Chapter Text
No amount of ear protection was going to drown out the sounds of a CH-53K Helicopter. The rotors cut through the wind and rain like the devil’s own weedwhacker, barreling through the sky as it approached closer and closer towards its objective.
The weather conditions would make any normal infiltration impossible, with crosswinds of up to 40 knots forcing the pilot to grip the Cyclic Stick with everything he had. Flashes of lightning bathed the interior of the aircraft in blinding white light, briefly exposing the several sitting figures all clutching their rifles with an intense grip.
Every face was obscured. Thick shaded goggles and full balaclavas covered every facial feature of all members of the unit held within the cabin of the Helicopter. Held within each of their plate carriers were extra magazines and extra flash grenades, with some operators equipped with mechanical breaching tools. Each of them wore an identical Black BDU, covered from helmet to boots in the tactical stealth uniform of their unit.
Breaking through the deafening roar of the chopper, a radio sounded into the earpieces of the ten men huddled together.
“ETA sixty seconds to target, radio check.”
K-A5 inspected the rifle in his hands one last time before it was time to rope out the door, feeling it’s reliable weight against his chest and allowing his years of training guide his hands around it.
The HK-417 was a heavy rifle. With the addition of a suppressor, 1-4x LPVO sight, and 30 round magazines bringing the weight of the weapon to just about 10 pounds. The Halligan Bar upon his back was to be used for breaking through metal doors and busting open any shipping crates that needed to be searched. He had a USP.45 handgun holstered to his right hip, it’s usual suppressor removed in exchange for a compensator to reduce recoil at short range.
If he was going to be drawing that pistol, shit had already gone to hell anyway. No use staying quiet.
The darkness of the cabin transitioned from pitch black into the harsh red glow of warning lights, signaling that it was time to get ready to go. The same radio call sounded off to everyone in the chopper.
K-A5 stood with the other nine men in the unit, eyes forward as L-T1 turned to face all of them. His voice commanded the respect he was owed as the commanding officer of the operation.
“To repeat. We are fifty-seven miles off the coast of South Korea, approaching a medium freighter vessel designated ‘Broadhead’. Our objective is to locate and retrieve the contents of Shipping Container 52775. There is a small crew as well as a security detail on board.”
“Rules of engagement sir?”
There was a quiet pause after another operator asked the question. The weight of the situation was not lost to any of the men standing at the ready. There was finally a grunt in response, hardening the resolve of everyone in the cabin.
“Crew expendable… Lock and load boys.”
The crew chief assisting the helicopter pilot called out to the unit, his hand held out to allow them to see his splayed fingers.
“We are a-go for hot drop! Opening doors in five, four, three, two!”
The red lights bathing the unit flashed brightly as they switched to brilliant green, two sets of sliding doors opening as whipping winds and rain pelted the inside of the cabin. Two ropes fell from each side of the helicopter to the deck of a freighter ship battling the overwhelming torrents of the ocean waves.
“Green light, Go! Go! Go!”
One by one each operator in the helicopter grabbed onto the thick rope and slid down onto the freighter below, boots thumping upon the metal deck with menace in every step.
K-A5 was the second to last one onto the ship, L-T1 following close behind as he signaled for the helicopter to dust off. It’s rotors were quickly overwhelmed by the sounds of the waves and winds, almost invisible to anyone not actively listening for it above deck.
“We have fifteen minutes to secure the contents of container 52775, weapons free. G-A7, take your men and secure the decks toward the Bow of the ship. R-E4, head below deck with the rest to the cargo hold and secure the area to begin searching for our target. K-A5, you’re with me. We’re heading for the bridge to find a hard copy of the manifest.” L-T1 commanded. There were no return calls of affirmative, no unnecessary chatter. Only the sounds of the firm boots on cold iron floors.
K-A5 flipped the safety off of his rifle as he brought it to low-ready, the stock pressed firmly to his shoulder and ready to be raised at a moments notice. The bridge was located towards the stern of the ship, raised high above the hundreds of shipping containers all stacked in order upon the foredeck. There were no alarm klaxons or the sounds of combat, they still had the element of surprise on their side.
L-T1 took point as the two stalked along the deck, weaving through shipping containers with eyes searching all corners for opposing forces. When two figures cloaked in shadow were spotted casually leaning over a starboard side railing, L-T1 held a fist firmly by his head, calling for a halt. Huddled against a dark green container, K-A5 watched as the two figures spoke to each other without a care in the world. It was only when one of the men turned to spit over the edge of the ship was an AKM spotted against his stomach, held in place by a sling around his neck and shoulders.
Green light.
“I’ll take the one on the right. Left’s all yours.” L-T1 intoned, bringing his own rifle to bear and taking aim. “On my mark. Set?”
“Set.”
“Mark.”
The two deafened shots were muffled as another wave crashed against the freighter, both security guards stiffening up suddenly and unable to stop their momentum from being carried over the railing. It saved the operators the trouble of needing to hide the bodies.
“There’ll be more as we approach the bridge, ready yourself son.”
“Copy, sir.”
The rush of adrenaline was tempered by years of training and hardship, every movement taken rehearsed and memorized thousands of times over. A rookie’s shaky hands were replaced with the hardened grip of a veteran, never faltering or second guessing a single movement as K-A5 pressed forward alongside L-T1.
As the two found the exterior staircase heading up the bridge tower, the inevitable finally sounded off. The blaring rings of alarm sirens and red flashing lights bounced off of every wall, and the crew was now aware of an outside presence. Heavy steps bounded up the staircase with a new haste, the pair reaching the observation deck of the bridge. Their position allowed an unobstructed view of the interior through the lookout windows.
As the crew inside still paced and looked around in bewilderment at the new alarms, the sounds of suppressed gunfire and ricochets tore through the confusion with swift action and violence. Several widened eyes turned towards the gunfire with weapons unsteady, before being cut down by a volley of 7.62mm.
Silence, violence, back to silence.
K-A5 rushed through a portside door with L-T1 following close behind, sweeping every corner and checking behind every desk of ship instruments now sparking and deadened by gunfire. After an affirmation that they were in the clear, the pair quickly reloaded their weapons and began sweeping the area for a manifest.
Intel gathered for the operation had been sparse to say the least. It was a Priority-One assignment from the boss herself, calling for a strike team within twenty-four hours of the initial briefing. The freighter was heading towards the coast of North Korea on the southern side of the DMZ, and would be lost if it managed to reach the port. Whatever was in Container 52775 needed to be retrieved by whatever means necessary.
K-A5 turned over the now cooling body of a middle aged man behind the throttle of the ship, feeling his pockets for any sort of indication he had what they were looking for. There was a small booklet of papers in a vest pocket that was folded thrice over, sealed in a leather casing which protected it from the blood now spilling over its face.
“Got something sir.” K-A5 unbound the leather casing to reveal several pages of shipping manifests, each one of them meticulously cataloged with weights and dimensions of every container aboard the Broadhead. They were reported to contain innocuous cargo. Hazardous Waste, construction materials, Imported goods, all above board. Yet among the hundreds of containers, there was only one that interested the pair.
Container 52775, held within the lower cargo hold, was labelled to contain “Livestock.”
“That’s what we’re here for. RE-4, we’ve located the container near your location, how copy?” L-T1 radioed. The return call was filled with the sounds of gunfire and panicked shouting, before it was all drowned out by the radio operator firing his own weapon towards an unseen target.
“We’ve engaged the security forces within the lower cargo hold. Situation nominal but forces are larger than initially expected. We may need your guns L-T1.”
“Roger, hold positions and maintain suppressing fire. We’re on our way.”
K-A5 was already on the move as the call for backup came through, folding the paper manifests back into his plate carrier and readying his weapon as he took point heading below deck. From the bridge the pair made haste as they cleared lower hallways of the few scant security forces still lingering in the area, the combatants caught off guard as two forces of swift death came from a completely different direction than the cacophony of gunfire.
Suppressed 7.62 made quick work of the unarmored forces now swarming the lower decks, the unorganized security armed with poorly maintained and non-uniform weaponry. The racking sound of a Remington 870 was the only warning given to K-A5 as he turned and ducked behind the cover of a hallway corner, wincing as he heard the shotgun pellets ricochet off the metal walls and puncture several pipes lining them. The halls were now quickly filling with blinding steam that hampered all vision.
“We’re gonna kill you fuckers you hear? Fuck off and die!” More and more shotgun shells were blasted into the thick cloud cover, wildly firing blind into nothing as the pair waited for him to run dry. As soon as the click of an empty barrel was heard, L-T1 turned the corner and underhand tossed a flashbang down the hall, the piercing white light and loud blast disorienting the assailant and allowing the duo to march forward and unload their weapons into the concussed man.
“We are at mission time ten minutes, be prepared to secure the contents of the container and head topside at double time. Approaching lower cargo hold from the Bridge entrance ETA twenty seconds.”
“Affirmative sir!”
K-A5 and L-T1 stacked against a watertight door, listening to the sounds of a firefight happening on just the other side. From the sounds of unsuppressed gunfire and its positioning, the remaining security forces were hunkered down on a railing overlooking the lower cargo hold, being held in position by the overwhelming firepower of the Retrieval Unit. Perfect for a flanking position.
“Watch your fire on the Bow side railing, we’re coming out.” L-T1 radioed, gripping the door’s large handle with both hands and readying to open.
K-A5 steadied his rifle ahead and nodded, bursting through the door as it opened and opening fire on the security forces who were caught completely off guard by the new angle of fire. There were only about four guards left, each of them scrambling to adjust their aim before they were cut down by the fire power of a superior fighting force. At last there was the relative quiet amongst the ship’s interior, the sounds of blaring alarms and the now crewless ship creaking as it drifted listlessly on the thrashing seas.
“Clear!” K-A5 called out, dropping his now empty magazine and reloading his rifle. The remaining members of his unit rose up from behind their cover and continued to sweep the room with care, confirming that at last there were no more combatants in the room to tangle with.
“We’re cutting this very close, let’s get a move on. Where’s the container?” L-T1 rallied. Another operator sounded off in response, his flashlight illuminating the digits painted alongside the red shipping container. As his flashlight swept further higher, the unmistakable sign of air holes were found punched through the top of the box. “K-A5, breach the locks!”
“Roger, sir.” K-A5’s halligan bar was brought off of his back and jammed into one of the several hinge locks upon the main door of the container. “Sledge!”
Another member of his unit stepped forward and brought forth a compact sledgehammer, swinging down upon the halligan bar and manually breaking the lock off on contact. The several other locks on the container gave way in the same manner, allowing two others to grab the handles of the container and slowly bring them open.
It was dark within, the overwhelming smell of sick and bodily waste flooding out of the now open box, the first signs of just how dire it was inside. As flashlights were shined into the box there was no mistaking just what it was K-A5’s unit was tasked with retrieving.
“don’t… don’t shoot… please…”
An outraised hand reached forward with a desperate plea, the unmistakable sight of an Umamusume huddling against the back wall of the container with half a dozen others, all in various states of undress. They were all filthy, dishevelled beyond belief after what must have been days of this kind of deplorable treatment.
L-T1 watched as his men went into the container to provide care to the Uma’s however they could, before sparing a glance to his wristwatch and cursing under his breath.
“We are at thirteen minutes mission time, get these girls ready for transport topside. We are cutting this too close already-”
“WAIT!”
The cry from within the container brought everyone to a standstill. The Uma who cried out was small, evidently malnourished with sunken cheeks and a manic look in her eye. Her sand colored ears upon her head quivered in fear and anxiousness, as if worried by the fact that they were being rescued.
“They took her! They took Minoru!”
K-A5 stepped forward and placed his hands upon the Uma’s shoulders, gently restraining her from making any sudden movements. He glanced around the room and got a count, registering that there were seven girls being prepped for evac.
“You’re saying there was an eighth girl with you? Where did they take her? Where is Minoru?”
The poor thing shivered violently at the questioning, her nerves no doubt frayed beyond repair at the hardship she was forced to endure. Despite the questioning, time was of the essence. The remaining Uma’s were escorted back to the top side of the ship with hurried steps, every operator maintaining security around the girls as they huddled together for comfort.
“She was… she was the captain’s favorite…”
K-A5’s eyes narrowed at the implication of the answer as he walked in step alongside her. L-T1 nodded with a sure look in his eye, reaching over and clapping a hand over K-A5’s shoulder. “Job’s not done until the entire contents of that container are extracted. Let’s head for the Captain’s Quarters. The rest of you, ready for exfil in two minutes! Double time son.”
“Roger sir!”
The crew quarters were now sparse with life with a majority of the crew now slowly decomposing upon the cold decks of the ship, allowing L-T1 and K-A5 to quickly make their way towards the location of the last Uma in that container. Their boots, bashing loudly against the iron grates of the floor beneath them, echoed off of the walls every sprinting footfall. Only when they turned a corner and found the telltale double doors of the Captain’s Quarters did they slow, rifles at the ready as their mission timer ticked ever so closer to its end.
Their helicopter only had so much fuel remaining for its trip back, and time was now of the essence.
L-T1 stepped forward and placed a testing hand upon the door handle of the doors, shaking them to find the doors firmly locked shut. “Bollocks, no time to quietly breach. Get the breach charges off my back.” L-T1 ordered, shifting to allow K-A5 access.
K-A5 took the small explosive charges out of the pack and placed them upon the door hinges, pulling the charging pins to activate them before taking several steps backwards from the doors. “Breaching!”
The blasts were deafening from within the small metal hallways, kicking up dust and smoke but blasting the doors right off of the walls. The opening allowed K-A5 and L-T1 to enter the room with guns raised, sweeping every corner before their eyes both set upon the lone figure still within the quarters.
With her hands restrained to the bed frame with coarse rope, Minoru sat upon the floor with bloodshot eyes and disheveled unkempt hair. Her ears were pinned down against her head in fear and pain, her wrists red and bloodied as she tried in vain to pull herself away from her restraints. The most troubling thing however, was the explosive vest that was doubly locked and restrained to her torso.
“Sweet bloody goddesses…” L-T1 gasped, seeing enough explosives on the vest to send a chunk of the freighter down to the bottom of the ocean.
“Please… please help me…” Minoru choked, the hair falling past her face becoming wet with desperate tears. The tears ran through a face mottled with dirt and filth, her crying gasps bringing pause to the operators.
K-A5 restrained his weapon to his chest and stepped forward to inspect the vest more closely, his watch indicating that little more than a minute remained on their mission time clock. They only had two minutes to get topside once that ran dry.
“L-T1, get me those bolt cutters, I gotta start finding which of these locks is for show.” K-A5 called out, inspecting the several padlocks holding together the vest in crossing wires and restraints. “Minoru, where’s the Captain? Is he still here?”
The disheveled Uma shook her head with a shaky breath, eyes darting back and forth as K-A5 took the bolt cutters from L-T1 and lopped off a seemingly useless lock. “That bastard…He left as soon as the alarms sounded. He was yelling something, something about a lifeboat. Just…Please just get this thing off of me!”
L-T1 stepped around K-A5 and used a knife to remove the rope from around Minoru’s wrists. Only from his position did his eyes finally catch the glint of a watch face behind the shoulder of the bomb vest.
“K-A5, I’m seeing a timer here. Forty-Five seconds and counting son.”
“Shit. Hold still Minoru. I’m gonna cut you loose from this thing.” K-A5 breathed, removing a lock that seemed to loosen a cinch from around Minoru’s chest. Following that cinch brought him to a lock tying a restraint underneath both arms. And following that restraint revealed a lock holding together a tie around Minoru’s neck.
“Twenty seconds.”
Minoru’s eyes darted back and forth as she listened to the timer leading to her death tick down with every passing second, her choking sobs sending horrible coughs out of her throat with every attempted breath.
“Please I don’t want to die! Please help me, please!”
“Last lock!”
“Ten seconds!”
“MINORU! HANDS UP NOW!”
Minoru raised her hands above her head as fast as she possibly could, K-A5 using the space to rip the vest off of Minoru’s torso to throw the bomb vest as far as he could across the room. The enclosed space was too small, and there wasn’t enough time to get to safety.
K-A5 wrapped Minoru in his arms and dove towards the open double doors as fast as he could, watching as L-T1 turned a corner with a desperate cry.
“TAKE COVER!”
Searing white heat washed over K-A5 as the blast went off, holding Minoru as close to his chest as he could to try and shield her with his body. The force of the blast sent them skidding across the hallway floor with reckless abandon, tumbling end over end as K-A5 held Minoru tightly until the world stopped spinning around them. There was a horrible groaning as the blast ripped parts of the ship's structure apart, forcing the rest of the frame to strain with the new damage.
As K-A5 tried to regain his bearings from the force of the blast, he felt a pair of hands grip the shoulder of his plate carrier and roll him over onto his back.
There was a muffled screaming in his ears as if he was trying to listen to something underwater, his vision blurring and failing to focus on anything that wasn’t right in front of his nose. He noted that his helmet and shaded goggles had been completely blasted off of his head, his balaclava barely managing to stay on his face to obscure his features.
Something within his arms shifted, freeing themselves from his grasp and standing above him on shaky legs. Minoru… She was okay.
“can you hear me…! K-A5 do you copy…! can you hear me son…?!”
At last the muffled sounds formed themselves into coherent sentences, understanding coming through in small pockets of consciousness.
Fuck… why did he feel so tired…? His arms, his legs. Everything was so heavy. Why couldn’t he move?
“We’ve got to get out of here son! Can you hear me? We’ve got to get out of here now! That blast hit a fuel line, this ship is going down!” L-T1 shouted, reaching down and grabbing each side of K-A5’s plate carrier. With a heave, K-A5 was brought to try and rest against L-T1’s shoulder, the fallen operator limping with every step as he tried to keep pace with his commanding officer. Minoru followed in lockstep to the both of them as they slowly made their way across the now listing deck towards the evac point. Their chopper had already arrived and was now waiting for their return with seconds on the timer remaining.
Every time K-A5 attempted to get his feet underneath him, something buckled and gave way, every step seemingly more and more impossible than the last.
“S-Sir… we’re not both gonna make it…” K-A5 gasped, the arm wrapped around L-T1’s shoulder going slack in an attempt to leave himself behind. “Go… get her off this ship…
“You don’t get to give up that easy son! We are BOTH leaving this fucking ship!” L-T1 screamed, decorum be damned. Minoru watched with horror as K-A5 finally slumped over onto the floor in unconsciousness, his burnt and battered body crashing down with a shake of rusted metal. There were a few desperate moments of L-T1 shaking and begging his comrade to get up, before realizing that he was unable to move his friend's body any further.
At least… not by himself.
Minoru stepped forward and lifted each one of K-A5’s legs underneath each of her arms, lifting his lower half off the ground as L-T1 watched in stunned silence. “I can help! I’m strong enough to lift him! Let us move quickly!”
L-T1 wasted no more time accepting the Umamusume’s help in getting K-A5’s body off of the ground, the both of them moving more than fast enough to reach the evac helicopter before dust off. Minoru tried her best to not focus on just how mangled her savior’s leg felt underneath his trousers.
“MINORU!” One of the Uma’s now aboard the chopper cried, seeing her friend safely coming on board with the rest of the rescued Uma’s.
“We need a medic now! K-A5 is seriously wounded, get medical ready as soon as we land. We are green and accounted for!” L-T1 called out, hearing the rotors of the helicopter above them spin up to speed as the final three passengers were stowed into the cabin.
Minoru turned to the doors of the helicopters as they slid shut with a loud slam, watching as the burning freighter ship she was trapped aboard rapidly grew smaller and smaller as they rose higher and higher into the sky, her nightmare finally coming to a close. The quiet sobs of several traumatized Umamusume were all she could focus on, watching closely as another one of the soldiers came over and cut the pant legs off of K-A5’s trousers.
It was only after Minoru’s hands came to her mouth in horror, that she realized her arms were now stained with K-A5’s blood.
His right leg was mottled with thick black burns with a piece of his tibia jutting out from the front of his shin, his foot hanging onto the rest of his leg with pieces of muscle and sinew.
He had taken the blast for her. For someone he hadn’t even known for two minutes.
“Holy goddess…” The medic gasped, quickly wrapping a tourniquet just above the right knee and making note of the time. “I need 400cc’s of Amoxiclav here now!”
L-T1 reached into the large trauma kit underneath his seat and pulled out a large capped off syringe, passing it to the medic who administered the drug into the leg just above the tourniquet. L-T1’s eyes followed Minoru’s as she watched the procedure taking place, her shocked expression betraying every single feeling she was going through as she watched the person who saved her life now fighting for his.
He walked over to the stunned Umamusume and placed a hand onto her shoulder, shaking her from her catatonic state and releasing a shaky gasp.
“The lad is going to be okay, he’s tougher than he looks, ma’am...” L-T1 coaxed, trying his best to believe his own words.
Minoru’s eyes welled with tears for what must have been the hundredth time in the past few days, her ears folding down upon her head and tail hanging lifelessly against her legs. The only comfort she was afforded was the arms of the soldier wrapping her body in a warm embrace.
She just wanted this nightmare to end.
She just wanted to go home.