GATE (Thus the JSDF fought there): Breakthrough

Chapter 8: Libertas Ex Virtute

The CH-47 shakes slightly from the winds and rainstorm outside, the red light illuminating the two teams that sat inside.

The silence would be deafening, Ryan looked back at his team as Jackson gave a singular nod, lifting his fist as Ryan bumped it in return.

The JASDF Pilots would talk on the radio as Aiden walked back from the front of the CH-47. "Approaching LZ, ETA 5 minutes."

Silence ensues once again as Aiden takes a seat.

"Lieutenant Aiden! Why don't you give us some words of enlightenment?" Ryan shouts to him.

Aiden ponders for a second... but he knew the best quote that came to mind. "To fear death is nothing other than to think oneself wise when one is not, for it is to think one knows what one does not know. No man knows whether death may not even turn out to be the greatest blessing for a human being, and yet people fear it as if they knew for certain that it is the greatest of evil." Aiden recites, his philosophy minor kicking in slightly.

"Hell does that mean?" Jackson asks, peeking his head at Aiden.

"To be afraid of the unknown is to presume the worst. The man who said that quote never feared death, for he didn't understand it, so why should he let it control him? Especially if death could be something good, we don't know if death is good or bad, we simply presume it is. Don't fear something that could be good." Aiden had to dumb it down significantly to the team but he tried his best to get the main points in from Socrates.

The helicopter slowly descends in the sky, making way as it lands under the cover of the dark. The large door would open as rain would beat down on the grass and mud.

Everyone would stand up. Ryan looked at Hideo, bumping fists with him as they all disembarked from the CH-47, creating a small circle around the exit of the CH-47 before kneeling as Ryan would be the last to hop off, turning his back to watch the CH-47 fly off.

The rain would beat down on Ryan's helmet as he raised his rifle. "Nods on Watcher. Lead the way 1-6."

"Roger." Chris stands up, leading the way through the fields as he flips his GPNVG down, a green light illuminates his eyes as he walks first, holding a compass in his left hand.

Both Watcher and Archer follow Chris, with all of them spreading out and forming a line.

Their boots would crunch and splash on the mud, slowly pushing through the fields as the huge wall of the Capital could be seen.

"Let's get to that wall and prepare the lines, they shouldn't be able to see or hear us." Ryan nods to Hideo as he motions for his SOGs to move up.

Everyone's heartbeat would accelerate, with adrenaline soon kicking in. While this was also terrifying, this was something they were all used to.

Making their way under the cover of the rain and dark, Watcher and Archer lean against the huge walls.

Ryan, Claire, and two other SOGs would aim the line launchers that they brought with them. "Hooks up."

A small pop could be heard from the line launchers, sending a hook that would bury itself into the stones of the castle walls. Ryan gives the line a quick tug before nodding to everyone.

"Hooks in, let's get up top." Ryan looks to the SOG forces as they all attach a rappel machine to the lines, state-of-the-art new equipment, courtesy of the U.S. Military.

Ryan and Markus would be the first to rappel up the line, hopping along the walls as the rain beat down on their face.

As the rappel zips them up to the top, Ryan and Markus both grab a hold of the small opening at the top of the wall.