Deniable Ops: The Hunt for Megiddo [IC]

[Teal]

Andrews Air Force Base
17:00 - 6 hours before deployment, 13 March 2012.

Plunged in thoughts, David was resting on a seat aboard 'Vesper', Fourth Echelon's C-130 tactical deployment vehicle. He was skeptic whether activating a bunch of rookies for such an important assignment was a wise idea, but he didn't have much power to oppose Madam President's order. Time to time, he would comfort himself with the fact that he was present only as support and that no harm would come to him, still, the thought that one grave miscalculation would sign a death warrant for his country wouldn't let his mind get blank. Yes, although David never engaged himself in a face-to-face battle with the enemy, he still was a patriot. He contributed for his country in his own way, earning himself the title 'witty patriot' amidst his colleagues.
"Sir, our guests have just arrived at the base. They'll be here in a minute.", a voice interrupted his meditating. He turned his head around to see the co-pilot, a man around twenties, informing him that the assigned operatives had already arrived. 'Good.', David nodded, relieved he was finally going to meet them. Their files contained plenty of information about them, but mainly work career, nothing about their past or any of that stuff. It was part of his job to know the people he worked with, professionally and personally. That way, communicating with them would be a lot easier.

[ShowdownVD]

I smiled at the guard as I stepped out of the helicopter. This was a nice change in scenery. Having been used to an urban city skyline, a secret base was more than welcome for a change of scenery. I followed as the guards led both me and the other man who rode in the chopper with me down a long flight strip to an open cargo door of an AC-130. A woman was already entering as we came withn range and I chuckled to myself as we walked in.
Clever, I thought to myself.

[benjaminrk]

Natalie had been in good time. She usually was.
She had spend days walking around in the Fourth Echelon doing all the paperwork that needed filling, before she officially was ready. Natalie Ravenholm had been in Fourth Echelon before, but never as a Splinter Cell; never as one of the elites. When she had showed her papers people dropped what they had had and read them. And when she spoke people listened. Because now what she had to say was handled as top priority all of a sudden, and there was little wait when people handled her new clearance.
She couldn't argue with the pay either.
Natalie had worked so hard, but she had never thought she could get appointed to be an actually operative, not this fast anyway. She knew she was better qualified than most she had met, but now she got the position she wasn't sure she was actually ready. To know things in theory is only half the battle.
But as the young woman who had passed all tests with flying color walked across the military airport, something else than awe filled her head: Her conversation from last night was in fact what distracted her.

“So this is how it's going to be from now on?.. You being absent without telling why? Leaving without notice? Risking your life because people tell you to?

The words had been spoken by her fiance. He had known it was coming; he had known what she had trained so hard to achieve. Yet now she got it, their relationship was going through a rough patch.
"Pull yourself together Natalie, you can't afford to be absent, you need to focus if you wanna earn this honor" She thought to herself and tried to wipe the negative thoughts out of her head, and concentrate on the task at hand.
Like so many Natalie was still on a need-to-know basis, which resulted in her barely knowing what to expect as she approached the C-130. It was an impressive sight and it was hard not to feel small compared to the huge piece of flying technology. As Natalie boarded she noted how empty the plane looked; it seemed to have been reserved for the sole purpose of transporting her and her new partner; the partner she had yet to meet actually.
She didn't look much like a field agent in her blue shirt and black skirt as she went on board, more like a secretary. Yet a field agent was what she was now; among the top operatives. An honor she bloody well had to work hard to keep!

[supersoccerball]

Nicole sighed as she walked onto the airstrip, where a giant C-130 was resting. "Oh boy, I wonder if this time, we won't be trying to get shot down." She thought to herself, that thought was based off of the two times her plane had been nearly shot down, which were coincidentally C-130s. She was in a good mood, despite her thoughts, she took delight in how the agents and securities treated her, after handing in her paperwork that took her an eternity to fill out (not). Not a single problem was had with being in Fourth Echelon, and as a Splinter Cell once again, the bonuses, benefits, and pay were great, fortunately and unfortunately she only had herself to provide for, which meant she could buy many things she wanted, but she didn't have anyone to share with. She stood there on the airstrip for a second, her gray jacket moving with a gentle breeze as she thought back to her time in Third Echelon, they didn't pay as much as Fourth Echelon, but she still learned a lot of things there, and it was unfortunate they were dissolved. Nicole grinned to herself, sighing and setting off towards the C-130. Her steps were evenly paced, but she was trained to suddenly decrease the pace of her footsteps, just in case a foe appeared from nowhere. A loud clank replaced the constant clonk of her footsteps, indicating she had made it onto the ramp of the C-130. Thoughts spiraled in her head, wondering who her fellow operatives would be. She stepped into where everyone was at, and smirked wide, "Why hello, everyone."