Odyssey of War

Chapter 1: Fort Blackburn

The sun gleamed brightly overhead, breaking through the many gaps in the canopy. The dense undergrowth of the forest floor was occupied by small bushes and grass, all in fairly pale colours. I could see large rock formations in the distance, and a small creek running along nearby. Several flies were buzzing around my head, landing in my short, dark brown hair, before I swatted them away with my hand.

I made my way along the narrow bush trail, forged by several men ahead of me. The plants itched and tickled my legs as we entered a huge clearing. Fighter jets could be heard in the distance, while gunshots were going off at the nearby shooting range. I was at a military camp, Fort Blackburn, one of seven secret training installations recently set up around the world. Fort Blackburn was located in Australia's Kakadu National Park, perfect for testing a soldier's skills in the harsh temperature and terrain. The fort had a main administrative building in the center and several mess halls around it. All the soldiers, excluding high ranking officers, slept in large military tents.

I had joined the special forces division three years ago after coming out of Melbourne university. My family had lived in a small house just outside of the city, though after a chain of violent events I was taken away from them at the age of five and given to foster parents. I kept in touch with my real mother, as my father had been arrested after I finished year 12.

I walked to one of the many mess halls. I was in delta squad, the fourth group in the 3rd commando regiment. I found my squad at one of the tables, where Sam, Eve, Martin, Lindsey and Phillip were waiting for me. I was second-in-command, a master sergeant, while the others were sergeants.

We all had our specialties in certain areas. Sam was the newest member of the squad, specializing in explosives and EOD missions. Eve is our support, laying down covering fire and supplying ammo. Martin was the leader of both our squad and regiment, but answered to a Colonel, and was one of the best shots with a pistol. Lindsey is our sniper and Phillip is our mechanic and trained pilot. I'm the squads main rifleman and engineer. Our squad has served together for only a year, but I have known Phillip since university.

"Sergeant, where were you?" Martin asked, he had earned the rank of second lieutenant after serving eight years in the military.

"You missed out on a hell of a good patrol" Phillip said.

"I was checking in at the lab with echo squad, sir, see how the suits are coming along" I replied as I took a seat next to Phillip.

"When will they be ready?"

"At least nine hours, they're still making adjustments", I explained, Martin just nodded his head in reply as his commlink signaled.

"I wonder what their price tag is, since StormTech was involved" Lindsey said. StormTech was a global engineering company that had created many groundbreaking technologies, some of which had gained them an economic monopoly in several industries. Companies often had contracts for them to design and make new technology for them.

"I reckon a couple of billion dollars minimum" Phillip replied.

"All right everyone, the colonel wants us at the rendezvous in 15 minutes, so let's move it" Martin said as he walked back to the table "We'll probably have the chance for a meal later".

So I got up from my seat and followed the others outside. We were walking across the fields when two vehicles drove past. They were armoured cars, designed for fast deployment and attacks.

"StormTech shipped hundreds of them to the colonies, they made a variant with better traction to the surface for the low-gravity" Phillip explained "They'll be shipping a few larger vehicles in several days".