Vex was on his way to Aviation Combat Group HQ, when two M1152 Personnel Carrier dropped a dozen children in front of Medic Quarter. He immediately rubbed his eyes to make sure there was nothing wrong with his vision.

"Why did OPL personnel let a group of children in here?" Vex then hurried toward the Medic Quarter's lobby.

"Well well well, Mr. Vex, what can we do to help you?"

A man in his early 30s, wearing a multicam combat dress and a white coat that signified he was a doctor greeted Vex with a friendly smile, even though the smile did not show in his eyes.

Vex frowned at once, he got the feeling that the officer who was in charge of Medic Quarter was deliberately guarding the lobby in anticipation of his arrival.

"Major Shade, why are there dozens of children coming in here?"

"Well, a bunch of kids got lost near OPL. The personnel they met didn't know what to do and brought them here. Now we're making sure they're all right."

"What if the children are led by a party who need a justification to come in here?"

Major Shade shrugged his shoulders before casually speaking, "Well, I'm not paid to think about it. Also, there is GCG that will take care of it."

'This is why I never got along with Medic Quarters’ idiots. They do exist in order to save lives. The problem is that they don't differentiate between a comrade, the party that should be ignored, or even an opponent that should be made to fly free to the afterlife.' Vex muttered in his heart before saying, "The children must be returned to where they were found."

"XO, they're not a bunch of puppies you find by the side of the road."

"I know."

"XO, currently these children no longer have a home or parents. Give me a few days to arrange a place for them to stay, and I'll make sure there won't be any accidents the next time you get hurt and treated here."

Vex ignored Major Shade's threat before walking towards the ward where children's voices could be heard, and as soon as he passed the door his gaze immediately met a girl who was talking to a female paramedic.

In an instant, Vex's heart trembled violently. The blonde hair and blue eyes of the girl he was staring at reminded him of Nicole, the daughter he had last seen nine years ago, when she was only four years old.

"I must be hallucinating." Vex muttered before taking a half-run out of Medic Quarter.

He then continued his walk to ACG Headquarters. But somehow, in the middle of the road he turned into a hangar, to the telephone attached to its door to be precise.

—

Main Operations Control Room, 3rd Floor Main Building, Harley Quinn MOA

General O'Neil was observing activity around FOC South 860 when the phone on his desk rang.

"O'Neil here."

[I have to mobilize some elements and it will speed up the discovery of Harley Quinn's whereabouts.]

General O'Neil was silent for a moment. He recalled giving Vex an authority to mobilize 1200 composite personnel. Enough to form a Battalion Landing Team or Airborne Combat Battalion.

So he wondered to himself. "Vex, how much strength do you need?"

[Three QRF squads with support for aerial observation, air cover, and airlift with some escorts.]

"I don't see why you need my authorization to mobilize that power."

[My action could get TF Amethyst into a major conflict before Operation Southeast Triangle is over.]

"Well, my job is only to determine where we will hit the opponent and how much damage to be made. You are the one who has to think of the most appropriate method, the assets used, the personnel involved, the deployment method, the quota of ammunition, fuel, or other technical details.

If a conflict occurs before our preparations are complete, then your task will be three times more complicated, but if you don't mind that, why should I?"

[Understood, and thank you.]

"Okay."

Click!

General O'Neil hung up the receiver before casually looking back at the monitor, as if the conversation with Vex had never happened.

—

Main Operations Control Room, 3rd Floor Main Building, Harley Quinn MOA

Lt. Colonel Julius was pensive, thinking about the villagers who were captured by a group of horsemen. Then, a captain came over to him and handed over a Deployment Order with A1 priority.

'Is XO kidding me?' asked Lt. Colonel Julius before once again he checked the Deployment Order.

=== // === // === // === // ===

Deployment Order A1

Callsign: Little Guest

Target: A group of horsemen who attacked a settlement west of the OPL.

Executor: 3 Squads of QRF elements, 4 Pararescue, support elements.

Configuration: hot pursuit, hostage rescue, the potential use of sound suppressor, the potential use of NVG, airstrike using smart ammunition.

Support:

=> Aerial Observation: MQ-9 Reaper, P-8 Poseidon

=> Air Cover: 4 units F/A-18E Super Hornets

=> Airlift: 3 units CH-47J Chinooks, 1 unit UH-1Y Venom

=> Air Escort: 2 units OH-58N Kiowa Warriors, 1 unit AH-1Z Viper

Briefing: QRF hangar by XO.

Signed, XO.

=== // === // === // === // ===

'I have to hurry. Reapers will need operations supervisors, pilots, sensor operators, and intel analysts. I also need a communications specialist, an IDG officer, a QRF officer, and a few other personnel.'

Lt. Colonel Julius immediately rose to his feet, and as he turned to look at General O'Neil, the old general gave him a small nod.

With steady steps, Lt. Colonel Julius then rushed to one of backup Operations Control Rooms.

—

A patch of triple-canopy forest, 10 km to the west of OPL W115

A 9-man infantry squad moved with extra vigilance under the shadowy forest. The first layer consisted of 5 personnel who took 3 meters from each other, led by Cpl. Twig who was the deputy squad commander.

The second layer consists of 4 personnel who took a distance of 5 meters behind the first layer, and were led by Sgt. Heins who was the squad commander.

The infantry squad's targets were settlements 800 meters from their positions. The settlement was surrounded by open space except on its west side, where the triple-canopy forest was located.

The OH-58N Kiowa Warrior escorting them detected six heat signatures at the center of the settlement, and an indescribable weak heat signature at the eastern end of the settlement.

However, the OH-58N thermal sensor was not able to penetrate the dense triple-canopy forest to the west of the settlement. So Sgt. Heinz decided to approach the settlement through the forest in order to simultaneously comb and neutralize any potential surprises.

Sgt. Heinz's decision was correct. Cpl. Twig who was in front of him suddenly gave a stop sign and asked him to come closer.

"Para-para, 50 meters at 1 o'clock, largest tree, third branch from below, approx. 2 weasels. Semi-bunker, 70 meters toward 11 o'clock, next to a small hump, approx. 4 weasels."

Sgt. Heinz switched the night vision scope on his HK416A5 to thermal sensor mode before observing the location Cpl. Twig mentioned. He then gave instructions by pointing out the weasels' locations before drawing a horizontal line around his neck.

Without delay, Cpl. Twig then moved forward with an IAR M27 gunner and an M110A1 shooter. At the same time Sgt. Heinz ordered the rest of the squad to take wide positions and watch the movement around the area.

—

Semi-bunker, Weasels Lookout.

Ritz was watching the area while calculating the money he would get from the slave hunt. Over the past month, his group managed to send hundreds of captures to slave traders in Rowane Region.

As for today, his group got an additional 46 slaves who would arrive at their base this afternoon.

After the contingent was sent to the slave traders in Rowane Region, the hunting ended and he would receive his reward.

'Well, the girls I enjoyed during this operation were quite satisfying. But the appeal of this operation is still money. '

Ritz cheerfully made plans for the money he would receive, when repeated short flashes appeared not far from his position.

In the dimly lit forest, a single spark could be seen from a great distance. So the flash was striking even though no sound was heard.

At the same time, Ritz's two colleagues who were guarding on the para-para not far from his position, fell to the ground along with wood chips, twigs, and leaves, then didn't move anymore.

But Ritz did not panic, because he was sure the opponent had not realized his position. He casually warned his colleagues who were lazing.

"Enemies, 60 meters, the total has seen 1 person."

Without delay, Ritz's colleagues quietly prepared their crossbows. Altogether there were 4 crossbows and 60 bolts, where two men would shoot and the other two would reload so that the shots could be fired without pause.

"Now we just have to wait until they get into crossbow's range."

Ritz muttered calmly when another flash appeared from a different position, and suddenly the colleague beside him squeezed his chest while moaning, then fell into a huddle and stopped moving.

Followed by a second flash that caused blood to gush from the back of his other comrade's head. Then, the third flash that made his partner clutches his neck and chokes on his own blood. And finally the last flash, followed by his fading consciousness.

Within three seconds, Ritz and his three colleagues were sent across to afterlife.

—

When the four glowing silhouettes displayed by thermal sensor turned black, the shooter immediately gave a hand signal that the four weasels had been eliminated.

Sgt. Heinz and the rest of the squad carefully swept the area around them using thermal sensors, but had to be disappointed. There was no movement other than the birds flying in all directions.

"Do body checks, record the hiding sites, and maintain vigilance as some weasels may escape our surveillance."

Sgt. Heinz's orders were responded swiftly. Body checks were carried out carefully while the para-para and semi-bunker shape and size were documented in detail complete with sketches.

The shooter even recorded both weasel hiding sites using the video feature on his rifle scope.

Not long after that the movement was resumed, but until they reached the outer boundary of the settlement, they encountered no other opposition.

*****