《Rising of the Red Tide》Chapter 17 (Part 2)
Advertisement
The van pulled up to the health center and came gently to a stop. It had been set on autopilot, so that Qi Lian could talk with the other occupants of the van. Now they each jumped out, with the exception of Martin. Martin still needed to nurse his wounds.
Qi Lian had managed to figure out how to make each and every person in the vehicle useful in the attack on the Red Tide forces. For Jeffrey and Clayton it had been easy to find them tasks. The others less so. Lian had decided to put Martin's gun skills to use, which made him happy. He needed to feel useful that much Qi Lian could tell.
The group began walking toward the SUV that Clayton, Martin and Qi Lian had been riding in. Qi Lian walked past the passenger seat, and she could see that it was all bloodied. She reached for her side now, nursing the wound which had produced the blood. This reminded her that she was still in pain, but the adrenaline had mostly taken over up to this point. She was healing, and the pain was reduced, but it was still present.
Qi Lian watched as Clayton grabbed his bag from the back of the SUV. He unzipped it revealing his sniper rifle. He then zipped it back up and set it back in the SUV. Qi Lian moved in next to Clayton and reached down. She picked up the sniper rifle and put it down further back. This allowed her to open the area containing the spare tire. She unhooked the spare tire and lifted it, revealing a small usb device.
"What is that for?" Clayton asked.
"I thought at some point I might need to override a car's AI system. This allows me to do so from my watch, and I can reprogram the vehicle how I wish. Didn't you wonder how I was able to steal this car in the first place?" Qi Lian asked.
"Well yes, but that still doesn't explain what you intend to do with it." Clayton replied.
"I plan to override a vehicle's system, I figured that would be obvious by now..." Qi Lian responded wryly.
Advertisement
"But, I mean... oh forget it. " Clayton said.
At this point Qi Lian laughed.
"It is all part of the plan Clayton. This is the part that I need to execute, you just need to worry about your part. Now you know what Han Xin looks like and thus your job should be easier." Qi Lian explained.
At that moment several SUV's pulled into the parking lot. At once several car doors opened and then shut, revealing the occupants of the vehicles. They were all Code Blue soldiers and they all looked strikingly similar. They were assembling at the health center as Qi Lian had requested.
Before engaging with them Qi Lian turned to her group.
"Doctor Dhruv and nurse Noah, please get all medical supplies you would need to help heal anyone during battle. We are going to need you to be a sort of field medic. Jeffrey you need to be in the van with our medical team and Martin. Darnell and Clayton will be in the SUV with me as we discussed. Does everyone understand?" Qi Lian asked.
"Yes." The group said nearly simultaneously.
Then Qi Lian walked toward the Code Blue soldiers.
"Is this all of your troops?" Qi Lian asked.
"No ma'am, there are a few more cars on the way. We have about 70 troops in total." One Code Blue soldier responded, apparently a leader of the group.
"What is you name?" Qi Lian wondered.
"Benjamin Roth." The soldier answered.
"OK Benjamin, I believe that wherever Han decides to hole up it will be marked with landmines. It is a technique we learned in the Chinese military. The mines are marked with an isotope of Beryllium that has a half-life of about 2 months. We are provided with special goggles that can identify the area with the signature and thus can avoid stepping on the mines. Do you have any equipment that could identify this?" Qi Lian asked.
"I am sorry, we utilize a different technique for our landmines. So our equipment will not be useful for this purpose." Benjamin replied.
"That is too bad. I have an alternative idea to at least help a bit with landmines. I just don't quite know the location yet that Han is going to choose for us to fight against them." Qi Lian stated.
Advertisement
"Unfortunately you called our troops off, so we do not have intel on their location." Benjamin said, clearly a bit frustrated.
"I completely understand your frustration, but we need to all work together if we are going to get Han. He is very crafty and he likely has more troops than you think. If some of your troops had gone in and been slaughtered how would that help our cause now?" Qi Lian questioned Benjamin.
"The remainder of our force will be here soon. I have been ordered to trust your judgment and to follow you into battle. Just don't think that I am going to do it happily." Benjamin responded.
Qi Lian had been hopeful that the Code Blue soldiers would accept her as their leader in battle. However because of this interaction she began to feel as though she had been too optimistic. She certainly understood the bond that these troops felt, she had that very same bond with her fellow soldiers. Being raised for 18 years together, while isolated from the rest of the world tended to cause such bonds.
In this moment though Qi Lian needed these soldiers to trust her. She needed them to carry out her plan in order to avoid disaster.
"I am not asking to be the leader of your force. In fact I want you to keep that role. All that I am asking is that you trust my plan. When the time is right, it is you who will lead the troops into battle, not me. I will follow you at that point. But first we need to set up the assault. We need to catch them off guard, and we need to eliminate as many of the landmines as possible. I assure you there will be landmines. We will also need to kill as many of the guards and snipers before commencing the attack. The more confusion the better. This is all that I am asking. Once we commence hand to hand combat, your troops are yours to lead." Qi Lian explained, hoping to convince Benjamin to follow her plan.
"Fine, my troops are at your disposal, until hand to hand combat begins." Benjamin said.
Behind her Qi Lian could hear Clayton and Darnell.
"Come on pops, turn that thing off, now is not the time." Clayton said.
"I just need to hear something Clayton." Darnell said, walking further away from Qi Lian.
"So what is your plan for finding the Red Tide troops?" Benjamin asked.
"I don't exactly have the answer to th..." Qi Lian began.
"Hold up everyone listen please!" Darnell yelled.
Darnell now was quickly walking toward the group and turning up his handheld radio.
"Good evening, in Plattsburgh New York there seems to be more terrorist activity. A bombing earlier today left 40 people dead and numerous others injured after causing a building to collapse. And now we have word that a group of terrorists has apparently taken over one of the town's prized landmarks, the bluff point lighthouse. The lighthouse sits on Valcour island, and the heavily armed terrorists reportedly stole boats from a local Marina, killing several people who tried to stop them in the process...."
Darnell then turned off the radio.
"You see son, you should pay more attention to the news." Darnell stated.
"I guess that solves our problem of where to find them." Qi Lian observed.
"Now I need to pull up photos of the lighthouse and surrounding areas. We need to be prepared for all sorts of trickery too. It seems suspicious to me that Han would have all his men holed up on an island that they can't easily escape from. We need to be prepared for an attack from our rear when we approach the island." Qi Lian said.
"We are ready to see your plan now. Please show us what you are thinking." Benjamin requested.
The group set to work discussing what Qi Lian had in mind.
Advertisement
Reincarnated Cat Becomes a Magical Beast
She is but a street cat who suddenly finds herself dying a sudden death. The next thing she knows is that she is in a new land where magic exists and she finds that she is no ordinary cat anymore. She has turned into a small kitten once more of silver colour, with green eyes that have a tint of red to them. She may sound like a normal kitten, but actually, she now has the power of magic, making her a Magical Beast in this world. She also finds that her intelligence has skyrocketed and her memories are as clear as day. In the future her name will spread as the partner to a grand Magician of the Wilderwolf family. But for now, follow her as she meets this Grand Magician at a young age and grow up together, forming an unbreakable bond along the way. Author's Note: This will be a long project, just fyi. It'll take several chapter just for our little main character to meet her future partner and there will be only a few big time skips to age the characters. I intend to have a lot of this story telling the story of how our duo grow up at a steady pace, so don't expect to see our main characters out saving the world any time soon. XD
8 249The Fourth Beast
In order for Shinto Religion to survive, Amaterasu made a bargain with a hero from another dimension. Yes, she got their hero, but he was more than that. A savior, a leader, and someone who has the potential to reach the likes of Ophis and Great Red. Note: This is a crossover between Naruto & Highschool DxD, focusing on worldbuilding and mythical side of Highschool DxD. I uploaded the story here to get constructive feedback to improve my writing skills.
8 159Our Chaoz ; Our Reality [New Breath]
We've all at one point, imagined living in a game-like reality. We've read the books, we've watched the shows. So has Kyle, but not even he could see it coming. Delving into a brand new game, Kyle and his guild find themselves in the very center of a war-torn world. His past, present, and future all converge on him, as his very emotions threaten to shred him apart from the inside. Kyle and his guild take it upon their shoulders to survive this world of Chaoz. The Gods of this world only toying with them, Kyle shuns them, he and his guild listen to no one. He and his guild align themselves with no one, no one but themselves. Have you ever thought about what would happen? What would happen if a guild of assholes were stuck in a "summoned to a fantasy game-world" setting? Take my hand and read on, I'll lead you through it. Through the discovery of one's self. The loss of one's everything. The surrender of one's beliefs. And the sacrifice, of one's life, for another. Take my hand dear reader, and allow me to show you, my world of Chaoz.
8 180The Witch Doctor
Story revolves around a boy named Agung. Who is an only survivor of his family because of a certain incident. Now he lives with his childhood friend Sarah in a town named Kendimadu. But now, his happiness just get crushed once again because of a demon invasion at his town. Will he survives it once again and lived to tell the tale?
8 126The Cataclysm
A story of multiple people and their adventures across the southeast of the United States, specifically Georgia. In a world where technology has stopped working and the laws of physics have rewritten itself, the "heroes" of this story must find a way to survive what has succumbed to their world. We follow many characters and see them develop within a year of discourse, love, sorrow, and even mayhem. Ariel struggles with morality and leadership. Erik only sees his way as the best and brightest options. Luis struggles with faith. This is only a fraction of what the world has to offer.
8 141Forgotten - Antisepticeye
- SHORT STORY: MULTIPLE ENDINGS -- TRIGGER WARNING: ANGST (MAYBE, IF YOU'RE INTO THAT EASILY) -- TRIGGER WARNING: SLIGHT GORE (FOURTH ENDING)-It's been years since Jack quit his channel for his family. He has a happy family, and everyone will remember him as the YouTuber that either came into your life, changed it, or saved it. Or the one that screamed a lot. Either way, he will be remembered by his fans as long as they lived.Unbeknownst to most, however, everything that Seán created is falling apart. The fanbase will survive, but the channel is gone. And with that, terrible things happen to the ones that were cherished.Although Seán will always be treasured, some others will be forgotten. Most are lost. The rest are despairing. One is trying to find an answer to this punishment, but at what cost?If you don't like those stories with multiple endings, this isn't the one for you.Not an X Reader.The story does not allow you to make the decisions. It's just the different endings of parallel universes of a dying demon and his brothers.
8 121