The four Commanders of the main four factions, plus Major Freya Leslie, they sit in Sicilia's office as they all look towards a phone, which David North is talking from.

  "NORAD was able to confirm that the three missiles haven't been moved further into Europe." David informs.

  "Well, where did they go?" Stait asks.

  "That's exactly what I'm sending your all to find out. The President has authorized 'Operation Clockwork', an assault on a Separatist facility high in the Andes that could give us the answer."

  "Isn't that the part of the world where the Sirens set of that bomb that sent that entire area into a enteral winter?" Osami asks.

  Sicilia nods. "Yeah, m-m-many people have died because of it."

  David continues. "You will infiltrate the facility and gather any information you can on their missile program."

  "And what about Menendez?" Stait asks. "He wants all of us, dead."

  "I'd like to see him try." Freya speaks up and she flexes her robot left arm. "Once I see him, I'm gonna fucking strangle him!"

  "F-Freya, c-calm down." Sicilia calls out.

  "You... You don't know what he did to me, Alice..." Freya's one good eye gains a distant look. "What he did to my comrades."

  "He's just a senile old man." Ardnt huffs as she drinks from a fsk.

  "A senile old man that controls a military that has already killed thousands of people." David corrects.

  "Eh, good point."

  "But we'll get Menendez, just not now. 'Clockwork' is the priority."

  David ends the call and everyone stands up and stretches out.

  Ardnt turns to Sicilia. "Are yeah sure you can handle this?"

  "She was able to save Nikolia with me and Major Freya, wasn't she?" Stait gres at the Iron Blood Commander.

  Ardnt smirks. "But who had to save all your asses in Verkhnetoyemsky, by raining down Death from Above?"

  Sicilia sweats and waves her hands. "Girls, l-l-let's not fight. We h-h-have a pn to catch."

  .

  .

  .

  "Clockwork"Jul. 16. 22:35:44The Andes, Patagonia

  The four Commanders finish putting on some Separatist gear, they so graciously secured from a patrol they encountered several minutes prior. Ardnt stands near a crash snowmobile as she lots a body. Snow falls around them.

  "Time?" Ardnt calls out as she tosses a helmet to Sicilia.

  Sicilia catches the helmet and puts it on, and hides her white hair under it. Then she syncs her watch with her squad.

  "Twenty-two thirty five." Stait informs.

  "Move out." Ardnt orders as she smashes the flickering snowmobile's headlight.

  Sicilia pulls out a suppressed M1903A4 and follows after the three other Commanders. Sicilia has AS-44 on her back she secured from an enemy. The others have various Suppressed Northern Parliament weapons they secured from the patrol.

  "Freya, we've acquired enemy uniforms and are headed to the security checkpoint." Ardnt informs over COMS.

  The four move ahead and stop near a tunnel entrance as several cars drive by.

  "We hit the checkpoint and get in position for the returning patrol." Ardnt commanders the squad.

  The cars drive by and the four swiftly move across the road and onto a small hill.

  "Checkpoint's ahead." Ardnt informs as she looks down the tunnel as she walks past it.

  Freya then speaks over COMS. "You've got ten minutes to acquire transport and be inside Bckbird before we cut the power."

  "Copy all."

  The four Commanders climb up a small ledge and see a couple buildings with only a few soldiers guarding it.

  "There it is, hold your fire." Ardnt orders as she and the others kneel down and look over the checkpoint. "I count eight at the checkpoint... and the guard in the tower makes nine." Ardnt lightly taps Sicilia on the shoulder and points up to a tower with a sniper in it. "Take him out first."

  "On it." Sicilia brings up her suppressed sniper rifle and spots the guard in the tower.

  The guard walks back and fourth a few times, before stopping to rub his hands together. Sicilia holds her breath, then lets it out as she squeezes the trigger. A round flies out of her rifle and through the snipers head.

  "He's down." Osami gives Sicilia a thumbs up.

  Sicilia lets out a breath and chambers a new round.

  Ardnt points to the commander tower. "We've got three on the commander tower to the left. Let's drop them together. Osami, right, I got left. Sicilia, take the middle."

  Everyone brings up their weapons.

  "On you." Ardnt calls out to Sicilia.

  After a few seconds Sicilia fires her rifle, sending the middle soldier to the ground dead. The other two swiftly open fire, killing their targets.

  Ardnt smirks. "Spsh three. Take out the rest. Everyone pick a target. Go."

  Everyone soon open fires onto the Checkpoint, taking out all the soldiers. Sicilia lets out a shakey breath as she re-chambers a new round into her rifle.

  Ardnt stands up. "Nice job. Let's move."

  The four Commanders move onto the check point and Ardnt starts pointing towards various location.

  "Sicilia, left side, covering Osami, and clear that body, I can see it from here." Ardnt orders. "Stait, in the back covering me."

  Sicilia goes over to a concrete barrier where a body hung over. She grabs the body and pulls it behind the barrier and sets her suppressed rifle down, grabbing a pistol from the mans body and setting it in her empty holster. She then posts up like a guard.

  Stait moves about hiding bodies with Osami.

  Ardnt grabs a body and drags it into a building as she speaks into COMS. "Freya. Red Bird is secure. Where's the patrol?"

  "They've passed the outer perimeter, headed your way." Freya informs over the radio. "Right on schedule."

  Everyone gets into position.

  "Patrol inbound." Freya informs.

  "Show time." Osami cracks her neck.

  "These uniforms better work." Stait mutters into COMS.

  A convoy pulls up to them there's a Panzer II in the middle.

  "Let the Tank pass." Ardnt orders.

  A car pulls up to the checkpoint and Ardnt starts to talk to them in Russian.

  "Sicilia, you got the driver." Stait calls out.

  Sicilia moves up to the driver and she swiftly pulls her knife out and lodges it into the man's throat. Ardnt pulls out her Suppressed Mauser C96 and guns down the passenger.

  "Good work." Osami walks up to the car and grabs the driver out of the seat and throws him onto the ground.

  Osami grabs Silica's knife, wipes it on the man's uniform, before handing it back to Sicilia. The Eagle Union Commander grabs her knife and puts it back in its sheath on the beck of her right leg. Osami hides the body behind the concrete barrier.

  Ardnt grabs the passenger and drags him out of the seat, and fires a couple more rounds into his chest. Osami climbs into the driver seat and Sicilia gets in behind her, setting her bag next to her.

  "Clean and load we need to be green in thirty." Ardnt orders as she drags a body into a building next to her. "Bag."

  Ardnt tosses the bag on her shoulders to Stait, which she throws into the back of the truck. The Iron Blood Commander sits in the passenger seat and Stait hops in behind her. Stait grabs Sicilia's hand and squeezes it.

  "You good?" Stait asks.

  Sicilia smiles. "Y-Yeah, I'm good."

  Ardnt looks back to the two. "Yeah, keep the lovey dovy stuff for the base, we're on mission now."

  Stait just flips off Ardnt, and she rolls her eyes.

  Osami puts the car in drive and they head towards the facility.

  Ardnt looks to everyone. "Once inside, keep your spacing and minimize shots after the bckout. Stait be ready to hook into their system when we get to security."

  "Got it." Stait responds.

  Osami drives through a tunnel and once they get through to the other side, they see the facility built into the mountains.

  Ardnt speaks into her radio. "Scarecrow, we are at the clubhouse. We've secured a vehicle and are moving to Bckbird."

  David's voice comes over COMS. "Copy, Actual. Bckbird is quiet. You are go for insertion and data retrieval."

  "Copy all."

  They pass by a truck with a rather rge machine gun on top and Osami waves to them. Sicilia rubs her right hand as some of her scars start to slightly burn from the cold air.

  They arrive at the entrance of the parking of the facility.

  "Entering Bckbird." Ardnt says into COMS.

  The drive past several soldiers walking about and see a few trucks head out the other exit. Sicilia spots a heavy bst door with a red light fshing above it. Osami stops the car and everyone grabs their bags as they climb out of the car. They head into the facility as the bst door starts to close behind them.

  "Fifteen seconds." Ardnt whispers into her radio.

  The four come to a security checkpoint with medal detectors. Osami sets her bag down and Sicilia starts to slightly sweat when she spots a rge number of soldiers at the checkpoint.

  "Ready your NVGs." Ardnt whispers into COMS.

  Suddenly all lights cut out and Sicilia slides down her NVG, letting her see in the dark. They all spot the soldiers calling out in confusion as they look around.

  "Clean house." Ardnt orders.

  The four Commanders bring up their weapons and gun down the soldiers at the checkpoint.

  "Go." Ardnt orders and the four continue on, bringing down soldiers as they move through the dark facility.

  Soldiers yell out in confusion, only to be gunned down by the four girls.

  "Room clear." Ardnt calls out as no more soldiers appear.

  The four move on and Osami fires a round into the head of a soldiers who was trying to crawl away.

  "Keep moving, we don't have much time." Ardnt orders.

  The four reach a security room and they take off their NVGs as Osami lights up a fre.

  "Stait, get that bug in pce." Ardnt orders.

  Stait runs up to a computer and opens it up. She starts to type at it and a smile appears on her face. "I'm patched in. once the power is one we'll have their eyes and ears." A few static noises come from the computer. "Running static test pattern now. And confirm signal."

  "Check." Freya replies over COMS.

  The four the put back on their NVGs and head further into the facility.

  A few soldiers run into the room.

  "Movement ahead." Ardnt calls out as the soldiers fire onto the four, having fshlights strapped to their guns.

  The four Commanders swiftly deal with the opposition.

  "Clear." Osmai calls out.

  They head into the next room and find a very rge bst door that's closed shut.

  "Freya, we're in the green zone prepping victor now." Ardnt calls out into COMS.

  The four walk up to the door as Ardnt tosses down some fres, the four take off their NGVs. Osami kneels down to her bags and pulls out a drill of sorts.

  "Check." Freya replies over COMS. "Thirty seconds until power is restored."

  Ardnt puts some charges onto the rge hinges of the door. Stait pull out a tablet and turns it on, it shows an X-ray of the inside of the door. It beeps a few times before letting out a rge buzzer sound.

  Stait pulls out a marker and puts an X on the door. "Drill here."

  "Got it." Sicilia grabs the drill and holds it up to the X.

  "There's a back trip pte, so don't drill to far." Stait calls out.

  Sicilia nods. "Drilling."

  Sicilia drills all the way to the fault line and Stait calls out to stop.

  Stait smiles at Sicilia and grabs the tablet. "Good, first shell is down." She moves over to the other side of the door as Osami puts a explosive charge over the hole that Sicilia drilled.

  "Setting charge." Osami informs.

  "Moving to number two." Stait finds the next drill spot and marks it.

  "Twenty seconds." Ardnt informs.

  "There's your spot, Alice."

  Sicilia steps forward and drills all the way to the fault line, then sets the drill down as Stait grabs the tablet.

  "Hydraulic seals are down." Stait informs.

  Osami brings an explosive charge over and sets it on the drill spot. "Explosive armed."

  Everyone steps back and readies their weapons.

  "Ignite thermite." Ardnt orders.

  The thermite on the hinges lights up and everyone covers their eyes. After a few seconds the thermite stops and Ardnt looks at Osami and nods.

  "Blow it."

  Osami presses the detonator and the charges over the drill spots go off, sending the door flying into the next room. An arm starts to ring out as the sprinklers go off.

  "Front door's open!" Ardnt shouts. "ETA to the nest: four minutes."

  The four move into the next room as hostile soldiers walk in and look at them in confusion, only to be gunned down. People start to yell out as scientists start to make a run for it. More soldiers run into the room and start to fire at them.

  Freya speaks over COMS. "Eyes and ears are online. Patching you in. Ardnt, you gotta mess of 'em headed your way."

  Siclia takes cover behind a pilr as bullets fly around her. She takes several deep breaths as she reloads her weapon, sweat falling from her brow.

  "Deep b-breaths." Sicilia mutters, then rolls out of cover and firing onto several hostile soldiers, taking them down.

  The four Commanders slowly move through the facility encountering heavy resistance, but they deal with it. Watching their fire as scientists run around away from the area.

  "Though here!" Ardnt posts outside a door, which Osami sms open with her shoulder.

  The four head outside onto some catch walks and Sicilia shivers as the cold air reaches her. Osami takes point with Sicilia right behind her.

  "Tangos converging on your position." Freya informs. "I'm seeing minimal activity on the high road. You're off the radar for now."

  The four move past some rge fans and head down a stairway next to a control center. A soldiers walks around the corner as Osami reaches it and she grabs the soldier before he could reach.

  Osami sms the soldiers head into a railing, making him drop his weapon. Then she throws him into the command center windows, where he falls through a rge hole between the catwalk and the building. The soldier let's out a cream, before its silenced by a loud thud from below.

  The four continue on and they spot several groups of soldiers running in the direction they need to go, inside.

  Freya speaks over COMS. "Tangos massing in the rotunda."

  "Take it slow." Ardnt orders.

  They reach inside and stop just before a doorway leading into the rotunda. Several soldiers run past the door as Osami posts up right next to the door.

  "Hold." Ardnt whispers.

  Ardnt nods to Osami and the Sakura Empire Commander heads into the rotunda, where they come across a couple soldiers. Osami starts speaking to them in Russian and they seem very suspicious of the group.

  Osami walks up to them, before she grabs one of the soldiers guns and sms it under his face, knocking him back. Sicilia fires several rounds into the first downs soldiers chest, as Osami sms the butt of her gun into the other soldiers' stomach, before delivering a kick to the face.

  The second soldier falls to the ground and shouts in pain and Osami fires a couple rounds into his head. The soldiers that were up ahead came back to see what the commotion was and spot the group. The hostile soldiers all start to yell in arm and fire onto the ground, but the Commanders swiftly gun them down.

  "Pick it up, girls!" Ardnt orders. "Move before the whole base gets here!"

  The four move through the rotunda and deal with any opposition. They then come to the end of the rotunda and head down a ramp.

  "Area clear, 90 seconds to the nest!" Ardnt calls out. "Time check."

  "Check and clear, you're on schedule." Freya informs.

  They run down the ramp and into a rge room full of scientists and doctors. Stait fires her gun up into the air and yells in Russian. The doctors and scientists all run away and out of the room.

  "Freya, we've enters the nest." Ardnt informs over COMS and then she points up to the second floor. "Everyone drop their bags up at the command ptform."

  The four head up some stairs and come to a table where Ardnt sets her bag down.

  "Drop your bag on the able over here." Ardnt orders and everyone sets their bags down and opens them up.

  "Stait, get going on that computer download." Ardnt orders.

  Stait runs over to a computer and starts to type away on it. "I'll need two minutes thirty to complete the download."

  "Roger that we'll cover you."

  Sicilia grabs a M60 that's been mountain on a stand and has a small computer attached to the top of it. She sets the turret up to where it's facing the ramp the girls came down on.

  "Grab the mines from the bags." Ardnt calls out as she looks over some papers on the table. "They'll be following us down the main ramp."

  Osami tosses a couple mines to Sicilia and the two go around the room and carefully pte down explosive and electric mines. Ardnt then tosses some grenades to Sicilia and Osami.

  "Tear gas... use the well!" Ardnt orders, before several rounds fly above her. "Tangos coming down the main ramp.

  Sicilia, Ardnt and Osami take cover and begin to fire down onto the Separatist soldiers running into the room. After a long couple minutes Stait finally finishes the download.

  "Got it!" Stait yells as she pulls out a pistol and fires onto a couple soldiers to her right.

  "Freya, data secure we're exfilling!" Ardnt shouts into comes.

  "Check." Freya says over COMS. "Good work, girls."

  "Pop some smoke!" Ardnt orders as she grabs a smoke grande off her belt and pulls the pin, before throwing it forward.

  Osami and Stait unch some smoke grenades, covering their exit as they head backwards towards the elevator. Sicilia tosses some tear gas grenades into the smoke as bullets keep flying around them.

  Freya speaks into COMS as the four get into the elevator and the rge bst door closes. "We're hearing chatter on the emergency frequencies. Not long before they're on to you."

  Sicilia bends over and heaves a couple times as sweat falls from her face and onto the floor. Everyone takes a few heavy breaths.

  Ardnt wipes her brow. "Time check 23:56."

  "Check." Freya says over COMS.

  Ardnt reloads her SVT and looks to her comrades. "We're going out the same way we came in. Keep your weapons low, but ready. Time to blend it." Ardnt points at Stait. "Leg, help her."

  Osami walks over to Stait and puts her arm around her shoulder, making it seem like Stait's been hurt in the leg.

  Ardnt points at Sicilia. "Limp."

  "G-Got it." Sicilia takes a deep breath.

  Ardnt puts her weapon on her back and gets ready as the elevator stops. "Don't stoot, unless you want to fight your way out of here." She gnces at everyone. "Here we go."

  The doors opens open and soldiers point their weapons at the four. Ardnt limps forward with erh hands held high as she yells in Russian. She speaks and motions to her injured squad mates. Sicilia limps forward and looks around. A soldiers walks forward and helps Osami carry Stait.

  A few soldiers run into the elevator, even the one that was helping Osami. The four move one and they come to the door they blew open with the drill and charges. A soldiers looks over the drill as a few stand by him

  "They got the drill." Stait whispers into coms.

  They four spot a couple soldiers taking their own people prisoner.

  "They're starting to round up their own guys." Freya informs.

  Ardnt huffs. "We can see that."

  The four lose their injuries as they round a corner.

  "We need to s-s-start moving a li-little quicker." Stait whispers into her radio.

  The group keeps moving and they head up into the security room, but Stait helps and injured soldier up the stairs. They see a few soldiers at the computer that Stait hacked into.

  "Just lost our eyes." Freya informs.

  "They have the pnt." Osami informs.

  The three keep moving on, with Stait joining them a couple seconds ter. A dog barks at the four and its handler quiets it down.

  "Pick up the pace." Ardnt orders and the four soon jog towards the exit.

  They pass many soldiers on their way out of the security check point and they head into the parking garage. They run towards a truck with a mounted machine gun turret and grande uncher on it.

  "Hurry up and get in." Ardnt orders.

  Osami gets into the driver with Ardnt beside her. Stait and Sicilia climb into the back. Osami starts up the car and they begin to drive away.

  "Wait for my signal before engaging." Ardnt orders.

  Osami follows another car.

  "Freya, we're exiting the base now." Ardnt says into COMS.

  "Good luck, girls." Freya responds.

  "Keep it tight. Exile will be here in two minutes."

  They come to the exit but they spot several cars getting forced to stop.

  Ardnt looks at the other three. "Keep to the script. Stop but be ready."

  Osami stops the car and starts to yell at the soldiers in Russian, they yell back at her and a few walk to their car. Sicilia looks at Stait as she pulls out a M1911 and pulls the slide back. A soldiers orders the four to pull their masks down as they back up and bring up their weapons.

  Stait brings up her pistol and fires onto two soldiers next to the car, killing them.

  "Punch it!" Ardnt yells as she fires onto a few more soldiers.

  Osami sms on the gas and the car jets forward and out of the tunnel.

  "Sicilia, get on the turret!" Ardnt orders.

  Sicilia grunts as she climbs up into the gunner position. The four drive through the side of the mountain as Sicilia blows up trucks and snowmobiles on their way to the Extract. They drive off the road and onto the ice and Sicilia fires the grenade turret onto the ice, sending trucks flying.

  Ardnt yells into COMS. "Bluegill, this is Ardnt, we're inbound for a hot exfil!"

  A young voice comes over COMS. "Got it, I'll be in position in forty-five seconds!"

  Sicilia ducks a several rounds fly past her, she grunts and fires onto a truck shooting at her. The four then arrive at the open frozen ocean as Sicilia deals with the remaining trucks.

  "Bluegill, we are at the extraction point, over." Ardnt shouts into COMS.

  "Bluegill on station. Surfacing now." Bluegill says over COMS as Sicilia blows up the st truck following them.

  A submarine brakes through the ice and Osami drives up onto it. The swiftly get out and aim their weapons back the direction they came. A hatch opens up and the Eagle Union submarine, bluegill waves at the four.

  "Heya, Commander!" Bluegill ughs as she waves.

  The four run over to the hatch and climb down it.

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  03-19-2024

  3726 words