Operation Desert Jewel Part 1

John F. Kennedy International Airport, Queens, New York
March 5st
12:36 PM

We're inside a recon Stryker locked up like sardines. In it were several nervous soldiers in full equipment. Warriors on their way to battle, And next to them, Tamamo seeing us completely out of place in civilian clothes, a vest with a helmet, and I dressed in the same way. They were all watching us wondering why we were there with them too. What the hell were their superiors thinking by letting two young girls accompany them to such a dangerous place. Even I was more embarrassed by what they must be thinking of my appearance than nervous about the battle.

In about twenty minutes we will arrive near the airport where we will have to take different key points and defend them until the reinforcements of the 82nd airborne to be able to think of at least forming a more ambitious plan. Our mission was not a well-thought-out and calculated mission planned down to the smallest detail with emergency plans in case something went wrong. This was a desperate stifled attempt to try to get a glimmer of hope that he could save something in this city. In case we failed there was nothing else on the table that we could do. 

How did we get to that point? Well, just 20 minutes ago we were arriving at the meeting point for all the available military troops.

We arrived around the New York cemetery and we noticed that the army was gathering inside an underground parking lot, so we went there immediately. At first, they confided us how it could not be otherwise with civilians seeking refuge, I tried to explain my situation to them, but who would believe a 10-year-old girl who comes to help in the military effort. Luckily Captain Cedric already knew that something like this was only a matter of time and he was attentive to the slightest sign. He quickly approached and let us pass, gathered the officers, and told them that I was the captain of Adelis's security team and that I had come to provide assistance under direct orders from her. They quickly gave me an army armband with the captain's insignia and the flag to identify me as an ally and an officer. Obviously, this did not happen without many people opposing the nonsense they had just heard, but the situation was too worrying to afford to criticize things.  

Due to everything that had happened so far, we had not had time to rest from our trip on foot, so I asked for a couple of minutes for that. Taking advantage of the moment, I asked someone if they had a packet of cookies for my sister, a soldier was kind enough and gave us a couple, I distributed them to everyone but I didn't take any. I take a couple of moments and take a look around. And certainly what I saw was not very encouraging indeed. Most of the soldiers in the place were quite young and were behaving as if this was more of a tourist trip than the true unprecedented emergency situation that we are experiencing. The troops here weren't veterans from the continental war, they were fresh recruits from the academy. Maybe they were wanting they had only passed basic training, others did see themselves as experienced warriors, maybe too much, but at this point, anyone works. This only made me more nervous so looking for a way to change whatever is in our favor, I got up and went immediately to where the officers were preparing the attack plan.

"Ok Cedric tell me you have any good news"

"Well right now I was about to call you to update you on our plan."
"Ok it's fine" Cedric said calling the attention of almost everyone present around
"Listen to me well, we'll go over the plan one last time"
"Any observation or advice say it now that it is time"

"Let's start with the first, what kind of talents do we have here?" I asked immediately

"We have several from the national guard, from the JTF, four SWAT teams, several policemen, several soldiers who live near here who joined us on their own, and those on the corner there are veterans who just returned from Europe yesterday."
"We have a force of about 400 men, a single battalion, but very different combined forces."
"For it to work we must ..."

"And the plan to take control of the place?" I'm sure Cedric wanted to say something else but I interrupted him to refocus on what was important.

"Two groups, Alpha attacks North, Bravo the West"
"It is quite probable that there are enemy units hidden between the hangars as well as the entire perimeter of the runways"
"In addition, the enemy presence between the different terminals in the center of the place has been confirmed"
"There are also hostages in the place"

"Is there someone in charge of taking inside and securing the terminals?"

"The place is almost a death trap, I am wondering if it is a good idea to take the risk of taking them"

"The place may be where the greatest presence of enemies is, as it is a good place to defend, in addition to guarding supplies and heavy weapons"
"That place is a danger to the security of the facility"
"We must take them"
"Swat teams specialize in interiors, they are the best option to take them" I said giving my opinion about it
"There are 4 teams, each one will take a terminal"
"Whoever finishes first will support the one who has difficulty"
"The Bravo team seems to have fewer hangars to check, as long as they secure the passage they could also help us to take the terminals"

"Help us?"
"Do you plan to come too?" Asked Cedric

"But what nonsense does she say?"
"Why do we even have to listen to it?"
"What do you know about strategy?" Said a sergeant with a clear reason

"When were you deployed, sergeant?"

"I haven't been deployed yet, sir"

"You have not been deployed"
"Well, she did, in fact, last year"
"That's why she already fought by my side in Europe"
"Because she has already saved my life in combat"
"So she not only has my respect but my trust as well"
"With her young age, she has already shown me that if she is capable, that is why she has the rank that she has"
"So her voice has more weight in this than yours"

"I'm sorry for my fault, sir"
"I had no knowledge of that sir"

"Currently, as the captain with the most experienced in the place, I am in charge"
"In the battle, I will lead the Bravo team"
"The Bravo Team is composed mainly of the police and the noobs"
"Lieutenant Robert Dale It is already retired but given the circumstances, he has been reactivated to the service and will be in charge of the Alpha team"
"The alpha team is comprised of veterans and the JTF"
"If we are going to use the SWATs as a third group we need someone with real combat experience, which we need with the personnel present"
"What do you say, Elise? Will you aim to lead the third group?"

"The What!?
"Are you sure about that?"
"I can improvise it with them"
"But are you sure to entrust me to the third group?"

"They are currently betting that the Echo  Swat team will not make it out alive"
"And following you they made it"
"I think if you are capable of achieving it"

I Stop for a moment and take a look around, the other officers were looking at me completely surprised. Even I was, I expect to take part in the battle, I did not expect to have a large group at my command. I had the experience and the knowledge. But even so, it is never easy to be responsible for the lives of others. Aside from the fact that my way of doing things was perhaps quite blunt and direct, I will most likely make the wrong decisions for the kind of relatively safe world I am in now. The truth is I did not want to do it, but just by taking a look around you can see that there are no better options either. 

"Okay, if you think there's no one better for it"
"Then I will take command."

"Ok then Captain Elise will be in command of the 4 SWAt teams and will be in charge of trying to secure the terminals"
"Just focus on taking two, if you see that it is a lot then just retire and meet me again in the hangars"
"In case everything goes well, try to take my Bravo team to the terminals as well"
"Alpha just make sure you take your assigned zone"
"We must secure the area for our reinforcements"
"The enemy is probably trying to retake the control of the place"
"We must endure until his arrival at any price"
"We leave in 10 minutes"
"I advise you to make your peace with God now that you can"
"Good luck"

With only 10 minutes there was no time for anything, so trying to earn the respect of my group I quickly gathered them near our assigned vehicles. And I started talking to them using what I had learned leading people during the war against the dragons. 

"Very well"
"I know you're thinking, why the hell is the ghost girl in charge?"
"I will not listen to what she says, after all, she is a minor"
"Are those ears for real?"
"Is that crazy girl going to be in charge of our lives?"  I started giving my speech 

The soldiers under my command seemed surprised that I was aware of the ridiculousness of my appearance.

"The answer to that is yes, You will have to, yes and no in that order"
"The most important is no, I am not in charge of your lives"
"You are responsible for your life, if you let them kill you that is your problem"
"Don't let them kill you, don't give them the slightest chance"
"This city already has many heroes it does not need more"
"That said, I'm sorry but you guys hit the lottery"
"You have to live the worst days of your lives with me in command"
"I don't like it either, but it's what we got in the lottery and we're going to have to fight to survive it"
"We caught up in this shit together, I have no choice but to trust you too"
"I don't have the time and love to learn your names, your origin, your hobbies, or what the hell you masturbate with"

Did someone laugh in the background?

"What I do have is this deck of cards, each team takes a suit"
"the aces cards are for the leader of each team, the king is machine gunner, medic queen,  marksman prince"
"The rest of the commons use numbers"
"Wear them on your helmets so I don't confuse you"
"You are not so handsome that I remember your faces"
"My name will be White and the girl here next to me will be Moon"
"She might look a bit silly but she's more dangerous than all of us put together, so you can trust her"

They all began to take a card from the deck and distribute it as instructed. Which was good, it meant they were at least listening to me.

"The teacher put us as punishment for bullying the nerd that today we are cleaning the classrooms"
"4 classrooms where students go on excursions"
"We must take them and prevent the idiots of the rival school's football team from retaking it to have their farewell party"
"Those who got the red cards will take terminal 7, the black ones will take terminal 4"
"Then we will deal with the other two"

"Yeah fuck those idiots" I heard among the my public 

"Ok now leaving the jokes aside, I'm going to be serious with you"
"This is by no means a military plan with a high chance of victory"
"There are no backup plans or contingencies in case something goes wrong"
"What we're doing is drowning strokes trying to save ourselves"
"We don't have time to be the comic book heroes who make everything perfect and ideal"
"The overall priority of this mission is to ensure the usefulness of the airport for allied troops"
"NOTHING ELSE"
"We are not here to save hostages or civilians"
"Killing an enemy takes precedence over saving a life"
"A runway over our weapons"

Everyone is listening to me in complete silence, they had finally realized the shit they had gotten into and that this was serious

"We do not know what our enemies may have prepared, but we do not have the luxury of doubting"
"Kill everything with a gun in their hands without our flag"
"A hostage with a bomb on his chest is also a threat"
"I recommend that you sin first and ask God for forgiveness later"
"Leave your feelings stored in a bag and leave it here"
"When this shit is over you can go back and take the bag again home"

They muttered something to each other, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. I regretted having to be so hard but there was no other choice, the important thing is to fulfill the mission, everything else is secondary.

"Have I been clear!?"

"Yes my lady"  They responded strongly 

When I finished speaking, I went back to my family to say goodbye, I gave Momo my bag with Luna's core for her to keep. Momo, the twins and Maria would stay behind along with a small group of policemen who would wait for them to take the airport to enter and attend to people seeking refuge. It would only be a couple of hours, but in the heat of combat, anything can happen. But I was not the only one, many people were also writing their farewell letters, others were with their families preparing to leave. I even see the daughters of a man cry her 60-year-old father put on a military uniform again while a younger soldier taught him how the current army rifle worked. There were all kinds of vehicles, from more SWAT trucks, various ICVs like the Stryker, various truck-mounted C-Ram batteries as well as even normal police patrol cars.  Not long after we all get on our transports to our destiny, whatever it may be.