Chapter 18: Chapter 4, Episode 2: Sahel
The operation was called “Raccoon Herding.”
Lieutenant Jean Paul was chosen as the team leader. He was serving in the 3rd Infantry Regint in Guinea and was also a veteran of desert warfare, having served in Algeria’s civil war and Guinea for 10 years.
Pief had wanted to be the team leader but, unfortunately, had no experience working in Africa. He set aside his regrets and nad them “Team Ratel” after the ratel, an African badger, that weighed 10 kilograms, was about 60 centiters around its center and was very fierce and long-lived.
Ratels were omnivorous but snakes were their staple food. They showed an interesting response when bitten by a cobra. They always bit the cobra’s head in retaliation, killing it, before falling under its paralysis. A ratel’s vitality was phenonal. After being bitten by a cobra, it could dispel its poison in an hour or two. It was a tenacious animal that, after it recovered, leisurely ate the dead cobra.
Pief chose the na “Team Ratel” in hopes of their safe return. Although he was greedy for a promotion, he was like any other commander and cared for his subordinates.
The mbers of Team Ratel consisted of snipers, machine gunners, explosive handlers, and other weapons support. The snipers were Captain Lieutenant Paul, Sergeant Mike, Staff Sergeant Mark, Private Black Mamba, Private First Class Emil, Staff Sergeant Miguel, and Sergeant Mouris. Mortar and heavy fire were handled by Private Jang Shin and Sergeant Burir. Sergeant Bellman was selected as the dic.
Four of the ten n were mbers of Sergeant Burir’s Squadron and had worked together in the past. Sergeant Burir, Private Emil, Sergeant Mark, and Black Mamba were snipers from the First Squadron.
Mike, who had been nearly beaten to death by Black Mamba, was the leader of the Third Squadron’s sniper division. Mike had been overshadowed by the appearance of Black Mamba, but he was the sole elite sniper within Legion Etranger. He had taunted Black Mamba because of jealousy.
Jang Shin was included in the team, later on, at Black Mamba’s request. As soone who had been in the 2nd Artillery Corps of the People’s Liberation Army, he was well-versed in operating machinery and heavy weapons. He was needed to handle 60-milliter mortar fire and help seize the enemy’s heavy weapons.
The Fourth Squadron of Deuxie Rep that specialized in sniping and firepower needed to specialize in one other category besides the basic weapons, the Famas and Epal. They called the secondary weapon “sub-weaponry.”
Black Mamba mainly used the Dragunov, so his kukri daggers were considered his sub-weapon while Chartres’ RPG was considered his sub-weapon. The snipers of the Fourth and Second Squadrons, the specialized companies, acquired lee fighting techniques or heavy weapons as their necessities.
Pief and Captain Paul ford Team Ratel with four snipers, two explosives officers, two machine gunners, two heavy weapon handlers, and one first aid/dical officer. The team needed to be built heavily around the snipers.
Pief and Paul submitted the confird list of subordinates to Philip. Black Mamba’s personal details were left blank. There was no official data that contained a connection to Black Mamba. Everything that linked Black Mamba to MuSsang Park had been cut off.
Of the ten mbers, the only rookies were Black Mamba, Jang Shin, and Black Mamba’s partner, Emil. The rest were veterans with at least three years of experience participating in a war in Africa. rcenaries within Legion Etranger were ranked differently from the Korean ranking system. Even a sergeant had over five years of experience.
Nominees for Team Ratel
First Lieutenant Jean Paul
Age 41, 180 cm, 82 kg
Graduate of France’s DGSE. Officer of the 3rd Infantry Regint of Guinea’s Desert Warfare.
Mastery of Savate. Dispassionate, good leadership.
Skilled in strategic tactics, possible talent in espionage.
Participated in the Algeria’s and Guinea’s Civil Wars.
Specialty: sniping/close-combat
Sub-weaponry: KA-BAR Knife/Glock
Sergeant Al Burir
Age 35, 186 cm, 98 kg
Graduate of the British Army explosives squad. Deuxie Rep’s Sniper Squad Leader
After 3 years at the 3rd Infantry Regint in French Guinea, he moved into the airborne regint. Fishing maniac.
Participant of the Algerian War
Specialty: sniping
Sub-weaponry: Glock
Sergeant 1st Class Paul Mike
Age 33, 205 cm, 115 kg
From the Texas National Guard.
Six years in the Djibouti’s 13th Foreign Brigade. Leader of Deuxie Rep’s 3rd Squadron. The best sniper in the squadron.
Participated in the Algeria and C?te d’Ivoire Civil Wars
Specialty: sniping
Sub-weaponry: Beretta
Sergeant David Mark
Age 28, 186 cm, 86 kg
Six years of experience in Djibouti’s 13th Foreign Brigade. Leader of Deuxie Rep’s Sniper Squadron.
Best sniper within the sniper regint.
Participant in the Marley Civil War.
Specialty: sniping
Sub-weaponry: Glock
Black Mamba
Sergeant Bellman
Age 33, 178 cm, 72 kg
Certified doctor. Headquarter-stationed squadron of Deuxie Rep.
Friends are known to be in the Mafia.
The only squad mber with a doctor’s certificate, reason for Team Ratel inclusion.
Participant in the Congo Civil War.
Specialty: ergency treatnt
Sub-Weaponry: Glock
Sergeant Huang Mouris
Age 34, 180 cm, 76 kg
From the Moroccan garrison. Deuxie Rep’s Firearms Platoon
Entered long-term service after five years at Djibouti’s 13th Foreign Brigade.
Specializing in explosives, booby trap production, and installation.
Participant in the wars in Algeria and Sudan.
Specialty: explosives, booby trap production/installation
Sub-weaponry: Dragunov
Sergeant Hakam Chartres
Age 43, 182 cm, 82 kg
Researcher at the Middle East History University, Paris, France. Deuxie Rep Firearms division.
Long-term service after five years in the Djibouti 13th Foreign Brigade.
A wine lover, fluent in Arabic and Swahili.
Participant in the Chad Civil War and Algerian Civil War
Specialty: explosives, booby traps
Sub-weaponry: RPG
Private Jang Shin
Age 24, 168 cm, 67 kg
He is from the People’s Republic of China. Expert in the Eight Combined Movents martial arts. Deuxie Rep’s Firearms Platoon.
Genius in the operation and maintenance of machinery.
Specialty: mine thrower
Sub-weaponry: poisoned needles
Private Victor Emil
Age 28. 190 cm, 92 kg
3 years of experience working in the 13th Brigade, Djibouti. Deuxie Rep Sniper Squadron
Partner of Black Mamba.
National French Judo champion.
No experience in war. Selected as a partner of Black Mamba.
Specialty: Machine Gun
Sub-weaponry: Dragunov
Corporal Shawn Miguel
Age 31, 176 cm, 71 kg
From Colombia’s Drug Control Unit. Deuxie Rep’s firearm squad.
Participant in Algeria’s Civil War.
Specialty: machine gun
Sub-weaponry: Glock
The Glock 19 was widely used by the team mbers as a sub-weapon. It was recently developed by Glock in Austria and was a semi-automatic pistol that could fire 19 rounds of 9-milliter Parabellum bullets. Compared to conventional pistols, the structure was very compact and simplified.
The two pistol masterpieces of the 80s were the Beretta and Glock. The Beretta’s small size, low recoil, and soft trigger made it a favorite among information operating officers. The Glock, on the other hand, was used by the special forces because it was resistant to harsh environnts and trouble-free. Black Mamba had received 4500-franc Glock from Pief. The ti had co to pay off that debt.
When Philip got the report, he took a Mont Blanc fountain pen out of the drawer and signed it happily. There were four snipers in the unit and four from the explosives unit. It was the best possible team to support Black Mamba. He liked that most of the mbers were from his regint.
If Black Mamba succeeded in the operation, the position of a general was a sure thing. That was how important the Chad operation was. Of course, if they were to fail, he would have to pack his belongings instead of receiving a promotion.
While Colonel Philip signed the list of mbers to send into Hell’s Gate, Burir and Black Mamba were fishing on the Shari River.
Burir was an avid fishing maniac who even the regint commander couldn’t keep from fishing. In Corsica, he went down to the Calvi Harbor’s breakwater to fish. On weekends, he refused to go to a club, or return ho, instead choosing to wrestle with the domina cibril.
Burir’s outdoor excursions beca more frequent after tasting raw fish with Black Mamba. Having tasted the Korean red chili pepper paste with sashimi, he annoyed Black Mamba because he worshipped the paste to the point where it was unbecoming of a Frenchman.
Sergeant Burir and the squadron mbers devised a massive launch plan.
It was an ambitious plan to catch a goliath tigerfish while they traveled up to Lake Chad. The goliath tigerfish were large carnivorous fish that lived in the Congo River and spawned in Lake Chad. They were monsters known for eating crocodiles. The adults grew up to 2 ters and weighed up to 100 kilograms.
Burir’s desire was unfortunately denied. It was because the mbers of Team Ratel were gathered in secret. It had only been a week since they had set foot in Chad.
Commander Pief hadn’t simply bought Petit Canard a al for free. It was ti for Black Mamba to pay off that al.
Burir and Black Mamba’s excursions were similarly forced to end.
Captain Lieutenant Paul divided the group into experienced n and rookies after the eting, disregarding their age.
“Sergeant Burir, how many have you killed?”
“I killed five in Algeria. I’ve killed more than a hundred after returning to headquarters near the breakwater.”
At Burir’s words, the team mbers suppressed their laughter. The mbers without a kill in their past were Black Mamba, Jang Shin, and Emil. The other mbers were full of experience in killing and surviving in the desert.
“Lieutenant Mike, how many have you killed?”
“I managed to clear 33 people. 22 in Algeria, and 11 in C?te d’Ivoire.” Mike replied proudly.
He then turned to glare at Black Mamba. Black Mamba felt the stare but didn’t bother to pay attention. His mind was full of thoughts; he didn’t have the ti to deal with the tantrums of a stupid man.
Paul believed that a soldier had to overco the shock of killing to beco a real soldier. No matter how long one had been in the military, without an actual kill, he considered them rookies. After killing a person, a human’s perspective changed greatly. He matched up the team mbers according to their specialties and past killing records.
In Paul’s eyes, Black Mamba, Jang Shin, and Emil were rookies who slled like newborns. It was his responsibility to succeed in this operation and make those rookies survive.
He began his speech before the stiff rookies.
“Listen, all of you, the fear of murdering is greater than the fear of being murdered. The fear that you might die can be overco by training, but you have to overco the fear of killing another human being. The fear of death fades in ti, but the fear of murder is colored with ti. We are soldiers. A soldier’s purpose is murder. The enemy is our target and is not a human but just an enemy. Soldiers must not kill non-enemy targets. Therefore, a soldier who cannot kill an enemy is not a soldier. Soone who cries after killing the enemy is similarly not a soldier.”
“The fear of death and the fear of murder!”
Black Mamba was moved by the short speech given by the wrinkled lieutenant. Only an individual’s morality and rationality could determine the difference between their fear of death and their fear of murder.
Could there be a person who knew the fear of death and murder better than Black Mamba? He was already a warrior who had overco both.
“Kill!”
“Kill the enemy!”
Black Mamba felt as if he had truly beco a rcenary.
“Black Mamba!”
“Oui.”
“l have received orders to concentrate the operation around you. Frankly, I have no trust in you. Aside from your skills, do you have experience with murder?”
Black Mamba’s gaze t the captain’s blue-gray eyes. These were the eyes of a strong man. Strength entered Black Mamba’s eyes. At the sharpening gaze, Paul found himself startled.
“Captain, have you ever cut a man’s throat with a knife? Have you felt the bones of a human’s neck being crushed at your fingertips? Have you ever had a backbone as your bed and skin as your blanket?”
Paul’s face hardened. The rookie’s eyes were too clear to be considered the eyes of a murderer.
“And that is you?”
“I am Black Mamba. I don’t shoot with my head in the ground. I am not going to be my comrade’s burden. Even the best warrior had once been a rookie.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)