The Embark dropped anchor at the port of San Francisco. From there, it was a long train ride to New York. All this time, Shoji and Chidori kept close to each other. This was their first time in America for many of them. For Simon, it as "no biggie." After all, this was where he came from.
For most people, remaining on the train from San Francisco was boring and, at times, agitating. It was not the case for Shoji and Chidori. Being together seemed as though time had stopped for the both of them. The two were oblivious to the monotony of the train's journey.
Half a world away, something else was happening.
The Indian Ocean. A large container ship was sailing from the Gulf of Aden en route to Singapore. In the dead of night it was being shadowed in the distance by a smaller ship.
The smaller ship's crew were dropping skiffs into the water and men were climbing on board -armed men. They were pirates, and they had already marked the container as their prize. But they did not know that they, too, were being watched. As they sped to their quarry, a periscope's attention remained focused on their ship.
The EOGC submarine captain had his boat positioned ten kilometers from the pirate ship. Behind him, seated, was a man in an EOGC general's uniform.
Like many powerful countries, the EOGC was greatly concerned about piracy and even contributed its own support to the operations in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean to protect commercial shipping.
"Fire," said the captain.
At once, a pair of torpedoes came hissing toward the pirate ship. The explosion caused the pirates in the skiffs to look back, only to see their main ship going down and their comrades on board screaming for help.
The explosion also alerted the container ship. Alarms went off and the vessel went into evasive maneuvers.
"Radio the choppers," said the sub captain, "and take us in close."
As the skiffs turned around to help their companions in the main vessel, a pair of EOGC naval attack helicopters appeared and opened fire on the pirates. The pirates returned fire, but since their command was in chaos, the shooting was random and ineffectual. Meanwhile, the submarine moved in a kilometer and a half from the rear of the pirate vessel.
"Take us up," said the captain.
The pirates didn't notice the submarine surfacing; their attention was focused on the choppers.
"Don't shine a light," said the general, "I want to play with them for a while."
"They're all yours, General Petrov," said the captain.
Brigadier General Arkady Petrov was a former spetsnaz officer and sniper who fought in Chechnya. Years later, he was hired by Eric Ong and eventually became commander of the EOGC special forces' sniper division. He took a number of assassination assignments during the Takeover and his efficiency prompted the Taipan to create a special unit within the special forces whose sole duty was to undertake assassination missions.
Petrov rose and picked up his rifle; it was something he was very attached to and even when he was not on duty, it was with him -even in bed. He put his cap on the captain's desk, donned a black coat and climbed up the conning tower of the submarine. Once outside, he removed the cover from the scope of his rifle.
A pirate pulled out an RPG and aimed it at one of the choppers.
Petrov took aim at the RPG and fired a shot.
The RPG exploded, killing the pirate as well as several of his crewmates.
Another pirate turned around in the direction of the submarine.
Petrov squeezed the trigger again.
The pirate fell into the water.
A skiff was trying to escape.
Another shot and the skiff's motor was permanently disabled.
Another RPG was pulled out.
Petrov shot the man in the back; the pirate fell while squeezing the trigger. The rocket shot in a descending motion along the pirate vessel's deck and exploded on its stern.
Petrov was busy emptying shell after shell when a powerful gun was heard firing in the distance.
A ball of fire erupted in the pirate ship's deck.
Petrov turned to see an EOGC destroyer approaching. It was the pirate-class destroyer Corsair.
"You're too early," muttered the general, "I was still having fun."
For most people, remaining on the train from San Francisco was boring and, at times, agitating. It was not the case for Shoji and Chidori. Being together seemed as though time had stopped for the both of them. The two were oblivious to the monotony of the train's journey.
Half a world away, something else was happening.
The Indian Ocean. A large container ship was sailing from the Gulf of Aden en route to Singapore. In the dead of night it was being shadowed in the distance by a smaller ship.
The smaller ship's crew were dropping skiffs into the water and men were climbing on board -armed men. They were pirates, and they had already marked the container as their prize. But they did not know that they, too, were being watched. As they sped to their quarry, a periscope's attention remained focused on their ship.
The EOGC submarine captain had his boat positioned ten kilometers from the pirate ship. Behind him, seated, was a man in an EOGC general's uniform.
Like many powerful countries, the EOGC was greatly concerned about piracy and even contributed its own support to the operations in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean to protect commercial shipping.
"Fire," said the captain.
At once, a pair of torpedoes came hissing toward the pirate ship. The explosion caused the pirates in the skiffs to look back, only to see their main ship going down and their comrades on board screaming for help.
The explosion also alerted the container ship. Alarms went off and the vessel went into evasive maneuvers.
"Radio the choppers," said the sub captain, "and take us in close."
As the skiffs turned around to help their companions in the main vessel, a pair of EOGC naval attack helicopters appeared and opened fire on the pirates. The pirates returned fire, but since their command was in chaos, the shooting was random and ineffectual. Meanwhile, the submarine moved in a kilometer and a half from the rear of the pirate vessel.
"Take us up," said the captain.
The pirates didn't notice the submarine surfacing; their attention was focused on the choppers.
"Don't shine a light," said the general, "I want to play with them for a while."
"They're all yours, General Petrov," said the captain.
Brigadier General Arkady Petrov was a former spetsnaz officer and sniper who fought in Chechnya. Years later, he was hired by Eric Ong and eventually became commander of the EOGC special forces' sniper division. He took a number of assassination assignments during the Takeover and his efficiency prompted the Taipan to create a special unit within the special forces whose sole duty was to undertake assassination missions.
Petrov rose and picked up his rifle; it was something he was very attached to and even when he was not on duty, it was with him -even in bed. He put his cap on the captain's desk, donned a black coat and climbed up the conning tower of the submarine. Once outside, he removed the cover from the scope of his rifle.
A pirate pulled out an RPG and aimed it at one of the choppers.
Petrov took aim at the RPG and fired a shot.
The RPG exploded, killing the pirate as well as several of his crewmates.
Another pirate turned around in the direction of the submarine.
Petrov squeezed the trigger again.
The pirate fell into the water.
A skiff was trying to escape.
Another shot and the skiff's motor was permanently disabled.
Another RPG was pulled out.
Petrov shot the man in the back; the pirate fell while squeezing the trigger. The rocket shot in a descending motion along the pirate vessel's deck and exploded on its stern.
Petrov was busy emptying shell after shell when a powerful gun was heard firing in the distance.
A ball of fire erupted in the pirate ship's deck.
Petrov turned to see an EOGC destroyer approaching. It was the pirate-class destroyer Corsair.
"You're too early," muttered the general, "I was still having fun."
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