AN: Here is the first Origins story, enjoy!
"UN world leaders have finally convinced South Africa's dictator King Mohmar to track down and eliminate rogue general Mismar: The leader of the New African Republic. While these insurgents are slowly gaining popularity from the local populace, they are also responsible for the widespread social unrest over the past six months. With chaos and strife now rampant within the country, an international manhunt for this man is currently going underway..."
...
Thousands of miles away...
The morning sun burst across the horizon of the amazonian rainforest. Once again revitalizing the wildlife residing beneath the canopy of the dense treetops. Within the dense vegetation masked the presence of a clearing no larger than a tennis court. At its center stood a wooden shed, held together by shoddy construction work and surrounded with rusty but functional Concertina wires.
...
Obasi slid off from his hammock and began to make preparations by neatly laying out his equipment.
An SKS 45 rifle placed neatly on the work bench, attached with a suppressor, a variable zoom scope and a ten round magazine housing 7.62 FMJ rounds...
An SWM 500 Revolver with three speedloaders...
Optical and navigational instruments...
Combat rations...
Handheld Radio...
Grenades...
Perfect.
...
"Are you done yet, Hagane? It is time to depart."
...
"Yup, just hold on a second."
A girl not older than her teens rose from the hammock directly opposite Obasi. Her elegant face with fair skin and reddish irises was marred by the streaks of camouflage paint. She also had silver metallic hair which were held together in a bun.
Hagane tied a camouflage net around her forehead to act as a bandanna. After which, pulled a black HK416 from beneath her trunk and loaded her magazine inside before mounting on her utility belt and sheathing her combat knives into their respective compartments.
"How long to the target's destination?"
Hagane was sullen. It was her last live tactical mission with Obasi as her mentor. Unlike her last two mentoring missions which took place in urban areas, the harshness combined with the unfamiliarity of this newfound environment had taken a great deal of toll onto her body.
She could only thank the gods for a teacher more than capable to overcome this ordeal.
Obasi, the seeker of wolves, the wolf hunter.
A masterful soldier in his own right.
...
"Sixteen kilometers south of here, we need to get moving now."
...
"Yesh alright already, you are so impatient its almost unprofessional."
Obasi grunted at her childish chiding, he wanted to get out of this accursed tropical rain-forest as soon as possible. The safe houses in the amazon offered little protection against the rampaging bats and mosquitos at night. A good smoke and Ice cold beers were the only things lingering in his head right now.
At the very least, he was not hunting alone.
"Get serious Hagane, its time to get back into the grid."
Hagane dramatically held her breath, bracing herself for the adventure, causing wolf to roll his eyes at her comical reaction.
It was going to be a long day ahead.
The elements of the jungle were relentless: The suffocating humidity and the hostile indigenous lifeforms that inhabited the rainforest gave off a much unwanted feeling of dread. The odor that rose from their muddied boots and soiled attire, accompanied by the unsettling feeling of predators or parasites lurking around the corner were not helping the situation at hand.
However, for our two soldiers in the field, this was just another day at the office.
Obasi took the lead, slashing away the undergrowth with his machete, while Hagane gingerly followed behind him, occasionally poising her eyes and gun towards the rear, effectively checking their sectors.
...
He suddenly shot out his hand, signalling to stop.
A jaguar twice the size of Hagane emerged from the shadows
The king of the Rainforest has made its appearance.
It leapt onto the forest ground and pranced around us dangerously, while training its eyes on us.
"Hagane...Do not move..."
Obasi hand slowly found its way to his utility belt, releasing the clip of his utility pouch and drawing out his machete, all at snails pace.
If he'd use a gun instead, the whole world will know that we are here after all.
...
Despite how the circumstances looked, the next portion was over very quickly.
Obasi jerked forward intentionally, startling the jaguar and causing it to mistime his pounce. As the jaguar soared in the air, Obasi swerved to its side with lightening speed, holding out his machete and spinning it once before cleanly lacerating the jaguar during mid-flight. As a result, it dived head first against the leaf litter, slamming itself into a nearby tree while leaving behind a trail of jaguar innards and blood in the process.
With the threat dispatched, Obasi sheathed his weapon. Earning him a starry eyed look of admiration from Hagane.
"How long have you been doing this sir?"
...
"About fifteen years..."
...
"Have you considered retirement? I guess it would be a big stress reliever after spending so much time away from your family."
...
She had been asking this question for ages..
Obasi stopped in his tracks, promptly taking a knee and bringing up his binoculars.
...
"I have no family..."
"...probably aside from you."
He warmly gave Hagane a pat on her head, messing up her bandanna in the process.
...
"Hey!"
Hagane gave Obasi an agitated pout in response.
...
As they traversed deeper into the hostile landscape, Obasi's footsteps began to soften.
"Quiet now, we are close..."
Obasi tore apart the bushes in front of him to reveal a cliff edge.
The cliff was at least five hundred meters away from the objective, granting a clear line of sight to the encampment and all the activities conducted within it. The camp itself was enclosed by thick mud walls and a large corrugated metal gate with guards patrolling around the perimeter. Within the camp lies a radio tower, a generator room, weapons room and several large tents for housing its troops adjacent to one another. While the center had a small parade square where several troops are currently gathering for meals and recreation.
From the looks of it, the encampment was well guarded. This rogue general had taken its precautions, having a direct assault would be suicide.
Obasi scanned his surroundings with his binoculars to the final detail. Locations of the sniper posts, watch towers, guards and various installations of the camp were burned into his memory.
On the other hand, Hagane could only watch in awe as the expert did his work.
"We will push back into the jungle until night fall, only then will we take the shot."
The journey to the objective site has left them famished and exhausted. Thankfully with Obasi's careful planning , they were ahead of time by about two hours. Ample time to replenish themselves and prepare their equipment.
...
"This will probably be my very last mission with you, afterwards I would probably dispatched elsewhere solo."
A hint of disappointment could be heard in Hagane's voice.
...
"Hunting alone... Its rather lonely."
Obasi commented while swirling his can of baked beans before gulping it all down.
...
"I mean, that is the life of a black ops soldier right? We put our lives on the line for our country, and in return we get the honor and praise from our people and leaders alike. Anyways, comfortable beds and cold drinks are waiting for us at home."
...
Despite how grim the situation was, Hagane's optimism had always manage to lighten the atmosphere around him. Although, taking a life is not the most enjoyable thing to do, her presence during these missions had made this job a lot more bearable. For that he was grateful.
...
"Your birthday is coming soon right? What would you like to have? Consider it my parting gift." Obasi flung his can into the vegetation before adjusting his optic on his sniper rifle.
...
"I guess a father would be nice..."
"8.00pm..."
Obasi crawled out of the vegetation and mounted his SKS onto the ledge with Hagane beside him as his apparent spotter.
"The general will arrive every Tuesday night for an all round personnel check, this will only be the time he is out of his bullet proof vehicle."
As if on cue, the rumbling of an armored car could be heard. Hagane trained the noise until it appeared from the cover of the treetop canopy before pulling up in front of the main gate. The guards gave their salutations to the armored car, however the gate remained shut.
"I guess he would inspect the guard room first beforehand."
And it was then Hagane noticed that Obasi was not positioned at his rifle, but rather a body length next to it.
"Sir?"
...
"I want you to take the shot Hagane..."
...
Needless to say, she was elated at this development, with her teeth widening into a huge grin.
She shifted herself along the carefully mounted SKS, leaning her eyes against the weapon and aligning her target to the sights. As she hovered her finger above the trigger, the general made his exit from the armored vehicle, unaware of the fate that was about to befall him.
"Stay calm... take deep breaths."
This nostalgic scene left warmth, reminding himself of the time when he was still a young rookie accompanying an accomplished member of the Black Ops Unit, whom has now risen further into the military hierarchy.
...
Obasi awarded Hagane's with a gentle shoulder squeeze followed by a few taps.
After all, the general's head exploded with a spray of blood, painting his armored car as well as his disoriented guards crimson red. A series of alarms were triggered almost instantly, resulting in deafening sirens that shamelessly broke the tranquility of the amazon rain forest. On top of that, the gate rumbled open and armed insurgents poured out from it, fanning out into the forest, seeking vengeance upon those responsible for knocking them out from their job.
The shot was no louder than a hard knock on a glass bottle, effectively masking their presence.
With the job done, Obasi picked up his mini radio and called in for extrication as they promptly made their way back to the safe house.
...
"Crap, its busted..."
Obasi flung the radio away, as far as he could before pulling out his handgun.
The stainless steel SWM 500, one of the most powerful revolvers ever engineered in the history of firearms
"Huh, What do you mean."
Hagane was beyond mortified, something has gotten seriously wrong.
...
The cracking of fallen branches and rustling of the undergrowth were becoming louder.
"We have to go now!"
The wires were cleanly severed from the inside out, an obvious attempt at sabotage. However the perpetrators were not even careful of hiding the fault within the radio. Hagane was the only person I have ever been with during his time here, but was also someone I trusted dearly. With that said, I immediately shoving the thought of her as the culprit out of his head. Things were not adding up. An uneasy feeling told Obasi that it had been a setup from the start.
It felt as though they themselves were sent here to die.
...
Random shouts and the discharge of automatic weapons broke his thoughts, sending a flurry of bullets slicing through the vegetation, boring themselves into the tree directly next to them. Silhouettes emerged from beneath the ravine, illuminated by the moonlight and seemingly exhausted from the climbing and chasing.
Hagane and Obasi in turn brought forward their weapons.
Time to bite back.
Unlike the insurgents who fired and advanced recklessly, giving no heed to any form of basic soldering tactics. Both of them were taking careful aim and firing calculated shots through adequate cover behind the dense undergrowth. With every shot landing on target, sending them spiraling down the ravine.
Obasi needed to create space, escape was of utmost priority.
He then proceeded to unpin a smoke and fragmentation grenade with his teeth, rolling them both at the general direction of the attackers. The resulting explosions sent shrapnel and wooden splinter, combined with the smoke which blinded the advancing enemy forces, effectively masking the duo's movements.
"Here is our chance, lets move. The grenades will result in more chaos and confusion, giving us a chance to slip away."
They ran for what seemed like hours, occasionally crashing into the many trees and dead fall in their way.
However luck seemed to be on their side, losing their pursuers and ultimately allowing them to once again reach the safe house. On top of that, the rotors of a friendly CH-47 Chinook could be heard over the horizon, and it was not before long before it landed within clearing.
Everything was a blur, overwhelmed by how quick the events were happening around Obasi.
Meanwhile, the rear doors winded down to reveal his commanding general and his bodyguards.
"General Alexander! You are truly godsend."
Hagane exclaimed in relief, arching her back and dragging herself towards the Chinook, physically exhausted.
"Teacher?"
Obasi eyes widened in bewilderment at his appearance, what was such a high ranking officer doing out in the field.
...
The wires were cleanly severed from the inside out, an obvious attempt at sabotage...
How would they know they would be here? How would they know when they were completed with the mission?
The sadness that permeated from the general's facial features.
"NO STOP! HAGANE!"
Obasi reached out his hand, but was responded only with a burst of gunshots in Hagane's direction.
As Hagane's body crumpled lifelessly in front of him, he caught a glimpse of her bloodied smile.
She was dead before she even hit the ground.
Thud
Thud
...
Everything was unjust.
It was at that moment, I wished to see the whole of creation turn to ash.
Do even the gods themselves take pleasure in all this suffering.
What have I been doing my entire life.
...
The body guard trained his rifle to his next target, only to realize he was not there.
Obasi dropped instantly before performing a combat roll towards the helicopter at lightning speed, at the same time reloading his revolver with a speedloader.
His speed and ferocity empowered by the anguish and pain that coursed through his very being.
There was literally no time to react as Obasi speedily recovered from his maneuver, sending deadly magnum rounds into the skulls of the bodyguards while incapacitating the general. Obasi proceeded to grab the general by the neck and slammed him against the seats, pointing his gun towards the cockpit screaming at the pilots to takeoff.
"Tell me what is going on now!"
Grief, anguish, sorrow, pain. If their objective was to kill him, they succeeded in half of it.
...
Obasi smashed the general's head using the revolver, his grip tightening around the general's neck.
"TELL ME!"
No more self restraint, no more mercy.
Obasi once more exerted his raging emotions, slamming his boot into the general's abdomen, causing his body to shudder violently before letting loose a stream of bloody vomit from his mouth.
It made a disgusting trail along Obasi's face, but he did not care.
...
Bloody tears began to stream down the general's face as he studied his former student's agonized expression.
The man's bloodied fingers conjured up enough energy to reach Obasi's cheek, affectionately grazing it.
"The country... Is gone... And since all black ops soldiers... Answer directly to the dictator...you know the king's deepest darkest secrets through his missions...you all had to be terminated... We hoped you would die during your mission...But alas second rate civilian insurgents are child's play to you...no loose ends...We had no choice..."
Alexander's head slumped lifelessly against the seat before he could even complete his sentence.
The whirling sound of the fan disturbed Obasi's thought processes, slowly bringing him back to reality.
...
"The people that upheld the peace and stability in our society, discarded by the people they had sworn to protect. They treat our life's work like a little game, and whenever it doesn't work out for them, all they needed to do was just press the reset button; Effectively wiping everything clean and starting off a with a new slate. Its not just the same for your South African criminal you call king, goes to everyone in this world."
A shot of painful memories erupted within the confines of Obasi's mind, causing beads of perspiration to form on his forehead and his breathing to become irratic.
"I have lost everything by the people I had sworn on my very life to protect, there is nothing left for me anymore."
The man across the table in the dimly lit room rose to his feet, presenting Obasi with a batch of documents which piqued his interest.
"This is?"
"The recent developments in Tokyo, of course I will pay good money for it."
Obasi flipped through the documents, his eyes widening upon seeing a girl with silver haired pigtails and red blue eyes, wearing a soldier uniform with what looked like countless swords spinning around her.
The Eurasian man proceeded to arch his back, placing his palms on the table.
"If people do not value your existence, then why do you even value theirs? Live, live like warrior you were, LIVE FOR THE THRILL OF BATTLE. For if the whole world is your enemy, you would probably feel more alive than you probably are now..."
Obasi closed the documents in his hand while taking deep breaths, considering the man's proposal.
"That does not mean taking the life of the innocent."
...
The man's voice lowered to a whisper, sounding deeply concerned for Obasi's current state.
"The world only knows how to bend justice into their own needs, as such the value of justice itself is long gone. Everyone knows this but why doesn't anyone speak up about it? Its because they draw countless benefits from such a distorted system! After all, Why bother to change when it doesn't even affect you? Furthermore, those ignorant fools blatantly ignore people like you; Those left behind by society to rot and die. Maybe you can be that change, cast your judgement onto mankind itself through the thrills of battle. Could there be anything more magnificent?"
...
"Would you rather die forgotten, or rather leave a huge dent on this society we had all come to abhor."
Obasi's eyes lit up as though he had made his decision. This man before him showed himself as a visionary with world changing views, adding to the fact would be the martyr of justice which was already attractive by itself, the decision was not hard to make.
"When do we start?"
...
"Hmm anytime you are ready."
...
The man got off the table and was already making his way towards the exit.
Before that however, he tilted his head around and popped a final question.
"By the way, how should I address you?"
...
"Wolf."