Operation Salt IC (JPD and kingkonrad)

[kingkonrad]

0400 Hours, 23rd September, 2015
Off the Coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran


Mark turned off the engine, the coastline sweeping and the darkness engulfing the area. In the Zodiac, it seemed quiet. They were headed into a small, uninhabited bay- their landing site, and from which they were moving out. His 417 lent against the side of the Zodiac's rubber frame, and he was looking out on what was going on here. A pair of NVGs were over his eyes- attached to a black-special forces helmet, which a SEAL like him would have used. He wore his usual BDU (Battle Dress Uniform)- from the Oakley SI gloves on his hands, to the plate carrier on his body armor and his usual camouflaged attire, it felt good. Prepared- just like himself. It was the middle of the night, and they were in a boat somewhere just off the Iranian coast. Waiting to pounce. He had the engine off as he knew the waves would take them in from here, as they closer toward shore. A face of a soldier already on. The slight spray of water was occasionally coming in- the bay seemed almost empty, and with absolutely no buildings in sight. Clouds above at least kept the temperature from falling, but even still, it was substantially colder than anything in the day.

"Okay. Soon as we land, we'll hide the Zodiac, and move out. Waypoint "Tar" is two klicks north of here, and we'll have to go on foot. From there, we can establish what our sit rep is, and exactly how far we have to the enrichment facility. Hoorah?" Mark said, a slight smile on his face as he did so. Ant was a good soldier- a man he could count on. These recon ops were boring- but thanks to men like them, it was the only way that the CIA and most of the US Command knew about Iran's nuclear enrichment. Years ago, they said it was building. Right now, the possibility of further nuclear weapons being developed was something that no UN team could keep tabs on. It was up to them to find exactly what it was- by doing what they had to. Himself and Ant knew the SOP's on this sort of stuff- and it never came lightly. You kept every ounce of knowledge on you, or you died. It was the way Mark had come to live- a soldier, through and through.

[JPD]

0400 Hours, 23rd September, 2015
Off the Coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran

Anthony beside Mark was taking more interest in the actual scenery than the actual mission itself. Wondering with little he had at home a long journey was ahead of him with Mark. With his Colt M4A1 SOPMOD w/ Standard iron sights across his chest feeling the grip of the Mk 23 Mod 0 (SOCOM Pistol), almost gripping it like he was holding a baby bird. A distinguished Spec Ops Black Camo was what he was wearing, he liked being undetectable in the dark. The rest of his equipment was simple and purely no bullshit. He had all the standard equipment a Navy Seal would need to kick ass in a middle eastern country. However, unlike most American idiots, Anthony didn't take these people for a joke. He knew if he fucked up in one way they would fuck him up in several others. What many people forget is that the Middle East as it is known as these days was the cradle of civilization at one point in mankinds history. It may have been very long ago, but Anthony knew a thing or two about the history of the middle east. He proceeded with Mark along the shore, he noticed an almost silent shore, with hardly any buildings in sight it was like a typical stereotype of what a battlefield in an Arab country would look like. The temperature was substantially mild, he took of his helmet, felt the breeze in his hair as if he wanted to interact with his surroundings, getting a better feeling of the situation he was in. Some may say a true warrior would only interact with the environment. Anthony was a right pissed off guy, even Mark was afraid to fuck with him in a bad time.

[/I]

[kingkonrad]

The boat kept being swayed in, on each wave going a little further than before. Mark adjusted his position in the boat, and then his NVG's over his face- checking they securely covered both eyes. Through his eyes, the pale green and black outlines were second nature, and the same to him as normal light now. In his head anyway. Right now however, this wasn't going to be loud. They were going in totally silent- and Mark hoped that something would come of their action this time. As he adjusted himself again, he looked over at Ant, nodding his head.
"This is fucking it then. No going back. If those bastards find this thing, we better hope Plan B goes well." Mark said, looking over at the sea behind him, and then at Anthony himself. Equipment wise, he used what a SEAL was expected to- and he knew that both of them knew this too well now. If there was anyone who could do it, it was them.

They came ever closer and closer to the shore, and the scratching of the Zodiac's underside against the rocky beach was easily audible. Mark looked at Ant again, as he clambered out of the boat, landing in the shallow water and already getting to the back of the boat. The cold, unrelenting waves that helped push the boat in onto the beach were a plus at least- and despite it being as it was, to say that Mark was not used to it was a total lie. He was a SEAL- some joked that the frogmen would happily live in the sea given the chance. The training they had in underwater exercises were merciless, and they weren't exactly easy to do. He knew that to do it, you needed to harness your breathing pattern, and simply persevere-losing focus at one moment meant panic, and that meant you were screwed. Your brain overworked, and it all fell apart. It meant that control in all aspects was needed- to ignore the sheer pressure, and fact that your body had not taken in air for almost two and a half minutes meant that you needed every bit of strength and self-control possible to make sure you stayed on with the task at hand. Right now, his mind switched from that quickly, to getting the boat in- after all, time was ticking. They had two more hours of the dark left, and then they were in the light. Two US Navy Seals, deep within a hostile territory- and more than just targets for any Iranian military force.
"Stay sharp. Let's push it in." Mark said, as he scanned the area around the boat, and then got his full force behind the rear of the Zodiac, already behind it. He began pushing it, hoping that Anthony would at least help with getting it up the beach a little bit, and possibly even concealing it by some debris or something. He had no exact plan- but he knew that there was no US insignia on the boat, or anything on that matter. It was just a black rubber dinghy- and as suspicious as it looked, it would not correlate to the two if they were out of dodge by the time the Iranians discovered this place.

[JPD]

When the boat came up to the shore, Ant was more than a bit fucking scared, more like a rat running away from a shotgun he didn't want anything to do with the situation even though he had been stuck with shitty recon missions all his career in the military. This is what he always wanted, but Mark was getting different signals from Ant, there was hardly any communication. When they hit the shore Ant saw Mark staring at him as if to say "Lets go". Even though Mark was thinking that if he did any thing wrong Ant would kick his ass, or at least try. It wasn't a good start to the mission by far, for country their ass. They knew that the situation was about them surviving not opening up energy markets for the U.S, this was to do with Iran's nuclear program

"Let me help you push that thing" Ant said, as Mark was struggling to push the boat up the shore. Even though neither of them had a plan they just wanted to disguise it somehow, even though it didn't have any marking of any kind, but they knew if Iranians found it, a search would at least enfold. Even though Mark was in control, Ant desperately wanted some say in the action but he kept his mouth shut on occasions and did what he was told. Ant felt adrenaline pumped through his veins, he was ready after first minute nerves. Ant pulled out his NVG's, he couldn't see anything witch caught his eye, apart from fucking sand and rocks, he could see the far distant cargo bay, but they needed worry about that. "There ain't shit" Ant said. Ant was thinking it may be an easier mission than first expected because of the fact that he could not see any threats that may stand in there way. When they finally managed to disguise the boat by simply putting old fishing netting over it, witch makes it near impossible to spot from a distance at night, Ant pulled out his Colt M4A1 SOPMOD. He wanted to be comfortable with his weapon before he used it. The warrior instinct again was starting to kick in, Ant was prepared in every way and expecting any shit to be pulled against him and Mark. He then checked all his equipment from his Knife to his rations, making sure that he had his essentials basically. He then said to Mark in the most clique way "Ready on your command". He then knew that this could turn out to be a long night.

[kingkonrad]

Putting the boat under a fishing net, Mark backed away from the boat they had at least hidden from view.
"On me, Ant. Navy could have sent us out closer, but I guess it's the paranoia they have lately. We need to use the night to our advantage- after Waypoint Tar, we need to make Observation Point Talon so that we can get eyes on the nuclear facility. We'll wait it out there, till the evening- and then make our move. They want us to identify what shit they're using, and what they're doing with it. Reports say this is an enrichment facility," Mark started, leading away from the boat, his 417 lowered, and his NVGs still down. He kept scanning the area, his desertish BDUs still keeping a good blend when the morning came. The sun had not risen yet, and the air was unheated. It felt raw, undiluted to him. No longer were they safe- they were in the jaws of these bastards. All it took was one fuck up, and they were dead, he reminded himself.
"And this is probably where they make the nuclear material. But command wants us to find out a more interesting question." Mark added, checking Ant was following him, before leading the way, headed out of the bay. There wasn't a sharp cliff, but rather a steep hill, of which Mark was looking for ways up.
"Where it's come from, and why the hell it exists. Israelis did a drone strike on it six months ago, but we need to do some BDA (Battle Damage Assessment) and check over what's what. If it's still doing what we think it is, we report it back, and wait out orders." Mark said, then finding a slight track up the hill, which would take them off the beach. He started walking up it, his feet mercilessly walking, and not stopping. He walked with a fast pace, aware that this was how you covered distance- and it was only 1km to cover. They would easily do it, and make it to there.
"I think we can go up here, fingers crossed it isn't a road to nowhere." Mark added, looking around, and then quickly adjusting his path up the steep track.

After a few minutes, they were already up, and walking through the wastes of Bandar Abbas. The lighting and town of Bandar-e-Abbas could be seen from their position, on a slight hill overlooking it. A massive container port- and Mark knew it was a good thing to at least not have been inserted there. Rather than that, they were now going into this open and uninhabited area, untouched for thousands of years. They kept moving, Mark scanning, searching, and keeping his weapon close.
"So far, so good. Reckon we'll stay quiet?" Mark asked, his 417 still lowered but live. The silencer that rounded it off sat comfortably, along with the optic on it- the RMR/ACOG hybrid a good one for close quarters engagements, not to mention longer ranges. Possibly up to 400m, he could still get a good shot- and that wasn't in part just to to the rifle. Even with a subsonic cartridge, it still had distance on it's side, and the fact that it was a 7.62 meant that it could do the 400m with some ease.

[JPD]

"I just have a funny feeling that we will encounter something, fuck knows what we will find or what we will encounter but I know it just wont be good". Ant was feeling in comfort with his surroundings, he always was on recon missions so it wasn't anything new in that aspect. This time Ant knew he possibly had to kill some Iranians or as Ant called them "Fucking arabs". Ant didn't really have a filter for what he said or what he did, especially in these situations. However in this situation he kept his actions under control, his mouth was another story though. Ant could see the distant port lands and the town of Bandar-e-Abbas witch were lit up pretty clearly from their position. Apart from this they were looking at land ahead witch was barley touched, probably by fishermen know and then but even in that situation it would probably be once every 10 years. The place was what you would expect of an Arab landscape, barron and deadly. Fuck knows if they would encounter any mine fields on the way to the nuclear facility, not a very good sit rep of the actual mission they were sent on by central command. Know a real realization came to Ant, he would be dead any moment that he walked if he made one mistake due to his own stupidity, not only that but he would kill his partner, Mark.

"I guess we both know whats next ey?" Ant said to Mark, as the tide got louder and there senses were enhancing they realized more and more of there surroundings witch was more like the adrenaline affect, except they were not getting fired at, they were lonely in a landscape witch was no more than God's natural creation, rocks, sand and dirt.

Ant kept his gun close just like Mark was, His M4A1 was sitting comfortable in his hands, ready to use it whenever needed. He knew his M203 grenade launcher would come in handy to punch a hole in the enemy's defence. He could start feeling the temperature rising in the environment, it was not sunrise yet but he knew it was getting bright soon. He looked at his watch, "0415 Hours" Ant rebounded to Mark. They both knew it felt longer than 15 minutes but when in their situation time always clicks away slower. Mark looked very anxious in Ant's eyes. Maybe that was because he just found out that Ant had a couple more mags than him, witch was a fuck up on both there part. They both were walking, checking their surroundings with NVG's. They still couldn't see anything in the way of their route. Heading west, they were trying to find a nuclear facility, one witch was reported to exist by US Intelligence gathered a couple of months earlier by satellites. Iranians were unaware of this though however due to there lack of technology in this sector, witch was one of there major weak points of witch any nation could ex filtrate and abuse, badly. They quickly got an unexpected surprise witch was lights with an estimated distance of 3 miles away, this time it wasn't the ports or the town. It was something completely different, however they didn't know what. The only answer to them was the Nuclear facility. They could only find out one way, and that way was the exact reason why they were here in the first place.

[kingkonrad]

Minutes passed, as step after step went on. Mark kept his 417 by his hip, lowered and kept in a comfortable position, as he looked around.
"Sure we do. It's the waiting that kills me sometimes. All we need to do is get over to the OP, and check what's what. I don't want to move too quickly- but in the evening, we'll make our move, and do what we do best. Right?" Mark added, looking over at the bright white through his NVGs. That was definitely the nuclear facility- and there wasn't a single doubt lingering in his mind. A noise could be heard in the distance, and a pair of lights- Mark quick to see what it was. A truck of some kind- he had no idea what it was carrying, but the headlights could be seen from this distance away. It was about two miles away- their OP point was on a small ridge overlooking that road and the facility, and would probably be a good view on what was going on down below. He kept moving, aware that tonight, maybe nothing would get done- but they would at least get their bearings, and prepare for the evening. For when it came, Mark knew they had to do what they did best- and if the orders were the same, moving in, and establishing what was going on in the evening. After all, they would be heavily outmatched- maybe 30 on security detail, with a hell of a lot more to come if they didn't stay quiet consistently. Keeping a low profile, and sneaking in was the method of attack, Mark thought to himself, thinking back to the tac map he had seen of it about a week ago. Planning the route of insertion, and thinking about what their strengths were. They were Navy Seals, but that didn't mean that they were invisible. Still, Mark knew that on a whim, it was almost as if they could be- with the right concealment, route planning and thinking, it was possible.

[JPD]

"We always do what is fucking best" Ant replied to Mark. Whilst Ant was thinking of options, He and Mark saw a Truck of some kind. The headlights could be seen from miles away and they were unable to see what it was carrying. They tricky task now came to mind for Ant and Mark, witch was to plan the route. They wanted to go in as undetected as possible. Even though it seemed impossible they knew that they could do it. A lot of people these days think that Navy Seals can be invisible in any situation. However that isn't the case. Ant knew this all to well as he almost got killed on a recon mission a few years ago, he always thought of them missions as bullshit and that's why he underestimated the situation he was in. He got nailed in the leg once by a 7.62 round from an AK-47, he never knew how he got out alive considering he had to limp half way back to the evac site. Now they could definitely see the nuclear facility, there were a couple of trucks passing out every Half an Hour or so. They now knew how many vehicles and patrols they could expect with timing witch would give them a huge chance of survival. They started planning out their route on how to get inside the nuclear facility and carry out their mission the most efficient way possible. "I say we head one click north west of our location, that way we can get beside the nuclear base at least". Whilst Mark was pondering that thought, Ant looked through his NVG's and saw rocks in the landscape in the direction he suggested. "There are rocks in the exact direction I suggested" Ant relayed to Mark. "If we can get to them we can stand a chance of getting in to the base undetected". However the way this mission went wasn't up to Ant, it was up to Mark.

Ant now waited patiently on Marks decision and plan of action. Whilst waiting Ant was checking all his weapons and equipment again, he made sure he had his M4A1 firmly placed ready to pounce whenever he needed it. As Ant glanced at his watch it was now 0500 hours, it would be sunrise at 0523. Ant knew they had to get moving fast, he calmly said to Mark "Don't mean to be rude sir, but we only have 23 minutes until light, we need to get a move on now"

[kingkonrad]

"We can move that way, sure- it's around the OP, and we shouldn't be detected there if we hunker down and keep a visual on the site from there. Let's roll then- there's no time to waste. I don't want to risk a daytime attack, so we'll wait it out till the night, and go in then." Mark said, already breaking into a slight jog, keeping his NVGs down despite the fact that sunrise was quickly approaching. He didn't feel weary, or out of place, so kept moving, his boots secure and able to cope with the weight that Mark carried, from the weapon in his hands to the BDU and body armor he had on. An hour had passed since they had landed, and time was ticking away. He hoped for the best, as he got moving, jogging toward the northerly direction that they were headed for.

Mark was already heading up the incline of the ridge, the road around a mile away still but the time passing as they went. He put up his NVGs, deciding that there was no point now due to the sunlight which was coming up rapidly. He pushed them up from his eyes, the mount on his helmet taking their weight as Mark took his 417 back in both hands.
"Come on, move, move." Mark said back to Ant, leading the way up the ridge, the dirt and dust a little problematic to traverse- but still nothing. A tiny glow of orange could be seen on the horizon, and the sun was near enough coming up, minutes passing. Mark kept moving, as he knew that time was passing. The ridge was covered in occasional shrubs, but even Mark could see the boulders and rocks that were around the OP. It was nothing guaranteed, but he knew it was the end of the slight ridge, and where they would be looking over the base from. All they had to do from there was go down the ridge, go past the road, and into the base. A direct approach, yet one that hit the flank of the facility- the side gate, and an area which Mark could distinctly see to be shrubbed over, and a much easier route in than any other.

"Lights up. But I know we're not going to be easily visible up here on this ridge. We'll wait it out, Lieutenant." Mark said, the big ball of fire that was the sun already nudging it's way over the horizon as it slowly lit up the terrain around them. He kept his jog up, the 417 firm in his hands and the Oakley gloves that held them good. He knew it had been last minute rushing- they should have jogged all the way from the insertion site, but thinking about it now, Mark knew there was next to no difference. They had twelve hours to scout the base's weaknesses out, and establish what was going on with the guard. What went where, and anything that picked up they would have to look into. Right now however, Mark knew that getting to the OP was first, and foremost on his mind.

Two minutes later, after jogging along the ridge with Ant, Mark sprawled behind a rock, sandstone in texture and look. He peeked over, and checked his weapon.
"We're here alright. Now we wait. Fucking did it. Fingers crossed they don't find the boat." Mark said at first, leaning against it, breathing hard and fast. He had practically jogged with full kit on, from the other side of the long ridge to here. There were a few other like it that Mark could see, flanking the base and making this area generally a little more hilly and uneven than normal. But apart from that, the land was flat, dusty, and inhospitable. A shithole, in the meaning of it.
"I swear to God, this is why they send us. Some SAD (Special Activities Division, CIA) bastard would have never done this. They're too pussy." Mark said, chuckling a little as he looked over at Ant, quickly adjusting his right hand's glove, as he took out a pair of binoculars from his backpack. He took it out of it's case, and checking the lens, added onto his statement.
"No, they wouldn't have done shit. Maybe more direct, but I don't know. We've got a while to think this out- I know an evening insertion would have made more sense, but there you go. We live with what the Navy can do us. Same old shit." Mark added, as he crouched from his cover, using his binoculars to quickly establish what he could see of the base. He started observing, aware that Ant could join in if he wanted to. Right now, that was the first order of the day- and sooner or later, getting some MRE's prepped would be too.

(Will skip 12 hours in time soonish, just to let you know.)

[JPD]

As Ant was following Mark up to the rocks he felt that the straps on his boot weren't done up properly, it was good that he had noticed that now otherwise it could have hampered his mission and ultimately affected Mark. As he sat down behind the rock he could feel the comfort of the handle on his M4, also with the stock sitting comfortably on his shoulder he had everything still in check, he was always ready for a situation to arise. As the sun was gradually rising in from the south Ant could feel the heat being absorbed through his special forces uniform. This was nothing new to Ant or any soldier in the US military for that matter as they were all use to being deployed to the middle east in war. As Ant use to call it the "Shitty foreign policy" his argument always was that it didn't benefit anyone in the United States of America or the people that they were meant to be saving from evil tyrants as their leaders, all it did was destroy a nations wealth and infrastructure. However little did Ant know that it always benefited the 1% in the US. As for the other 99% all they received was a couple of flowers messages of prayers and thoughts being with the families at the time of their relatives death. It always lead to some crap about resources and how the US was possibly the most corrupt and uncivilised country in the world

As mark was looking over the rock through his binoculars Ant wanted to get a good look at the site for himself also. "I can see two guard towers at the front of the base" Ant said to Mark. "I can also see two checkpoints after that, fucking hell if they have that much security at the front entrance then it must be something big going on there" Ant relayed to Mark. As he looked to the back of the base Ant could also see another two guard towers on either side of the operation site, there was a lot of security and it was to much for Ant and Mark to be able to operate inside the base under daylight, they would have to wait twelve or so hours now as it was only just sunrise. Ant could also see a couple of fuel tanks, possibly for the vehicles that came and delivered important material to the site and also the ones that had made long journeys to get to the operation site in the first place.

However there was one part that poised big problems for Ant and Mark. The fence surrounding the base was electrified and it also had bard wired fencing on the top. Ant knew it wasn't all going to be sunshine and rainbows but he knew that they might be a little bit fucked. That was the main problem for them at that moment in time a long with the daylight. Even though Ant knew that they couldn't be seen in daylight by the guards, they would be unable to move for a long time witch wasn't good for either of them. It was better to be on the move than actually sitting in one position roasting like a thanksgiving turkey in an oven.

Ant decided to glance again at the operation site through his binoculars. "Holy fuck, they go underground" as he was glaring through his binoculars. Now they knew why they had so much security around the operation site. Above ground not a lot was going on but only god knew what was going on underground. Ant could see the underground entrance, he was now slightly getting excited at the chance of getting some CQC, but he knew he had to focus. "How do you exactly plan to cut through that fence?" Ant asked Mark. Ant knew that know it wasn't another shitty recon mission, at first glance he reckoned it would only be fuel tanks and a couple of parking spaces above ground, all that Ant was hoping that was there was something big going on underneath the surface of the shithole they considered to be in (not the situation the conditions).