"Congratulations piss ants, this is your last week."
A line of young men stood at attention with their hands to their sides, toes pointed forward, hair cleanly cropped, cut, and clean shaven. The line had only 4 young men in it, they all remembered when there were 120 of them in the beginning. Long grueling weeks of physical training, mental break down, even physical abuse. Bruises were common, some recruits casted out of the program due to severe injuries, while others acquired illnesses and extreme emotional distress.
The Petra Unit was known for its unconventional methods of breaking down soldiers and molding them into weapons. The units had a unique quote and creed they followed, "We tear the flesh off our bodies and replace it with stone."
"You four will now show the unit what exactly you have been able to retain through out all of this training, you will be briefed inside the Grendal. Move out!"
The four recruits turned toward the Grendal that now had just appeared over head and began its decline for landing on the strip of the compound that the recruits had been barracked at for a year now, in fact Vincent's special operations unit before Petra would not even be able to recognize him if he returned today. When the Grendal landed, the four began their jog to the back compartment, a heavy door slowly opened with the use of hydraulics. A large Dominion soldier was already on board the Grendal holding onto one of the rings that decorated a over head pole, which was directly connected to the ceiling inside and went as far as the seats inside would go.
"Gear up, Get down, and let's Get Moving!"
The recruits hustled aboard, there were four Petra Combat Uniforms, each with their own I.D. Number that identified which suit belonged to which recruit. These suits are fitted to the wearer so that everything is snug and customized to their specific body type. The suit itself is created by weaving nano fibers together which protects the wearer from extreme conditions, burns, hypothermia, and shrapnel resistant. There is reinforced weaving at the abdomen, chest, shins, forearms, elbows, and knee locations for even more durability and protection from combat situations. An exo-skeleton wraps around the legs of the wearer which enables for amplified muscular capabilities, stamina, strength, and reflexes in the legs.
The helmet contains a Heads Up Display of the geography and terrain in front of the soldier pin-pointing mission objective location through intelligence uplinks and has a head cam that will identify muzzle flash at 180 degrees forward of the soldier. This cam can lock on to enemy snipers or soldiers in cover, once the camera locks a red box will surround the figures proportions and display over the HUD. In addition the helmet has a rebreather allowing for a flow of oxygen to be maintained under conditions where oxygen is not plentiful enough for regular breathing.
It is a suit entirely designed for what the Petra Unit is used for, it can be applied to any tactical scenario and the bodies that are encased in these million dollar battle uniforms are of the top notch individuals that stand active in the Dominion Military.
Vincent was geared up and switched on his Heads Up Display, once all the lights came on in the dome piece he continued with reaching for his gloves and slipped them on until comfortable. The entire process took less than 2 minutes, he put his Standard Issue Rifle out in front of him and observed to make sure everything was in order. A magazine was already in place, the dust cover sealed, and optics were integrated with his own HUD. The barrels were threaded for silencers to be placed on during the transport. All four recruits checked rifles, equipment, and sidearms, sitting down in the seats lining the walls of the Grendal.
Large steel seat locks came down over the shoulders with a safety bar running across the chest, the seat is designed to take a May Day in atmosphere but not in orbit. Red lights ran blinked in unison across the top of the Grendal to indicate that the drop ship was not at its destination and everything was locked up. These lights would switch to green once the back door was open and the pilot gave the operating system that the units were good for departure.
The four recruits did not know exactly where they were headed but soon enough over their HUDs a q-box shot up or quick box. This quick box had a video attached to it which opened up with their senior commanding officer staring at them.
"Congratulations gentlemen, this will be your final test of Petrification, up until this point we have been weeding out those who were not suitable for such missions that we undertake for the Dominion. You four out of 120 recruits are all that is left, it goes to show how elite we really are, and how capable you are of out performing even the greatest of soldiers in the universe. Your mission is to infiltrate a underground silo, capture these three scientists, and escort them back to the surface, your exfil point is located 10 Klicks from the silos position. The silo is masked as a warehouse in the center of the city in where you will be dropped, this warehouse will be heavily guarded, with three law enforcement departments overlapping jurisdiction around the warehouse. You may not kill any of the guards, if compromised you are to use non-lethal means of defending yourself. The ammo you have just been equipped with by your field officer has been replaced with stun rounds. These rounds will break on contact and send an electrified jolt of energy through your targets body, only temporarily halting them and their motor functions. The guards will have live ammo, this operation is deniable by Dominion government and if you fail your lives will not be in our hands. Good luck!"
The three scientists came over the display one by one. The four recruits all digested what was just said over comms and at this point there was no turning back. This was the final test, and now they would understand why the Petra Unit is such a classified, mystique unit within the Dominions bulk military.
Operation Finale:
"Down...down..."
Tristan whispered over comms as he saw three guards talking to one another at the corner of the corridor. The recruits had dropped in just outside the city, hot wired a vehicle, and drove it just outside of the warehouse perimeter. They took to their feet and infiltrated passed a chain link fence through the use of PLC or Precision Laser Cutters. While moving into position to enter the west side of the warehouse they incapacitated two guards with the use of their hands in choking the targets. Once inside they found an emergency exit point for the silo below. Climbing down a ladder and moving through a maze of corridors followed.
"Vincent...eyes on the middle man, I have left, Jericho take right, Adrian you are taking point immediately as the three drop, smooth and fast gentlemen."
The four recruits took up position stacked behind one another, as soon as Tristan engaged to the left, Vincent would follow and fire at the middle, having Jericho to engage the right following the line, and then Adrian would creep up against the wall they were on and make that immediate left toward the targets, with Jericho following behind Adrian. Tristan would take point on the other side of the corridor creeping along the other wall with Vincent following him.
"On my signal,"
Tristan placed his hands up to give his go ahead, Adrian slapped the back of Jericho, Jericho slapped the back of Vincent, and Vincent slapped the back of Tristan to give the signal the entire team was ready as well. Tristan began moving into the open and fired two rounds down range, both rounds hitting the target to the left, Vincent followed firing two rounds hitting center mass of his target as intended, Jericho fired two rounds following Vincent's with the guard now turning toward the team but dropping before he could comprehend that rounds were already on him.
Adrian swiftly took position to check the left and right corridors spotting a guard who was placed in front of a door down the left corridor. This guard was moving toward a red light on the wall, Adrian snapped off three rounds, two rounds hit the guard and dropped him just before the red light. Adrian checked his corners and the left and right corridors were cleared, Adrian had Jericho hit his back side and they moved quickly around the corner of the right corridor. Tristan and Vincent were on the left wall and quickly moved around the left corner of the left corridor, they approached the down guard close to the red light and noticed an alarm system underneath the red light that the guard was gunning for.
Tristan and Vincent continued through and each of them took a side of the door that the guard had been posted at. The other team members reached Tristan and Vincent's location after clearing their side and slowly they tried opening the door. The door was sealed by a locking mechanism on the other side. D-Bombs were placed on the left side of the door due to the pin keyboard location on the right. D-Bombs are explosives encased in a Dome circular unit that keeps in the noise of the explosive and concentrates the blast toward the door. The flat surface is stuck on to the surface in which you want to punch through.
The D-Bombs were initiated and then Jericho went with a front kick to the steel door. The door itself came crashing down making a loud bang and the recruits entered clearing corners, personnel and all devices in the room. The three scientists were on the ground due to the blast beneath their laptops.
"Adrian, grab the Scientists, brief them quickly while we grab what we can of any data that we can salvage. We need to move quickly boys, that door is going to trigger a lot of activity here in a minute."
The recruits started scrambling for devices they could retrieve in hand and take with them during the exfil phase. They began getting the scientists together and in a line to begin their way back up to the surface and out into the city. Moving through corridors with exceptional speed even with baggage showed how well trained these men were, even as just recruits.
As they approached the ladder they descended into the silo from an alarm was triggered and voices began echoing through out the corridors. The halls were so close together and so many that pin pointing an origin of where the voices were coming from had been impossible. Unable to detect how close or how far the guards were, estimating how much longer they had until contact was not going to happen.
"Adrian up first, Vincent take our six, Jericho your up behind the three scientists, I will stay with Vincent and we will buy time for you to get out. Remember, they have live ammunition, stay safe men."
Vincent and Tristan both moved forward behind two walls, each soldier on both sides. The scientists were almost out of site before rounds began ricocheting in the room at the end of the hall where the ladder was. Guards were at the other end, Vincent peeked around a corner and snapped three rounds off, one round hitting a arm of one of the guards which dropped him into cover. Another guard rounded the corner only to meet fire coming from the barrel of Tristan, his shot was a direct hit in the throat, which would cause some serious throat soreness from the electrical burn after he woke up from the electric shock temporarily incapacitating him, keeping him right out of the fight.
The scientists reached top side, Jericho confirmed the surface was clear and that they needed to get their asses top side.
"Alright, Vincent this is your turn!"
Vincent nodded and doubled back to the ladder while Tristan laid down cover fire, once Vincent reached the ladder, he took up position on one knee and started his own suppressive fire. Tristan dropped back to Vincent's position, and Vincent began his climb up the ladder as more guards appeared down the corridor.
Tristan continued with firing off rounds to allow Vincent a smooth climb up, Vincent watched as Tristan turned around and looked up, just before starting his climb he tossed a flash bang down the corridor. The flash bang disoriented the guards and gave Tristan just enough time to get up the ladder. Tristan reached top side and as he brought himself to his feet a round ripped through the back of his armor, sending him to the cold surface of the warehouse.
"Fuck, Shit, get down! Get down! Enemy contact on the cat walks!" Bullets soared every which way, a storm of hell fire broke loose in the warehouse which also alarmed the law enforcement to take action and respond. The men were pinned in a storage room with two windows on either side of them and a door directly south of them. North was just a wall with computers, surrounded and unable to move quickly with a downed man they began contemplating what action they should pursue.
"Adrian, Jericho, we are going to have to move, there is cover along the walls of the warehouse with those big crates obstructing our enemies position. You two are going to run for it, Adrian take point, the VIPs will follow, and Jericho you take the six, they will not fire blindly at their own scientists."
The two nodded but hesitated, "what about you?"
Vincent looked at the two,
"I will have to find another way, but this is our best shot at a successful mission!"
The two nodded, and took combat breathes before running into the fray of bullets, Vincent posted his rifle through one of the shattered windows and popped off rounds again and again. Three guards down, four guards...and then crawled to the other side and posted again, two guards down, with one round of the guards bullets just skimming the frame of the window, sending Vincent into cover.
The others were out of sight, Vincent went to check his magazine, 4 rounds left, zero magazines left, and a sidearm with one extra magazine. Before he could turn to post again at the window, a guard had snuck up through the emergency exit ladder connecting to the silo below and threw a flash bang inside the room Vincent was held up in. The bang went off which did not disrupt his balance or hearing because of the helmet, but light overwhelmed the HUD. However, he clicked the button to have the helmet open up which gave him visibility in spotting the intruder.
The guard had his head pop back out to see the damage he caused, but when he did Vincent was already positioned behind him and swept his whole arm around the neck of the guard, Vincent dropped to his knees and arched his back to give a good squeeze and solidify his rear naked choke. The man struggled and slowly fell out of consciousness. Vincent dragged the guard up to the surface, his arms wrapped around the guys waist and he found the farthest corner from the door. Vincent crawled until his back hit the corner of the room and he shifted the guards body to cover most of his own. Vincent was going to wait until the other guards came in and for one last show down give them everything he had.
A sidearm laid down by his left waist, a rifle held in his right. Four rounds in the rifle, 32 rounds for the pistol.
What felt like eternity had finally arrived, two guards entered and with the room being so dark, they just noticed a guard sitting in the corner. They were more occupied with the down soldier in front of them. Tristan...even if Vincent survived from this test, how the hell could he trust a unit that allowed their own recruits to die. Ridiculous....
As soon as the guards shifted their gaze back to Vincent, he opened fire. Two immediately dropped before his own eyes, the stun rounds laying their affect on the guards. Sounds of other guards could be heard as one rushed into the room to check it out only to find two rounds hit him as well.
Vincent transitioned to the side arm, dropping the rifle, four guards made entry and two shots smacked into the guard being used as a meat shield. Vincent fired 8 hand gun rounds hitting three out of the four guards. The fourth one lined his shot up well as the other three were being picked off and dropped
Death is Welcomed
"Sargent..."
"Sargent..."
The light was so bright, nothing but haze and blur, where am I?
Vincent was unable to properly differentiate from what was what, his vision was depleted as was his hearing. A ringing sensation kept its key inside his ear and muffles of a voice could be heard but unregistered in who or what they were saying.
"Sgt. Argalus, everything Is going to be ok, your hearing will return within the hour, your sight will gradually increase over the next 30 minutes, just relax."
Vincent tilted his head over the right to identify who was speaking, it was a soft feminine voice but he could not see anything but blurred shapes. Nauseous and confused, he started to gag and followed was him throwing up over the side of his own bed. Vulnerable, that is how he felt and he did not enjoy the feeling of being out of control. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind, the good news was he had not been K.I.A., with whatever that was worth.
He still needed to figure out where he was, who had him, and if his team made it out alive.
"Sgt. Argalus..."
Vincent's eyes slowly opened once more as he had fell asleep, his vision was clear, he could understand the words being spoke even if he could not identify the voice wielding the words.
"Sargent, it's time for you to wake up."
Vincent looked at the young lady before him, "Where am I?", his palms came up to his head as he pressed them firmly on his forehead.
"Good Morning Sargent, you are in the Petra Unit Recovery Center, congratulations. Take a sip of this it will make your headache go away."
"No, what the hell do you mean -"
"Quiet down Sargent Argalus!"
A large figure walked through the door of the dorm room, the man was cladded in military recognitions and awards, he had gray hair which already signified his experience and a barrel chest with broad shoulders and a large head to mount those shoulders.
"You have questions, Vincent, I know, but they will wait as all questions can be answered if the appropriate time is given. You have 24 hours, at the end of this 24 hour period, I better see you at the bridge reporting for duty."
The barrel chested commander turned his back as a cape followed and walked outside of the room. Vincent looked over to his nurse and then relaxed in his bed before allowing himself some time to coop with what just happened.
Welcome Aboard the Inquisitor Spear
Vincent had been given a dress uniform that was black with crimson red trim, a pair of black shiny boots, and a gray beret. The beret is worn so that a small Petra Unit seal is off centered to the left of the head. All others on the ship either do not have a beret or wear a blue, white, or crimson red beret with their seals of specialty centered.
He was given quarters that contained a full-sized bed, desk, shelf, closet, kitchen, and refrigerator. He was stationed on the officers deck which had been two decks above the soldiers, and four decks above the workers. He placed everything in order in his room and had about 3 hours of solitude. The last hour he found himself caught up in a huge maze of metal with busy military personnel walking all around in tight halls. Finally getting correct directions and navigating wisely he entered the bridge where the decorated commander he had met before stood, an obvious less experienced officer stood next to him, and Tristan.
Vincent could not believe his eyes as he approached the group of men, all around the room people were tapping on computers, keyboards, and staring off into the space before them, a lot of this was surreal and overwhelming but not for a Petra soldier.
"Welcome Vincent, before you ask any questions let me debrief you on the current events that have taken place. The mission you were sent on for your test was not the mission you were told it was going to be. There were no live rounds involved, all of the ammunition were stun rounds. In order to make this as real as we can, we have to make you lose yourself in the scenario, to believe it is an actual mission, to forget that its a test. Did it feel real Vincent?""
Vincent scanned the room and it took a lot to not hit this fucking dude in the jaw but he understood what had to be done, a man will only know his true measure when he is faced with no other option than death itself. In order for a man to become immortal, he must first die a mortal and be reborn as something more.
Vincent allowed for everything that had been stirring in his mind to fall to the way side, the revelation created his persona to truly understand what it was to become apart of Petra. This was no ordinary unit, this unit is the Joker in the deck of the Dominion, they are not men, they are not soldiers, they are immortal, they are machines, they are weapons that can move, think, react, adapt, overcome, and destroy.
"Yes sir, it was real..."
The commander nodded, "Your team successfully completed the objective, although two of you were hit, you two understood the mission comes first. Adrian and Jericho made it to the exfil with all three of the VIPs. They are great soldiers, but they will be placed into other Petra Units aboard other ships. However you two were chosen to start a Petra Unit aboard this ship, Unit P757 with Lt. Kilborne as your chief operator in the unit, he will be waiting for you at the briefing room."
Vincent and Tristan looked at one another and acknowledged the achievement that they had accomplished together. They were also going to be the first unit that would only have three squad members.
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