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 13 -- Preparations (Part 3)

Conference Room, Field Office, Lone Syracuse Outpost, Syracuse, New York, USA, 8 December 2020, 2019 hrs

“We should start by talking about the mission’s objectives for Operation Raven Hunt.” Mira begins. “The objectives are to obliterate the Ravens’ main headquarters, kill Brigadier General Bettino Rico and his entire staff command, capture any surrendered Ravens and, most importantly, rescue this human prisoner named Kodey Zander alive.” .

“That’s a lot of objectives. But I have a question that concerns me: How the hell did the Ravens get hold of Daniel’s son?” Wallis became worried after asking.

“I don’t have any credible intel regarding that, sir,” Mira replies. “However, the higher-ups from the Joint Homefront Command informed me that the Ravens planned to ship him to Nepal via a military transport plane on 14 December at 0800 hrs sharp. It means that we need to attack their base earlier and rescue Kodey before the plane can depart.” .

“So how are we going to rescue him, madam?” Wallis asks.

“I have a plan for that,” Mira replies. “But first, let me explain the entire defence layout of Fort Drum before we dive deep into the several phases for Operation Raven Hunt. The Ravens have deployed the KM-SAM battery unit to guard their entire headquarters from air attacks. Also, they have military tanks, which include the K-31 Chunma, K-30 Biho, Marder 2, and Leopard 2A6, scattered across Depot Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and Delta, respectively. Thanks to these heavy equipment units, destroying Fort Drum will be quite challenging for us.” .

Her words gave a sense of unease in the minds of the 76th’s Tri-Sixer officers and NCOs. They assumed the Ravens to be an ordinary special forces military unit, similar to those of other countries. Now, they realised they were dealing with a dangerous military unit that could defend itself without the need to call for reinforcements from the other Young Templars’ military units.

“If the Ravens have everything they need to defend themselves on their own, do we have a decent shot at eliminating them?” One of the unnamed Tri-Sixer NCOs asks.

“We do, and I have a plan for that,” Mira replies with confidence in her voice tone. “For that, I shall split Operation Raven Hunt into seven phases.” .

With that said, she takes a breather to better prepare herself for what she is about to say next.

“For Phase 1, we will depart from Lone Syracuse Outpost first on 9 December at 2000 hrs in a protective convoy formation towards the town of Adams Center. We should reach that town on 11 December at 0600 hours. We will then head to Point One and set up a secured perimeter area by 0800 hours with all camouflage nettings deployed. Within Point One, we will use the town’s abandoned elementary school as the field command post and the nearby houses and buildings for our troops to rest. Then, moving on to Phase 2, a scout unit from my team will depart from Point One on 11 December at 2030 hours and set up a recon post at the town of Calcium on the same day by 2230 hrs before dispatching a Dragonfish Pro UAV to identify the building location where Kodey is being held.”

“Now, onto Phase 3, we will move out on 12 December at 2200 hours sharp and head towards their designated assembly points — Point 2A, 2B and 2C at around 0330 hrs. 2A will be at the town of Black River, 2B will be at the town of Felts Mills, and 2C will be at the town of Great Bend. Each assembly point will deploy four units of towed MMTL (Multiple Mortar Tube Launchers) that contain the Sparrow FPV drones. For Phase 4, the recon team will inform me through radio at 0400 hours regarding the whereabouts of Kodey, and I will pass on the info to the drone operators to launch the Sparrows using the code word — Departure. With that, the Sparrows will fly to the sky and begin their mass attacks on the enemy’s KM-SAM batteries, tank depots, aircraft and buildings. After the drone attack, F-16s and A-10s will arrive on the scene at 0405 hours to start their attack run to soften the combat zone for us. Then, on Phase 5 at 0408 hours, I will give the code word — Eagle —, and we will attack Fort Drum at the same time from different locations to overwhelm the remaining Ravens.”

“Now, here’s the most important part for Phase 5, so please listen carefully.” Mira’s voice becomes serious.

“Allied troops from the 76th Hell-finders at Point 2A and 2B will attack the military installations on the western side of Fort Drum. This is to pin down the main bulk of the remaining Ravens as a diversion while my entire team at Point C will attack the airfield before heading for the office of Brigadier General Bettino Rico. As for Kodey, I believe my team will intercept him somewhere at the airfield, as I believe the enemy Ravens will not hesitate to spirit him away to Nepal in an aircraft the moment we attack their main headquarters. Once we have him, my team will take out Brigadier General Rico and his entire staff of officers, ending the Ravens’ terror once and for all.” .

“How sure are you of rescuing the human prisoner, Major Rose?” Wallis looks at her with a question.

“I’m fully certain, sir. I trust in my reformed faith as a true Young Templar that we will rescue him from the warmongers and deliver him to someone important in Seattle,” Mira replies in a confident voice. “Now, let me finish the remaining phases.” .

“After killing the Raven’s CO and his staff officers, I will issue a phrase codenamed — Raven Fell. Upon hearing this phrase, the entire military operation will shift to Phase 6. For this phase, all units will engage in eliminating the remaining Raven operators and securing the entire military base. Once we secure Fort Drum, I will call in two C-130 Hercules planes to land at the airfield’s runway at Fort Drum. We will then escort the surrendered Ravens to these two planes, where the US Marshals will take them into custody. After those planes departed safely, we will shift to Phase 7, where all units will seize any important military documents found in the military buildings within six minutes. Once the six-minute time is up, we will burn down those military buildings to ensure no Young Templars from the war faction can use them. As for their equipment and military supplies, take what you can carry with you. If it is not possible to do so, destroy them by whatever means necessary.”

“Once we set all the military buildings on fire, I will issue a full retreat order to all units. Upon hearing that order, our troops will stop what they are doing and regroup together to ensure no one gets left behind before retreating to Point 2A, 2B and 2C, respectively. From there, all of us will head back to the town of Adams Center to rest up for a day before departing back to the Lone Syracuse outpost in the middle of the night. This concludes the end of Operation Raven Hunt. If you have questions regarding the upcoming military operation, you can ask me now.” .

Author's note: This is my first time writing a highly detailed military briefing for this Hellwave story so there may be some unknown shortcomings. I know it may not be perfect on what I just wrote but I will do my best to write a better one in future.

“Madam, I have a question for you.” An unnamed 76th’s Tri-Sixer NCO directs a question to her. “How dangerous are the Ravens? We need to know more about them since you haven’t described their abilities yet.” .

“Good question,” Mira replies with a hint of discomfort in her voice. “The Ravens may be tough for ordinary Tri-Sixer human soldiers to fight with, but never engage them in close combat.” .

“What do you mean by this? Is there something we humans are not sure about the Raven Young Templars?” Another unnamed Tri-Sixer officer from the 76th asked.

“You are correct.” Mira agrees. “The Ravens can split out their virulent blood from their tongues onto the humans’ faces, which infects them through their eyes before they transform into zombies. Also, they will not hesitate to bite humans for their blood since human blood can make them more hyperactive in combat. Because of this, the Ravens will ambush small squads of human soldiers in hidden corners, cupboards and rooftops. So, please pay close attention when you comb the combat area with your squads. Inform your troops to stay together and keep their heads cool. This will prevent the Ravens from conducting successful ambush attacks against you and your troops. Once you capture a Raven, restrain him or her by whatever means necessary to keep him or her alive. However, watch out for their blood-splitting attacks.” .

Those revelations sent a shockwave of unease through the minds of all Tri-Sixer officers and NCOs from the 76th Hell-finders Regiment. In their minds, it’s their first time hearing Young Templars capable of biting humans just like zombies. Even Captain Bowie herself felt grossed out at the thought of a Raven Young Templar biting her neck for human blood. 

Not wanting to see demoralised Tri-Sixer soldiers under his command before the upcoming battle, Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln steps in to speak. “76th Hell-finders. I know all of you are fearful of combating the Ravens, but we still have to press on in eliminating them. If we can’t take them out, humanity won’t have another chance of destroying the war faction of the Young Templars. Hence, we need to put our trust and faith in Major Rose’s military plan so that we can take them out once and for all. With the Ravens gone, humanity will finally have the upper hand against the war faction of the Young Templars after all these years of losing to them.” .

“Thank you for investing your faith in me, everyone.” A grateful Mira expresses her gratitude to everyone in the room. “Although you may have a second opinion of me being a former Raven Young Templar, I can assure you I would never want to go back to it again. Still, if you want to opt out of the upcoming battle because of me, here’s your chance to voice out now.” .

To her surprise, no one from the 76th Hell-finders Regiment voices out their objections after having some consideration. “We will not opt out just because of you, Major Rose.” The unnamed Tri-Sixer officer from the 76th tells her. “Just because you were a Raven Young Templar in the past, that doesn’t mean you are an enemy of humanity currently. Your defection to the International Taskforce 505 and this current military briefing to help us in taking down the Ravens are good enough for us to treat you as an ally instead. Don’t let us down, madam.” .

“Much obliged to hear this.” Mira smiles in agreement. “Before I end, I have something to remind all of you. As soldiers from the member states of the International Taskforce 505 alliance, we will abide by the Geneva code and 505’s ROE (Rules of Engagement) at all times in combat. If you see or encounter any enemy combatant posing a threat to you or your teammates, you are free to use lethal force to eliminate that threat. However, it is a war crime if you kill an enemy combatant who wants to surrender or ceases to be a threat. There will be heavy consequences if you do, so please do not commit any atrocities on the surrendered Ravens later on. That’s all.” .

“Yes, madam!” Everyone in the conference room heeds her words before giving a military salute as the meeting comes to a close.

To be continued...

End of Chapter 13

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).