Disclaimer: This is a work of original fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Chapter 12.2 -- Preparations (Part 2)

Captain Wyatt’s Personal Office, Unit Branch Office, Lone Syracuse Outpost, Syracuse, New York, USA, 8 December 2020, 1420 hrs

“Captain Wyatt! This is Major Rose, and I would like to have a word with you.” Mira calls out to him after giving a gentle knock on the office door.

“What’s the code word, Major Rose?” Mason asks to confirm she’s not an imposter.

“I’m not interested in your busting imposter mind games, Mason! We are not in a military operation currently!” Mira pushes the door open in anger. “Jeez. I think your human mind got fried from combating too many special infected!”

“Nah. I just wanted to ensure that you are the same Mira Rose I knew.” Wyatt denies, giving a slight chuckle. “Even Young Templars can become infected zombies, madam.” .

“Yeah, yeah. I know you saw the zombified version of my kind during your childhood days.” Mira lets out a sigh to calm herself before her voice gets serious. “Anyway, I know why the higher-ups from the Homefront Command sent us the support units a week earlier.” .

“What’s their main reason, madam?” Wyatt asks.

“Well, they intercepted a message where the Ravens captured an adult human named Kodey Zander. Now, they planned to ship him to Nepal through a military air escort. Because of this, our higher-ups want us to rescue him while destroying the Ravens’ main headquarters. This means we can’t simply drone strike their entire base during our first strike.” .

“Hold up, madam. Isn’t Kodey Zander the son of someone important? And how the hell did he get himself captured by the war faction? Wasn’t he and his family supposed to seek refuge in a safe zone in the state of Vermont?” Mason blurted out several questions with concern.

“Yes, Daniel sent them there, but I’m afraid the Ravens may have attacked the safe zone and captured them. To make matters worse, Kodey’s sister had undergone the transformation process to become a Young Templar,” Mira says in a sad tone. “So right now, the Homefront Command issued a job for us to plan the attack to take out the Ravens and rescue Kodey Zander. Speaking of that, how are the preparations coming so far, Captain?”

“The preparations are going smoothly, madam.” Mason begins. “Also, we will have a meetup tonight in the Conference Room of the Field Office at 2015 hrs sharp to discuss with the other officers and NCOs regarding the upcoming attack on the Ravens’ main headquarters.” .

“Alright, have the room fully prepared. We also have important guests from the 76th Hell-finders Regiment joining the meeting tonight, so I want you to coordinate with them regarding their involvement as well.” Mira orders.

“Well do, madam.” Mason acknowledges his new orders. “Is there anything else you want me to be aware of?”

“Nope. All good for now. Have a break and don’t overwork yourself too much, Mason,” Mira says and then pets his shoulder before leaving the room.

Corridor, Field Office, Lone Syracuse Outpost, Syracuse, New York, USA, 8 December 2020, 2014 hrs

Later…

“I can tell you are feeling nervous to meet the legendary Young Templar, who defected from the Ravens. Isn’t that right, Captain Bowie?” Wallis asks while looking at his subordinate.

“It is, sir,” Ash agrees in embarrassment upon getting caught. “Even though her bravery in defecting from the Ravens seemed admirable, what if she goes back to embrace the Ravens’ ideology and kills humans? We know they are fanatical followers of Chief General Simon’s ideology. So, we should be wary of her.” .

“Ash…” Wallis calls her out in a soft but annoyed tone. “Just because Major Rose is a former Raven, we shouldn’t be afraid of her. Let’s not forget we have another Young Templar who is much scarier than her, and yet she sided with humanity in the end by defecting to the International Taskforce 505. She even helped the taskforce to form our unit and train us well to ensure humanity got a better chance to defend itself from the dangerous Young Templars. In fact, she even cared for you when you had your first PTSD after your first deployment. So, we should be more supportive of integrating her into human society instead of excluding her.” .

“Sorry, sir.” Ash apologises with her head facing down.

“Good. Remember, Young Templars are also descendants of ordinary humans. So please do not show your fear of her later on. The same goes for everyone as well, is that clear?” Wallis issues an order to the rest of his subordinate Tri-Sixer officers and NCOs standing near him.

“Yes, sir!” His group of Tri-Sixer officers and NCOs, except Captain Bowie, responds with a firm answer.

“Good. It’s time for us to go in now.” Wallis opens the door before he and his subordinates step into the conference room.

At the same time…

While talking to one of her subordinates, Major Rose sees the Tri-Sixer officers and NCOs from the 76th Hell-finders Regiment entering the room.

“They are here,” Mira says.

“Attention!” Mason alerts the others upon hearing his superior’s words.

“Welcome to the briefing room for the upcoming Operation Raven Hunt, Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln Wallis of the 1st Battalion of the 76th Hell-finders Regiment.” Mira greets him before giving a salute.

“Indeed, it is, Major Mira Rose of the D Company, 2nd Highjump Regiment,” Wallis replies while saluting her. “I have heard your story of defection from the Ravens, so it’s a great honour to meet you face to face.” .

“Indeed, sir,” Mira replies before giving him a handshake. “You must be Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln of the 2nd Battalion of the 76th Hell-finders Regiment. Is that correct?”

“Affirmative, Major Rose.” Wallis smiles as he replies. “Since you are the one leading the attack on the Ravens’ main headquarters, you may guide us on how to take down their military base. We will closely follow your instructions to ensure that we don’t incur significant losses while taking down the Ravens. So, please tell us everything well about what we need to do, Major.” .

“Alright, let’s gather around right here. We will discuss the attack plan, sir.” Mira makes a gesture to Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln that he should move towards a nearby large table for discussion.

After seeing everyone gather around the large table, Major Rose addresses them in a friendly but serious tone. “Humans and allied Young Templars, thank you for gathering here today. For decades, the Ravens worked hand in hand with the war faction of the Young Templars to commit horrifying crimes against humanity with impunity. They even assisted the ruthless ones in destabilising countries worldwide through hybrid and biological warfare. They thought they were untouchable, but they were deeply wrong. For the first time in the taskforce’s history, we found their main headquarters, and this is our only chance where we can finally strike back against them.” .

“So, where’s their main headquarters located?” Wallis asks.

“It’s at the former Fort Drum military base in the state of New York.” Mira begins. “They converted the former US military base into theirs a few months ago.” .

“Hold on a minute. Isn’t the 11th Mountain Division stationed at Fort Drum? I remember the division secured the place well before turning it into a safe zone for survivors during the early days of the global zombie apocalypse.” Wallis recalls.

“It is.” Mira agrees before continuing in a darker tone. “However, the war faction of the Young Templars has a plan to breach Fort Drum and destroy the US military base from within by starting a zombie outbreak. Once the military base got completely overrun with zombies, they captured it before handing it over to the Ravens. After the handover, the Ravens turned Fort Drum into their main headquarters.” .

That revelation surprised all the 76th Hell-finders Regiment’s Tri-Sixer officers and NCOs in the room. They believed the 11th Mountain Division of the US military would be strong enough to protect Fort Drum on its own, since it is an elite military unit of the US Army. “How did the division fall so quickly? Did someone betray them from within?” Ash asks with unease in her voice.

“No one betrays them. It was far worse than you could imagine.” Mira replies. “Several Stage 3 Acolyte Fledglings disguised themselves as civilian refugees, and they entered Fort Drum undetected when the evacuations were still going on. Once Fort Drum closed its doors to the outside world, they completed their Stage 4 Birth-masked process in the early wee hours, transforming them into full-fledged Young Templars before deploying blood bombs on both the civilians and soldiers, triggering a zombie outbreak within the military base.” .

“How did you know this? Did you receive this intel from your fellow Ravens? Are you still part of them?!” Ash’s voice turned hostile.

“Captain Bowie, you have gone too far!” Wallis berates her.

Before Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln could reprimand Captain Bowie further, Major Rose stopped him from intervening further. “It’s alright, sir. She has several legitimate concerns, and I don’t blame her.” Then she turns her face towards the Tri-Sixer Captain. “Captain Bowie, I can assure you I’m no longer part of the Ravens anymore. I had undergone a medical procedure that allowed me to fully defect from the Ravens completely. Thanks to it, I don’t have to hate or fear humans anymore. As for the intel you mentioned earlier, I received it from several sources within the war faction regarding their troop movements and military operations. That’s where I knew how the 11th Mountain Division got overrun easily. I will speak to you after this meeting, Captain.” .

“Major Rose…” Wallis tries to speak to her before getting interrupted by her once more. “I know what you want to tell me, sir. However, I don’t want to see you lecturing your subordinates for their anti-Young Templar views during this discussion. We should direct our focus towards the Ravens and think of ways to neutralise them for good.” Mira informs him.

“Alright then, Major. Where should we start?” Wallis asks.

To be continued...

End of Chapter 12.2

Note: All the characters, places and storylines are owned by Jeremy Mountbatten. All rights reserved by the author. Feel free to give some feedback and don't forget to vote for this chapter. If you want to support me, you can tip me on Ko-Fi (link provided below).