Killed In Action

Prologue - Part Two

A Jungle in Myanmar (Burma) 

1548 Hours (3:48 pm)

Tuesday, 29th March, 2016

The 50 SAS trainee troops marched through the thick, hard mud of Burma after a storm, their heavy duty boots coping with the storm perfectly. None of them wanted to be there. No one wants be in the SAS really. No one realises how hard it is, and how dangerous it is. The life expectancy of an Australian SAS soldier is 31 years of age. Not very long at all.

Now, I bet your thinking, why Burma? Isn't Burma a war-torn country with no hope at all?

The answer is: yes, it was.

In 2013, all fighting ceased in Burma, and the civilians finally thought they were free, when suddenly a new threat arose. The Burmese Militia rose like a phoenix from the ashes of a war. Burma was in tatters, slowly rebuilding the pieces. when the Burmese Militia bombed towns, executed men and children and raped women. Burma went from a free land to Hell once again.

The Militia were unopposed until the Burmese Freedom Fighters rose and opposed the hideous Militia. Able men and women from all parts of Burma joined the freedom fighters, and for 2 years there was nothing but war.

In 2015, the war had gotten so bad that the bombings of town and cities had left no home for anyone. Civilians and freedom fighters fled to bordering countries, and eventually fighting ceased. Burma was split into two, one half going to the Militia, the other half going to the Freedom Fighters.

In early 2016, the Australian SAS cut a deal with the Burmese Government (formerly the Burmese Freedom Fighters). The Australians would supply the Burmese armed forces with guns and ammunition, as long as the Australians could use parts of Burma for survival camps. The deal was accepted graciously.

This was the first survival camp, and so far, it was an absolute load of crap. At least, that's what it was to the trainees. To Richard 'Valentine' Nelson, it was an astounding success. As long as the trainees were in a shit mood and arguing about the smallest things, he was happy. He highly enjoyed seeing people suffer, he got a kick out of it.

Among the trainees at the camp was Private First Class Derek Buckley. Buckley had had an outstanding career so far. He had been among the team in Vietnam that infiltrated enemy lines and taken out the satellite uplink that was blocking communications. After that, Buckley had received a special invitation to the SAS's first ever survival camp. The Survival Camp was pretty much a tryout for the SAS. If you did well enough, you would be invited in, if you didn't do so well, you would continue your career as it was. Buckley wasn't too worried about the camp or the conditions. As long as he wasn't asleep, having those nightmares again.....

Two hours later:

Valentine stopped all of the troops.

"Okay, you little pansy-ass wimps, let's set up camp and, since I know none of you people will be sleeping, prepare for a long night of lying in your tents".

All of the trainees gratefully dropped the packs off their shoulders and collapsed to the floor, including Buckley. Very few of them had the fitness to be doing something like this, which is surprising, considering these men were among Australia's best soldiers.

Two men, Robert "Wheels" McKay and a half-Soviet, half-Australian man who went by the name "Phantom" sat down beside Buckley. Buckley knew that Wheels had gotten his nickname from the fact that before he had enlisted, Wheels was a street racer in an Underground Racing Syndicate. Even now, during his army days, Wheels likes to keep in touch with his rev-head side by playing Need for Speed games, as opposed to all the other men, who stuck with Call of Duty, and the more recent Killed in Action game series.