Sunday, August 25, 2013

While most people interacted with modern society through internet applications like the new Infinity Channel, a large group of Russian men from Moscow was too busy traversing the varied terrain of Turkmenistan.

This entourage was led by an officer of the Solntsevskaya Bratva, who focused his time and resources on pursuing drug-related activities for the criminal organization.

Pavel Nikolaev, a young Moscow native in his mid-20s, was entrusted by his high-ranking maternal uncle to procure their product that had been waiting for pickup since Operation Quicksand occurred.

Afghanistan was now entering an age of growth and prosperity, but that wasn’t always the case before Future Tech arrived.

The local communities relied on shady dealings with organizations like the Bratva selling opium on masse to provide for their families and as a form of protection from the local armed insurgents.

The Solntsevskaya Bratva facilitated 95% of Europe’s entire black market Heroin supply by purchasing massive amounts of Opium from its’ largest illicit producer on Earth, Afghanistan, attributing 16% of gross domestic product to its sale.

President Karzai heeded advice from Future Tech and reasonably taxed businesses under common law instead of Sharia. Still, growing Opium in the country had always been deemed illegal by the international community as the industry didn’t regulate it.

Future Tech negotiated a deal with the Karzai administration to allow the mostly innocent civilians working with the Bratva to continue growing Opium in exchange for proper taxes and regulation under Future Med, while the Afghan government built its own medical governing body.

This arrangement naturally included discounts for purchasing the grown Opium and the right to process the raw plant into Morphine and other derivatives.

President Karzai also considered how unjust it would be to burn the Poppy fields and destroy entire communities’ livelihoods.

Processed Opium was highly valued in the medical industry, so his administration took the chance to integrate Poppy agriculture as one of its primary legal profit generators.

Future Tech and the Afghan government kept most of their Opium trade agreement under the radar to reduce public outcry regarding illegal drugs, so Pavel and his brotherhood were unaware of this situation even with all their intelligence contacts in the region, so he was confident of retrieving their supply with only a hundred-man army in case they ran into Afghan soldiers while crossing the border.

The Bratva embodied hubris as their criminal activities were tactically and politically supported by the Russian Federal Security Service and Vladimir Putin’s administration, proven by Wikileaks in 2010.

The brotherhood had no respect for authority and brazenly committed illegal acts without worrying about any ramifications, so a minor armed skirmish with a few Afghan border patrols was within their expectations.

The country was vast and had an utterly long border, which the US military, Future Security, and local forces couldn’t practically guard simultaneously.

The Bratva traditionally used smuggling routes purchased from land traders that frequented the mountainous terrain to evade military checkpoints and had always been reliable until Future Security arrived in the country.

Director Price was an experienced intelligence officer for SOCOM and was well aware of the country’s vulnerable border. His team diligently gathered intel on the black market trading routes retrieved from arrested individuals and Ashkan’s previous insurgent base.

Future Security implemented border crossing measures in partnership with President Karzai to stop foreign insurgents or bad actors from entering the country.

Future Tech deployed similar devices around the unguarded smuggling routes it has been using to secure vital NetServ communication nodes in remote places like off the coast of Taiwan and Sweden.

Pavel confidently led close to fifty black armored SUVs through a trodden mountain path the Bratva had utilized for close to a decade and was glad to find no resistance against their illegal entry.

The vibrations from so many vehicles obviously alerted the motion sensors hidden amongst the sparse vegetation configured specifically to differentiate people from wildlife.

The alert triggered an automatic response of notifying the local governing Future Tech branch in the region, which was the office at Kandahar.

Several of Director Price’s cyber security personnel received the alert and quickly notified the assigned border force to remain vigilant of the trespassers before further instructions.

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Price was preoccupied drafting the security outline for Future Tech’s role in the CNPC and Afghan government joint project. He’d been dealing with representatives from China, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to determine the most effective utility pipeline route.

These countries had plenty of issues and differences politically, but Future Tech treated the project as a platform to foster positive diplomatic relationships and further mutual interests.

The ambitious proposal included laying oil and gas pipelines in conjunction with other utilities like fiber optic networking and high-density energy cables.

The multilayer utility pipeline required the necessary building permits and land rights in all the countries between China and Afghanistan in exchange for access to reasonably priced natural gas, crude oil, internet, and energy.

Rapidly growing economies such as India and Pakistan were in dire need of affordable energy for their demanding and growing populace, so the proposal was very enticing.

If the parties involved settle their bad blood, the deal could be worth more than $35 billion and potentially invigorate productivity in South Asia.

Director Price’s train of thought was interrupted by a notification on his Hypervisor regarding a group of trespassers near the northern border.

Future Security protocol dictated an immediate response of reconnaissance in situations like these, so Price was able to access the ASR-1 drone dispatched to follow the intruders.

Price zoomed out of the real-time video feed and pondered, [They don’t look like a private military, but it’s a huge convoy. Who’d be dumb enough to attempt something like this?]

Whatever enemy they were dealing with this time, Director Price wasn’t taking any chances, so he personally dispatched a platoon of fifty FS operators led by a Canadian FS Spectre, Ryder Irving.

Price messaged the Afghan barracks for a support detachment that would serve as the official representative of the local government in maintaining the law.

———-

Ramesh, a young Afghan soldier who’d been recruited into a unit of exceptional young talents specially trained by Future Security, returned to the barracks after receiving a direct order from his commanding officer.

Ramesh was content spending time the Saturday with his old parents at their new Boxable home he purchased for the family after applying for a subsidized loan on the Bitcash Network.

The First Lieutenant noticed Ramesh entering the building and sternly instructed, “Hurry up, soldier! Gather your kit and regroup with your unit within five minutes. Now!”

Ramesh made his way to his quarters and gathered the military-issued equipment such as an FA-416 Battle Rifle, Level 4 plate carrier, and the most expensive piece of kit, the highly functional and nearly indestructible mil-spec Hypervisor Helmet; all made from the USA.

Although President Karzai’s government couldn’t afford to equip his men with the best gear like FS operators, he still spent a significant portion of Afghanistan’s newfound wealth arming the loyal and dutiful soldiers.

Ramesh acknowledged a staff member as he left the quarters area and regrouped with his comrades within the company.

The Commander ordered the sixty men to fall in line before saying aloud, “Our mission is to intercept a convoy of armored SUVs that illegally crossed the border. A platoon of FS operators will be there to support us, but we’ll be calling the shots. Remember your AV training because we’ll be deploying on FAV-1s for this mission. Move out!”

The Afghan military didn’t own many FAV-1s but leased a few from Future Tech while waiting for the budget to increase, which the various local units utilized for training and checkpoint patrols.

The young bloods’ safety was a priority for Future Security, so they dispatched Captain Farrukh of the FS Combat Aviation Regiment for transport.

The humble janitor nine months ago who luckily joined the AV testing program after passing the mechanic qualification test, was now a highly respected AV pilot and famous among the armed forces in the local area.

There were even rumors of his friendship with current President Karzai because of his time serving as the President’s adviser and pilot during the tribal visits.

Ramesh and his comrades were filled with excitement after noticing their hometown hero AV pilot walking towards the commanding officer.

The infantry-variant armor was now standard issue across Future Security, but Farrukh’s kit was specialized for pilots.

Director Price allowed his men to live casually at the Kandahar FS barracks, but he expected the highest level of professionalism out in the field.

Farrukh gained the Afghan Commander’s attention and said, “Five FAV-1s are ready for your deployment. I’ve received an intel update regarding the interception. It seems like we’re going up against a peculiar enemy this time, brother.”

The commander’s interest was piqued and curiously asked, “Anyone we should be cautious against?”

Farrukh honestly answered, “I’m not entirely sure, but the FS guys will surely have a bit of fun. The Russians have been a pain on our backs lately.”

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