC Canada

“Fleet Admiral Stern sir” a voice came over the office speakerphone, “Admiral Wallbanger is here to see you”. “Send him in” the Fleet Admiral replied. Looking up from the latest intelligence reports, the Fleet Admiral motioned to the CNO and said, “Take a seat boss, we need to go over this stuff, and it doesn’t look good”. The Admiral saluted and sat down looking a bit worn out. “Have you seen this stuff from CID?” the Fleet Admiral queried. “Yes, I spent the last 12 hours going over it and taking to the Intel Department” the Admiral Replied. Both sat quietly for a moment, and then the Fleet Admiral got up from his chair and went over to a large map board on the wall. “Here is what it looks like to me” the Fleet Admiral said pointing at a section of the map of the west coast, then continued, “the highlighted area is where the SOSUS detectors were destroyed, and here is where the planes were lost and next to that the freighters. They all vanished in the dead zone which cannot be a coincidence.”

Admiral Wallbanger looked on and then replied, “OK, I know what you’re thinking, but we haven’t heard a peep from those Brotherhood nut cases since the missile attack on HQ. Just because we have two incidences happen in that area doesn’t mean it’s them”. The fleet Admiral smiled, then replied, “That was good, I almost believed you that time” as he started to laugh. The CNO then lowered his head and mumbled, “Damn, I was hoping they had all died of frostbite somewhere in Siberia”. As the Admiral looked up he could see the smile fade quickly of the Fleet Admirals face. “I wish that were the case, but I have just received word from CID on the sub surface contacts”. At this, the Admiral sat up and strained hard to fight back the sickening feeling rising from his stomach. “The DSRV located the contacts and made a positive ID on both, they are the two Perry Class escorts”. At this, the Admiral slumped a bit in his chair and mumbled, “Great, here we go again”. The Fleet admiral then continued, “Both were attacked and had severe hull damage, but it was not caused by torpedos”. At this, the Admiral’s head shot up. “The hull was ripped apart from the inside, and by the extent and location of the damage it was not an accident.” The Fleet Admiral added. Admiral Wallbanger got up and started pacing around the office, then spun around and blurted out “So the crew scuttled the boats, probably just like the pilots flying off. Damn it, how many traitors and infiltrators are involved in this, I better get to ..” . “STAND DOWN” the Fleet Admiral yelled, knocking the Admiral in to a silent freeze. “Let me finish. The DSRV sent divers out to check out the ships. They were limited to 20 minutes at that depth but managed to find out a lot more” the Fleet Admiral said as he passed the CNO a bottle of cognac and a glass. “Here WB, have a drink and let me finish, you look like you could use one” the Fleet Admiral exclaimed. “The escorts appeared to have all hands on board, most at their stations. One demolition expert looked over the hull and determined it was blown with shaped charges, which rules out an accident. Also, they recovered two bodies that we think are NOT members of the crew, they were all in black wetsuits and we armed.” The Admiral took a bit gulp and then looked up commenting, “OK, I’m calm.” Then continued, “I guess it has to be the nut cases. So now what?”

The Fleet Admiral paced a bit and then replied, “OK, so far it looks like we had a group of pilots defect. One or two I can believe, but 16 is too high a number to pull off. We must assume that the flight lead would defiantly be bad, but some or all of the rest may have simply been following him. We should know more when the CID finishes the profile on the pilots. As for the convoy, it looks like an elite seal type team boarded the ships and scuttled the escorts. The timing on this would have had to be perfect so that no distress call could be sent. After that, they probably took over the freighters and headed off to where ever they were taking them. Since this all transpired in the SOSUS dead area, I can only assume it’s our friends behind this.” The fleet Admiral sat down and poured himself a drink. After pondering a while, the Admiral spoke up. “If they have the freighters, they must still be out there. They don’t move fast and we should be able to find them”. “I agree, and that’s why I ordered the fighters to conduct a patrol of the ‘dead zone’. Once we find them we can get them back or sink them,” replied. “SINK THEM?” the Admiral exclaimed as he shot to his feet, “We can’t sink them, they are civilian and friendly's to boot”. The Fleet Admiral, looking up with a long cold look replied. “Those six freighters are loaded with enough arms to make a small country, coupled with the F-16’s they make a bigger country. If we cannot retrieve the convoy will have no choice by to destroy it”. Admiral Wallbanger slumped back in his chair, knowing that the Fleet Admiral was right, but not liking it at all. “I know your right boss, it just really sucks”. “Now get out of here and get some sleep … and yes that is an order. The sub won’t be back for another seven hours so there is nothing we can do until then”. The Admiral shook his head as he headed out the door, mumbling as he left “I need a vacation”.

GNSF Command HQ, Intelligence Department, Victoria, BC Canada

As the Fleet Admiral looked over the latest reports and data with Lieutenant Commander Brice Williams, he noticed something that disturbed him deeply. “Are you sure about this?” the Fleet Admiral asked. Yes sir, we checked it twice” the Lieutenant Commander replied. As the Fleet Admiral looked around the Intelligence Department, he pondered the current situation as he watched the bustle of agents and officers running around like ants at a picnic. Just then, Admiral Wallbanger came in, looking less than happy. “What's up?” the Fleet Admiral asked, knowing that look all too well. “I’m going to have that guy shot, he is driving me nuts.” The Admiral replied. “Who?” the Fleet Admiral asked. “That reporter, he is stalking me worse than my Ex-Wife. Every time I turn around he is there.” The Admiral barked, looking like he was ready to find a P-90 and go hunting. The Fleet Admiral looked at him, with one of those stares the Admiral knew well. He was not sure what he had done, but he sure must have done something, as he watched that look grow across the Fleet Admirals face. Before he could think of something to say to get him out of whatever hot water he just got himself into, the Fleet Admiral grabbed his arm and whispered, “Come with me”. The CNO followed wondering if he was about to become a hunting accident statistic.

As both officers walked into an interrogation room, the Fleet Admiral turned back to a security officer standing by a console and barked “Soldier, come here and guard this door, no one comes in or disturbs us… PERIOD! “. The soldier jumped to attention, replying “SIR, YES SIR!”, and took up position in front of the door as the Fleet Admiral closed and locked it. The Admiral looked up not knowing what to expect, when the Fleet Admiral motioned him to sit down, then spoke, “OK my friend, I need to tell you something that NEVER leaves this room, are we very clear on that,” he said in a very serious tone. “You know I would never breach a trust” the Admiral replied. “OK, this is about our last encounter with the BotC nutcases. I’m sure you remember that I was shot up pretty bad in that prison break, and eventually ended up getting to the DPRK Militia,” The Fleet Admiral asked. “Of course I remember, I thought you were dead and would end up being stuck with your job” the Admiral chuckled. The Fleet Admiral smiled, and then continued to explain all that had happened, “Well, what I didn’t put in my report was that when I left the camp I wasn’t alone. I was helped into the forest by a man who was a journalist also being held at the camp, Slim Jim. I’m sure you noticed he limps”. “Yea” the Admiral replied. “Well they messed him up pretty bad in the camp, and they eventually let him be their cook. Anyway, he hid me in the forest and patched up some of the bad wounds. The reinforcements were all over the place looking for me, and eventually a patrol came our way. He buried me under scrub and then yelled frantically for the soldiers” The Admiral looked at little confused by this, but continued to listen. “When they came over he told them he had tried to chase me down, but I had jumped him. He even smashed his head against a tree to make it look good, that took some balls. Anyway, he told them I had fled south which got them to radio this to the other search groups. They then dragged his ass back to the camp.” As the peices came together, the Admiral finally understood why this guy had been brought to GNSF. He sat speechless as the Fleet Admiral finished. “When I got back to HQ I had the Intel guys track him down. Seems he was taken to Mandu when the Korean Nationalists took the prison. From there I had him brought here.” After thinking about this for a while, the Admiral asked, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this before?” “Simple, when I had him brought here he asked me for one favor, which I agreed to before he asked. He asked me not to tell anyone who he was, as he wanted to make it on his own merits, and not for saving my sorry ass. So that’s the story, and that is why I tollerate him running rampant,” the Fleet Admiral said with a grin, “Besides, he is good at his job and all the personnel here like him, and he is a sucker to stick with a bar tab” the Fleet Admiral finished, trying hard not to laugh. “OK, I will cut him some slack, but you know I hate talking to the press” the Admiral said standing up and smiling. “No problem, you don’t have to talk to him, just don’t shoot him” the Fleet admiral chuckled as he stood. “OK, now let’s get back to this nasty mess we have” the Fleet Admiral said as he opened the door. As they proceeded back into the CID Department, the Admiral could not help but wonder what other things were left out of that report.

GNSF Command HQ, Intelligence Department, Victoria, BC Canada

The air in the room was thick, as people scurried all over in a choreographed dance of chaos. As the officers flew around from station to station, the Fleet Admiral flew through the door and headed directly for Lieutenant Commander Williams. “What the hell is going on” screamed the Fleet Admiral, just as the CNO and DCNO came running in. “Sir, our F-16 were threatened by another Flight and have been instructed to return to base. The US Carrier group has scrambled a large group of F-18’s to intercept the group,” the Lieutenant Commander explained. “Return to base, are you *******  kidding, our pilots can take those ******* ” Admiral Wallbanger yelled. Turning to the Admirals, Fleet Admiral Stern raised his hand and said, “Relax gentlemen” and turned to the Lieutenant Commander. “Find out if the flight complied with the request, and have the other flights return to base ASAP. Contact the Carrier group and get minute-by-minute updates. I want to know what happens and if they engage. Also, tell them they need to find out what those fighters are hiding and protecting. Tell them it is probably the freighter convoy.” The Fleet Admiral instructed. He then looked at both Admirals for a while and made a beeline to the interrogation room. Knowing that look, Admiral Wallbanger turned to Admiral Paul and whispered, “follow me” and followed the Fleet Admiral.

Once inside the room, Admiral Wallbanger closed the door. Looking at the fleet Admiral like a bottle about to blow its cork, he asked, “Why the hell didn’t we engage those nut cases. We may be new to Air combat, but our guys are the best”. He then started pacing the office trying to cool down, while Admiral Paul stood coolly watching. After several laps of the office, the Admiral mumbled “stupid US Navy, they think they are the best, our guys could have creamed those ****** ”. At this point, semi-silence in the room was broken by a loud “AHEM” from the Fleet Admiral. “Are you quite finished,” he asked Admiral Wallbanger. “Yea, I guess so, for now” the Admiral Replied. After a pause and another of those looks, the Fleet Admiral spoke. “The Carrier group was right in the call to our pilots to break off and egress. I looked at the AWAC’s data, and there were at least 18 planes up there, at least half were MIG-29’s. Four against eighteen are not good odds at the best of times, but in this case it would have been suicide”. “I know they were outnumbered, but our guys are good. They could have creamed half of them, and the rest would probably run” Admiral Wallbanger interjected. After another look, the Fleet Admiral continued, “The fact they were outnumbered is not the issue, the fact they were UNARMED is”. The Admirals eyes opened wide as he exclaimed “WHAT?”. Before the Admiral could get a breath to continue, the Fleet Admiral jumped in, “they were UNARMED because they were doing recon. With weapons, it would cut the airtime in half. They were all sent up with fuel tanks only, to yield maximum flight time”.

After a brief silence, the fleet Admiral continued. “Look, we were searching for the planes and freighters. We did not expect to run into hostile air threats out here. The US Carrier group can get in there, cream any target and find out what they are protecting. I would send our planes up armed, but are weapon supply for the F-16’s are on the freighters, we only have a limited supply here. Don’t worry, the F-18’s will do the work for us, then we can go in and mop up the left over’s”.

GNSF Command HQ, CNO's Office, Victoria, BC Canada

“Admiral Wallbanger sir” a voice buzzed over the office speakerphone. “What is it”, the Admiral replied. “Rear Admiral Sparks is here to see you”, the voice answered. “Send him in please” the Admiral replied. As the door opened, the Rear Admiral stormed in, and in a somewhat irate voice said “Sir, what the hell is going on. I just had a group of ******* in MIG’s buts my chops. They our COMM frequencies and even locked us up. Who the he….”. “HOLD ON,” the Admiral bellowed cutting the Rear Admiral off in mid sentence, then continuing, “I know all about the incident. We are looking into how they got our codes and who they are. I’m just glad you all made it back”. The Rear Admiral sat down and composed himself.

After a few minutes, he commented, “Boy, I don’t mind telling you a sure felt naked up there with no weapons”. “Don’t worry about that, all flights from now on will be armed” the Admiral replied. “Now, you were up there a long time, you go and get some sleep, you deserve it. We are grounding the F-16’s for a complete radio retrofit. We are having all the frequencies changed so whoever they are they will not be able to hear us when where up there. Now, get out of here and go relax”, the Admiral said pointing at the door. “OK Sir, and thanks for lending an ear” the Rear Admiral said as he walk out and closed the door.

“Admiral Wallbanger sir” a voice echoed over the office speakerphone. “What is it now”, the Admiral replied. “The Fleet Admiral is here to see you”, the voice answered. “Send him in please” the Admiral replied. As the door opened, Fleet Admiral Stern entered and quickly sat down. “I see you had a visit from Sparks, I bet he was pissed” the Fleet Admiral said with a smile. “Yea, he was a bit rattled by the whole thing.  So what’s up boss, hope its good news for a change,” The Admiral asked.

Sitting quietly, the Fleet Admiral pondered the question and produced a small grin. “Well, I guess it’s not all bad, I just figured I would update you on a few things”, the Fleet Admiral responded, and then continued. “Well it seems that the manufacturer is holding the US Navy responsible for the freighter loss, as they were paid to escort it. Therefore, we get another load free. I also increased the original order, and we now have eight freighters worth of stuff”. At this, the Admiral chuckled, “It’s about time the US Navy was on the hook for something”. “Well, the bad part, or good, depending on how you look at it, is after this shipment they won’t help us with much of anything. They say we are too high a liability for them”, the Fleet Admiral replied, starting to laugh, then injected “We save their butts and WER’E the liability”.

After a few moments of laughing, both calmed down enough for Admiral Wallbanger to ask, “So what happened with the search, last look the US Navy has almost everything they own looking for those boats?” The Fleet Admiral nodded, “Yea, they want the boats AND the guys that sunk there escorts BAD. That is why I extended the grounding of the F-16’s while the radios are being retrofitted. The next time they go up I want them to have secure COMMs AND to be loaded with weapons.”

Both sat there pondering all the chaos of late, the Fleet Admiral got up and said, “Well, have to run, got to get in contact with CPT Swordfish at the Main base. We may need some subs sent over this side, as we have fourteen out searching and only 2 left in reserve.” As the Fleet Admiral left, Admiral Wallbanger could here Slim Jim’s voice down the hall. As the door was closed, he jammed the intercom button as if he was killing a large fast moving bug. A second later, a voice answered, “Yes sir”. “I’m indisposed and can NOT be disturbed, understand”, the Admiral yelled. “Aye sir, understood” was the response from the intercom. Then in a softer tone, the Admiral added “And please let me know when the reporter is gone from the area”. A few seconds of silence passed, followed by “aye sir I will”, in a voice trying hard not to laugh.

Presidents Office, Bucharest, Romania

A knock on the door was shortly followed by it opening, as women stuck here head inside and announced, “Mr. President, the officer you scheduled a meeting with is here, should I send him in?”. “Yes, please send him in”, was the response from behind the desk. After a few moments, a man entered the lavish office and approached the large desk. “President Basescu, thank you for agreeing to see me.” He said as he extended his hand. Standing up, the President shook his hand and asked him to please have a seat.

“Mr. President, the reason I asked to see you was to set up passage across your border into the troubled area of Serbia. We need to make sure there are no misunderstandings during the transit,” the officer said. Sitting back in his chair smugly, the President replied, “As I told your aid when he phoned, we are reluctant to allow active military troops and materials to use our land as a crossing point. We are trying hard not to provoke the people involved in creating this chaos so close to our borders. Our main concern must always be to ensure our people are safe”.

The officer continued to sit quietly for a moment, then smiling he responded, “I fully agree with your position sir, as I wouldn’t want to antagonize those terrorists if I were in your position. However, as you have indicated the trouble is escalating and coming a lot closer to your borders. We are willing to assist you in the protection of your borders if we can get passage. As you are aware we have a very large ground force on your border with Russia, and getting them to the trouble spot fast is imperative.”

Both sat quietly as the President gave the appearance of contemplated the offer, and then having already made up his mind, he said, “I am very sorry sir, but it’s too large a gamble for me to take. Allowing you to cross would be seen by the terrorists as our support for the hostilities, making us a target. I prefer to remain neutral and not get involved. I hope you can understand my position here, but you can always try crossing at Hungary”. After a few moments of silence, the President added, “besides, it’s not like Russia has done anything favorable for us lately”.

Both men sat quiet for what seemed like hours, with the officer occasionally looking at his watch. The president started to feel a little uncomfortable at the silence, as he looked at the officer sitting across from him. Then, finally, the officer stood up, and with a grin said, “I am very sorry Mr. President, I think there has been a misunderstanding here regarding two matters. First, the forces on the Russian border are not Russian forces; they are an independent force commanded by myself. Secondly, I came here to ask for passage as a courtesy to you, not because I require your permission. We will be crossing through Romania starting at 0500 tomorrow morning. Please make sure there are no problems during our transit, as any resistance will be annihilated, followed by us turning your little country into a smoking cinder pile”.

Thrown back in his chair by this total change, the president could not believe what just happened. He was so stunned at the officer’s words and demeanor, that he simply sat there unable to speak. “So, just to make sure you are totally clear on this, I want you to contact your armed forces and tell them we are transiting, to stay out of our way, and to not cause me any problems.” the officer snarled. As the President finally got enough control to get to his feet, the officer again glanced down at his watch, and added, “Oh and just so you can fully understand the magnitude of the situation, contact your forces and ask what they have on Radar. You will soon see sixteen F-16’s running up and down your border. If there is the slightest problem when we cross, we will make sure we leave nothing left standing”.

At this, the officer calmly stood up and walked to the door. As he opened it, he turned back and said, “Thank you again for seeing me Mr. President, I’m glad we could work this out.” As he started out the door, the President shouted, “Who the hell do you think you are mister”, which stopped the officer dead in his tracks. Slowly turning, he looked the president in the eyes and replied, “Sir, I am your worst nightmare if you provoke me, but you may simply call me Admiral Kim Jung Il”.

Standing speechless, the President watched as the officer walked out, closing the door behind him. As he slumped back into his seat, another knock on the door startled him as another man barged in. “Sir, sorry to barge in Sir, we have enemy fighters on the border sir”, the man said in a panic. “What are they and where?” the President asked. “Sir, there are sixteen Fighters, F-16’s we think, running up and down our border with Russia”.

Russian Border with Romania

“Are we set to move”, a voice called out as the flap to the temporary command tent was thrown aside. As the officers turned, they could see ADM Kim Jung Il entering the tent, which had all of them jumping to attention and saluting. “Aye sir, we are all set, just awaiting your orders sir” one officer responded. As the Admiral looked over the other officers, still frozen at attention, he ordered, “OK, let’s get the force moving, dismissed”.
As the officers headed for the door, a voice rang out from the far corner of the tent, “Damn, I lost $50.00 on you, figured the Romanians would throw you in the brig, but nice to see you made it back”. At this, the other officers departed the tent as if it were on fire, as the Admiral turned to face the shadowed figure sitting in the corner. “Well Lafitte, I see you got the planes here on time” the Admiral chuckled. “Hell, those things are a hoot to fly, just wished you hadn’t called those MIG’s off, could have had some fun. So when do I get to blow some **** up?” Lafitte replied. The Admiral shook his head and replied, “Well if the Romanians don’t cooperate, you will get a chance to put those 8 months of training to work”, the Admiral replied wondering to himself if they would have to set an example.

As both men started out of the tent, an officer met them. “Sir, scouting report from the 43rd tank battalion you sent across the border this morning. The Romanians have opened up a huge corridor and have not taken any action.” The officer relayed. “Good,” the Admiral responded, “Tell the troops to move out”. At that, the officer saluted and ran off, waving his arms while calling “move out”.

 
As the Admiral headed to the APC he would be riding in, he turned back to Lafitte and said, “OK, you get up in the air with those pilots and keep an eye on our progress. We put extra tanks on the planes, but they are still loaded well. If anyone fires even a bullet at us, take out the whole group”. At that Lafitte turned and started strutting to the makeshift airstrip, mumbling aloud “Please shoot, I really want to blow some **** up”. As he continued on, he could hear the Admiral in a strong loud voice yell “ONLY IF THEY FIRE…. UNDERSTAND”. Lafitte, still happily strolling to his plane offered no response.

GNSF Command HQ, Victoria, BC Canada

“Fleet Admiral Stern sir” a voice came over the office speakerphone, “Admiral Wallbanger is here to see you”. “Send him in” the Fleet Admiral replied, pulling the Whopper and fries closer to his side of the desk. As the Admiral entered, he was hit with the phrase “DON’T DO IT” before he was even in the room. Looking a bit confused, he replied “Sir, do what”. “Sorry WB, just looking over a ton of stuff, and it seems everything is going to hell in a hand basket, and that’s usually when you come in and go nuts” the Admiral replied, trying not to spit whopper all over the office. The Admiral stood there for a moment, and then broke into laughter. Now feeling totally confused himself, the Fleet Admiral asked, “what is so damn funny?”. After spending a moment to regain his composure, he replied “Damn, sorry sir, it’s just hard to keep a straight face while you’re yelling with a mouth full of whatever that is”. The Fleet Admiral quickly swallowed the mouthful, then grimacing as he realized a few more chews would have been prudent. “Whoppers” the Fleet Admiral replied, apparently in some discomfort. Seeing the lost look on the Admiral face, he expanded, “I got hooked on these Whoppers ever since I got back from that prison camp.”

 The Admiral chuckled a bit, then said, “Well the reason I am here is that things are really nuts”, at which point he stopped as the Fleet Admiral started waving his hand. “I know, but the INTEL guys are on it and we still have subs looking for the freighters”, the Fleet Admiral injected. “No, I have a big problem, two officers are missing and we can’t locate them” the Admiral exclaimed. Looking a bit shocked, the Fleet Admiral asked “who?”. “Commander Alpha and Lieutenant Commander Beerdawg” the Admiral replied .

“Oh crap” quickly sprang from the Fleet Admirals mouth, followed by “I’m sorry WB, I forgot to tell you. I have both of them doing secret RECON in Siberia. I think that is where the planes and freighters went. I meant to tell you, then this phone call came in and I totally forgot”. The Admiral, now very curious replied, “No problem sir, but what phone call was that?”. Looking very depressed, and still hungry, the Fleet Admiral answered, “It was the US State Department; they have analyzed the spy plane pictures and confirm they were our stolen F-16’s. Wasn’t hard with that flashy new paint job that you requested”.

Both officers went quite, as the Admiral pondered something, and the Fleet Admiral shoveled some fries into his mouth. Seeing the Fleet Admirals mouth was full, Admiral Wallbanger seized his chance. “OK boss, so now I can see how they got the planes out, but the freighters are huge and to off load them onto trucks would take days, and a lot of truck. I checked the latest satellite photos and they show no evidence of a convoy in Siberia, plus no flights of cargo planes have been seen”. Seeing the fries were still occupying space, he continued, “So the Freighters must still be out there and still loaded. I have some good skippers out there in those subs; ENS Trainsmaniac and LT Duck are closest to the shoreline. If the freighters are still out there, they will find them.”

Seeing that the fries were now on the way to a better place, the Admiral paused, giving the Fleet Admiral a chance to respond. “That is great, now I have something I need you to do. With Beerdawg and Alpha out, I need someone to whip the Seals into shape, as we may need them soon. I want you to have Lieutenant AOD take them through the paces. She will whip them into shape.”

GNSF Command HQ War Room, Victoria, BC Canada

The normal noisy bustle was shattered as the alarm horns rang out, while over the PA system a repeating message was the only break in the loud tones. “Attention, all senior staff to the War room immediately”.

As Admiral Wallbanger ran down the hallway, wondering what was up now, Admiral Paul joined him. “Boss, what’s going on, thought this system was just for imminent attack,” The DCNO asked. “No idea, it wasn’t my doing” the CNO replied. As they headed closer to the War room, other officers joined the procession in a frantically orderly marathon.

As the officers reached the War room and entered, a MP asked all entering to please take a seat. The room was already filled with most of the senior staff by the time the CNO and DCNO arrived. “What is all this about” Admiral Wallbanger asked the MP who was still directing people to take a seat. “Sir, I don’t know sir, only following orders to have everyone seated Sir”, the MP replied. “Whose orders” the Admiral asked”. The MP, still directing traffic turned and answered “Sir, the Fleet Admiral Sir”.

As the two Admirals headed for their seat at the huge table, the Fleet Admiral entered. He looked serious and without uttering a word, took his place at the table. He then looked around the room, watching as the remaining seats were filled one by one. Once the last officer was seated, he turned to the MP’s and ordered, “Please stand outside and close the doors, we are not to be disturbed”. “Aye sir” the two MP’s responded in unison, and proceed to leave and close the door.

The room now filled with an eerie silence as every eye was on the Fleet Admiral. After looking down at some notes he had, he stood up and addressed the room. “Gentlemen, my apologies for getting you all here like this, but this issue needs immediate attention. As I am sure you are all aware, things have gone from bad to total ****. The press has labeled as a rouge power hungry war machine determined on global domination. This sentiment is rippling through many countries, and as of a few hours ago, the US has declared us as a terrorist group.”
At this, angry screams erupted throughout the room, which was something rarely seen by such dedicated and professional officers. As the officers momentarily lost the meaning of order, a loud THUD cut through the chatter and rendered the room again silent. Looking up, they could all see the sound came from a frag being held in the Fleet Admirals right hand being slammed on the table. This caused a few to have life visions flash before their eyes, until the Fleet Admiral used it to light a cigar.

“I just received a message from the US defense Secretary, who by the way is waiting for me in my office, that if our forces crossing Romania did not stop and surrender themselves to Romanian forces within 24 hours, the US would “intervene”. Also, they want our bases to stand down and comply with a US forces occupation.” The Fleet Admiral paused while he puffed on the cigar, then looking at the group continued.

"I will be speaking with the secretary in about an hour, but we will comply with the second part and stand down the base here and in Nova Scotia. Since we cannot comply with the first request as the forces are NOT ours, all we can do is try to sort this out diplomatically”. While the Fleet Admiral paused for a few more drags, the officers started looking around at each other. “Boss, I don’t like this, sure doesn’t seem like the Fleet Admiral to just roll over. Maybe you should talk with him,” Admiral Paul whispered. “I know him, wait” was Admiral Wallbangers response just as the Fleet Admiral continued.

“Now, I want everyone here to be perfectly clear that the orders they are about to received are to be carried out, carried out to the letter, and be acted on immediately.” Admiral Wallbanger, Admiral Paul, please make sure these orders are implemented NOW. I must now leave to do a few things, but want both of you in my office in 1 hour and 10 min SHARP.” At this, the Fleet Admiral stood up and walked to the door, dropping an envelope in front of both Admirals as he passed. He then knocked on the door, which was quickly opened by the MP’s. Looking at the MP’s the Fleet Admiral asked, “Are you both armed?”. “Aye sir” was the response as both MP’s placed a hand on their side arms. “Good, both of you, come with me” was all he said as the door to the war room closed.

Again, the room was silent with all eyes on the two Admirals and the Envelopes. As the two looked at each other, they opened the orders and started reading them. After a few moments, both looked at each other, finally shattering the silence as Admiral Paul exclaimed “Holy ****”.

GNSF Command, Fleet Admirals Office, Victoria, BC Canada

All of a sudden, the door opened and in Walked Admiral’s Wallbanger and Paul. “Where is your Fleet Admiral” a voice called from a chair in the room. “Who are you?” Admiral Wallbanger asked confused to see the Boss’s room occupied by someone other than the Boss. “I am the United States Secretary of Defense, and you are?” was the response. “Oh, hello sir, I am Admiral Wallbanger, the Chief of Naval Operations, and this is my Deputy, Admiral Paul”. At that, the door again opened, and the Fleet Admiral walked in seeming to ignore the people in his office. He made his way to his desk, sat down and then looking up said “Ah, good, I see you have all introduced yourselves, please, take a seat gentlemen”.

As the officers sat, the Secretary asked, “So, you know what is expected of you, I hope you didn’t ask me here to tell me you have a problem with your orders”. While Admiral Wallbanger bit his tongue, really wanting to respond with some colorful metaphors, the Fleet Admiral calmly answered. “No, sir, I called you here to talk with you, but it sure looks like preconceived notions may affect your ability to listen”. At this, the Secretary stood up looking very upset. At this, the Fleet Admiral added, “So by your response does that indicate I am correct and you are simply refusing to listen?” After pondering for a moment, the Secretary sat down and replied, “Ok, I’m listening”.

“The US Government has asked GNSF for two things, to submit the base to occupation by US forces, and to halt the forces crossing Romania, is that not the case sir”. At this the Secretary maintaining his arrogant stance replied, “You were ordered, not asked, let’s make that perfectly clear”. As Admiral Wallbanger’s blood pressure and temper started shooting up higher than a kite in a hurricane, the Fleet Admiral calmly responded in a submissive tone fit for an ENS addressing an Admiral. “Sir, I think I really need to clarify a point with you, so we make sure there are no misunderstandings. Is that ok sir?”. “Yes. Please do” the secretary replied with an air of arrogant smugness at his felling of control.
“Well sir, I know you remember the trouble you had with the DPRK and that nut case Kim Jung Il, not to mention Lafitte.” Feeling a bit bothered by the Fleet Admiral bring up that point, the Secretary jumped in, “Yes, I remember, that is old news”. “Yes sir, it is. I just mentioned it because that is what led to the special declaration by the President of the United states, allowing the GNSF to act as its own nation, which I am sure you also remember” the Fleet Admiral replied with a sickening sweetness that was starting to turn both of the Admirals stomach. “Yes, you have made you point Stern, now please get on with what you wanted to say” the Secretary barked, feeling annoyed at the fact he had no idea where this was going”. “Aye sir, I will make it short” the Fleet Admiral replied.

As the Fleet Admiral was about to speak, he glanced over at Admiral Wallbanger. At that point, Admiral Paul noticed a dramatic change. Admiral Wallbanger had become calm and sedate, which was a huge change from 10 seconds ago when Paul could feel the Admiral reaching critical mass. Looking over, a smile appeared on Admiral Wallbangers face as he whispered to Admiral Paul “here comes the other shoe”. “Aye Mr. Secretary, I will make it short” the Fleet Admiral replied.

“I have ordered the base here and the one in Halifax to stand down, with all operations terminated. As for the forces in Romania, since they are NOT GNSF I cannot help you with that.” The Fleet Admiral sat there saying nothing more. This confused the Secretary, which provoked him onto “That’s it?”. After a moment of intentional silence, the Fleet Admiral replied, “That’s it”. This made the Secretary even more irate, causing him to spring up and yell, “You dragged me here and wasted my time for that, are you serious.” Drawing no response from the Fleet Admiral, he added, “Damn Stern, you better not pull that crap when the troops get here”. As he turned to leave the Fleet Admiral called out “Mr. Secretary, sit your ass down, we are far from done”. A huge smile came to both Admirals faces, and as they looked at the Fleet Admiral, he looked back at the CNO and uttered one simple word, “soon”. The Fleet Admiral then reached over and pushed a button on the intercom.

Spinning around, both angry and shocked, the Secretary was about to open his mouth when the Fleet Admiral cut him off”. “Yes, I am finished what I wanted to say, but I have NOT finished what I need to say, now sit your ass down or I will have the MP’s park you in the chair”. At that point, the door opened and the two rather large MP’s stood there stone faced looking at the Secretary. Seeing the two men standing there, the secretary sat back down, and trying to get control went to voice a complaint his hosts, but was cut off before he finished inhaling. “Shut up, sit there and listen. I want you to pay close attention so you can inform your superiors.” The Fleet Admiral shouted, pushing the Secretary farther back in his seat”.

“We both know who is behind this crap; your INTEL guys are almost as good as ours. The fact the US is publically condemning us to make itself look better to the world watching makes me want to puke. We pulled your sorry ass out of the fire in the past and this is what we get. Well, pay attention, cause I want to make you do not lose my meaning. If the US would like to visit or inspect our facilities, that can be arranged. If you think for one moment you are sending forces in to occupy “sovereign ground” you are sadly mistaken, because as of 8:00 am tomorrow morning, the two bases will be turned over to the Canadian Armed forces.” This caught the Secretary by surprise; at they had never expected such a thing.

“In addition sir, as of this moment, all diplomatic relations between the GNSF and US are here by severed until further notice. You have pushed this thing too far, and now you and your military can fight without our help. Hope you enjoy the games in the sandbox by yourself. Now get out of my sight” The Fleet Admiral finished, making sure to drive home the ending message by increasing the decibel level to that of an aircraft engine. Standing up and looking beaten and humiliated, the Secretary headed for the door trying to maintain as much self-esteem as possible. As he reached the door opening, Admiral Wallbanger nodded to one of the MP’s, who’s arm came down right in front of the Secretaries face, stopping him in his tracks.

“Mr. Secretary,” Admiral Wallbanger called. As he watched the secretary’s head turn to make eye contact, he continued. “If I ever here you address the Fleet Admiral as 'Stern' again, I will gut you like a carp. AM I CLEAR”. As the Secretary looked over to the Fleet Admiral, he was surprised to hear him add, “He isn’t joking, I’ve seen him do it. Oh, and one last thing, don’t EVER come here and try to ORDER GNSF to do anything, you may not leave with all your body parts.” At that, the MP moved his arm and the Secretary exited the room as fast as his legs could move him. Looking back at the Fleet Admiral, he said, “Boy I needed that”. As Admiral Paul started to laugh, the Fleet Admiral fought hard to hold back a gut laugh that fought to break free, asking “OK you two, you seen the orders, how goes it” . “Sir, it’s in progress and will be done well before 8:00 tomorrow” Admiral Paul replied.

00Z:01/31/08

ZZZZZ-FLASH TRAFFIC-ZZZZZ

FM: GNSF HEADQUARTERS

TO: GNSF TASK FORCE COMMAND

AUTHENTICATION: DELTA, ECHO, FOXTROT, CHARLIE, OSCAR, NOVEMBER
TANGO, HOTEL, ROMEO, ECHO, ECHO

ALERT LEVEL TO DEFCON 3

ALL SEALS REPORT TO ASSIGNED SUBMARINE
ALL SUBMARINES SET TO SEA IMMEADIATLY.
ALL AIRCRAFT TO TAKE OFF AND FOLLOW ASSIGNED FLIGHT PLAN
ALL GROUND FORCES AND EQUIPMENT REPORT TO AIR FIELD FOR AIR LIFT

ALL FORCES TO AVOID ANY AND ALL CONTACT WITH ANY OTHER FORCES
OR CIVILIAN TRAFFIC. RADIO SILENCE TO BE MAINTAINED
ALL OTHER FORCES TO BE CONSIDERED POSSIBLE HOSTILE
REMAIN UNDETECTED AT ALL TIMES FIRST PRIORITY.

WEAPONS HOLD UNLESS FIRED ON, THEN ENGAGEMENT IS AUTHORIZED

ALL ORDERS VIA CODED EAM ONLY USE RED CODE CYPHER

BY ORDERS

FADM STERN GNSF

-----END OF MESSAGE-----

GNSF Command, Fleet Admirals Office, Victoria, BC Canada

As he sat in his office, waiting for the deadline to arrive, he was startled by a knock on the door, quickly followed by it bursting open. “Sorry to bug you sir, I have something you really need to see” Lieutenant Commander Williams blurted out. “Come on in sir, I'm surprised to see any one left here. I take it your one of the few. Did my secretary leave too?” The Fleet Admiral replied. “No, most everyone else is gone except the news staff and some of my Intel staff. I sent your secretary to make you a coffee, you will need it after seeing this” The Intel Director replied. The Fleet Admiral leaned back in his chair and replied “Hell, I'm numb to all this, there isn’t much chance it could get any worse”. “Well, not worse, I think, but defiantly of interest.” He replied. As the Intel director passed a set of papers across the desk, he explained.

“I had a message from the SSN Fastrunner, Captained by Lieutenant Duck, He has located the six Freighters”. At this, the Fleet Admiral sprung forward in his chair and grabbed the documents. The officer continued. “He has a positive track on all six, about 45 miles South West of his position. He is heading there as we speak, but it will take a while as he is still running stealth. The problem is that there are three US Los Angeles Class submarines within 100 miles of the ships. We have indication they have seen the ships, and have increased speed to intercept.

Looking over the Documents, the Fleet Admiral sat quiet for a few minutes, and then said “I need to get in contact with the Fastrunner, let’s go to the control room, I can send an EAM”. As he got up, Lieutenant Williams replied, “Hold on sir, you can do it from here” as he produced from his pocket what seemed to be a large version of a PDA. “You can use this sir”. Looking a bit confused, the Fleet Admiral queried “A PDA?”. “No sir, this is no ordinary PDA, it is something the INTEL techs have been working on for a while now” he replied. Looking at the device, the Fleet Admiral asked, “So what does it do?” The Lieutenant Commander smiled and replied, “Not only will it allow you access to all the secure COMMs systems, it has a built in laser torch, Radar Jammer, threat detector, portable oxygen supply, and can also be used as a shaped C4 Explosive”. Looking at the officer with wide eyes the Fleet Admiral replied “No way, are you serious”, Smiling, the officer replied “No, but I always wanted to say that” As he chuckled and watched the Fleet Admirals face drop, he continued, “It does give access to all our secure COMMS via satellite, with a heavy encryption coding. You can also access the EAM system with it. If a submarine is at periscope depth you can even talk with it using the UHF system.”

The Fleet Admiral smile returned as the Lieutenant Commander showed him the operation and set him up to send an EAM. Looking very happy, the Fleet Admiral started typing a message and pushed the send button. “Well I hope it worked, what’s the range,” he inquired. “You should get good coverage anywhere, just like a satellite phone. It just takes a while for the messages to get there with the encryption, about a 10-20 second delay. Voice is better with an average of 2 seconds delay”. Well sir, I can hear that the Canadian forces have arrived, so I better get back to the office and make sure they do not mess anything up. I will set all the systems to secure”. The Fleet Admiral looked at the officer and replied, “Good work sir, I will need you to keep in touch with me. See how much you can do here, if they let you do anything at all. I have to leave soon and head out to our new temporary base of operation. Did the US buy the story we are disbanding?” The Officer, looking at the fleet admiral started to laugh, “Yea, those idiots will buy anything if you throw in a few things they want to hear”.

00Z:02/01/08

ZZZZZ-FLASH TRAFFIC-ZZZZZ

FM: GNSF HEADQUARTERS

TO: GNSF TASK FORCE COMMAND

AUTHENTICATION: DELTA, ECHO, FOXTROT, CHARLIE, OSCAR, NOVEMBER
TANGO, HOTEL, ROMEO, ECHO, ECHO

ALERT LEVEL TO DEFCON 3

SSN FAST RUNNER, SSN STINGRAY, SSN SAND DIGGER, MAKE BEST SPEED
TO LOCATION OF FREIGHTERS. MAKE APPROACH VISSIBLE TO ANY OTHER
VESSLES MONITORING. USE OVERBOUND TO CLOSE TO WITHIN TEN MILES
SET UP DEFENSIVE POSSITION TO BLOCK ALL OTHER FORCES FROM APPROACHING
FREIGHTERS. PERFORM LONG RANGE RECON OF FREIGHTERS

MAINTAIN WEPONS HOLD UNLESS FIRED UPON, THEN WEAPONS FREE IS
AUTHORIZED. REMAIN AT PERISCOPE DEPTH IN SHIFTS FOR FURTHER
MEASSAGES.

ALL OTHER FORCES TO REMIAN UNDETECTED. RADIO SILENCE TO BE MAINTAINED
ALL NON GNSF FORCES TO BE CONSIDERED POSSIBLE HOSTILE
REMAINING UNDETECTED AT ALL TIMES FIRST PRIORITY.

WEAPONS HOLD UNLESS FIRED ON, THEN ENGAGEMENT BY ANY AND ALL
GNSF VESSELS IS AUTHORIZED

ALL ORDERS VIA CODED EAM ONLY USE RED CODE CYPHER

BY ORDERS

FADM STERN GNSF

-----END OF MESSAGE-----

GNSF Command, Fleet Admirals Office, Victoria, BC Canada

While the Fleet Admiral sat in his office relaxing in his chair, he watched as the Canadian Forces swarmed all over the base. It was only a year or so ago that the GNSF had fought hard to rid the globe of the nutcases bent on global domination. Now, labeled as a terrorist group, he was forced to sit in his office and watch as the complex is seized. As he stretched in his big chair feeling very tired, he mumbled to himself, “I should have been a lawyer, they aren’t tied by ethics”. Just then, a voice came over the intercom, “Sir, Brigadier General Phillip Gross is here to see you”. Breathing a heavy sigh, he replied, “Send him in”.

As the General and four other officer entered the office, the Fleet Admiral remained seated and stretched out. “Fleet Admiral Stern?” the General asked. “Yes sir, that is me” he replied stretching out a bit more, just to aggravate the officers. “Sir, by command of the Canadian Government, I hereby take command of this base,” the General instructed, as if being read off a note pad. “Sure thing General, it’s all yours” The Fleet Admiral replied. The General then took a seat while the other officers remained standing. As the General sat down, the Fleet Admiral offered him a cigar, which he accepted with a smile. Both men then proceeded to light up and sit in silence for a few moments.

“Sir, my orders are clear here, I am to seize all military assets and restrict access to this base by any GNSF personnel. Since they are my orders I will follow them, but first I need to pass a message to you from the Canadian Prime Minister.” At that, the General waved at one of the officers standing in the room. The officer then pulled a document from his pouch and proceeded to read it aloud.

“While the US has declared GNSF a terrorist group, we do not believe that for a moment. The GNSF has done a great service to the world, and we firmly believe this has not changed. Due to continuing pressure from the US, we have agreed to seize the base. We have also made it very clear to the US president that while we do this task; these bases are still within Canadian borders. As such, we will not allow any US force to occupy either base. We truly hope that soon this situation will reveal itself as something other than what the world is painting it. Until such time that the GNSF can clear its name, these two bases will be under total control of the Canadian forces.” The officer then ended with “It is signed by the Prime Minister Sir”.

Looking over at the Fleet Admiral, the General commented, “So, here is my problem sir. I have checked this base from top to bottom, and I can’t seem to find your military assets? Can you please explain this sir”. The Fleet Admiral, slowly puffing on his cigar replied, “Yes sir, I can. Seems that all of our assets are off doing something somewhere”. The general, looking very serious asked again, “OK sir, now I need a straight answer from you. Are your assets on this base or not”. The Fleet Admiral, now sitting up in his seat replied, “No sir, they are not on base”. The General, puffed his cigar a few times, then turning to his officers said, “The assets are not here. Well that was easy, so let the men know they can stop looking”. The officer then saluted and left the room.

“OK Fleet Admiral Stern, so now that the assets are dealt with, I have to lay down restriction for the personnel still on this base. As the base is now under CAF control, there will be areas that your personnel will no longer have access to. I hope you do not have a problem with this,” the General explained. “No sir, not at all. You let me know where my people can’t go and I will make sure they don’t break the rules.” The Fleet Admiral replied. “Great, here are the area’s and assets your people cannot access” the General stated, then looking over to the officer with the pouch asked, “Sir, read me the list of area’s and assets the GNSF personnel cannot access”. “Aye sir, I have the list right here” he responded while digging for the list. “General, we still have some active departments here, personnel, News, can we keep them operational,” the Fleet Admiral asked. “Sir, the Canadian Government has gone way out on a limb not chaining you in irons. We have tried to be reasonable and cut you some slack for old time sake, but this is serious. If it is on the list, it is OUT period, and I will not bend on this. Think yourself lucky we are being so kind”.

After a while, the officer found the list and called out, “General, I have the list sir”. The General looked at the Fleet Admiral and said, “I’m sorry sir, but I have to follow orders”, then turning to the officer said, “OK, read the list, point by point”. At that the officer started.

“No use of any Planes or military ground vehicles on the base”
“No use of any Submarine of Ship at the base”
“No access to any weapons of any kind on the base”.
“No access to the ATC center or tower”

At this point, the officer turned to the General and paused.

“Well, those ones are easy, since you don’t seem to have any here. Ok, let’s get to the important sensitive ones, continue” the General ordered. The officer continued.

“No access to the Officers Lounge 3rd floor”
“No access to the coffee maker, pop machine, candy machine or washrooms on the 3rd floor”
“No access to the pool table or racket ball courts unless playing with CAF personnel.
“No access to the theater unless popcorn is free for all”

“That’s all sir” the officer finished, and displayed a momentary smile.

The General turned to the Fleet Admiral and said, “I know it’s harsh, but I expect your people to follow the rules”. Smiling, the Fleet Admiral replied, “Well sir, I know you’re only doing your job, we will just have to suffer. Oh, I need to head off and do some things off base, am I allowed to leave”. The General looked and replied, “You may leave the base sir, I have not been ordered to place anyone under arrest. How are you planning on leaving? The Fleet Admiral looked at him and replied, “I’m taking my Humvey”. The General looked out the windows and commented “The black one with GNSF plates ?”. “That’s the one” the Fleet Admiral replied. “I don’t think so sir, that’s an asset. But I’m sure one of my drivers can take you where you need to go. If you tell me where are you heading I will have you driven there ” The General queried. Looking back with a big smile, he responded “Italy”. The General looked back and started laughing “Funny”, and then turning to the other officers and continued “He wants a ride to Italy”. At this, the other officers started laughing with the General.

After a moment, the General turned to the Fleet Admiral and said, “There is no way in hell I can’t drive you to Italy." The General then puffed his cigar a few times and added "You will have to be flown there in one of our CF-18 Hornets. I will have the plane here in 30 minutes and set up for mid flight refueling. Make sure you’re packed and ready.” At that, the General shook the Fleet Admirals hand and headed out the door, remarking to his officers “Let's go see if these GNSF guys are any good at pool”.

As they left the room, the General popped his head back in and said, “Things may look really crappy now sir, but you still have friends out there ”.

CF-18 Hornet, Somewhere over the Atlantic

The Sky was clear with a few fluffy clouds scattered around, as the CF-18 Hornet made its approach to a refueling plane. “Gas Man 1, Liberty 2-1, requesting approach for fuel” the FC-18 pilot radioed. “Liberty 2-1, Gas Man 1, finishing turn, your clear to approach and top her up” a voice replied. As the plane started its turn to meet the tanker, a weird buzzing noise filled the cockpit. “What the hell is that” the pilot exclaimed. “Sorry, it’s this PDA thing. I need to answer this” the Fleet Admiral responded. “Well you have about 3 minutes then you will have to shut it off, I don’t want any problems while refueling” the pilot called back. “No problem” the fleet Admiral replied as he opened the PDA.

“Sir, this is Lieutenant Duck, we are in place around the Freighters. The US subs are holding at 30 miles out.” The Fleet Admiral smiled to himself and answered, “OK, have you done any recon on the freighters”. “Aye sir, and there is some weird stuff here. The tankers are all in a circle formation with one in the middle. The outer ones seem to be towing something, there are rigging lines running out the back, and there are things on the side that look like big tanks. Oh, one other thing that is weird, we have seen absolutely no crew anywhere. We have been watching for over an hour and haven’t seen anyone; even the wheel house appears empty”. ” Lieutenant Duck replied.

The Fleet Admiral pondered for a few seconds, and then was jolted by a thought that scared him. “DO NOT APPROACH,” he yelled, adding, “They are probably rigged. What do the tanks look like, and which sub is AOD on”. After a moment, the Lieutenant replied, “She is on ENS Trainzmainiac's boat sir, and the tanks look like long cylinders”. Taking another moment to ponder the situation, his thoughts we cut short by the pilots voice “Ok sir, were almost ready to hook up, you need to kill that thing”. Thrown off his train of thought for a second, he replied “I need one more minute sir, this is important”.

After a few more seconds of thought, the Fleet Admiral game directions to the Lieutenant. “OK Lieutenant, here is what I want you to do. Get AOD and a seal team to that boat, but use a dingy. I also want you to send an engineer, weapons expert, and the best sonar person you have. Do NOT get any closer to the sub than you are now, and do not let the US subs anywhere near it. I want to be contacted once they are on board. Also, tell the Seals they are weapons free and can use deadly force. “Aye sir, I will take care of it” the Lieutenant replied.

As the Fleet Admiral turned off the PDA, the pilot asked, “Boy, that didn’t sound good, sounds like your people have their hands full”. The Fleet Admiral, now watching as the plane closed on the boom replied, “Yes, it’s never easy”.As the pilot got closer he radioed “Gas Man 1, Liberty 2-1, ready to take fuel”. As the plane moved under the huge tanker, the plane was rocked by a ‘THUD’ as the boom connected. After about a minute the pilot again radioed “Gas Man 1, Liberty 2-1, refueling complete, breaking off” at which point he cut back on the throttle and disconnected from the boom. “Damn, you make that look easy sir, I still have troubles with that” the Fleet Admiral commented. “Well sir, it’s just practice, you will get the hang of it”.

As the plane pulled away from the tanker, the Fleet Admiral turned the PDA back on, only to have it start beeping almost immediately. “Damn, your popular”, the pilot chuckled. As the Fleet Admiral opened the PDA he could hear a voice on the other end “Hello, Damn it answer… HELLO”. Unsure of who it was the fleet Admiral responded in an angry voice. “Hello, who the hell is this and what can I do for you”. After a few seconds of silence, the voice responded, “This is President Bush, is that you Stern”. The fleet admiral paused considering if it really was him.

“Yes sir, its’ me” was all he said. “Stern, what the hell is going on, I come back from dealing with chaos over in the Middle East and find all hell has broken loose. Now I have your damn subs playing chicken with ours,” the president screamed”. “Sir, I don’t have time to argue the point with you, we both have a serious problem. I need you to tell your subs to stand down, as mine WILL engage. I believe the tankers are rigged and we have a team boarding them to check it out.” he replied. There was a moment of silence, which the Fleet admiral knew meant he was on speakerphone. Realizing time was short he blurted out “Sir, all I ask is tell your subs to hold off until you have read the data our INTEL department sent to your aid. If you don’t this will turn very ugly, and our old friends Lafitte and Jung Il will win”. “WHAT, don’t tell me they are back out of the woodwork?” the president yelled, followed by muffled talking, then a click and silence. Wondering if he was just hung up on, the president came back on and said, “I have the data and will get back to you”. At that point, the line went dead.

As the plane flew thought the quiet peaceful skies, the Fleet Admiral wondered if they were even listening.

Somewhere off the Coast of Washington

As the waves crashed across the bow, a voice called out “Sir, Seal team away, they are heading over to Commander Newt-iCop’s boat to pick up the engineer and weapons expert”. “Thank you” Lieutenant Duct replied, and then turning to the Sonar station called out, “SONAR, what are the US subs doing”. “Sir, there are now four LA Class Submarines within 100 miles, one is at 65 miles and heading this way at 25 knots. The other three are holding out at 30 miles from us all stop ” the Sonar operator replied. Looking at his watch, he noticed it was time rotate with another sub. “RADIO, get me Commander Newt-iCop when he reaches periscope depth” the Lieutenant ordered. As the officer of the deck went up to call down the officers on the conning tower, the sonar operator called out, “Sir, one of the US submarines is starting to close”.

Lieutenant Duck spun around and headed to the sonar station. “What is his closure speed?” the Lieutenant asked. “Sir, he is closing in at 5 knots, slow and steady”. “Let me know the second anything changes” Lieutenant Duck ordered as he walked over to the Radio console. As the got there, the operator turned and said, “I have Commander Newt-iCop sir”. The Lieutenant then took the microphone.

“Hey Newt, has the dingy got to you yet”. Commander Newt-iCop responded, “Almost, it’s just pulling up now. I have the team here ready to join them”. “Great, see if you can do it fast, it seems one of the US subs has got itchy and is closing” Lieutenant Duck exclaimed. “Yea, I know, we are watching him two. I think they want to **** with our heads” Commander Newt-iCop replied and started to laugh. “So you want to mess him up, or should I, you do have rank,” the Lieutenant asked. “Well I will be another 10 minutes here getting the team off, so feel free to take this one, I will have fun watching” Commander Newt-iCop replied.

“CONN, Dive the boat to 200 feet, turn left heading 205, forward speed to zero knots.” The Lieutenant commanded. “Aye sir, 200 feet, heading 205, forward to all stop”. As the crew went into operation, the boat slowly sunk beneath the waves. A depth of 200 feet would put the boat right in the middle of the thermal channel the US sub was in, allowing very good sonar resolution. “WEAPONS, STAND READY, SONAR, STAND BY, let’s see if we can make Mr. Twitchy here lose control of a few bodily functions” the Lieutenant ordered. At this, the crew chuckled for a few seconds, and then went back to the serious task at hand. “RADIO, Send out the floating wire and get Commander Newt-iCop back on the horn” he added.

“Sonar, what’s the subs distance”, the Lieutenant called. “Sub now at 28 miles and closing steady at 5 knots”, the operator replied. Pondering his upcoming actions, Lieutenant Duct asked, “What are the sonar conditions in this duct”. “Perfect sir, they will be able to hear us flush a crapper” the officer responded. “OK then, Weapons flood tubes one through eight, one at a time” the Lieutenant replied. As the sub was filled with the sound of the pressurization of the tubes, the sonar operator called out, “Sir, the sub is slowing, DEMON shows him going to all stop”. The Lieutenant smiled, as he knew he had won round one, but the victory would be a short lived one. “RADIO, send a message to HQ when the floating wire is up, let them know what’s happening.” he ordered.

 As all of the officers waited, they chuckled about the maneuver they had pulled off, but still knowing they were in a very dangerous situation. Just then, the radio operator called out “I have Commander Newt-iCop sir”. The Lieutenant walked over to the radio and spoke “Hey Newt, I think I messed him up a bit, but I don’t think it will last long. He is now at 26 miles and I bet he will try to call our bluff and start in again.”. Commander Newt-iCop replied.”Yes, I show the fourth sub now with the other two holding back at the 30.” As the stalemate continued, all of a sudden both subs were filled with a squawking sound. As if almost by unison, both sub radio men called out “EAM message received”, which made a weird echo effect through the radio. Looking at his watch, the Lieutenant could see it was 1200 hours, the daily set time for EAM updates.

“Newt, did you read the EAM” the Lieutenant called through the radio. After about a minute, the Commander responded, “Yea, just finished reading it. Man I cannot believe they want us to do this. It sure better work or there will be a lot of dead US sailors”. “Yea, but if we don’t it will probably end up the same anyway” the lieutenant replied just as the sonar operator called out, “Sir, the three submarines at the rear are moving up at 9 knots, front sub holding….no, all four are moving, front one back to 5 knots.” the sonar operator called.  “Well it seems like twitchy there is getting impatient again, I sure hope this works. Oh, and Newt, I’m starting to wish you would have taken this one” the Lieutenant commented. The Commander replied, “Don’t worry, you will do fine, I just hope the rest of the force got it”.

“Sir, I have Ensign Trainzmainiac on the horn asking for you”, the radio operator called.  The Ensign captained the 3rd boat in the pack , the SSN Sand Digger, and had been guarding the northern approach. Once the first US sub started moving, he had swung to the left of the Lieutenants boat. “What up ENS?”, the Lieutenant asked. “Sir, I know you both outrank me, but I would really love the chance to take lead on this one, plus if it goes wrong you will both be in a better position to defend the freighters.” The Ensign replied. The Lieutenant thought about it for a while then called, “Newt, you have a problem with the Ensign taking lead”. “No sir, he is a GNSF skipper, and I have no problems at all, as long as he realizes he will be in the worst spot in this mess” the Commander replied, which was quickly followed by the Ensigns response of “I fully understand sir, and I just want to have our assets positioned in the best manor.”. After a moment of silence, the Lieutenant responded, “OK Ensign, it’s all your, get you boat into position. Me and Newt will stay between them and the Freighters. Oh, and good luck”.

One mile from the Freighter Convoy

As the assault craft bobbed up and down on the waves, they could see the Freighters in the distance. “Damn its cold, this water must be below freezing,” the Engineer said. “Give me a break, you’re in a dry suite, think yourself lucky you’re not swimming in it” Lieutenant AOD chuckled.

As the choppy water continued to shake the small craft, the sonar technician yelled “HOLY ****, give me those binoculars”. As the seal member slowly passed over a set of binoculars, the sonar tech grabbed them with such speed he almost pulled the seal over. “Hey, relax you moron or I will..” “STOP THE BOAT, STOP IT NOW!” the tech screamed. The sheer almost psychotic terror in his voice caused the seal member driving the boat to instinctively stop the engine, without waiting for orders by the commanding officer. As Lieutenant AOD turned to dress down the officer for not following the chain of command, the technician again called out “We are so screwed, damn, I didn’t sign up for this **** ”. Turning back to the sonar officer, Lieutenant AOD was ready to crack him across the head to get him to pull it together.

As she made eye contact with him, she could see the terror on his face. It was the kind of look you get when you see a grenade land at your feet. Seeing this before many times in battle, she relaxed and asked him, “What the hell is your malfunction soldier”. Looking up at her, he replied with the same terrified look “that thing is rigged big time, SSS and MAD, and probably some serious explosives. Damn this is CIA /James Bond ****”. Looking over, one of the assault team asked, “Speak English, what the hell are MAD and SSS”. Spinning around, the sonar man replied “Side Scan Sonar and Magnetic Anomaly Detector”.

As she pondered the situation, she turned to the sonar man and decided to push a few buttons. “So, I guess this stuff is way over your head, that’s ok, I will head back to the sub and get someone else”. At this, the sonar mans mood changed from terrified to angry, “HELL NO, I can dissect anything made. It’s just that you never see this kind of stuff in real life”. She paused a second then added, “So, then I guess you would be one of the few people on the planet to get a chance to play with it”. At that, there was a moment of silence, and a smile came to the man’s face “Yea, yea your right. Ok, I’m in, come on, let’s go take a look at that stuff”. She smiled inside knowing she pushed the right buttons.

Turning to the Engineer she asked, “OK, can we get close to that thing without setting it off?” The engineer thought a moment. “I don’t know, it sure seems like a ton of equipment, I’m not sure what the intentions were when they installed it”. At that, the Weapons expert piped up and added, “Well I don’t know too much about the junk they have on those boats, but I assuming it must have been an expensive retrofit”. At this, the sonar man, now really getting into it replied, “A ton of money, and I mean ton. We are talking millions and millions from what I can see, MAD and SSS all over the outer five boats, and god only knows what is on the center one”.

As they sat a while, the weapons expert was heard to mumble a quiet “oh ****”. Catching this, the Lieutenant turned and barked, “You have something you want to share soldier”. Looking up, he replied “Yes Ma’am”. As all eyes were on him, he continued. “If you guys are telling me they pumped millions into this floating scrap pile, then we won’t be dealing with a few blocks of C4. No one spends this kind of cash to scuttle a few freighters, this is probably a really really big floating mine”.

While the others looked a bit confused, AOD was not. She looked directly in the eyes of the weapons expert and asked, “You think they have a non conventional weapon aboard?”. After a moment of silence, he responded, “Yes, it only makes sense”. Looking over, the engineer queried, “What do you mean non conventional”. After a short pause that seemed like hours, the weapons expert replied “Chemical, Biological…… or nuclear”.

At this, all fell silent, as the Lieutenant turned to a Seal member and ordered, “Contact HQ and fill them in on what we believe we have here.” As an eerie quite came over the group, with the exception of the seal making a report on the radio, weapons expert added, “We better be very careful how we handle this one.”

At the Romanian / Bosnian Border

As the vehicle slowed to a stop, the side door of the APC was opened from the outside.  “Sir, we are at the border”, an officer called in. Admiral Kin Jung Il stepped out of the APC and stretched his legs, as it had been a long drive. Looking over at the officer that opened the door, the Admiral asked, “I guess we didn’t run into any problems with the Romanians?”. The officer chuckled a bit and responded, “No sir, after Lafitte went nuts on that army base, they have stayed a long way out of our path”. The Admiral chuckled, thinking about Lafitte and his crew attacking the base; aerial attach by psychopaths, must have been a sight to see.

As he surveyed the area, Lafitte strolled over with a grin on his face. “Boy, I sure had fun at that base, I want a copy of the video from the plane”, Lafitte said. “Boy Lafitte, you really are a sick one” the Admiral chuckled. As they looked over the area ahead of them, they could hear explosions in the distance. “OK Lafitte, have you looked over the maps”, the Admiral asked”. “Yea, I looked over them, and there is some good **** to blow up out there”.

As the Admiral shook his head, he turned to the brigade commander and asked, “OK, so exactly where are we now in relation to the fighting”. The officers spread out a map he was carrying and pointed to a spot on the border saying, “We are here; as we came in we detoured to the left as you can see, to put us directly behind the enemy.” The Admiral smiled and replied, “Do they know we are here?”. The officer smiled and remarked, “Very unlikely, we have cut off their communications. They have a larger force, so we concentrated our efforts on breaking their communications. They believe they are creaming us, but that will be their downfall” . “OK, let’s move out and do this, fast and deadly”, the Admiral called out.

As the Admiral watched the armored division moving out, he turned to Lafitte and said in a serious voice, “Lafitte, feel free to blow up as much stuff as you want. Hell, create as much carnage as you like, just DON’T HIT OUR GUYS”. Lafitte, looking peeved, responded with, “I know whose side I’m on, I’m not an idiot.” The Admiral sighed, and yelled at Lafitte as he walked off, “Just remember, you hit a friendly and I will take away your plane”. Lafitte, thudding his feet as he walked did not respond.

00Z:02/02/08

ZZZZZ-FLASH TRAFFIC-ZZZZZ

FM: GNSF HEADQUARTERS

TO: ALL GNSF SUBMARINES

AUTHENTICATION: DELTA, ECHO, FOXTROT, CHARLIE, OSCAR, NOVEMBER
TANGO, WHISKEY, OSCAR

ALERT LEVEL TO DEFCON 2

SSN FAST RUNNER, SSN STINGRAY, SSN SAND DIGGER, HOLD GROUND AGAINST
US SUBMARINES. DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO APPROACH THE FREIGHTERS

ALL GNSF SUBMARINES TO FOLLOW CODED ATTACK PLAN TO FOLLOW
ENGAGEMENT PROTOCOL ROMEO, ECHO, DELTA, OSCAR, NOVEMBER, ECHO

WEAPONS HOLD UNTIL FIRED ON OR ENGAGEMENT ORDER BECOMES ACTIVE

IF ENGAGEMENT POINT REACHED PROSECUTE ENAGEMENT TO FULLEST EXTENT

ALL ORDERS VIA CODED EAM ONLY USE RED CODE CYPHER

BY ORDERS

ADM WALLBANGER CNO GNSF

-----END OF MESSAGE-----

00Z:02/03/08

ZZZZZ-FLASH TRAFFIC-ZZZZZ

FM: GNSF HEADQUARTERS

TO: ALL GNSF SUBMARINES

AUTHENTICATION: DELTA, ECHO, FOXTROT, CHARLIE, OSCAR, NOVEMBER
OSCAR, NOVEMBER, ECHO

REPEAT, AUTHENTICATION: DELTA, ECHO, FOXTROT, CHARLIE, OSCAR, NOVEMBER
OSCAR, NOVEMBER, ECHO

ALERT LEVEL TO DEFCON 1

ALL GNSF SUBMARINES TO FOLLOW DEFENSIVE ATTACK PLAN

WEAPONS FREE AUTHORIZED UPON START OF ENGAGEMENT

ALL ORDERS VIA CODED EAM ONLY USE RED CODE CYPHER

BY ORDERS

ADM WALLBANGER CNO GNSF

-----END OF MESSAGE-----

Somewhere off the coast of Washington, Near the Freighter Convoy

As Ensign Trainzmainiac watched the crew operate their consoles, he knew this was his time to shine, or die. With the other two subs now behind him as he cruised at 5 knots 200 feel down, he knew his life was all based on a plan conceived by HQ, and his own iron.

“SONAR, distance from freighters, and distance to contact” the Ensign called out. “Sir, we are 19 miles from the freighters and 22 miles from the groups of four subs, all subs are now moving at 5 knots” the operator replied. “Rgr, CONN, ALL STOP” he barked. As the sub started to slow, he called to the sonar operator again, “Distance to threats”, making sure all crew were very aware that while these were US submarines, they were threats. “20 miles sir, and closing.

“WEAPONS, Flood all tubes”, the ensign called. As the tubes were flooded in rapid succession, he again called out “Equalize all tubes”. As the tubes became ready, he turned back to the sonar operator and yelled “Status of threats”. “Sir, all four contacts still approaching at 5 knots, now 18 miles. Threats are flooding there forward four tubes sir!” the operator called out in an agitated voice. “Relax sir, they are no match for us” he replied, trying to keep the crew focused.

“Sonar, report” he called after a few moments passed. “Sir, they are holding at 5 knots, now 16 miles and closing” the operator replied. “SONAR, active ping range to target, one ping” the Ensign called. Looking back for a moment, almost questioning the order, he met the Ensigns eyes and all doubt vanished. As the Ping echoes out, the sonar operator called. “WOW, sir, contacts slowing, no stopping. Wait, the lead boat is increasing speed to 9 knots, the others have slowed, and DEMON shows set to stop. “Well, Mr. Twitchy want to play chicken eh, SO BE IT. CONN, ahead 19 knots, plot and set intercept course, keep this boat headed for his nose. If he moves, MATCH IT!” the Ensign called out. At this, the crew jumped into action with a single united purpose.

“Sonar, report” the Ensign again queried. “Sir, the other three subs are stopped, Mr. Twitchy still closing but has slowed to 5 knots again, distance now 9 miles.” The crew now seemed to be in full combat mode, acting on every order without contemplation or reservation. As the boats closed the Ensign new it was a one shot deal, either it works or they would have to engage. “Sir, SONAR, Both GNSF subs at the freighters have flooded tubes. They are spreading apart and moving into attack formation”. The Ensign waited for the sign, the one that signaled fun on the beach, or the one that signaled today was a good day to die. “Sir, SONAR, contact is slowing to three knots, distance 6 miles”. Doing some quick head math, the Ensign looked at his watch as the two boats closed. As he continued to look at his watch, the other officers focused on their stations. “CONN, slow to 3 knots, keep us heading dead at him.

As the time passed, the crew was silent and focused on the deadly game. “Sir, SONAR, distance to contact 2 miles”. “Sir, CONN, matching contacts position and drift, say the word and I will bump spheres with him”. The crew was set, the second phase was done, and now the hard part was at hand. “Sir, SONAR, contact has gone to all stop”. Ensign Trainzmainiac took a deep breath and called “CONN, maintain 3 knots and Stop us 200 feet off his nose” the Ensign ordered. “Aye sir” was the reply. As the boats moved to a ridiculously close position, the sonar operator called “Sir, threat has opened his four torpedo doors”. The Ensign responded with “HOLD FAST”. The crew remained focused as the gap continued to close. After a while, the CONN officer updated again, “Slowing to all stop, distance to threat 800 feet. “

“Sir, CONN, we are all stop, distance to threat 190 feet”. The ensign looked at the sonar screen, noting the position of the other three threat subs. “CONN, take us to periscope depth, forward motion to zero”. The CONN replied “Aye sir” and the boat started to rise. “Sir, Sonar, threat is matching our assent”. “Good” the Ensign replied. Officer of the Deck, signal the US submarine when he reaches periscope depth and flash him to turn on US UHF frequency Alpha-9. Let me know when you have contact” the Ensign ordered. As the boats slowly rose, the Ensign headed to his state room for a quick breather and a cold drink. He knew he had to be at his best, as this engagement as laid out by the coded attack plan from HQ, required the GNSF forces to not only sink every US sub in the area, but also to TLAM strike all coastal US military bases to shut down all their docked subs. The action would take then far over the line from conflict to full out War.

“Sir, I have Mr. Twitchy… I mean Rear Admiral Robinson on the radio… and he sounds pissed” the radio operator called, as he started to chuckle. Ensign Trainzmainiac slowly walked to the radio, giving the operator time to get his giggles under control. Then, as he took the microphone, the boat became dead silent.

“Hello Rear Admiral Robinson, it appears you and your friends have a hard time understanding the simple concept of BACK THE **** OFF” the Ensign barked, starting calm and builing to very loud . The US skipper went into a fit, responding,

“Listen you idiot, you don’t know how close you are to being sunk, now I’m telling you once and only once, stand down your vessel, and the other two near the freighters, and prepare to be boarded. As a representative of the United States of America’s Navy, I hereby place you and your forces under Military arrest”.

The Ensign, strolled a bit around the sub, letting the Rear Admiral stew for a while, then grabbed the mic and responded.

“Sir, first off, this transmission is being received by both the GNSF High Command and the United States of America’s Defense Department, just so the records will be perfectly clear when they have to explain the loss of four LA class submarines. By order of the GNSF you are hereby duely warned to vacate this area immeadiately or be destroyed”.

The Ensign was feeling a huge rush of adrenaline, fueling his fight or flight response system. He listened as the Rear Admiral replied, angrier than ever,

“Who the hell do you think you are you little ****, you are about to make your last mistake, You have 10 second to stand down”.

The Ensign watched his watch as ten seconds came and went. At the time ticked over, he looked up at his crew and gave a sarchastic should shrug. This made a few chuckle and all smile. Enjoying the moment he picked up the mic, and as he took a large breath, he replied,

“I don’t think sir, I KNOW who I am, I am Admiral Clash of the Global Naval Strike Force”. The Ensign paused, and when no immediate response was received, he continued.

“OK sonny, let me tell you how it is. First, since your ten seconds are past and I am still here, I can safely assume you are full of ****. Secondly, I am not a junior Soviet you can scare off with your tough talk. Third, as a common courtesy to the US I will give you twenty minutes, segregated by three clearly identifable marks, to leave the area. I will transmit three pings, one every five minutes; the third will be used for firing solutions to you and the other three submarines by our forces. If you are still here at the end of the 20 minutes, you will be fired on and destroyed. And sir, I do not bluff, you have been warned, this communication is done”

Boarding the Freighter Convoy

As the Small Assault craft sat stationary, bobbing with the waves, the Lieutenant spoke “OK people, we need to think this out. We have sonar and magnetic detection all over the outer ships, so whatever bomb they have is probably on the center one. What would be the purpose of all this, what are they targeting”.

After some though the weapons expert piped up “OK,  first, for thoses that don’t know me, I’m  Ensign Apocalypse. The GNSF command asked if I would come off leave to assist this mission, but boy the beach is looking really good right now. Anyway, they have a ton of detection stuff on it, so we can assume its set to detonate when it gets close to ships or subs”.

As the others thought, the sonar expert, getting way too carried away added, “Yea, and they would have to set it up not to be too sensitive, as they probably want to kill big ships and subs, so we would probably be safe to approach in this thing. I don’t think they could set it sensitive enough for our dingy without having a shrimp bed set it off”.

 Looking over at the engineer, the lieutenant watched as he shook his head in agreement. As she considered what was about to take place, she ordered, “OK, we board the boats, but we paddle in, I don’t want to take the chance of the engine setting it off”. At that, the group started paddling towards the freighter.

“OK, take us between these two and head for the center one, that’s where the action will be. Keep an eye out for any personnel.” the Lieutenant ordered as they started to head between two of the outer ships. Looking over at the engineer, she added, “OK sir, it’s time for you to earn your pay, I want you in the water to look at the detection stuff they have.” As the engineer started putting on scuba tanks, the sonar expert smiled, glad it was not him. “You too soldier, you’re the one that knows the sonar crap” the Lieutenant added, bursting the Sonar mans bubble.

As he also started strapping on a scuba tank, the lieutenant turned to one of the assault seals and ordered, “String them a line”. At this, the officer took out a large weapon that looked like a spear gun. As he fired it, the whooshing sound of the cable unraveling broke the sound of the waves for a moment. As the tip rammed home into the hull, the lieutenant ordered, “OK, link up with the line and stay away from the ass end, unless you want to become sushi”. As the two fell over the side into the water and made their way to the side of one of the outer ships, the Lieutenant called to a seal member, “Keep an eye on them and hold us steady until they return”. As they sat there watching the two men check out the equipment on the side, they were amazed at how close all the boats were in the tight pack.

As the two men completed their survey and returned to the boat, Ensign Apocalypse turned to the Luetenent and said, “Listen Lieutenant, when we board that center boat I need everyone to do exactly as I say. This is serious ****, one wrong step and we all die. Anyone spending this kind of cash for a floating weapon of mass destruction will have installed protection to prevent it from being boarded.” The Lieutenant  looked back at the soldier and replied, “OK, when we get to the ship, you will be in command, just make sure you get it right the first time, I'm not quite ready to cash it in yet.”

As the small craft headed towards the center freighter, Ensign Apocalypse and engineer were checking out the ship with a  slew of special scopes. “Well, so far it looks good, but that doesn’t mean squat”, Ensign Apocalypse stated. As the boat pulled closer and eventually along side, the Luetenent shouted, “Tie us up here, and get the ladder up”. At that a seal threw up a line and climber it in record time. Once at the top he secured a rope ladder he had dragged up with him. “Stay right there soldier and do not move even ONE STEP” Ensign Apocalypse ordered as he climbed the ladder.

Once all were up, the Lieutenant said, “OK, listen up, we are walking on probably the world’s biggest bomb, and we don’t want it to go off. Ensign Apocalypse will take command of this unit. You do what he says, when he says it. Am I clear”. All replied “Aye Sir”, except the sonar technician, who responded “Yes Ma’am... err.. I mean Sir ”. Turning to Ensign Apocalypse she mumbled, "great, I'm in a ******* bad rerun of McCail's Navy", which drew a chuckle from Ensign Apocalypse.

As the groups started to slowly cross the deck of the center freighter, Ensign Apocalypse, who was leading turned and said, “You all follow me and touch NOTHING, is that perfectly clear”. All nodded, and they continued to approach the entrance to the bridge. Stopping at the door, Ensign Apocalypse stopped and motioned for the engineer to join him. They proceeded to open a large bag that the engineer was carrying, and pulled out some electronic equipment. As the two started scanning the door, the sonar technician moved up and reached for the handle commenting, “Let see if it’s locked”.

Without looking up, Ensign Apocalypse intercepted the sonar man’s hand in route, and quickly twisted it to the point he toppled to the deck with a loud yell. Looking down at the officer, he released his hand and stated, “If I see your hand move towards anything again, I will rip off your arm and shove it up your ass, you understand me?” in a voice that was dead serious. Turning to the engineer, Ensign Apocalypse smiled a bit and then said, “OK, open it”. As the sonar technician, now back on his feet, gave Ensign Apocalypse a look as if to say I told you so, Ensign Apocalypse looked him straight in the eye and said “makes no difference, you will still lose an arm”.

As the groups slowly followed Ensign Apocalypse through corridors, and up several flights of stairs, which seemed to take forever, they stopped just before the door to the bridge. Turning back Ensign Apocalypse again motioned to the engineer who joined him in front of the door. As the two chatted very quietly, Ensign Apocalypse turned to the groups and whispered, “No talking, stay quiet. We have encountered no anti personnel systems up to this point, which means there will be some inside. “, The two men again scanned the door, and inserted a small wire under the door.

After checking all around, the Engineer turned to Ensign Apocalypse and said, “This makes no sense, no IR, no Ultrasonic’s, I don’t like this”. Ensign Apocalypse pondered a moment and replied, “They must want us inside, probably figuring we can’t do anything to stop it”. Ensign Apocalypse slowly opened the door and walked inside, motioning for the others to stay put. After a few minutes, he called them to come in. The bridge looked normal except for a lot of extra electronics, and a big steel box sitting on a table in the middle of the room.

As the group looked down at the device in the box, Lieutenant AOD looked over at Ensign Apocalypse and asked in an almost shaky voice, “Please tell me that is not what I think it is, because it sure looks like what I think it is”. As she looked up from the device to Ensign Apocalypse, she noticed he was already holding a Geiger counter in his hand.

Battle Deep Inside Bosnia

As the air was filled with the sound of gunfire and explosions, an office approached the command tent. “Sir, it’s almost over” he said with a huge smile. Looking up at the officer, Admiral Kim Jung Il replied, “Well that’s good news sir, now how about some damn details”. The officer’s grin dampened a bit as he moved to the large map on the table.

“Ok Sir, here is where we are now. Our forces moved in here, down this gully and engaged the enemy here. They did not know we were coming and their flank was totally exposed. We probably annihilated half of their armor before they figured out what was up. By the time they tried to react, most of their heavy equipment was gone. Our planes did one hell of a job taking out the big stuff first. Now, there is only a small pocket left here, and they already tried to surrender”. Looking a bit confused, the Admiral asked, “What do you mean they ‘tried to surrender’ “. Looking at the Admiral, no smile left on his face, he replied, “Well sir, as they put up a flag, our planes kind of used it as a bombing marker.”. The Admiral shook his head and mumbled, “Lafitte”.

As the Admiral was about to ask a question, the officer added, “Sir, I looked at the reports from the initial attack, and the planes hit every asset IN ORDER as you had them listed. I have never seen anything like that. Because of the way they hit them sir, they were dead before they had a chance to organize. You sure got some cracker pilots there sir”. Stopping his attempt to speak, the Admiral smiled and replied, “Yes we sure do”. As he walked away and headed over to the mess tent, he added to himself, “I just wish they were sane”.

As the Admiral finished off his meal, Lafitte strolled in looking his usual happy self. “Hey Kimmy, I hope you’re not pissed with me, I hit the stuff you wanted and no friendly stuff”. Despite the fact the Admiral really hated it when he was addressed improperly, he smiled and said, “Damn Lafitte, I didn’t think you had it in you. I mean WOW; you followed a set of rules, at least up to the point of the white flag”.

Lafitte looking very serious, which was rare, stared at the Admiral and replied, “Look, I know you think I’m a total nutcase, but I am totally capable of following rules and procedures, I just choose NOT to most of the time, unless it’s important. We saw the flag, then saw a group in the hills uncovering a SAM battery, and saw three covered tanks on IR at the site. Once we took out the SAM we saw the tanks start to move, so we vaporized the whole area.”

The Admiral looked at Lafitte and said, “You did a great job out there, those pilots you picked are the best my guys have ever seen. Sit down and get some food”. Lafitte, still looking more serious than he is usually seen, replied, “I will in bit, but I just came in to tell you they surrendered this time for real. Your troops are bringing the ones left alive in, and seeing what equipment we can use.” As the Admiral smiled, seeing for the first time a rational, skilled officer standing before him, Lafitte added, “Besides, one of those guys they are bringing in ‘flipped me off’, I need to find him and cut off his finger”, as he bounded out of the tent. The Admirals dropped his head into his hands and shook it in total disbelief. Somewhere in that psychopaths head was a skilled soldier. Well, if nothing else, he was happy in knowing; while it was short lived, he did get another glimpse of it.

Pacific Coast, Near the Freighter Convoy

As Ensign Trainzmainiac took a long breath, bleeding off the adrenaline from the radio communications with the US skipper, the Officer of the Deck called out, “Sir, why did you tell that jerk your name was Admiral Clash?”. The Ensign smiled and responded. “Simple, Admiral Clash is a legend, he has broken every mile stone mark that was ever set by the Navy, and his achievements dwarf anything anyone else there has ever done. He is like a god to those skippers, and I knew that would scare the crap out of Mr. Twitchy”. As the crew broke into fits of laughter, the Ensign kept an eye on his watch.

Exactly five minutes later, the Ensign called “SONAR, active ping for threat”. As the ping echoed, the return was fast and loud. As the crew watched, the US submarine held its ground. “Sir, they are staying put”, sonar called. “Yes, I don’t expect them leave until the third ping anyway” the Ensign replied. The Ensign looked at the sonar screen, noting that Commander Newt-iCop and Lieutenant Duck had taken up good firing positions on either side of the Freighters. “Sir, SONAR, three more LA Class Submarines heading this way, 36 miles and closing at 18 knots”. “Understood sir, keep an eye on them”. The crew focused on their tasks as the second five-minute span went past in what seemed like an instant.

“SONAR, active ping for threat” the Ensign again ordered. Just as before, the ping echoed and produced a strong fast return. This time, the return was accompanied by two other pings. “Sir, SONAR, active pings from both our other subs”. The Ensign paced around the deck, knowing this was crunch time. After a moment, the radio operator called out “Sir, Radio message picked up from the US to the US subs, non secure message, withdraw and do not engage the GNSF forces”. After a moment, he added, “Sir, its Admiral Twitchy again on the UHF channel”.

The Ensign drew a breath of relief as he walked to the radio. “Are you still here?” was his response, sending the Officer of the Deck into a laughing fit which he cut short, but with much effort. “Sir, you must have friends in high places, as it seems your ass has been saved. I know of Admirals Clash’s record, but outnumbered seven to three even he would not have had a chance. Oh, by the way, since I have confirmation Admiral Clash is at the US embassy, who the hell are you really?”, the Rear Admiral chuckled.

“I am Ensign Trainzmainiac, skipper of the SSN Sand Digger.” After a moment, the Rear Admiral replied, “Ensign!,  well don’t that beat all. Hell, I have to say you sure got big balls son. You are really lucky I didn’t get the chance to call your bluff. Maybe another time … Ensign”. The crew could hear laughter in the background through the radio as the Rear Admiral could be heard to say laughing, “Damn, an ensign”.

Looking down at his watch, the Ensign noticed there was only 35 seconds until the third and final ping, which was now unnecessary. “Leave the channel open,” the Ensign said in a quiet voice to the radio operator. “Sonar, what are the threats doing“. Sir, close threat moving off at 5 knots, others holding position.”

He pondered the situation for moment, they had succeeded, but he was still left with an empty feeling. He looked up at his crew and could see the arrogant Rear Admirals gloating bothered them. He then watched the watch click down the time to the third and final ping. Just then the Officer of the Deck commented, “Sir, you won, don’t worry about those idiots, you beat them”. Watching the dial hit the fifteen mark, he looked up at all of his officers and smiled.

“SONAR, active ping threat” Ensign Trainzmainiac ordered. Without hesitation the sonar operator pinged. As with the previous pings, a fast hard return came in, followed by a series of multiple pings that took the sonar operator by surprise “Sir, Sonar, active pings from our two, no.. hold,  oh my god… 15, no correction 17 submarines, SW class. Damn sir, there all over the place, and all around the US subs”. Walking over to the microphone, the Ensign grabbed it and spoke “Rear Admiral Robinson, be careful what you wish for, next time you may get it”. The Ensign smiled and turned off the microphone. As the crew started cheering, sonar called out “Sir, Mr. Twitchy has increased speed to 19 Knots, and the other subs are moving out fast.

“OK, let’s get back to the freighters so we can finish and go home” the Ensign ordered. As the boat headed back to the freighter, Ensign Trainzmainiac felt good, but very drained. He thought to himself as he headed to his stateroom, at least I lived to be able to tell the tale.

Pacific Coast, Near the Freighter Convoy

As they all stood there staring at the device, Ensign Apocalypse said, “OK people, everyone had a good look?”. The group stood motionless and fixated on the device. Ensign Apocalypse looked over to the engineer and smiled a quick smile, then juggled and dropped the Geiger counter on top of the device, as he mumbled, “OH NO”. The Geiger counter seemed to fall in slow motion, and as it hit the device, it produced a strong metalic ping that echoed throughout the bridge. All in the group cringed as the sound died out.

Just then, both Ensign Apocalypse and the engineer burst out laughing. As the rest of the group looked up, some checking for a pulse, they realized they just had their chains yanked. As the two continued to chuckle, Lieutenant AOD started laughing as well, as she pulled her side arm out and cocked it. At this point, both stopped laughing, and Ensign Apocalypse called out, “Wooh Ma’am, take it easy, we were just messing with you.” As he watched her smile turn to a grimace as she slowly holstered her weapon, she said, “You ever pull a stunt like that again on my watch and I swear I will turn you into eunuchs. Now what the hell was that about anyway?” Ensign Apocalypse replied, “It’s a fake, well actually its real, but no fissionable material."

After all had composed themselves, Lieutenant AOD ordered, “OK, Let’s scour this boat and see if there is anything REAL here. Just because the nuke was a fake doesn’t mean this thing isn’t rigged.”.  She then turned to a Seal and said, “Contact HQ and fill them in as to what is going on. They may want to let the US know the status.” As the officers split into two groups, they started searching the rest of the boat.

About an hour later they all met back on the bridge, and discussed what they had found. Lieutenant AOD asked the other groups, “Did you guys find anything?”. “We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but there is only so much we can search”, the engineer replied. “Well, for a quick check it all seems ok, but a large team should really search this thing thoroughly to be on the safe side”. As the group packed up and headed back down to the deck, a call came in on the radio. “Ma’am, I have HQ,” the Seal said as he passed her the phone.

“AOD here” she called. “Hello Lieutenant, this is Admiral Clash, you all did a great job and we got your last report. To make peace with the US we have informed them and told them they can take the freighters for inspection if they wanted to. They are sending one LA Class sub back to sit with the ships until their task force gets there. Once the sub shows up, the GNSF people and subs can clear out and leave it all to them”.

“So sir, do you want us to remain onboard until they get here, or head back to the subs?” she asked. “I think you should stay on board to brief their people if they want it, if they get snooty then just leave. They have specifically asked for Ensign Trainzmainiac to be the GNSF representative submarine, so he will take you all off.”.

“ Aye sir, understood” the Lieutenant replied, then turning to the group called out “Listen up people, we are staying put until a US sub gets here and takes over. Let’s look around some more and get comfy, just remember, this place may still be rigged”. As they headed back to the bridge, Ensign Apocalypse commented, "They asked for a the Ensign by name, wonder what that is all about?" Looking over and smiling, Lieutenant AOD replied, "I guess he REALLY pissed someone off".

Siberian Coast, Near the Stanovoy Mountain Range

As the wind howled over the frozen snow covered ground, Commander Kilo turned to Commander Alpha and whispered, “I’m freezing my Oreo’s off here, couldn’t we just find a nice Hotel and coordinate the guys via radio”. Commander Alpha looked over and replied, “Hey, you’re more accustomed to the cold than me”.  As the two tried to stay warm as they laid there in the snow, Lieutenant Junior Grade Manny crawled over and said, “I have checked out the compound and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of anything there. Looks like the place they send you when you mess with the Generals Daughter”. Looking over, Commander Kilo chuckled, “Well we are in Siberia”.

As the group kept an eye on the compound, Commander Micksp returned from checking out the far side of the base. “Well, I got a lot of recon shots, but this isn’t much of a high tech base. It’s your typical compound with some light vehicles, a few tanks, and a few platoons of men. I can’t see any indication of anything near the size and complexity we were expecting.” As they started to pack up, Commander Kilo exclaimed, “Well bloody Knackers, is that it, we sit here days freezing to death, to check out a frozen camp of Soviet soldiers in the bad books”.

As they got all their surveillance gear packed up, Commander Alpha crawled over to the Seal with the radio and said, “Get the sub on the horn, we are ready to extract”. As the operator made contact with the sub, Commander Micksp called out, “Get down, Patrol”. All hit the ground in unison and stayed motionless; hoping the totally white outfits they were wearing would make them blend in. As the patrol approached, all members slowly drew there silences pistol and waited. After a few tense moments, the patrol passed and disappeared over a hill.

“Sir, I have the sub”, the operator called. Commander Alpha, motioning to Lieutenant Junior Grade Manny said, “Trail the patrol and see how far away they are, don’t want them doubling back on us”. The Lieutenant Junior grabbed two Seals and headed for to the top of the hill the patrol went over. Grabbing the radio, the Commander called,

“Alpha here, were done and heading back, just need to side step a patrol”. As he waited, a voice replied,

“Alpha, this is Rear Admiral Phantom; we are at the pickup point. Did you have any luck?”.
“No sir, all we found was a small base, nothing special.”, the Commander answered. After a few moments of silence, the Rear Admiral replied,

“That’s not possible, we have satellite images of something big, hard to make out due to the storms, and it’s just to your north”. Thinking for a moment, the Commander answered,

“Oh yea, we found that, it’s a large Thermal Electric Plant. We spent an hour looking all around it. No military hardware, just a plain plant. It doesn’t even have a road to it; they use a cable car to get there. Anyway, we took a ton of pictures of that too.” After what seemed like forever, the Rear Admiral replied,

“OK, head back to extraction and be really careful you are not seen, we don’t need another incident making us look worse than we are perceived right now”.

As the Commander signed off, he turned to see Lieutenant Junior Grade Manny and the Seals on the top of the hill. There hand signals indicated it was safe to move out and head back to the sub. As the group headed back to the Icepack, Lieutenant Junior Grade Manny’s group paralleled them keeping an eye out for patrols.

Off the West Coast in the Pacific

As the smell of Sea air entered the submarine, a voice rang out from the radio console, “Sir, I have Commander Pavid on the horn”. As Admiral Paul headed over to the COMM station, he called to the Officer of the Deck, “Ventilate for another 20 minutes, then we get underway”. As he picked up the Microphone, he said,

 “Hello Commander, so tell me, how did it feel to be Sub number S21?”. There was a moment of silence, and then the Commander answered,

“One of the weapons officers is still shaking from having to slide that nuke into the tube. Boy I am sure glad I didn’t have to fire it, don’t want to be lumped in with the Anola Gay”. 

“I know what you mean sir, I wasn’t looking forward to sending 22 TLAM’s into US bases either, just glad it worked out ok.”, The Admiral paused for a moment then added, “Are you all set to head out?”.

“Aye sir, we are already underway, we should be in the Balkans area in about 18-20 days. I just hope they are quiet, uneventful ones. Take care sir and we will see you there”.

As the Admiral left the COMM station, he headed for the large Sea chart tapping the helm officer on the shoulder as he passed.  Both headed over to the map and joined the Officer of the Deck, and pointing at their location, the Admiral explained, “We are moving a lot of subs here, and I want to make sure we don’t have any problems with other groups out there.  Our orders are to avoid contact with other vessels, but to keep an eye on all of them. We will be heading across fast, as the whole group will be doing a rather large overbound move, all based on the last Link Id’s. Once we reach here, will slow and go the rest of the way stealthy.

Seoul Airbase, South Korea

As the door to the small office opened, Admiral Wallbanger looked up and exclaimed, “Damn, I am getting too old for this crap”. Smiling, Fleet Admiral Stern replied, “I’m happy to see you too, I told you it would all work out”. Jamming a few more Tums into his mouth, the Admiral responded, “Fine for you, I had to put my name on that nuclear consent. I can’t believe we came that close and the US actually backed down”.

Walking in and sitting down in a small chair, the Fleet Admiral answered, “You know we had no choice, we had to assume it was an active weapon, and if we were going to have the US hunt us down for their stupidity, then I would rather make them hunt us for something we DID do.” Taking a drink from a bottle of water, the Admiral, still not looking happy, remarked, “Boss, we almost nuked there carrier task force and flattened their bases, we would go down in history as the second “Perl Harbour”.

Pondering the thought, the Fleet Admiral looked straight faced at the Admiral and replied, “Oh yes, we also had Hawaii on the target list, S23 and S24 I believe.”, then breaking into a chuckle. As the Admiral just stared back, not even slightly amused, the Fleet Admiral added, “Oh, almost forgot, I managed to score you 12 cases of that wine you really liked”. Trying hard to keep the stare, the Admiral broke a slight smile and then shook his head.

“I know this sucks WB, but someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make us look like the bad guys. Hell, from what I see they could have bought the damn F-16’s for less than they spent on this freighter fiasco.” Lifting his head and looking a bit sad the Admiral replied, “I know, and the sad part is the US and a few others bought it. I know it’s our old friends behind this, I just need some damn proof”. Smiling, the Fleet Admiral replied, “I know, that is why we are here in Seoul, we are going to mix it up with that force Jung Il has put together and see if Lafitte is involved as well. Once we expose them, all will see they sold us short.”

As they sat there looking at the reports from the fighting in Bosnia, the Fleet Admiral commented, “If these reports are right, they have some top notch pilots flying those F-16’s. How is Captain Swordfish making out with our pilots”. Smiling, the Admiral replied, “They are already set and ready. I had the second freighter convoy detoured here before we left the base, and in the confusion the US didn’t think about grabbing it. So, I hear Alpha and that group you sent out are on their way back, how did they make out.” The Fleet Admiral frowned a bit and replied, “Not good. They checked all over and besides a power plant, they found a small Russian base. There was no indication the Nutcases have a base in Siberia”. “Well, don’t worry, they have to have a base somewhere, we will find it , the Admiral said, then adding, “So, where exactly is this wine you brought”.

Aboard the Freighters in the Pacific

As the sun came up and shot bright rays through the bridge windows, the other officers awoke and noticed Lieutenant AOD taking some pictures of the bridge modifications and the dummy ‘device’. Getting up, Ensign Apocalypse walked over and commented, “Ma’am, we already took about 1000 pics of this thing, as well as everything we found unusual”. The Lieutenant replied, “I know, I’m just playing safe, plus I’m bored and the snoring from you lot was driving me nuts”.

Just then, they heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Instinctively, Ensign Apocalypse pulled out his side arm and crouched, as the Lieutenant did the same. As the bridge door open, in walked Ensign Trainzmainiac with six members of his crew. Seeing the officers with Weapons drawn, he smiled and said, “Relax, it’s only me, and with the luck I’m having you would all miss anyway”. At that, most of the Seals started laughing and the officers put away their pistols. “It's about time you got here, I hope you brought coffee”, Ensign Apocalypse replied. Looking over, the Ensign added, “Four pots and a huge breakfast, if you are interested”. At that, the remaining officers jumped to their feet and headed for the sub.

Walking over to the Ensign, Lieutenant AOD asked, “So I hear they requested you by name, who did you piss off”. Smiling, the Ensign replied, “Mr. Twitchy… I mean Rear Admiral Robinson”. At that, the Lieutenant started to laugh, and as they both headed down to the deck, the Lieutenant commented, “Hey ensign, if you want I can hang around and shoot him for you”.

As the group loaded their equipment onto the Sand Digger, they saw a US submarine breakwater and surface close by. Turning to the Ensign, Lieutenant AOD asked, “Mr. Twitchy I presume”, then started laughing as she went below. Looking over at the US sub, Ensign Trainzmainiac called to the crewmembers on deck, “String some lines and get that sub secured alongside”.

As the Ensign watched, the sub was finally secured. After a while, Rear Admiral Robinson came out of the sub and crossed over. Standing face to face with Ensign Trainzmainiac, he said, “You must be the Ensign with Kahoonies the size of bowling balls”, as he extended his hand. Shaking his hand, the Ensign replied, “I am Ensign Trainzmainiac, and ALL GNSF members have Kahoonies the size of bowling balls”. This caused the Rear Admiral to start laughing as he asked, “You have time to give me a tour of your boat?”. “Sure thing sir”, the Ensign replied, as the two walked over to the hatch and climbed down into the Sand Digger. Pausing and turning at the bottom, the Rear Admiral said, “I don’t care what the official US policy is, you guys are OK in my books.

Aboard the Freighters in the Pacific

As the stars shone brightly in the still darkness, the calm was broken by bright lights and horns. As Lieutenant AOD looked out the bridge window, she could see the US task force was close and had not turned on their search light. As she headed down to the deck, she saw other officers start to come out of the Sandlance’s main hatch. As she approached the side of the freighter, Ensign Apocalypse yelled over, “Have you been up there all night”, she looked down and replied, “It’s a lot more peaceful here than being cooped up with you lot.

As two escort ships started securing lines to the outer freighters, three small assault crafts came over to the center freighter. As they tied off and climbed aboard, she greeted the senior officer, “Hello sir, I m Lieutenant AOD.” The officer looked at here and replied, “We are taking over here, so you and your people can leave, and you better not have taken ANYTHING off these boats”. Not impressed with the warm welcome she replied, “Well I be happy to get off this ship and leave your polite company, but I was ordered to brief you on the situation”. The officer smirked, and replied, “Well Ma’am, we sure don’t need any help, and especially from traitors like the GNSF. If I had my way I …” The officer stopped in mid sentence as the Lieutenant placed her hand on her side arm. Walking up to the officer, she got face to face and said, “Go ahead *** ****, make my day. I have been stuck here for two days, and shoving this 45 down your throat would make it all worthwhile.”

After a few tense moments, Ensign Trainzmainiac and Rear Admiral Robinson approached the two, as there boarding had gone unnoticed. “Stand Down Lieutenant”, Rear Admiral Robinson called, then turning to the US officer said, “open your mouth like that again and I will have you in the brig, understand”. The officer replied, “YES SIR” and headed off with the other US team members. Turning to the Lieutenant, the Rear Admiral added, “Sorry about that Ma’am, that was uncalled for”. The Lieutenant replied, “I’s ok sir, I just wanted to brief him on what we found”. Looking at the Lieutenant smiling, the Rear Admiral replied, “I know, but you know what some get like, they know it all.”

As the Ensign shook the Rear Admirals hand and officially turned the freighters over to the US, he turned and headed back to the sub with Lieutenant AOD. “I sure hope they search that thing properly”, the Lieutenant said. Looking over with a smile on his face, the Ensign replied, “Well, they our full report, so now it’s their problem”. As they finally made it back to the Sand Lance, the Ensign shook his head. Seeing this, the Lieutenant grabbed the Ensigns shoulder, asking “WHAT?”. Looking over with a smile on his face as he started down the hatch, he replied, “I kind of hoped you would have shoved the 45 in his mouth, so I could watch him cry”. As he climber down into the sub, the Lieutenant could hear him laughing all the way down.

As the Lieutenant got ready to start down into the sub, she looked back at the large group of soldiers running all over the freighters and shook her head. Looking down at the one item she had taken from the freighter, she smiled and said to herself, “Admiral Wallbanger will love this”. As she shoved the souvenir back into her pocket, she headed down the hatch.

Seoul Airbase, South Korea

As the Fleet Admiral headed to the mess hall, he ran into Admiral Wallbanger and Captain Swordfish. “Hello sir”, they both said. “Hello gentlemen, how are you both this fine day” the Fleet Admiral replied. Looking at each other with almost confused looks, the Admiral turned back and replied, “We are doing ok, but it seems you must on a nicer planet than us, as I haven’t seen anything fine about any day these days”. As he pondered in his head if the grammar was messed up in that phrase, the Fleet Admiral smiled and stated, “Well it sure is fine, as things are looking up. The south Koreans have agreed to let us use the ports at Pohang, Mokpo, and Pusan for our subs, and have allowed us to use ANY airport they have.”

At this new, both officers smiled and the captain commented, “Wow, you must have done some heavy wheeling and dealing”. Looking back, the Fleet Admiral replied, “Nope, they were so impressed with our help dealing with the nutcases last time, they gave us the keys to the country”. Pausing to watch both smile, he added, “And I’m talking with the Prime Minister of Italy, Romano Prodi, and it looks like we may get the same deal there. That would give us great striking spots for the Balkans area.” Both officers smiled, and then Captain Swordfish asked, “So are we going to split up our air assets between Korea and Balkans?”. “I’m not sure yet, to start we will keep everything here. If we need to, we can move over to Italy, as it will not only give us access to Balkans, but to the Middle East. I’m sure those nuts have a hand in that one”.

As they all walked in to the mess, Admiral Wallbanger stated, “Well our subs will be here in about 20 days, so we have lots of time to set up for them. I also got a call from the INTEL people back home, they are sending all the Intel and pictures the group got of the freighter. I am hoping there is something that will help in it”. “Well at least the group will have some time to relax on the sub, it probably wasn’t that comfortable being stuck on the freighters during all that”, Captain Swordfish remarked. Looking at both, the Fleet Admiral commented, “Well most will, which reminds me. I had a call from Lieutenant AOD, she requested a flight here to meet with us, said it was important but wouldn’t say what”. Admiral Wallbanger asked, “What did you tell her, and why didn’t she contact the Captain?”. “I didn’t get to talk with here, just a coded message from the Sand Digger. Its sure not proper procedure, which I why I sent a chopper for her, to bring her back to Home Base.” Not looking impressed, the admiral stated, “She better have a damn good reason. So, why does she have to go to the BC base to tell us?”. Just then, Captain Swordfish added, “Well, it must be important, she doesn’t like flying much”. Looking over, the Fleet Admiral started to laugh, adding, “Well, I sure must be important then, because when she gets to the base they are jamming her into a CF-18 and flying her here.”

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean

As the large number of GNSF submarines headed west through the Pacific, all of the crewmembers got a well-deserved break from the extreme tension of the last few days. While some boats ran at flank for several hours, some ran slower watching for threats.

As Commander Pavd returned to the control room after some rest, the Officer of the Deck called attention. Walking over to the Sonar station the Commander asked, “So, what has been happening while I was resting”. The Sonar operator slipped one earpiece off and replied, “Not a lot sir, we just dropped down from running flank about 10 minutes ago”.

As the Commander walked over to the chart to check their position, the Radio operator called out, “Sir, I did manage to intercept some US radio traffic about 20 minutes after you left the bridge, just before we dove and went to flank”. Looking over, the Commander walked over and asked, “They sent uncoded transmissions about this?”.

“Well, no sir, but their encryption is nothing like ours”, the operator replied, then smiling he continued. “The group from the freighters messaged that the bomb was a fake, and they sent in a helicopter to air lift it to the Strategic Weapons facility in Bangor. They also reported they had powered up the freighters engines, are now heading to port with the freighters under their own power. Then, they were instructed to take the freighters to Bangor and not mess with any of the equipment.” The Commander smiled and replied, “Good work sir, have you informed HQ?”. “Aye sir, about 5 min ago, they also picked up the transition”.

Just then, the sonar operator added, “Sir, I have a fix on the Freighter group, they are very close to the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. TMA has them just entering it.” “Thank you sir, I’m sure glad that mess is in their hands”, the Commander replied, adding, “Now, let’s track and ID all vessels out there. I want to know the second anything shows up that isn’t ours”. “Aye sir, I have all our subs that are at flank, but nothing else yet. Will get link data on the slow moving subs soon”, the sonar man replied.

“Sir, radio link with HQ established”, the radioman called out. The Commander quickly made his way to the radio and answered, “This is Commander Pavd”. After a short delay, a voice responded, “This is Admiral Paul, good to hear your voice sir. I need you to make a change in destination, as we are having eight submarines divert to the Mediterranean. Plot a course to take you through the Suez Canal. I know it’s a long trip, but there is trouble brewing in the Middle East and we need some subs there”.

Thinking about the long trip, the Commander replied, “Aye sir, will make the appropriate course changes. Sir, you need us there fast or do we run slow?”. “Coordinate with the other seven subs, I will send data via an EAM message. You will be moving fast doing an overbound, as there is no need for stealth until you reach the Arabian Sea. Keep in touch every time you slow and good sailing” the Admiral replied.

As the Commander headed back over to the chart table, he could see the officer was already hard at work plotting a new course. As he reached the table, the Commander exclaimed, “Well, it looks like we will be racking up some serious “Sea miles”.

Seoul Airbase, South Korea

“Sir, I have General Wallace on the line”, a voice called over the intercom”. Looking over at Admiral Wallbanger and Captain swordfish, all crammed in the small office, the Fleet Admiral said, “I will put this on speaker phone”, as he reached over and clicked the button. “Hello General, Stern here”. The voice replied, “Well good to hear from you sir, it’s been a long time, so what can I do for you that won’t get me court martialed”.

“Well sir, it’s the freighters, I see they are being taken to Bangor. I just called to see if you could pull any strings to make sure they check them out totally before taking them in.” There was a moment of silence, and then the General replied, “Well I don’t know how much I can do. You think there is something wrong here don’t you?” “Aye sir, there was far too much money spent on that whole freighter thing, well above what the weapons were worth. They have something planned and I don’t want to see the US get burned”, the Fleet Admiral replied.

After a while the General commented, “Look Stern, you know I don’t have a lot of pull over there, and they have a huge hard on for the GNSF. I’m not sure what I can do”. Thinking for a moment, the Fleet Admiral smiled at the other two, and questioned, “Sir, am I right in believing that Bangor still has the one of the largest supply of Trident nuclear weapons in the US arsenal?” There was silence on the other end, to which the Fleet Admiral added, “Sir, if they rigged those boats and the device IS real, pulling them in to Bangor would be a huge mistake, and I just do not want to see anything bad happen. These guys are smart, you know that, and I don’t need the GNSF getting blamed for anything else these nutcases pull off”. There was still no reply for a long while, and then the General spoke, “Well, since this issue does in some way involve nuclear weapons, I will see what I can do. Keep your fingers crossed” at which the phone call ended.

“Looking up at the Fleet Admiral, Captain Swordfish asked, “What do you think they really intended with those freighters?”. Looking over, the Fleet Admiral replied, “I’m not sure, but the fact they are all geared out and can still be cut apart and moved on their own speed makes no sense, unless they wanted them to be taken.” As his head dropped, the Admiral exclaimed, “Oh great, and whatever it is I know we are going to get blamed for it.” Standing up, the Admiral headed for the door and exclaimed, “Well, I have a bottle of wine that’s labeled ‘In case of Freighters, who’s coming?” As the Captain stood up and walked to the door, the Fleet Admiral said, “Hold on, I guess I should keep an eye on you two, plus this micro office is making me crazy. Besides, I think AOD should be here very soon, and I’m sure she will need a few drinks”. Looking over, the Admiral replied, “Ah, in that case, screw the wine, I have a bottle of ‘Incase of upset person with a weapon’ Rum”.

Aboard the Freighters in the Pacific

As the US ships unloaded crews on the Freighters, the GNSF sub departed and slipped below the waves. “Glad to see that lot go”, the General comment as the mast aboard the Sand digger finally disappeared. Turning to the General, Rear Admiral Robinson replied, “Yea, so am I, we have given those folks enough grief. I would recommend to you sir that you take the advise offered by their Lieutenant, and check these boats out well. We are so intent on blaming a group that saved our butts, I would hate to see our stupidity come back and bite us in the ass”.

Looking at the Rear Admiral as if he had insulted him personally, he griped, “They are a group with weapons that makes them dangerous. As for the advice, our people have checked these Freighters over with a fine toothcomb, and except a lot of crap suck on them, they are just plain Freighters. I am not wasting my time playing a stupid game that those rebels have created for their entertainment.”

As the Rear Admiral walked away, he heard the quietly General add, “If it was me down there, that sub would be on the bottom”. Stopping, the Rear Admiral spun around, walked back and got within 2 inches of the General and said, “If that was you down there sir, you would be dead, and so would the rest of your fellow sub skippers.” Pausing while the General tried hard to match the stare, he added, “So General, ever see what one MK-48N can do to an entire task force?” As the General lost eye contact, the Rear Admiral walked away, then turning added, “Think yourself lucky it was me out there you blow hard ass, otherwise all you see here would be gone! I am heading back to port, and if ANYTHING goes wrong with this project of yours, you will be peeling spuds for the rest of your life”.

As the Rear Admiral crossed over to his sub, seeing the General still within earshot, he turned to one of the Generals MP’s and asked, “Sir, how much time do you think I would get in Leavenworth for shooting a ******* moron in the head”. Looking at the General then back at the Rear Admiral, he replied, “Sir, Well sir, that would depend on how big a ******* moron the target was, but probably 25 to life sir”. As he walked to the sub hatch, the Rear Admiral replied, “25 to life, damn it’s almost worth it”.

As the Rear Admiral climbed aboard the sub and it headed off, a Colonel walked up the General and said, “Sir, we are set to start the engines, as all the normal systems check out ok. From what the techs are saying, a lot of the stuff on the bridge doesn’t actually do anything, just for looks”. As the General smiled, he replied, “yea, just what I thought, a GNSF smoke screen. Well I am not falling for their crap. OK, start them up and let’s move out. Signal the carrier we are ready to go as soon as the chopper gets that fake nuke off”.

Seoul Airbase, South Korea

As the three officers sat in the officer mess, which was 20 times bigger than the Fleet Admirals temporary office, the Admiral slid the bottle of run over to the Captain. “Might as well have another Captain, don’t know how long the calm will last. As the Captain poured himself another drink, Lieutenant AOD came in, walked up, and chugged the Captains drink. While the three sat dumbfounded, the Lieutenant said, “Hello sirs, sorry about the drink sir, I know you will probably court-martial me, but I NEEDED THAT”, sitting down and letting her head flop down on the table. At that point, the Fleet Admiral started laughing, quickly followed by the Captain. “How was your flight Lieutenant?”, the Admiral asked, looking like he was preparing to have her keelhauled. Looking up, she smiled and said, “I am NEVER getting in one of those things again as long as I live”. Looking over with a cold stare, the Admiral added, “Funny you should mention your death Lieutenant”. At this point, she looked at him and smiled saying, “I know sir, but I figured you would forgive me when I gave you your present”, at which point she produced a piece of material and dropped it on the desk in front of him”. Looking down, the Admiral’s eyes widened, then looking up he asked, “You got this off the Freighter”. She looked down and replied, “Yes sir, I know your orders were not to take anything off the freighter, but I figured you would want this”. Not flinching, the Admiral asked again, “This came off the boat?”. She replied, “Aye sir”, then figuring she was dead anyway, she grabbed the second drink the Captain just poured and downed it.

As the Admiral looked at the item, she looked over to the Fleet Admiral, who was staring right at her. Reaching over, he grabbed the bottle of rum and slid it to the Lieutenant saying, “The drinks are on me Lieutenant, then standing, he turned to the Admiral, and smiling added, “Well boss, I think you have that proof you were looking for”.

Sarajevo, Bosnia

As the fighting was light and sporadic, the armed force moved freely around the country.  As the large convoy entered the outskirts of Sarajevo, no resistance was encountered. After navigating the streets, the APC and a small convoy of tanks pulled up outside the large mansion of Bosnian Prime Minister Alija Izetbegovic. As the APC opened, the prime minister walked out the door of the building.

“Hello, you must be Admiral Kim Jung Il”, the prime minister said. “Giving him a funny look, Lafitte replied, “Hell no, this is the Admiral, I’m just along for the food and rum. Smiling, the prime minister replied, “Ah, you must be the great Jean Lafitte”.

The three walked into the mansion and into a lavish dining area. “Please, have a seat gentlemen, my aids will take care of feeding your men”. As they sat at the table, Admiral Kim Jung Il replied, “Well prime minister, I was hoping we can work out an arrangement to everyone’s satisfaction. The way I see it, we need someone to run the country, and you are already doing that. The only difference now is you will become very rich very fast”. The prime minister smiled and replied, “Well I do like the important things in life, and how could I refuse such a generous offer”. At that, both men started to laugh, while Lafitte was busy ripping a turkey to pieces. Looking up he noticed them both looking at him, to which he replied, “You guys talk shop, as for me, as long as I get fed well and can blow **** up, I’m a happy man”.

Aboard the Freighters in the Hood Canal

As the freighters and escort ships made their way through the Hood Canal approaching the floating bridge, small explosions could be heard that sounded like grenades. As a crewmember of one of the escorts watched, he could see the ends being blown off the large sonar pods on the side of the freighter beside him. Shortly after, large cylindrical objects seemed to be ejected from each of the four sonar tubes he could see.

“Torpedo in the water sir, 3… no, they’re all over the place”, the sonar operator of the Fast Combat Support Ship yelled. Seconds later, in a panicked voice he screamed, “Torpedo active and homing!”. Less than a minute later, the sound of torpedo’s slamming home into the US escort ships could be heard. As one explosion after the other rocked the quite waters, chaos erupted from all the vessels.

“Stop this damn boat”, the captain who was piloting one of the freighters yelled, “I can’t sir, controls are not responding”, the wheel officer replied. “I don’t care what you have to do, run the thing into the shore if you have to”, the captain screamed. As he watched in horror, he could see each explosion as the torpedo’s seemed to find their mark on the US escort vessels. Being no stranger to sea battles, he watched as one of the last tubes on an adjacent freighter, thought to be sonar tubes, ejected its deadly cargo. As he looked to the left, drawn by another load explosion, he watched as four torpedo’s slammed one after the other into the Carrier.

“Sir, we’ve been hit, we are going down”, a voice called over the USNS Rainier's intercom. “Abandon ship”, the captain of the destroyer ordered, which was followed by the loud alarm horns. As the crew scrambled to the deck, they could hear the horns from the other boats, as they were all going down, with one already almost totally submerged. As the freighter captains watched, they could see sailors jumping overboard as the vessels burned out of control.

“Sir, the damn ship won’t turn, I’m locked out of all the controls”, the wheelman called out. Knowing that the Freighters were now self-controlled killing machines, all he could do is watch as the freighter continued on to the swing span in the bridge. Yelling out to the wheelman, who was kicking and punching the control panel, he asked, “Are we going to hit the bridge?”. Stopping his assault on the controls, the wheelman looked for a moment and replied, “No, this thing seems to be running on a perfect course to go through”. Pondering this weird turn of events, he yelled back, “go check and see if any of those damn pods are still intact on our sides”. The wheelman grabbed another officer and ran out of the wheelhouse yelling, “You check starboard”.

“MAYDAY, MAYDAY, USNS Rainier, attacked by torpedo’s launched by Freighters. USNS Bridge sunk, USS John C Stennis hit multiple times. Abandoning ship”, the radio operator yelled several times before running out to join the crew on deck as the ship listed badly. As he made it to the deck, the ship was now badly listing to port with the bow sinking fast. As he ran to the railing, he leapt over it in one motion.

As the freighter captain watched as the Carrier started to sink just on the other side of the bridge, he heard several muffled explosions from the freighter in front of him. In terror, he watched as it started sinking very fast right in the bridge span opening, a point to which his freighter was heading. In what seemed like a bad nightmare, he watched the freighter in front sink in less than a minute. “Abandon ship”, he yelled, then running to the radio yelled, “All crew on the freighters, abandon ship, they are set to scuttle”. Dropping the mic, he then followed the small crew and took the plunge into the canal. As he went over, he could see the other freighter crews also jumping.

As the freighters all reached the bridge span opening, they one by one scuttled themselves on the gap, while the last two veered off to each side and struck the permanent section of the bridge before themselves scuttling. As the carnage ended in a few short minutes, the bridge had been damaged with all the freighters now blocking the channel. The last of which still sat with its wheel hose a few feet above the water. As the sound of explosions, horns and screams passed, the silence was momentarily broken by the creaking of the Carrier USS Stennis as it disappeared below the churning water.

Sarajevo, Bosnia

As the two men sat and enjoyed their meal the best they could, they tried to ignore Lafitte ripping what was left of the turkey in half. Just then, a satellite phone Lafitte was carrying started to ring. “DAMN PHONE”, he yelled, dropping the two turkey halves and wiping his hands on his shirt. Reaching in, he grabbed the phone mumbling, “This better be important or someone is going be hurting real bad”

As he answered the phone, he sat listening, as a smile grew on his face. After about a minute he asked, “Do you have pictures?” and started to laugh. After another few minutes he replied, “Good, now get that video to me”, then hanging up. Looking confused, the Admiral asked, “OK Lafitte, what’s up now?”

Lafitte looked at the Admiral, with a serious face and said, “You remember how you said that stupid plan of mine wouldn’t work?” Starting to grin, the Admiral replied, “Don’t tell me you actually sunk a boat with that contraption?”. Now, with Lafitte’s expression turning to a somber one, he replied, “No, I didn’t sink a boat ….. I SANK EM ALL!!!!”, as he jumped up and started dancing all over the room, almost knocking the prime minister off his chair.

“What do you mean you sank them all?” the Admiral asked. Without looking over, and while still dancing, Lafitte replied, “I sank a Carrier, I sank two Destroyers, and sunk the rest of the little buggers”. As the Admiral looked in shock that this money pit project Lafitte came up with actually worked. “And to boot, all the freighters sank themselves in the bridge mouth”, Lafitte ended while spinning until he tripped and fell. Lying on the floor, he continued to laugh while the other two looked in amazement.

After a moment, Lafitte got back to his feet and returned to the table commenting, “Yep Yep Yep, Dumb old Lafitte bested them all”, as he sat down and started chugging from a rum bottle. After a pause, the Admiral asked, “Are you sure?” “Yep, my man got the whole thing on video; he says it was a thing of beauty”. Looking over to the Prime minister, the Admiral commented, “That’s why he is with me, he may be messed up but boy he amazes me sometimes. Grab him another turkey and we can discuss you’re fortune”.

Seoul Airbase, South Korea

As the three officers made their way back to the meeting room used as a War room, which was 5 times bigger than the Fleet Admirals office, Captain Swordfish commented, “Well AOD did a great job, I think I will give her a few days off”. At that, Admiral Wallbanger replied, “She will need it after she finishes of my bottle of aged Rum”. Looking over and laughing, the Fleet Admiral added, “Come on WB, she deserved it. I will get you a few more bottles”.

As they started going over the progress of their submarines, a man walker in and saluting said, “Fleet Admiral Sir, I have a message from INTEL”. At that the man handed the document to the Fleet Admiral, saluted, and left. As he started looking over the document, the other two looked on inquisitively.

“Boy did they get a huge I told you so”, the Fleet Admiral mumbled. “What’s up boss?, Admiral Wallbanger asked. “ I have the report here from the attack on the Freighters. All six freighters were sunk, seemingly all in the bridge gap. That messes up any traffic in or out of Bangor. The US lost all the ships, one Carrier, two Fast Combat, three Frigates, three Destroyer Escorts, and two fast attack Missile Cruisers. They all went down with torpedo’s, 53 cm Russian made.” As the two looked shocked, the FADM went on.

“It seems the torpedoes were housed inside those things we thought were sonar tubes. Once in the Canal, they all fired out and picked a target. According to the attack pattern, it was not a random active acquisition. It looks like all were guided to a specific target predetermined before they were fired, and even stagger-fired to cause the best damage. Also, seems the Freighters went into autopilot and scuttled themselves right in the bridge opening. I would say the money they dropped on those modifications were well spent”.

As the other two pondered what an evil but brilliant plan it was, Admiral Wallbanger stated, “Its Lafitte isn’t it. I don’t think Jung has the smarts, but Lafitte, despite being a lunatic has a brilliant tactical mind, one which I would like to splatter all over the wall”. Looking up the Fleet Admiral replied, “He out-thought us last time and made his escape, but not this time. I want him and his power hungry friend Jung.”

As they all sat at the table, the Fleet Admiral added, “We are going to have a very hard time beating them. As it seems they are not only in the Balkans, but the middle east and Korea, which means we will have to spread thin.” As he continued to look at the Intel, Captain Swordfish commented, “Well if he is in all three area’s then he will be spread thin too”. Looking up solemnly, the Fleet Admiral replied, “Not really, every place he moves into to is anti-US. As he takes over, he gets their assets and probably most of the people. The longer he continues the bigger his group will get”.

Standing up, the Admiral headed for the door. “Hey, WB, where are you going, we need to finish this”, the Fleet Admiral called. The Admiral looking back replied, “I will just be a minute, I need that damn bottle back”.

Sarajevo, Bosnia

As the sun started setting on the city of Sarajevo, the large military camp there was still bustling. As officers went about their tasks, an APC rolled in and stopped at the main officer’s complex. As the door opened, Lafitte exited the APC and went inside.

Sitting at his large desk, Admiral Kim Jung Il watched as Lafitte strolled in. “Ah, glad you could make it, did you catch the press conference, I think I did very well”, the Admiral chucked. “Yea, I saw it. You look fatter on TV” Lafitte replied with a smile. As Lafitte sat down, the Admiral spoke,

“OK Lafitte, let’s make sure we are both on the same page here. I know you like to blow stuff up and generally run rampant, but that must be limited to very specific times now. We must continue to be viewed as peacemakers, and wearing shiny halo’s. This war will be won on image, not on bombing.”

Lafitte, calmly looking up replied, “I am fully aware of the situation Admiral, and I have no intention of jeopardizing this with some stupid act. I myself will keep a very low profile, as I prefer ‘field work’ to politics. You do the horse and pony show, while I will quietly and discreetly ‘house clean’ in the required areas.”

The Admiral smiled and said, “Good, as its much better fighting this kind of battle than being hungry and mud rolling like last time. We have the power of the world’s bleeding heart people, who are so damn gullible that they are more willing to follow than sheep to the slaughter. These fanatics will do most of the battle for us, as the mightily US bends to their cries”, as he started to laugh.

Standing up, Lafitte commented on his way out, “I will make sure no ‘bad news’ comes out of this area, and all my ‘cleaning jobs’ will be done so that no one ever knows. In the quiet darkness I will be the unseen harbinger of death, destroyer of worlds”.

Adriatic Sea, off the coast of Italy

As the sun had long since dipped below the horizon, the Captain noticed how clear the sky looked, showing all the stars in their glory. As the Captain looked on, he noticed that the ship was changing course, which should not be happening for a while. He started heading across the deck and up to the Bridge to find out what was going on. He did not have any worries, as his First Mate was an expert sailor, and could easily captain his own boat.

As he ascended the last set of stairs and opened the door, he could see that his first mate was not on the bridge, but instead he found another figure at the wheel. As he walked forward to approach the strange figure, he felt an arm wrap around his chest and feel of cold steel against his throat.  Just then, the man at the wheel turned and said “Don’t worry Captain, we are not out to harm anyone, we are just making a slight detour. After we are done, you and you crew will be sent on your way. Now sir, if you would be so kind as to follow the gentlemen down below, where we have a nice meal set up.”

As the Captain followed the man below, he was lead into the mess where there was a huge spread on the table. He could see all the crew sitting there, most of them eating and drinking, while still looking a bit uneasy. “Please Captain, have a seat and have something to eat. We have also brought some rum for you and your crew.” Looking over very unimpressed, the Captain replied, “If you are not off my boat in 30 seconds you will wish you were never born!”

Smiling, the man replied, “Well sir, I wish I was never born most days, but today isn’t one of them. Now, just so we understand each other, I will explain the situation to you, as I did to your crew. We have taken your boat and will be making a slight detour. We will then do our business and then return to this point. At that time, we will leave the boat and allow you all to go on your way. However, if any one of the crew makes any trouble, you will all be executed on the spot and thrown overboard. I hope I make myself perfectly clear. It would be far easier for us to kill you all, but that is not our goal. We simply require the use of your boat for a few hours. Behave and you have my word no one will even get a bruise.”

Staring back considering what the man had just said, the Captain said, “OK, I don’t want anyone here hurt, so there will be no trouble.” Smiling the captor replied, “That is good sir, now please eat and drink and relax. My men here will be happy to provide anything you may need, and you and your crew may even have a bit of fun if you try hard. Please accept our hospitality and behave, I would love to see this night end with no casualties. As the man was leaving, the Captain shouted, “Wait, can I ask one thing?”. Turning around, the man nodded his head. “Can I stay on the bridge, it is my place and I will cause you no trouble”, the Captain pleaded. Smiling the man replied, “Of course Captain, you are more than welcome on the bridge.” At that, both men headed back to the bridge.

Once they had arrived on the bridge, the officer called to the man at the wheel, “Sir, the Captain has requested to be allowed to remain on the bridge”. Looking back, the figure walked over, and looking at the captain replied, “Sir, this is your boat; you have the control if you wish. I too am a Captain and would not strip another of his ship. I ask you to remember only one thing, if you cause any problems your crew will die, and you will watch. I would prefer no one hurt, but I will not tolerate any complications what so ever, do you understand”.

The Captain nodded, while looking out the front window where he noticed lights. “Captain, we are pulling up to another group of ships and will be tying up with them. I would like you to take the helm if you are up to it. The Captain shook his head, and took the wheel, while noticing about 20-25 ships close on the Radar. “There are a lot of ships out here, getting a bit crowded for navigating”
, the Captain commented. Pointing, the figure replied, “That is the boat we will link up with.

As the ship was brought alongside the other one, the figure escorted the Captain back below to the mess hall. As he walked to the table, the figure put his hand on the Captains shoulder and said, “Sir, I would like your word, Captain to Captain, that you and your crew will not make any trouble. I would hate to see you all have to die for a stupid mistake”. Looking back, the Captain replied, “You have my word sir, as long as you promise not to hurt anyone”. Smiling, the figure replied, “Agreed sir. I will return for you in a few hours, at which time we will return to the spot we first met.

Seoul Airbase, South Korea

As the Admiral sat in his office, which while small was bigger than the Fleet Admirals, Captain Swordfish came in and saluted. “Sir, I have the latest status reports on our forces”. “Excellent sir, please have a seat” the Admiral motioned.  As the Captain spread the documents out, he detailed the locations of the forces.

“Most of our subs are about here, off the East Coast of Japan. Group one will be heading into the East China Sea and then split, half heading to Incheon on the West coast, and the other to Ulsan on the East coast. Group 2 will weave between Malaysia and Sumatra and head on to the Arabia Sea. Group 1 should be here in South Korea in two more days, while group three are about 14 more days away from reaching the Red Sea. Group 3, the one that left from Halifax is heading to the Balkans area, and is now in the Atlantic and will reach the Mediterranean Sea in about 14 days”

As the Admiral listened, he could not help but feel uncomfortable about splitting up the forces over three areas’ far apart. “Ok, now what about the Seals, as I know all our Air assets are here in Seoul at the moment,” the Admiral asked.

“Well sir, Most of our Seals and ground forces are on the Subs. About half are on the subs heading here, with the other half on the ones heading to the Middle East. We have a small contingent on the subs that left Halifax for the Mediterranean, but that numbers only about 12 Seals, all specialists”.

Nodding his head, the Admiral added, “OK, what about the replacement batch of 16 F-16’s, we are going to need a way to get them here. “Well sir, the last I heard is Rear Admiral Sparks took a team to the Manufacturer to pick them up, and the Fleet Admiral was trying to find a way to get them all the way out here.”

The Admiral started marking pieces on a large may that was spread out on a huge War table in his office, one of the reasons his office was bigger than the Fleet Admirals. He then said, “OK, so here is where we stand according to your latest Intel”. The Captain looked over the map and replied, “Aye sir, except the plane, we only have 12 here now”. Looking confused, the Admiral questioned, “We have 16, don’t tell me we lost 4 somewhere?” The Captain noting the Admiral was not looking too happy replied, “Oh, I thought you knew sir, the Fleet Admiral took out a flight of four to go to Italy”.

As the Admirals head dropped he mumbled, “Damn, he never tells me anything”

In Transit to Italy

After pulling some strings, the Fleet Admiral and his flight had refueled at an Airstrip in China, and one in India, but the hard part was now at hand. As the Fleet Admiral approached the US tanker flying over the Persian Gulf, he started to sweat. After almost 15 tense minutes, he finally managed to hook up and take fuel. Once he had broken away from the tanker, he watched as the other three planes hooked up and refuel, making it look easy.

“Damn, you guys make it look easy, I almost didn’t make it in time. I’m never doing this again”, the Fleet Admiral called over the radio. “You did fine sir, and you will be able to do it in your sleep after a while”, the wingman called back. After all had refueled, the wing man called out, “OK sir, now all we have to do is conserve until we reach Italy”.

After several more hours, and fuel again getting low, they entered Italian Air space. “Sir”, the wingman called out, “There is an Italian tanker 10 mile to our 335, do you want to top up, you’re probably low”. After a brief pause, the Fleet Admiral replied, “No, I will land this on fumes; I’m not trying that again. I have 1100 pounds left and I don’t want to risk using it up fumbling with a tanker”. The Wingman laughed and replied, “Rgr sir, you should have more than enough, head down and we will top up and follow you in”.

As the Fleet Admiral headed to the Airport at Pescara, he heard the other pilots laughing on the radio, “1-2, refueling complete. 2 minutes 20 seconds, may be a new record”. “1-4, I can beat that with my eyes closed”. After awhile the Fleet Admiral called out, “Very funny, laugh it up. 1 minute and 4 seconds”. After a brief pause, a voice replied, “1 Minute and 4 for what sir”, as the giggling continued. “Time for my 120 to smoke you lot”, the Fleet Admiral replied, sounding not amused.

As the Fleet Admiral headed in on final approach, he smiled at the silence on the radio.

Dubrovnik, Bosnia

As Lafitte entered the officer’s mess, he noticed several members still wearing Pirate outfits. “Get those of NOW!”, Lafitte yelled. “Sorry sir, just been so long I miss the old garbs”. Lafitte smiled and replied, “Yea I know, so do I, but we cannot ever let anyone see any of us in these. So take them off or I will set light to you and burn them off”, looking over in the corner at a can of gasoline. “Aye Aye Sir”, the men called as they started to strip in record time. “From now on, we wear the crappy military outfits and look like stupid ground pounders”.

As he left the mess, one of the officers ran after him, still trying to get his leg in his pants. “Sir”, he called, as he stumbled to the ground. Turning around, Lafitte got to see the tumble and started laughing, “Damn Billy, you always make me laugh. Now what can I do for you, and NO, no more rum until Friday.” The officer got to his feet and brushed himself off, then replied, “No sir, I’m ok for rum, but we have a small problem. It’s in Banja Luka, where a lot of Muslims are causing problems, if you know what I mean”. Lafitte thought a bit, then said, “Isn’t that area mostly Serb controlled?” “Aye sir and the Muslim contingent are aggravating the Croats as they have been for years. They are also causing problems with the Commonwealth, as they want the Serbs out and a Muslim rule”.

Lafitte thought a moment, then said, “I want a convoy of trucks with supplies sent up there and delivered to the Muslim area’s that are causing problems. Talk with the UN coordinator and set it up.” Looking a bit confused, the officer replied, “OK sir, whatever you say”, and headed off. As he was no more than two steps away, a hand grabbed his shoulder, and he heard Lafitte whisper, “And get me detailed maps and coordinates of the problem spots, but be quiet about it. Go with the convoy and recon the whole area. Then report back to me on a secure channel.” The officer, without looking back smiled and replied, “Aye sir”.

Palazzo Chigi,  Rome

As the representatives had all taken their seats, Fleet Admiral Stern looked around the room at the faces, stopping when his eyes met those of Admiral Kim Jung Il. Both stared at each other, as the Admiral produced a sarcastic. The Fleet Admiral returned the smile, thinking how good it would feel to be looking at the Admiral through a SL-9 riffle scope.

As the UN representatives listened to the Cargo Vessel Captains explain how they were looted, the delegation from Bosnia, Croatia and other 'Commonwealth areas' seemed amused. Once the Captains had given their accounts of the lootings, the UN Chair asked Bosnian Prime Minister Alija Izetbegovic if the Brotherhood of the Coast was responsible. At this, he motioned to Admiral Kim Jung Il, and replied, "Let us ask them sir; I pass the floor to the Admiral.

“Gentlemen, the Brotherhood of the coast was in no way responsible for these attacks, as I am sure it was the GNSF. I see Fleet Admiral Stern from the GNSF here today, and I am sure if you ask him he will confirm that we are a military organization, not unlike them. We use modern weapons and the only main difference is we are not a covert assassin group for the United States.”

At this point, the room erupted in shouts, which were eventually brought under control by the chair. As the shouting ended, the Admiral, still holding the floor continued.

“You claim that we looted cargo ships, filled with only food and supplies, and no military weapons. We have many cargo ships bringing in food and supplies, and two of them were a target of this attack. Why would we loot ships and risk losing all the aid we are receiving from all over the globe. Why would we loot our own ships?” Taking a pause and looking at the Fleet Admiral, he continued with a smile”

“So, now you want to claim we looted ships, and not a normal military looting, one done by men dressed as 18th Century Pirates? This sounds to me like a really dumb ploy by the GNSF to make us look bad; that is if indeed these attacks even took place”. At this, one of the Captains jumped up and yelled, “They did indeed take place, and I am no liar”. Passing a quick smile to the Fleet Admiral again, the Admiral continued, directing his questions to the Captain who had stood up.

“Sir, I am not saying you are a liar, but I am curious, these men were all decked out as Pirates, just like something out of a movie?”. The Captain looking angry replied, “YES”. “So how many real military personnel were with these pirates”. The Captain looked a bit confused, as the Admiral rephrased, “What I mean sir is how many armed soldiers were with the pirates, carrying guns and the like?” After a pause, the Captain replied, “We didn’t see any armed men, only the ones dressed as pirates”. Looking up at the ceiling, the Admiral paused a bit, as he listened to the quiet talking of the members, and then continued.

“So there were only pirates, ok. Now how many would you say were armed, and what kind of weapons did they have, like automatic weapons, pistols, just your best guess”. The Captains eyes dropped as he replied, “Well, I didn’t see any weapons except the swords and knives”. Looking shocked, the Admiral asked, “You mean none of them had weapons, or am I misunderstanding you sir?”. The Captain, now feeling a bit stupid and angry replied, “They had swords and knives. They told us to cooperate and no one would get hurt. My responsibility is to my crew so we complied”.

As the quiet talking got progressively louder, mixed with the giggles coming from the commonwealth delegation, the chair slammed down the gavel again get order. The Admiral looked again over to the Fleet Admiral, who could see what was happening and was powerless to stop it. After a drink of water, the Admiral again started to question the Captain.

“Ok sir, now while some may scoff at the idea of swords being weapons, they are, and I can see your point as your crew had no weapons of any kind. Therefore, I do not think you foolish for wanting to protect your crew. So, let us move on. After these pirates took control of the ship, I assume they locked up the crew, and probably knocked a few around to gain submission?” Again, looking uncomfortable, the Captain replied, “No, no one was hurt at all, but they did say they would kill everyone if anyone caused them trouble”. Placing his hand on his chin and making all aware he was deep in thought, the Admiral asked, “Ok, so can you tell me where you and your crew were confined, and how the pirates treated everyone.” The Captain stood silent, hoping he was dreaming, and would soon awake somewhere else. After the Chair asked the Captain, “please answer the question", he replied,

“We were all moved to the mess hall”, the Captain replied, followed by the chair prodding, “And how were you treated”. A short pause later and the Captain answered, “We were treated well, they had a huge meal and drink for all the crew”. At this point, the Admiral spit a mouthful of water across the room that he was drinking. “WHAT, are you telling me these cut throat pirates cooked for the crew?”. Feeling that it could not get worse, the Captain replied, “Yes, they cooked a big meal and were very nice to everyone, but it doesn’t change the fact we were threatened with death.” At this, the Admiral shook his head, and said, “OK sir, so you were all treated really well. So, in total how long were you locked in the mess hall, approximately”. “Well, I was only there for a few minutes, as they allowed me to return to the bridge. The man on the bridge said he was also a Captain and would never take another Captains boat.” At this point, the Admiral threw up his hands and yelled, “OK, I have heard enough sir, thank you.” Turning to the Chair, the Admiral remarked,

“Sir, so you want to blame us for this? Mr. Chairman, if we were the ones that looted the ships, we would not have dressed up as pirates, nor would we have cooked for the crew. We would have, just like any other terrorist group people accuse us of being, confine the crew, and I mean ALL of them, taking what we wanted and sinking the evidence. Maybe even set the thing adrift if we felt charitable. We definitely would not make friends and take the boat back? I do not know if these stories are real, but if they are, they are the worst pathetic attempt at framing us that I can imagine. Pirates?, with swords, singing and dancing and feeding their hostages, letting the captain wander free, and not wanting to take another Captains boat? Damn, if they were real pirates they would have killed everyone and sank the ship.”

After a brief pause to watch the delegates reactions , the Admiral added, “Mr. Chairman, your representatives have been present at all time during our aid work, and are the ones that detail how to distribute the supplies. If you sir, even for one moment believe we are stupid enough to pull a moronic stunt like this, then please pull your people out and refuse to help us, and leave only inspectors. We want, and really need the UN’s help and support, but we sure don’t want to back here next week because more cargo ships were looted by Cylons and Imperial Storm Troopers”

Dubrovnik, Bosnia

As Lafitte sat in the command tent polishing his sword, an officer came in with a stack of papers and a satellite phone. “Sir, I got Billy on the horn, and he wants a word. He also told me to deliver this stuff to you personally.”, the officer said. As Lafitte put down the sword, he took the phone, while the officer placed the papers on the desk and left. “Ready my plane and have our three top pilots get ready to fly”, Lafitte called as the officer was leaving. “You got it sir”, was the officers response as he left the tent.

“What’s up Billy boy”, Lafitte called into the phone. “Sir, I’m here in the trouble spot, and the food distribution is going sort of well I guess”, Lafitte replied, “sort of well?” The officer continued, “Well the Muslims here are not very friendly, they even had a group meet the UN people with weapons in hand. Anyway, I had my spotter at the base there mark the locations for you. It is all detailed on the maps you should now have”.

Lafitte started looking through the documents and replied, “Perfect, I have them, exactly what I wanted. Now, how much longer will this ‘aid spreading’ take?”. “About another 6 to 8 hours to get all the trucks unloaded sir”, the officer replied. “I see you even marked your spot on the map, you know me too well my friend”, Lafitte added, looking at the map and laughing aloud.

“OK, you know this part is important, start your timing from now, and make sure you are where you’re supposed to be at zero hour, would hate to see you return here in a gravy boat ”, Lafitte called back, still laughing. There was quiet on the phone for a moment, and then the officer again replied, “Sorry, UN inspector walked by. No worries sir, just don’t mess up with your pickle finger, got to go sir”.

As Lafitte put down the phone, three men in flight gear came into the tent. “Good timing boys, here is our planned excursion for today”, Lafitte said pointing at the maps. As the pilots looked over the maps and set their watches, one looking over to Laffite said, “Sir, I got a big surprise for you”. Looking a bit stunned, Laffite replied, “And what would that be?”. The officer, smiling an evil grin explained, “You know how our planes are painted with that crappy GNSF paint job, well we had them all re painted”.

As Laffite could not believe what he was hearing, his mood grew foul very fast. Picking up his sword from the table he walked to the officer, who added, “They are all OUR colors now…. Except four”. In the process of bringing the sword high above his head for a certain deathblow, he held that position and asked, “Except four!”. The officer, not looking the slightest bit worried that a sword was perched to slice him in two continued, “Yea, the GNSF repainted their planes after we took these ones. So we repainted all of them to BotC colors, but repainted four to match the NEW GNSF paintjob”.

Laffite, stunned by this news, dropped the sword to the ground, walked over and planted a kiss directly on the pilot’s mouth. As the pilot started spitting, he exclaimed, “Damn sir, a few bottles of rum would have been more than sufficient, DAMN”. Laffite, smiling replied, “You guys are just the best, but don’t do that again, would hate to cleave you, it’s hard to find good buds.” As they went over the flight plan, Lafitte commented, “Timing is important here, as Billy boy is here. Make sure you hits your targets and NOT Billy. Also, DON’T GET SHOT DOWN; you guys are my favorite team”.

As the group of four walked out of the tent, an officer ran up to them and asked, “Sir, what type of weapons do you want, precision or dumb”. Looking at the officer, Laffite replied, “I want the planes fitting with Incendiary bombs, we are going to a big B-B-Q”.

Palazzo Chigi,  Rome

As the Admiral made his way out of the meeting, he noticed the Fleet Admiral standing by a limo with his two MPs and three other men. “I can’t wait until I bring him to his knees”, The Admiral said quietly to one of his armed officers. “Sir, I can take him out with one shot”, the officer replied. “No, remember, we are the good guys, besides, I want to see the GNSF squirm a while longer”.

As he headed for the APC, a second officer approached him from the front of the vehicle. “Sir, just though you should know, the ‘house cleaning’ is going very well. We only have one big trouble spot left, and Lafitte is working on that one as we speak”. The Admiral smiled and got in the APC; he reached over and picked up a satellite phone. After dialing, he heard a voice reply “hello Sir”.

“Everything is set, start moving the materials now. The UN believes we are the second coming and are so busy with the aid supplies they will not have time to check everything. We have been able to gain their trust and they do not check anything anymore from Italy. Make sure all goodies are in those containers and get them ashore.”

As he hung up the phone he smiled, and turning to his aid commented, “Boy, they say politicians are scum balls, but boy the things you can do by kissing ass and saying what everyone wants to hear. I bet I could conquer the world without firing a shot.” He paused a moment, then continued, “But then again, think how much fun we would miss”.

Palazzo Chigi,  Rome

As the NU meeting ended, The Fleet Admiral walked out of the complex feeling is if he was in a bad dream. In typical diplomatic fashion, the UN representatives had fallen for the song and dance of the sly Admiral. As he  looked to the left he saw Admiral Kim Jung Il standing there with his armed escort. “Boy I would love to take this grenade, pull the pin, and shove it up that ******* ass”, the fleet Admiral mumbled. “Sir, I can take that scumbags head clean off with one shot, just say the word”. The Fleet Admiral looked at the MP and replied, “As much as I would enjoy seeing that, we are supposed to be the good guys. Anyway, he may have his time in the light now, but soon I will put him in a box”.
As the Fleet Admiral and MPs made their way down the steps, three men in dark suites approached them.

“Sir, the Italian Minister of Defense has requested a meeting with you. If you will please come with us”, one of the men said pointing at a big black limo. Looking at them men, and the MPs that now closed flank on him, the Fleet Admiral replied, “You better show me some ID, then tell me where he wants to meet. I was kidnapped once and it sure as hell isn’t going to happen again”. As the man pulled back his jacket to produce an Italian security badge, the Fleet Admiral could see the man was armed. Opening his jacket as well, the Fleet Admiral exposed two grenades, each of which he placed a finger through the pins. “I’m serious here; I am not ever going to be put in that position again. At this, the two MPs raised their MP-5s. One exclaimed, “Just say the word sir, and I will paint the street with this lot”.

Smiling, the man turned to one of the others and nodded. At this, he approached and offered a case to the Fleet Admiral, explaining, “Sir, the Minister thought you may be a bit reluctant to accompany us, so he asked us to offer you this, something he said you had once admired. As one of the men opened the case, the Fleet Admiral could see a shinny 45 caliber weapon. Looking up, the man added, “The minister said you were fascinated with this during your last visit”. Removing his fingers from the grenade pins, the Fleet Admiral replied, “OK, you guys must be legit, but the MP’s come as well”. Smiling the man replied, “Of course sir, that’s why we brought the limo.”

As the group got into the limo, it pulled away and was joined by four Italian police escorts. As they made their way to meet the minister, one of the men commented, “Sir, the minister needs the help of the GNSF. He was disgusted by the display and ruling of the UN in that meeting.”

As the limo pulled up to a large estate, the group got out and headed inside. The three men walked with them to the door, but remained outside as the Fleet Admiral and MP’s went in. As they came into the large entrance hall, they were met by an aid, who requested, “Please sirs, come this way, the minister is expecting you”. Following the aid into a large room, they could see the minister sitting at the head of a large table. “Welcome Admiral Stern, good to see you again, please have a seat”. As the Fleet Admiral sat down, the MP’s took up positions in the room to cover all entrances.

“I was disgusted by those pathetic UN puppets, I can’t believe the bought that crap that psycho was spewing forth”, the Minister. “So minister, what can the GNSF do for you”. Looking across the table, the minister replied, “I know we said we would allow the GNSF to use Italian airports and facilities, well we now want to offer our military assets to help stop this insanity. I do not care what the UN thinks; this madness has to stop.

As the minister lit a cigar, and offered one to the Fleet Admiral, he stated, “You will have a permanent base at Brindisi, and we will supply any support flights and ships you will need. We have several F-18 and F-22 aircraft, as well as 4 E3’s and two tankers.” Looking over the desk at the minister, the Fleet Admiral replied, “Well sir, allowing use of your soil and bases could cause a few problems for you, but providing combat assistance would place Italy as a combatant, and target. While the offer is great, it could hurt you big time”. Puffing on his cigar, the minister replied, “Well, screw them all. I won’t stand for this insanity so close to Italy, so the offer stands, if you choose not to accept we will still fly combat missions anyway”. Smiling, the Fleet Admiral replied, “Ok then, we graciously accept, and will do everything we can to make sure Italy is not a target they can hit”.

As the men stood up, the minister remarked, “I have already made arrangements and set up some space at Brindisi for you and your people. Let me know if you need anything and you will have it”. As the two shook hands, the Fleet Admiral and MP’s left the building, being met by the same three men. “Well sir, I’m pretty sure you need a lift to Brindisi”, one of the men commented. Smiling, the Fleet Admiral and MPs got into the limo and pulled away.

Seoul,  South Korea

As the Admiral was relaxing in his office, an Intel officer came in. After saluting, he said, “Sir, I have a communiqué from HQ in BC, it has orders from the Fleet Admiral”. Taking the documents, he thanked the officer and then started reading the Intel. After reading a while, Captain Swordfish came in and said, “Uh Oh, looks like more bad news, maybe I should come back later”. “Have a seat Captain; I was just going over our new orders from the boss. Looks like I’m always the last to know what’s going on.”

Just then, the phone rang, and as the Admiral picked it up, he heard a familiar voice, “Hey WB, it’s me, did you get the orders and Intel”. Gritting his teeth, the Admiral answered, “Yea, I got them, but you drive me nuts when you don’t tell me what’s going on”. As the Captain tried to think of a way to slip out unnoticed, he watched as the Admiral switched the phone to speaker. “Sorry WB, but if I had told you I was heading to Italy for this UN thing you would have wanted to go, and since I figured it may be another chance for the BotC to grab us I decided to go alone”. The Admiral growled beneath his breath and replied, “Yea, exactly the reason you should have told me, you are more likely to get nabbed by yourself, if the group of us came we would be harder to grab”.

“Listen WB, things are getting worse, the BotC have managed to come off looking like ******* saints here. The Italian Secretary of Defense has given us not only the base at Brindisi to use, but will have his military enter combat if the need arises. We need to move most of our Command and Control here, that way we will be poised to act when its time.”

The Admiral thought a moment and replied, “You want everything moved there?” “No, just the majority of our assets, but leave a small contingent in Seoul to play safe. We do not have a lot of water to work with here, so 8 or so subs should do the trick for now. We will need most of the air wing and a good number of Seals.”, the Fleet Admiral explained.

As the Admiral started working out in his head what to send where, the Fleet admiral asked, “WB, is the CTF around?”. “Yea, he is sitting right here and I have you on speaker phone”, the Admiral replied. “Good. You both need to be very careful in moving our assets, right now we look like the bad guys and the BotC nuts look like angels of mercy. When this comes down it will happen hard and fast. Also, it looks like with all that is happening, the US may side step any involvement, at least directly. They have been burned and embarrassed a few times now, and they are getting squeamish. Anyway, have to run; I have a few cases of wine to procure from the fine winemakers here, for a special someone”

As the call ended, the Admiral slammed his fist on the desk, then looking at the captain commented, “He always does that, gets me boiling mad, then pulls a few cases of wine out of his butt. He knows how much I like a good wine”.

Banja Luka,  Bosnia

As the BotC and UN personnel unloaded the trucks in the center of the large village, they felt uneasy as night closed in. Most of the supplies were now offloaded, but the constant yells and threats from the armed Muslim population made the job move slowly. Watching the offloading, the Brotherhood of the coast members started moving to a small gully just south of the town. Since the night was very dark, their exodus went unnoticed.

Suddenly, the night sounds of angry Muslim yells were drowned out by the sound of plane engines and 50-caliber fire. The shouting soon turned into screaming, as the houses in the village were hit, and started to burn. As the UN members took cover under the trucks, the sound of small arms fire mixed with the jet sounds, as armed Muslims shot skyward at the unseen enemy. As people fled the village and headed to the safety of the mosque, large explosions ripped through the village, with huge fireballs erupting everywhere. The dark night was now split as the village was fully illuminated with the light of raging fires.

After what seemed like only a few minutes, the sky went silent, now filled only with the screams and cries of the wounded. As one of the UN workers crawled out from the only truck that was not hit, he heard a horrific explosion, followed by a fireball that ripped through the sky and turned night into day. As he looked on, he could see only a huge inferno where the mosque once stood. As the fireballs died down a bit, the night again darkened and the eerie quiet was broken only by the sound of wounded cries.

Skies above Banja Luka,  Bosnia

“Reaper 1-4, Sir, I have the targets locked”, came over the radio.
“Reaper 1-1, Roger, hit the village first, and only with guns. Heard them to the mosque, go to NVG and IR”.

As the four planes strafed the village, the houses burst into flames one by one. Looking through their Night Vision Goggles and IR, they could see the people scurrying around like ants below. As the planes made a second pass, they fired to head the targets to the mosque, which they were told  not to fire on.

“Reaper 1-1, OK boys, when you finish with the guns, bomb the village, and spread out the drops for maximum damage”

 As the Incendiary bombs fell, they split to release their deadly cargo, exploding and igniting all they came in contact with. While the bombing went on, the lead plane flew off to the north and waited for the bombing to end.

“Reaper 1, what is weapons state”
“Reaper 1-3, all weapons expended”
“Reaper 1-2, Same”
“Reaper 1-4, last bombs away”

“Reaper 1, return home, the last target is mine”

As the planes flew off to the south and quiet filled the skies over the village, Reaper 1-1 also headed south, but still holding 12 incendiaries. As he closed on his target, he turned on the flight recorder and mumbled to himself, “Damn this will make a great home movie”.

As he reached the target and rippled off the whole load, he felt a rush flood over his body. Spinning the laser pod on its gimbal, he watched the mosque on IR as it erupted into a fireball of mammoth proportion. As he flew away to join the rest of the flight, Lafitte pondered what the view was like from Billy boys spot, and could not wait to hear what it was like down there.

Brindisi Airbase ,  Italy

As the Phone rang, the Fleet Admiral answered it, knowing it could only be the Intel department as this line was secure. As he answered the phone, he realized it was not the Intel Department, but the President of the United States.

“Hello Mr. President, how did you get this number?”, the Fleet Admiral questioned.
“You Intel officer was kind enough to give it to me. The reason I am calling is to say we do not believe you are responsible for all these problems, and that we could really use the GNSF’s help”, the president replied. After pondering this for a moment, the Fleet Admiral responded.

“So, GNSF is now the good guys again, and you need us to help resolve this. So how long before we turn into the bad guys again sir. I will be honest and tell you I am not very happy with the stance the US took when all this started.”

“I know, and it was a bad situation for all. We ended up paying big time with that freighter incident for not trusting the GNSF, but political pressures tied my hands a bit”.

After trying hard to bite his lip and play nice, the Fleet Admiral replied, “OK sir, I don’t have to tell you that the GNSF will help resolve the huge mess we have here, as that was always our intention. Our problem is that the US has created this whole mess, and it has reached the point of meltdown that may not be possible to stop”

After a moment of silence, the president replied, “What do you mean the mess the US made, how the hell can you blame us for this?”

The Fleet Admiral took a deep breath and replied, “Well sir, with all due respect, back in the day there were two equally matched world powers, US and the USSR. Due to the US's greed and arrogance, you went on a campaign to eradicate the evil Communists, even though they were allies in the War against the Nazi’. In your stupid blind aim to make the whole planet ‘democratic in your image’ you were successful in collapsing the USSR. You did this by supporting extreme fundamentalists and Muslim nut cases like the Ayatollah and Taliban. The problem is you cannot have democracy in religious warlord areas. So you see, all the scum you supported are now the ones calling for death to the West.”

As the Fleet Admiral paused, there was silence on the other end, at which point he continued, “So Mr. President, the GNSF will help resolve this small pocket of crap the US helped create, but we do it for good people everywhere, and NOT for you. As far as I am concerned the US is not unlike the Brotherhood of the Coast, as they have the same goals of power and control, but at least the BotC were open about it.”

As he stopped, the president replied in an angry manner, “Sir, you have some gall, what gives you the damn right to judge our great country and ways, especially when you and most of your members are free because of the US”

“Sir, history and current affairs gives me the right to judge. Thank you for the call sir, and please try not doing us any more favors, that kind of help we do not need."

As the Fleet Admiral hung up the phone, he pondered slipping away to a small uninhabited island, while the rest of the insane word blew itself to crap.

Moscow,  Russia

As Russian president Vladicmir Putin sat in his office, there was a knock on the door as it opened, followed by Anatoliy Eduardovich announcing, “Sir, you wished to see me?”. Looking up the president answered, “Yes  Anatoliy, please come in and sit down. “ As the Minister of Defense took a seat, he could see the president was not in a good mood.

“What is it I can do for you sir”, he asked.

“Well Anatoliy, we have a bad situation in the Balkans area, and I am not going to allow either the US or any fanatic group to split Kosovo from the motherland. I want you to send as many troops as possible to the Georgia and Chechnya area that you can. I want a huge force there so all can see we are not going to stand by and let this happen. I want that area isolated from any incursion from the Mmiddle East ”, the president demanded.

Standing up, the minister replied, “Yes sir, I will have everything we can spare sent down there immediately. What are your orders for the Generals sir?”

After looking the minister directly in the eyes, he replied, “Simple Anatoliy, not one single Muslim terrorist or freedom fighter gets past, NOT ONE. If they start any form of armed conflict, retaliate with extreme force and prejudice.”

Tel Aviv ,  Israel

As the Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak walked into the president’s office, he asked, “Hello Mr. President, I came as soon as I could”. Looking up from his desk, president Shimon Peres smiled and said, “I need you to make sure that we are very vigilant, as I take these threats from the fanatics very serious. We turned the other cheek during the US action in Kuwait, but not this time.”

As the Minister passed the president a stack of documents, he replied,

“Sir, we have stepped up flights and patrols at the borders, plus we are continually monitoring activities in Syria and Iraq. We are also keeping a very close eye on Palestine, as we expect them to react as well.” Looking at the Intel, the president replied, “Good, just make sure the commanders are aware that any hostile act will be retaliated on. I want to send these tyrants a very clear message; if they mess with us they will pay tenfold.”

As the minister headed out of the office, the president added, “Also, I want to be notified at once of any missile attacks on Israeli soil. Have all the commanders keep close to communications in case I have to issue a ‘nuclear consent’.”

Brindisi Airbase ,  Italy

As the Fleet Admiral was going over the latest documents with Admirals Paul and Wallbanger, and Captain Swordfish, a knock on the door was heard. “Who the hell is that, I said we were not to be disturbed”, Admiral Wallbanger commented. As the door opened, Admiral Clash walked in and took a seat at the table. “Clash, what are you doing here”, Admiral Wallbanger asked. “Well, I heard you guys all came over from South Korea, so I came down to say hi”, the Admiral replied.

Looking over, the Fleet Admiral said, “Nice to see you again, now tell us why you are really here”. Smiling, Admiral Clash replied, “OK, after a long meeting with the Intel Staff back at BC, I decided I should come here and report, as the nature of the info is a bit sensitive”. As the others listened, the Admiral detailed the info.

“OK, first the US, and by the way nice phone call, the Intel guys taped it and laughed themselves silly”, he said chuckling himself. After seeing the Fleet Admiral was not amused, he continued.

“The US won’t help because of the UN, but will supply covert Intel, well at least what they want us to see. The analysts at BC feel the US considers themselves in a win-win situation. If we wipe out the BotC, they can move in and take over what the BotC started. If we lose, they will strike a deal with the BotC to make the area more ‘US friendly’. “As the others pondered this, the Admiral continued.

“Now, it also appears that several big players are watching this carefully. The Soviets do not want the Muslims to get a foothold and would prefer the Croats take full control. This way they can put Yugoslavia back together and under Soviet control. They have already started moving troops to the Georgia area. The Chinese are watching carefully, as they want to see the same thing. The Middle East is looking at this as a chance to do their own ‘ethnic cleansing’ and bring the area totally under Muslim rule. Because of this, they are expected to ‘covertly’ aid in a mass influx of radical Muslim nutcase groups to fight against the BotC. And to top this all off, the Muslim groups in the middle East are blaming the Jews for all of this, and have threatened them with SCUD and chemical Weapons attacks. The Jewish Military turned around and made a comment that the next attack on Israeli soil will be answered with a Nuclear strike. The Israelis have stepped up air patrols and there is talk that some planes may have Nukes on them.”

After the group had thought about this, Admiral Paul remarked, “Why don’t we let the fanatics move in and take out the BotC for us?”. Looking over, the Fleet admiral replied, “Because that would make the situation worse.” After a few moments of silence, the Fleet Admiral addressed the others.

“OK, we are going to have a hard one here. We must eliminate the BotC in such a way as the region reverts to the way it was before they got there. This means we are going to have to do some creative surgery, and at times look bad”. Looking over, Admiral Wallbanger replied, “OK, now I really don’t like the sound of that, what do mean by ‘creative surgery’ exactly”. Looking over, the Fleet Admiral explained.

“We must attack and drive out the BotC, and do it without being seen as a US hit squad. At the same time, we cannot allow militant Muslim fighters to use this as a call for a holy war. If they try to get in a join the battle, we will have to stop them. If we cannot prevent them from getting in, then we will have to take them out. I know this sounds like playing both sides of the fence, and it is. We have many groups that can use this to springboard a takeover the area. We need to stop it from happening on both sides. Once we have done this, we leave the Balkans area to rebuild itself.”

As the group continued to go over troop movement and placement, Admiral Clash injected, “You know what, we should be terrorists, it’s far less complicated”.

Dubrovnik, Bosnia

As the Admiral sat at his desk, looking over reports and smoking a large Cigar, Lafitte came in and sat down.

“So, are you happy with the results of the last flight?, Lafitte said. Smiling, the Admiral replied, “Damn fine work Lafitte, I got reports from several reporters there, and the GNSF will be on the hook for it. Also, it seems since the attack, the Muslims are becoming a little more cautious about carrying on in public”

As the two looked over a large map, Lafitte pointed to one area and said, “We sent a team in here yesterday to ‘house clean’ a radical group. It was silent and quick and without incident. When the morning came, the place was empty and quiet without a trace of anyone. We have been doing this in any area where unrest pops up”

Looking at the map the Admiral replied, “So exactly how are you housecleaning and covering your trail, I don’t want any surprises”. Looking up with a smile on his face, Lafitte replied,

“Well it’s actually quite easy. When we find a problem spot, we move in a construction crew to start construction work on what the village needs, usually a damn mosque. Once we have the foundation ready for whatever we are building, we send in a special ops team during the night and they exterminate everyone very quietly. Once they are done, the bodies are placed in the foundation and covered with concrete. We then move in some local people who sympathize with our views and continue the building. When it’s done, we have a town with a nice new building of some sort, and nice cooperative population.“

Looking at Lafitte with amazement, the Admiral replied, “Damn Lafitte, you’re so brilliant at times it scares the crap out of me. Keep up the good work and make sure you are not caught”.

Brindisi Airbase ,  Italy

As the Fleet Admiral and CNO sat looking over the latest Intel on the erupting chaos, Admiral Paul and Captain Swordfish knocked and entered the room. As they sat down, an officer stuck his head in the door and announced,

“Fleet Admiral Sir, it’s the President of the United states on the phone for you”.

As the officers waited for the Fleet Admiral to pick up the phone, they noticed he was not attempting to pick it up. After a minute or so, he reached over and flipped the phone to speaker and answered,

< “Hello Mr. President, this is Fleet Admiral Stern, what can I do for you today.” As the others listened, the president replied.

“Listen Stern, we need the GNSF’s help on this one. We know this whole thing was the BotC and it is getting way out of control. We cannot afford to get involved at this time, I am sure you can understand that. Public opinion is chaotic now, especially with the Different ethnicities involved. We will be able to provide Intel and come covert help, but officially, we cannot go in and house clean. We are still sore here from the Iraq thing.”

As the officers waited for the Fleet Admiral to reply, the tension built. The quiet seemed to go on forever, when he finally replied,

“Sir, while I would like to say, “BITE ME”, GNSF will help, but not because you have asked, but because it is what we do. While any Intel would be helpful, what we really want from you is to cut the political crap when making public announcements. I do not want to hear GNSF slammed again, EVER. Just sit back, have a cigar and an assistant, and let us do our thing. Take care”.

As the Fleet Admiral clicked the button to break the call, the others broke a smile.
“So boss, what do we do”, Admiral Wallbanger asked. Looking over, the Fleet Admiral replied,
“What do you mean what do we do?”.

Looking a bit testy, the Admiral replied, “What are your orders, you know, what are going to do about the BotC”. Smiling, the Fleet Admiral replied, “Nothing. We are going to sit here and do nothing until the time is right.”

As the others looked a bit confused, the Fleet Admiral clicked the phone’s intercom button and called, “Get me Slim Jim”.

Dubrovnik, Bosnia

As Lafitte sat at his desk eating a turkey leg, Admiral Kim Jung Il came in, not looking very happy. As he sat down across from the desk, Lafitte continued to sit with his feet on the desk eating.

“Lafitte, we got a problem. Our pathetic puppet dictator booted the UN ahead of schedule.”

Looking at the Admiral, Lafitte pitched the turkey leg across the room and smiled saying,

“Not a problem Kimmy, I expected we would have to move things up a bit with all the snoops digging around. That is why I gave the go ahead for the expansion. We already have all except Romania, and that should only take another day. If we run into any big problems, I have a few soviet friends waiting on the border”.

Looking a bit shocked, the Admiral replied, “Those are you friends, there is a good 50,000 strong out there?”.

Taking a drink from a bottle, Lafitte replied, “Yea, the commanders owe me a favor, plus they are not overly fond of the Muslims. Right now we have things well locked up, I’m just waiting to see what the GNSF or US do.”

As the Admiral stood up, he asked, “Well that is all fine, but we need more weapons, and without the aid shipments we have no way of hiding their movement”.

“Well, you didn’t expect it to be easy did you? I have a huge six-ship convoy of weapons heading here from North Korea. They stopped in India and transferred to Italian vessels, so they will not be bothered on the way in. In addition, about half of the weaponry you see on the Romanian border is ours, once we take Romania, the Soviet troops will withdraw and leave it there for us."

Walking over to the desk and noticing the huge mess Lafitte had made, the Admiral commented,
“Look Lafitte, just one more thing, I don’t care if your office looks like a pig sty, but this is MY OFFICE, now get the hell out”.

As Lafitte stood up and walked out, he replied, “Well it would be just plain dumb to mess up my office, then I would have to clean it”.

Brindisi Airbase ,  Italy

As the Fleet Admiral sat looking over the latest information on the BotC troop movements, the door burst open and Admiral Wallbanger and Admiral Paul Burst in. As the Fleet Admiral looked up, The CNO asked,

“Damn Boss, have you seen this article, I’m going to have that Slim Jim Shot”, tossing the Chronicle on the desk. Shaking his head, the Fleet Admiral replied,

“Yea, I saw it, and he did his job and reported exactly what I said”.

As both officers looked at each other a bit stunned, Admiral Paul asked,

“Sir, with all due respect, have you gone insane? I mean either you have totally gone to the dark side or you have been seriously raiding WB’s liquor cabinet”. Looking up the Fleet Admiral started to laugh, and then replied.

“Well no, I’m not any more insane than I was yesterday, and WB hides the damn key too well now. I wanted Slim Jim to report that so everyone would see the GNSF are staying out of this”.

Looking more confused and getting a bit upset, Admiral Paul yelled back, “You can’t be serious sir, we cannot just sit here and let those nutcases do what they want, this is GNSF and we will NOT just sit by and watch!”.

As the CNO passed the Admiral a nasty stare, the Fleet Admiral replied,

“It's OK Paul, I have no intension of sitting by and watching, we will do as we always do, clean house because it needs to be done. What I want is for the BotC to be a bit unsure if we WILL get involved. We have been crap kicked a lot lately, and their plan seemed to be to have us disbanded by force from the US, or get so pissed we simply give up. Well, let’s let them think we have given up, as that will at least give us one card up on them.”

Looking a bit more relieved, Admiral Paul replied,

“So we ARE going to go after these nuts. OK, now that they think we are out of the picture, what do we do?”.

“We sit back and wait for the perfect time to jump in with both feet. They expect us to intercede in the fighting, and they are probably a bit surprised we have not done it already. As long as they are unsure of our intensions, they will start to take the easy way and give us a bigger picture of what they are up to. While they are well armed themselves, they need a lot more firepower to hold a chunk of land that size, so they will be getting supplies from somewhere. We need to see who is supplying them, as some of the stuff may be coming from their base we can’t find.”

Content with the explanation, the two officers turned to leave the Fleet Admiral to his work. As they started out the door, the Fleet Admiral called,

“While we wait, I want everyone ready. We are still at DEFCON 3, but I want all to act like its DEFCON 2. When our time comes we will have to move fast and hard, with most of our assets, so have all the troops ready”.

Dubrovnik, Bosnia

As Lafitte strolled into the Admirals office and sat down at the desk, he could see the Admiral looked a bit upset.

“What the hell happened to you!”, the Admiral barked as he looked at Lafitte, covered with an assortment of food products.

“Well, I guess you could say I lost at the food fight”, Lafitte chuckled.

Not looking amused, the Admiral replied,

“You have got to be ******* me! A FOOD FIGHT!”. Smiling, Lafitte replied,

“Don’t worry, it’s under control, I have Billy doing latrine duty for the pie hit”, as he burst out laughing.

As the Admiral shook his head and wondered what he had done in a past life to deserve this guy. Gaining a bit more composure, he commented,

“Well, it looks like your plan worked perfectly, the GNSF are out”, as he slid a copy of the Chronicle across the desk, then continued,
“Seems that the GNSF are tired of being kicked in the head by their supposed allies, and have hired themselves out to keep the Italians safe. Intel also reports they basically gave the US president the finger”.

Sitting up and looking very serious, or at least as serious as you can look covered in food, Lafitte replied,

“I don’t buy it for a second; I’m simply not that stupid”.

Looking confused, the Admiral replied,

“What are you talking about, this was your plan from the start, and now that it worked you’re changing your tune?”

“No, my plan was to mess up the GNSF to give us time to set up. There is no way in hell those people will throw in the towel no matter what is tossed at them. No, they are waiting for the right time hoping we will count them out. Smart play but I won’t fall for it”, Lafitte replied.

Looking less happy than he was when Lafitte walked it, the Admiral replied,

“You are just too paranoid for your own good. We won and I will not run around looking over my shoulder for the GNSF to jump in and save the day, they are done. Now, get those ships moving as we need more weapons, things are getting very thin here having to supply the native population as new recruits.”

Lafitte, looking really pissed off, replied,

“We have troops now at the Romanian border taking control of the weapons the Soviets have left for us. The ships are still in port in India and need a couple more days to load up. It will take them about 16 days to get here if I give permission to proceed. I am just not going to do that until we can lock up the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal, anything else would be stupid”.

Reaching the boiling point, the Admiral jumped to his feet and slammed his hand on the table, looking at Lafitte he barked,
“I want those ships here ASAP, so you get out there and get them in motion. I don’t care about your paranoia, so suck it up and get them here PRONTO!”.

As Lafitte cast a cold stare at the Admiral, he got to his feet and replied, “Ok Admiral, as you wish”, then he headed for the door. Just as he was a foot or so outside the door, the Admiral Barked,

“And you just remember who the hell is in charge here!”

As Lafitte continued on, he mumbled to himself, “You keep believing that, as the day is drawing closer to the time I can cut your pathetic throat”.

Dubrovnik, Bosnia

As Lafitte walked across the compound, he called out,

“Hey Billy Boy”

As the two men walked towards each other, Billy replied,

“Don’t even go there, I’m not cleaning any crappers, I won fair and square”

Lafitte started to laugh, the replied,

“Aye you did, I was just messing with you. Now, I have a very important task for you, and I want you to take care of it and tell NO ONE”.

As Lafitte explained the details of the instructions, the officer listened intently. Once the instructions were given, the officer replied,

“No problem, I will take care of it. Oh, and I have a surprise for you.”

Looking intently, Lafitte replied, “And what’s that”

“Well, seems you old friend Long John the Cook will be here in two days, I just got this note delivered”.

Lafitte, looking at the note smiled and replied,

“Ahhh, it’s going to be just like the good old days”.

Brindisi Airbase ,  Italy

As Admiral Wallbanger sat in his office sorting through all the latest Intel that kept pouring in, a voice called out on the intercom,

“Sir, Lieutenant Commander Beerdawg is here to see you”.

Pressing the intercom, the Admiral replied,

“Thank you, send him in”.

As Lieutenant Commander Beerdawg came in, the Admiral asked him to take a seat.

“Good to see you again sir, we really missed you around here. Now I have a special assignment for you, and I need you to get a crack team of Seals put together for it”, the Admiral Explained.

Smiling, the Lieutenant Commander replied,

“It’s good to be back sir, so what exactly is the mission.

“I want you to take a team to a point off the coast of Sri Lanka. You will be flown there by transport and airdropped at a rendezvous point with a submarine. The closest vessel in the area is captained by Lieutenant Junior Grade Wayward, and he will be notified of the drop point.”
Smiling, the Lieutenant commander replied, “Sounds like a piece of cake sir”.

Grinning, the Admiral continued,

“Well, not really. When you reach the drop point, your team will parachute into the ocean with an inflatable life raft. You will then wait for the sub. Once on board you will wait for a convoy of cargo ships. If we feel at that point they are weapons transports, we will need your team to board one of the vessels and verify they are carrying weapons. You MUST NOT be compromised in case we are wrong, so you have to go in covert with no ties to GNSF. If there are weapons on board, the sub will take care of sinking them.”

Looking at the Admiral still smiling, the Lieutenant replied,

“Still a piece of cake sir, even though bobbing on the water isn’t my thing. If we get the go, we will make sure we are successful sir, and no ties to the GNSF”.

Smiling, the Admiral added,

“Well you will probably be stuck on the raft for a few hours, as the drop will have to be done at night, and at a time where Soviet satellites are out of range, just in case they are part of this. You should also know that in the event your team is not back at the sub by a pre-determined time, the sub will have orders to sink the vessel, just to make sure no one is captured. It is extremely important NO ONE is taken captive, and I think you know what that means”

“With the smile now gone from the Lieutenant Commanders face, he replied,

“Understood, I will just have to make totally sure we pull this off, as I have a real aversion to shooting our own”.

Aviation Museum ,  Ottawa

As the cold snow continued to fall, Fleet Admiral Stern pulled into the frozen parking lot. Exiting the car, he could see Captain Swordfish. As the two gathered and went inside out of the cold, the Captain asked,

"OK Boss, now explain to me why we had to fly all this way to meet here of all places"

"I know it doesn’t seem to make much sense, but we can safely assume no one followed us here, and the chances of being eavesdropped on are zero. We are almost set where all of our assets will be in place, and then we will start taking action against the BotC. Besides, we need to pick up a few things before this conflict starts, namely bringing three planes back with us."

Looking a bit confused, the Captain replied,

"Sir, we could have just had the supplier ship the planes, and we have secure bunkers where we can meet without being spied on"

Smiling, the fleet Admiral explained,

"These three planes are far too important to ship normally. We are picking up an E-3 and a refueling tanker, both have been specially retrofit under very secretive conditions, and have state of the art electronics and redundant backups. As well as the normal upgrades, both were treated and modified to give almost the same small radar signal as a stealth bomber"

As the Captain smiled, he asked,

"How the hell did you pull that one off?"

"Do you remember the U.S. General that was eager to bury the GNSF? Well after admitting he was wrong he said if there was anything we needed…". The Fleet Admiral started to laugh, adding, "I bet he was sorry he made that statement. Anyway, we will be guinea pigs for this mod, which is something they may use themselves if it pays off and actually works".

As the two strolled around looking the part of typical tourists, the Captain asked,

"OK, that explains coming back to Canada, but why here in Ottawa and not directly to the base in BC?"

"Well, several reasons actually, first all three of us live close to the area, so I made sure I leaked a story claiming we had all retired and turned GNSF control over to the Italians. This was necessary since the BotC probably have people watching us closely, and if we just came down to pick up planes they would make sure we never got them to Italy. Secondly, the third plane is near here in Cornwall, and is a specially modified P-3 that can act as an E-3 as well as perform Anti Sub combat. Third, Admiral Wallbanger had to meet with someone here in Ottawa. So tomorrow all three of us will meet for diner and discuss the details of getting the planes to Italy. I have also booked all three of us on a commercial flight to BC and made sure that the BotC could discover this if they started digging. If they are smart and do not believe the retirement story, they will find the flight info and assume we are heading back to the base in BC. Monday, the day of this flight, the other two planes will arrive in Cornwall and we will take all three of them to Italy."

Content with the explanation, the Captain was still troubled about one thing, asking,

“OK, but I still don’t understand why I am here, I’m sure you and WB could have done this without me, then I could have been organizing things from the other end. I still have a ton of work to do?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t like our company?”, the Fleet Admiral laughed, then added, “Besides, I have something very important to go over with you tomorrow”.

As the two finished their walk through the Museum, they all headed off their separate ways, while always under the constant watch of the unseen GNSF Special Forces agents.

Sussex Drive ,  Ottawa

As Admiral Wallbanger sat in the back of the limo, it turned down Sussex Drive, and then into the driveway of a large and slightly run down house. As he exited the limo, he was met by several security personnel, who escorted him and his two Special Forces Seals into the large foyer. The Admiral was then led into a small office and took a seat, just as Prime Minister Stephen Harper walked in.

“Welcome Admiral, it is great to see you again”, the Prime Minister said, shaking the Admirals hand, adding, “So, I have gone over all the Intel you sent me, and you know the GNSF has our total support. So, what do you need?”

“Well sir, I came here in person just to let you know that it could get very ugly out there, and chances are the US will not feel the way things are being done are in there best interest. There is a chance they may react unfavorably and try to take the BC base as well as other actions. We can handle all of the problems that come up except the base in BC, as we can’t afford to keep assets there.”

As the Prime Minister smiled, he replied,

“Is that all?  Hell, that is an easy one. I will keep things smooth with the US, but like hell they will even think about taking that base. They may think they are the greatest on earth, but they have not seen anything like the likes of a Canadian soldier. Don’t worry, they can huff and puff all they want, but they will not get to come in, and if they try they will go home with a bloody nose”, the Prime Minister laughed, adding, “Now are you sure you don’t need anything else?”.

Looking over, the Admiral replied, “Well, it would be great if the Canadian forces could conduct exorcises in the waters off the West coast, especially anti submarine drills. I am sure the BotC has a base somewhere on the European coast near Russia, and they may want to take a poke at the base as well.”

“Consider it done; I will set up a very large and long training program for the Navy, having them concentrate on locating and tracking Subs. If we find anything that isn’t ours we will let you know”, the Prime Minister responded.

After shaking hands, the Admiral headed back out to the Limo thinking about the meeting he would have tomorrow.

Somewhere in Ottawa

As the Fleet Admiral and Captain Swordfish met at the secluded restaurant, they took a seat at the back while the Special Forces agents took up positions in the restaurant. As the two were getting comfortable, Admiral Wallbanger walked in, leaving two more Special Forces men outside. As all three sat down and ordered, the Admiral looked over and asked,

“So Boss, you want to tell the Captain?”. “No, you do it”, the Fleet Admiral replied .

As the Captain sat there wondering what the hell he done this time, the Admiral looked over and commented,

“Well, since we are in civvies I can’t rip your shoulder patches off, so guess I will have to do this is different way”.

At this, the Admiral passed a package over to the Captain, which he nervously opened. Inside were field promotion papers for the Captains promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral.

“Congratulations sir, very well deserved. Now you know why we dragged you here, otherwise we never would have been able to get you away from your work”, the Admiral chuckled.

After they three had eaten, the Fleet Admiral detailed the plan,

“OK, tomorrow we will all head separately to Cornwall, where the three planes are waiting. I will be in the Tanker as co-pilot, and Rear Admiral Swordfish can fly the modified P-3, Admiral you will be in the E-3 as co-pilot. Once we get airborne the Canadian forces will cover us until we leave their airspace”.

At this, the Admiral jumped in with,

“Nope, they will be covering us all the way there. They are sending four CF-18’s to escort us all the way in. Seems that the Italians have decided to buy these CF-18’s, just in case we need some help in the air.”

After finishing their meal and meeting, the three headed off. As the Limo carrying Admiral Wallbanger passed by, the Fleet Admiral waved the car down. As the Admiral rolled down the window, the Fleet Admiral said,

“Remember, top priority is to get me the recipe for those Beaver Tails”. “Got it Boss”, the Admiral laughed as the limo pulled away.

Cornwall, Ontario

As the Three officers met at the base, they were led out to the runway. There sat the three planes that had been modified and flown in from a research base in the US. As the three headed over to the planes, they parted company, with the Rear Admiral hopping into the modified P-3. As Admiral Wallbanger headed towards the other P3, Fleet Admiral Stern called out,

“See what pointers you can get for the pilot, who knows, you may be stuck flying one of these”, as he laughed.

As all three boarded the planes, the doors were closed and the group started taxing towards the runway. After several minutes, all three took off in sequence and grouped into formation as the CF-18 followed them up. Once all planes were airborne, the entire group headed out on their long journey to Italy.

BotC Command Center, Sarajevo

As Lafitte relaxed in his office with his old friend Long John the Cook, Admiral Kim Jung Il came in and sat down.

“So, what’s up Admiral”, Lafitte asked.

“Did you contact those ships and get them moving, and who is this?” the Admiral barked.

“I did. They left India about 3 hours ago and should be here in about 12 days. This is the famous Long John the Cook, who has decided to pay me a visit and join the fun.”, Lafitte replied, looking very serious.

“OK, well just keep me informed, I want those weapons here ASAP”, the Admiral replied as he got up and walked out of the room.

Looking over at Lafitte, Long John the Cook commented,

“So that’s the famous Admiral Kim Jung Il I have heard so much about. He strikes me as a pompous ass, and his manners definitely need some adjusting. I am surprised you actually sat there and let him bark orders at you. You want me to adjust him a bit? ” At that, Long John started laughing.

Smiling his usual evil grin, Lafitte replied,

“Oh, don’t worry about him, very soon he will learn who is really in charge, and I will take great pleasure in adjusting his manners”.

As the two both started laughing, an officer came in and slapped long john in the back of the head. Spinning around, Long John yelled,

“Well rip me liver out, Billy Boy, you old dog, good to see you again”

As Billy sat down, he turned to Lafitte and said,

“Well, the ship issue is all fixed, just like you wanted. Everything is set up and we have all the booty the comrades of yours left for us.” As Lafitte smiled, Billy added, “Oh, almost forgot, some squad sent a message, they said they were replying to your message. They said they are in and will be here in 4 days, whatever that means”.

Looking over, Long John asked, “What squad are you yappin about Billy?”

Lafitte smiled and replied, “Just a very skilled Spetsnaz squad that will be joining us for the fun and games ahead”.

As the two started laughing very loud, Billy banged the table and asked,

“What Squad? I thought we were going to keep this tight. I don’t like outsiders; they always jerk us around like that damn Admiral Kim Dung”.

After a moment, both officers stopped laughing, and Lafitte replied,

“Come on Billy, these guys aren’t outsiders. You remember that nasty battle we had at that little town in Sumatra, where you had your ass saved?”

Looking at the two with a look of horror on his face, Billy replied,

“No ******* way, are you serious. Not the Black Squad. Damn those guys scare the **** out of me”.

As Long John and Lafitte again broke into laughter, Billy added,

“Look you two, I know they are the best and nastiest to ever be shot out of the Soviet’s demon mold, but they are just plain nasty. Why do they want to help us out anyway?”

Staring hard at Billy, Lafitte smiled and replied,

“Because they lost one of their squad to the GNSF, and they want payback. So go make sure their accommodations are set up, you wouldn’t want them pissed off at you.”

As Lafitte and Long John again both broke into fits of laughter, Billy got up and headed out to make sure all was perfect for their guests.

Airbase, Moscow

As the snow lightly fell on the runway outside, General Ivanovich was busy looking over the documents and formal complaint sent to the Soviets from the UN. As he finished reading, he slammed his fist down on the desk, yelling at the top of his lungs,

“I am going to personally hunt down and kill that damned Lafitte, and any other officer that was involved in this mess”

As he threw the papers off the side of his desk, he yelled to the Corporal sitting there,

“I want to know who was involved with this arms drop fiasco at the Romanian border, and I want them all dragged here and shot. I will not let these BotC crazies drag us into this insane mess. ”

Just then, a Lieutenant stuck his head in the room and timidly announced,

“General Sir, sorry to disturb you, but there is an officer here to see you but he wouldn’t give his name”

Growing angrier by the minute, the General yelled back,

“Can't you see I am busy, tell him to get lost, unless he wants to be placed on the execution list I am compiling”.

At that, the Lieutenant saluted and quickly exited the room, while the General continued his paper chucking. After a few moments, the General could hear the Lieutenant outside telling the officer to leave, shortly followed by a loud crash and moan. As the General stood up to see what was going on, the Corporal stood up and drew his side arm, turning to face the door.

As the two watched, the door opened revealing a man dressed in an old guard Spetsnaz uniform. As the Corporal was about to raise his weapon, he noticed the nametag on the officers uniform, Aleksei Vikhalnakov. As the General watched, the Corporal dropped his side arm and exclaimed,

“Sir, I’m sorry sir”, as he stood frozen, looking absolutely terrified.

“SIT DOWN”, was all the officer said, at which point the Corporal dropped to his chair in record time. Looking at the officer and sitting back down, the General commented,

“So you are Colonel Aleksei Vikhalnakov of the Black Squad. It is an honor to meet you. What can I do for you?”

As the officer entered the room and sat down and looked at the General with a blank stare, he replied,

“First, you can forget the execution list your making. Lafitte is a good friend, and the officers that helped him also fall into that category. Second, I want eight MIG-29’s ready to go in an hour, fully fueled and armed. Third, if even one Muslim Militia fighter breaches your line in Georgia, I will hold you and all of your men responsible and conduct a purge of the Motherland forces personally.”

As the General sat back, he realized that while the members of this covert squad held no political power, no one that ever opposed them lived long. Resigning himself to the fate of folding to the wishes of this group, he replied,

“I will have the planes ready for you, and ignore what has transpired at the Romanian border, but the Motherland will now be seen as allies to the BotC, and she will suffer for it.”

Looking up while maintaining the same dead stare, the Colonel replied,

“No she won’t. You will recall all the troops at the Romanian border and announce to the UN the execution of the officers involved, and imprisonment of the troops. You will then send all of them covertly to the Georgia and surrounding borders. You will do this very secretively and make it appear it is a standard troop rotation. Do you understand what I am asking?”, the Colonel demanded.

Nodding his head, the General replied,

“I will do as you ask, and will move the troops from the Romanian border to any Muslim border area near the Commonwealth area. I will send the troops to the front in small groups, and have empty transports return to make it look good.”

Standing up, the Colonel walked to the door, then turning added,

“Thank you for your cooperation General, you are a true patriot. I will contact you if I need anything else, but for now, I WAS NEVER HERE!.
Just as the Colonel finished his statement, he raised a silenced pistol and put one bullet into the head of the Lieutenant still sitting in his chair.

BotC Command Center, Sarajevo

As Lafitte and Admiral Kim Jung Il were going over maps of the area, an officer came in and announced,

“Sir, sorry to disturb you, but the special guests are here”

Smiling, Lafitte replied,

“Good, send them in”

As the officer left, Lafitte turned to the Admiral and said,

“You do not want to provoke these guests in any way, let me do the talking”

Staring back at Lafitte with a look of dissatisfaction, the Admirals gaze was broken as a group of eight officers entered the room. His gaze became fixed on the officer in front, who had a cold blank stare. Standing up, Laffite walked to the officer and gave him a big hug, greeting the officer,

“Hello my friend, it has been far too long”.

Turning to the Admiral, Lafitte announced,

“Admiral Kim Jung Il, this is the great Colonel Aleksei Vikhalnakov of the Black Squad, and a very close friend of mine”

As the officer gave a slight nod, he turned and replied,

“This is our glorious leader, General Ivan KuKursk”

Looking at the General, the Admiral knew he was looking at the man many have never seen, though his reputation as the ‘Black Butcher’ was legendary. As he looked over the hard face with multiple scars, he could not help but feel intimidated by this man.

“Glad to finally meet you Captain Laffite, I have heard nothing but good things about you from Aleksei. We are happy to be able to help you in your little project.”, the General replied, then looking over to the Admiral, he added,

“I have also heard many good things about you Admiral, and pleased to finally meet you. Now I will leave you all and get something to eat.”

At this, the General and the squad left the room, except for Colonel Aleksei Vikhalnakov, who turned to the Admiral and said in his usual cold blank way,

“I do hope there is no problem with the rank issue here Admiral”

Looking a bit confused, but being careful to pick his words, the Admiral replied,

“I’m sorry sir; I’m not sure what you mean?”

With his blank expression never changing, the Colonel replied,

“Well sir, I mean the fact you are an Admiral and Lafitte is a Captain. I must make it perfectly clear that we will follow orders only from Lafitte. Is that going to be a problem?”

Without hesitating, the Admiral smiled and replied,

“No sir, not a problem at all, I’m just very glad you have come to help”.

Looking over to Lafitte, the Colonel nodded, with a fractional smile that looked more menacing than his usual blank expression.
After the Colonel had left to join the rest, the Admiral turned to Lafitte, and looking very pissed exclaimed in a quiet voice,

“Have you totally lost you mind, this group is far too dangerous to everyone to have here. What were you thinking, and how the hell do you expect to control them?”

Lafitte smiled, and replied,

“Kimmy, there is much you do not know about me”

As he started to leave to join the Black squad for some chow, he turned back and added,

“Oh, and very well done with the rank thing. I would have hated to clean up all the blood”.

Brindisi Airbase ,  Italy

As Rear Admiral Swordfish joined the others in the War room, he could see a large map laid out on a huge desk, marked with both friendly and hostile pieces.

“Welcome Rear Admiral, you are just in time”, Admiral Paul exclaimed. As he looked over the board, the Fleet Admiral began,

“OK, here is what we have from all the Intel on the BotC psycho’s, as well as the location of all our assets. From Intel we have received, the weapons convoy will be entering the Mediterranean in about 8 days. So, we need to orchestrate this very carefully, as it must be done fast and efficiently to work.”

As the others listened, the Fleet Admiral laid out the details,

“Once the convoy is within range of these subs, we will start. I have Commander Beardawg on one of the subs ready to take a Seal boarding party to the closest cargo ship. The subs will provide cover and take photos of the vessels. Before the Seals can launch, we will have to take out this Airport, to prevent any air support. We have Intel they have a few anti submarine planes, and that could prove really bad for our subs. Once the Airport is hit, any planes flying will have to divert and land, plus it will provide cover for the boarding.”

Looking over the map, Admiral Wallbanger questioned,

“If we try to hit this Airport, they will have planes all over us, and it could get ugly”.

“Well, that is why the timing is key. They are performing BARCAPS in three rotations, but when they had a problem in Banja Luka, the BARCAPS were cut to two rotations. Therefore, we need a diversion to get a flight away. We will send a Seal team in here to cause total chaos, and get out before the planes show up. We will need to take this complex and hold it long enough for the planes to be dispatched.”, the Fleet Admiral explained.

Smiling, Admiral Paul exclaimed, “That just might work, and we can leak information that a huge force is taking control, that should get us an airstrike”, as he started to laugh.

Grinning, the Fleet Admiral recapped,

“OK, so here is the overview, the details we can work out later. First, once the Convoy is within range we launch a Seal strike here. Once they send a flight over, we send in our planes to cripple the runways at this Airport. Once the planes are heading in, Commander Beardawg’s team can launch and board the ships”.

As the three started working on the details and timing, Admiral Wallbanger injected,

“Only one problem, what if they decide to attack us first?”

BotC Command Center, Sarajevo

As Admiral Kim Jung IL sat at the desk in the Command tent, he smiled as he looked over the document in front of him, Just then, Lafitte entered the room and asked,

“You wanted to see me Admiral?”

“Yes, please sit down, I have great news”, the Admiral replied.

As Lafitte sat down, he waited to here this great news, as his mood lately was glum. The excitement had gone from the battle, and it seemed the great conquest was turning into a political yap fest.

“Lafitte, we WON. I had a few phone conversations with the UN Secretary, and a meeting has been set up for 3 days from today. There are ready to talk concessions, and we will finally have our own country. Here, this is for you, you earned it”, the Admiral said smiling as he passed a Silver Star to Lafitte.

As he looked at Lafitte, he could see no joy on his face, and added,

“So why so glum, we did it. We walked in and took it, and now we will get to keep it and be legitimized, damn smile man!”
At that, Lafitte started to smile and replied,

“Legitimized, holy ****, Tell me it isn’t so?”, then turning he spat in the corner and sat down again looking glum.

Confused and annoyed by this display, the Admiral yelled,

“What the hell is wrong with you, we planned this take over and now have it, and you’re still not happy?”

Standing up, Lafitte leaned in and replied,

“Legitimized, **** it. We planned to move in and take what we wanted, and kick ass in the process. Now you want to stop and play politician. We have not taken anything yet, this is just a warm up. Go tell the UN to take a leap of the gang plank”

As Lafitte turned to leave, the Admiral shot to his feet and screamed,

“Now you listen to me you sorry excuse for a soldier, I call the shots here and don’t you ever forget it. You are a dreamer, and your dreams are getting too insane for any normal person.”

As Lafitte turned and stood there looking almost as blank as his Soviet friend, the Admiral continued a little softer,

“Come on Lafitte, let’s get real here. I know you want to grab as much as possible, but we are not a super power. We have a chance to stay put and set up for future conquests, while becoming a legitimate country that the UN will have to listen to and acknowledge.”

Staring back, and tightly gripping the medal, Lafitte replied,

“So then, you basically see me as a power hungry nutcase, just like Hitler only way smarter and cuter. Well, as you have pointed out, you are in charge, so it is your voyage, and I am just along for the ride. So, what do you want me to do now sir, some paperwork, or maybe darn yer socks, oh, I know, I could start a cooking class fer all the good ol boys in the BotC. Arrg yes, just like Martha Stewart on steroids we be.”

As the Admiral listened to Lafitte string his sarcastic speech together, while drifting into the pirate drawl he hated so much, his temper started to boil. Again screaming, he yelled back,

“I will tell you what I want you to do. First, cut the crap, I am sick of your constant whining. Second, get those psycho-Commies of my base ASAP; we do not need the likes of them here. Third, make up your mind here and now if you want to remain a part of this, or get the hell out and take your scallywags with you. You’re Call, DECIDE NOW!”

After several deathly quiet moments, Lafitte, still tightly gripping the Silver Star started laughing and replied,

“Damn Admiral, you’re too easy to get going. Sorry, I just missed jerking your chain. I am here for you and will follow you anywhere. “

As the Admiral calmed down a bit, he replied,

“Good I’m glad to hear that”

As Lafitte headed for the door, he turned and in a calm sincere voice said,

“Admiral, I’m sorry I jerked you around, I think I’m just a bit bored. You know how much I trust and respect you. Oh, and do not worry, I will get the BSQ off the base and out of here within the hour. Thank you very much for this award sir, I can’t tell you what it means to me, I will do my best to make you proud”

As Lafitte left the Admiral smiled and said to himself,
“I think I am really turning him around, he will soon be a great officer”.

____________

As Lafitte left the Admirals office and started walking through the compound, he left a trail of blood droplets covering the snow on the ground. Walking up to a burning drum, he dropped the bent and bloody Star into the fire.

Brindisi Airbase ,  Italy

As the Fleet Admiral sat in the War room going over plans for the strike against the BotC With Admiral’s Paul, Swordfish and Clash, Admiral Wallbanger entered the room looking not to happy. Walking over to the table he handed the Fleet Admiral a note and said,

“Things just got weird again. It seems that your friend Admiral Kim wants to play nice now”.

As the Fleet Admiral laid the message on the table, they all started reading it.

 _________________________________________________

To: GNSF Command

From: Admiral Kim Jung Il, Commonwealth Commander

I am sending you this communiqué to inform you of talks with the UN to end hostilities. We have come to a tentative agreement and all hostilities will be halted. I send you this to assure you that no hostile action will be taken against any group, including the GNSF.

While we have had our differences in the past and engaged in battle, we now have decided to take a peaceful approach and allow the UN to mediate a solution and end to armed conflict.

I hope the GNSF will also work for a peaceful solution to this instability in the region, and not opt to attempt a resolution through armed conflict. While we must protect out territories, we shall take no hostile action against any force outside of our boundaries.

Admiral Kim Jung Il
Commander of the Commonwealth

 _________________________________________________

As the group started to talk about the message, Admiral Wallbanger added,

“So, does this mean we have to sit back and wait for the UN to fix this in their usual speedy and efficient fashion”?

As Admiral Clash started to laugh, Fleet Admiral Stern replied,

“Boy this guy is smart, but it doesn’t change a thing. We will continue to set up and go ahead with our original plan. The UN meeting is two days away, and the convoy is still about 5 days out, so we will keep planning and see what happens at the meeting”

At this, Rear Admiral Swordfish asked,

“So, what do we do if the UN buys this crap? We really can’t go against the UN without looking like bad guys ourselves and legitimizing the BotC claims?”

Looking at the large map, then back at the Rear Admiral, the Fleet Admiral replied,

“That’s just what we may have to do. Anyway, it’s not like we are not used to looking like the bad guys these days”.

BotC Command Center, Sarajevo

As Admiral Kim Jung Il sat at his desk looking over some of the latest communications from the UN, Lafitte walked into the room in a flight suite, saluting as he said,

“Admiral Sir, permission to have a word?”

A bit shocked by the good behavior, the Admiral replied,

“Of course, please come in a have a seat. What can I do for you my friend?”

As Lafitte took a seat, he asked,

“Sir, I see that the UN is reacting favorably to our talks, but I'm concerned that the GNSF will not simply sit still and allow the talks to take their course.”

Smiling, the Admiral replied,

“Yes, I expect nothing less from them, but then they will look bad and you will get a shot at blowing some more stuff up.”

At this, Lafitte smiled and continued,

“Well, I really do like blowing stuff up, but I will keep to the big picture. What I would recommend is we move most of our supplies and assets to Dubrovnik, as it’s a far more secure location.”

The Admiral pondered for a while and replied,

“It is, but it is a lot closer to where the GNSF are, and would make it easier for them to strike at us.”

Nodding his head, Laffite added,

“Aye sir, while that’s true, there are two aspects that are in our favor. First, we have most of our anti-air in that area, where here they could flight in via Hungary or Austria and have little resistance. Secondly, it would make it easier for them to ‘try’ an attack, which would make them look bad.”

Pondering the latest argument Lafitte put forward, the Admiral looked over the map for a while and replied with a chuckle,

“Damn Lafitte, you’re right, I didn’t consider that. You will have my job some day ”

As the Admiral continued to look at the map, Lafitte added,

“Oh, and sir, since I have been such a jerk to you the last while, I have a surprise. I sent all the construction crews we had here to Dubrovnik and they are building a secure underground facility. They will have it completed within 3 days. I also sent the BSQ packing. When the Facility is done we will have secure sub pens and a complete secure underground Command and Control facility.”

As the Admiral smiled a huge smile, he could not help but feel proud at the new soldier he had created. As he stood up, he said,
“OK Lafitte, take all our stuff to the new base and keep them safe.”

As Lafitte saluted and turned to leave, the Admiral called out,

“OK, now remember, don’t provoke the GNSF, we don’t want to be the first to strike”

Spinning around, Lafitte replied,

“Understood sir, but can we engage targets that move inside our boarders?”

“Absolutely, any target inside our boarders can be fired on, just make sure they are well inside the boarder so there is no controversy”, the Admiral replied.

“Understood sir, and I give you my word, unless you order it, the only targets I will engage will be ones well inside our boarders.”

As Lafitte saluted again and left, the Admiral put his feet up and chuckled. He had complete control of his destiny and the officers that served him, and had accomplished what no other could, to tame the Dragon.

BotC Command Center, Sarajevo

As Lafitte did a final check of the convoy while warming his hands over a barrel fire, he gave the order to roll out. As the huge convoy started on its way, Long John the Cook walked up and commented,

“Boy, with the size of this thing we will have everyone watching and talking”

Lafitte, still warming his hand, of which the left bore a tattered makeshift bandage replied,

“Aye. It sure is a thing of beauty.”

Smiling, Long John asked,

“So, are you going with them?”

“No, I am heading out but will be in one of the planes, as Im moving all of them over too. I left you this APC to use when you head out, so keep 8 of our most trusted men to go with you. Make sure you get the Admiral to the new base safely”

As Lafitte smiled he started towards the hangers, where all the planes were warmed up and waiting on the taxi way. As Long John warmed his hands, he called out,

“So, you planning on shooting down any of our GNSF friends”, then starting to laugh. Without turning back, Lafitte replied,

“Not today, I gave the Admiral my word that I would only attack targets well inside our borders”

Brindisi Airbase ,  Italy

As Admiral Wallbanger sat at his desk, eating some Beaver Tails he commandeered from an order that was flown in, Fleet Admiral Stern entered and barked,

“DAMN, I knew it had to be you that swiped my order”

Amost choking on a mouthful, the Admiral replied,

“What?, no, I saw them come in a brought them here to keep them safe, I didn’t want them to go missing”. Finishing the mouthful as the Fleet Admiral looked on, he added,

“Oh, and I had to test one to make sure the BOTC didn’t tamper with the shipment and maybe poison them”

At this the Fleet Admiral started to laugh and replied,

 “Well that is just so noble of you. I hope you haven’t eaten them all, I did order 1200 pounds of them”

As the Admiral jammed the last piece in his mouth, he through a key on the desk and replied,

“No, I only had a couple, then I locked them in the secure weapons room #3, here is the key”.
Looking down the Fleet Admiral chuckled,

“Like you don’t have a copy. Anyway, it looks like while the Admiral from hell is talking peace with the UN, they are moving almost everything they have to the coast. Now I know striking that convoy is the best plan”

Looking at the latest hourly update of the cargo ship convoys position, the Admiral replied,

“Well, just let me know when you want the order to start to go out, I have the EAM ready to send.”

“Well, it wont be until after the UN meeting with Admiral Dunghead, but Commander Beerdawg has his team ready and waiting on Luetenant Swampthing’s sub”

As the Fleet Admiral headed back out, he commented,
“make sure your ready to fly when the time comes, so stay away from the Beavertails or you wont be able to get the plane off the ground.”

BotC Base, Sarajevo

As dawn started to break in the BotC camp, Long John the Cook and his group of officers, all dressed in full pirate garb, surveyed the abandoned looking camp. Gazing at his watch, Long John turned to the group of eight BotC officers and said,

“OK mates, it’s time to move out, let’s get the Admiral and hope he isn’t bitchy being woken up at this hour”

As the group headed across the compound, they entered the Admirals barracks. As Long John walked in, he saw the Admiral was still sleeping in his bunk. Walking up to the bed, he looked down and pondered how such a man became such a feared leader.

“Come on Admiral, it’s time to go, and please don’t start yelling at me like you do at Lafitte, in tired and cranky myself", Long John mumbled.

As they started getting ready to leave, Long John added,

“Oh, and I will need your ring Admiral, We need to send it to the UN for you ”

Reaching into his jacket, Long John pulled out a diplomatic envelope and placed the ring inside. Turning to one of the BotC officers, he handed the envelope to him saying,

“Leave now and get this to a courier that can deliver it to the meeting, then meet us at the new base. Take two men with you ”

At that, the officer took the envelope and left with two others.

“Come on Admiral, time is short, the APC is waiting”, Long John called.

As the APC rolled out of the camp and down the road with Long John the Cook at the wheel, he could hear a distant rumbling grow louder. Within moments, he could see the low flying planes as they shot over his head. Laughing, he turned to the Admiral in the passenger seat and commented,

“Well, there they go Admiral, looks like we left just in time. Soon the base will be a burning hole, but don’t worry; you will love the new base.

After a while, the sounds of large explosions filled the air in the distance. Laughing again, Long John commented,

“Boy Admiral, I bet they are having a lot of fun, too bad your Old-Guard DPRK buddies couldn’t make the trip to the new base. I would have liked to have taken some, but this APC didn’t have any room left in the back.”

As they drove on, the cab was quiet for a long time with the Admiral silently staring ahead. Turning to the Admiral, Long John chuckled,

“Damn Admiral, lighten up, Lafitte kept his word, the target is well within our borders”.

As the APC rolled on to the new base, Long John laughed and added,

"Well Admiral, you sure dont talk much, which is probably a first for you. When We get to the new base I will buy you a couple a drinks, and maybe you will lighten up a bit."

BotC Base, Sarajevo

As the dawn broke over the BotC base in Sarajevo, many of the soldiers were going about their daily duties while most we still asleep. With the base now only staffed with squads of DRPK militia loyal to the Admiral, things were very quiet.

"Deadeye 1-1, Deadeye 1-2, are you going to tell us what the target is. I am burning a ton of fuel carrying all these bombs."

"Deadeye 1-2, Deadeye 1-1, Shut the hell up and just follow me”

"Deadeye 1-1, Deadeye 1-5, Come on boss, fill us in on what we are going to cream”

"Deadeye 1, we are going to follow the Admirals orders and my promise to only strike targets inside our boards. So, we are going to flatten the base at Sarajevo”

"Deadeye 1-1, Deadeye 1-4, Come one, your ******* me, we really going to flatten our old base. And aren’t there still DPRK guys down there”

"Deadeye 1-2, Deadeye 1-1, yes we are going to flatten it, and yes, they are still there."

"Deadeye 1-1, Black 1-1, copy target and coordinates locked. Request target specifics"

"Black 1-1, Deadeye 1-1, pick targets for maximum damage and kill rates"

"Deadeye 1-1, Black 1-1, understood; let us smash some heads comrades"

"Black 1, lock and load, let’s turn that hole into a hole."

As the flight of twelve F-16 and eight MIG-29s screamed towards the base, the planes all gathered in a staggered ladder formation. As they continued to come in low and fast, Lafitte could see the last mountaintop was now insight.

"Deadeye 1, Go weapons hot and blow some **** up, just save some for me."

"Black 1, if it twitches, kill it"

Suddenly the quiet air was broken by the sound of many jets rocketing across the sky. As the planes crested the mountain and started the bombing runs, the personnel still at the base were completely taken off guard. As the first bombs fell, most of the personnel were still in their bunks. As the first wave of bombs from the Black Squad hit the barracks, the F-16s started there run. Looking ahead and smiling, Lafitte could see the central storage building was still intact.

"Deadeye 1, do NOT hit the central storage building, it can’t be bombed from a low altitude."

"As the F-16’s went down on the run, Lafitte turned in a 360 circle, climbing on afterburner. After several loops he had climbed up to 15,000 feet"

"Deadeye 1, Is everyone clear of the base"

"Deadeye 1-2, clear and looping for second run"
"Deadeye 1-3, same"
"Deadeye 1-4, same"
"Deadeye 1-5, same"
"Deadeye 1-6, same"
"Deadeye 1-7, same"
"Deadeye 1-8, same"
"Deadeye 1-9, same"
"Deadeye 1-10, same"
"Deadeye 1-11, run completed, heading out"
"Deadeye 1-12, clear in 30 second"

"Black 1, Deadeye 1-1, We are all clear"

As Lafitte started a dive, he lined up the center building and dropped two MK-84s. As the bombs hit, the building erupted in a massive fireball that almost covered the entire base. Flames seemed to spew forth everywhere, turning the whole camp into a raging inferno.

"Deadeye 1-1,Black 1, What the hell did you drop, I want some of those"

"Black-1, Deadeye 1-1, It was the building; I stocked it full of Napalm before leaving. I figured since we did not have enough trucks to take it with us, clumping it together in one spot it would make a nice bang. Ok, let’s drop the rest on anything still moving."

As the planes dropped the rest of their ordinance, the base was quickly turned into a giant burning grave. When all had dropped their weapons, they headed home in a low and tight formation.

BotC Base, Dubrovnik

As the APC rolled into the new camp at Dubrovnik, Long John pulled up beside the Command building. As the group left the APC, Long John and the Admiral went inside and headed for Lafitte’s office. As they entered the room, Lafitte called out,

“AH, great to see you my friend, and glad to see you too Admiral. I hope you didn’t give Long John too much trouble on the trip?”

“No, he was the most boring passenger I have ever had, wouldn’t even talk to me to pass the time”, Long John Replied.

As both officers started laughing, Lafitte looked at the Admiral and said,

“Well Admiral, I hope you’re not too upset, but you really brought this on yourself. We had a lot of good times, but you let the power go to your head”.

At this, Long John broke out laughing, which drew a glare from Lafitte that brought silence to the room again. He then explained,

“You see Admiral, I am really not very good at taking orders from others, and I sure don’t like to be yelled at. Your plan to make deals with the UN are the plans of a small mind”.

Looking at Long John, he could see him fighting back a laugh, but controlled it. Continuing on, Lafitte turned back to the Admiral and added,

“We do not want a crappy piece of land, we want everything. So, as you can see your UN deal was counterproductive to our goals. Now I gave you the chance to give the UN the finger, but you refused, so I have done it for you”

Turning again and looking at Long John, he could see that his face was beet red, trying hard to hold back the laughter, and then finally braking Long John burst out laughing and fell off his chair to the floor. Trying to control himself, Lafitte too broke into laughter. After a while, both officers got control, and Lafitte again turning to the Admiral said,

“So Admiral, it looks like you are going to be taking orders from me now, but don’t worry, I will make sure you are still seen as the figure head”

At this, both men busted out laughing again. When they finaly got control, Long John commented,

“Oh, I promised that I would buy the Admiral a few drinks to lighten him up, what do you say we all head to the mess and knock back a few”

 “Excellent Idea, the drinks are on me Admiral”, Lafitte replied as he got up and started heading for the door.

Standing up, Long John reached over into the seat beside him, and picking up the Admirals severed head followed Lafitte to the mess hall.

Brindisi Airbase ,  Italy

As the sound of the pulsating horn echoed down every corridor, senior officers rushed all around the GNSF base rushed towards the War room. As they all filed in and took a seat in small chairs and makeshift benches, Admiral Wallbanger walked to the front of the room and called,
“Attention please.”

As the room fell silent, Fleet Admiral Stern joined the Admiral at the front of the room and addressed the room,

“OK, you all know that the BotC have been massing at the costal area’s and are digging in hard. We now have confirmation that their Commander, Admiral Kim Jung Il has probably been executed, and control of the forces have fallen to the BotC group, Commanded by the psychotic Lafitte.“

Taking a breath and noting the room was still dead silent, he continued,

“We also have confirmation from our Intel Department, that the BotC sent a clear message to the UN, essentially giving them the finger”

At this, Admiral Clash started to burst out laugh, which drew the gaze of all in the room, but quickly stopped after the Fleet Admiral shot him a look. The Fleet Admiral then continued,

“It looks like we are going to be engaging the BotC again, in a nasty fight to drive them out of the region. This time, I want these psychos obliterated off the face of the earth. You all know what has to be done, let’s get ready, stay sharp, and end this once and for all. We are now going to DEFCON 1 ”.

As that, Admiral Wallbanger yelled,

“Everyone, Dismissed, report to your stations”

Off the Coast of Bosnia

As the two F16s flew over the coastline, several contacts popped on their radar screens. After requesting ID from their ‘eye in the sky’, they were informed the contacts were hostile F-18s, two of them.

“Lafitte, check it out, we have targets”, Israel Hands called over the radio.

“Damn it Hands, I’m Dead Eye 1-1, and your Dead Eye 1-2, damn, we went over this. You don’t want the enemy to know who we are do  you?”, Lafitte replied.

After a moment of silence, Hands replied with,

“OK, OK, Dead Eye 1-2, sure I do, I want them to know who is killing them”, as he started to laugh over the coms.

Once Hands had finished, Lafitte replied,

“Damn you’re impossible, any way, just humor me and stick to the callsigns”.

As the two monitored the F-18s flight, Hands called,

“Dead Eye 1-2, so are we going to kill those or not. It’s not that I don’t like flying, but I’m starting to get bored of not killing anything. Let’s go kick some ass”.

After a few moments of silence, Lafitte replied,

“No, they are F-18s and they would cut us to ribbons, they are probably escorting something, so if we stay put they will probably ignore us.”

“So, they are probably a bombing flight escort, and we should let them go in and bomb something?, Oh, Dead Eye 1 something ”, Hands replied.

Himself getting twitchy, Lafitte replied,

“You are DEAD EYE 1-2, Damn Hands, get it right. We have two other flights patrolling south of us, we will only attack planes coming into our patrol spot, you know the drill damn it, we went over it 22 times!”

As the two continued their flight watching the F-18s, Hands called out again,

“Dead Eye 1-2, You used my name HAHAHA. Hey, there are four bombers there too. Why don’t we send the two new guys, I’m sure they want a shot at killing something.”

At that, both wingmen called back,

“Dead Eye 1-3, I sure would love to smash some planes”
“Dead Eye 1-4, Aye, I want some blood, I’m starting to feel like a plane jockey, come on boss, let’s kick some ass and drink to the battle”.

As Lafitte grew twitchier, he replied,

“We will cream them, but only if they head our way, understood”

As the flight continued on its patrol route, Lafitte could see the F18s had turned their way, and were intently watching them. As the F-18s grew closer, the bomber flight continued south.

“Dead Eye 1-1, they are just trying to spook us, don’t let them rattle us”
“Dead Eye 1-3, sir, let me and Jonsey cream them, please…… I dare you”

At that, Lafitte snapped, and called back,

“Are you two stupid, I DARE YOU, damn, you are both driving me crazy. OK, go kill them and don’t cry to me if they kill you”

At this, the two planes screamed off at the F-18s while Lafitte and Hands stayed on the flight path. After a while, the radio came alive,

“Crap, I’m hit, punching out, oh, yea, Dead Eye 1-3”
“Dead Eye 1-4, Well this can’t be good, look at all those damn red lights, I guess ….”, as the comms suddenly ended.

Looking over his shoulder, Lafitte could see smoke and flares everywhere. As he queried AWACs, he was informed that both F-18 were still alive.

“OK, now that isjust too much, no one shoots down our planes and has the nerve to not be dead too, let’s get em”, Laffite yelled.

As the two planes turned, the F-18s kept heading towards them. After firing off a few missiles, Lafittes plan shook and started screaming warning messages. Looking at the half-dead control panel, Lafitte called out,

“OK Hands, they are all yours, I’m hit, of all the nerve, they shot me. Good luck my friend, and don’t get killed or I will court martial you.”

As Lafitte ejected and started floating down, he could see the F-18s both burning and falling. After several minutes of a peaceful relaxing ride, he could see Hands engaging the enemy bombers, which tried to sneak in the back way.

Off the Coast of Albania

As Fleet Admiral Stern sat in his raft scanning the air for other parachutes, he could see the last plane remaining, Rear Admiral Sword fish. He was mad and frustrated at seeing the lead flight, Rear Admiral Spark, explode with no sign of a chute, and then Lieutenant Slipsild’s plane smoking.

“Where the hell did those MIGs come from, they were not supposed to be in the area”, he mumbled to himself.

As he continued to scan he could see a parachute, and it was GNSF. Looking around to the right he could see one plane still flying. He had a wave of relief rush over him knowing that at least the Lieutenant was alive. As he watched the last plane, piloted by Rear Admiral Swordfish, he yelled,

“Abort, damn it; abort and get out of there”, knowing no one could hear but all the same, he continued to yell it.

Watching the four MIG-29s close on the plane, he could see on was smoking and one was going down.

“Well at least I killed one of them”, he mumbled.

Just then, he could see the Rear Admiral turn and start speeding for home, as he made the smart move to abort.

“YES!”, he yelled, as the plane grew closer.

As he continued to look, he got a cold chill flood over him as two of the MIGs launched a pair of missiles, which after only a few moment slammed into the Rear Admirals plane. After the impact, the plane erupted in a fireball and disintegrated, with no chute visible.
As the Fleet Admiral stared at the MIGs, he watched them turn and head back to the coast. Bobbing alone in the water, he watched for the next several minutes as the one GNSF parachute slowly dropped and drifted off into the distance.

All of a sudden, the still sea air was broken with the sound of an approaching engine. Pondering the prospect of being a POW again, he pulled out his side arm and made ready to go down fighting. On the horizon, he could see a chopper coming in, and it soon became clear it was a GNSF Search and Rescue Helicopter.

As the lifeline was lowered, the Fleet Admiral strapped himself in and was pulled aboard. Once they had him in, an officer called out,

“Damn sir, I’m sure glad to see you alive, let’s get you back to base”

Turning to the officer, the Fleet Admiral replied,

“We are not going anywhere sir, I have another pilot out there. His chute went down over near the coast, we need to get him”

Looking sad and a bit scared, the officer replied,

“I am really sorry sir, but we can’t do that. We are borderline on fuel as it is, and those MIGs are still in the air and close. If we don’t get out of here we are all dead, this thing has no weapons and doesn’t move fast enough to outrun a jet.”

As the Helicopter headed for the base, the Fleet Admiral did not reply, but simply shook his head. He knew the officer was right, and risking their lives would be pointless. Sitting quietly, he knew that the first thing he would do is make sure they got the Lieutenant back safely.

Coastline of Bosnia

As Lafitte sat on the ground after removing the parachute, he watched the rest of the battle. Soon, there were two smoking planes left, one where the pilot had ejected. As he watched that plane explode and fall, he saw the second, heading off into the distance, still smoking.
After a while, he could see the parachute was heading his way, so he drew his side arm and moved closer to see if it was Hands or an enemy pilot. As he carefully moved to the spot the parachute was heading for, he mumbled to himself,

“If that isn’t Hands, someone is going to die very painfully”.

As the parachute grew closer to the ground, he could hear the pilot screaming and laughing, it was Hands. As he hit the ground, still laughing and yelling, Lafitte walked over and asked,

“What the hell are you yelling for, you hurt?”

Looking up with a big smile, Hands replied,

“Hell no, but damn that is the most fun I have had in years. Damn, I want one of those ejection seats, what a rush, Oh, I mean Dead Eye 1-2 wants one of those”

As both men started laughing, they could head a group of trucks roll up. Soon they were surrounded by BotC officer, with one running up yelling,

“What the hell were you two thinking; damn you are going to drive me to drink ….. More!!”

Looking up and still chuckling, Lafitte replied,

“Relax Billy boy, we ain't dead yet, and we just had the best ride ever. Besides, Hands here creamed then. They will think twice about coming here HAHAHA. ”

As the two headed for the truck, Billy asked,

“Why would you engage two F-18s like that, you know better?”

Looking over and smiling, Lafitte replied,

“Well, they dared me”.

Off the Coaste of Italy

As Lafitte sat in the life raft, he could see the shoreline, and the target they were trying to attack. He scanned the area where Hands went down, but was unable to locate him anywhere in the water.

“Just wait my GNSF and Italian friends, you will pay big time”, Lafitte mumbled, pounding his fist on the raft.

Upset at the huge resistance they encountered, he continued to scan the water near the shore. Suddenly, he finally saw what looked like a raft, but could also see a patrol craft heading towards it.

“Damn, looks like they found Hands. Well they ain't taking me, not breathing at least”, he said to himself.

As he continued to scan the area, he noticed that one of the patrol boats seemed to be heading his way, probably looking for the second parachute. Staying low in the raft, he pulled out his knife and cut the hose off his mask, then jammed it between the raft and grab line running along the side. Using his mask as a bailing bucket, he started to quickly filled the raft with water, staying as low as he could and hoping the light fog would mask him from view. When the boat was almost full, he rolled over the side and moved behind the raft. He watched as the patrol boat got closer, then slipped under the raft and grabbed the end of the hose he had cut from the mask. Using the hose to breath, the kept himself jammed up underneath the raft.

As the engine grew loud then dropped to idle, he could feel the raft bobbing in the waves created by the craft. Suddenly he felt a jerk, which almost dislodged him from under the raft, as the patrol boat started pulling the raft in.

“Great, I just hope this damn pistol still works, if not, I guess I can take at least one out with my knife.”, he thought to himself as he felt the raft being lifted out of the water.

Just as he was set to make his move, the raft abruptly fell back in the water. As he fought hard to stay under it and keep hold of the hose, he thought to himself,

“Figures, these fools can’t even haul a raft on board properly”

As he got ready for round two, he heard the boat speed up its engines, and then grow faint. Popping his head up for a look, he could see the patrol craft was speeding away. Floating beside the raft for a while watching, he chuckled and mumbled,

“Guess it was too much work for you guys”

After the boat grew small in the distance, Lafitte climbed back aboard and noting that the mask was now gone yelled,

“You dumb ***** lost my bailing bucket”

As he started paddling the water-filled raft out to open water, he noticed a break in the surface of the water. Smiling, he yelled,

“Forget it sharky, I’m not on the menu today; go find a meal somewhere else”

As he started to laugh, he abruptly stopped when he noticed the wake was not from a shark, but a subs periscope.

“Oh great, I ditch a patrol boat and now get a damn sub, What else could go wrong”, he mumbled, pulling his side arm out and trying to shake the water out of it.

As the sub grew closer and slower, he started to laugh hysterically, as the periscope belonged to an Akula class sub.

A few moments later, a diver popped up beside the raft, and removing his regulator, he yelled,

“Get ready to hold your breath sir, we have to get you in NOW, there is a tank in torpedo tube 2 which is open, GO GO GO!!”

Taking a few deep breaths, Lafitte dove into the water and started searching for the bow. Knowing that he had one shot at it with the sub still moving forward, he dove down. As he located the bow, he could barely see the tubes, two of which were open. Thinking to himself,

“Great, which one is number three”, he then noticed a flashing strobe coming from one of the tubes.

As he started swimming inside the tube, he located the tank, then quickly placed the regulator in his mouth and purged it. With the tank on, he crawled deep inside the tube, and then heard a metallic banging on the hull, three sharp strikes. At that, the muzzle door closed.

After a while, all the water had been drained, and the torpedo tube door was opened. Climbing out, he had a hard time keeping his balance as the sub started to dive and turn.

“Welcome aboard sir, really glad we could grab you before the patrol boat could”, an officer said.

Looking up, Lafitte smiled and replied,

“Boy, I’m getting too old for this *****, excellent work sir, Captain ?”

“Thank you sir, no sir, I am the subs skipper, but its Lieutenant Commander Demitri Skolsk sir, and I’m just very glad to have you back”, the Officer replied.

Smiling and starting to laugh, Lafitte replied,

“So, how the hell did you manage to find me, and why did the patrol bail out?”

Smiling, the Lieutenant Commander replied,

“Well sir, we were monitoring the coast and radio comms when we heard the call for rescue. We watched as you and the other pilot parachute out. We were going to coordinate a rescue chopper, but then saw the patrol boats being sent out. We wanted to get the other pilot, but he is in too shallow and too close to the shore”.

Looking a bit confused but still smiling, Lafitte questioned,

“But that doesn’t explain why the Patrol boat peeled out in a hurry Captain?”

As the Lieutenant Commander started to laugh, he replied,

“Oh that, well we saw your stunt of hiding under the raft, so we pinged the boat. Boy did that spook him big time, and it’s Lieutenant Commander, not Captain sir”

Lafitte started laughing louder, then added,

“No, I think you have that wrong Captain Demitri Skolsk… has a nice ring to it”

Military Prison Camp, Santo Spirito Italy

As Israel Hands sat in the small prison barracks room, the door opened and in walked two armed guards and Fleet Admiral Stern. Looking at the officer sitting at a small table, the Fleet Admiral walked over and took a seat.

“I am Fleet Admiral Stern, and you are?”

Producing a huge grin, the officer replied,

“Ahhh so you’re the great Admiral Stern that Jean is always ranting about. I thought you would have been 10 feet tall by the stories I have heard. I am First Mate Israel Hands. So, are you going to tell me if you rescued any other pilots or not?”

Looking at the man, the Fleet Admiral replied,

“You are the only pilot we have picked up.”

Looking at the Fleet Admiral, Hands replied,

“I’m the only one, ok, if you say so. Now, if you want information, I really can’t help you, and I doubt you have anyone good enough to get any out of me”, as he started to laugh.

The Fleet Admiral sat quietly, then started to chuckle, responding,

“Well I’m sure your people are good at that, but we don’t do the torture thing. You can believe me or not, I don’t particularly care, you are the only POW we have at this time.”

As Hands sat there staring across the table, the smile faded from his face. After several moments of quiet staring, Hands replied,

“I believe you, I can usually tell when someone’s blowing smoke up my ass; I was just hoping others survived”.

While continuing to stare across the table, the Fleet Admiral injected,

“Well cheer up; I am pretty sure the last one shot down survived, so while I can’t confirm it, I’m fairly sure your buddy Lafitte is still alive”

As Hands stared back across the table, he again started to smile, and then replied,

“What makes you think it was Lafitte?”

Sitting there, and smiling back, the Fleet Admiral continued the stare and said nothing for several more moments, then replied,

“Well, considering we recovered a flight mask that bore his name, and the fact we don’t have him, I’m pretty sure it was him. Now, before you ask me anymore questions, just know that if I think your blowing smoke up my butt I will end this discussion instantly”

Looking back, Hands smiled and replied,

“I will not lie to you, but that doesn’t mean I will tell you anything of any use. I would like to know why you’re sure that last pilot is alive and not chum, but I won’t offer you anything in return”.

The Fleet Admiral smiled and took out two cigars, passing one to Hands who took it. After lighting both, he asked,

“I do have one question, answer if you want. Am I right in assuming you and Lafitte friends, because I sense you two may be close?”

After taking a few drags on the Cigar, Hands replied,

“This is a good Cigar, must be Cuban. Yes, we are very close, but that doesn’t mean he would risk anything more or less for me than any other soldier. So what other questions do you have?”

Puffing away on his Cigar, the Fleet Admiral smiled and replied,

“I won’t ask you for any useful info, as I know I won’t get it. I will however give you some because I would hope for the same if I were in your shoes. When the Patrol boat approached Lafitte’s raft, they were scared off by what we think was an Akula or Delta. We later recovered that raft and found the air hose from the mask attached to the side of the raft. I think Lafitte hid under the raft and was picked up by the sub.”

Standing up, the Fleet Admiral headed for the door, when Hands called back,

“Thank you Admiral, that was kind. Just know that while I respect your actions here, I will gut you like a fish when I get a chance. I will tell your people nothing and will not help you one bit, but I will remember this. I promise when I cut off your head like I did with Admiral Kim, I will make it fast and merciful”.

Turning back, the Fleet Admiral replied,

“Why thank you, but you remember that when I round up the rest of your group, I will make sure you all spend forever in a nice dark cell.”

As the Fleet admiral and guards left the barracks, Hands started to chuckle, then mumbled to himself,

“Damn Lafitte, you must have a 9 lives, or horseshoe up your ass. You actually got away again”

Akula, Adriatic Sea

As the crew watched their stations, a call came out from the radio operator’s station,

“Sir, I have Command on the Radio as you ordered sir, and they have Captain Ivanovich as you asked ”

Running across the room like a lunatic, Lafitte grabbed the radio and spoke,

“Captain, glad I caught you. How did Vikhalnakov make out with his mission?”

“The mission was successful, although only Colonel Vikhalnakov survived. He told me he made them pay, as he hunted down and killed everyone at the complex. I’m glad you’re OK, you seem to be earning the tag “immortal”, came the response from the radio.

“I need you to do something for me, that is if you are OK with it”, Lafitte replied.

As the two talked on the radio, the sonar operator called to the Captain,

“Sir, I have contacts bearing 156, it is a convoy of ships, at least 3 war ships and some cargo ships.”

Walking over and looking at the screen, the Captain replied,

“I want you to ID all of them. Let me know what is merchant traffic, and what is not.”

As the sonar operator went back to the task of identifying and tracking the contacts, Lafitte was terminating his conversation,

“So, that is what I need, can you help me?”

After a moment, the radio echoed,

“Consider it done, it will be easy as pie. “

Military Prison Camp, Santo Spirito Italy

As night fell on the prison camp, Hands started to smile. He had been here only one day and knew that soon it would be his time to make a break. The prison was sparsely guarded, as it was isolated from the battle zone. Since he was but one man, and the only prisoner here, they had only 20 or so men stationed here. If not for the fact the Italians had placed a SAM-13 at the prison as part of the Air support network, and a T-13 Tank running perimeter checks, they would have closed the place. However, since they had some staff, what better place to hold POWs.

As the door opened, a guard came in and asked the prisoner if he needed anything. Thinking this place was as nice as any he had called a home, he replied,

“You know, you guys have treated me so good, I could get used to this place. If it’s ok and not too much trouble, could I stretch my legs for a bit?”

“OK, you can have half an hour in the fenced compound area, but do anything stupid and you probably won’t survive.”

Looking over, Hands replied,

“Don’t worry, there isn’t much I can do now is there, besides, this place is nicer than most I stayed at willingly”.

As the guard led Hands to the yard, he locked a gate after the POW was inside, then flipping a switch said,

“Oh, the fence is electrified, best you don’t get to close. I will be back in 30 minutes”

As Hands looked around for a weakness in the area, he thought of a plan. If he could get a long plank ripped off the side of the barracks and place it against the fence, he could "Walk the Plank" and jump over. It was risky, but worth a try. As he went about trying to pry a plank off the side of the building, he heard a sound. He figured the guard had seen him, so he looked for anything to use as a weapon. Finding a stone the size of a golf ball, he started to laugh,

“Well, if I pull this off it will make a tall tale indeed”

After a while, when the guard never showed, he strolled over to the fence. When he was half way there, he saw the guard lying on the ground. Moments later, he saw a figure approach the gate and unlock it. Unsure of what was up, he ducked behind the building and waited. As he got ready, a figure came around the corner, and looking at him, said,

“You even think about throwing that rock at me and I will deck you and drag you out unconscious”

Totally shocked, Hands replied,

“Ivanovich, damn what are you doing here?”

“I’m returning a favour for an old friend. Let’s go, all the guards are dead, just need to get around that tank outside and we are home free.”

Just them, Mudface and Long John came in, with Long John stating,

“OK, I have placed demo charges on the ammo crates, and even slipped one under that SAM. Boy is this place going to light up HAHAHAHAHA.”

As the group made their way outside the prison and to the extraction zone, Hands asked,

“Did Lafitte send you guys in, I’m going to have to kick his ass for this.”

Akula, Adriatic Sea

“Sir, Torpedo’s in the Water bearing 237, far out. There not meant for us”, the sonar man called out.

“ID them, and get an idea of what is happening.”, Lafitte replied

“Sir, ESM, There is a convoy of enemy vessels about 35 nm to our 239. I have ESM on six cargo vessels, three frigates and at lot of P-3 and Helo’s. “

“Sir, Sonar, the weapons are MK-48, but they are running shallow. May be one of ours attacking the convoy”

As Lafitte paced a bit, he turned to Captain Demitri Skolsk and said,

“I know I have assumed command, but what do you think we should do?”

The captain, looking at the sonar screen replied,

“Well sir, we don’t know what’s going on out there, and sonar is pure crap. If we head there we could be in a world of hurt”

“Sir, Radio, I have a message from Long John, he is one of three subs attacking a convoy”

Lafitte smiled and turning to the Captain asked,

“Are we at risk sitting at periscope depth?”

The Captain moved to the ESM station and looked at to the EMS operator, who quickly replied,

“No sir, not at this time, the air contacts are concentrated in the area of the convoy, we should be ok. I will yell if any get close”.

As they sat near the surface, watching ESM, the sonar operator called out,

“Sir, Sonar, Loud explosion with secondary’s bearing 241.

“Sir, ESM, lost EMS on one of the frigates from bearing 241.”

Smiling, Lafitte yelled,

“Yes, kill them all my lads”

As the battle continued, the watched in anticipation of more carnage.

“Sir, Sonar, torpedoes in the water, two, no three, they are ASW torps, helo dropped.”

After a few tense moments,

“Sir, Sonar, Loud explosion bearing 229, secondary explosions and hull implosion. I think they hit one of our subs”

“Damn, I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Captain, what do you recommend, this is your boat”

After taking a few moments to look over the screens and contemplate the situation, the Captain replied,

“I would stay put sir. The ASW aircraft out there would pose a significant hazard, and with crappy sonar, we may even be hit by one of our own subs. We should monitor and see how it progresses”

As the continued to watch and wait, they detected damage being inflicted on the other two frigates, and one cargo vessel being sunk. As time passed things grew quiet until,

“Sir, sonar, Explosions bearing 257, on the bearing of a cargo ship.”
“Sir, ESM, lost ESM on cargo ship bearing 257, looks like that’s another one”

As they continued to bob far from the action, they picked up two more cargo vessels being sunk. After the fourth was sunk, it grew quiet until a call came out,

“Sir, Radio, I have Long John”

Rushing over to the radio, Lafitte grabbed the mic and asked,

“What’s going on out there, we heard the attack and think we picked up a sub being sunk?”

After a moment of silence, Long John replied,

“Aye, we lost Barbarossa. He sank a frigate but then was hit by those damn helo’s”

“DANM!, so what’s happening now?”

“Well, we confirmed sinking four cargo ships and damaging the other two frigates out there. The last two cargo ships are a good haul from us. We would have to go flank for an hour to catch them.”

“NO, break off, the GNSF will have air reinforcements moving in, let them go”

As Lafitte turned to the Captain, he called,

“OK Captain, you have the bridge, get me home as fast as you can, I feel a need to blow something up from up high”

Prison Camp , Santo Spirito Italy

As the sounds of sirens rang throughout the complex, the two men kept moving forward, killing all in their path. As they entered the Control tower, they could here the sound of trucks pulling up, many trucks.

“Well Comrade, it looks like we are in a bit of trouble”, Colonel Vikhalnokov said with a smile.

A moment later, amidst the sounds of troops telling, a voice came over a loud speaker,

“This is General Valisimo Russo, throw down your weapons and come out or will come in and kill you all”.

Looking at the Colonel, Mudface commented,

“So, do we rush these scurvy dogs and see how many we can drop?”

Smiling, the Colonel replied,

“No, we have no chance, and I plan on killing many more in the future, besides we must get Long John’s body back with us”
As the two threw their weapons out the door, the placed there hands on their heads and walked out. As the General watched, he yelled into the loud speaker,

“ALL OF YOU, I want you all outside NOW!”

Smiling, the Colonel replied,

“We ARE all outside”

As the soldiers secured the two, a group of thirty plus stormed the tower. Walking up to the prisoners, the General noticed the rank and emblem on the Colonels fatigues and stated,

“You are a member of the Black squad I have heard so much about”

“I am Colonel Aleksei Vikhalnokov of the Black Squad, and this is Mudface”

At this, many of the soldiers back up looking afraid. Seeing this, the Colonel replied,

“Ahhh, so you are the infamous Colonel, well I will make sure we show you a very good time here in Italy, I will interrogate you personally”

Smiling, the Colonel replied,

“As you wish, but please don’t expect to get anything useful out of me, I would hate to see you disappointed”.

Smiling back, the General replied,

“Don’t worry about my disappointment, Worry about yourself. When I am done with you I will have you begging to lick my boots”

Turning to a group of soldiers, the Colonel barked,

“Get this scum in the truck!”

As the soldiers approached the two, the Colonel barked back,

“I do not think so, not unless you bring our fallen comrade with us.”

At that, the General barked,

“Get them in the truck NOW!”

As six of the officers moved forward to grab the two, there was a short flurry of movement, and after just a few brief seconds, all six were lying on the ground. At this, the remaining soldiers all pointed their weapons at the two.

“One more stunt like that I will have them open fire on you scumballs, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!”, the General screamed.

Looking over and smiling, while not seeming to have even broken a sweat in the attack, the Colonel replied.

“Go ahead, because we are NOT moving unless you give me your word our fallen comrade comes with us. Then we will cooperate fully. If that is too much to ask from you General, then you had better give the order to fire before I personally ripe your throat out. Then you can explain to the GNSF Fleet Admiral how you gunned down an unarmed valuable prisoner”.

Looking very pissed at the situation, the General barked,

“Get the body of the dead scum in the truck”, then turning to the Colonel, he added, “OK, you have my word the dead scum comes with you, happy, no get in the damn truck”

Looking at the General with a cold stare, the Colonel replied,

“Now that wasn’t too hard was it? Oh, and you may want to get those men looked at, I think I may have broken a few bones”

As the soldiers heaved Long Johns body in the truck like a heavy sack of grain, the two officers complied and entered the back of the truck.

Prison Camp , Checnyan Republic (by LT Drop-Bear)

It was a cold dank night in the Checnyan republic, the steam coming off the five SEAL team members clothing testament to the 30-mile on-foot "double-time" infiltration to the target area.

That had been the easy part.

As the team cautiously Leopard-crawled to the top of the dead ground, they espied the veritable fortress that had become the Stark reality of imminent death for LT Snipsild after he had been forced to eject from his disintegrating aircraft over enemy territory.
The downed pilot wished for death to come quick now; anyone who had been interrogated at the hands of "Long John" would have.

The layout of the fortress had been 'mocked up' back at GNSF HQ based on acquired Satellite photographs. The assembled team had rehearsed and re-rehearsed their "Immediate Actions" with an intensity that underlied the seriousness of the situation: Lt Snipsild had three days to live, then it would be too late.

Everyone knew their objectives, their timings, arcs of fire, "actions on...", they were trained cold professional killers who took great pride and joy in their work, and tonight would be a night of great enjoyment indeed, if "third party" intel sources were proven correct. All contingencies had been anticipated and planned for; it was the old unofficial motto of Special Forces the World over; "Check and Test, Check and Test, Check and Test".

But no battle plan survives contact with the enemy; and although not one of the team had slept in the past two days busy with all these aspects, there had been just too little time to setup this op to their liking. However, they were paid to do a job not to like it, so they went.
The flight into the HAHO (High Altitude High Opening) Jump point was where most soldiers became lost in their thoughts; not the "What if's" of a personal nature, but a constant continuation of the "Check and Test", where's my fire arc if the guy next to me buys it? What condition will the Lieutenant be in? Will we have to carry him out?

Not so tonight, after forty-eight hours of solid work-ups, they all needed to sleep; they had been ordered to sleep. Every ounce of their strength and reserves would be needed in the hours to come.

Jumping out of a Jet aircraft at forty thousand feet altitude is physically and psychologically demanding in ways most people cannot imagine. Sure, free-fall parachuting required a deal of muscle conditioning, but then you are only carrying yourself plus chute pack.
At the altitude they where to jump at, they were wearing special thermal suits with oxygen supply and masks, plus weapons, copious amounts of ammunition, water, rations, medical packs, squad and satellite radio equipment, Night Vision Goggles, Flak vests and specially designed parachutes made of radar absorbent 'stealth material'; over two hundred pounds of weight in total per man.
All that equipment had to be packed and strapped to the body as tightly as possible: Special forces soldiers had died merely because their rifle had moved slightly during free-fall creating aerodynamic drag and inducing a spin, from which there was no recovery, no way to deploy a chute that would simply wrap around a rapidly revolving body.

"Captain Alpha, we are twenty minutes from jump point sir", the Pilot's voice snapped Alpha awake in a nanosecond. He had barely moved when his four other team-mates roused; they were so attuned to each other by now that it was joked that each of them knew when one of them needed to take a piss.

Lumbering to a standing position under the weight of their equipment, they began to check each other over very carefully, until the last thing to do was turn each other's oxygen on, and that would not be done until the aircraft had de-pressurized.
"Seven minutes to jump point Captain; we will commence de-pressurization in thirty seconds". This was always done as slowly as possible, the one drawback of HAHO jumps was the unpleasantness of "decompression sickness" or "the bends", and the slower the release of pressure, the easier it was to acclimatize to the pains in the joints and connective tissues, and the less potential for a fatal "Air Embolism" to develop. Nevertheless, each team member watched the other for such signs, throwing the casual insult when one of them winced in pain, typical of the dark humor found amongst such elite troops.

"Two minutes to jump point, we are opening the rear doorway, red light on sir".

"At least we don't have to worry about the bundle tonight", yelled LTJG SwampThing. This six hundred pound 'aerial torpedo' usually carried all the extra equipment required for "Extended Deployment". Everyone hated it: it was un-predictable and had a mind of its own; many a SEAL had been at the receiving end of a "Ramming", as a result of the capsule suddenly changing direction in free-fall flight and rocketing straight at its hapless victim.

"Sixty Seconds Captain Alpha". To the casual observer, it would appear as though five senior citizens were shuffling their way to the rear ramp of the C17, each with their left hand on the shoulder of the man in front.

"RADIOS ON AND COM CHECK" Screamed Captain Alpha over the Banshee shriek of turbo fan engines and wind noise. "Wallbanger on", "Manny on", "Drop-Bear on", "SwampThing on", "Ok check complete, signal strength ten" completed Alpha.

There was no point checking over the tail of the ramp, there was no Moon, and everything outside was as black as pitch, perfect.

"GREEN LIGHT, GO! GO! GO!", as one, the team ran straight off the tail ramp and were immediately swallowed by the night, the loadmaster caught a glimpse of five small objects rapidly disappearing into the distance as the C17 sped on its way to the nearest friendly airbase."

Even though they all wore thermal suits, the sheer cold coupled with the wind chill factor forced the breath out of every soldier. They plummeted earthwards for ten thousand feet before their oversized "glider" chutes deployed. Now came the job of steering their 'glide paths' towards a pre-defined map co-ordinate eighty six miles distant: Eyes torn between the faintly glowing compasses on their chest packs, their team mates positions, and any aircraft; civilian or otherwise that might just suddenly decide to make an appearance and compromise their positions or worse still, smear them across it's windshield.

At twelve thousand feet, they all started to feel the easing of their decompression symptoms as the last remnants of the nitrogen bubbles re-dissolved back into their blood streams.

The Landing was thankfully un-eventful, all touching ground within a one hundred yard area. As soon as the parachutes had been re-stowed, the team "harbored up" in a defensive position, all prone, all silent, becoming attuned to their environment, and the environment becoming attuned to them. Then began the 30-mile run to their objective.

"Ok, Drop, Manny, move out and take out tangos at range, we will cover you". Slithering down from their previous perch overlooking the fortified camp, the two snipers took up position, and began engaging the roving patrols that circled the outside of the camp.

One "Hiccup" in the plan became immediately evident, although the attack had been designated "Noisy", the cold damp air, carried the loud reports of the un-suppressed rifles to a much further distance than had been anticipated, hastily summoning up an aggressive response from a patrol to the East, however they were quickly dispatched with the cool detached professionalism of the team supporting the snipers.

"Area clear, move up to phase line two", Captain Alpha led the way the snipers close behind, their scopes reaching out into the night as if willing more tangos to drift into their cross hairs.

"Ok spread formation people, snipers "eyes on" for distant targets", phase line two had been reached. Sure enough, a three man patrol sauntered into the visible range of Manny's NVG Goggles; "Crack, Crack, BANG", Drop-Bear assisted with the last Tango who, completely befuddled, had begun to race for the main entrance gate.

Then all hell broke loose! Alarm klaxons in the camp began their incessant call to arms, someone had begun to make sense of the situation.
"Patrol truck coming down the road", came the calm voice of Admiral Wallbanger over the team comms.

"I'll take the tires, snipers go for the drivers cab, everyone else pour lead into the back, I don't want anyone jumping out of that darn thing", added Captain Alpha.

Thirty seconds later, a troop-laden truck drove into view coming down a track on the outside of the compound's chain link fence.

Within five seconds the truck was a smoking wreck, riddled with holes, laden with bloodied un-recognizable tangles of flesh and bone.

"Crap, someone jumped out of the back, I can't get an angle on him, he's hiding behind the truck" called Admiral Wallbanger. Immediately seeing the danger, the team re-deployed to optimum firing positions, this guy should have just accepted his fate in the first place and died on the truck.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"SUNRAY IS DOWN, I REPEAT SUNRAY IS DOWN!" Everyone privately swore, as that bastard had just killed Captain Alpha.

Drop-Bear had slithered into an elevated firing position where he had full line of site of the prone tango, who had somehow managed to shoot through one of the truck tires, hitting Alpha in the throat and chest.

Drop-Bear and Wallbanger immediately fired their weapons.

"What the hell? Sir my rounds are being deflected by the damn chain-link fence!",

"So are mine Drop-Bear, just keep firing at the sonofabitch, he's bound to go down".

After emptying a full magazine at the head of the tango, Drop-Bear shifted aim to the lower abdomen, and squeezed the trigger. "Tango down sir".

"Down and freeze! Enemy tank incoming!", Manny's voice never wavered despite a fifty four ton steel behemoth now actively seeking them out, it's one hundred millimeter smoothbore gun ready to wipe out the entire team in an instant. The tank continued on past their position,

"Damn lucky that armor didn't have night vision or I might have had to go haunt Intel for an eternity!" SwampThing's remark immediately eased the tension.

"Ok guys, phase line three, Go!", Admiral Wallbanger had assumed command of the mission.

Phase line three was off to one side of the main entrance, its objective was to take out guards patrolling inside the gates, and clear the guardhouse where the track entered the fence perimeter. As Wallbanger was clearing this guardhouse, a Tango suddenly jumped up from the long grass, took a shot a Wallbanger who was now framed by the light of the guardhouse doorway and sprinted for the entry tower doorway. The SEALS had been caught by surprise, but luckily, Drop-Bear was able to shift his aim, and take out the Tango before he reached the doorway, which was already opening, an ominous sign!

"Admiral are you ok?" Now Manny was sounding very calm, a very dangerous sign for any remaining enemy.

"Roger, I took a hit, but I will live. Where the hell did he come from?".

Mindful of the now open doorway leading up into the entrance gate tower, the team quartered around the 'viewing angle', until SwampThing sighted a Tango hiding up against the wall, ready to give them all a spray of RPK fire. SwampThing, fired at the optimum angle, and the tango slumped to the floor, blood pumping out of a massive hole on the far side of his head.

"Mind the blood guys; you know what a mess it makes on the carpet!".

The tower was cleared and the team descended the other stairway leading to an inner compound. Manny made short order of the tangos there, they were still deciding which way the threat was coming from.

"Phase line four men, keep rolling". The objective here was an SA14 launcher sitting in the middle of the compound, obviously waiting for the "GNSF Cavalry" to come choppering in for LT Snipsild. SwampThing placed his shaped PE4 charge up against the join between fuel tank and turret, and the team moved on to phase line five.

The entryway to the next compound was again overlooked by another concrete tower, so once again the team moved cautiously up its stairs to the guardroom overlooking both compounds. Despite the risks, Drop-Bear performed a maneuver that he had learned as a "Digger" in the Australian Army's "1 Commando Regiment" before joining the GNSF. He slowly popped up and looked through the window for a scan of the area, spotting a target, he then popped down, shifted positions, popped back up, aiming at the exact spot where the Tango had walked into and fired, vaporizing part of the skull and brain in a cloud of pink mist.

Naturally, one of the remaining guards immediately ran for the other tower entrance, where he was given the good news by Admiral Wallbanger's support weapon. Manny slotted the remaining guard, who was patrolling the prisoner compound.

The team immediately spread into their respective defensive positions, SwampThing headed for a pile of ammunition crates, another satchel of PE4 in hand and a gleam in his eye. Meanwhile Admiral Wallbanger headed for the POW compound, he had been determined to accompany the SEALS on this mission, privately, he knew what Long John was capable of, and he had never left a comrade behind, EVER. His relief on reaching the gate to the compound was palpable, but not enough to disrupt his concentration. He carefully checked around the gate for signs of booby traps, and, having satisfied himself that all was well, turned the handle and pushed.

CRUUMP!!

"Crap! Wallbanger's down! Drop-Bear, continue covering that avenue of approach, SwampThing take my position, I'm going for Snipsild, and for God's sake stay frosty, I'm not loosing anyone else!" It was now LTJG Manny's turn to assume command.

Manny entered the compound and reappeared with something that looked like LT Snipsild, but the swelling around his head and face made it too difficult to tell.

Manny escorted the badly beaten Lieutenant back to the tower stairs, and the two other remaining SEALS collapsed in on her position. The team was now down to three, a bare minimum for mutual protection when escorting a wounded brother GNSF member.

"Helo's on the way in to the extraction point, this area's clear, let's high-tail it, and get the hell out of here. Once those charges go off, we'll be able to send in a chopper to recover Alpha and Wallbanger's bodies".

Mindful of ambushes, the team made their way across the SAM compound, and through the main entrance tower. Manny was moving along the fortress wall, far along in front, whilst SwampThing was now playing escort for LT Snipsild, who, despite his injuries refused to be carried or assisted.

Suddenly two figures came rushing out of the darkness straight at SwampThing and Snipsild, Drop-Bear without even thinking, stood up, blocking any line of shot between the new attackers and the pilot. Controlling his breathing, he took the time to adjust his aim; the tangos would need to get closer to shoot without the aid of night vision goggles. Then he struck. One, Two down.

"Sorry I didn't call it out guys; I just didn't have the time".

The remains of the SEAL Team with Pilot in tow, then sprinted into the relative cover and safety of the wooded fence line, as they followed it back to the extraction point, they heard and felt the ominous rumble of returning tank. Crouching ever lower in the deepest shadows, the tank obliviously trundled on, and the team resumed their "Rapid extraction". Once they had reached the clearing and marked it with an infrared strobe light, the dark sense of humor returned as they heard the detonations from LTJG SwampThing's handiwork.

"Pity we didn't bring a LAW with us to throw at that tank" said SwampThing,

"Pity we didn't bring that Intel idiot with us to throw at that tank" said Drop-Bear, "No flaming armor my speckled arse!"

The muffled thudding of the extraction chopper's rotors filled the air. Two minutes later they were on board and speeding towards safety at a perilously low level, each person left alone with his thoughts, the tension draining away, only fools didn't feel fear when bullets were flying. Everyone ignored the visible shaking of their team mates, it was a natural part of the body's physiology, the withdrawal from the massive amounts of adrenaline built up over the mission, coupled with the grief over the loss of two close comrades. Yet the mission had been a success, they had rescued the pilot who had lost all hope, and now he had an axe to grind, the next time he came across Long John...

Prison Camp , Santo Spirito Italy

As the truck pulled into the prison camp and stopped outside a barracks area, the back door opened and the General and several soldiers stood there. As the two got out of the truck, now fully secured in cuffs, they were lead towards a building by several soldiers. Turning back, the Colonel called out,

“I would appreciate it if you would bring Long John with us; I want to make sure he gets sent home for a proper burial.”

Turning to a group of soldiers, he barked,

“Get that damn stinking corpse out of my truck and dump it in the corner there. Get a crew to bury it before it starts to stink”
Looking back to the Colonel, the General replied,

“You precious scumbag will be quite comfortable here, and soon he will be in the ground where he belongs, and don’t worry, soon you will be joining him”

As the General started to laugh, the Colonel gave him a cold dark stare and replied,

“I will remember this”

“You won’t even remember your name when I am done with you. Take him to the interrogation room and strap him in, I am going to enjoy this.” the General replied.

As the two were taken away, an officer approached the General and said,

“Sir, we went over the Airbase with a fine tooth comb. All but three of the 46 men there are dead, and it looks like the three we have were the only ones in the assault team.”

“Are you serious, there is no way three men could do what you claim. Don’t worry, I will find out where the rest of them are. Come on, your with me, I will show you how to make a scumbag talk”

As the General continued to slam the Colonels head back and forth, Mudface looked on. As the flesh started to swell and blood started streaming from the Colonels mouth and nose, the General kept yelling,

“If you don’t tell me where the rest of your men are, so help me I will show you pain like not even the devil has seen”

Spitting blood from his mouth, the Colonel replied,

“You can do your worst you pathetic small man, but just tremble at the fact that we were only three.”

Feeling frustrate at the twenty minutes of pounding with no results, the General replied,

“You are just lucky that the GNSF want you alive. If I had my way you would be well on your way to a very agonizing death.”

Smiling, the Colonel replied,

“I can accept your torture as part of War, but I cannot accept your disrespectful treatment of our fallen comrade. There are some courtesies and ethics that go well beyond war, and you have violated them. If I had my way you would be well on your way to a very agonizing death, and I always have my way.”

As the Colonel started to laugh, and the Generals temper sharply increased, the door burst open and four men stormed in.

“HOLD FAST!”, the Colonel yelled, and then added,

“What the hell took you so long; I have been stuck here almost half an hour!”

“I’m sorry sir, we just wanted to make sure the timing was right”, Captain Ivanovich replied.

Smiling as he and Mudface were set free, the Colonel asked,

“Is the camp secure?”

“Aye sir, everything out there is dead. Please allow me the honor of gutting this pathetic scum that had the nerve to lay a hand on you?” the Captain asked

“How about we all take turns”, Major Checkhov added

At that, Bosun Stortebeker started to laugh, and added,

“I saw what they did to Long Johns body, Lafitte is gonna blow his nut”

Looking very impatient, the Colonel barked,

“Hold those two and get me out of these restraints”

As the group exited the building, they walked over to the body of Long John. Klaus Stortebeker immediately picked up the body and said,

“I will carry Long John; I am heading to the extraction zone.”

“OK, Checkhov, go with I’m, and if you see anything moving, feel free to kill it. Captain, tie this little worm here to that post, and hold the dear General here until I get back, I need some paper and few other things”

After a while of standing there with the Captain staring at him as if he was the next meal, the General pondered what would happen next. After several tense minutes being stared at with no words spoken, the Colonel returned with a toolbox and some paper. Sitting on a log, he started writing a note, and when finished he put it down.

As the officer tied to the post watched, the Colonel proceeded to nail the General to a second post with huge spikes. As the General cried out in pain, the Colonel pounded the last spike in, and then proceeded to impale the General in the stomach with a very large rusty metal rod. After working it in good, he turned to the other officer and said,

“Don’t worry, you will not be harmed, I want you to tell all what happened here today and that actions like that of the General here will not be tolerated”

As the General writhed in pain, the Colonel said to him in a soft voice,

“Do not worry sir, you will not die…. fast. It will take some time before you pass, but as I am sure you already know, belly wounds are a very nasty thing”

Once the Colonel fixed the note to the Generals body with a three-inch nail, he and Captain Ivanovich headed out to meet the other two at the extraction point. As they left, the officer looked over at the General, still writhing in pain and semi conscious, with the large note nailed to his chest.

BotC Base, Dubrovnik

As the Colonel rested in his bunk, he started to feel restless. The ordeal of being a POW, even it was only for about half an hour, built up a rage inside of him. As he got up and went outside, he tried to shake the feeling of needing to obliterate something, anything. As he walked to the mess hall to find something there to eat, he was called by Billyboy,

“Colonel Sir, I hope you are feeling well today, I’m sure glad we got you back from those tacky Italians”

Turning, the Colonel smiled and replied,

“I want to thank you for acting so fast with the rescue force, now I know why Lafitte talks so highly of you.

Smiling, Billy replied,

“No need to thank me sir, any friend of Lafitte’s is worth dying for. Speaking of which, he should be here within a day or two. I wish he was here to deal with the Muslim pain in the asses.”

With a smile that grew bigger, he could see that this could be exactly what he needed to shake the nasties. A nice stealthy sweep and destroy mission. Feeling a rush come over him at the possibilites, the Colonel asked,

“What Muslim’s are you talking about, please Billy, fill me in”

“Well, we have most of them under control, but a group of armed militia has been running little raids against some of our outposts. We finally tracked them down to a Mosque in a remote northern part of Bosnia near Cazin. There is quite a collection of them there, and they are pretty well organized. I am sure that Lafitte will want to blow it up personally”

Pondering the situation for a moment, and feeling the rush highten in his body, the Colonel replied,

“Why wait, I will take care of this little problem for you. Get the details together and I will take a small group out and clean sweep the area for you”

“Well sir, you just got back and you should rest, this is trivial to bother yourself with”, Billy replied.

“Good, trivial carnage is exactly what I need right now, and far better to do it in Cazin than snap here, wouldn’t you say”, the Colonel said with a evil cold smile.

Feeling a bit nervous, and not wanting to be a trivial that ends up on the wrong end of a snap, Billy replied,

“I will get you all the information you need in just a few minutes, if you’re sure you want to do this. I am sure that Lafitte will be pleased as punch to have those bothersome bugs exterminated. Please take whatever you need and feel free to grab anybody you want to take with you. You will find no shortage of pirates looking for blood”.

Brindisi Airbase ,  Italy

As Admiral Wallbanger got ready to head out to the prison camp; he pondered what this Colonel would be like. He missed the chance to slap Long John around, but maybe he would get a chance with these two. As he put on his coat, he reached into his drawer and pulled out a 45 caliber Glock, the headed for the door. Just as he was about to open the door, it opened by itself and the Fleet Admiral stepped in.

“Damn Boss!, I know you were pissed about me heading out to the prison the first time, but are you really that pissed you’re going to shoot me?”

Realizing he was standing there with the Glock in his hand, the Admiral started laughing and replied,
“No, but if I’m going out there I want to make sure I have at least something to protect myself if they send in a rescue force.”

“You better sit down for this one Boss, and put that thing back in your desk”, the Fleet Admiral directed.”

As the Admirals head slumped down, he walked over and sat back at his desk, with his coat still on, and put the gun back in the desk. Looking up, and not too happy, he said,

“Let me guess, you’re going out the instead”

“Well, not exactly. I just received an update; they have already hit the prison and freed the POWs. Seems they were at the prison less than thirty minutes before the rescue crew came in and killed everyone, except one. They left him alive to tell the story.” The Fleet Admiral replied.

Looking surprised, and not really believing it, the Admiral replied,

“There is no possible way they could launch a rescue in thirty minutes unless there was already a second group there. The Italians probably missed a group.”

Looking serious, the Fleet Admiral shook his head and said,

“No, we checked the data and there is no possible way there could have been a second group. They had 400 plus men between the prison and Base looking for another group. The only way this group could have attacked is from the north. Recon of the area indicates that is exactly the way they came.”

“Well, then that just means there were two groups doing two tasks and when one got in trouble, the other came to help”, the Admiral replied, even though he knew there must be more to this.

“Well, we considered that, but the fact there are two high value assets north west of the camp, and there were not touched, it looks like it was a specific rescue.”, the Fleet Admiral reiterated.

Thinking about it for a while, the Admiral put his head in his hands and mumbled,

“Great, so I guess that means they have a camp here somewhere. DAMN! Just what I need, a damn hide and seek hunt with nutcases at the doorstep.”

After pausing a while the Admiral stewed a bit, the Fleet Admiral finally piped up and said,

“Yep. But we know where they are”

The Admirals head shot straight up with a bit smile, and then pausing, the smile drifted away as he replied,

“OK, but there is something more that makes this crap again, isn’t there. Like we had them but they moved, or we know where they are, but some rule prevents us from getting them. I KNOW the other shoe is going to fall, so just tell me and get it over with”.

Smiling, the Fleet Admiral replied,

“We know where they are, and we are going to send in a team to vaporize them. Period. No other shoe”.

As the Admiral again started smiling, he asked,

“When are we going in?”

“Soon. We need to assemble a very good team to do this. It is an old listening post on a beach with very good defensibility. This will need to be a stealth sweep and kill mission. Oh, and these are probably not run of mill pirates, we believe most of this elite squad are members of the Black Squad, the best that the Soviets ever created.”

Without losing the smile on his face, the Admiral replied,

“I don’t care if they are reincarnated Vikings from Valhalla, I want to personally remove them from the face of the earth.”

Prison Camp , Checnyan Republic (by LT Drop-Bear)

"Deja Vu Anyone?" Whispered LT Drop-Bear into his throat mike.

"Not unless you have any Mustard to go with it", replied Commander BeerDawg.

Once again, the GNSF SEAL Team was sitting atop a familiar embankment, looking at a familiar view of a familiar Prison Camp.
However, that was where the familiarity ended.

This time, there was only a team of four. They had HALO'd in from a specially modified C17 'loaned' from a "Friendly Country" which couldn't be directly involved. As a result the aircraft could fly fairly close to their target, following the regular flight traffic lanes at high altitude, except that the radar signature and transponder signaled "BNG 747 HVY" to the querying air search radars, followed by the flight number of a regular commercial run, which had been "delayed, due to engine trouble", and was still sitting on the Apron of Rome's "Leonardo da Vinci" international airport, whilst GNSF paid flight technicians 'clucked' over engine panels with very rehearsed concerned looks on their faces.

HALO (High Altitude Low Opening, to the un-initiated), is in some nature similar to HAHO, except there's more of a 'Rush', as the new composite parachute material permitted a free-fall from forty thousand feet to 'full chute deployment' at two thousand. Naturally that meant no time to deploy a reserve chute if the first failed, the secondary chute was merely a 'placebo' and more often than not was used to carry away the 'bag of jelly' remains of the 'bouncer' (term used to describe the behavior of a parachutist's body on impact with the ground).

HALO'ing was once described as "Bungee jumping from a helicopter at ten thousand feet with the cord attached around your testicles".
This referred to the 'sensation' of the parachute harness tightening around the groin area as the canopy 'bloomed'. Therefore, it was essentially important to get a good fitting harness just in case you lived long enough for successful procreation with a woman to whom you didn't introduce yourself using your squad leader's name.

The fact was that 'terminal velocity' was reached regardless of whether you jumped from forty thousand or twelve thousand feet, so the sensation was the same except for a 'psychological aspect', but this was "somehow neglected" to be explained to Special Forces troops on their first few training jumps.

This time they patrolled in from the drop zone at a more agreeable distance of 18 miles from the target. Naturally they approached from a different direction, however, this time there had been no 48-hour intense preparation period, they knew the layout from their previous visit, and as a 'backup' Commander BeerDawg had been involved in both the work-ups and debriefing process. This time they wanted timing as a surprise factor; the pilot - Admiral Sparks had only been captured some 12 hours previously. It was hoped that no one would expect a rescue operation so soon, especially as the GNSF had no "Secret encampments" located nearby unlike their adversaries.

Besides, who knew? Such an early effort may bring the BOTC's Intel to the wrong conclusions, making them squander resources, scouring the countryside for such a "hidden Cache of SEALS".

The equipment load was also lighter: The leader, Lieutenant Drop-Bear had decided to outfit the team with two snipers and two demolitions experts (for backup redundancy), all with silenced weapons. They knew about the tank this time around, but had decided that evading it like the previous time was easier and quieter than shooting a LAW (Lightweight Anti-Armor Weapon) at it. Besides, if they missed, it would really hit the fan!

So, once again, they found themselves atop what they now termed the "Grassy Knoll", waiting for the clockwork patrols to come into range of the sniper's night vision goggles and starlight scopes.

The thud of bodies collapsing, and the groan of the final exhalations of breath was noisier than the 'clicks' of weapons discharge, all of which were seemingly soaked up by the cloak of darkness enveloping all but the search lights of the corner guard towers standing sentry over a still dozing complex.

"Ok, gentlemen you know what to do, on to phase line two",

"Oh and you are a poet but do not know it", retorted Captain Alpha.

Once again, they waited for the (also clockwork), patrol truck, and once again they minced the occupants, however, this time it was the passenger of the driver's cab that was nimble footed enough to escape the fusillade and hide behind the body of the riddled wreck.
"Not this time buddy" whispered Admiral Wallbanger, and with a whisper quiet cough of his rifle, he sent the body reeling into the bushes at the side of the track.

Phase Line 3 was quietly executed with the precision of a well-rehearsed set piece, Admiral Wallbanger silently slotting guards from the gate tower, and Captain Alpha doing the same from the corner of the tower's exit doorway.

As the team crawled under the wooden huts, Drop-Bear covered the arc to their right flank.

"Wait one. I see a pair of tango's legs between the second group of huts on right, let me see if I can knee cap him from here".

Sound of faint rattle.

"No need Lieutenant, he walked into my sites and asked for it", Commander BeerDawg's voice cut in.

"Ok, please cover me, I'll place charges against this SA-13" Drop-Bear had to be polite; after all, the other team members were his superiors...

"But you called it an SA-14 in your last debrief, and that's a..." quipped Alpha,

"Shoulder mounted SAM, yes I know, a SNAFU, on my part for sure, that or a typo, what can I say?" finished Drop.

"Hey, where are they getting all these damn launchers from anyway?" asked BeerDawg.

"What, didn't you see them in the latest Wall Mart catalogue? Reduced to clear...", Admiral Wallbanger chimed in.

Whilst all this banter helped to ease the tension, not one man took his concentration or view away from their designated fire zones, professionals to the last, but they'd never die without a smile on their faces.

"Ok charge set, there'll be no warranty return on this item, let's push on to phase line four", Drop-Bear switched back to being team leader,

"I'm responsible for five lives this evening; after we get Admiral Sparks out of his retirement home."

In the second gate tower, Admiral Wallbanger once again gave another guard the good news, and the team exited and spread into a defensive formation. Captain Alpha delivering a 7.62mm message to the prison compound guard, whilst Drop-Bear and Admiral Wallbanger simultaneously fired on another, rupturing the remains of organs out of the exit wounds in his back.

"Admiral please go and escort our POW out, Commander, if you could set charges on the ammo crates it would be greatly appreciated".

This time the gate to the prison compound didn't go boom, and soon both Admirals reappeared.

"Hey, I can recognize Admiral Sparks, how come? When we rescued Lieutenant Snipsild I thought his head was a red soccer ball". Drop-Bear; always the 'Nosey Bugger'.

"What, didn't you hear?" Responded Wallbanger "Long John got killed in their last prisoner extract, obviously his replacement must be an intern".

The trip to the extraction point was a quiet and un-eventful after lessons learned from their last visit. As they waited for the extraction helo, listening to the explosions from the timed charges, Drop-Bear asked for a 'critique evaluation' of his performance. Whilst it was all positive (everyone was still alive), he had to remind himself, that it was always easier the second time around.

"What do you think will happen to this place now?" he asked.

"Not sure, but I reckon any future extractions will be a cast iron bitch" concluded Admiral Wallbanger

Four hours later, Lafitte strolled through the facility. The Colonel next to him walked in step, surveying the damage trail, taking mental notes on probable methods of infiltration, and how to counter them.

"Intel indicates that this was the work of at least four SEALS sir, for them to have moved so quick they have to be harboring near here somewhere".

"Oh, I wouldn't count on it. My sources indicate they are forming a new unit, 'The Black Serpents' or something similar; apparently they are quite adept at covert parachuting techniques. They’ve already hit this place once, and it would appear that your predecessor didn't take any lessons to heart from the first time. Well did you Colonel?"

Lafitte and the colonel looked down. In front of them were two compressed tank tracks, and the remains of the previous commandant and the tank commander. They had been tied up, and the tank driven slowly over their struggling forms, starting at the feet, crawling it's way slowly over their heads.

"I will not fail you sir, the next time these snakes slither in here, my men will be dining on them within the hour".

Prison Camp , Checnyan Republic

As Lafitte toured the devastation at the prison camp, he shook his head in disgust. It was good that they had pulled off two prison breaks, but to have the same pulled on them made his mood foul.

“I would expect this kind of sloppy work from the GNSF, but to have our prison breached twice is unacceptable. If they weren’t all dead I would kill them myself.”, he yelled.

Turning to the Colonel, he added,

“Next time we have a prisoner here, and you allow a break, I will have to deal with Colonel Vikhalnakov directly, and I’m sure he won’t be as tolerant as me!”

Just them, Billyboy ran up, looking distressed.

“Sir, I have bad news. That Muslim militia group that is becoming bothersome took out our assault team.”

Turning and looking none too happy, Lafitte screamed,

“WHAT DAMN ASSAULT TEAM!”

Backing up a few steps, Billboy continued,

“Well, when you we on the Sub, the Colonel found out about the group and sent three men to clean house. They did get a lot, but were jumped in the village. I think the Colonel wants to go back in an exact revenge, he seems pretty steamed up about it.”

Lafitte shook his head and replied,

“Well, once he makes up his mind no one is going to talk him out of it. I will let him deal with those pests, while I take care of another problem. Get my plane ready and get some good pilots together, we are going to go blow up some more ****”

As Billyboy started to leave, Lafitte yelled,

“Oh, and I want you to contact the forward base and let them know that they better be ready for a possible attack. I’m sure the GNSF won’t take long to figure out we must have a camp in Italy. Tell them to keep key personnel in the safe area.

Bosnia , Near Cazin

As Colonel Vikhalnakov paced back and forth in the small cave, Checkhov came in a little winded and totally sand beaten. The sand storm that had whipped up shortly after the failed raid came and went in short waves, making any kind of travel virtually impossible. The Muslims seemed to take these in stride, and it appeared not to hamper their efforts.

“What did you see, and tell me they didn’t spot you!”, the Colonel barked.

“No sir, I wasn’t seen. There are still a lot of them there, all hooting and hollering about their victory. They were having a good time desecrating the three fallen comrades, I wanted to shoot so badly”, Checkhov replied.

As the Colonel continued to pace, he turned to Checkhov and replied,

“I know, but I’m glad you didn’t, we need to stay hidden and let them think they have won. So what are they doing apart from desecration?”

“Well, they sent a lot of scouts out to search a huge area around the camp. I had to stay put jammed in a rock hole for most of the day. Those damn sand storms made it hard to see anything most of the time. As night fell, some of the patrols returned and the damn hooting and hollering continued. I think they are comfortable that those three were the only ones, but they will probably be expecting another attack.”, Checkhov detailed.

Still pacing and looking out the cave entrance at the horrid weather, the Colonel smiled. The weather was too bad to send in planes, and with the sand storms whipping up something fierce. Sending an attack force here now would be impossible, and the Muslims knew it. Still smiling, the Colonel commented,

“So, you think we can get any more men out here?”

Looking a bit depressed, Checkhov replied,

“Sir, there won’t be any way to get anyone out here until the sand storms stop. I checked with Command just before I got back here and they said the weather front making these storms won’t blow over for about two more days.”

The Colonel’s smile got bigger, which totally confused Checkhov. As the Colonel continued pacing and nodding his head, he asked,

“So, do you think the Muslims know that we can’t send any forces out in this?”

“Absolutely sir, they know the score as they live with this stuff all the time. They know there is no way in hell we could send another assault force”, Checkhov replied, curious why the Colonel was still smiling.

“So, they know we can’t send any troops in, and they are sure there are no more troops around the area, is that right?”, the Colonel asked.

“Aye sir, that’s why they are hooting and hollering, they know they are safe until..”, Checkhov replied, stopping in mid sentence, then produced a grin ear to ear.

“The storm clears. Yes my friend, they will not be expecting another attack, so surprise is on our side this time”, the Colonel replied, finishing the sentence.

As the group started to laugh, the Colonel looked over warriors there and said,

“We are small, but will be victorious, not only for ourselves, but for our fallen comrades”

Bosnia , Near Cazin

As the Planes closed on the enemy flight detected by their eye in the sky, all were totally fixed on their radar screens. They knew that soon they would all be locked in another life and death battle in the sky.

“Reaper 1, Eyeball 1-2, Enemies bearing 280, 40 miles, 30,000 feet, ID'ed as F-18, two ship”

“OK boys, lets kick some ass, when you get them locked, fire”, Lafitte called out.

As he watched his radar, suddenly two blips appeared. Quickly locking the close one he fired a missile, then switched to the second, locked it and fired. He noticed that both missiles had fired HOJ, so they were homing in on the enemy planes jamming signal. He could also see the vapor trail that was a dead giveaway the enemy planes had also fired missiles.

“OK they have fired, evading”, Lafitte called out.

Knowing that with the missile locks broken by the jammers, he could no longer help them find the targets. As he turned and kicked into afterburner, his RWR light up with two incoming radar guided missiles. These would be hard to loose, as he dove steep to build speed, sending out chaff and flares as he raced towards the ground. As his plane reached almost 800 mph, he pulled up sharply from the steep dive, which took all his energy as the G forces squished him in his seat. As the plane rose, he pulled it into a steep climb, hoping to lose the two missiles, which were now very close. As he turned sharp to the right, the missiles lost lock and he was clear.

Turning back to the enemies bearing, he was shocked to see that the F-18s were gone. Smiling at this good fortune, he set his sights on the four, now unprotected, Jaguar attack planes. As he closed into range, he could hear two of his flight calling off missiles shots. As he took aim at the trailing plane, he let loose another missile. Soon after, the Jaguar was in flames. He also watched as the other Jaguars were sent down in flames one by one by his flight members.

“Eyeball 1-2, Reaper 1-1, request picture”
“Reaper 1-1, Eyeball 1-2, picture is clear, you smoked them all, good job”

As he finally had a chance to breath, but still enjoying the huge rush of the battle, Lafitte checked his MFD and saw one plane was missing.

“Hands, you still with me?”

“Yep, but you’re supposed to say Reaper 1-2, thats me, HAHAHAHA”

Shaking his head, Lafitte replied,

“Who got hit, I see one of us is missing”

“Oh, that was 1-4, the new kid. He is fine, can see his cute and SARs is on the way. He did a good job, as he forced one of the F-18s to shoot two at him, but didn’t evade fast enough. I will buy him a drink when he gets back”, Hands replied.

“Well maybe they will think twice about sending planes over here, as they won’t have many left at this rate, HAHAHAHA”

As both laughed, they turned for home. Looking out the left side, Lafitte could see the SAR chopper already at the splashdown site. He smiled at the smoothness and perfection of it all. Turning off the master arm and setting up for the calm flight home, he pondered how his friend Colonel Vikhalnakiv was making out.

Bosnia , Near Cazin

As the Wind died down, the sand clouds subsided and the air started to grow still. It was now dark and quiet as the group mad ready for their task.

“OK men, let’s move out and do this. Slow and steady, stay alert and watch each other’s back. You all know what to do, let’s do it and all come home”, Colonel Vikhalnakov stated.

As the moved out and headed towards the camp, the Colonel silently took out patrols in the distance. All of a sudden, a Muslim popped out of a dirt hole and started firing, but was cut down by Black beard.

“Nice job Black Beard, we will make a Black Squad member out of you yet. As they continued on, a group came running towards them from the camp. As the ran forward they were cut down one by one before ever seeing the group.

“Well, the element of surprise is gone now, so they will be expecting us. Let’s move slowly and clear the area before we deal with the village.”

As the group moved on, they started taking out patrols all around the camp, while the Colonel took up a sniping spot overlooking the mosque. One by one, he dropped all the militia that were perched on rooftops, so silently others nearby had no idea what was happening.

Once the surrounding area was clear, they came upon a camp deep in a ravine. As the group expertly took out all around, the Colonel made his way to a spot that had a clear view of the main tent. With one soft click, the man hiding in the tent was down. After a check to make sure the camp was clean, they moved on to the Mosque.

As they systematically breached every building, cutting down all inside, they had only a few buildings left to check. Any militia that was still in the area was hiding like rats in a sewer. As they checked one of the last buildings, Thomas Tew heard footsteps, and went back outside to look. Everyone jumped a bit at the sound of AK-47 fire, and before any could get back outside to help, Tew was down.

Looking over to the other two, Checkhov whispered,

“Hold, I will cream that scum with a grenade”

As Checkhov fired the grenade out the door with a “bloop” sound, it exploded sending the enemy flying across the door. They then checked outside and all was clear, so they continued on, clearing the remaining buildings.

Once the camp was totally clear, they gathered in the mosque and relaxed a bit, with Black Beard scanning for any late comers.

“Checkhov, I have a job for you that I think you will like”, the Colonel called.

After detailing what he wanted, Checkhov replied,

“Thank you sir, thank you very much, consider it done. Black Beard, come with me, I’m sure you would love to help with this one”.

As the two headed out, the Colonel walked over to their fallen comrade. He was not Black Squad, but a pirate, but it was all the same. He fought like a Black Squad and would be treated as one. Picking up the Body, the Colonel headed back to the small cave they used as a base. Once there he laid the body of Thomas Tew down and headed back to the Mosque.

As the Colonel crested the hill in front of the mosque, he could see the two busy at work, and having a blast. Taking up a spot to cover any access to the mosque, he stood a silent vigil to keep the two safe as they worked.

After several hours, as the light became to creep across the horizon, the two came up behind the Colonel, and Black Beard said,

“All done sir, and thank you for allowing me to help with this, it brought back good memories from the past. So, do you like what we did to the place?”

As the Colonel turned around, he could see that they had buried all the militia halfway in the ground, with their lower torso and legs sticking out of the ground. It looked like a garden of legs, which was set off nicely with rows upon rows of pikes, each bearing the severed head of a militia member.

As he gazed at the utter carnage, he turned to the two and replied,

“Boy, you two do nice work; let me take a picture for Lafitte”

Brindisi Air Base, Italy

As the group got off the Black Hawk and headed across the tarmac, the Admiral turned to Lieutenant Manny and Commander Beardawg and said,

“Excellent work guys, you’ve earned a rest, go get something to eat and relax. Commander Beardawg, before you head out, I need you in my office for 5 minutes.”

As Lieutenant Manny headed for the mess hall, pleased with the complete success of the mission, the other three headed for the command center. As Admiral Wallbanger walked on with the Commander, he noticed the Fleet Admiral was way ahead of them, and not looking happy at all. The Admiral decided to keep the gap until they all got to the War room, where he knew the source of the Fleet Admirals foul mood would be revealed.

As the three entered the room, Rear Admiral Swordfish was waiting, and called,

“Welcome back sirs, I hope it went well, even though I told you two not to go out on the front line yourselves”

“It went great, we walked in, killed them all, and gave the base back to the Italian troops, hopefully they can keep it secure this time. So, a total success and no casualties, that deserves a drink”, the Admiral answered.

“Yea, that was too easy; these guys are a push over. Can’t wait to go out again”, the Commander added.

Sitting down at the table, and still looking pissed off; the Fleet Admiral sat pondering something.

“OK boss, I know the look, something’s up and it’s driving me crazy. You haven’t said two words since we left the outpost”, the Admiral questioned.

“That is because all that needed saying needed to be said here behind closed doors. So, before you break out the bubbly, have a seat.”

As the three sat down wondering what could be up, the Fleet Admiral continued,

“It was too easy. The men they had there were green, most died without ever knowing they were shot. They were not Spetsnaz, they were cannon fodder.”

Looking confused, the Admiral replied,

“Well, once they had the base they wouldn’t need highly trained fighters there, just grunts to hold it, I don’t see the problem”

“The problem is that if that base was being used for these prison breaks and other assaults, where are the Spetsnaz guys. None of the ones we killed looked anywhere close. Nope, they have another base somewhere, and that one was just to appease us.”, the Fleet Admiral answered.

As the group pondered the possibilities of this, Commander Beerdawg added,

“Yea, they did seem pretty unprepared and lame for super soldiers now that you mention it.”

“This doesn’t leave this room, but we keep looking covertly for a REAL base, and it will be somewhere close to the prison camp. Let them think we are convinced we got there base, and maybe they will slip and give the real base away. When we do find it, it sure won’t be a cake walk to clear it”, the Fleet Admiral explained, and then added,

“Regardless, you all did a good job so go get some rest and food. I will get the Intel guys looking for the base without letting on what they are looking for, and then we can deal with the real BotC forces”

Secret Base , Somewhere in Italy

 As Lafitte walked into the infirmary, he saw Colonel Vikhalnakov lying in a bed and connected to a lot of tubes and wires. Turning to the Doctor, an old guard Soviet himself, he asked,

“So doc, is he going to make it?”

“He should be dead, but the bastard is too ornery to die”, the doctor replied in a matter of fact voice.

“Don’t make me get up a smack you, you old coot” the Colonel mumbled from the bed.

Smiling, Lafitte went over to the bed, then turning to the doctor asked,

“Can I have a few words with him doc?”

“Sure, like I care. Feel free to yank a few tubes out if he get grumpy, I am going to get something to eat. If he dies, just leave me a note”, the doctor replied as he left the infirmary.

Looking surprised, and a little pissed off, Lafitte started playing with his side arm, contemplating using the doc as a target practice dummy. Noting Lafitte’s distaste, the Colonel forced out,

“Don’t mind him, we are very good friends, plus he is the best doctor on the planet even if his mannerisms suck”

“So what the hell were you thinking, going out there, we have people we pay to do this sort of thing, they are called soldiers.”, Lafitte Barked

“You know me, I’m not happy unless I’m in the fight, and you are one to talk Mr. Flyboy!”, The Colonel replied in a deep half-dead voice.

Lafitte started to laugh, then replied.

“Well, you sure did cream the port; that fuel depot made a huge fireball, and both those subs were sunk. Oh, and the GNSF took back the outpost like you figured they would. Now we should be able to move a little more freely”.

“Don’t trust that they bought it, they are not stupid. Make sure the next excursion is for a really good target, we will only get one more free shot before they hunt for this base. We need to keep a very low profile until we strike again, no one goes out except the recon guys at night, understood”, the Colonel coughed out.

“OK, got it. Now you rest while I go look for something good to blow up”

Zadar Naval Base , Lika

As Admiral Wallbanger sat in the tiny room on a hard wooden cot, he tried to stand up but the pain was too much. During the parachute landing, he had twisted his leg, which was either sprained or broken. Either way, he was in no shape to try to go anywhere.

As he wondered how he would get himself out of this mess, the door opened and two men walked in. One was armed, while the other was in some funky pirates clothing carrying a dirty canvas bag. The Admiral started to chuckle at the sight, but then stopped as a sharp pain ran up his leg.

“So fly boy, who might you be, I would like to tell my boss who we got here when he gets back”, the skinny pirate asked.

The Admiral sat there saying nothing. As the Pirate started going through the effects the Admiral had landed with, he noticed a patch. Smiling, he turned and asked,

“Come on, who are you? I see you have a HQ patch, which makes you one of the GNSF overlords”, as he started to laugh.

The Admiral sat there, then stated,

“You are wasting your time you fashion reject, I won’t give you, or anyone else anything of any importance. Send your boss Lafitte in, and tell him Admiral Wallbanger wants to personally ring his throat”

At this, the pirate started laughing, which drew a smile from the armed guard. Turning to the guard, the pirate said,

“OK, you can leave us and bring the Admiral here back some food, and make it the good stuff, and get some better quarters for him, something fitting an Admiral. “

As he turned back to the Admiral, he added,

“Well Admiral, I know I’m not much, but looks like you’re stuck with me, as I am the official interrogator, so I better get down to it.”

At that, the pirate sat down at the small table and just looked at the Admiral. Feeling a bit confused, the Admiral barked,

“Listen, cut the crap and get that scumbag Lafitte in here, that way I can look him in the eye and then break him in two.”

“Sorry Admiral, I would like to help you out, but I have my orders. I must say, you sure do have a set on you, I like that. Anyway, let’s get this started, the sooner I am done with you the sooner we can both get some food”

Looking at the scrawny pirate, the Admiral laughed and replied,

“OK you sad skinny excuse for a human, do you best, just let me know if I am making you work too hard”.

Shaking his head, the pirate asked,

“Damn I like your spunk, you would make a great pirate. OK, back to the task at hand. So you are Admiral Wallbanger, the Chief of Naval Operations for the GNSF, is that correct?”

“YES I AM!, now let’s get on with it, though I doubt you have what it takes to get anything useful out of me”, the Admiral yelled back,  which caused another shooting pain in his leg, making him grimace.

Looking on, the pirate got up and went to the door. As he opened it, he spoke to one of the two guards outside,

“The Admiral looks in pain, Get the doctor to come by and make sure he is treated”

Closing the door, the pirate sat back down. At this point the Admiral was getting totally confused and asked,

“Look, are you going to start your interrogation or jerk me around, I know I have all day but if you’re not ready I will grab a few winks, so I don’t have to look at your ridiculous outfit.”

As the Pirate smiled, then started to laugh. After a moment or two of laughing, with the Admiral wondering if this guy was even the least bit sane, the pirate replied,

“Boy Admiral, you kill me. If things were different I bet we could be pals. Anyway, I’m done.”

Just then, the Doctor came in with a nurse and went over to the Admiral. After looking over the Admiral leg, the doctor commented,

“I’t broken, I will have to put it in a cast. It seems to be in place ok and should heal as good at new. “

As the Pirate sat there, the doctor proceeded to place a cast on the leg. Once he was done, he packed up and left with the nurse.

“I will make sure we get you some proper accommodations so you can rest that leg. It looks like you need to get some sleep, so I will leave you to it”

Looking very confused, the Admiral asked,

“Let me get this right, you’re DONE? What kind of interrogation school did you go to?”

“Well, it’s simple. All that I wanted to know is whom we have as a POW. As for information, just the fact you are you means the GNSF will be coming for you and is all we need to know”, the pirate replied.

Just then, a guard came in and laid a good spread of food on the table, then left. Getting up and moving to the door, the pirate turned and said,

“Eat up Admiral, and if you want anything else, just ask for me and I will do what I can”

Looking at the food, the Admiral replied,

“Sure looks good, drugged or poisoned, which one?”

As the pirate started to laugh, he walked back over to the table and picked up one of the turkey legs. Taking a few big bites, then wiping his hands on his shirt, replied,

“Don’t worry, there is nothing wrong with the food, I have no time for games. Eat if you like, or not, and if you need anything feel free to ask for me”

As the pirate picked up his bag and headed for the door, the Admiral called out,

“Before you go, let me say you don’t strike me as the typical psychotic pirate. You have been kind and if you want I can get you out of here when I’m busted out.”

At that the pirate stopped in his tracks and started to laugh, he turned back and replied,

“Just because I’m not torturing you does not mean I am looking to go over to the dark side, HAHAHAHA, and become your prisoner. I find nothing wrong with being civil, even though we are at war. It does not mean I do not respect some of the people over in GNSF. It also doesn’t mean that just because I am nice that I won’t kill every single one of them.”

The Admiral looked the pirate straight in the eyes and said,

“Maybe so, but you are not like the rest I have seen and battled with. If you help me escape I will make sure you are not held as a prisoner, but a free man”

Again, the pirate started to laugh and exclaimed,

“I would end up a trophy prisoner, thanks but no thanks. You will be treated well while you are here, but do not think for a moment that you know me. I am BotC, I am what you refer to as scum, and I am sure you would kill me if you got the chance. So, behave and you will be fine, which is more than I can say for anyone that tries to free you.”

As the pirate opened the door, the Admiral, noticing the grubby bag, called,

“Wait, you haven’t even told me your name, and what the hell are you lugging around in the damn bag”

Turning back, the pirate reached in and pulled out the severed head of Admiral Kim Jung Il, and replied,

“This, oh this is just a reminder to me that sometimes even close friends can get power hungry and lose their heads, HAHAHAHA.”

Shocked, the Admiral barked,

“Who the hell are you?”

Smiling, the pirate replied,

“I’m the one whose neck you wanted to ring, but you can call scumbag, HAHAHAHAHA. Eat and rest, I am sure soon I will have the Fleet Admiral himself here to keep you company soon.”

As Lafitte left the room, the Admiral went red faced and his anger rose. For a brief moment, he was starting to like this guy.

Brindisi Air Base, Italy

As Admiral Wallbanger tried to get comfortable in the hospital bed, he shifted from side to side. Lying here was driving him nuts, and if not for the leg sling hanging above him, he would have tried to get up long ago. As he shifted around looking for a comfortable spot, the nurse called out,

“Please Admiral, just try to relax. Let me know if you need any pain medication if your leg starts hurting.”

“I don’t want any pain killers, I want a set of wire cutters to get free of this damn swing set I’m tied too”, the Admiral replied.

As the nurse chuckled and left to do her rounds, the Fleet Admiral came in.

“Well this is a first, getting to see you stationary for once”, the Fleet Admiral chuckled.”

“Come on Boss, cut me free and let me get back to work”, the Admiral pleaded.

“Nope, the doctor says you are to stay put until the last set of X-rays comes back. He said the BotC doctors did a good job with the case, you must have not pissed them off too much”, the Fleet Admiral commented.

Shaking his head, the Admiral thought back to the whole ordeal. Still trying to get comfortable, he finally found a spot that was bearable. Looking at the fleet Admiral, he said,

“Damn I am so pissed at the whole thing. Getting taken prisoner sucks, but from there it just went really stupid”

Looking back, the Fleet Admiral asked,

“So, you want to talk about what happened?”

“Well, after getting dumped in a small room, I was visited by this stupid looking skinny pirate, who said he was the official interrogator. After I told him what I thought of him and his group, I told him to send in Lafitte so I could ring his neck”.

As the Fleet Admiral started laughing, the Admiral continued his story

“Then, he gets up, tells a guard to bring me some food and the doctor. They fix my leg and bring a huge spread of food. So, I scream at him to get on with it, and he asks me who I am. That was it, no torture, not trying to get info. Then they move me to that nice barracks and I start to wonder if I’m at the damn Holiday Inn. Then he tells me if I need anything to ask for him”

Smiling and shaking his head, the Fleet Admiral chuckled,

“Well, looks like you found yourself a friend”

Shaking his head, the Admiral relied,

“Yea, that’s the problem, I actually liked the guy and asked him to help me escape, told him we would not make him a prisoner.”

“Good plan, did he go for it?”

“No, he laughed and told me just because he was being civil didn’t mean he would help. Then as he is leaving, carrying this ugly bag, I ask him what it was. He pulls Admiral Kim’s head from the bag, and then tells me to let him know if I need anything”

As the Fleet Admirals head drops, he mumbles

“Let me guess”

“Yep, it was Lafitte. Then I got really pissed, as I actually started to like the guy I want to disembowel. Why couldn’t he just torture me a bit?”

Looking at the Admiral, the Fleet Admiral replied,

“He may be nice at time, and may be civilized at times, but he is still an insane scumbag who I will exterminate. If nothing else, at least he has some fractional form of ethics, at least sometimes”

At that, the Fleet Admiral took out some pictures and held one up. They showed bodies half buried upside down with severed heads stuck on long poles next to them, then said,

“As you can see, sometimes the ethics go out the window. They seem to fight the style of fight based on the advisory. Seems if the enemy gets nasty, like these Muslims who desecrated the bodies of BotC soldiers killed in the first attack, they respond in kind, tenfold.”

Looking at the pictures, the Admiral replied,

“Well I’m sure glad I got drum sticks and not head sticks”

BotC Base, Dubrovnik

As Lafitte sat in his office, looking over recon photos, Colonel Vikhalnakov walked in, with a slight limp.

“What are doing out of bed!”, Lafitte asked

“I am fine, the doctor gave me a clean bill of health, so I hopped a transport and came to see what’s going on”, the Colonel replied.

“Well, the GNSF destroyed a power plant with a missile strike, they rescued their Admiral, and my flight was ambushed and I had to land without power.”

Looking at Lafitte, the Colonel tried to figure out why he was not throwing one of his usual fits when things went bad. After a while of watching him go over recon data, the Colonel asked,

“OK, so why are you so mellow?”

“Well, I’m sure not going to get stressed by any successes the GNSF has, as we are doing very well overall.  Besides, they are doing better than I thought; they are out thinking us most of the time.”

Now looking confused, the Colonel replied,

“OK, so that makes even less sense, what is going on in your devious mind?”

Lafitte smiled and slid a recon photo across the desk. It showed a large air base complex, with a lot of activity on it. As the Colonel looked over the photo, Lafitte commented,

“That is the GNSF base at Brindisi, and I am going to smash it good HAHAHAHAHA!!!”

As the Colonel looked over the picture a bit closer, he exclaimed,

“I hope you’re not serious, this is the most protected target they have. No one in his right mind would try to attack it. The coast is heavily mined and patrolled by dozen of ships, making a sub attack impossible. Even if you fired off 100 TLAMs, none of them would get through. As for an air strike, once they picked you up they would have dozens of planes all over you.”

Without breaking his smile, Lafitte replied,

“Exactly. Therefore, they would never expect an attack that would never succeed. This time they will out think themselves.”

As Lafitte started to laugh, the Colonel shook his head and replied,

“Well, if you’re nuts enough to try it, then good luck. One thing though, before you get yourself killed, give me something to attack before I go stir crazy.”

BotC Base, Dubrovnik

As Lafitte walked again into the infirmary, he saw Colonel Vikhalnakov back in the same cot, this time more messed up than before. Looking at him, Lafitte stated,

“Well my friend, you’re done. The Doctor says you will be good to move in a day or so, and then I am shipping you back to our Home Base in Siberia”

Looking up, the Colonel was about to speak when Lafitte added,

“Don’t bother, you’re going. This battle is nearing its end, one of which I will make sure leaves a lasting impression. Your being shipped out in two days and that’s all there is to it. There will be more battle to fight later.”

Looking up, the Colonel nodded his head. Just then, Captian Ivanovich walked in and sat down at the Colonels bedside. As he smiled, Lafitte called over,

“Captain, you can go with the Colonel when he heads home, you and your men have done great work, and you deserve a break.”

Smiling, for probably one of the few times in his life, Ivanovich replied,

“Thank you sir, but I am not ready to leave just yet, I have a score to settle with the GNSF. Once I finish that, we will head home.”

Lafitte nodded his head then headed out of the infirmary and out into the courtyard. As he walked over to his office, Billy, who was jumping around almost as insanely as Lafitte himself does, chased him down.

“Sir, news of last night’s battle. The GNSF attacked the container yard, but were driven out. Seems that of the six sent in, four were taken out, one of them was the GNSF Fleet Admiral.”

A Frown came across Lafitte’s face, as he commented,

“Damn, I really wanted to kill him myself and stick his head in my bag. Oh well, can’t always win I guess.”

Clearing west of Termoli, Italy

As the wind pushed the Parachute down the slope of the mountains, the ground slowly grew closer. Soon, he was drifting over some treetops towards a large clearing. As he steered the chute the best he could, he made a soft landing in a large clearing. As he started gathering up the chute to hide, he heard a distinct sound come from behind him. He knew the sound, the familiar click, which could only come from a weapon.
As he spun around, he came face to face with over a dozen armed Italian forces.

“Put the hands up high and try not to give me any reason to shoot you where you stand”, the officer called out.

As the placed the pilot in cuffs, he was lead to the back of a large truck and sat on a bench.

“Who are you”, another officer asked.

“I am a pilot with the BotC, but you already knew that”, the pilot replied.

“Don’t get smart, what is your name and rank”, the officer barked, shoving the pilot with the butt of his automatic weapon.

“Relax, my name is Billy Boy, and my rank is… well, I’m the cook, run errands, and do what else the boss has me do”, the pilot responded.

“Oh great, so your one of those damn pirates, and you actually fly a plane, that’s a twist”, the officer joked, then continued,

“I am Corporal Bruno Metsa. So, you must know that nutcase Jean Lafitte?”

Looking back at the officer, the pilot smiled and replied,

“Aye, I do, he is my boss. I do what he asks, when he asks”,

Turning to his other fellow officers, flashing them a look, then turning back to the pilot, the Corporal commented,

“Ahh, so Lafitte will probably want you back?”

At that, the pilot laughed hysterically, and chuckled,

“Yea right, he wouldn’t waste his damn dog to get me free. Why the hell do you think I was stuck flying this suicide mission, he was pissed at me for selling some things that he felt were possibly his.”

Looking confused, the Corporal asked,

“If he doesn’t give a crap about you, then why the hell are you working for him?”

Looking the Corporal in the eyes, with a face that had lost all trace of a smile, he replied,

“Because, a long time ago, he got my family out of a very troubled spot in Bangkok. They were to be put to death for several failed business ventures. I swore my allegiance to him and have been his kicking dog ever since. Now that my family is gone, I consider my debt paid, and since walking away is not an option, I had to think of something more creative.”

Still looking directly in the pilots eyes, the Corporal queried,

“So you’re saying you got shot down on purpose? You really think I am going to believe that, why not just fly off or land at an airbase?”

“Check your Intel; you will see I was in a formation of four planes, one piloted by Israel Hands, Laffite’s number one. If I had tried to defect of break formation I would have been shot down, and they would have made sure I DIDN’T land in one piece. Not to mention why do you think I turned for this clearing in the first place, I could see you fools from 5,000 feet. Next time, make sure the tree canopy doesn’t have huge holes”.

Pondering this turn of events, the Corporal tried to connect the dots and find holes in the tall tale. After a while, the Corporal asked,

“So, you must have valuable info, and since you don’t want to be part of the BotC anymore, you would gladly share it with us?”

“Yes, but I will be honest, I don’t know anything of importance, unless how Laffite likes his food is considered important. I will be totally honest with you, I am probably useless to you, so if you want to just shoot me, feel free, I am just so tired of all of it. If you don’t want to shoot me, I would be happy sitting in a prison and rotting there, as long as you make sure it’s not somewhere Laffite will find me.”

After considering what the pilot just said, the Corporal barked back,

“Why, I though you said he wouldn’t come to bust you out?”

“He won’t, he will fly in and level the place just to make sure I’m dead. And before you tell me he could never do that, who the hell do you think was flying the plane that creamed that power plant?”

The Corporal turned and walked away, then started pacing. As he tried to figure out what he was going to do with this guy, the pilot screamed out,

“STOP IT!!”

Turning back, the Corporal asked,

“Stop what; what the hell are you talking about?”

“Stop the damn pacing. Laffite does it and it makes me crazy. For heaven’s sake, just shoot me now, far better to go quick and rob Laffite of a shot at me.”

Turning away, the Corporal walked over to an officer and ordered,

“Take this guy to the compound Campobasso, and notify the GNSF HQ that we have a disenchanted pirate. Make sure you are careful as I don’t want to lose my first POW capture.”

As the Pilot was loaded onto the truck, the group all headed out, except the Corporal and a small group of about 20 soldiers. As the Corporal watched the vehicles drive off, he turned to the others and yelled,

“OK, back to it. We need to clear this section so we can get the hell out of here, not that I expect any enemy camp in this crappy part of the country.

As the soldiers started to fan out and search, they gradually left the clearing and headed west into another wooded patch.

“They are gone sir”, a voice whispered softly from a thick under brushed area.

“Aye, we will wait until they are all in the woods and out of sight before moving”, a whisper replied.

As the last of the Italian forces disappeared into the tree line, all was quiet. Just then, two bushes seemed to come alive and stand up.

“OK, let’s get back to camp, and let’s be very careful as we need to get this information back to Captain Ivanhov.”

“Roger that sir, I know he will be pleased that we now know where they are taking Laffite”

As the two human bushes moved slowly and silently into the northern tree line, the clearing again became still and quiet.

Secret Camp at Campobasso, Italy

As the trucks pulled up to a desolate looking camp, they stopped just outside a large stone fort. This old structure, which was several hundred years old, had been converted into a base for the elite Italian Special Forces. Here, they coordinated most of the covert operations they put forward, far from prying eyes.

As the trucks emptied, the pilot was removed from the back of the truck. Looking around, the pilot could see a few small-scattered villages and camps, way out in the middle of nowhere.

“Don’t you worry, your friend Lafitte will never find you here”, the Corporal chuckled.

Shaking his head, the pilot replied,

“Boy, it happens all the time, you guys underestimate Lafitte and it comes back to bite you in the ass. You should have picked a better place, this hole has no air defenses, and we will be easy pickings.”

Laughing, the Corporal said,

“He won’t find us here, but unless you want us to tell him where you are, you better start cooperating and answer all our questions”

As the Corporal started to lead the pilot to the large stone fort, a huge explosion ripped through the quiet air to the west. Looking over, they could see a huge fireball erupting on the horizon. Turning to one of the officers, the Corporal yelled,

“Damn, they have hit the Ammo dump, take cover”

As all ran for cover, the Pilot just stood there in the open. Seeing this, the Corporal yelled,

“Get down you fool, unless you want to die”

Smiling, the pilot replied,

“They have sent in some planes, so cover is not going to help. I’m safer in the open than in that stone tomb you call a fort, that won’t last one run”

As the soldiers moved out towards the site of the explosion, they strained to hear the sound of planes, but nothing was heard. As the Corporal reluctantly ran back to the pilot’s position, he grabbed the pilot and tried to pull him down.

“At least get down you idiot, I don’t want you to get hit on my watch”

Smiling, but staying upright, the pilot replied,

“You are concerned for my safety, that’s sweet. Don’t worry, I will make sure you aren’t killed; you have been a good egg throughout all of this. I must however recommend you drop your weapon and stand up like me, or the nasty Spetsnaz officer on that hill there will split your skull”.

As the Corporal looked, he could see a bush on top of the hill in the distance, a bush that was defiantly not there 5 minutes ago. Looking around, he could see the bodies of several of his men only yards from him. In an instant of careful contemplation, he dropped his automatic rifle and stood up next to the pilot.

After a moment, a body crested the hill next to the bush, and made its way to the two of them, slowly followed by the bush that now took up a rear guard position. As the soldier reached the two, he spoke,

“Damn Lafitte, I’m getting tired of pulling your ass out of the fire, who is your friend?”

As the Corporals face dropped, the Pilot turned to him and said,

“Yea, sorry about that Corporal, I guess I neglected to tell you who I really was, but don’t worry, I like you”

As Lafitte bent down and picked up the Corporals weapon, he headed towards the hill. Turning back, he replied,

“Take care Corporal, and thanks for the royal treatment. Do me a favor, and stay put, I would hate to see you shot after we bonded so well. You never know how many more snipers are watching at this very moment.”

As the two crested the hill with the walking bush trailing, the corporal sat down and put his hands in his head, wondering how he would ever explain this one.

BotC Secret Base , Somewhere in Italy

As the door opened to the large office, the three prisoners were thrown inside. As they were all shackled together, they all hit the floor with a dull thud. As they got back to their feet, they could see a man sitting at a large desk in front of them.

“You want me to kill them now sir”, one of the soldiers asked.

“No, that is no way to treat guests. I am Captain Ivanovich, and I see you have met the pleasant Major Checkhov”, the Captain replied.

At that, Checkhov gave Lieutenant Manny a shot in the back of the head with his rifle butt, sending him crumpling to the floor, dragging the other two down with him.

“Major, please, you will have more than enough time to play with our guests later, but first I want to have a chat with them.”

As the Major snarled, he went and sat in a small chair in the corner. As the three prisoners got back to their feet, with Lieutenant Drop Bear actually picking Manny up, Captain Wolfking commented,

“Damn, I am going to have to talk to my travel agent, this place is really crappy”, which drew a chuckle from Drop Bear.

“Ah, I love people with a sense of Humor. So, which one of you is the illustrious Admiral Wallbanger”

“None of us, he was killed by one of you scum, and for that I will make sure you die”, Drop Bear blurted out.

The Captain smiled, and replied.

“I like a man with stones. So, who are you?”

“I am Lieutenant Drop Bear, and this is Captain Wolfking and Lieutenant Manny. The others are irrelevant as your goons have already cut them down”, he barked back.

“No, not irrelevant at all. I want to know whom we have regardless of their state, as we are not as you say barbarians. We will send your fallen home so they can be given a proper service”, the Captain explained.

“So, that is why you always take your fallen with you?” Captain Wolfking injected.

“Yes, as no matter what side, a fallen warrior is a warrior none the less.”

As the Captain motioned to a guard at the door, several soldiers brought in the bodies of the two fallen GNSF soldiers.  They were carefully placed inside body bags, and were being handled very carefully. As they laid the bags of the floor, an officer unzipped the top of both bags. Looking on, the Captain asked,

“Can you identify these two so we can make sure they are processed properly?”

Blowing his fuse, Lieutenant Drop Bear yelled,

“What do you mean processed you sick ****, you touch them and I will rip your throat out here and now”

As he lunged forward to the desk, he was stopped fast in his tracks by the shackles, almost pulling Manny over.

Looking back with a stern serious look, the Captain replied,

“What I mean is so they can be sent back to the GNSF properly marked. We do not degrade the dead, and when we have finished with you, we will observe the same procedure.”

Looking on, and more than a little scared, Lieutenant Manny pointed and replied,

“That is Admiral Wallbanger, and that is Admiral Clash”, which drew a nasty elbow from Captain Wolfking.

“Thank you”, the Captain replied and wrote down the names on two small labels. Once he was done, he walked up and affixed the labels to the proper bags, then zipped the tops back up.

“Take them out and have a driver take them to a spot near the Brindisi base, then signal the GNSF on where they can pick them up.”, the Captain instructed.

Looking confused at the fuss over the fallen, Lieutenant Manny commented,

“You are not what I expected, you seem nice and nothing like I was told”

The Captain started to laugh, and then looking at Manny replied,

“We respect fallen officers, but we are far from nice. I suspect you have never before been interrogated by a Spetsnaz officer. Boy are you in for a treat.”

As the Captain continued to laugh, he motioned to the Major sitting in the corner. At this, the Major stood up, and yanking on the shackles barked,

“Let's go ladies; I have a special doctor who is dying to meet you”

As the three were dragged out the door, the Major gave Lieutenant Manny another shot in the head with his rifle butt, sending him crashing to the ground. As lieutenant drop bear reached down and picked up the now unconscious Manny, they were hustled out and across the compound. As the Major was leaving, the Captain called out,

“Major, that’s the second time you gave that soldier a shot to the head?”

Turning back, the Major replied,

“Yea I know, something about him makes me want to whack him upside the head”.

As the Captain burst out laughing, the Major headed out and joined the other three officers dragging the POWS across the compound.

BotC Base, Dubrovnik

As Lafitte sat at his desk, looking over the latest reports on the US Task Force, now entering the Mediterranean, he shook his head and sighed. Just then, Captain Ivanovich, Major Checkhov, Barbarossa, and Black Beard entered the room.

“You wanted to see us?”, the Captain asked.

“Yea, we have some decisions to make. I guess you have all heard the US has finally decided to get their feet wet, I guess better late than never HAHAHAHA”, Lafitte chuckled, then continued,

“We could probably take on the US and stalemate them for months, but to what end. It was Kim Jung’s stupid dream of a country all his own, not mine. We conquer, pillage and move on, the way of Kings. I have no desire to stay and try to hold this **** hole of a country, I want adventure and new horizons”

Smiling, the Captain replied,

“I agree, staying here and fighting is just plain stupid. Even if we won, what the hell do we do with a crappy chunk of land with little to offer, and scumbag Muslim nutcases as neighbors? I say we pack up and move on”.

Lafitte looked at the others who all shook their heads in agreement, with Black Beard adding,

“Aye, we be pirates, not scummy politicians, I just would have liked to get a shot at the US again, that is always fun”.

“Well we don’t have to worry about that, as the latest has the US on a Patrol and protect mission only. They will not engage us unless we try to attack Italy or get too close to them. Latest Intel from the boy’s back home claim they will not cross into our airspace unless attacked, at least officially”, the Major added.

Smiling with his usual evil grin, Lafitte began to chuckle.

“OK Boss, I know that look, you have something downright nasty running around in the skull of yours, share!”, Barbarossa called.

“Your right, all of you. We will pack up all our forces and move out. We head back to the base to plan our next adventure”, Laffite replied.

“BUT….” Black Beard injected.

“BUT, on our way out I want to give the US a shot in the head. Let’s see if we can provoke them into a full scale engagement. Right now, get all the forces moving out, I want all our assets and supplies heading back to the base covertly as possible, except the ones on this list”, Laffite added.

As the two pirates started to laugh, the Captain asked,

“Are you sure you want to do that, you know the US is easily drawn in, and they will throw everything they have at us. Maybe we should leave them and just get out”

Smiling, Lafitte started to laugh, and added,

“Get my plane ready, I have a plan you are going to love”

A Small Hamlet Near Dubrovnik (by LT Drop-Bear)

They Leopard crawled the last two miles through snow and ice, their hands and feet turning blue, taking advantage of the "dead ground" to mask their approach from all but the most concealed lookout.

They where were near physical exhaustion, the build-up of lactic acid in their muscles from the eighty two mile forced march in, coupled with the previous night's "tangle", with some of the remaining Spetznaz "Black Squad" members. The usual feeling of exhaustion as the adrenaline overload wearing off, the base doctors had given them their "Super Shots"; a cocktail of stimulants and other chemicals designed to keep the body going even when it is about to drop from extreme fatigue.

It wasn't as if they had any other alternative: RADM Sparks was due to be executed in sixteen hours time.

Finally, they reached their first phase line, a partly demolished compound with crumbling walls, with gaps viewable to the west, south and east, a sheer rock wall behind them to the North and two old wooden guard towers covering the East and South respectively.

"Ok guys, assume protective positions, I'll scout out to the South, then we will move East, setup some demo charges on their ammo dump, then when they come running, we can snipe at them from the high ground as planned", LT Drop-Bear's filtered voice whispered through each member's ear-piece.

Drop-Bear maneuvered to the edge of the Southern gap, and immediately began picking off Tangos, the closest threats first, then the lookouts situated on top of the snow and ice covered hills. Finally when he was satisfied there was no more movement from this area, Drop ordered the other two team members to cover the Southern gap from a distance, whilst he moved to the Eastern one.

"Admiral Clash, you are our primary asset, only you can set the demo charges, I would much prefer that you remain in cover unless we require your firepower".

As Drop-Bear rounded the edge of the Eastern wall and began picking off targets in that vicinity, his comm-unit earpiece suddenly burst into life.
"Lieutenant, I am getting movement to the South, from what I can determine, they are massing for a counter-attack, I don't have numbers, but there are a lot of them..." Captain Alpha's voice was calm, but with a tinge of concern.

Just then Drop-Bear noticed a fire team sprint from his right into the cover of a large boulder directly in front of him, he controlled his breathing, waiting for parts of anatomy to become exposed and then pierced it with a 7.62mm round from his silenced SR25 sniper rifle. "I don't get it, how are they reacting so fast, how the hell do they know where we are? We're using silenced weapons for F**ks sake!"

"Captain Alpha, you can see the Southern situation better, If you are comfortable and confident enough that you can reach one of those guard towers, please get up there and further assess the situation; take some of those Mothers out if you can".

"Lieutenant watch out! You have one tango right next to you on the other side of the wall".

Admiral Clash's calm voice became almost surreal in Drop-Bear's mind, as he struggled to gain overall situational awareness, whilst now having to concern himself with imminent "In your face" combat.

Within seconds, the Tango rounded the corner, first came the kalashnikov, then the body. Reacting instinctively, Drop pushed his rifle barrel against the rib cage, and fired two rounds shredding heart and lungs, as the body twisted and dropped he repeated the process with the head, leaving an empty "egg shell" skull with the bulk of brains now staining the snow: He had to make sure that the Tango was absolutely dead. At such close range, if he didn't all the enemy needed to do with his dying breath was pull the pin on a grenade.

Suddenly, a fusillade of telltale "Cracks" from super-sonic incoming rounds came over his head right by the guard tower, there was a heavy thud, and blood began to pour through the gaps in the wooden floor.

"CAPTAIN! Alpha! Respond!", the near exhaustion, was now bringing emotion to the fore in Drop-Bear's mind, and emotion is the deadliest of assassins.

"Alpha's gone", came the remorseful reply of Admiral Clash, amidst the noise of ejecting brass from his weapon as he engaged the closing forces to the South.

Checking his Eastern fire zone again for a split second, Drop-Bear made up his mind. "Admiral we have to do a rapid relocate to higher ground about 100 meters to my East, if they don't see it, we can ambush them from there when they finally rush the compound".

"Sounds like a plan Lieutenant - Let's go".

As Drop-Bear rounded the corner of the wall, time froze for him as he felt the impact of several 5.56mm rounds pierce his chest and heart. In front of him, a Tango had just crested the very rise he had determined as a rally point, the smoke from the barrel of his AK74, seemed to curl and dance in sheer ecstasy as it rose into the frigid air. "I have failed", was his last thought, as the world became black, and he fell into the snow's cold embrace.

Admiral Clash, witnessing this event, swiftly took out the offending Tango, then sprinted to the South.

As the sole survivor, all that mattered now was Sparks.

He slowly worked his way around a 'hillock', firstly assessing threat levels and taking out the closest. Constantly moving in prone position, so as to not present a stationary target, he then began to engage the other Tango's at range.

But his weapon was designed for mid-range combat. Frustratingly he had to aim, fire, observe the fall of shot, and then adjust aim again in order to get the round on target. Sometimes this took three or four attempts before he sent a Tango to meet his maker.

The one disadvantage of some silenced weapons is that the "Flash suppressor" is masked by the silencer: A trade-off that means, although you can shoot quietly, there is a bright muzzle flash to mark your location.

Sadly, although Admiral Clash's weapon was performing better than expected for the range of engagement, it was also betraying its master with every shot. Slowly, inexorably, a "noose" was being tightened around the Admiral, who by now was trapped on one side by a deep gorge.

He kept firing, and slotting enemy targets to the very end, and when eventually it did come, it was in the form of a blizzard of rounds both from his side of the ravine, and the other.

Two hours later, Lafitte toured the carnage with Captain Ivanovich and Blackbeard.

"They must have been extremely desperate to throw only 3 SEALS against this unit Comrade Lafitte, Niett?" Ivanovich, as ever was analyzing the situation with the precision of his Spetznaz training.

"Why three? Have we really hurt them that bad? Or have we so demoralized the rest of the SEALS that they are afraid? Now THAT would be excellent news".

"Look at how many of our men they killed though, I don't know whether to punish the rest of this unit or feed these SEALS to the guard dogs", added Blackbeard.

"We shall do neither, there was only three, yet they came to rescue their pilot despite it being daylight, with ground snow and no cloud cover to their disadvantage. I admire their courage and tenacity, we shall return their bodies to their friends" responded Lafitte,

"You see this one here? Intel has identified him as Admiral Clash, this one is Captain Alpha, and finally this one here we do not know, but we do know that the last two were involved in that container yard fight, you two were involved in last night. What conclusions can you draw against this Comrade Ivanovich?"

Ivanovich paused, "The last two would have to have been on the edge of exhaustion, our dog tracking handlers report that their trail stretches back over 100 kilometers ON FOOT! No parachutes this time, it would have been suicide to do so in daylight so close to our main base".

A smile crept over Lafitte's face, "Yes but to send an Admiral in a three man team? I think we can safely assume that we have nearly depleted their reserves of SEALS, now all we have is to decimate their subs, and cut off the remainder of the GNSF's head, and... We will have eradicated the GNSF once and for all."

"I must think on this. Apparently, the UN and US are getting involved now. We must move fast and decisively; if we take the GNSF scum out of the equation, we will yet meet our objectives comrades".

Over the Mediterranean

As the pair of F-18s cleared the skies for the Task force, a group of four MIG-29s popped up on their radar, heading at them. Seeing a possible engagement, the flight lead called to the Carrier

“Fortress 1, Bat 1, Bogey bearing 035, 80 mile and closing, request permission to engage”

“Bat 1, Fortress 1, Stand ready, but do not engage unless bogeys take hostile action or cross the line”

As the flight watched, the MIGs closed to within 30 miles, then turned 180 and headed away on the same heading of the F-18s, while dropping their speed.

“Fortress 1, Bat 1, Bogeys now turned and heading 025, 280 knots. They are now running in front of us”

“Bat 1, Fortress 1, AWACS confirms they are allowing you to catch them, close and stay on alert for any tricks”

As the F-18s closed to within a mile of the MIGs, the enemies matched the F-18s speed to keep the gap, all but one, which dropped back closer. Soon the plane vanished from the leads Radar.

Fortress 1, Bat 1, I lost one; I think he went under me; these guys are starting to make me nervous. What the hell are they up to?”

Bat 1-1, Bat 1-2, I have that bogey in sight; he is above you and really close. I am right on his tail and have locked him up to let him know where I am”

As the flight held its course, all of a sudden the one MIG-29 flew directly over top of the F-18 lead, upside down. As the lead looked up, the MIG pilot waved then moved off to the right wing. As the Lead looked over to the right, he could see the MIG pilot holding up a card, listing a radio frequency.

Fortress 1, Bat 1, This guy is holding up a card with a frequency one it, switching over Comm. 2”

As the pilot and wingman switched over, the lead informed the carrier who also started monitoring that frequency.

“Enemy flight of MIG-29s, this is Bat 1, you are to clear the area immediately”

“Now now comrade, we come here peacefully to talk, yet you lock me up and threaten me. We are simply here to help protect your task force from the evil GNSF. Now if you would be so kind, tell your wingman to unlock me, I have an aversion to that nasty sound”

“Oh, I am very sorry, how about we break lock by turning your plane into a flaming hunk of scrap”

As the Lead and wingman started to laugh, both planes got a missile lock warning.

“Bat 1-1, Bat 1-2, we have a second group of MIG-29s on our tail, and they have locked me up”

“Well comrade, do you want to fight or will you break your lock and let us part in peace. If you don’t want our help then so be it, but if you think you can bang heads with me, you will be the one in the flaming hunk of scrap”

“Bat 1-2, Bat 1-1, break lock on the MIG”

As the wingman broke lock, the trailing MIG flight did the same.

“Well comrade, since you don’t wish our help, we will leave you. Be warned that we will not tolerate incursion into commonwealth air space.”

As the MIGs pulled away and headed back to the Balkans area, the MIG pilot added

“Oh comrade, the next time one of you decide to lock up one of our planes, be ready to fight, as we will take that as hostile intentions. Have a nice day”

US Task Force, Mediterranean

As the group of ships bobbed on the waves, a call came out from the radar operator,

“Sir, they are back, but this time they are 40 minutes early”

Turning to the operator, the Captain called back,

“What the hell do you mean they are early, they are the damn enemy; they don’t run on our schedule!”

“No sir, what I mean is they have been making the same pass four times at 95 minute intervals, but this time they are…”, the operator replied before the Captain cut him off,

“DAMN MAN, I know what you mean. So, what’s the big deal, just watch them do their thing and report on it. You know the damn drill”

Looking back to the Captain with a worried look on his face, the operator replied,

“Aye sir, but the F-18s are 100 miles away, if they actually attack this time the planes cannot get back in time”.

Seeing the worried look of the operators face, the Captain started to laugh and replied,

“Damn son, they are trying to yank out chains, they have no intention of attacking us. Damn we are the ******* United States of ******** America, they aren’t that stupid, or even have the balls. Just monitor and watch”.

As the other officers watched, not as sure as the Captain was that the planes would not take this golden opportunity to attack, the four F-16s started the run at the Task Force.

“Sir, 25 miles and closing fast”, the operator called, watching the blips get closer.

“Sir 21 miles and closing”, he called, as some of the officers took a deep breath.

“Sir, 20 miles and still closing”, he called again, with a scared strained voice.

Looking over the Captain pointed at the radar screen and replied,

“Three, two, one… report”

“Sir, contacts have turned back, you were right sir”, the operator replied with a sigh.

“Damn right I am right son, that’s why I am captain, and you need to go change your shorts you candy assed *****”

US Task Force, Mediterranean

As the Task Force steamed closer to the troubled Mediterranean, the bridge crew prepared for another chain rattling session from the BotC planes. Almost like clockwork, four blips popped back up on the Radar scope.

“Sir, the planes are back again, and seem to have their timing back to normal”, the operator called.

“You know the drill, keep an eye on them”, the Captain replied.

After a few moments, the operator called out again,

“Well that’s a change, this time its four MIG-29s, and not F-16s”

As the Captain smiled, he replied,

“Well, they probably need fuel and sent the crappy planes to fill in one run. They won’t be carrying any A-G weapons so the best those could do are take on the F-18s, and that would be suicide”

As the crew watched the familiar routine, the planes headed at the task force, then 20 miles out, turned back. This time, instead of heading straight back to the main airport, they headed N/E to a smaller, closer one. This brought the group within 10nm of the F-18 flight.

As the Captains interest was peaked by this deviation, a call came in from the F-18 lead.

“Sir, Hornet 1-1 reports the MIG-29s are heading for Split, and not Mostar. They have already called the tower at Split requesting a landing number. Their course will take them very close to us; you want us to play with them a bit”

The Captain smiled and chuckled,

“Those old crappy planes are probably out of gas. Make sure you do not do anything that could be taken as a hostile act. Do NOT lock them, but you can heard them to the right a bit”

As the F-18s got close to the group, the operator called out,

“Sir, I have a second group, F-16s closing from the south. They are 35 miles out and closing, looks like either the regular nuts or a GNSF flight, hard to tell.”

“Conn, check with GNSF and see if they have any planes out here, Radar, watch them closely and also the MIGs”

As the operator watched, the MIGs started to pull to the right away from the F-18s, as the F-18s intimidated them by crowding the flight. As he continued to watch the screen, with the Captain looking intently over his shoulder, the F-16s hit 20 miles, and then turned right. With a sigh, the Captain smiled and walked away commenting,

“Dumb asses, think they can rattle us, I wish they would attack, I would love to splatter them all over the water.”

“Sir, Comms, I have spoken to the GNSF and they say they have no planes up at this time, they must be BotC”.

“SIR, RADAR, the F-16s have turned back in, they are at 17 miles and closing very fast”

Spinning around the Captain ran over to the Radar screen and looked, the four F-16s had indeed turned in, and we now well inside the Task Forces WF zone. Moving over to the Weapons station, the Captain called,

“Finally, the ****** want to play, OK Weapons Free, Kill those ******. Looking at the F-18s still pushing the MIG-29s across the border, the Captain added.

“Get those F-18s over here now, and give them weapons free. I want those nuts toasted.”

As the Call went out, the F-18s abandoned the MIGs and turned to intercept the F-16 Flight. All of a sudden, the F-18 wingman screamed out,

Hornet 1-1, Hornet 1-2, I’ve been locked up, MIG-29s, THEY HAVE FIRED, Evading”

As the plane kicked into after burner, the lead started a sharp turn back. As he passed the halfway point on his 180 turn, he could see the wingman’s plane hit with two missiles, followed by an ejection. Looking up he could see the trails of at least four missiles streaking across the sky, which kicked him into an automatic response of ejecting countermeasures and barrel rolling.

“Fortress 1, Hornet 1-1, wingman hit, evading missiles, send SAR and ….”

As the radar operator watched the second F-18 drop from the screen, he could see the MIG-29s now screaming in towards the Carrier Group. As the chaos on the bridge erupted into a well-practiced dance placed on fast forward, the Captain yelled,

“Shoot those damn F-16s down, and get some fighters up NOW!”

“Sir, F-16s nowt at 12 miles, and have dropped to 200 feet, we can’t hit them. “

As the Captain took 3 seconds to look out the window at the four specs coming closer, the operator again yelled,

“Sir, they are firing, two, no, OH MY GOD, they are Mavericks”

As the Captains face dropped, he calmly turned to the operator and asked, HOW MANY”

After a few second, the operator slowly turned, his face white as a ghost and replied,

“Sir, I lost count after 15”

--------------------

As the Destroyer watched, the Carrier erupted into a huge floating inferno, then sliped below the waves, as the Captain continued to yell,

“Kill those ******, I want them all shot to…”

“CAPTAIN, Torpedo in the water, bearing 221, two, no… 6. Now four bearing 187, and more bearing 134. Sir, there are torps all over the place”

As the Captain scrambled to get ASW in the air and evade the incoming weapons, the boat was shook twice as two torpedoes hit the mark. As the boat started to sink, the Captain could see the other support vessels being hit one by one, as the P-3s and Helos tried there best to find the subs. As the ship listed, he called,

“Abandon ship”

--------

As the Captain of the frigate was throw to the deck as one torpedo hit the nixie, and a second impacted the hull, he yelled,

“Hard to port, ahead full”

As he headed in towards the shoreline of Italy, he could see the other ships, some still afloat and smoking, as new torpedo hits overwhelmed the hulls and caused them to vanish from view.

After a while, all seemed to grow quiet as the lone frigate, badly damaged, headed for the safety of the coastline. After frantic radio calls and radar sweeps, he knew they were all that was left of the 14 ship Task Group.

BotC Base, Dubrovnik

As Lafitte walked across the now empty compound, he saw the crew of the Submarines heading up. He turned and headed down to meet them.

“Hey, Barbarossa, damn nice work, I got a bird’s eye view of the carnage hahahahaha”

“Boy, that was fun, I was hoping we would get to go on a weapons  firing spree. So, now what?”

Lafitte smiled and replied,

“Well my friend, we head home. Our time here is done, and in a few days, the whole US will be swarming all over the place. We can let the local yahoo’s deal with them hahaha”

As they walked over to the command building, Barbarossa asked,

“So, the subs should be stocked within the hour, and then we will head out deep and quiet back to the base. What about you, how the hell are you getting home?”

“Well, we are going to fly all our planes home. We will take them into Russia and store them at the airport we have. Then we can make the covert journey to the base”, Lafitte replied.

“Well I am no expert, but I don’t think you have enough fuel to make the trip. I hope you have that covered”, Barbarossa queried.

“No worries, we can refuel in flight over Russia, I still have a few friends that owe me a favor there. As for the trip to get into Russian air space, I have already got that worked out”

As Lafitte started to laugh, Barbarossa joined in as they made their way inside the complex.

Island of Vlore , Mediterranean

As the quiet air was broken by the sound of a helicopter getting closer, Lafitte paced back and forth. Turning to the two officers, he had with him he stated,

“Remember, no aggressive actions, but stand ready none the less.”

As the Helicopter circled once, then landed in a clearing to the right of the APC, Lafitte strolled over towards the landing site. As the door opened, two armed Seals got out and stood ready at the side of the plane, while Fleet Admiral Stern climbed out and looked around. Seeing Lafitte standing alone, with the two armed officers he brought next to the APC, the Fleet Admiral walked over to the pirate.

“Commodore Lafitte I presume”, the Fleet Admiral said to the Pirate.

“Aye, and you must be Fleet Admiral Stern. It’s nice to meet you, although I figured it would have been in combat”, Lafitte replied.

Smiling, the Fleet Admiral added,

“Well, fortunate for you we didn’t.”

As Lafitte stood there looking at the Admiral, he started to laugh and said,

“Ahh, I knew I would like you, a man with stones. I must say I wasn’t sure you would come”

Still smiling, the Fleet Admiral, not breaking eye contact answered,

“After hearing the tale from Admiral Wallbanger on meeting you, I figured I could trust your word as a pirate”

Lafitte smiled, then turning to the two armed men, motioned to them. At this, they opened the APC and the three POWs got out. As the two men escorted the GNSF captives up to the two officers, the two seals also moved in, looking very trigger-happy. Turning back the Fleet Admiral held up his hand and called, bring the pilot. Stopping in their tracks, one Seal headed back to the Helicopter while the other held fast looking twitchier than ever.
“I must say Fleet Admiral; you have those two trained well. I love watching real soldiers in action, always on guard and ready for anything.”

“Well, don’t worry about them, they know the rules, and if all goes as agreed there will be no issues”

As the two officers were joined by the GNSF POWs and their escorts, the Fleet Admiral looked over the three and asked Captain Wolfking,

“I hope they treated you ok?”

“Actually, yea, we were treated pretty well”, the Captain replied

“Yea, I was surprised, they were pretty good to us, for scummy pirates”, Lieutenant Drop Bear added.

“Can we go home now”, Lieutenant Manny added, looking a little white as he just started heading for the Helicopter.

As the group watched him climb into the Helicopter, Colonel Vikhalnakov turned to the Fleet Admiral and said,

“Sorry about your officer, I think we shook him up a bit, and Captain Ivanhov here didn’t help the situation.”

Looking like a kid caught with his hand stuck in the cookie jar, the Captain replied,

“WHAT, it was you that said he would enjoy being interrogated by a Spetsnaz Doctor!”

At that, Lafitte and the Colonel started laughing, while Captain Wolfking and Lieutenant Drop Bear tried hard to keep a straight face.

“Don’t worry sir, Manny is fine, just a little rattled”, Captain Wolfking explained.

As the two other GNSF officers headed for the Helicopter, Klaus came over and slapping Lafitte on the back said,

“I knew you would get me out. It was horrible, they made me give back the towels, and they were nice fluffy ones.”

Looking at Klaus, Lafitte replied,

“Good to have you back, now get your ass in the APC before I add your head to my bag!”

At that, Klaus quickly headed to the APC.

“Well Fleet Admiral, it has been a pleasure. I would have liked to have met you in combat, but my time here is done.”

As Lafitte started to walk away, the Fleet Admiral called out,
“Lafitte, we will meet in combat one day, but for now I thank you for keeping your word and treating our POWs well. I also appreciate the treatment of our fallen; you have class for an evil pirate”

As Lafitte kept walking, he replied,

“My pleasure, just as it will be my pleasure to add your head to my bag next time we meet”

Skies above Poland

As the flight of 8 F-16 flew across the sky, the Flight lead started checking his radar. After almost thirty minutes, he found what he was looking for. Looking in a notebook he had next to him, he looked up the radio frequency he needed from his Intel. Changing the dials, he radioed a nearby tanker.

“Camel 1, Falcon 1-1, request refueling of eight GNSF planes. We are on a deep strike mission into the BotC area, and are going in around the back to bypass AAA fire. Can you help us?”

Falcon 1, Camel 1, we normally don’t refuel non US planes, and how did you know we were here?”

Camel 1, Falcon 1, We didn’t, we knew we didn’t have enough for a return flight on this attack, but the target is top priority and more important than we are in the overall picture”, the flight leader replied.

Well after the task force was hit, we were sent here to ready to refuel a load of incoming US bombers. They are going to tear up those scum balls. Well, since you guys are helping us with those nutcase pirate scum, request granted, approach bearing 240”

As the planes all closed on the tanker, they past two F-18s that were flying HAVCAP for the tanker. Once the planes were close behind the tanker, each took a turn hooking up and refueling. As the planes one by one came in, connected and took fuel, the tanker pilot watched out his window. As the last of the fight finished, it was the lead planes turn, as he was always the last one.

As the pilot looked out at the plane just feet from his, he noticed the markings on the side.

“Well you didn’t tell us it was you Fleet Admiral Stern; I like the new paint job on your plane. OK sir, we will keep it really steady for you, you are free to engage”.

As the plane dropped back and started closing in on the refueling boom, the tanker pilot called out,

“Sir, how much fuel do you have left?”

“I have about 2000 pounds, more than enough”, the lead flight replied.

“Well I don’t know sir, that’s only a few hours flying time, think you can do it faster than last time”

At this, the lead could hear the crew laughing, as this was apparently the same crew that had once before refilled the Fleet Admirals plane.

“Funny guy, now you did say I was free to engage, perfect”, the lead plane replied.

As the pilot held the plane steady, the lead flight came in and made contact first time, and held the connection for a complete refuel of almost 11,000 pounds. As he finished and broke connection, the tanker pilot called out,

“Damn sir, that’s the best job I have seen in a long time, you must have practiced that a whole lot since last time.”

As six of the flight of eight dropped back behind the tanker and two F-18s, the lead flight replied,

“Why the hell would I need practice refueling, I am by far the best at it of this sorry group. Well boys, it’s time to go”

At that, the group of six each fired an AIM 120 at the F-18s. Within several seconds both planes were hit and dropping in flames. Shocked by what had just transpired, the tanker pilot frantically radioed in what had just happened, which was quickly followed by the Lead plane calling out,

“Oh, I see now, you must have confused me for the GNSFs Fleet Admiral. I am terribly sorry, I should have introduced myself. I am the one, the only, Commodore Lafitte. The Brotherhood of the Coast thanks you for your fuel, and since we are not beggars, we shall give you something in return. After all, you did say I was free to engage.”

At that, Lafitte fired a Python, which within 4 seconds slammed into the tanker, ripping it into pieces. As the plane exploded into a huge fireball sending pieces everywhere, Lafitte called over the radio on the tankers frequency,

“The Brotherhood of the Coast will always be the best. Boy, these Americans are far too easy. Until we meet again GNSF.”