A Fourth For Company: Operation Prometheus Part IV

Operation Prometheus. August 26, 2084. Local Time: 2:00 AM. Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Status: [REDACTED]

"We're five by five," Boyd confirms, stepping away from the uplink terminal. After the firefight on the access road, the trek up here was pretty smooth. Kelly watches over the coastline, waiting patiently. I continue to scan the valley below. As always, the facility is bustling with activity. Even in the dead of the night, the inhabitants of the island work diligently towards whatever it is they are trying to do. But what are they trying to do? What sort of plot have the Williamsbourigans hatched? Whatever it is, that hangar seems to be the key. 

"PID on Cormorant!" Kelly calls out, as a light flashes from the ocean. I keep my eyes forward, watching for any potential X-rays that might pose a threat. Behind me, I hear a faint scratching as Kelly writes something down. My finger tenses on the trigger slightly as a wayward spotlight ambles its way towards us, but I'm able to quickly relax again as the light falls back into the valley below.

"What's the play?" Boyd asks. Kelly looks up from her notebook. 

"Disavowement protocol got moved up to 24 hours from now. We'll have another 10-minute window to communicate twelve hours from now," Kelly explains. "Another thing, before I forget. we can't take another plane up. Boyd, you're going to have to set up your exfil with Cormorant during that second window. And yes, Pedersen, Overlord refused to provide CAP cover even in international airspace. Good chance you're pursued right to the border." I sigh impatiently. Looks like Overlord has hung us out to dry once again. 

"Alright, if he's not going to give us CAP cover, we need to be able to buy ourselves some time." I think aloud, trying to formulate another plan. "Keeping the aircraft low and fast is all well and good, but VIS/IR ID is still possible. This thing doesn't exactly have stealth capabilities."

"If I were you, I wouldn't count on having armaments or countermeasures. For all we know, that thing is being kept like a damn museum piece." Kelly interjects. "For all we know, this damn thing might not even be operational. Then what? Personally, I'm not convinced that Overlord's intel is good."

"Has he ever failed us before?" Boyd asks us sarcastically. 

"What even is the play if the damn thing can't fly?" Kelly asks. "At that point, whatever the plan is, it is a suicide mission!"

"Well, we know it can fly. The Iranians never impounded their aircraft the way we did in the pre-Balkan days. Also, do you really think they flew that damn thing from there to here just to impound it?" I point out. "Anyway, we still need a plan. I can hit maybe Mach 2.3 in that thing. If we can figure out how to buy a little time, we could burn out before they even caught wind of what were were doing!" 

At that moment, I see a glint from a watchtower. I drop to the floor, as the bullet impacts into the dirt behind me. We've been compromised.