Shadow Warriors

[Anonymous]

The men being recruited were lifers who either had skills already or the aptitude to learn. They were all proficient in various small arms, domestic and foreign, checked out with the equipment they'd be using, and well trained in small unit tactics. On their arrival at the training camp, all forms of identification were collected and put away, to be returned if they made it back alive.

It was winter and the men were sent out to learn to survive in the cold. At times they'd come indoors for classroom work: languages, customs, and folkways. Experts were on hand to share what knowledge they had. There were many briefings with the latest intelligence, sketchy as it was. No one told them their mission, but the curious ones started drawing conclusions based on what they were learning.

Far away, those at a higher level of power were finalizing plans for the insertion of Team Alpha and others like it into an enemy state for the purpose of aiding known counterrevolutionaries in their struggles.

 

[Anonymous]

The attrition rate was where it had been expected. Whether due to injury, illness, or simply men hitting a wall and not being able to push through this time around in their service lives, the ranks of the teams were thinning. There was no shame; the men who had been recruited were known to have pushed past limits before. If they couldn't do it now, it showed just how tough the training was: forced marches, land navigation under great time pressures, and heavy academic work. By a certain point, everyone was talking in the language of his team's operational area.

Meanwhile, those at a higher level of power continued to evaluate plans. Operational areas were being refined based on what could be gleaned from limited intelligence. Ways of insertion continued to be debated. HALO jump? No aircraft with long enough range, and it would be intercepted anyway. Submarine? Maybe, but it would take multiple trips. By land, over the border? Again, maybe. Even if a weak point could be exploited, it would mean the teams would have to travel across hostile country to reach their operational areas. The question of extraction was in the realm of, "We'll get to it soon."

 

[Anonymous]

Late night, early morning, oh-dark thirty... Crewmen cast off and the submarine slowly moved away from the quay. Heading out into the harbor and slipping past shipping into the main channel, as soon as she reached deep water, she slipped below the surface.

After a set period of time, the captain and first officer opened their operational orders. They were simple: follow a chosen route, traveling at best possible speed on the surface by darkness and underwater during the day, approach the enemy coast at a specific point while collecting intelligence on local activity, and finally when in visual range of the coast, take photographs of coastal landmarks. Due to the length of the trip, the sub would be rendezvousing with converted freighters for any needed fuel or supply.

It was going to be a long voyage, but the captain had confidence in his men and his boat.

 

[Anonymous]

In the grey light of morning, the submarine surfaced not far from the freighter. Slowly cruising over and alongside the stationary surface vessel, crewmen under the watchful eyes of officers and petty officers began the process of refueling and resupplying the submarine. It was really only a topping off; the high command thought it better that the sub have reserves in case a rendezvous could not be made rather than having the sub be in absolute need, making a rendezvous absolutely vital.

As the men went about their work, the captains of the sub and the freighter hailed each other and a packet was passed down to the sub. In it were updated weather forecasts and other less mundane documents in code for the captain's eyes only.

Once everything was complete, the two vessels parted and the sub slowly sank into the ocean.

Meanwhile...

Team Alpha was making its entrance to its new training area by making a HAHO jump. Each man, equipped with the special gear necessary for high altitude jumping, emerged from the aircraft into the clear blue sky. Far below, the land was covered in snow. In the distance, the coast could be seen and then the opposite shore and beyond that the rim of the world.

As the men each deployed his parachute about 15 seconds after leaving the plane, a stack was formed, with the man on the bottom in the lead. He had been specially trained to deal with the snow. Getting his bearings from visible landmarks and using his compass, he was able to get the team headed in the right direction towards its landing zone, 30 miles away.

On they drifted through the azure sky, adjusting their course as needed, until eventually coming for a landing one by one. With every man accounted for, the team packed up their chutes and headed off cross country for the RV with their hosts.

 

[Anonymous]

The sub came to periscope depth and raised its sensors above the water. A scan of the electromagnetic spectrum, visible and invisible, revealed the sub was alone. Surfacing for a quick run on her diesel engine, the sub began listening to a specific shortwave frequency.

Her emerging had been timed to coincide with the time of day when long distance shortwave transmissions from the home country were best received. Right on time, the dots and dashes of the message began. After a time, the message began to repeat for redundancy; it was listened to a second time to check for errors. All was well.

The communications officer in charge of codes took out the day's one-time pad and got to work, breaking down the message into something readable. Once he was done, the deciphered message was passed to the captain, who went over to discuss with the navigator altering their course to stop at their new port of call.

 

[Anonymous]

The sub was running silent just outside territorial waters. Directly south was a stretch of the enemy coast that the experts indicated was isolated and only visited by the local indigenous population. Sonar reported no contacts and the order was given to go to periscope depth. Again, a sweep was made, this time by the captain looking for surface contacts, on the water, in the air... There was nothing. Up went other sensors including radar and ESM. Everything received would later be analyzed.

The moment of truth had arrived. The captain looked to his first officer and then nodded. "Let's proceed south and get some pictures."

@Kadikistan

 

[Anonymous]

The individuals of Team Alpha had become a unit. Knowing each other. Anticipating. Their time in the snows of the north had almost come to an end and they would be returning home soon. They were out in the woods on a hike, traveling with ease, their fieldcraft enabling them to move without difficulty. At the end of the day, they set up camp using native methods to keep warm and cozy as the sun went down and the temperature with it. Tomorrow they would rendezvous with "natives" and then go on to reconnoiter an "opposing force" base.

For those at a higher level of power, things were less clear. Aborting the mission of Team Alpha and its sister teams was coming up more and more in discussions. The silver lining though was that by all accounts, a razor sharp weapon had been forged and would fit nicely in the armory.