Operation: Blinding Prophet

Worrying reports of irregular activity have reached the desk of Jonathan Javian. The NPPMF was hired to help secure a large scale logging operation near the Congo river basin. Until now, conventional countermeasures against protesters and Eco-terrorist have been successful. However, reports of the trees and vines coming to life and attacking the loggers have been becoming more and more frequent. These reports coincide with Intel about a particular cult that has recently begun operations in the area that call themselves The Children of Gaia. The leader of this cult is said to have the blessings of nature at his disposal. The Lost intends to meet this recent escalation in kind, and is reaching out for support in this matter. Furthermore, this is the perfect opportunity to begin networking with talented individuals.

Those who agreed to help in this matter would be asked to be ready move out as quickly as possible. According to the contract, rations and ammunition would be covered, and transportation would be arranged. For particularly promising individuals, a private helicopter would be provided. During the trip, further Intel would be provided and questions would be fielded.

The Children of Gaia all wear light brown cloaks and simple robes. Many even go barefoot. They don't usually engage in the usual protests, but haven't been seen being particularly violent either. That poses the question: What are they doing? Their exact hideout is currently unknown, but it is believed that they have a camp of operation hidden among the rainforest.

The mysterious and enigmatic figure who leads the Children of Gaia seems to operate under a certain guise of secrecy. He wear similar robes to his followers, but obscures his face behind a mask. The mask shares ascetic sensibilities as Greek sculptures. From his build, we can determine that he is most likely male, and rumors about him further confirm this. Little else is known about this individual.

Eventually, all those involved would find themselves brought to the NPPMF's Congo river basin field camp and ushered into a large tent where a man with a greying crew cut waited while dressed in fatigues. Jonathan Javian would step forward to shake hands with him. Oddly enough, Javian was wearing a pinstripe business suit instead of tactical gear. He also wore the New Path compass as a silver pin on his lapel.

"Is this the specialist you promised me, Mr. Javian?" they seemed to skip past the pleasantries and go right into business.

"That's right, First Lieutenant Cormack. This is the answer to our irregular problem," Jay replied simply as they turned to look over the mercenary.

As the two men looked toward him Stefan, stood up from the chair he was relaxing in. His head remained level, and his stature showed his years of military discipline. His black hair was longer than normal than that of a military man, but kept in check and a small part of stubble growing from his months of travel. His hazel eyes looked straight forward at the two men infront of him, leering at the younger man.

He was dressed in green military fatigue's, an armor vest that carried mutiple pieces of equipment, including a radio and extra mags for his Mp5. There were two patches along the fatigues, one Romanian flag, and the other a dark green patch in the shape of a shield, with a silver sword in the middle with lightning going around it. Then red wings along the side of the sword and a red 6 on the hilt of the sword.  What was different about his uniform was the sword along his left hip, though this sword was different and curved near the end in it's scabbard. A master of weapons would recognize this as a Kilij, a turkish sword used during the early middle ages. On his other hip was a M1911 holstered to his leg. His Mp5 lay on a table nearby along with his helmet.

As he looked at the two men he immediately connected with the older man who appeared to have served himself, but he wasn't as sure about the younger gentleman, and apparently his superior. As Stefan eyed at his suit he wondered his purpose other than information about the mission.

Though he wasn't too sure about this, Mr. Javian, he spoke up and outreached his hand to the both of them.

" My name is Sergeant Stefan Tsepesh of the 6th Special Operations Brigade, Mihai Viteazul." His voice was lower than most with a somewhat thick romanian accent covering each word. " I am glad to be working for you and your organization, " to which he said to Mr. Javian. He continued, " I have heard a brief mission overview, a bunch of hippies hugging to many trees but if there is any more information, please let me know." His hand stuck out to Mr. Javian waiting for a response from the man and a reaction, to figure out his humor.

Javian met Stefan's glare completely undaunted. He remained as pleasant and jovial as ever. The First Lieutenant gave the Kilij with a skeptical look. One he didn't bother to hide. However, he didn't comment. Mercenaries. He could only hope he was as good as promised.

Naturally they both accepted the handshake when it was extended to them. Both were similarly had a firm grip, but not surprisingly so. Though the man in the suit was young, he was tall and well built, but could his muscles stop bullets better than body armor? They both didn't have a single problem looking a man at eye level, either.

Javian continued to smile like he was with friends. A bit out of place in the situation. Cormack only nodded in approval to Stefan's introduction.

"That's a pretty accurate summary of the situation," Javian responded to the mercenary's question.

"I'll only add that the rumors of the trees coming alive aren't to be taken lightly. This is First Lieutenant Allen Cormack, he's in charge here," Of course, Javian would have introduced himself when he went to recruit Stefan in the first place.

"I'm more of just a financial backer, and so my role here ends. I'll leave you guys to your work, and... thanks for your hard work," he expressed his gratitude sincerely, before taking his leave of the men.

After introductions were done and pleasantries were dispensed, Cormack would give a more detailed explanation of the situation. First he'd give a very brief tour of the camp.

"We've got all the comforts of home here. A mess, latrines, barracks, and armory," as he rattled off each location, he gestured in a different direction. Then he gestured to several points on the maps, showing the logging camp's operational space and the locations of the previous attacks. Not surprisingly, the attacks have mostly taken place on the western perimeter of the logging camp, while the NPPMF's base camp was to the east of the logging operation. That was the tour. He then went on to explain further about their operation. Currently, they had a company consisting of a little less than a hundred security contractors dedicated to this mission. They were in charge of a rather large area of land to secure, though. This whole explanation took about ten minutes or so, due to the leisurely pace Cormack took.

A squad of twelve security contractors would be assigned to work under Stefan, unless he objected. Assuming he didn't, Cormack would go on to explain the details of his squad.

"We'd like you to start as quickly as possible, so there isn't time to hand pick your own crew. Maybe next time you can," he'd add first. The squad prepared for him was organized into four fireteams. He'd ask Stefan to follow him to a field where his team was waiting for him, and introduce them.

The first was code named Soothsayer. They handled the support element and were composed of only two personal. These two operators were to coordinate with the field team and monitor their condition from back at base camp (Soothsayer 01 and 02). These two men were wearing matching fatigues like Cormack's, and no body armor. Soothsayer 01 would ask if Stefan was willing to wear the equipment needed for them to track him through GPS. There was also separate equipment meant to monitor his basic life readings. Finally, there was an earpiece that would let him listen in to their com link, and a mouth piece meant to be worn on clothing or armor near the neck. Alternatively, he'd be told he could use his own communication equipment if he could tune it to their frequency.

The second fireteam was code named Cleric, and was composed of two medics (Cleric 01 and Cleric 02). They were armed and equipped similarly to Stefan, except their support equipment was focused on medical supplies.

Spearman was the basic maneuver team. They were four security contractors primarily armed with assault rifles (Spearman 01, 02, 03, and 04). Mage was a base of fire team. They were composed of three contractors who could work together to operate, port, and load a fixed position, heavy machine gun (Mage 01, 02, and 03). Of course, both Spearman and Mage were wearing body armor like Stefan's, though Spearman's looked to be a lighter variant and Mage's was a heavier variant.

Finally, there was a single man assigned to Assassin (Assassin 01). He was to act as a forward observer, a radio operator, and assistant squad leader underneath the specialist. He was primarily armed with what looked like a precision rifle, and he seemed to be wearing the lighter variant.

Because of the terrain in which the attacks had been happening, vehicles would have limited use. However, roads could at least transport them closer to the field of conflict, and a few jeeps had been authorized for his use. There would be no air support, due to the thick canopy of the trees.

"So there you go. Now you know. You have your orders, but you have free reign on how you accomplish those orders. I have some ideas as to where I'd send you, but Mr. Javian believes that you are the only one who knows where you'd truly be most effective. He insists that yours should be an irregular squad," Cormack would finally end his long winded explanation. He'd wait for any questions or anything that needed to be addressed, but if there was no problem he'd leave Stefan with his team and return to his command tent.

Stefan took everything in stride, nodding and staying silent, not bothered by the skeptical look at the Kilij.

As they commented about the tree's coming alive, Stefan murmered, " World's getting wierder and wierder. "

The campsite was nice, nicer than most and he enjoyed the tour, it somehow reminded him of home, but he immediately dismissed the thought.

He didn't have any problems throughout the walk around and once he got to his squad he accepted the tracking and monitoring devices, seeing no problem with them.

Though as he looked at his squadmates he was saddened that he would not have time to get to know them he knew he had to get the show on the road. But, as soon as Cormack left he brought the squad togethor and introduced himself.

" My name is Sergeant Stefan Tsepesh, but you can call me Strigoi. I know that none of you fucks like any kind of CO, so I'll put it simply, don't fuck up, don't die, and your good in my book. Now I don't want any fucking Rambo's in my squad, we all go in and we all leave, but most importantly we do the mission no matter what, otherwise none of us get payed. And no one likes that. " His thick romanian accent squeezed out every word and he chuckled to himself that these guys thought he was a bad ass because of it. He shook some of the closest hands, before saying " Alright let's go and get this job done, the quicker we do this, the quicker we don't get bit by all these bugs." He then led his squad back to the command tent ready to recieve orders.

"Sir, yes, sir!" the group replied in unison. Those who were offered a handshake accepted, and for this Strigoi got a few smiles from the men and women he shook hands with. He would certainly find no one named Rambo among this lot. Even the lone Assassin 01 was a scout at best. He was alone in his designation primarily, because he could be used as a sniper if need be. Though, he didn't have a dedicated spotter, so he still needed to rely on the team to serve as an effective sniper. Still, it was nice for them to hear that he didn't expect any either.

Cormack was pleased to see Stefan show up promptly despite being given free reign.

"Glad to see we have a professional working with us. Too many of these irregular contractors are heroes who are used to saving the day on their own," Cormack vented. He gestured for Stefan to come closer to the map on his table. He explained that currently, his patrols were already guarding the logging company's planned zone of activity. The problem was, the enemy seemed to strike quickly, then retreat before anyone could do much about it.

"We don't know how they're doing it, but those trees and vines do attack our men. You can review footage recorded from helm cams at the communications tent. That's also where Soothsayer should setup once your ready to head out," he explained.

He then pointed to another are far away from everything else on the map.

"We don't know where their HQ is, but Children of Gaia members have been spotted in this region the most frequently. Going off of all of this, I would have your squad lie in ambush somewhere around here," he explained pointing in between the logging zones current operations and the area where the Gaia members were most densely spotted.

They didn't know exactly what route the enemy would take, so there was a wide area where he predicted they might plausibly move through. A study of the map would reveal several different locations with terrain that would be ideal for setting up an ambush.

"The problem is, if you do go out there there's no guarantee they'll take the route you've setup to ambush. Alternatively, you can just go reinforce my patrols and try to deal with them when they attack," he also explained.

"But, that'd be like just waiting to be ambushed. These guys can move like nothing I've seen before. The very forest is their ally," he went on to add. In the end, the choice was still Stefan's.

Stefan was already happy with his team as he entered the command tent, and confident in their abilities.

Stefan smirked at the professional remark but removed it as soon as Cormack went to the map. Stefan tried his best to memorize the map to his best of his memory, he knew he had devices that could help but he wanted to be sure.

Stefan listening to the seriousness in Cormack's tone told him not to make another joke about the attacking vines and instead went up on his suggestion.

" I agree, I would like to review the footage, but I know this is a time sensitive mission, the longer we wait, the more money the logging company is losing. I'll have my soothsayers stay there and start reviewing the videos, I want them to look for any source of these living plants, if the plants just did this on their own, well the whole world would be fucked, but something is causing this, so..."

As he turns to his soothsayers, he says, " look for any power source or device that is being used nearby, unless these guys are actual tree huggers, look for any one that looks like he might be controlling them, if it is just one, single them out and tell me any specifics so that we can spot them first and take them out."

He turned back to Cormack allowing him to continue.

After explaining their options, Stefan looked at the map one last time and considered the choice before turning back to Cormack.

" The patrols have not been working so far where they have the surprise, we must ambush them, and I have a plan to draw them out."

He pointed out some of the suggested positions and continued, " I'll need some of the logging equipment and something that can start a fire."

He smirked to Cormack as he continued, " They will come to us if we start messing with their plants, we can make some noise first by cutting some trees down maybe posing as just simple loggers, if that doesn't work then I might have to start a fire, a large fire. I know the logging company may not like that because we'll be burning down a bit of their money, but I leave it to you to give the OK."

Stefan stood tall after that moment quite proud of his seemingly solid plan, waiting for a reaction from his superior, Cormack.

"Just as well. The videos don't show much. You're right on the money, though. Eye witness accounts from the survivors do report figures moving among the tree lines. Humanoid figures," Cormack would reply regarding the footage. This was enemy action, no doubt about it.

"Hmm, a trap. Not a bad idea. You have full access to the armory and can requisition special equipment as you need it. I'm sure we can certainly get some equipment from the logging company. They want this done just as much as us," he explained.

"They won't mind if we do their job for them, either. We don't have to tell them the fire was on purpose. I hope you weren't hoping for a flamethrower, though. I won't bore you with the red tape, but you're not getting one," he explained. Flamethrowers in the rainforest, against civilian protestors? Cultist or not, it would not be a good look for the company.

"There are... less fun ways to make a fire, though. We can get you gas or something flammable. Just make an accident in the heat of combat in your reports," he went on to add. With those minor conditions, Stefan's plan was pretty much green lighted, and Cormack seemed like he personally approved of it.

The boys at the requisition office, or rather table setup in front of a secure tent, wouldn't put up any kind of fuss. It'd just be a matter of time before some trucks were loaded up and ready to roll. Until then, Stefan and his squad could stretch their legs or maybe hit the mess hall.

Stefan sighed slightly, he was hoping for a clear sign of how they controlled these plants but he guessed he would soon find out.

He nodded to everything Cormack said, and although he didn't even think of a flamethrower, just the idea brought a smile to his face.

" Alright, just send a couple of chainsaws and some safety vest and helmets, and something to make a fire with, I will go out and check in on my squad and let them in on the plan, " Stefan replied and turned to go nodding to Cormack as he left.

He went out and gathered his squad to let them know his plan, " So, we are going to suspected area's of travel for the terrorists, but since they are only suspected we will have to draw them out, I plan to make some noise first by revving some chainsaws, dropping some trees and if that doesn't work we light a fire. Once we draw atleast a couple them out into the open then we ambush, take them down quickly before they can start controlling the plants. We will have to see what they get for us, to make the fire, but perhaps we can combat this by keeping the vines at bay with the fire." He looked over the squad judging their reactions of the plan.

He continued, " Luckily for you getting the equipment will take some time, so take some R&R, but be ready to move." He started to turn away and he looked back one more time to say, " I'm a bit famished, so I'll go get a bite to eat." He let the sentance hang for a second before leaving towards the mess hall.

Inside, Stefan moved quickly moved to get some food to occupy his mind before the mission, he worried that letting his mind sit might let himself accidentally "activate" his power and he sometimes changed a bit afterwords. He wondered for a second if maybe his ancestor had heard of these Children of the Gaia but he did not want to probe that question further.

Though food was less appetizing since his change, he luckily had feasted recently and should be fine for a couple of days, unless he used any powers. He sat in silence just pondering not particularly wanting company but anything to occupy his mind would help.

None of his men questioned his orders. When he waited for their response they replied promptly.

"Sir, yes, sir," when they were dismissed, some of them decided to head to the barracks. Others wandered off in other directions.

"Great! I'll join you, Strigoi," Spearman 03 invited himself along. A few others stayed with him and would head towards the mess.

"I'm Jack, by the way. This is Sal, Smokey, and Benny," He would say on the way. As he introduced them, he gestured towards Mage 02, Assassin 01, and Spearman 01. If it weren't for the bottom half of her face visible under her heavy helmet and goggles, it'd be easy to mistake Sal for a man. The heavy padding and body armor she was wearing didn't really show off her womanly figure, but it was effective. The only thing womanly about her outfit was an odd ribbon tied around her arm in a cute bow. Oddly enough, it was colored in a camouflage pattern that matched her gear, which kind of defeated the purpose of a ribbon.

"Actually, I prefer to be called Sally," she insisted. Assassin 01's helmet had a visor shield in front of it, like some swat helms had. However, his was tinted black.

"Please, don't call me Smokey," Assassin 01 responded in a dull monotone voice. Ben looked like your average fresh faced rookie. He had freckles and big round glasses. He just looked happy to be part of the group.

"Ah, a-and my friends call me Ben," even he chimed in. Jack began to complain, but he was mostly disregarded.

Stefan may have noticed that the dress code was a bit slack. Personal affects were a common thing, and of course he himself wasn't asked to change anything about his outfit. He was given a silver pin of The New Path compass when he agreed to take the job, but he was told that he didn't have to wear it. Everyone else seemed to be wearing it somewhere on them, though.

At the mess hall, Jack pointed to a counter where a short line was being handle by cooks that could be seen working beyond a counter.

"The chefs do what they can with what we get out here, but it's mainly focused on nutrition. All you get for desert is a little chocolate bar or a cup of pudding, which is great for free rations," Jack started to explain, but then he pointed to a smaller counter built into the wall that had no line. It also had cans of soda, candy bars, and other snack foods.

"But that's were the real good stuff is at," Jack added with in his whimsical way, before heading over there himself.

"Jeeze, again? Are you even going to have a pay check at the end of your tour? Rations are provided, but we can buy extra concessions. With money we happen to have on hand, or we can take it out of our pay," Sally filled in what Jack neglected to mention.

"The regular rations are good enough as it is," Ben joined Sally in shaming Jack.

"B-but... then again with our pay, I don't see the problem in spending a little on a can of soda... E-every now and then..." he reluctantly gave in, and followed after Jack.

"..." Smokey just shook his head.

Stefan nodded and smiled at all of their comments and though he had many thoughts on his mind he tried to stay kind to the team he would have to rely on in the heat of battle.

" Although, I agree with Jack slightly, most food does not agree with me so I will stick with the rations."

Stefan sat down with them at a table and let them talk trying to connect with his squadmates before the coming battle. Though as time went on, he grew more and more impatient for the coming battle hoping to finish this job and get enough money to move on. As the conversation continued, he thought longer and considered staying with this group, they had good equipment, organization, and hired what seemed like at least somewhat disciplined soldiers. He wasn't to sure yet but he may yet stick with this NPPMF.

Stefan was not the first mercenary hired by The New Path. In some of his squad members might have also been mercenaries during their career. Even if they'd never see him again, they knew to make him feel welcome as if he were part of the family. After all, later that day they'd be trusting their lives to this man.

As much as Stefan may have been looking forward to it, the time to move out came sooner rather than later. The trucks that were carrying them and their gear came to a stop in a clearing close to the vantage point Stefan had picked out. It would only be a short hike, but with the extra logging equipment, the pace would be that much slower. It was time for Stefan's orders. Who would be posing as construction workers, and who would be setup where? Should they ditch the heavy machine gun to port the logging equipment, or carry it all? Who should keep eyes on lookout and in what direction? How should they setup the fire and when should it be lit? Now was the time to tell them any strategies he had up his sleeve.

There were enough disguises for the whole team, Stefan included. However, it was either body armor or construction uniforms. They had four barrels of flammable industrial gasoline, and each of the security contractors had a means of starting the fire safely. Though gathering some tinder to act as a starter would be the safest bet. As for terrain, the ambush point had a particularly thick tree line with plenty of shrubs to conceal where they could setup. Naturally, ghillie suits where an option. Alternatively, there seemed to be a natural cave nearby. However, it was the type that large animals often made a home out of. Then there was the natural rolling inclines of the area. They could always dig their own foxholes in various opportune places.

However, time was not on their side. Team Soothsayer would report that the perimeter patrols were already under attack. It wouldn't be long before the cultists were retreating back to wherever it is they came from. If they had read them right, they'd be here soon.

Lastly, Soothsayer had reviewed the footage as ordered, and described it to team in great detail, during the trip. The footage came from helm cams. The security contractors were just going along their patrols when suddenly the vines and trees would suddenly start bending towards them. They'd wrap around them and quickly being throttling them. Naturally, the security contractors reacted by panicking, getting off a few wild shots that probably put each other in danger more than anything else. Combat knives were deployed against the vines, but the trees were more resilient.

One particular helm cam fell off while the security contractor was being thrown about violently. Where it landed, it happened to pick up several shadowy figure of a humanoid moving among the cover of the trees. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough detail regarding these mysterious figures, but if they are indeed men, surely they will yield to a hail of gunfire.