Brigands lightened Brannigan's mood. He motioned to the others to follow him, leading them to the ladder that would take them topside. The SEAL detachment, under the command of Chief Petty Officer Matt Gunnarson, had observed assault-section and fire-team integrity when they formed up to meet the skipper. Brannigan took Matt's salute, asking, "What about the gear for Lieutenant Cruiser, Senior Chief Dawkins, and me?"
"It's all waiting for you in your quarters, sir," Matt said. He caught sight of the attractive female officer. "Who's the hot chick?" he asked under his breath.
'That hot chick is Lieutenant Rivers, who is going to be our radar and weapons system officer aboard the ACV."
"You mean she's coming along on the mission with us?"
"Yeah," Brannigan said. He lowered his voice. "And tell the men to be extra nice to her. I'm beginning to think that Lieutenant Cruiser is developing a special interest in the lady."
"Aye, sir!"
Brannigan took over the formation and introduced Veronica, Paul Watkins, and Bobby Lee Atwill. He was about to give the SEALs a quick orientation on the Battlecraft when he was interrupted by the arrival of a young Marine lance corporal.
"Captain Gooding is waiting for you in the aft ready room, sir," the sharp kid said to Brannigan. "He told me he wanted you and your entire crew up there immediately if not sooner after you dock."
"Tell him we're on our way," Brannigan said. "And pass this on to your buddies. We're a detachment, not a crew."
"Understood, sir!"
Brannigan didn't bother with formalities as he ushered his people across the flight deck. The ship's crew eyed the strangers with friendly curiosity. The scuttlebutt had it that there were exciting times ahead for this mini-assault ship.
Brannigan hurried his people to the island and went up to the second deck and down a corridor. When they walked in, they didn't find the ship's skipper, as expected. However, the man waiting for them was not a stranger to the SEALs.
"Hello, Lieutenant," Commander Tom Carey said.
"You're a hell of a long way from home, sir," Brannigan remarked. "How did you manage to sneak out of Coronado?"
"I've been given the honor of acting as both your N2 and N3 from the Dan Daly Carey said. "You and your people sit down and make yourselves comfortable. I'll give you a quick briefing and then you can settle in." Carey waited for Brannigan's detachment to situate themselves in the available seating before continuing. "Your mission will be to take your ACV out to designated patrol areas to look for vessels carrying arms shipments toward Pakistan. The terrorist group al-Mimkhalif has suffered grievous damage to their delivery program. Our intelligence tells us they have reorganized the system to a new methodology. We are going to discover what that is, and deal it a death blow--literally. As you've probably already figured out, we don't have a clue as to their supply sources, exact routes, or points of pickups and deliveries of weaponry under their latest SOP. So you and the intrepid Brigands are facing some real serious challenges."
"Will we be doing all our work at sea, sir?" Matt Gunnarson asked.
"Negative," Carey answered. "We expect raids on coastal areas too. That means fighting ashore. You'll develop your own SOPs for this activity as you go along, so I want you to all feel free to make suggestions. In other words, share all lessons learned. You'll be going up against a bunch of loonies who think that killing or being killed by those who they consider nonbelievers guarantees them an eternity in Paradise in luxurious surroundings with beautiful women."
"The same old shit we went through in Afghanistan," Bruno Puglisi said from the back.
"Right you are," Carey said. "We're going to be given a constant feed of the latest intelligence from several sources. This guarantees you the latest information that will throw some light in this dark tunnel you're going into. Any questions? No? All right then, get settled
"It's all waiting for you in your quarters, sir," Matt said. He caught sight of the attractive female officer. "Who's the hot chick?" he asked under his breath.
'That hot chick is Lieutenant Rivers, who is going to be our radar and weapons system officer aboard the ACV."
"You mean she's coming along on the mission with us?"
"Yeah," Brannigan said. He lowered his voice. "And tell the men to be extra nice to her. I'm beginning to think that Lieutenant Cruiser is developing a special interest in the lady."
"Aye, sir!"
Brannigan took over the formation and introduced Veronica, Paul Watkins, and Bobby Lee Atwill. He was about to give the SEALs a quick orientation on the Battlecraft when he was interrupted by the arrival of a young Marine lance corporal.
"Captain Gooding is waiting for you in the aft ready room, sir," the sharp kid said to Brannigan. "He told me he wanted you and your entire crew up there immediately if not sooner after you dock."
"Tell him we're on our way," Brannigan said. "And pass this on to your buddies. We're a detachment, not a crew."
"Understood, sir!"
Brannigan didn't bother with formalities as he ushered his people across the flight deck. The ship's crew eyed the strangers with friendly curiosity. The scuttlebutt had it that there were exciting times ahead for this mini-assault ship.
Brannigan hurried his people to the island and went up to the second deck and down a corridor. When they walked in, they didn't find the ship's skipper, as expected. However, the man waiting for them was not a stranger to the SEALs.
"Hello, Lieutenant," Commander Tom Carey said.
"You're a hell of a long way from home, sir," Brannigan remarked. "How did you manage to sneak out of Coronado?"
"I've been given the honor of acting as both your N2 and N3 from the Dan Daly Carey said. "You and your people sit down and make yourselves comfortable. I'll give you a quick briefing and then you can settle in." Carey waited for Brannigan's detachment to situate themselves in the available seating before continuing. "Your mission will be to take your ACV out to designated patrol areas to look for vessels carrying arms shipments toward Pakistan. The terrorist group al-Mimkhalif has suffered grievous damage to their delivery program. Our intelligence tells us they have reorganized the system to a new methodology. We are going to discover what that is, and deal it a death blow--literally. As you've probably already figured out, we don't have a clue as to their supply sources, exact routes, or points of pickups and deliveries of weaponry under their latest SOP. So you and the intrepid Brigands are facing some real serious challenges."
"Will we be doing all our work at sea, sir?" Matt Gunnarson asked.
"Negative," Carey answered. "We expect raids on coastal areas too. That means fighting ashore. You'll develop your own SOPs for this activity as you go along, so I want you to all feel free to make suggestions. In other words, share all lessons learned. You'll be going up against a bunch of loonies who think that killing or being killed by those who they consider nonbelievers guarantees them an eternity in Paradise in luxurious surroundings with beautiful women."
"The same old shit we went through in Afghanistan," Bruno Puglisi said from the back.
"Right you are," Carey said. "We're going to be given a constant feed of the latest intelligence from several sources. This guarantees you the latest information that will throw some light in this dark tunnel you're going into. Any questions? No? All right then, get settled
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