Cotland
22-10-2006, 00:25
Pitti island seemed like a nice place to visit, major Daniel Evensen thought as he stepped off the LCAC that had brought him and his platoon to the small, empty island. The Lakshadweep islands had just been annexed back under the control of the Realm after a hiatus of nearly fifteen years. The population hadn't objected too much when Royal Marines stepped off the grey ships that had transported them to the islands when they disembarked at Minicoy, Kalpeni, Chetlat, Bitra, Kiltan, Kadmat and Amini and set up on the islands, reaffirming Cottish rule. Now, three weeks later, Evensen and his company of highly trained Royal Marines were ready to undertake a special mission.
Fifteen years ago, just before the transfer of power from the Realm to the Sultanate of Elephantum, a now defunct nation-state, the Realm had maintained a listening post here, and the Royal Marines were to secure and reman it. Or so they had been told, anyways. A pair of shadowy men dressed in black BDUs had accompanied Evensen's company of a hundred and twenty. The men moved determined through the small forest and over to the cliffs of the reef that was Pitti island. Evensen and twenty of his men followed, the rest remaining topside to establish a base camp and maintain communications.
Finally, after moving quickly through the forest, the men stopped and checked a map and a GPS. They had a little discussion, then they instructed a pair of Marines to start digging in the loose sand and coral. The two Royal Marines, both of them holding the rank korporal, hadn't dug for long before their entrenchment tools hit something made of metal. After uncovering it, they discovered a metal hatch around a concrete foundation, the hatch having a large heavy-duty padlock on it. One of the mysterious men took out a key and inserted it into the padlock. Evensen wasn't really amazed when he discovered that the key fitted perfectly into the padlock, or when it turned. What did surprise him was that the lock didn't open. After several attempts with no result, the man was clearly irritated as he took out his pistol and shot the lock open, the 11 x 43 mm LDC bullet slicing through the metal. Finally, he pulled the padlock out and instructed the Marines to open the hatch. They did as told, and amazingly, the hatch slid open without any problems. The insides revealed a set of concrete stairs leading into a dark corridor.
Nodding to the first set of Marines, Evensen pulled out his L100A1 assault rifle and switched the flashlight attached to it on. Carefully, the eight Marines moved down the stairs, having flashlights and laser pointers turned on. They didn't know what to expect, but they had been instructed to exercise extreme caution before they were dispatched. Why would they have to exercise extreme caution when they were simply to repopulate a listening post? It didn't make sense, Evensen thought as he moved down the corridor with his Marines. The corridor was dark, but the Marines could see in the areas illuminated by their flashlights that it was narrow. After a few seconds, the lights hit something...
The sight that the Marines saw was that of blood smeared all over the walls and floor a bit down the hall, and bloody drag marks. From the looks of it, the blood had been shed quite a while ago, certainly several years ago. Still, the Marines went into tactical mode and started clearing the corridor, making sure it was secure. It wasn't long before the Marines all shouted "Clear!"
"Major, over here!" one of the sergeants said, pointing his rifle at something from his position in the far end of the corridor. The major walked over, holding his rifle ready for anything. What he saw was shocking. A person... Well, it used to be a person, but now it was reduced to a mangled, blood-stained skeleton wearing torn, bloody clothes. Anyway, the skeleton lay near what appeared to be the elevator opening, and it was in a bad shape. The medic was summoned, and in the light of the flashlights, he could tell that something had bitten the skeleton, it having teeth-marks on the cranium, several bones, and on the clothes. From what the Marines could tell, the uniform was of a pattern used by the Air Force fifteen years ago, before the transfer to todays uniform pattern. A black Walther P99 covered with dust lay near the corpse, its slide open with an empty magazine inserted. The find of the weapon further supported the theory of the airman having had something bad happened to him. Something was seriously wrong here!
Major Evensen looked up as the two mysterious men dressed in black walked over. He got up and was about to ask just what the hell was going on when one of them said in a business-like tone, ignoring the corpse on the floor.
"Shall we proceed?"
"Just what the hell is going on here?" Evensen asked in an upset voice, ignoring the cold stare the man gave in reply, his face illuminated by a flashlight.
"That's on a need to know basis Major, and you don't need to know. Please have your men enter the elevator shaft and clear it." He left little room for discussion in his order, and he knew that Evensen would oblidge. After all, he had been ordered to obey them on this mission.
Giving the man a mock smile and a nod, Evensen turned his head and nodded to one of his sergeants. The man nodded, and ten seconds later, the elevator doors were forced open to find a waiting elevator car with lights still running. Apparently, the facility still had a power source running. Evensen, the two men and another seventeen Marines entered the car, and pressed the round metal button with a down-arrow labeled on it. With a groan, the car started moving downwards, slowly...
Fifteen years ago, just before the transfer of power from the Realm to the Sultanate of Elephantum, a now defunct nation-state, the Realm had maintained a listening post here, and the Royal Marines were to secure and reman it. Or so they had been told, anyways. A pair of shadowy men dressed in black BDUs had accompanied Evensen's company of a hundred and twenty. The men moved determined through the small forest and over to the cliffs of the reef that was Pitti island. Evensen and twenty of his men followed, the rest remaining topside to establish a base camp and maintain communications.
Finally, after moving quickly through the forest, the men stopped and checked a map and a GPS. They had a little discussion, then they instructed a pair of Marines to start digging in the loose sand and coral. The two Royal Marines, both of them holding the rank korporal, hadn't dug for long before their entrenchment tools hit something made of metal. After uncovering it, they discovered a metal hatch around a concrete foundation, the hatch having a large heavy-duty padlock on it. One of the mysterious men took out a key and inserted it into the padlock. Evensen wasn't really amazed when he discovered that the key fitted perfectly into the padlock, or when it turned. What did surprise him was that the lock didn't open. After several attempts with no result, the man was clearly irritated as he took out his pistol and shot the lock open, the 11 x 43 mm LDC bullet slicing through the metal. Finally, he pulled the padlock out and instructed the Marines to open the hatch. They did as told, and amazingly, the hatch slid open without any problems. The insides revealed a set of concrete stairs leading into a dark corridor.
Nodding to the first set of Marines, Evensen pulled out his L100A1 assault rifle and switched the flashlight attached to it on. Carefully, the eight Marines moved down the stairs, having flashlights and laser pointers turned on. They didn't know what to expect, but they had been instructed to exercise extreme caution before they were dispatched. Why would they have to exercise extreme caution when they were simply to repopulate a listening post? It didn't make sense, Evensen thought as he moved down the corridor with his Marines. The corridor was dark, but the Marines could see in the areas illuminated by their flashlights that it was narrow. After a few seconds, the lights hit something...
The sight that the Marines saw was that of blood smeared all over the walls and floor a bit down the hall, and bloody drag marks. From the looks of it, the blood had been shed quite a while ago, certainly several years ago. Still, the Marines went into tactical mode and started clearing the corridor, making sure it was secure. It wasn't long before the Marines all shouted "Clear!"
"Major, over here!" one of the sergeants said, pointing his rifle at something from his position in the far end of the corridor. The major walked over, holding his rifle ready for anything. What he saw was shocking. A person... Well, it used to be a person, but now it was reduced to a mangled, blood-stained skeleton wearing torn, bloody clothes. Anyway, the skeleton lay near what appeared to be the elevator opening, and it was in a bad shape. The medic was summoned, and in the light of the flashlights, he could tell that something had bitten the skeleton, it having teeth-marks on the cranium, several bones, and on the clothes. From what the Marines could tell, the uniform was of a pattern used by the Air Force fifteen years ago, before the transfer to todays uniform pattern. A black Walther P99 covered with dust lay near the corpse, its slide open with an empty magazine inserted. The find of the weapon further supported the theory of the airman having had something bad happened to him. Something was seriously wrong here!
Major Evensen looked up as the two mysterious men dressed in black walked over. He got up and was about to ask just what the hell was going on when one of them said in a business-like tone, ignoring the corpse on the floor.
"Shall we proceed?"
"Just what the hell is going on here?" Evensen asked in an upset voice, ignoring the cold stare the man gave in reply, his face illuminated by a flashlight.
"That's on a need to know basis Major, and you don't need to know. Please have your men enter the elevator shaft and clear it." He left little room for discussion in his order, and he knew that Evensen would oblidge. After all, he had been ordered to obey them on this mission.
Giving the man a mock smile and a nod, Evensen turned his head and nodded to one of his sergeants. The man nodded, and ten seconds later, the elevator doors were forced open to find a waiting elevator car with lights still running. Apparently, the facility still had a power source running. Evensen, the two men and another seventeen Marines entered the car, and pressed the round metal button with a down-arrow labeled on it. With a groan, the car started moving downwards, slowly...