Comm-Link #014

Day 4,175, 08:06 • Published in Ireland Ireland • by Kaitlinn

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Private Journal of Benji Doyle: I would have thought the background checks would take longer but it was only a couple of weeks before I’d gotten that ill-fated secret communique to go to Goshawk’s new Western Atlantic Base on the isle of Jersey. After passing the hostile guards outside, I approached the front desk and was greeted by an old Sergeant, dressed in full black Goshawk regalia. He looked completely spaced out, his eyes were kind of glazed over. At first I thought he may have been tired but it was mid-afternoon. The Sarge passed me onto someone else who led me into a cramped wee office. The guy in front of me was more plainly dressed, he was a sort of recruitment officer type I presumed.

He asked me a lot of odd questions, then about my weapon training, close quarter combat abilities and any other knowledge I may have had. He perked up when I mentioned I had done a couple of years of University in Biotech-Sciences. “Really? Where did you study?” he asked, not looking up from his papers. I had forgotten my lines. I panicked and blurted out “I never completed my degree, what with the war and all. Hmm, I went to a few diff-” The recruitment officer just stood up and left, muttering to himself, “Okay good, good” on his way out. It was a welcome respite to be alone. I was told about Goshawk but this was far worse than I feared. What had I got myself into?.


After about two hours or so had passed he breezed back into the office and gave me a flimsy plastic ID and said I was attached to General Ops Chance Unit on a trial run. He handed me a sheet to sign and then another one. “You need any supplies, equipment, Type 4 refills, it’s all listed here.” Then he pulled out this massive packet of black pills, there must have been about 500 in there at least. “You are required to take two of these every six hours, they’re a mandatory booster that all our soldiers and staff are required to use.” he said robotically. “Oh, and welcome to Goshawk, Agent Doyle.” He extended his hand. I shook it. He was shaking firmly at first but he became distracted and his hand went limp. “Oh, sorry. Where was I? Yes. You’ll find your Unit in Rec-Room 2 in the East Wing.” I nodded. ”So where’s that from here?” He slumped down at his desk, his skin turning pale and stared at his paperwork, his eyes going blank. He took some of the black pills from his drawer and swallowed them without any water. “Okay then, thanks for all your help Officer.” I didn't know if he could even hear me.

I’d found the armoury handy enough, then after picking up my equipment I headed to where he said I’d find my unit. I felt stupid carrying this big bag of pills around. I’d nowhere to put them, it was like I was carrying around a packed lunch. Everywhere I went I saw soldiers who looked just as spaced out as the sergeant at reception and recruitment officer did. Also there seemed to be a lot of arguments going on sporadically. Arguments of varying severity echoed throughout the sterile halls. The whole base had a general atmosphere of raw hostility yet paradoxically, a seemingly nonchalant breeziness. The place was also a total mind bending maze to navigate. It took me feckin’ ages but I eventually found Chance Unit on the other side of the building.

I knocked on the room’s door but heard nothing. After getting lost so many times and getting no help from the zombies walking the corridors, I just walked in. I’d finally found my Unit mates, sitting playing cards. They’d two broken ceiling lights and had placed a few field lamps around to light the room in their place. It looked like they were using the black pills like the ones I’d been given as poker chips. A big guy with glasses looked up at me with an almost cartoonishly angry look on his face. “Who are you!?” he demanded. “Benjamin Doyle, or Benji if you like. I’ve been attached to your unit” I replied, smiling. His face seemed to get even angrier when he heard my voice. “Nog ‘n fokking rooinek” he growled “And Irish too.” He then introduced himself as le Roux or Ratel, “Whichever, I don’t care rooinek.” He pointed across the table to a little dark dude he called Muis, who simply nodded vacantly, a cigarette wasting away on his lips “And this fetching young woman is Ladybird. Don’t let the name fool you though rooinek.” Ladybird at least looked like she was sort of glad to see me, the other two on the other hand looked at me like I was something they’d found on the bottom of their boots.

Ratel pulled a chair out for me, rather grudgingly and invited me to join their game. “We’re playing plain five card Poker, Joker’s wild. Looks like you brought plenty of chips.” said the dark one Muis, in the same odd accent as Ratel. Was it Australian? I decided against asking. I sat down and we passed the time in almost complete silence until 10pm, when a light bell rang through the inter-comm. “Bedtime rooinek.” said Ratel with a wink. He’d won a fair share of these odd pills from me over the course of the evening. I followed them towards our quarters. I set my gear down on a bed at the back of the room. “No, not there rooinek! That’s JP’s bed, you, over there” he pointed to the bed across, with a look of murder in his eyes. “Sure.” What had I got myself into?


“Staan op Rooinek!” along with a hard kick in the ribs woke me up. I opened my bleary eyes to see the big guy who calls himself Ratel standing over me.”Get your sh*t together we leave in 10 minutes! Up, get up!” he roared before slamming the door behind him. I glanced blearily at my watch, Christ above it was 2am. Where the hell we going at this time of the night/morning I wearily wondered, but jumped out of bed and got my stuff together before entering the lobby near our quarters. They were all waiting for me. Ratel glared at me before demanding “You had your pills, yeah!?” When I didn’t respond immediately he shoved three into my hand and waited until I had swallowed them, before grunting and moving towards the door, the three of us followed. Within a few steps I felt light headed together with a feeling like a huge adrenalin rush and a wave of utter contentment. I was soon wide awake. What the hell is in these pills? I thought, feeling my jaw clenching and vision sharpening.

We headed directly up a long flight of stairs to one of the Helipads where a long range stealth helicopter was waiting for us. I’d only ever heard of these, I thought they were something bored soldiers gossiped about. But there it stood. It was a magnificent looking machine. I was about to ask about the mission when Ladybird grabbed my shoulder and leaned in. She whispered in my ear “Don’t ask questions chap, you’ll only make him angrier.” We climbed aboard with Ratel and Muis taking the pilot seats. The engines purred and the blades sounded like a swarm of wasps. It was exciting, I must admit. Soon we took off into the night.

Outer Hebrides, Scotland
Day 4175 02:00 eRT

It was a long trip and I’d no idea where we were going. We were flying without lights and in almost complete silence. I could only hear the wind. Finally after what seemed like forever we landed. We all climbed out, put on our night vision gear and followed Ratel onto a grassy plateau. Looking around I felt a shiver run up my spine. I recognised this place. We were above Rasa Blank Base. How had they found it?

Ratel sent Muis and Ladybird to check out the area while leading me towards a path down the cliff. I started to say something but he punched me in the ribs and gestured a middle finger over his lips. Very mature. He moved silently for a big guy and seemed surefooted, I wondered if I could catch him off guard and knock him off the cliff, but he kept a fair distance between us all the way down to a vantage point where I knew the windows of the base could be seen.

After reaching the vantage point he patted the ground next to him and took out some hi-tech binoculars and started studying the area in front of us. I settled down next to him and tried to remain calm. After a while Muis came on over the Comm and said they’d found someone up there and were taking them towards our transport for a talk. Ratel said nothing just studied the glass fronted base in front of him and the area all around it. After a while Muis came back and said the person confirmed someone named JP was in the base in the Medical section, deep within the base. Ratel took one last look around before getting up and pushing past me. I held on precariously to my footing. It was a long way down. “Move out, now!”

We soon arrived back at our stealth-chopper where Muis and Ladybird were waiting along with someone I could only assume was one of the nurses in the base although on closer inspection, she looked like a patient. She was all bones. Maybe Rasa Blank had disavowed her. G*d, what had she been doing out here this late/early, the idiot? Muis looked questiongly at Ratel. He drew his thumb across his throat. Muis then disappeared into the bushes with her, and came back wiping a wicked looking knife on a piece of cloth. He carried the emaciated patients limp corpse over his shoulders, her neck streaming with blood. He laid her out on the Helicopters platform. He bagged her head to catch the blood. “We can’t leave her here, they’ll cop on.” said Ladybird, taping the bag shut. Ladybird saw my face turn pale and shook her head in warning. I kept my silence.

We flew off into the dawning sky back towards base. Ladybird Comm-Linked Ratel. “Here’s fine.” We were out in the middle of the sea. Ladybird slid open the Helicopter door and dropped the poor Civ nurse out, It took a couple of seconds before her body hit the churning waters. I was feeling nauseous. That poor woman. I was also feeling anxious, but it had nothing to do with the late nurses burial at sea. It was a dark pulsating feeling of dread. Soon after we took a gut wrenching sharp turn. When I queried Ratel over Comms he said we were to pick up some stray Goshawk soldiers, Veritas Unit. I wondered if they were as twisted and vile as this lot. Ratel didn’t sound very happy about it, muttering “I’m not a f*ckin’ taxi service, this is bullsh*t” over the Comms to no one in particular.

We landed in a clearing near what seemed to be a deserted hotel or manor. Three young soldiers had been waiting for us. The leader who seemed rather young for that responsibility introduced himself as Black Hound and his comrades as Flinch and Gad. The Black Hound, I thought he’d be taller and a lot older. Ratel’s scowl seemed to grow even darker at the accent and the appearance of him. I thought he was going to attack him, then and there, but he just popped a few pills and mumbled, pills still in his mouth “Go on. Get in, I don’t have all f*ckin’ day!” They climbed aboard and we headed under radar back to base. I glanced at Ladybird. “What the hell is his problem?” I mouthed. She sighed and said “He doesn’t like Irishmen.” Well f*ck him, I thought to myself. I don’t like Australians either.. or wherever he’s from.

I stared through the windows at the dawning of the day for a while then got chatting with the three new guys on board. Apparently they’d fallen out of a plane and somehow all of them had survived without any injuries. They landed in some woodland in Fermanagh. They got caught by Irish Military but were soon released, no questions asked. Black Hound had a reputation as a savage warrior but he seemed to be both youthfully jovial and yet wise for his age. I was suddenly starting to feel extremely sick and anxious, something I was to come to know as the start of cravings for the f*ckin’ Type-4 pills I’d been given. Ladybird saw my expression and silently handed me a couple of pills. “Remember to always have some handy on you Benji, bring even more than you think you’ll need” she said. “You don’t want to enter withdrawal, you could die.” I stared at her in shock. “You’re addicted the moment you take one” she said solemnly. That dread thought returned, what have I got myself into?

Benjamin “Benji” Aiden Doyle
Goshawk, Chance Unit

✝ Na Fianna Captain, 2nd Regiment

Created by Cat Sith and Sethesin
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