Back when the initial Venesian invasion took place, the DoD predicted that the invasion has a good chance at spreading towards Entesian’s own borders. This, of course, led to preemptive measures to be taken. In a conflict where Entesia’s explicit involvement is meant to be unknown, only the Entesian Special Operations Command—ESOCOM—was to take part in combat operations. The Hexagon, the Entesian DoD’s headquarters, issued Operational Plan 1024, a war plan that explored various scenarios that can happen during the Venesian invasion.

Operation Veiled Termite is the ongoing operation launched by the Hexagon to undermine the Venesian Imperial Army as soon as OPLAN 1024 was issued. Reconnaissance, sabotage, raids, assassinations, and disruption of supply lines is its goal. The most dangerous operations are kill or capture missions of Venesian and STC commanders, both on the frontlines and behind enemy lines. For this, JSOC created Task Force 66, a multiservice task force whose sole objective is to kill or capture the most important and influential individuals of the Imperial Army. These are the assassins Imperial commanders dread and hope they never encounter. These are the assassins that continue to evade every attempt to defend against them. Not even Generals, who are guarded by the army’s best, can survive an attack from Task Force 66.

By contrast, the Entesian Intelligence Agency launched an operation of their own called Operation Steroid. While Operation Veiled Termite targets the Imperial Army, Operation Steroid targets the elf defenders. With help from Army Rangers, Marine Raiders, Marine Force Recon, and other units conducting intelligence raids and reconnaissance, the EIA is able to secretly inform the elven armies of almost every move the Venesians make. Stockpiles of Venesian weapons are also fabricated and handed to the elves with the help of the Army’s First, Second, and Third Special Forces Groups and their specialty in unconventional warfare.

Despite the successes these operations make, they are not enough. The Venesian Imperial Army continues to overpower their elven adversaries while Entesian efforts only slow them down. The operations were never expected to cause a full retreat but their intention to halt, disrupt, and otherwise force a stalemate has failed.

The fall of Eshe makes it clear that harassing the Venesians wouldn’t be enough, and something else has to be done. Even worse, news of the Alitic Alliance’s incoming invasion quickly reached the executive level. Entesian President Dennis Wilson was shocked to hear that hundreds of warships carrying over a hundred thousand troops are making their way to replenish and reinforce the Venesians already in Weslec.

Even without instructions not to draw attention to Entesia, the conventional army is deemed incapable of waging war due to the lack of overseas military infrastructure needed and its small size resulting from isolationism. Even so, a more aggressive and proactive approach is necessary while maintaining superficial neutrality.

To reduce Venesian morale and raise spirits within the elven nations, President Wilson wants to revive Eshe’s government as a combatant force. It is better to deny Venesia the capitulation of Eshe and have the Grand Duchy exist as a government in exile who remains determined to continue fighting. For this, Operation Riposte is launched to rescue the imprisoned Grand Duke of Eshe.

The big problem that endangers Operation Riposte’s success is the Entesian military itself. Isolationism led to Entesia being unprepared for conflict in faraway regions. Unlike the United States, Entesia doesn’t have the luxury of having military bases everywhere to support combat operations. Units deployed for Operation Veiled Termite either have to cooperate with naval carrier strike groups to be inserted and extracted or spend days in the wild if they are too far inland, outside the reach of carrier helicopters.

A result of the secrecy revolving around Operation Veiled Termite is that units also can’t rely on elven forces to aid them in their missions. The only people allowed to interact with elven forces directly are the Special Forces ODAs that are part of Operation Steroid. However, even they are careful with whom they work with.

However, there is still one possibility. Only one Entesian military base exists in Weslec that can support Operation Riposte, which is Newden Air Base. It is a highly secretive air base built within the Kingdom of Ravia without their knowledge. It was constructed illegally but shouldn’t be much of an issue considering it was built in an uninhabited region. The Kingdom of Ravia’s western territory around a small gulf that borders the Kingdom of Westar and the Kingdom of Baven is primarily a mix of deserts and empty grasslands. Located roughly at 123° W, 12° S, Newden Air Base is almost nine hundred miles from the nearest city. It is one of the most isolated regions on the continent, perfect for a secret military installation.

But its isolation poses a considerable problem for Operation Riposte—it is extremely far away from Fethalean, Eshe’s capital city. It is a three thousand mile distance, to be exact. Too far for helicopters, even from those launched from a nearby aircraft carrier, so a new plan is brought up. Operation planners, therefore, came up with an immensely difficult way for Operation Riposte to succeed. Insertion would be relatively easy; extraction wouldn’t.

.

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In the early hours of the day, the sun has not yet come out. Hours before sunrise in the night sky, the continuous reverberation of propeller engines fills the air. Roughly thirty thousand feet above Fethalean, there is a hardly visible black silhouette.

Using aerial refueling from an accompanying KC-135R Stratotanker, a single C-130H Hercules had taken off from Newden Air Base and made the three thousand mile flight to Fethalean.

Its ramp lowers to expose a green glow emitting from within as its passengers peek out to look into the dark.

Eight pararescuemen, nicknamed PJs, from the Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron joined a sixteen-man team of Delta Force operators. The twenty-four Tier 1 operators are about to undertake one of the most challenging missions of their lives.

“Thirty seconds!” yells one of the operators, trying to overcome the deafening noise of engines and wind.

“Major Barnett! Can you see anything?!”

“Negative, it’s pitch black down there! Can’t see shit!”

“Are we really doing this?!”

“There’s no other way to go about it!”

The twenty-four men are heavy with equipment. Dressed all black, night-vision goggles are attached to their helmets, regular goggles over their eyes, altimeters on their wrists, guns strapped to their sides, and oxygen masks on their faces, the team will have to perform a HALO jump into the city. In addition to parachutes on their backs, some of them also carry large and heavy rucksacks strapped to their legs.

Once the C-130H is in place, the signal is given.

“Go!”

One by one, the more mobile operators jump out of the plane and into the night sky. They can hardly see the ground but aren’t afraid as they trained endlessly for this sort of situation. One Delta operator decides to show off and do frontflips as he disappears in the night. Following him, the next group of operators waddles their way to the ramp before letting themselves fall off the plane. These operators carry heavy rucksacks between their legs which have supplies that would be needed after rescuing the Grand Duke.

As the final operator jumps, all men are in freefall descending from a high altitude. The cold and frigid air will otherwise cause frostbite if it isn’t for the protective clothing they wear. Within seconds, they reach terminal velocity. The buzzing noise of engines dies down and is replaced by wind hitting their bodies at high speeds. It is a relatively calm free fall to the ground that strangely lacks the nervousness or excitement that usually came with it.

Major Barnett is the Delta Force operator tasked with leading the operation to success. Entesia’s native 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta, shortened to Delta Force, is the elite unit chosen and tasked to carry out the operation. Because the health status of the Grand Duke or other influential leaders they may find on the way is unknown, an Air Force pararescue team is sent to join Delta. They will serve as medics or even surgeons if anyone is to receive any significant damage. They are mobile doctors that would care for any casualties.

Major Barnett is fast approaching the ground. Cold air continues to rush past his body as he scans the ground below. He was the first one to jump and will be the first to land. As he breathes through the oxygen mask, he waves his left arm in front of his face to take a look at his altimeter. He is descending fast and will soon deploy his parachute.

Ten thousand feet. They will need to deploy as close to the ground as they can. They can’t afford to allow the enemy to see them floating down from the sky. The ground becomes visible, and Barnett can see a few landmarks he has studied from aerial photographs.

Seven thousand feet. Major Barnett can see the exact place in which he will land. Right in the middle of the city where the Grand Duke’s castle is. They usually would land far away from where the operation would occur, but it isn’t possible here as the castle is at the city center. They would rather only fight their way out of the city instead of fighting their way in and then back out.

Four thousand feet. Barnett reaches for the ripcord and waits a brief moment as the ground gets dangerously close. He has to time it right.

Three thousand feet. Barnett pulls the ripcord, and his parachute deploys. A sudden and violent jolt causes Barnett to grunt as he frantically reaches for the brake handles.

As the remaining operators deploy their parachutes, their descent dramatically slows down, and they maneuver towards their landing spots. The group is divided into six teams of four men. Two Delta and two PJ teams will land next to the castle or within its courtyard to conduct the rescue mission, while the remaining two Delta teams will land on the streets nearby to provide an escape route.

Down below, the streets are quiet. The oppressed residents and Venesian overlords are fast asleep while only a few people roam solo. No one sees any of the operators descending to the ground, and no sound is heard.

The city is dark with few magic orbs providing any sort of light to the streets in complete contrast to what a typical elven city would otherwise be like. Some buildings look damaged from the occasional struggle of people being attacked or kidnapped. Some of the city’s scars from the siege are still visible, particularly the city walls meant to protect it. One section of the wall in the far outskirts has collapsed, leaving a giant opening where the Imperial Army presumably poured in from. Many buildings are destroyed, burnt, or have burn marks on them. The once beautiful plant life and trees that decorated the city are reduced to stumps and weeds. The streets are dirtier, and plenty of areas looks run down as they decay. It is clear to the operators falling from above that the siege on the city must have been brutal to live through and endure.

In the castle’s courtyard, Major Barnett rapidly approaches the ground. Flaring seconds before hitting the ground, his descent slows further as his feet gently touch the ground. He runs across the courtyard as he slows his horizontal momentum before finally stopping. The canopy gently falls onto the ground, and Barnett unhooks his MK18 and aims around his surroundings to make sure no threat is near.

As expected from aerial surveillance, no guards would patrol the courtyard, and few would patrol anywhere else at this hour. The courtyard is empty and gives Barnett time to gather his equipment. Despite the courtyard being a dangerously tight area to land in, three more Delta operators will land and join Barnett in the courtyard.

The other three men land, and they immediately prepare themselves for the mission. They each take off their oxygen masks and goggles and help each other stuff the canopies into the bags on their parachute harnesses. They will bring back all their equipment, especially breathing equipment, if possible, instead of discarding it for the enemy to find later. If they absolutely have to leave anything behind, it will be destroyed and buried.

“Team One to all, we landed in the courtyard. What’s everyone’s status and location?” Barnett speaks into his headset’s microphone as the other three operators sling their rifles over their heads.

All operators on this mission have MK18s customized with SOPMOD II accessories. Because of the nature of their mission, they are all, of course, suppressed.

“This is Team Two. We’re on the west side of the castle. Good to go.”

“Team Three on the east side, we’re good to go.”

“Team Four, north side looking for a way in.”

“Teams Five and Six near the marketplace south of the castle. Ready.”

“Copy all. We all know what to do, fellas. Let’s begin.”

Everyone lowers their night-vision goggles over their eyes and looks around. Their vision becomes green, but they are now able to see everything in detail.

The four quickly make their way to one side of the courtyard, where a door is located. One operator attempts to open the door but finds that it is locked. He shakes his head at Barnett, who is observing. He then approaches a window near the entrance to peek inside and make sure no one is there. He smashes the window with the stock of his gun and jumps inside.

Swinging his rifle left and right, he signals the others to enter. From here on out, they are blind. They have no knowledge of the interior layout and would have to deal with situations as they come.

Soon enough, all four assault teams are inside the castle and begin making their way through the dimly lit structure. The most logical place where the Grand Duke would be imprisoned is the dungeon, which is presumed to be underneath the castle, so the operators have to search for any stairs leading underground.

As the sixteen men infiltrate and search the castle, the remaining two teams outside the castle observe the open streets. No one is around when they land and so comfortably get themselves on their feet to begin their part of the mission. These eight Delta operators are tasked with securing an escape route for when the ones in the castle need immediate evacuation. They are also there to oversee and warn the infiltrators of any possible incoming threats.

In the nearby marketplace, Teams Five and Six search around for something in particular while carrying the extra burden of heavy rucksacks on their backs in addition to their already cumbersome HALO jump equipment.

According to aerial photographs, there should be carriages and horses somewhere to use, so the two teams split up to find them. Team Five remains in the marketplace while Team Six searches the surrounding area. Members of Team Five pass several stalls where vendors would sell their wares and buildings that house stores and shops while keeping their guard up for any dangers.

“Guys, look over there,” says one operator. “There they are.”

The operator points towards a few stalls in the distance where a pair of horses are.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?”

“Yeah. Trey, go say hello.”

The team makes their way over to the horses, who are immediately spooked by the approaching figures.

“Shh, shh. It’s okay,” Trey softly speaks. “Not here to hurt ya.”

Trey slowly approaches the horse and holds out his hand to try and calm it down. Looking around, he sees a nearby stall that has a few scraps of food leftover and reaches to feed the horse. The horse hesitates but eventually eats the food and gains more trust for Trey. One of the other operators is also attempting to tame the other horse.

“There’s a wagon.”

Behind the stalls and horses is a wagon. It looks decent enough to use, and they pity the poor person who is about to be robbed. The operators take harnesses from the wagon and put them on the horses before hitching them to the wagon.

“Hey, what are you four doing?”

While the team is preoccupied with the horses and wagon, they fail to detect two men armed with muskets approaching.

The two musket men are simply patrolling and enforcing a citywide curfew until they spotted the four operators. Thinking they are elven civilians violating the curfew, the Venesian musket men intend to question them.

“You damned inferiors disgust me. Do you think you can ignore the curfew? What are ya even doing at this hour?”

“It matters not. Let us just apprehend them.”

The team all turn around to face the musket men, guns at the ready. The musket men, in turn, freeze in place. Though they can’t see in the dark, they can feel something wrong about the four men. Somehow, something tells them that they aren’t elves.

“You lot ain’t elves… Who are you?”

The dark figures don’t respond and instead look at each other. They seem to be whispering with each other. This is a red flag for the musket men. They grip their muskets in a threatening manner and deepen their voice.

“I asked, who are—”

Gunshots echo, and the musket men fall. They didn’t even get to finish their sentence before the operators lifted their weapons to fire.

“Shit. That was loud. Let’s get the wagon out of here before someone comes looking for these bastards.”

The team relieve themselves of weight and load their rucksacks onto the wagon before taking off.

“Team Five to Team Six, we got a wagon. What about you?” Trey asks through the radio.

“We found two wagons over here. We’re on our way to the castle.”

“Copy. We’ll see you there.”

As Team Five and Team Six have a mostly smooth experience, the same can not be said for the rest. Teams One through Four all have yet to find the dungeon and have already engaged several guards.

Suppressed gunshots are being fired at patrolling guards that wander throughout the castle. None of them, of course, posed much of a threat, but the continued gunshots further risk the enemy learning that the castle was breached.

“C’mon, where the fuck is this dungeon,” complains Barnett.

“Just gotta keep looking.”

At some point in their exploration, Barnett’s Team One encountered Team Three, one of the two Air Force PJ teams. They decided to stick together and recommended the other two teams to unite if they found each other.

After some time, the two teams happen to stumble upon a reinforced door guarded by Venesian musket men who immediately hear the sound of their footsteps.

“Hold! Identify yourselves!” one of the guards yells.

The two guards raise their flintlock muskets and aim at the Entesian operators, who respond by lifting their own weapons. No time is wasted as the guards are immediately shot and killed. Their bodies drop, and the operators hurriedly close the distance between them.

“Fucking asshole think they can shoot us with these things,” mocks an operator.

“Bradley, open the door. This has to be it.”

“Roger.”

An operator grabs onto the wooden drop bar that blocks the door from opening and removes it. He then slowly pushes it open to reveal a staircase leading deep underground.

“Jackpot.”

With guns aimed down the stairs, they descend. When they reach another door, they pile up in anticipation of what can be behind the door. Signaling a countdown with fingers, the Delta operator on point kicks the door open, and the operators pour into the dungeon, ready to fire. Instead of finding more guards, the dungeon is empty. It is a wide-open space with cells sporadically built into the walls, but they all look empty without prisoners. Inevitably, a strange stench invades everyone’s nostrils.

“All right, let’s hurry up and find him. Don’t want to be here any more than we already have to.”

The Delta operators and PJs spread out throughout the dungeon to examine each cell in hopes of finding the Grand Duke alive. Rats run around unrestricted within the cold and wet area. Some cells are found to contain skeletal remains or, worse, decomposing corpses. The operators have no way of identifying any remains and just hope the Grand Duke isn’t among the dead.

“Major. I think I found him.”

One of the pararescuemen catches everyone’s attention as he directs everyone towards one cell in particular. A dangerously skinny body wearing dirty rags within the cell is painfully moving around his cell on the cold stone floor.

“What do you want now?” a weak voice speaks. “I gave you everything you wanted. Just let me die in peace.”

“Grand Duke Elceran?”

The weak and frail body slowly sits up from the floor to try and look at the people who addressed him using his former title.

The operators lift their night-vision goggles and take out flashlights to illuminate the Grand Duke and themselves.

The Grand Duke can finally see his visitors. He immediately recognizes that they are not Venesian. He has no idea who they are.

“Yes, that is I… Who are you, people?”

“It’s complicated, your grace. We’re here to rescue you.”

Barnett signals one of the PJs who carries bolt cutters to open the cell. The PJ takes his bolt cutters and breaks the lock, and the cell door screeches open.

“Rescue?”

A PJ enters and examines the Grand Duke’s body for any life-threatening injuries. The Grand Duke is beaten up, but nothing that would threaten his life, and the PJ nods at Barnett.

“That’s right, your grace. We’re a rescue team. Can you walk?”

Grand Duke Elceran gently nods while still processing what is going on. In every way, this can be a dream. There is no way in his mind that a rescue team could have reached him, much less talk about escaping. A part of his mind keeps denying that he is being rescued as logic would say that the Venesians would never let that happen, but his eyes tell a different story.

Barnett holds out his hand and lifts the Grand Duke to his feet. He is light as a result of starvation, and Elceran feels pain throughout his body. His feet tremble at being lifted, and he feels like he will collapse, but if these people are genuinely there to help him escape, he will have to endure the pain. His weakness will have to be ignored.

“All right, let’s get out of here. We don’t know when we’ll be discovered.”

Grand Duke Elceran is the only person found alive in the dungeon. Everyone else had already died long before they got there.

When they exit the dungeon, Barnett turns to Elceran and says, “your grace, we’ll need your help here. We don’t know the layout of the castle. We’ll need your help in finding a way out.”

“Of course, the nearest way out is that way.” Elceran points.

The group begins moving out in the direction Elceran pointed, but he immediately interrupts the team.

“Ah, wait! My wife! My wife should be in the castle. If we’re leaving, we must take her as well.”

“Your wife? Shit. Where exactly?”

“Those Venesian bastards said their general took her as a concubine. If true, they should be in the master bedroom on the north side of the castle. I can direct you there.”

“No, we’ll have someone else find and rescue her. For us, we’re leaving.”

“There’s more of you?” Elceran asks with a surprised expression.

Barnett doesn’t respond and instead speaks into his radio.

“Team One to all, we have the Grand Duke, but there’s a problem. His wife is also in the building. We’re taking her too. Master bedroom, north side. Who’s there?”

“Teams Two and Four north side. We’ll get it done.”

Over at the north side of the castle, Teams Two and Four have stopped to listen to the radio transmission. Barnett is giving them directions to the master bedroom according to Elceran’s instructions. Once done, they begin moving out. Quickly making their way through the vast maze that is the castle, they search for the master bedroom. If a Venesian general is there, then there would no doubt be more security.

Climbing a grand staircase to the next floor, a few oblivious Venesian guards are spotted. They can’t waste any time and decide to shoot the guards on the spot. Bodies fall, and the operators continue without blinking. Eventually, they reach a grand area where a massive decorated door stands: more guards, more gunshots.

The grand door is opened to reveal a magnificent and extravagant bedroom. Shiny ornaments everywhere; a large bed is at the center.

The bedsheets move as a head pokes out from underneath. The suppressed gunshots were just loud enough to have awoken the person from their slumber and groan as they try to figure out who opened the door.

“Who’s there? I swear if you waste my time, I’ll have your head,” a deep and irritated voice says.

Four operators storm the room and have their weapons pointed at the bed as their flashlights illuminate the room. They are spread out to have eyes on any possible hiding spot where unforeseen threats can linger. They withhold their fire until they know where the Duchess is. The remaining four operators stay outside the bedroom to act as sentries.

“Get up. Step away from the bed.”

“What? Who are—”

“Do it now!”

General Russus’ ears perk up at the aggressive tone, and he begins to get angry. He wipes his eyes and to get a better look at the intruders. Eight black figures are pointing something at him. It is the same way muskets are held, and he immediately realizes the intruders have firearms pointed at him.

“Get. Up,” another operator demands more calmly.

General Russus follows instructions and gets out of bed while staring at the figures angrily. He is wearing just undergarments but strangely wears rings on his fingers. They each have tiny crystals of different colors. One of which gives a weak glow.

“Step over there,” they order.

“Now, where’s the Duchess?”

General Russus smirks and says, “Is that what this is about?”

“Answer the question,” an operator demands.

General Russus lazily points at the bed where the bedsheets are. One of the operators pokes the pile of bedsheets with his rifle and feels something under it. The bedsheets move from being poked and make it clear that another person is there. The person also pokes their head out from under the sheets and reveals long pointy ears and long golden hair. It is an elf woman who has a shocked and frightened face.

She was also alerted by the suppressed gunshots but tried to remain completely still. Assuming that whatever would happen would only involve the General, she wanted to stay under the sheets to be spared any attention and trouble. But alas, it seems the intruders are there specifically for her.

“Are you Grand Duke Elceran’s wife?”

The elf woman nods while trying to cover herself up with the bedsheets.

“Yes, I’m Eilra.”

“We’re here to rescue you and your husband. Please get out of bed, get some clothes on, and come with us.”

“Pah! Really? Rescue?” General Russus interrupts. “You’ll never escape this castle alive. Once the guards realize you people are here, the entire city will be out to kill you.”

“We beg to differ,” an operator plainly says.

“You ain’t elf scum, are you? You are humans… Who sent you here?”

“Duchess Eilra, please. Get some clothes on, and we’ll be on our way. We don’t have much time.”

Duchess Eilra doesn’t quite understand what is happening but follows the instructions of the men. As intimidating as they are, she feels like they are somehow telling the truth. Finally, her nightmare will end, and she will reunite with her husband. She begins wrapping the bedsheets around her and walks towards a walk-in closet to put on clothes.

General Russus steps forward when he sees Eilra stood up.

“You sit back down whore! You’re my slave and no one else’s!”

Sensing this as a threat, one of the operators fires a shot that strikes Russus on his shoulder. Russus falls in pain, unprepared for what occurred.

“Stay down.”

“Weapons hold,” another operator says.

“Y-you think you can threaten me?” Russus groans in great pain.

Suddenly, he reaches behind a drawer that is next to him and retrieves a loaded flintlock blunderbuss. In the blink of an eye, he swings around the blunderbuss and fires with the hope that it hits something.

At the same time, the operator who has his gun trained on him fires twice and hits Russus in his stomach and chest, and his body goes limp. Luckily for the operators, none of them are hit by the blunderbuss, but it sure as hell made a lot of noise.

“Fuck,” an operator exclaims. “Duchess Eilra, hurry up in there!”

“Nearly ready!” she says from the closet.

“We hear movement. I think that blunderbuss woke everyone up,” an operator outside the bedroom says.

“Just fucking great. Weapons free. Shoot them as they come. We can’t hide anymore.”

The more they wait, the more nervous they get. Seconds pass, and the operators outside the bedroom start taking shots at incoming soldiers.

“Duchess Eilra! We need to leave, now!”

As suppressed gunshots pop off, unsuppressed gunshots begin to reverberate as well. Seeing the danger they have stumbled across, the Venesian soldiers start firing off their muskets at the operators in panic before being shot down by their superior firepower.

Duchess Eilra finally comes out, fully clothed, into a room where her former tormentor is bleeding on the floor without movement. She feels a sense of relief, but adrenaline starts to kick in as the noise intensifies.

“We have to get out of here now!” an operator says as gunshots from both sides continue to ring out.

The operators pull duchess Eilra as they hurriedly leave the bedroom and search for a way out of the castle.

“Teams Two and Four! The entire castle woke up! What the hell happened?!” a panicked voice through the radio says.

“Shit hit the fan! We got the Duchess, and we’re moving out!”

Using the Duchess’ and Grand Duke’s knowledge of the castle, all teams begin making their way out and towards the waiting teams outside. Their stealth mission is shattered, and the entire castle is now aware of the intruders. All the guards and soldiers awake from their deep sleep and scatter throughout the castle as Teams One through Four force their way out, shooting every guard and soldier they encounter.

The castle is in complete chaos, and the mayhem would spread to the rest of the city. The operation’s difficulty has just increased exponentially. Worse still, the operators are completely alone and will have to escape the city by themselves. No helicopter has the endurance and range to reach the team. The most challenging part of the operation has just begun.