Rangers and Rogues

Chapter 3: Out Ranked and Out Classed

"Who will be incharge of the fire team, sir?" Asks one of the soldiers in the room.

"Phoenix will be in command, Crossfire will be second." The Commander reveals.

Sol reacted with shock, matched by Crossfire letting out an annoyed huff. Before Sol could speak, Crossfire had already begun to protest.

"Sir, with all due respect, I outrank Phoenix in class, rank, and experience. If anyone should be leading this..."

Flint put up his hand before she could speak further.

"According to the rankings, Crossfire, you only slightly outrank Phoenix. He also engaged with a possible associate of the enemy, making him the only one here with a clue about what we are up against. More importantly, the Director gave this order."

Crossfire crossed her arms and took a deep breath, her defiance replaced by frustration.

"Right, if there's to be no more interruptions, Phoenix, do you have a plan for this mission?"

Sol took a moment, placing his hand on his chin as he looked at the map of the area surrounding the base. The bottom of the ravine was covered by trees that surrounded the building, meaning parachuting was out of the question. A dropship wouldn't work either, since he wanted to attack with stealth. Not doing so could risk the Rogues escaping or data destruction..

"We're gonna have to rappel down one of the cliffs, dropships would ruin our surprise advantage, so we will have to deploy a few miles from the ravine, and since the base is surrounded by forest we can't parachute in." Sol says, pointing along one of the cliff sides. "Crossfire will be on overwatch while we infiltrate the base."

"Good, you will be dispatched at dusk and you will begin your infiltration before dawn, use the cover of night to your advantage." Flint says.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

The dropship landed a fair distance away, in a small meadow, its engine blowing the tall grass flat as the drop doors opened. Half a dozen piled out, checking their surroundings as per protocol before the two Rangers stepped out. Crossfire carried a large black gun case strapped to her back. Sol stepped out, wearing his new gear that Ira had finished; a black synthetic cloth jacket draped around an armored vest–airy, fashionable, and effective. He adjusted the black fingerless gloves that covered the Mystic Symbols on either hand. A large blue phoenix symbol decorated the back of the jacket.The dropship took off causing the grass to flatten completely. A small triangle shaped earpiece sat just in front of every member's ear.

Sol gave the signal and the squad began walking through the forest, their way lit by night vision goggles. For Rangers, their earpieces provided a heads up display that highlighted the world around them and allowed them to see well enough to avoid obstacles. The hike would take a few hours with the equipment they had brought: Crossfire had her large case and Sol carried a backpack with the essentials.

The squad made camp a hundred feet from the edge of the ravine and were surrounded by trees on all sides as they set up a small fire. With a bit of effort, Sol picked at his bag and pulled more things for camp, such as some food and a dampener for the fire's smoke. Some of the other squad members checked the rappel gear. Crossfire was the first to finish her meal and walked off close to the edge, bringing the large case with her. Sol watched her walk off, some of the other squad members just shrugged.

"She's been like that ever since the briefing." Jackson says, the only other female in the group besides Crossfire.

"To be fair, she is usually the squad leader, I think she's just a bit jealous." Carlson says while he pokes at some of the flames.