Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Green Beret

"Live for somethin' or die for nothin."

-Green Beret

Service personnel of the Aquilan Green Berets are deployed through a Airborne Paradrop. Planned to be voiced by *TBA*

Tactical analysis

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History
Founded in 1952 V.C. as the original special forces of the Aquilan Army, the Green Berets have taken part in covert operations around the entire globe. Highly proficient in the use of the M4A1 Carbines, these elite warriors strike fear into the heart of every infantry man faced with the prospect of fighting them and they can use their under-barrel grenade launchers to fire powerful 40mm high-explosive/fragmentation grenades to obliterate foot-soldiers and lightly armored vehicles with ease.

The Green Berets performed excellently during Operation Desert Rage, the 1st Encantadian War and the 2004 Voshkod invasion of Aquila.

Short story
"This is Dagger One to Papa Dragon", Captain Timothy Walsh reported. "We are overlooking the harbour facilities and are standing by to observe."

"Understood, Dagger", Colonel Francis Thorn confirmed from his flying command center inside a modified AC-130 gunship that was idling above the (Caspian) Sea just outside (Iranian) airspace. Unfazed by the air of tension in the cramped, blue-lit belly of the massive aircraft, Thorn took a quick sip from his coffee mug while his watchful gaze rested on the screens that showed a live feed of the compound. Thanks to the high-resolution cameras mounted on their helmets, the Chessmaster could see everything his men could set their eyes on in real-time as if he was there himself.

The five soldiers of Team Dagger belonged to the Aquilan Army's 1st Special Forces Group and had infiltrated the area a month earlier. True to the doctrine of the famous Green Berets, Aquila's original shadow warriors founded in the early 1950 V.C.s, had taken the subtle way into Elona: Using their vast knowledge of the local languages and customs, they managed to blend in among the population and prepared a safehouse in support of tonight's operation. The objective was a cargo freighter that was scheduled to arrive within the hour. According to the latest intel from the CIA, it carried an arsenal of advanced weapons from the Voshkod. For decades, it had been an open secret that the long-ruling ex-KGB Colonel in the Kremlin supported the Iranian regime with weapons in the same way as the Aquilan supported the (Saudi) regime. The appearance of the Moonlight Liberation Army and the subsequent escalation of sectarian violence in (Iraq) had brought the tensions between the two Askairan powers to an unprecedented level - and in the autumn of 2024, it was only a matter of time until the Aquilan-backed regime in (Baghdad) would fall and the entire region would be plunged into a catastrophic war that had been in the making for so long.

"Heads up, we've got eyes on a vessel heading towards the harbor", Captain Walsh noted after a half hour of quiet waiting. "Stephenson; can you get a clear look at the ship?"

The team's sniper peered through the night vision scope of his M110 precision rifle and scanned the ship's hull. He confirmed that it was indeed the Danica, a cargo freighter under the Russian flag with a deadweight tonnage of 50.000.

"Roger, Dagger. Set up your equipment and ID any personnel within the facility. I also need a clear view on those weapons if possible", Thorn replied. "Intel says that the Voshkod officer in charge of the delivery is one Major General Stanislav Semyonovich Baluyev and that the ship might be carrying an unknown number of surplus anti-aircraft vehicles, including ZSU-23-4 Shilkas and SA-19 Grisons. We're also looking at several hundred containers full of ammunition and miscellaneous infantry weapons, possibly including advanced MANPADS and ATGMs."

"Any changes to the rules of engagement?", Walsh inquired.

"Negative. We are only here to identify the weapons and any key personnel. We don't have orders to engage at this time, so keep your safeties on."

Slowly, the Danica moved ashore and within moments, the sleepy harbor facility came alive with activity as several armed soldiers scrambled out of the buildings in the dead of the night.

"Wait, something isn't right here", the Captain remarked. "These troops aren't wearing (Iranian) uniforms. Papa Dragon, what do we know about the Iranian military presence down here tonight?"

"We have no exact information as to who's going to receive the delivery, whether they belong to the regular military or the revolutionary guard," Thorn replied with an air of concern. "Whoever they are, let's stick to the plan for now. I'll see if I can get some better intel from our database..."

"Roger that, Colonel", Walsh noted. "Ramirez; set up the smartcam and the directional mic!"

While the Green Berets prepared their equipment, the Voshkod General Baluyev took a strong drag of his cigarette and exited the ship. An instant after he stepped onto the concrete pier, he and his small entourage of soldiers and sailors were confronted by a group of bearded Night Elven men dressed in a patchy mix of civilian clothes and non-standard military gear. One of them, a lean, towering Night Elf with the biggest beard of all approached him: "You are ten minutes late. Unpunctuality is not a good trait for a man to do business with - But I shall look past that, given the sheer size of your delivery, 'Comrade' General."

"And I shall look past your arrogance, mudak", the General replied with contempt as he crushed the remains of the cigarette underneath his black boot. "The Premier may regard your organization as... 'helpful' for his political power plays in the Middle East but that does not mean that we have to treat you as if we were friends - Trust me, we aren't! The mere thought that my government is making agreements with your kind fills me with shame and disgust, but I have my orders. Let's just get this over with."

Meanwhile, Colonel Thorn had received the results of the facial recognition procedure which revealed the identity of the bearded stranger. "Well, I'll be damned - If that isn't the fucking Death Merchant himself", he hissed through his teeth. "Dagger, be advised: We have identified the tall guy as none other than Anwar Sulaymaan, one of the MLA's top dogs in the Askaira region and Malfurion's second in command. He fought in the Desert Rage as a teenager and ever since then, he has built himself an impressive network of arms trafficking contacts around the world. We're talking rogue states, mercenaries, criminals, and terrorists but above all of these, his main client has always been the Moonlight Liberation Army, where he is said to be in close personal contact with Warlord Malfurion himself, who is a close associate of its leader Mohmar."

"Come again, Sir, does that mean...", Captain Walsh wondered in disbelief before Thorn cut him off: "Yes, Captain. It means that for all we know, the Voshkod government is covertly supplying the MLA. We believed that this was going to be just another routine delivery for the Iranians, but if the Voshkod are also backing the MLA as some kind of secret proxy in Askaira to compromise our interests, we might have a major international incident on our hands. I have to take this higher up the chain. Stand by for further orders, Dagger."

The MLA workers started lifting the containers off the ship with cranes and loaded them onto a nearby train. It would still take a considerable while to unload the entire cargo, but the Aquilans did not have any time to spare, knowing that the precious cargo would quickly become untraceable amidst the extensive, impenetrable logistics network of the MLA. Meanwhile, Sulaymaan and Baluyev took a walk through the harbor and stopped by one of the larger containers. Upon orders of Sulaymaan, the massive steel crate was opened, revealing an entire load of S-300 surface-to-air missiles; sophisticated material which, without a doubt, would pose a potent threat to Aquilan air operations in the region.

"Dagger One, this is Papa Dragon", Thorn returned and proceeded to explain in an urgent tone. "New orders just came in from the highest authority: We are to engage and destroy the ship, its cargo, and all personnel. That includes both the MLA -and- the Voshkod. We don't have time for a more nuanced solution as we cannot risk losing track of these weapons. My Spectre will be on station to provide fire support in approximately twenty minutes. We light 'em up and then your team will go in to secure what's left. Let's get to it, gentlemen!"

While the Green Berets prepared to make their move, Sulaymaan and Baluyev continued with their awkward conversation, unaware of the havoc that would soon be unleashed upon them. "These weapons will aid us greatly in our upcoming operations in (Iraq)", boasted Sulaymaan. "My people are yearning to be liberated from the puppet regime that was forced upon them by the Aquilan. Soon, the entire region will be purged clean from the influence of the Western imperialists and then, we will lay waste to their homes just like they did to ours for so many years. Relay my thanks to Mr. Cherdenko... And tell him that the MLA will always remember its benefactors."

Baluyev spat out in disgust and refused to dignify Sulaymaan's unbearable smugness with a response. Suddenly, the two were knocked to the ground by a heavy explosion. A 105mm howitzer shell had smashed into the conning tower of the Danica and before anybody knew what was going on, the men on the pier got cut down by a red, uninterrupted beam of 25mm rounds. A barrage of bombs, missiles, and 40mm high-explosive shells rained down from the dark blue night sky and obliterated most of the harbor within mere seconds in a chain reaction of detonations.

"A trap - I should have known it!" Sulaymaan yelled while seething with rage. "You're going to die for this, you Slavic pig!" Baluyev, who was still shaken by the chaos, tried to seize the opportunity to save his honor and reached for his pistol, only for Sulaymaan to pull a blade through his throat. "The MLA will always remember its benefactors...", he repeated darkly. "...but it will never forget those who betrayed it either!" With that said, he threw the General to the ground and left him to bleed out. As he made his escape from the facility, Sulaymaan maneuvered through the raging inferno which rendered him invisible on the infrared screens of the Spectre before he disappeared into the night.

After the bombardment had ended, Team Dagger arrived on the scene to secure what little salvageable intel was left. Captain Walsh reported back to Colonel Thorn: "Papa Dragon, we've got a total of fifty-eight bodies including General Baluyev but Sulaymaan is nowhere to be found. The Danica has been sunk and the containers they managed to unload are destroyed - These SAMs won't bother our birds anytime soon."

"Understood, Dagger. We might have missed the prize but we still managed to deny the MLA some serious firepower tonight", Thorn summarised. "Prep your boat and exfil to point Echo before the locals show up. A Black Hawk will be on station to fly you out to Turkmenistan... I'll brief the President on the geo-political shitstorm that's gonna come down in the next hours. Papa Dragon out."