Operation Bao

Republic of Than Dat

May, 1993

Commander Jamie Maclaren led his group of Action Force personnel into the operations room of the Than Dat Navy headquarters with a determined stride. The leader of Q Force was intercepted near the door by a man wearing what looked like a French Navy uniform, but which Maclaren, also known as Leviathan, recognised as the Than Dat uniform of a commander.

“Good day, Commander,” the local said pleasantly in slightly accented English. “I am Commander Villers, Naval Intelligence. This way, please, the Admiral wishes to meet you.”

Leviathan nodded and followed the other man, with his retinue in tow.

As the group made their way through the operations room, Leviathan noticed there didn’t seem to be many admirals around. The group finally reached a large table with a map of Than Dat on top; several small model vessels and aircraft decorated the map. On the wall behind the table four monitors showed the same map, with the vehicles moving in crudely animated computer graphics. Standing beneath the monitors was a short, avuncular looking man of Southeast Asian ethnicity. The rank insignia he wore identified him as an admiral.

“Good day, Commander,” the admiral said. “I am Admiral Den, commander of the Than Dat Navy. Allow me to introduce my divisional commanders; Captain Dai, head of Naval Intelligence; Captain Trang, head of Naval Aviation; Captain San, head of logistics.”

Each of three officers on Den’s left nodded in turn. Dai was a short, wiry looking man with greying hair. Trang was of medium height, but muscular. He looked like a boxer, Leviathan thought. San was a taller, European-looking man with thinning hair. Den indicated the two men on his right.

“Captain Kim, commander of the frigate squadron and Captain DesJardins, commander of the torpedo boat squadron.”

Kim was tall for an Asian, whip-thin and had a scar on his left cheek. DesJardins was even more European looking than San. He had close-cropped blonde hair and looked like he wouldn’t take any messing from anyone.

Leviathan must have looked surprised as Admiral Den smiled before saying, “I suppose you’re wondering why we have captains in positions most navies would give to flag-officers?”

Leviathan nodded, “The thought did cross my mind, Admiral.”

Den smiled again, “Than Dat is a small country as you know, Commander. We do not have a large navy. Two squadrons, one of French frigates and one of torpedo boats. Our naval aviation wing comprises three squadrons; one of search-and-rescue helicopters, one of anti-submarine helicopters and a squadron of maritime patrol planes. We are not an adventurist power, we’ve never wanted to do anything more with our military than simply defend our borders.”

Leviathan nodded, respectfully, “I understand, Admiral.”

Den continued, “Since our forces are small, it was felt when we established the navy after our independence from France that only one admiral was necessary. Our divisional commanders are captains and our ships are commanded by Commanders or Lieutenant Commanders.”

Leviathan nodded once more as Den paused before going on. “Lately the only need we’ve had for a navy has been in trying to combat the smugglers based in the Song Lon river delta region. But now Cobra has appeared, like the snake they name themselves after. They have struck at our offshore oilrigs and our naval bases near the delta, and two oil terminals. Our patrol boats cannot stand up to their firepower and our frigates cannot pursue them into the river delta. That is why we have asked for Action Force’s assistance.”

Leviathan straightened to an even more rigid pose than he had been in, “Action Force stands ready to assist you, Admiral,” he said, his normal Scots accent disappearing in his formal words.

“At ease, before you sprain something, Commander.” Den laughed, “There is no need for such formality.”

Leviathan relaxed. “May I introduce my senior personnel for this operation?”

Den nodded, so Leviathan went on, “Q Force Aquatrooper leader Shark; Broadside, commander of Q Force’s Killer WHALE detachment; SAS Force frogman leader Barracuda; SAS Force Boat Patrol leader Stakeout and commanding SAS Force’s Silent Attack Kayak group, Beaver.”

Each of the men nodded respectfully.

“Pardon me,” Dai spoke up, quietly, “What is an aquatrooper?”

Shark stepped forward to Leviathan’s left shoulder. “Aquatroopers are the naval infantry arm of Q-Force,” he began. “Each member of the squad is recruited from a special operations navy diver unit. They are trained in amphibious combat operations including use of small-boat raider craft, Sea Lion submersible chariots, Stingray sea-sleds and the Devilfish speed boat. They are also qualified to operate the weapons of the Killer WHALE hovercraft and Swordfish assault boat. The aquatroopers are trained in boarding hostile vessels or captured vessels as well as conventional infantry tactics. In short, they are trained to operate in, on or under water in nearly any capacity as well as on land.”

Dai frowned, “So what is the role of the SAS Force frogmen?”

Barracuda stepped forward next, standing on Leviathan’s right as Shark stepped back.

“The SAS Force frogman squad are recruited from elite combat diver teams as well, however whilst they are trained in SCUBA and close-circuit diving and the Stingray seal-sleds like the aquatroopers, they are not trained in the use of the Sea Lion chariots or Devilfish boats. They are, however trained in helicopter-assault tactics for boarding naval vessels and on land. The SAS Force frogmen are also airborne qualified for high-altitude, high-opening; high-altitude, low-opening and low-altitude low-opening parachuting. They are also trained in the use of small raider boats, such as the flat-bottom skimmers employed by Boat Patrol.” Barracuda paused briefly in his recitation to glance at Stakeout before concluding, “In short, the SAS Force frogmen are sea-air-land qualified.”

Stakeout strode forward to stand where Shark had. “Boat Patrol troopers are recruited from Naval Special Forces units as well. Whilst we do have close-circuit and SCUBA qualification, our speciality is in operating small boats such as Zodiac rigid hull inflatable boats or the Rigid Raiders we currently employ. The Boat Patrol members are also airborne qualified, but our main role is in littoral waters combat.”

Beaver moved up next. “SAS Force Silent Attack Kayak squad is trained in the use of RHIBs and rigid raiders like the Boat Patrol, but we specialise in the employment of kayaks for silent approaches to targets. We are also airborne qualified and frogman trained. The principal difference between Boat Patrol and the kayak team is that Boat Patrol are the hammer to hit a target, we are the scalpel.”

Stakeout looked at Beaver with a mock frown, but the Canadian merely smiled.

Captain Dai nodded thoughtfully, “So, overlapping expertise but distinct roles within your forces. I understand.”

Admiral Den tapped the table to draw everyone’s attention.

“If we can get back to the point..?”

Everyone stared at him, politely.

“What watercraft have you brought with you and how many men do you have?” Den asked. “We were not informed by your commander.”

Leviathan nodded, “We’ve brought three Killer WHALE hovercraft, a pair of Devilfish speedboats and four each of the SAS Force rigid raiders and silent attack kayaks. In addition, we have four Q Force modified Hawk helicopters and two Skystriker fighter jets for air support. We have thirty-two personnel on hand for this mission. Our submarine, Nautilus, is also operating in the Gulf of Thailand to provide us with support if needed. Nautilus is currently at sea with her ‘blue’ crew under Commander Dive-plane.”

Den frowned, “Her blue crew?”

Leviathan nodded, “Like many of the US Navy’s ballistic missile subs, Nautilus has two complete crews, called ‘gold’ and ‘blue’. This allows one crew time on the beach for R’n’R whilst the other crew mans the submarine. I am the gold crew commander. Most of my crew is back in Europe on leave. The blue crew are operating the sub and at the end of their patrol, the sub will be repaired as needed and then launch under the gold crew for four months.”

Leviathan paused, then spoke again. “You mentioned you’re having trouble with smugglers in the same river delta where Cobra are based. What are our rules of engagement?”

Den gave Leviathan a steady gaze, “Anything with a Cobra emblem is yours to deal with. You are not to engage any vessels you suspect of smuggling. Report the vessel to our base in Vinh Tan Po, the city near the delta. They can deal with it. If the smugglers are stupid enough to engage you in battle, you are of course free to respond in kind.” Den paused for a moment; “A command post will be set up for you at the Vinh Tan Po naval base.”

Leviathan nodded, “That’s where you’ll find me then, along with my sonar and communications expert. With your permission, we will depart and move our boats to Vinh Tan Po naval base.”

Den nodded, “Dismissed, Commander.”

The Action Force men snapped to attention and saluted before leaving.

Vinh Tan Po Naval Base

Several hours later

Leviathan stood on the dockside as he watched the first Q Force Killer WHALE preparing to leave. Unlike the green hovercraft employed by the GI Joe team, Q Force’s WHALEs were painted in a dull grey colour on their hull, with blue air cushions. The rocket launchers and the rudder vanes were picked out in yellow. Red Q insignia decorated the vanes and the front hatch. The name ‘Action Force’ was stencilled on the side of the hull in red on a blue background. The first patrol was operating under the command of one of Q Force’s new members, Thetis, a British Royal Navy sub-lieutenant.

Thetis was standing in the small cockpit of the WHALE as Shark and Riptide, two of the more experienced aquatroopers clambered into the two small gun turrets in front.

“Ready gentlemen?” she asked.

“Ready,” Shark answered.

“Ready to rock,” Riptide replied.

Thetis waved to Leviathan, who saluted her in return. The hovercraft’s engines roared into life, the floatation cushion quickly filling, lifting the hovercraft up. Then the rear fans kicked in and the hovercraft moved carefully away from the dock and moved away toward the harbour mouth. Tucked inside the WHALE’s hull was an SAS Force rigid raider, along with Stakeout and Frog. They would deploy the smaller boat once it reached the river delta region, five miles north of the city.

The WHALE sped out past the harbour breakwater wall and turned north.

Leviathan headed back toward the operations building where the Action Force command post had been set up. As he was nearing the building, Leviathan heard several helicopters approaching and he turned to see the four Q Force Hawks sweeping toward the base. Leviathan turned and walked briskly toward the naval base’s helicopter pads where the four compact aircraft touched down for refuelling.

By the time he’d reached the four helicopters, Leviathan saw that the pilots had climbed out and were standing away from them as the small craft were refuelled. The lead pilot spotted Leviathan closing in and stepped toward the commander.

“Good morning,” the pilot said, tucking his helmet under his left arm and saluting.

Leviathan returned the salute, before removing the red officer’s cap he was wearing. “Morning, Wind-Shear. How’s it going?”

The Portuguese pilot nodded, “It’s alright. The Hawks are all in the green. No problems at all.”

“Good,” Leviathan replied as he looked over to the small single-seat helicopters.

These Q Force versions of the Hawk were modified for their service with Action Force’s naval operations unit. Unlike the SAS Force Hawks, and the Cobra FANG it was copied from, the Q Force Hawks were painted the same dull grey as the WHALEs. The bubble-turret mounted 30mm cannon was painted red, whilst the rear ‘fan-in-fin’ tail rotor was painted yellow. Yellow stripes decorated the ends of the two main rotor-blades. Red ‘Q’ insignia were painted on the tailfin and in front of the pilot’s seat on the hull. A yellow-on-red stencilled ‘Action Force’ logo was painted on the tail-boom.

Besides the cosmetic modifications, the Q Force Hawks had been modified to be capable of carrying torpedoes or anti-ship missiles instead of their normal rockets. The centre-line hard-point could also carry either a fuel tank for increased range/endurance or an anti-submarine warfare sensor pod, which included a magnetic anomaly detector and a winch-mounted sonar transducer, which could be ‘dipped’ into the sea as the Hawk hovered overhead. All in all, Leviathan mused, they were a cheap way of fielding an anti-submarine helicopter for Q Force. These four test models had been modified from the SAS Force fleet. Serial production of new versions would be starting in the next few months, courtesy of M.A.R.S. Corporation, who remained in operation selling arms and vehicles to anyone who could afford them despite their private army of Iron Grenadiers causing trouble in Africa, Central America and other parts of the world. Attempts to arrest Destro for selling weapons to Cobra had failed largely due to his connections in Westminster and Washington and because very little could be conclusively proved.

Leviathan shook that thought off as Wind Shear waved back to the lead refuelling technician and pulled his helmet on.

“See you soon, sir.”

Leviathan nodded, “Good luck.”

The pilot trotted back to his helicopter and climbed in. Leviathan watched them take off and head north before walking to the ops building. Inside the room Q Force was using as its command post, Phones was sitting at a radio listening on his headset as he scribbled on a notepad. After a moment he said, “Copy that. Out,” and pulled the headset off.

“That was Thetis,” the Irishman announced without any preamble. “She reports that the rigid raider was deployed without problems and they’re entering the river delta.”

“Good,” Leviathan answered. He sat down, looking at the map spread across the table. “This is going to be a long operation, I can tell.”

Phones grunted agreement as he picked up a mapping pin with a Q Force flag attached and put it in the map next to the coordinates Thetis had relayed. He then stuck similar pin, with the SAS Force flag attached, into a second point on the map.

“The Hawks have left,” Leviathan went on. “They’ll check in once they’re over the delta.”

Phones nodded and pulled his headset on as someone knocked on the door. Leviathan called out, “Enter.”

He turned toward the door to see Gunslinger, one of Beaver’s Silent Attack Kayak team, leaning around the door. The Portuguese commando smiled, “Beaver sent me over to tell you, the transport carrying the kayaks and the other three rigid raiders has arrived. He’s overseeing the off-loading with Barracuda.”

“Thanks, Gunslinger,” Leviathan answered.

“Surfer asked me to pass on the news that the Devilfish seem to be intact and are ready to deploy.” The former Marine’s smiled widened, “I think he can’t wait to get out there and try them out.”

Leviathan smiled. “Tell him he’s clear for a test run up and down the gulf, but not to head for the Song Lon delta.”

Gunslinger nodded and left.

Leviathan picked up an A4 pad and began composing his first report to send back to Action Force headquarters.

Outside, Surfer and Wave Rider were guiding a group of Than Dat Navy enlisted men as they rolled flatbed trailers carrying the Devilfish speedboats toward the docks. The two speedboats were carefully lifted clear of the trailers and lowered off the ramp into the water. The lightweight carbon-fibre hulls made it easy for four men to lift them.

Surfer turned to see a pair of weapons technicians wheeling another trailer over. This one carried four small surface-to-surface missiles. The American watched as the technicians set about mounting the missiles on their launch rails before clearing away. Surfer pulled on his radio headset and climbed on to the speedboat’s hull and clambered into the cockpit. He plugged in his headset and began getting ready to take the boat out.

Gunslinger ran up to the boat and shouted across to him. Surfer cupped his hand over his ear, indicating he couldn’t hear properly. Gunslinger jumped onto the boat and leaned down to shout into Surfer’s ear.

“Leviathan says you’re clear to take a run around the gulf, but you’re not to enter the river delta!” the Portuguese yelled.

Surfer nodded, “Gotcha, dude!”

Gunslinger jumped back off the boat as Surfer fired up the twin 110 horsepower engines and steered the boat clear of the quay. The compact single-seater boat was painted gull grey on the lower half and a bright yellow on its top half. A large red Q Force logo decorated the boat’s prow, whilst ‘Action Force’ was stencilled in yellow letters on the red armoured engine covers.

The Devilfish sped away from the docks, a wave of spray thrown up by its engines.

Hoxworth Whipple, codenamed Surfer, was a former US Navy SEAL and a champion surfer. After joining Action Force in 1984, he’d worked with the eggheads in Special Weapons Force to design and build a lightweight ‘speed board’ jet ski. The ‘Sea Skimmer’ had been built and tested, but so far never utilised on operations. Surfer had personally recruited Wave-rider from the Spanish Navy to become the second Sea Skimmer operator, but so far the pair spent more time as pilots for the Q Force Devilfish or the Swordfish assault boats.

As he cleared the breakwater and entered the open sea, Surfer had to admit to himself he did like the Devilfish. It was certainly more comfortable to sit down instead of standing up on the Sea Skimmer.

After taking the Devilfish through a slalom course around a group of slow moving freighters, Surfer opened up the throttle and raced across the Gulf of Than Dat toward one of the off-shore oil-rigs. As Surfer’s speedboat raced along, he powered up the miniature radar unit in the boat’s hull and made sure it was operating before powering it down and activating the equally small sonar unit. Both sets were in the green and ready to use.

Surfer’s radio crackled and then he heard Wave-rider’s voice.

“''Surfer, I’m on your six and closing. My boat’s in the green, how’re you doing?''”

“Five by five, dude,” Surfer answered. “Totally cool.”

“Madre di dios, Master Chief, I wish you’d knock that off, you sound like one of those stupid cartoon turtle guys.”

Surfer laughed as he keyed his microphone to reply, “Dude, I was talking like this when I was a kid back in Hawai’i. I sounded like a ninja reptile before they even created those dudes.”

“''Right. Whatever you say, Master Chief''.”

Surfer smiled to himself as he pulled his throttle back and executed a pair of lazy S-turns, allowing Wave-rider to catch up. Growing up in Hawai’i and hanging out with surfers from California as well as those from the Pacific islands had left Surfer with the stereotypical laid-back surfer-dude accent and speech patterns. When he’d joined the US Navy, he’d quickly been nicknamed ‘Surfer’ and the moniker had stuck through UDT School, BUD/S training and his time in the SEALs.

Wave-rider brought his Devilfish alongside Surfer’s and called across to his fellow commando, “Hey, Master Chief, you napping?”

Surfer looked around at the younger Spanish commando. “No, why?”

“I just came up on your six and you didn’t see me,” the other man replied.

Surfer shrugged, “Just reminiscing. Nostalgia gets to you when you’re old, Wave-rider.”

The Spaniard shook his head.

“Have you run a check on your radar and sonar?” Surfer asked, quickly changing the subject.

Wave-rider shook his head. “No, Master Chief.”

“Well, run it now. Let’s see if the data-link’s good, too.”

“Aye, Master Chief.”

Wave-rider powered up his radar unit and Surfer noted the appearance of a yellow light above his radarscope, warning him that the boat was being painted by a surface-search radar. He hit another button and his radar began receiving data from Wave-rider’s unit. Both men looked at one another as they saw the row of blips moving across the screen northwest of their position.

“Secure that radar,” Surfer snapped before activating his radio on the Q Force command channel. Wave-rider immediately switched his radar off.

“Phones, this is Surfer, do you copy? Phones, Surfer, come in.”

''“Surfer, Phones here. Go ahead.”''

“Phones, Wave-rider and I are approximately one mile off the coast and we’ve just performed a radar check. We have multiple bogies heading west approximately five miles north-west of us, speed of advance is around 20 knots.”

''“Copy, Surfer. Stand by.”''

Surfer looked around at Wave-rider’s Devilfish as he waited and noted his brother in arms had no missiles on his boat. He also knew neither had torpedoes loaded.

After a moment, Leviathan came on the radio. “''Surfer, Leviathan. Local forces say they have no units in that area. Close in and identify bogies. If they are Cobras, you are clear to engage. If they’re not Cobra, identify and report in. If the bogies open fire on you, consider them hostile and engage.”''

“What about back up, sir? We’re only lightly armed here.”

“''Phones is on the radio to Wind-Shear. We’re going to get him to split his flight and send two Hawks your way. Nothing else will get to you in time, since the Skystrikers aren’t armed yet.”''

 

“Roger that. Surfer out,” the American wasted no time, pushing his throttles back to full and racing northwest at speed. He didn’t bother directing Wave-rider to follow; he knew the other sailor had heard the same orders.

The two Devilfish speedboats raced northwest and were soon closing in on the last position they had for the contacts. Surfer briefly activated his surface-search radar and used it to steer himself in on the contacts.

One of the modifications Special Weapons Force had made to the Devilfish boats was a telescopic camera attached to the gun system. Utilising it now, Surfer was able to identify the trailing elements of the formation of boats, Cobra Piranhas and Water Moccasins.

Surfer immediately activated his radio, “Surfer to Leviathan, bogies identified. Bandits are Cobra naval attack craft. Multiple types. We’re engaging, but we’re going to need back up, stat.”

''“Roger that, Surfer. Helos are two minutes out.”''

Surfer activated the laser-targeting unit on the Devilfish’s gun-mount and aimed the boat at the nearest Piranha. As soon as the weapons system confirmed the missile had a solid lock, Surfer fired the first of his four surface-to-surface missiles.

The missile popped off the launch rail on a jet of compressed air and ignited it’s rocket motor, screaming across the wave-tops at high speed before slamming straight into the large jet turbine exhaust of the Piranha. The missile detonated and blew apart the rear of the high-speed Cobra assault craft, killing the Eel piloting the vessel.

Surfer wasted no time swinging his Devilfish around toward the second Piranha, locking on and launching his second missile.

This time, the missile flew at the broadside of the Piranha and detonated next to one of the boat’s own torpedoes. The resulting explosion was enough to blow a hole in the side of the speedboat’s hull, despite its double-reinforcement to counter missiles. The Piranha began taking on water and the Eel pilot was forced to throw himself overboard to avoid sinking with the boat.

The two explosions had attracted the attention of the trailing pair of Water Moccasins’ crews and the two larger fan-driven boats turned around toward the Devilfish.

Surfer locked on and launched a third missile. The Moccasin managed to evade the missile, which activated its onboard back-up radar unit and swept around in a semi-circle looking for a large radar return to home in on.

Cursing the miss, Surfer set about making his own evasive manoeuvres as the two Eels crewing the Moccasin opened fire with both the main 44mm main guns and the smaller turret guns.

Surfer spotted the second Moccasin as it attempted to chase down Wave-Rider in his Devilfish. The Hawaiian commando zigzagged his boat in to position to pursue the larger Cobra vessel and then opened up with his twin 20mm machine guns.

The heavy calibre armour-piercing rounds shredded the Moccasin’s steering vanes, fan and the fan’s housing.

The Cobra boat may have been crippled, but it wasn’t out of the fight as the Eel manning the turret proved as Surfer whipped past in his Devilfish, the enemy frogman fired his 20mm guns and narrowly missed Surfer.

Uttering a Hawaiian curse he’d learned from his father, Surfer evaded the Eel’s gunfire even as a new threat loomed, a Cobra Moray hydrofoil was bearing down on him.

Surfer switched his remaining missile to radar guidance, locked on to the Moray and fired before slamming the Devilfish into a high-speed turn away from the Moray. He was in serious danger of getting boxed in here, he admitted to himself as he saw the Moccasin he’d missed bearing down on him.

Before he had a chance to come up with a way out of the box, the Moccasin exploded, wreckage flying out from a fireball in the centre of the boat.

Surfer spared a quick glance skyward and saw one of the Q Force Hawk helicopters scream overhead, firing its 30mm nose-gun a second time.

The second shell missed the Moray, but drew the ire of the crew, prompting the Eel manning the topside 23mm gun turret to start firing skyward as the Hawk danced through the sky.

Surfer looked around for Wave-rider’s Devilfish and saw him chasing down a third Piranha. As Surfer steered toward him, he saw his Spanish teammate spray the jet-powered boat with bullets, shredding the purple hull of the Piranha with the cannon fire before stitching a line of holes across the vertical stabiliser.

As Surfer turned away, he saw the second Hawk firing at a fourth Piranha, obliterating it with a 30mm shell. Steering back toward the Moray, Surfer suddenly saw a grey streak race toward the hydrofoil and had time to register it was his missile he had launched seconds ago before it detonated next to the Moray’s superstructure, killing both the Eel manning the turret and the Lampreys pilot.

The four Eels manning the lateral .30 calibre machine guns, kept firing at the Hawks overhead, before one finally managed to fire a single shell into the Moray’s rear deck, silencing the guns.

Surfer steered away from the battle to give himself time to analyse the situation. To help himself do so, he powered up his radar. Of the ten Cobra vessels, he could now see five had been destroyed; another was leaving the area at high-speed, headed back toward the river delta.

Surfer watched as the crippled Moccasin was now surrendering to a Hawk hovering overhead. The second Hawk was dancing around a second Moray, trying to hit it even as the hydrofoil attempted to shoot down the helicopter.

Surfer quickly shoved his throttle forward and raced toward the much larger vessel. As Surfer bore down on the hydrofoil, the missile he’d fired at the Moccasin earlier suddenly flew in and blew the bow off the Moray.

As the vessel began to sink at the nose, the crew of Eels and the Lampreys pilot scrambled to get clear.

Surfer quickly activated his radio. “Surfer to Leviathan.”

“Leviathan here, go ahead.”

“Sir, we’ve got Cobra prisoners here, can you get the locals to dispatch a warship to pick them up, please?”

“''Affirmative. Stand by.”''

There were now only two Cobra vessels left active. Both were Water Moccasins and were bearing down on the two Devilfish, until one of the two Hawks opened fire and destroyed both in quick succession.

“''Surfer, Leviathan. Than Dat Navy warship is en route. They will take custody of the prisoners. Stand by with the Hawks until it arrives. It should be with you in about ten minutes. Once the prisoners are secured, return here immediately.”''

“Roger that, Leviathan.”

The Than Dat warship arrived seven minutes later and a pair of launches filled with Marines were deployed followed by a second pair manned by a pair of sailors each. As Q Force watched, the Marines covered the sailors as they took the Eels and Lampreys prisoner and returned to the warship.

Surfer and Wave-Rider turned back east and headed for the naval base.

Action Force temporary headquarters

A short time later

Surfer and Wave-Rider were the last to arrive at the briefing room where the rest of the Action Force group had gathered.

As well as Leviathan, Phones, Barracuda and his frogmen, the Aquatroopers, the four men of Beaver’s Silent Attack squad and Stakeout’s Boat Patrol, also present were Wind-Shear and his fellow Hawk pilots, the two flight-crews for the Q Force Skystrikers and the three Killer WHALE pilots, Broadside, Thetis and Mako.

“Thanks for joining us,” Leviathan said to them as Wave-Rider closed the door.

Leviathan looked around to make sure everyone was paying attention. “We’ve got lucky on our first day. Surfer and Wave-Rider have successfully engaged Cobra’s forces, along with two of our Hawk flight. Several Cobras were killed, their boats destroyed but we also captured prisoners, who we will join the locals in interrogating. We also got lucky because Wind Shear got a hit on a possible Cobra encampment in the river delta. We’re going to stage a recon operation tonight before we raid it tomorrow.”

Leviathan paused and saw he had everyone’s undivided attention.

“Beaver’s squad will carry out the recon. They will be dropped off from Mako’s Killer WHALE one mile away and row in to the target in their kayaks. Broadside and Thetis will transport Boat Patrol to the same launch point to deploy them as back up. The WHALEs will remain in place at the launch point to recover the SAS Force boats or, if needed, to provide heavy support to the SAS Force troops if they face heavy opposition. This is strictly a sneak and peek mission. We want to confirm this is a Cobra camp and determine what they have in place at this camp.”

Leviathan looked around once more before concluding, “Once we know what Cobra has at the location, we will plan an assault and execute it tomorrow night. Two Hawks will remain ready for launch during this recon run, but not take off unless needed. Recon op deploys at 23:00 from here and the kayak squad insert no later than 01:00.”

One mile from suspected Cobra base

Midnight, that night

The three Killer WHALEs drifted to a halt in the river delta before their bow ramps were lowered and their hatches raised. The middle WHALE disgorged four Silent Attack Kayaks in quick succession, Surfer and Wave-Rider helping each of Beaver’s squad out into the water. The other two WHALEs launched the four rigid raiders of Boat Patrol.

Beaver led the way in his kayak, paddling quickly, but quietly, through the darkness. Each of the four commandoes was dressed in a black dry-suit, a grey life-vest, a black wool cap and black gloves and boots. An MP5SWF suppressed sub-machine gun was strapped across their backs in a waterproof case, whilst they wore night-vision goggles to see in the dark.

As the group paddled along, Beaver was alternately watching the quiet river and the screen on the small GPS display attached to his kayak’s cockpit. Three sets of numbers were displayed on the screen; the top number relayed his current position as determined by the constellation of global positioning satellites Space Force maintained in orbit; the second number was the coordinates identified as the location of the Cobra base by the Q Force helicopter; the last number at the bottom of the screen was the distance between the two sets of coordinates.

After an hour of paddling, the distance to target had dropped to within thirty feet. Beaver carefully lifted his oar from the water and set it in the hooks on the side of his kayak and raised his right fist. Behind him, Varuna, Gunslinger and Wraith set their oars aside and the four canoes drifted toward the island. The four SAS Force troopers quickly climbed out of the kayaks and unslung their weapons.

Keeping low, the commandoes moved across the island, through undergrowth toward a large tree. Beaver used hand-signals to tell Gunslinger and Varuna to remain at the tree, whilst he and Wraith moved silently toward a ramshackle building in the centre of the island, in a clear area of ground.

Both men moved slowly and steadily, aiming down the sights of their sub-machine guns, trigger-fingers poised.

Once they reached the building, the two soldiers moved quickly from window to window, peering in to see if they could identify anyone. Unfortunately, it was simply too dark inside for them to see anything more than the fact that there were around two dozen men in the building.

As they moved along the rear of the building, Wraith tapped Beaver’s shoulder and, as the Canadian turned, he pointed toward several large tarpaulin-covered objects at the edge of the water a few feet away.

Beaver nodded and the pair moved quickly across to the water’s edge. Beaver indicated to his Norwegian partner to keep watch before kneeling and pulling back one of the tarps.

“Jackpot,” Beaver whispered. Clearly visible in the green glow of the night-vision goggles was the bow of a Cobra Water Moccasin. Moving quickly and quietly, Beaver checked the other tarpaulins. Two revealed Water Moccasins, whilst the last covered a Piranha attack boat.

Beaver stood up turned back toward Wraith, just as the Norwegian dropped to one knee and a figure carrying an assault rifle rounded the building.

The man must have seen the movement as he raised his rifle and aimed toward Wraith’s position.

Beaver fired his MP5 before the sentry – if that’s who he was – could fire. The sub-machine gun made a noise barely louder than a cough and the sentry fell backward.

Beaver waved to Wraith and the pair swiftly sprinted around the building back toward their teammates. As they reached Varuna and Gunslinger, the door to the shack opened and another man stepped out of the building.

The four commandoes froze in place as the man looked around, then strode off toward the side of the house.

“Move out,” Beaver whispered, “before he finds the sentry I slotted.”

The men darted back to the kayaks and began to climb back into them as they heard as shout.

“Move it!” Beaver growled, quickly paddling away from the island. The other three commandoes followed him.

Paddling one handed, Beaver activated his radio and called Stakeout.

“Beaver to Stakeout, Beaver to Stakeout. We may have been compromised. Stand by.”

“Roger, standing by.”

Beaver risked looking back toward the island to see several light-sources moving about, clearly several people with flashlights.

The four kayaks slipped into a narrow channel between two smaller islands before anyone at the Cobra camp could spot them.

Beaver told Stakeout to stand down before radioing back to Leviathan.

“We’ve confirmed the camp to be a Cobra one,” Beaver reported once they were online. “Three Water Moccasins and a Piranha were present.”

“Roger that,” Leviathan answered.

“Recommend we execute the assault now, we had to eliminate a sentry, but he was discovered as we were evacuating the area. Cobra may be enacting an escape plan.”

Leviathan swore before closing the channel.

Seconds later, on the main channel, Beaver heard Leviathan speak again. “''All units this is Leviathan. Execute assault plan ‘Bravo’ immediately.”''

At the launch point, Stakeout straightened up as he heard the order, before Leviathan repeated, “Execute assault plan ‘Bravo’ immediately.”

The Scouse commando quickly fired up his rigid raider’s engine and steered the compact flat-bottomed vessel away from the larger WHALE next to it. Seconds later, Archer, Corsair and Gator fired up their own rigid raiders and followed him. The four Boat Patrol members were steering the raiders, whilst the four SAS Force frogmen manned the boats’ bow mounted machine guns.

The rigid raiders were only large enough to carry four troopers uncomfortably, or a pair with some more room. They had a small outboard motor to propel them at speed or a paddle for a stealthier approach. A small radar screen was mounted on the bow, whilst their only weapon was a pintle-mounted machine-gun. Originally, the raiders had mounted a 150mm ‘ack-ack’ gun with only a few rounds of ammo. More recently, however, these had been replaced with Belgian-made FN MAG 7.62mm machine -guns fitted with 200-round ammo boxes. Four spare boxes were stored in a small locker under the radarscope, providing the raiders with far greater firepower in terms of ammo amounts, if not calibre.

The four raiders sped toward the Cobra camp, assault plan bravo called for them to attack the island whilst the silent attack team evacuated the area and the WHALEs stood ready to move in.

Although the rigid raiders were only powered by small outboard motors, they quickly raced up the river, zipping between islands, along narrow channels and reached the Cobra encampment.

The four rigid raiders shut off their engines as they hit the island’s shore and the eight commandos swiftly scrambled from the boats, lifting their personal weapons as they went.

Stakeout moved forward to join Barracuda, who had been manning the gun in Corsair’s raider.

“Have Frog and Poseidon move up with me,” Stakeout said. “I’ll send Archer and Gator to flank left. You and Triton flank right with Corsair.”

Barracuda nodded and the group split up and began moving quickly across the small island.

Stakeout had always used the American M60 light machine-gun for years, but had recently swapped to the newer M249 Para version of the Belgian Minimi machine-gun. The M249 was lighter, easier to reload and more compact. Next to him, Frog carried an American M4 carbine, whilst Poseidon carried an Italian Beretta AR70/90 assault rifle. The three soldiers moved quickly to the shack, weapons at the ready.

Once they reached the door, Stakeout fired two short bursts, shredding the hinges, before booting the door open. Frog and Poseidon charged in the door, weapons up and ready. The shack was empty as they moved through it. As they progressed from room to room, the soldiers called out, “Clear!”

Stakeout moved through the shack behind them, crossing quickly to the rear door.

In the distance, he could see the Cobra boats speeding away along the river. Stakeout clicked on his radio.

“Cobras are getting away,” he announced. “We need air support stat. Boat Patrol to your vessels, WHALEs, you better get here. Fast.”

There was a rapid chorus of acknowledgements from Wind Shear at the airfield, Broadside and Thetis aboard their WHALEs and from the rest of the SAS Force assault team.

It took only a few minutes for the latter group to return to their rigid raiders and speed away from the island, heading upriver after the Cobras.

Within a few minutes, as the rigid raiders continued their chase along the river, Stakeout got a call on his radio from Wind Shear.

“''Stakeout, Hawk-1, we’re approximately two minutes from the river. State location of your force and hostiles.”''

“Hawk-1, Stakeout, friendly forces are approximately one mile east of target location, heading east at best speed. Hostiles are between one point five and two miles east of friendlies moving at high speed.”

“''Stakeout, Hawk-1 copies all. We’re descending. Stand by.”''

Within seconds, the two Q Force Hawk helicopters screamed overhead at speed and continued east.

Stakeout kept his attention on steering his raider and watching the radarscope on the bow. The flash of weapons fire overhead drew his attention momentarily, however. Stakeout grimaced but quickly altered course to whip the small boat around an island into a narrow channel and hoped he could catch up.

The four raiders screamed out of the narrow channel into a larger, more open, section of the river in time to see the burning wreck of a Water Moccasin ahead of them and the two Hawks firing at the other two Moccasins as they tried to avoid the Cobra boats return fire.

It took only seconds for all four of Barracuda’s frogman team to open fire with their respective raider’s machine-guns. Barracuda, riding in Corsair’s raider, blazed away with the MAG hitting the rear-mounted fan of one of the Moccasins. The 7.62mm slugs punched through the steering vanes, the protective housing of the fan and the fan’s blades themselves.

Crippled, the assault craft span about in the river, but the Eel manning the gun turret kept firing at the Hawks overhead, until the bullets pinging off his armoured turret attracted his attention.

The Eel turned his turret toward Corsair and Gator’s rigid raiders, but before he could fire, the Greek commando frogman Triton put a burst through the centre of his mass. Stakeout and Archer steered their raiders past the crippled Moccasin as the Eel piloting it raised his hands and stood up in the cockpit.

The raiders bore down on the second Water Moccasin as the Eel gunner kept blazing away at the Hawk chasing the boat. Poseidon and Frog opened up with the FN MAGs on their raiders, hoping to repeat Barracuda’s success, but the Moccasin evaded their fire before dodging into a narrow channel to avoid one of the Hawk’s 30mm shells.

Stakeout kept pressing every advantage he could to gain on the Water Moccasin, but it was getting hard to keep the rigid raider in range of the larger, more powerful boat.

The Moccasin was in danger of getting away, when behind the raiders, a WHALE suddenly crashed through two small bushes on one of the small islands they had just passed, crashed down into the river with a loud splash and opened fire with its side-mounted 105mm main guns.

In the WHALE’s port gun turret, Shark grinned as the two shells exploded directly behind the Water Moccasin, throwing the Cobra vessel into the air before it flipped over and crashed back down into the river with a large splash and one of the Eels manning it went flying.

The WHALE cruised past the two Rigid Raiders, which had quickly decelerated, and came to a halt next to the overturned Moccasin.

Shark and Riptide quickly climbed from the WHALE’s gun turrets, unslung their MP5K sub-machine guns and moved down the hovercraft’s forward hull as Thetis brought the WHALE to a halt next to the wreck. Shark leapt across to the wreck as the WHALE bumped its air cushion against it.

Shark moved over the half-submerged vessel’s hull carefully, he found the Eel who had been steering the Water Moccasin still strapped in to his seat, clearly dead. No one’s head could be at that angle, the Frenchman mused, and still be alive.

“Oi!” Stakeout shouted. Shark spun around to see the Scouse SAS Force trooper rounding the Cobra vessel in his rigid raider, whilst Poseidon was pointing toward the other Eel, floating unconscious in the water.

Archer’s raider came around the Moccasin from the other side, Frog leaning over the side. As the raider drifted closer, the British frogman grabbed the Eel’s leg and dragged him to the boat. Shark jumped back aboard the Killer WHALE and then he and Riptide shoved the Moccasin aside, allowing the WHALE to drift closer. The two Q Force aquatroopers then pulled the Eel from the water and on to the hull of the hovercraft.

“Thetis, love, open up the hull and let us get these raiders on board,” Frog said. “Our fuel’s nearly gone.”

The Royal Navy woman glowered at the frogman’s familiarity, but said nothing. Instead, as Shark and Riptide picked up the unconscious Eel, she opened up the WHALE, allowing the SAS Force commandos to paddle the raiders into the hovercraft’s interior, before Stakeout and Archer took the Eel and put him inside the larger vessel as well.

Poseidon took Shark’s place in the WHALE’s turret, whilst the Aquatrooper leader joined Stakeout inside.

“Where the ‘eck did you spring from?” Stakeout asked.

“I ordered Thetis to come after you when we had heard your call to the Hawks. We were able to close the distance by cutting over the islands with the hovercraft. It saved us quite a few minutes in total,” Shark answered. “As we crossed that last island, we could see the Moccasin was getting away and the Hawk was leaving.”

Stakeout had wondered where the small helicopter had gone.

“So I told Thetis to fire as soon we hit the river. It was good shooting, non?”

“Tres bon, mate.”

Shark frowned at Stakeout’s pronunciation, but said nothing.

Action Force Command Post

13:00 Local, later that day.

Leviathan sat in front of the video-link back to Action Force Command in Europe. The Commander and Major Flagg were on the screen.

“''So you’ve had two engagements with Cobra. What have you got to show for it?”'' Major Flagg asked somewhat impatiently.

“We’ve captured several Eels, who the locals are trying to interrogate,” Leviathan answered. “Although they’re not saying much. We’ve also destroyed at least one of their camps and destroyed several of their vessels, reducing their capabilities. The engagement in the Gulf seems to have thwarted an intended assault on the oil rigs.”

Leviathan glanced at the latest report he’d had from the Than Dat Navy.

“The locals are also continuing recovery of the wreckage of the Cobra vessels from the Gulf, although I know that’s not much use.”

Neither of the senior officers commented. Action Force had captured several Cobra boats over the last five years, not least from an assault on a Cobra base in a remote corner of Norway the previous year. Special Weapons Force had had ample opportunity to study the vessels’ capabilities, including test-firing their missiles and torpedoes, dismantling their electronic gear and having their resident boat specialist take them out and put them through their paces on the Action Force naval testing range.

“Have you identified any other possible Cobra encampments?” The Commander asked.

“Recon flights are continuing,” Leviathan answered. “We’re also preparing to send out another recon mission with one of the WHALEs and a raider. Another WHALE is already out on a recon run now.”

Before the conversation could get any further, the radio set behind Leviathan crackled then Thetis could be heard.

“''Thetis to all Action Force units, Thetis to all Action Force units. We are currently tracking a large Cobra naval force in the Song Lon delta, request immediate back up. Repeat, we are tracking a large Cobra naval force in the Song Lon delta and need immediate back up''.”

Leviathan immediately cut the video link and ran out the door to the quay.

As the Q Force commander reached the area Q Force were using, he saw the two WHALEs speeding away from the docks. Then he noticed most of the SAS Force commandos standing around.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

Stakeout pushed through the group. “Broadside and Mako just took off without us, Leviathan. They got the call from Thetis and bugged out before we could load the second raider aboard. We were grabbing our weapons and they were pulling out. Manta and Tempest barely had a chance to jump aboard Mako’s WHALE before he was gone. Fathom and Orca were already aboard Broadside’s.”

Leviathan cursed before pulling out his radio. He quickly ordered Phones to get clearance to borrow a Than Dat Navy helicopter to fly the SAS Force troops into battle.

Song Lon delta

That same time

Shark kept his hands on the grips of the WHALE’s machine guns, ready to open fire; they were tracking the Cobra convoy as it headed east along the river, travelling further inland. So far the WHALE’s crew hadn’t got a complete count of how many vessels they were tracking but all three agreed it was at least a dozen vessels, a mix of Morays, Piranhas and Water Moccasins.

Thetis was keeping the WHALE a good twenty yards back from the trailing Moray in the convoy; so far they were able to keep the Moray in sight without being spotted. The Eels manning the hydrofoil were being exceptionally lax in watching the convoy’s stern, so much the better for the WHALE crew.

The Moray hydrofoil was just moving between two islands as the WHALE entered the part of the river it was leaving when the Eel manning the hydrofoil’s gun turret traversed the turret around to check their six.

“Merde,” Shark cursed as the Eel began shouting at his fellow crewmembers before opening fire. Bullets pinged off the WHALE’s armoured bow, but Shark and Riptide opened fire at the Moray.

Two other Eels on the hydrofoil’s rear opened fire with the rear-most lateral guns, but their rounds fell short as Shark and Riptide kept pouring on the fire and Thetis accelerated toward the Moray.

The hydrofoil began to come about as it cleared the channel between the two islands it was passing.

Thetis fired the WHALE’s 105mm heavy cannon and blew the Moray out of the water.

“Nice shot,” Riptide commented over the intercom. “But you just guaranteed we’ve got their attention.”

Thetis ignored the comment as she announced, “Activating radar. They know we’re here, let’s see how many of them there are.”

A Water Moccasin appeared around the burning wreck of the Moray and began firing its 20mm gun turret at the WHALE. The aquatroopers returned fire as Thetis put the WHALE into a sideways skid out of the attack boat’s line of fire.

“Twenty-four targets, lieutenant,” Thetis reported. “No telling how many of each type.”

Shark barely heard the report, but as the Moccasin fired its 40mm cannon, the hovercraft fired its main guns, blasting it apart.

After Thetis repeated her report, Shark told her to try radioing the rest of Q Force to find out where they’d got to.

Before she could, Surfer came on the intercom channel from inside the WHALE’s hold.

“''How about letting me and Wave-Rider out? We could be more useful to you outside than stuck in here.”''

Shark shrugged and turned to Thetis, “Sure go ahead, open up the bow quickly before any more Cobras attack.”

It only took a few moments for the two Sea Skimmer pilots to get their small jet-ski style craft out of the WHALE and on to the water. They launched just in time as a Piranha sped around the wreckage the WHALE was loitering behind and opened fire with its 9mm machine-gun.

The two Sea Skimmers sped away from the attack boat as Shark and Riptide opened fire at the smaller craft.

Then as Surfer reefed his jet ski into a tight turn, the Eel fired his torpedoes at the WHALE.

“Hold on to your hats, guys!” Thetis shouted over the intercom. The WHALE surged forward under Shark and raced toward a low island dotted with bushes.

The torpedoes turned, tracking on the WHALE, before the hovercraft ran up the shore of the island and quickly crossed it, flattening several bushes as it did. The torpedoes slammed into the island and detonated.

“Nice work, Thetis,” Shark commented. “I’m putting you in for a commendation for that!”

“Thanks, lieutenant.”

Meanwhile, Surfer had pulled one of his fragmentation grenades from the bandolier across his chest as he brought his skimmer alongside the Piranha. He pulled the pin with his teeth and then tossed the grenade straight into the cockpit before steering away.

The grenade detonated, killing the Eel before he could fully comprehend the threat.

Surfer and Wave-Rider steered their Sea Skimmers toward the Cobra boats, which were now milling about in the river, trying to turn around and cover every angle.

“Arm your missiles,” Surfer ordered Wave-Rider. “Try to take out one of the Morays.”

The Spanish commando acknowledged the order as Surfer followed his own directions and armed the two ten-pound warhead heat-seeking missiles. As soon as the lock-on tone growled in his headset, he launched his missiles at one of the Morays.

The two missiles streaked across the river and struck the Moray on one of its ‘Black Ray’ torpedoes. The explosion tore apart the side of the hydrofoil and ruptured its fuel tanks, which quickly exploded, destroying the larger vessel.

‘Lucky,’ Surfer thought to himself. He turned in time to see Wave-Rider fire his missiles. The small projectiles streaked toward one of the Morays, but a Piranha cut in front of the hydrofoil and was hit amidships on its own torpedo rail.

Crippled, but not destroyed, the Piranha began listing heavily as it turned toward the two Sea Skimmers. Wave-Rider pulled one of his grenades from the bandolier he wore. He quickly armed and threw the grenade, straight into the cockpit. The explosion thwarted the Eel’s planned attack.

The two Sea Skimmers swerved between a pair of Water Moccasins and both commandos tossed a grenade into the boats’ cockpits before speeding away.

As they sped toward another Moray, Thetis’ WHALE raced around another island and opened fire with its 105mm guns, blowing the hydrofoil’s stern off. As the hovercraft sped past, Riptide riddled the sinking wreck with bullets.

Seven of the Cobra vessels had been destroyed. Thirteen remained, including four more Morays.

Surfer keyed his radio, “Hey, do me a favour, don’t shoot up any more Morays, okay?”

“Why not?” Shark asked.

“Because I’m going to hijack one.”

Surfer steered his Sea Skimmer toward the nearest Moray as Shark asked him to repeat himself over the radio.

The American didn’t answer, concentrating as he was on grabbing hold of the rear of the Moray’s hull, before throwing himself and the Sea Skimmer over the side on to the Moray’s rear deck. Surfer dropped the Jet Ski as he rolled across the deck, drew his sidearm Glock-17C pistol and fired at the nearest Eel.

As the first of the Cobra frogmen dropped, Surfer quickly fired again and again, dropping all four of the Eels manning the lateral machine-guns. He quickly reloaded as the Eel at the station next to the Lampreys turned around, drawing his own pistol.

Surfer shot him before shooting the Eel in the gun turret. The Lampreys was last to die.

Surfer was making his way forward when a shout made him turn.

Wave-Rider was at the stern. Surfer returned to help him aboard, bringing the Sea Skimmer as well. Neither man was about to abandon them to the river. They were two of the only four Q Force had.

Surfer took the Moray’s helm as Wave-Rider moved to the weapons panel. He quickly armed the hydrofoil’s 55mm cannon and opened fire as they came in range of a Water Moccasin. The smaller boat exploded.

Several of the surviving Moccasins and Piranhas turned about, obviously intending to attack the captured Moray when the other two Q Force Killer WHALEs crashed through an island in the river and opened fire with their 105mm cannon and their 20mm gun turrets.

Four Cobra vessels were shredded by cannon-fire before they had a chance to react. The other vessels turned and sped away, but the Q Force craft were quickly hot on their heels.

Shark suddenly heard the sound of several helicopters overhead; he looked up to see the four Q Force Hawks fly past, a French-built Puma transport close behind them.

The Puma was carrying the SAS Force commandos into battle. As the Hawks got closer to the surviving Cobra vessels, they began dropping lower toward the boats. The Than Dat Navy pilot decided he wasn’t going to be outdone and followed them lower.

Which was about when the two trailing Moccasins turned their gun turrets around and opened fire. The Q Force Hawks scattered, evading the hail of bullets, but the Puma flew straight into them.

The Puma’s cockpit was shredded, the canopy shattering under the impact, as were the pilots. The helicopter nosed forward as the pilot’s dead body shoved the controls forward, pushing the Puma into a descent.

The commandos in the back were buckled in and could do nothing to help. The Than Dat loadmaster struggled forward, to try to grab the controls, but as he did, the helicopter’s blades hit the river, slashing into the water, before it flipped over. The rear tail boom hit next, smashing apart and ripping off. The helicopter crashed down on the ground, bounced up and smashed down on to its left side before rolling over back on to its belly.

The Hawks circled back toward the wrecked helicopter as the Q Force boats continued their pursuit. What the vessels’ crews missed were the three Morays and two Moccasins that looped back toward the wreck.

On board the wrecked helicopter, Beaver groaned as he opened his eyes. His radio headset was squawking as Wind Shear tried to raise him or any of the others. Beaver went to unbuckle his seatbelt when he yelped in pain. His right arm, he soon discovered, was dislocated at the shoulder.

Cursing under his breath, he undid his restraints with his left hand, stood and moved to the rear of the helicopter. He’d dislocated his shoulder before and knew how to repair the damage. He took hold of his right wrist with his left hand, gritted his teeth and then slammed his arm against the side of the helicopter. The joint popped back in and the Canadian howled in pain.

“What the bloody ‘ell’s all the yellin’ about, like?” asked Stakeout in a groggy voice.

“I just put my damn shoulder back in place,” Beaver growled. “Are you hurt?”

Stakeout stood, staggered slightly and sat back down. “Woo, head spin,” he muttered.

Beaver watched him as more of the soldiers started to stir.

“Beaver to Wind Shear. We’ve got wounded here. We could use some help.” He paused before continuing, “The local helo crew’s dead.”

The Loadmaster, Beaver could see, was definitely no longer among the living. The angle his head was at told that story clearly.

“''Roger that, Beaver. We’ve already got on the horn to Leviathan and to the base at Vinh Tan Po. They’re sending out two birds for cas-evac.” The Portuguese paused before continuing, “We’re trying to avoid getting shot down, here though. You’ve got Cobra boats approaching and they’re trying to drive us off.”''

Beaver cursed without keying his mic.

Barracuda was awake now, as were Frog, Varuna, Poseidon and Gator. Triton and Wraith were still unconscious. Archer and Corsair were up and about, but Barracuda and Frog both had broken legs. Poseidon had a broken arm, whilst Varuna was holding his chest, which Beaver guessed indicated broken or fractured ribs. Somehow, Gator had gashed his head and it was bleeding heavily.

“What’s wrong, mon ami?” Barracuda asked Beaver.

“Cobra boats are on the way. The Hawks are trying to avoid getting shot down. Medivac birds are en route, but they won’t be able to land with Cobra crawling over us.” Beaver picked up his MP5 sub-machine gun. “We might have to fight our way out.”

The Frenchman frowned. “Bon. Tres bon,” he said sarcastically.

Overhead, Wind Shear watched as the Cobra boats circled the island and opened fire, bullets pinging off the wrecked helicopter.

He keyed his radio, “I’m going in, cover me.”

The other three pilots quickly acknowledged his order before he dove the small single-seat attack craft toward the river, locked on his rockets and fired a pair, blowing one of the Water Moccasins to pieces.

The second Moccasin and the three Morays immediately turned their turrets to try and shoot him down as he climbed back away from them. As the survivors tried to shoot him down, one of the other Hawk pilots began firing his 30mm cannon, dropping shells close to the Cobra vessels. The Eel and Lampreys immediately started moving their craft away from the island to avoid the fire.

Then one of the Morays darted in close to the island, five Eels leaping from the hydrofoil, before it zipped away, a sixth Eel firing wildly into the air from the hydrofoil’s gun turret to ward off the Hawks.

A second hydrofoil dashed in and dropped off another half dozen Cobra frogmen as the first group began firing AK-74s at the wrecked helicopter.

Another of the Q Force Hawks fired at the Cobra boats, nearly hitting one of the Morays, before destroying the last Moccasin.

Inside the wrecked helicopter, Beaver, Stakeout and Corsair were starting to return fire as Archer got on his radio.

“Wind Shear, we’re taking fire from all sides of the island! We need some fire support here. Repeat, request fire support on all sides, danger close!”

“Roger that, stand by.” There was a brief pause and then the pilot announced, “''Firing. Danger close''.”

Seconds later, several 30mm shells rained down on the island around the wreckage. Most of the shells missed, but they gave the Eels something else to worry about as the third Moray dropped off another group of five Eels.

The Morays were still firing into the air, trying to nail the Hawks as they criss-crossed the sky, firing their 30mm cannon.

One of the Hawks managed to hit one of the Moray hydrofoils, blowing its stern off. A second shot destroyed the rest of the craft.

“Kaboom!” the pilot announced over his radio.

“Nice shot,” Archer said. “Keep up the fire!”

Two of the Hawks joined forces to pull the attention of the two Morays as a third flew in and fired twice, blowing both vessels into scrap.

“Good kills,” Wind Shear reported. “I see lots of little pieces down there.”

With the last two Morays destroyed, all four Hawks began raining more fire down on the island, emptying their 30mm cannons.

In seconds, the area around the wrecked Puma was nothing more than a patchwork of overlapping craters. No Eels were left alive.

Moments later, three Than Dat Navy Pumas flew in to land at the island. Medics streamed from two of them, rushing to get to the wrecked Puma as Beaver and Stakeout shoved the damaged door aside. The third Puma landed and technicians scrambled out and began signalling to the Hawks to land for refuelling.

The three Killer WHALEs were several miles further down the river by now. The seven surviving Cobra vessels had disappeared up a narrow tributary river, which the Q Force group was holding back from entering. They could see the Cobra base through the trees further up the river, which their maps identified as the Hep Song.

Shark listened to Beaver’s report on his radio as the Q Force crews joined Surfer and Wave-Rider on the captured Moray that they’d kept back from the Cobras’ view.

“Copy that, Beaver,” Shark finally said. “Glad your guys are okay. I’m sorry to hear about the Than Dat crew. We’ve located the Cobra base. We’re planning an assault now.”

Shark signed off and turned back to the rest of the Q Force unit. “We’re on our own for now. SAS Force are out of the fight and the Hawks are being refuelled.”

Surfer grinned, “Doesn’t matter. We don’t need them. I’ve got a plan.”

Shark looked at him with his eyebrows raised, “Oh, do tell.”

Surfer pointed to the bodies of the dead Cobras piled at the back of the Moray’s rear deck. “Ever hear of the Trojan Horse?”

Twenty minutes later, the Cobra hydrofoil entered the Hep Song and cruised toward the Cobra base where the Moccasins and Piranhas were tied up at the riverbank.

On board the Moray, Surfer was helming the hydrofoil, dressed in the uniform of the Lampreys, whilst Shark, Riptide, Orca and Tempest were dressed in Eel uniforms. Wave-Rider, Mako and Fathom were hiding inside the superstructure of the Moray.

Surfer steered the Moray to the end of the line of tied-up boats as a group of three Vipers approached.

“Oi! Why the bloody hell didn’t you tell us you were approaching?” demanded the lead Viper. “You know the bloody procedures, you’re supposed to radio in first!”

“Well, we couldn’t radio in,” Shark replied from his position behind one of the Moray’s light machine guns. “Our radio’s smashed.”

The Viper didn’t seem pleased to hear that, Shark decided, but it was hard to tell with the mirrored faceplate hiding his features.

“Hang on, I thought the boss said this bloody Moray was boarded by Q Force?” the Viper suddenly said as he obviously recognised the hydrofoil’s ID number on its side.

“It was,” Riptide said from his position in the gun turret.

“What?” the Viper asked, confused.

“We did board the vessel,” Shark replied. He took the safety off the machine-gun and opened fire.

Seconds later, the three Vipers were dead and Shark was firing at a sandbagged gun-nest where a Russian-made RPD was set up in front of the command building. Riptide had opened fire at another gun-nest where a DShK machine-gun was mounted on a tripod.

Next to Shark, Orca was laying down his own fire from the other LMG toward a group of Vipers running from the tents next to the infirmary.

The three buildings in the Cobra camp were the kind of prefabricated building one might see on a construction site as a office building. One had metal panels over the windows, which the Q Force group had decided was the command building. A second had a number of radio antennae on the roof, whilst the third was marked with a red cross, indicating it was an infirmary. The rest of the camp seemed to be made up of tents.

Orca and Shark switched their fire to the radio building as Eels and Vipers began trying to return fire and Riptide began firing at the command building.

Wave-Rider, Tempest, Mako and Fathom began to scramble ashore, toting AK74 assault rifles from the Eels’ armoury on the Moray.

As the gun-battle raged, three Vipers ran from the command building, covering another man in an Eel uniform, but with a blue chest instead of the usual red. Tempest recognised him immediately.

“It’s Sea Snake!” he shouted, shifting his fire to shoot one of the Vipers escorting the Cobra Europe naval commander.

Shark looked around as Tempest dropped a second Viper as Sea Snake scrambled into the cockpit of a Water Moccasin.

“Try to take him alive!” he yelled. Shark knew full well that the Dutch commando frogman had a long-standing grudge against Sea Snake. The Cobra Europe member had led a plot to assassinate Tempest after he’d helped Dutch Navy forces wipe out a Cobra base in the Caribbean in 1985. For a time, Tempest had believed he’d killed Sea Snake, but it wasn’t long before the slippery customer was back causing trouble for Action Force once more.

Tempest fired his Kalashnikov again, dropping the third Viper as Sea Snake slipped into the cockpit of his Moccasin and fired up the engines. The fan-driven boat raced away from the riverbank before looping around and headed for the Song Lon.

As the small green boat raced away, a Q Force Killer WHALE sped up the river, before turning toward the shore and firing several rockets.

The explosions ripped apart the base, leaving the Cobras dead or dying.

“''This is Thetis. Broadside and Mako are in pursuit of Sea Snake. Get on board my WHALE, fast,”'' Shark and the other Aquatroopers heard over their radios.

Shark looked back toward the main river to see the other two WHALEs speeding after the Moccasin.

He quickly ran toward the WHALE that Thetis had beached next to the Moray, lowering the ramp and raising the hatch to allow the aquatroopers to board. Shark leaped aboard the WHALE and scrambled across its hull to drop into one of the turrets as Tempest followed him.

The WHALE powered away from the Cobra base, racing to catch up to the other two WHALEs and the Water Moccasin.

Shark keyed his radio, “Let’s try and take him alive, yeah?”

“Try… Sure…” Tempest answered.

A new voice came over the radio circuit. “''WHALEs, this is Tomcat. Skystrikers are airborne; we have radar contact with multiple bogies heading south at speed. Appears to be a large Cobra air group.”''

Shark realised the former US Navy pilot and his wingman must have launched their fighters as soon as the aircraft were spotted.

The chase continued for several minutes, the Water Moccasin racing down the river, dashing between islands as the WHALEs attempted to keep up and keep the smaller vessel in sight.

Suddenly there was the sound of incoming shells from overhead, before explosions threw up water and dirt from the river. Shark looked up to see four Cobra FANGs and four ‘Trouble Bubble’ Flight Pods firing their cannon as they swooped down.

“Shoot them down!” Shark shouted to Tempest.

The two Aquatroopers rotated their turrets and elevated their guns and began firing back. As they did, Shark heard Broadside over the radio.

“''Broadside to Tomcat, we’re taking fire from multiple Cobra aircraft. We could really use your help here.”''

There was a pause before the fighter pilot answered. “''Roger that, Broadside, but we’re engaged with four Rattlers. They’re doing their best to keep us at bay, so we can’t help.”''

“Incoming missiles!” Shark shouted as two of the Flight Pods launched their laser-guided anti-tank missiles at the hovercraft.

All three of the Q Force pilots began evasive manoeuvres designed to throw off the aim of the Flight Pod pilots, whilst also trying to evade the cannon fire from the other two Flight Pods and the FANGs.

Two missiles passed over the Killer WHALE Shark was in, detonating as they hit an island behind the hovercraft. The second pair slammed into the river behind Mako’s WHALE, but the New Zealander wasn’t hit and neither was his hovercraft.

“Keep up the fire!” Shark shouted to Tempest, both were trying to hit the aircraft, but they were limited to two thousand rounds of ammo, so they couldn’t be completely trigger-happy.

Tempest finally got lucky, hitting one of the Flight Pods as the jet-powered single-seater flew across his line of fire. The engines exploded and the Trouble Bubble plummeted from the sky before crashing somewhere to the south of the river.

This seemed to incense the remaining Flight Pod pilots as they suddenly dove in to attack the WHALE, blazing away with their cannon.

Explosions rocked the hovercraft as it raced through the hail of fire, some rounds pinging off the armoured hull, but only chipping paint.

The attack, however, brought the Flight Pods in closer to the hovercraft, enabling Tempest and Shark to return fire more accurately, both hitting the small vertical take-off craft as they raced past. One of the Pods took damage to its rudders and span out of control before crashing into the river. The other Pod’s pilot was killed and the craft simply plunged out of the sky to smash into the shore, ripping itself to pieces in the process.

Just when Shark was starting to think they might get out of this, a flight group of four FANG II tilt-rotor aircraft came screaming over the trees and opened fire with their 20mm cannon. Thankfully, the attack was rushed and only succeeded in throwing up fountains of water.

There were now nine aircraft flitting around the three WHALEs, but none seemed capable of actually hitting the three hovercraft. Shark was starting to consider this suspicious as he blazed away at one of the FANG II tilt-rotors when he suddenly spotted four Mamba attack helicopters escorting a Cobra transport helicopter.

The transport turned and began flying along the course of the river, with the Mambas maintaining position behind it.

“They’re going to pick up Sea Snake on the move!” Shark shouted into his radio. “Everyone open fire!”

The FANG helicopters, FANG II tilt-rotors, the surviving Flight Pod and the Mambas were now flying at low level between the WHALEs and the transport, but all three Q Force craft opened fire seconds later as they hit a relatively open stretch of water. The three hovercraft rippled off four surface-to-air missiles in quick succession. The Cobra aircraft fired off their flares, but even so two FANGs, the remaining Trouble Bubble, one FANG II and a Mamba were all hit and sent plummeting into the river.

As the transport dropped to within inches of the river’s surface, its rear ramp dropped and the Water Moccasin boat sped closer toward it as the surviving aircraft continued to maintain their blockade. The aircraft suffered more losses however; Broadside, Thetis and Mako fired their 55mm cannon, shredding one Mamba, another FANG II and a FANG.

As the remaining craft manoeuvred to block the WHALEs’ line of fire, Shark saw Sea Snake was crouched on the prow of the speeding boat and he leapt from the Water Moccasin on to the helicopter’s rear ramp before it accelerated and climbed away, the surviving escorts close on its tail.

The three hovercraft slowed to a halt as the aircraft sped north.

Shark immediately got on his radio. “Tomcat, Sea Snake has escaped on board a transport, headed north escorted by two Mambas, a FANG and a pair of FANG II tilt-rotors. Can you intercept?”

“Negative, Shark. We’re tied up… Wait, stand by. The last two Rattlers just made a run for it, heading northwest. We’re in pursuit.”

Moments later, the hovercraft crews saw two Cobra Rattlers pass overhead, one trailing smoke from its rear engine and with half its left tail-fin missing, the other was trailing smoke from its fuselage and was missing the end of its left wing. They were followed by the two Skystrikers, one of which was missing part of one tail fin and the other with a chunk missing from one wing.

Broadside raised Shark on his radio. “''I’ve just spoken to Leviathan. He wants us back at the base stat.”''

Two days later

May Doi Naval Base

Leviathan and Admiral Den stood together, watching as the last Killer WHALE was loaded aboard one of the Action Force transport planes.

“Thank you again for all your help, Commander.” Den turned toward the Scottish officer, extending his hand.

Leviathan shook his hand. “You’re welcome, Admiral. I just wish we’d caught Sea Snake.”

Den nodded. “You may get a chance again.”

“No doubt,” Leviathan replied.

The Q Force Skystrikers had been forced to break off their pursuit of the Cobra air convoy when a pair of Cobra Hurricane jets had joined it. A dogfight followed when the convoy was intercepted by a flight of Than Dat Mirage F1 fighters, two of which had been destroyed, but not before they’d destroyed the Hurricanes, both Rattlers and a Mamba.

Leviathan had also arranged for a group of Than Dat Marines to look over the wreckage of the Cobra camp, where they’d uncovered details of four more camps. The Marines, together with the Q Force aquatroopers, Beaver, Stakeout and Barracuda, had then assaulted all four camps, destroying them.

Now, Action Force was heading home to Europe. Two of the WHALEs were already en route aboard other transports, along with the SAS Force kayaks and rigid raiders. The wounded SAS Force troopers had been shipped out the day before, whilst the last transport would carry the third WHALE, the two Devilfish and the Q Force troops.

“I shall also be speaking to the Defence Minister today about purchasing several Killer WHALEs like your unit’s. I think they will be vital for making sure we can handle a similar Cobra offensive, if they return. Or we can use them to combat the smugglers in the delta.”

Leviathan nodded. “Sounds good to me. I’ll inform the Commander.”

“I would also ask you a favour, Commander.”

Leviathan turned back toward him. “Yes, Admiral?”

“I would like it if your WHALE crews were to train at least an initial cadre of our men to use them, so we can train our forces.”

Leviathan smiled. “I’m sure we can do that.”

Admiral Den smiled as well, before returning Leviathan’s salute before he turned and headed for the transport plane.

The End