Operation Identify -- Chapter 1: The Capturing of Sergeant Mendez
Author's Note: This story is a re-write of my submission, Operation Vero, which I submitted in 2015. At that time, I received some significant and extremely helpful feedback which I appreciated a great deal. I very much look forward to reading your feedback so please comment any criticisms or suggestions you might have! Finally, I am finishing a re-write of the only other story I had written and so will be submitting chapter 2 of this story shortly thereafter.
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Crunch. Crunch. Crack. Crunch. Snap!
Sergeant Mendez moved with extreme caution along the stone-like objects littering the floor of DOA-293. Having completed additional advanced reconnaissance training immediately after Ranger school --further sharpening her field craft, navigational and soldier skills—and finishing at the top of her course in both, Sgt Mendez was tasked with a section commander role in the highly regarded, reconnaissance platoon of C Company (C Coy), 3 Special Forces Regiment. Now, here she was on patrol, on planet DOA-293, as the main effort for the entire battalion.
The area of the planet that the ship had landed on was covered in odd stone-type objects. They were consistent in colour and shape with Earthly rocks, but instead of being rock hard, they were weak and collapsed into dust when stepped on.
"McIntyre," Mendez's voice was low. Noise discipline during this phase of the patrol was not kept too strict, considering the vast expanse of rolling hills covered in varying sizes of soft rocks.
Mendez's hand came up to her helmet, tapping the top several times frantically; signalling to Lance Corporal McIntyre, the patrol's light machine gunner, to come to her position immediately.
McIntyre, recognizing the signal, turns his head back over his right shoulder and holds his hand up in the air, signalling for the other two members of the patrol to short halt. Private Belair, behind McIntyre raises his thumb to signal acknowledgement and then turns back to the second in command (2IC) of the patrol, Corporal Bennett, and signals the short halt.
Belair and Bennett take a knee facing in opposite directions, covering flank security for the halted patrol as McIntyre moves quickly to the front.
Reaching Mendez, McIntyre kneels down beside her. He looks at her, "Sergeant?", he says. But Mendez says nothing, she remains silent and stares straight ahead. "Serge-," Mendez interrupts him, "Shhh. Look," she points the barrel of her rifle towards a canalizing point between two large hills about 200 yards in the distance.
McIntyre looks in the direction of the rifle but doesn't see what she's referring to, he focuses his eyes again. "Oh fuck," he says as he notices the large moving black slime in the distance; an organism that had obviously not been identified and passed along by intelligence sources.
"Get down, in the prone, now." Mendez orders.
Corporal Bennett, coming up behind the two notices McIntyre quietly getting into a firing position and so he slows his steps and lowers his posture in an instinctual effort to be less of a target.
Bennett comes up beside McIntyre, who is already in the prone looking over his sights. He gets down into a kneeling position, brings his rifle up and peers through the rifle's scope.
"Alright, McIntyre, you're going to stay here," Mendez begins, "Corporal Bennett, get Belair over here, he and I are going to move to this things flank."
"Rog," Bennett slowly gets up and moves back about 20 yards to where Belair is still kneeling.
He gets down beside Belair who, noticing the commotion at the front of the patrol, was already anticipating something about to go down. "We're going to move quietly to McIntyre. There's an unidentified organism approximately 200 yards to our front in the direction of advance and the Searg is taking you with her to recce it, prepare to move," he began to slowly get up, "okay let's move."
Belair slowly and quietly stands up, only reaching a semi-erect squatting stance, following Corporal Bennett's example, and moves slowly towards McIntyre.
"Okay, here's what's going to happen," Mendez begins as Bennett and Belair get into the kneeling position in front of her, "Belair you and I are going to move alongside that large hill's dead ground," she points her finger just East of the creature by about 50 yards, "and try and get a top-down vantage point."
"Rog," responds Belair.
"Corporal Bennett, you know what to do," she continues, "maintain security for the gun and hold steady. If we're not back in one hour, move back to the last rendezvous point, and then further until you reach the FOB. If we come under contact, or engage, open fire on the fucker. If you come under contact, we will move back to your position immediately. Rog?"
"Rog," responds Bennett.
Mendez turns to Belair, "Private Belair," she whispers.
"Sergeant," responds Belair.
"Let's move," and the two begin to rise slowly; moving East from cover to cover behind the largest stones available.
Mendez moves very cautiously, taking point on the recce. Belair's movements are quite a bit slower as he outweighs his recce commander by at least fifty pounds and has to be extra cautious to avoid crunching the wrong stone and alerting the organism to the front. An organism which no one on the patrol had any knowledge of. Therefore, from their perspective, the thing could already be emitting some sort of odourless lethal gas or radiation of some sort.
The two approach a particularly large stone, offering significant cover.
SNAP!
Belair's boot landed on a particularly denser stone, crushing it to bits, sending a loud snap into the air. Mendez's eye's peel open, startled. The two freeze in place, not moving a single muscle.
In the position that they are in that means being ducked behind the concealment provided by the large rock. Unfortunately, however, it also means being unable to keep eyes on the creature. As such, Mendez turns her head to the side and tunes in to the sounds; or, lack thereof.
The creature, essentially a moving blob of tar, looked to be about four feet long and around 3 feet tall; probably weighing in at about 300 lbs. It was a disgusting sight. But no movement so far, the creature seeming completely oblivious to the sounds around it.
After about a minute and a half -- which felt more like an hour -- Mendez slowly rises up from her crouched position and lay's eyes back on the creature; at this point about 25 yards away.
Noting the creature's lack of perception for sound, Mendez turns to Belair and signals for him to rise. Belair, unsure of the command's appropriateness, given the situation, contorts his face into a look of disbelief.
"Just relax," she whispers, "I don't think he can hear anything."
Belair slowly rises to his feet and lays his eyes on the tar blob. He studies it closely, furrowing his brow in anticipation for the thing to suddenly realize that there are two aliens standing only 25 yards away from it.
Mendez turns to Belair, "Okay, let's get to the top of that hill," she points to the previously assigned vantage point. Mendez gives the let's move signal, Belair acknowledges, and the two begin slowly moving forward once again.
The last stretch between the rock and the base of the hill was only 10 yards or so but the climb up had to be about 20 yards.
Mendez's boot, gripping the gravelly particles on the hill well, propels her up in no more than a handful of strides. Belair taking shorter, more careful steps comes up beside her and gets down on one knee, noticing Mendez halting.
A gust of wind blows into the two's faces and immediately they detect a grossly putrid odour. The tar blob's odour was so sharp and so foul as to quite literally cause Belair to dry heave.
Belair contorts his face in disgust. "Fucker stinks," say's Belair.
