"This jungle is packed, man!" called out Rica Navrez, a tall, muscular man dressed in forest camo. "I mean, Innies are hanging from the trees! We won't have to worry 'bout food, eh?"<br/><br/>He was yelling because the transport chopper was a Light, a bird meant to travel fast and, well, light. It was essentially a wired aluminum frame with some propellers stuck on top. It didn't even have a chain gun or compartment doors. This, combined with the terrific speeds it travelled at, created an immense air current travelling through the bird. Passengers actually had aluminum "stalls" set up to keep packs, weapons, or grenades from being ripped off them and thrown out the chopper. If you had to talk, you had to hold the helmet mic inside your mouth and yell at the top of your lungs. Then they might hear you.<br/><br/>The only other person in the passeger hold wasn't paying attention to Navrez. He was slightly shorter, about 5'11", and weighed 210 even, all muscle and bone. Like the other man, he was dressed in jungle fatigues: green/brown/black camo shirt that clung to his skin from sweat and the damp air and a full-length cargo pants. He wore an identically schemed vest that was covered in bulging pouches: ammunition, frags, smoke grenades, flash-bangs, medical supplies, MRE's, and a 12-inch KA-BAR. His face was lightly scarred; a couple of jagged marks covered his right cheek, and one particularly deep one appeared on the top of his brow, over his right eye, and continued on the cheekbone below it.  He had no identification on him, of course, being a "silent soldier".  His dogtags were in a locker back at Manta Air Base in Ecuador, and any other identifying marks, from tattoos to clothing, had been eliminated or hidden.  Only Navrez knew that his name was Master Sergeant Richard "Ricky" Gum, formerly of the 75th Ranger Regiment.<br/><br/>As the chopper continued on over the green blur of the rainforest, Gum's mind wandered to several hours earlier, in the dry, stuffy briefing room.  "This is your target," the El-Tee had said, gesturing to a picture of a young woman, no older than twenty five, with red hair and dark blue eyes.  "Her name is Lancer, Jaiden, and is considered Class Omega.  I know you already know what that means, but I have to say that Lancer can come to no harm.  Her well-being is the top priority for this mission; higher than your own, as usual."  He coughed, walking up to a topographical map pinned on the wall.  "You will be air-dropped here, quick and dirty, and collect Lancer at the nearby village of 'Opelle'.  You shouldn't encounter any hostile residents; Opelle is anti-Resistance, and acts as a refugee BoO.  The surrounding forest is propably empty of Innies; they have no major footholds within fifty miles.  Still, be on your guard.  They have a nasty tendency of popping up where you least expect 'em too."<br/><br/>The Lieutenant's last sentence lingered in Gum's mind.  Looking down on the thick jungle, he could see obvious signs of Resistance occupation: trails of smoke, felled trees, and the occasional vehicle.  Navre had noticed it too.<br/><br/>"'Ey, Gum!" he yelled.  "Remember to leave me a couple this time!"  Ricky simply nodded in response, deep in thought.<br/><br/><div align="center">*     *     *</div><br/>Ten minutes later, the cabin flashed green, and Navrez and Gum bailed out.  They landed hard, rolling to absorb the impact on the soft, damp ground.  Before they had even kissed dirt, the chopper was rising and heading back north.  Within seconds, the roar of its turbines faded, swallowed by the loud sounds of the rainforest.  Bird calls, dripping water, and creaking branches combined to make a busy street seem quiet.<br/><br/>The two had landed in a small clearing, made of knee high grass and the occasional shrub.<br/><br/>Navrez's goofy look of happy anticipation was gone, replaced by one of serious determination.  Gum lowered his CAR-15 "Colt Commando" carbine, having checked their perimeter.  "No hostiles.  Hand signals from here on out."  Navrez nodded, his Commando still propped on his shoulder, slowly scanning the jungle.  Gum moved his hand up to his mouth, palm flat, emphasizing his "silence" command.  After a quick flurry of hand signals, the two man team moved out into the jungle.