S.S.D.D. - an Operation Hungry Walrus narrative

“New Hypatia… is that even a place?”. The voice shook Tang Shun back to reality. The whole of the Task Force ‘Tundra Wolves’ was sitting in the cargo bay of a medium-sized shuttle, outer Svalarheima orbit, outbound. Guilangs and Ye Maos were chatting about this new assignment. ‘Sure it is, here, read it! There’s even a reporter covering the happenings. Turns out Maya is a better source of intel than our briefing notes!”. Laughters. They wouldn’t have laughed if there was an agent around. But for now, they were on their own.

“Lieutenant, have you ever been to New Hypatia?” guilang Geming asked. Tang Shun briefly replied: “just once, some years ago, a short stay”. “That’s awfully specific, boss!”. Laughters. “Let him be…”, his twin Meifeng scolded him.The conversation proceeded with the most classic of sibling fights, with the amusement of the Ye Maos. 

Tang Shun got back fast into his thoughts. New Hypatia… New Hypatia is where he hid in a durian container to escape a smuggler gang during his Daofei initiation period. Badly injured, partially dehydrated, outnumbered, outgunned, it was a miracle he made to a safe place in time. Not a big part of his life, but certainly a well-remembered one… Sure thing one of his lower ribs still hurts a little since those days.

Durgama campaign took a huge toll from him, up to a reassignment request: troop training or scouting duties. Commander has put him on hold: a veteran in the barracks is such a waste! They came to an agreement: a last mission. Help the High Command to manage this crisis, then he’ll be reassigned. Many would argue that a task force specialized in a hostile environment is out-of-place at best in an urban theater. However, Sun Tze 2.0 once said ‘every environment is hostile if you get shooted on ’, which is actually a not very helpful aphorism. Scouting, threat assessment and first contacts is where this task force excels and what it is expected to do. Reinforcement will join shortly.

His train of thought was abruptly interrupted by a notification: Jujak engineer Bae Sangwook just finished checking on the equipment: we are good to go. A plethora of weapons and munitions,REMs and other equipment was stuffed into standard containers. The crew, disguised as longshoremans, will accompany this payload to one of our safehouses, namely a harbor storehouse. Orders will follow. Commander Lu Gi is renowned for direct and simple orders, so all of this subtlety suggests a much refined master plan. Something was brewing up, but he couldn’t figure it out yet. Anyway, there shouldn’t be any issues with inbound permits: a Zhanying confirmed that customs guards were already dealt with (with bribery, he hoped). At last, local chain of command leads to the Durian Inspection Unit. The task force worked along Hsien Yu Fei in the past with acceptable results.

The rest of the crew, already disguised as inconspicuous workers, were just laying down, playing cards, chatting or laughing.
Without noticing he drew a tibetan ball necklace from a pocket and started fiddling it slowly between the fingers. “hey boss, you didn’t look like a believer…” Geming said, pointing at the necklace. “It’s just a gift from a close friend, it makes me feel like she was here…” replied Tang Shun. “SHE?” Geming was incredulous. “Oh, come on, leave the lieutenant alone!” shouted Meifeng. The sibling fight resumed instantly. 

Tang Shun slowly closed his eyes and hoped for a little rest before the arrival. One last mission, this last assignment. He fell asleep, with the necklace still in his hands and a smile on his face.