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  “Did you say ‘we’ ma’am?” asked Neasba while trying to contain the shocked look on his face.

  “Affirmative, Master Sergeant, I will be accompanying the team for the jump. Before you get defensive, allow me to explain. First, I will not be involved in the operational aspect of the mission. I would never endanger your team by changing the team dynamics at the last minute. My sole purpose will be to secure a position with park security so I can feed real time information to you. With more prep time, I understand that CW3 Zatus could provide me that information without leaving the bird, but we don’t have that kind of time today. By accompanying the team to the ground, Zatus will stay with you and have more time to set up without having to worry about providing a feed to me.

  "Second, if needed, I will assist you with blending in with park visitors. Females are not exactly common among Special Operations, so if the enemy is looking for a group of guys with short hair who are gunning for them, you will stand out like a sore thumb. Add a woman into the mix, especially against an enemy who considers females as subservient to males, and I will help you move more easily through the park. I already acknowledged that this is still your team, and I take all commands on ground from you, Master Sergeant, but this is not a negotiation.”

  As the rest of the team stifled amused grins, MSG Neasba stared at CPT Aldith without blinking for a full ten seconds before nodding his head and breaking into a smile.

  “Fair enough, ma’am, how should we address you in public?”

  “Leigh is fine, unless you want to pose as my husband and come up with some kind of inappropriate pet name to call me in public?” replied CPT Aldith.

  “It would appear you’ll fit right in, Sugar Butt,” laughed Neasba as he ducked a coffee mug she tossed at his head. “Now, if we can get back to business, we need the data on the DZ (drop zone), background information on the park security we will link up with, and any information we have on this terrorist organization. While you brief us, the team will change into civilian camouflage...”

  ◆◆◆

  An hour and a half later, the team was beginning to feel like the dead horse had been beaten enough. Zatus had taken control of an NSA satellite to provide a real time feed of the park, which had then been scrutinized from every possible angle. Ronin Team felt like they knew every hole and rock in the DZ, park security was already milling in the area and keeping park goers’ attention elsewhere, all comms had been tested, parachutes were rigged, and the team was waiting semi-patiently for the green light. As far as they knew, no one had ever jumped into a theme park before, but unfortunately no one would ever know about this Op, so there would be no way to brag about this later. Oh, well, these guys didn't do it for bragging rights, they did it to keep people safe.

  Neasba went down the line performing his Pre-Combat Checks. He had pulled up the park’s website and sent a request to park security to have a costume standing by on the DZ. This would allow him to hide his pistols and carry his sword around as part of the costume. He chuckled at his good luck: one of the park’s characters was an anime Samurai Warrior in full medieval armor. He reached back and ensured his sword was fastened in his weapon’s case on his leg: if his black hats knew he would be rigging up a katana in his weapons case instead of an M4 they would have never believed it. The little ironies in life were fun. Neasba moved to Aki to check his gear. A costume would be waiting at the DZ for Aki as well, and one suited for him: the ninja villain from the Samurai cartoon. This could very well be one of the team’s more interesting missions. He wondered for a minute if they would get to ride that new roller coaster before they were extracted. First thing first, got to stop a nuclear explosion...you know, the minor details.

  Moving on to Zatus, he was impressed once again with the Chief’s equipment loadout. Neasba remembered the “good old days” when his Communication Sergeant would carry at least a hundred pounds of gear, but Zatus appeared to be carrying less than the rest of the team. That worked out well considering he was going to have to blend into the crowd in civilian clothes alongside Aldith. His tablet device was secure, and the Chief could do more with that tablet than most nerds could do with a full-sized computer. He was going to need all his expertise today, because they had a very small window before terrorists made Florida glow at night.

  As he stopped to check Tiane, he realized that the young Staff Sergeant had broken down his sniper rifle and stored it in a tourist-looking backpack that he had rigged below his reserve parachute hanging from his chest. Smart. The team would be in good hands if Tiane could get to the top of the “mountain” roller coaster in the center of the park without drawing suspicion. From there he could reach out and touch every corner of the park: all the team would need to do was stay within sight of the “mountain” and they would have the best shooter in the world covering them. Of course, Tiane looked like a little punk in civilian clothes. No one is perfect.

  Last in line was his wild card: CPT Aldith. She was in the same clothes, but now she had a parachute rigged up and a communicator strapped to her wrist compliments of Zatus. Neasba had to assume she was hiding weapons somewhere, but the yoga pants made it hard to imagine where they might be. Fortunately, the Master Sergeant had been in the Army long enough to know better than to ask. All he needed to do was ensure her parachute was rigged properly so she would survive the jump. It would be frowned upon to let her die on her first mission. Maybe next time.

  ◆◆◆

  "One Minute!"

  The C-17 Crew Chief opens the tailgate.

  Adrenaline pumping. Neasba makes eye contact with each member of the team: you would have to shake his guys to know they were awake, but CPT Aldith clearly is trying to hold her emotions in check.

  The first time is always the hardest, but she'll be fine if she remembers to pull her chute.

  "Thirty Seconds!"

  GREEN LIGHT

  Neasba gave the team the thumbs up and lead them off the tailgate of the plane at 25,000 feet. This was a HALO jump: High Altitude, Low Opening. The team did not want anyone to see them coming and panic, and there was no time to land and fight traffic getting onto the park property. All five members of Ronin Team cleared the rear of the aircraft and began the freefall to the park.

  At 8,000 feet, there was a bright flash and clouds surrounded the team out of nowhere. At first it seemed like a blessing to help mask their descent, but then the lightning started. At terminal velocity there is not much reason to be paranoid, as they would be through the clouds and ready to pull in less than 30 seconds, but then the lightning turned blood red. Checking his altimeter, MSG Neasba got scared for the first time since his very first static line jump at Fort Benning when he was 18 years old: rather than dropping in elevation, he was rising again!

  Paranoid, he broke comm silence and ordered the team to check in with their altitude reading:

  "Ronin Two: 9,000 feet and....rising? Top, what is going on here?" Zatus all but shouted into the communicator.

  "Keep it down, 2. What do you have 3?"

  "Ronin Three: 9,500 feet and rising...that can't be right, can it Top?" Aki chimed in.

  "Ronin Four: 10,000 feet and holding steady, boss. Seriously? Is anyone else showing we're not moving at all?" Tiane was starting to let the panic show in his voice.

  "Ronin Five: 10,000 feet and not moving, Master Sergeant." Aldith somehow was now keeping her cool better than the rest of the team.

  The wind was still whipping around the team, just like it should be, but the dropping sensation had ceased. The feeling was like being in a parachute simulator, which the team did out on Raeford Road with a date sometimes just for fun. It was not what should be happening now, as the blood red lightning continued to crackle around them, and the wind began to swirl counterclockwise.

  "There's no way we jumped into a tornado, is there Top?" Tiane asked, clearly more shaken than the last time he spoke almost a full minute prior. "I mean, have you ever even HEARD of any crazy nonsense like this?"


  Silence reigned on the radio for another full minute before anyone else spoke.

  "Ronin Two, do you have any clue what is going on here? You are the expert on weird things, did one of your toys break and do this to us?" Neasba's voice did not give away a single bit of the paranoia that was now sneaking into his brain as he floated there in mid-air, 10,000 feet above the ground.

  No answer.

  "Zatus, seriously, if you don’t answer me, I am gonna throat punch you if I can ever reach you again. Do you have any idea what is going on here?"

  "Top, I don’t think he's conscious. I can see his chest moving, so he's breathing, but I can't see his eyes." Aki responded. "He still has his oxygen mask on, which is a good thing, but it's keeping me from seeing his eyes."

  "Four, can you see his eyes? Can you see if he is moving at all?" Neasba asked, the concern creeping into the edges of his voice. It was one thing to be stuck in mid-air, it was another for his tech genius to be unconscious for no reason while he was trying to find a way to get down.

  Lightning cracked again, closer this time.

  "I can't see his face at all, Top, from the waist up all I see is cloud now," Tiane responded.

  Neasba switched to the Command channel. "TOC, this is Ronin One. I'm sure you are imagining the equipment is malfunctioning on your end right now, but we truly did ascend back to 10,000 feet and are holding steady here in the middle of an electrical storm. With red lightning. And the wind is circling backwards. Ronin Two is also unconscious and unresponsive but appears to be breathing. So, what do you see on YOUR end?"

  “Ronin One, this is Ronin Six. Say again last, over.” The radio operator in the TOC sounded almost as puzzled as Neasba felt.

  "Six, this is One, you heard me alright, we dropped to 8,000 feet, then ascended back to 10,000 feet, and are hanging out here in mid-air staring at each other. All except for Zatus, who appears to be unconscious but breathing, which is pissing me off because if one of his toys malfunctioned and did this, I may just kill him later. I really would love to hear what you are seeing from the bird, over."

  The team waited as patiently as possible for a response from the TOC, but there was silence on the net. Dead silence. Silence so loud it was hard to hear. Even the noise from the wind died, as the team hung in midair completely motionless.

  Without warning, the team was falling again at a rapid rate. Neasba looked over to Zatus to try to control his descent and saw something that was impossible: his eyes were glowing with a silver light.

  Great, thought Neasba, now I've completely lost my mind. I guess there's no going back now...

  Looking at his altimeter, his surprise was complete as he saw it spinning out of control in his descent. As he was about to lose what was left of his sanity, the clouds broke, and he saw the ground rushing up at him close enough that he could see the trees on the top of the roller coaster mountain.

  "Ronin team pull your chutes NOW! Pull Pull Pull!!!" Neasba screamed into his radio.

  As his parachute deployed, Neasba had just enough time to count three other parachutes before there was a flash of red and his world went black.

  Chapter 2 – The World

  Neasba woke up at the base of a mountain with his parachute still attached and intermittently filling and deflating in the wind. Looking around, he realized he had been dragged for over thirty feet after he hit the ground, so he released the straps of his harness and wiggled out of it before any more damage could be done. The sky was dark, and no stars were visible, so he was having difficulty determining the time of day.

  How long was I out? Where is the rest of my team? And what in the world was that freak storm? The weather report was for clear skies, and that storm was crazy, even for Florida…

  Cautiously getting to his feet, he took stock of his situation: no broken bones, just some bruises, and all his gear seemed to be undamaged. As he ran his hand around his head, he felt a small patch of dried blood on the left side toward the back.

  Well, if it’s dry then it can’t be too bad, right?

  He pulled his chute to himself and looked for a place to conceal it.

  Hmm…I don’t remember there being so many in the park, and why are there no lights?

  As he looked around the area, his memory started to clear. There was a flash before the clouds and lightning. Did the bomb explode? That couldn’t be it, otherwise there would be nothing left. The mountain in front of him looked like an actual mountain, not part of an amusement park ride. In fact, it appeared to be larger than the whole park should have been. What could possibly be going on around here?

  “Any Ronin element, this is Ronin One, come in.” MSG Neasba realized he was holding his breath as he waited for an answer.

  Nothing.

  He tried a dozen more times, and finally decided there was something wrong with his communication equipment. No worries, he knew how to operate independently until he could contact his element. But the bigger problem remained: where was he, and which direction should he go? Based on the satellite feed, he needed to head East to get to the park security office, but he wasn’t sure where he landed, or if he was even in the park. Could he have been blown that far off course? There were no REAL mountains in Florida, so that should narrow it down, but that was clearly a mountain in front of him.

  After burying his parachute as a good Paratrooper should, Neasba decided to arbitrarily pick a direction and begin walking. Naturally he didn’t have a compass since he was supposed to parachute into a theme park, and none of his electronics were giving accurate directions, so he decided to use the only method he knew to navigate a maze: always turn right. Looking to his right, he picked a path that skirted the trees and lead into an open area of relatively even ground. Keeping the mountain on his left side, he headed off, keeping vigilant for potential enemies while also listening for running water or anything else that would lead him to some type of civilization.

  Several hours later, a glow appeared above the trees in the distance to his half left. Picking up the pace a bit, he forgot to maintain his vigilance. From tree line to his left, he heard a faint growl that tipped him off to the danger. He turned toward the sound a split second before a dark form skimmed over his head, landing to his right. As he turned toward the dark shape, he saw what appeared to be a rat the size of a bear skidding around to face him, it’s eyes glowing yellow in the faint light coming through the gloom. Halfway through its turn, the giant rat clearly realized it lost the element of surprise and stood up from all four legs to two. Neasba tried to control his shock as he dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the jaws of the beast that snapped closed where his head had been a moment before.

  Having recovered from his initial shock, Neasba decided to use his katana to defend himself from this beast: having no idea where he was, a pistol could bring unwanted attention to himself. Keeping his eyes on the rat monster, he swiftly slid his blade from its saya on his back and put its razor-sharp blade between himself and the beast. A spark of recognition flashed in the eyes of the beast as the dim light glinted off the edge blade, but still it came on with blinding speed. A claw came in from his left side, which Neasba blocked with the mune, the back of his blade, which kept the cutting edge facing his enemy. With a thought he ignited the lightning properties of his blade and slid it cleanly through the giant rat, cutting it cleanly from its left hip to its right shoulder. As the monster fell apart and the two halves dropped to the ground, the beast, still unaware that it was already dead, filled the air with a scream that echoed across the field. Neasba watched as the beast completed its death throes, deactivated the lightning, cleaned his blade, and replaced it in its saya.

  The entire fight lasted less than ten seconds, but in that time his world had changed. What was that beast? Where had it come from? And the ever-nagging question Neasba had been asking since he awakened in this strange place: where was he? Shrugging off the questions, he continued toward the light in the distance, hoping he would find answers when he reached civili
zation.

  ◆◆◆

  An hour later, the field ran across a path of hard packed dirt. Upon inspection, Neasba decided that it was used regularly, and what appeared to be wagon wheel ruts were visible along the edges of the path. It was hardly the strangest thing he had witnessed in the past three hours, but worth making a mental note of. Not wanting to be out in the dark in this place any longer than he needed to be, he took a couple steps off the road and cautiously began following it in the direction of the lights he saw coming through the trees.

  The sun was creeping over the hills behind him as he came around the last turn and got a view of the source of the light. If the giant rat had surprised him, the sight before him rocked him back on his heels completely. He was looking down on what appeared to be a town inside of a roughly pentagon shaped stone wall with towers at each of the corners. From what he could see over the wall, it appeared the buildings inside were mostly constructed of wood and reminded him of the medieval faire he had attended as a child. Smoke trickled out of the few chimneys he could see dotting the town, and a cart was rolling down one of the dirt roads visible from his vantage point. Through the light fog and thickening chimney smoke, he could just see the glint of the morning sun reflecting off a body of water.