Night of The Dead- Chapter 4: Pre-Mission Brief

"Firstly, I would like to thank you all for being able to attend under such short notice. But I do assure you, the situation would have things done no other way," a women's voice spoke. With rich black locks flowing down to her shoulders, she had eyes elegantly placed with a sharp face. Her brows were high and thin, her lips shy in size. Below her extravagant looks was a uniform worn only by those of superior class. Admiral Ling has been serving the United World's military for years now.

Having started off as a peacekeeper during the biohazard war almost a decade ago, Admiral Ling made sure her existence did not go to waste, and fought tough political battles in order to attain worldwide peace. Much has been lost, and even though Admiral Ling's appearance would pass of as a naive young lady trying to make a difference, the Committee made no mistake in bestowing her a rank of such. Standing at half way between 5 and 6 feet, her stature did not lead an impression of any military kind, but her mind prove otherwise.

"Gentlemen, I would like you to be well acquainted to these few faces." Pictures of, in total six, men were projected onto a blank white screen. We could already label out the military kinds from the non-military kinds.
"This mission would be highly classified. These six men are currently within the vicinities of Boston City, as intelligence last declared. They have been sent there to collect information on the recent fallout 5 days ago, and were supposed to be back 2 days ago. Unfortunately, we've not received any radio from then since their departure."
Boston City was one of the few cities hit by the Antimatter fallout. They had one of the most bragged about powerplant situated merely miles away from the city, in which could store up to 15 ounces of Antimatter. Of course, all these estimations on how much Antimatter can a plant take were theories. No calculative equations could prove anything right or wrong, just assumptions closest to being correct.

"Ma'am." Night Cat raised his hand. "A Search and Rescue?"
Admiral Ling nodded. "Nothing more than that."
"If they.."
"If they insist to remain, reinsist they leave,"Admiral Ling interrupted Kheez.
"Information gathering was their primary objective, so they were sent there to retrieve data. Your primary objective however, is to search and rescue. This order overwrites theirs, and they are to have their objectives changed prior to your attendance."
The room was silent. No hand was raised. The roon was pitch dark, save the lights emmited by the small projector hung from the ceiling. Plastic seats with foldable little table-like platforms were scattered all over one end of the room, while the other end was one long table currently standing next to the Admiral.
"You are to leave at exactly 1700 hours. A helicopter will be at the helipad before that."
Nods ran across the room.
"Your mission duration will be no longer than 14 hours starting from departure, then it is RTB (Return to Base) with no extention. Do we have any questions?"
The room remained silent. Admiral Ling was currently stacking up all her files and compiling them together.
"In the event the mission turns sour, are we given the authority to alter the objective?" I had to ask. Many things would not turn out the way it was supposed to in a mission, so it was important to know where I stand.
"I chose you fellas because I know you'll do what is the most appropriate to achieve your objectives."

The midday sun was already burning dry every last remaining dew from the morning. The sea was enraged, sending fierce waves hurling into the rocks bordering the island from the waters. Every now and then, I would feel the zest blowing past me. Apart from all that, it seemed as though the world was silent. No gulls, no swallows. The three soldiers shown last night. They were from the Ghost Team as well. I knew them well. But the question I wanted to know was: How did they MIA (Missing in Action) from the mission? What happened to them? They were not rokkies, they were not cadets. These soldiers were the top class marines the UWA (United World's Alliance) had.

Having had enough of the sun, I decided to get myself prepared for the mission. I had to stock up on ammo and explosives: just-in-case senarios. I thought that if they needed rescuing, there must be something we can shoot at.
The armory room was, suprisingly, noisy. As I swung the door open, Kheez and Night Cat were inside. They were busy tuning their weapons and chatting, then they turned to face me.
"Ixate." Both called together, then returned to their work.
"Fine-tuning your guns? Its an SAR," I questioned.
"Those needed rescuing surely need someone to run away from, right." Kheez explained.
I nodded with a smile, while pacing to my locker. Unlocking it, I pulled out a huge metal case by the black handle.
"Fine-tuning your gun? Why?" Night Cat mocked.